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January 10, 1990: The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 First Flight

On January 10, 1990 the first McDonnell Douglas MD-11 took off to the skies. Praised by enthusiasts and passengers, crews had mixed feelings about the trijet and operators somewhat despised it. From the beginning, the aircraft failed to deliver on its fuel burn and range promises. A PIP (p...

Niki Lauda to return to aviation through Amira Air

Veteran Formula 1 driver and aviation pioneer Niki Lauda is set to return to the airline industry following his acquisition of Amira Air (Vienna) late last year. Lauda told Die Presse newspaper that he had acquired the Austrian VIP/business charter operator from former owner Ronny Pecik but did n...

OPINION: What accident statistics don't tell us

With 2015 having proven – at least conditionally – to be the safest year on record for airline passenger transport operations, the inquiry into the Tatarstan 737 crash at Kazanis a reminder that such statistics are, to some extent, still dependent on good fortune. Investigators frequently use the ‘Swiss cheese’ model to illustrate the manner in which weak elements c...

New Aviation and Science Museum in Istanbul

The new Aviation and Science Museum is located in Yeşilköy district, south-west of Istanbul in the same area where Ataturk International Airport is located and where the old aviation museum reside. An area where no horizontal boundaries could be found, only vertical boundaries (strict ones posed by air-traffic control from the nearby airport) and an ill-defined site that expands in all direct...

Corrosion warning for Bell 429 operators

Operators of Bell 429 helicopters have been instructed to conduct urgent inspections of a tail rotor component after an investigation revealed a potentially dangerous manufacturing defect. In an emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) effective from 19 January, certification agency Transport Canada warns that corrosion on the part could lead to its failure and subsequent loss of control of the...

Chinese drone maker unveils human-carrying drone

Chinese drone maker Ehang Inc. on Wednesday unveiled what it calls the world's first drone capable of carrying a human passenger. The Guangzhou, China-based company pulled the cloth off the Ehang 184 at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the CES gadget show. In a company video showing it flying, it looks like a small helicopter but with four doubled propellers spinning parallel to the g...

Airbus introduces a system to jam drones out of the sky

For every cheap flying robot, there is an elaborate, expensive system to counter it. The latest anti-drone tool comes from European aerospace and defense giant Airbus, and promises a high-tech solution to small flying robots. They’re showing off the system at the Consumer Electronics Exposition in Las Vegas, though no word yet on if they’ve caused any nearby drones to crash. From Ai...

André Turcat, Concorde pilot - obituary

André Turcat, who has died aged 94, was the chief test pilot for the Concorde programme and was at the controls of the supersonic airliner on its first flight; a few weeks later he took the jet through the sound barrier for the first time. The idea of a supersonic transport (SST) was first conceived in the late 1950s and led to an Anglo-French agreement to develop an airliner – Con...

Qantas plane flies with an extra engine on the wing

You've probably never thought too much about how to quickly transport a 10-tonne plane engine, but Qantas has the answer. Just strap it to the wing of a Boeing 747. Qantas Flight 63 took off from Sydney with an extra Rolls Royce turbofan attached to the left wing between an inner engine and the plane's body. The engine was not powered; it just came along for the ride to Johannesburg,...

Boeing Achieves Record Commercial Airplanes Deliveries in 2015

Boeing delivered 762 commercial airplanes in 2015, 39 more than the previous year and most ever for the company as it enters its centennial year. “The Boeing team has worked hard to achieve strong performance,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “Our team did a fantastic job achieving higher deliveries and getting our products to our custo...

BOC Aviation orders 30 more A320s

BOC Aviation has announced an additional order for 18 A320neo and 12 A320ceo family aircraft. The lessor says in a statement that the order was placed in late December 2015, and will help it to fulfil customer demand. “This order underscores our continued confidence in the reliability and operational efficiency of the A320 family aircraft, and reflects its popularity among our customer...

Dassault Falcon Sales, Deliveries Drop in 2015

Dassault Falcon sales declined by 72 percent last year compared with 2014, according to preliminary numbers released today by the French aircraft manufacturer. In 2015, Dassault reported 45 gross Falcon sales, but a NetJets cancellation of 20 Falcon 2000s brought the net tally to just 25 aircraft. The previous year totaled 90 net Falcon orders. For 2015, Dassault cited “the economic...

JetPack Aviation And Airwolf 3D Team Up To 3D Print JetPacks

Airwolf 3D and JetPack Aviation have joined forces to create a number 3D-printed JetPack components. According to JetPack Aviation, a JetPack should be able to handle vertical take-off and landing, but it should also be lightweight and compact. The JetPack that the team has created is small enough to fit into the trunk of a car and can carry the pilot thousands of feet into the air. In fact,...

Air France pays tribute to its last Boeing 747 with its customers

Air France salutes with emotion the departure of its Boeing 747 from its long-haul fleet, after more than forty years of idyllic travel by Jumbo Jet. On this occasion, the Company is inviting its customers to share in several different celebrations. Special open days at the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget Air France and the Air and Space Museum at Le Bourget are organizing special visits...

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