Boeing celebrates 100-years of manufacturing aircraft

Boeing is marking a century of making planes in Seattle and New Zealand played an early role in Boeing's takeoff to become the world's biggest aerospace company - New Zealand became Boeing's first overseas customer when it purchased two float planes for New Zealand flying school in 1918.
The two aircraft "Bluebill," and "Mallard" had been sold for US$3000 (the equivalent of US$68,000 today) and US$1500 was paid for the engine. Today Boeing's latest airliner, the 787 Dreamliner, has a list price of up to $250 million.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 14 July 2016.

Manufacturers of airplanes continue to defy global economic uncertainty by booking huge orders and Boeing has forecast that nearly US$6 trillion worth of aircraft will be needed in the next 20 years. In the latest Farnborough International Airshow, Boeing has released its annual current market outlook.
In the opinion of vice president of marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the aviation sector will continue to see long-term growth with the commercial fleet doubling in size. He expects to see passenger traffic grow 4.8 per cent a year over the next two decades.
The market for single-aisle planes is shared by Boeing and Airbus' A320 family would be especially strong. The growth would be driven by low-cost carriers and the corresponding emerging markets. He has predicted that there would be a requirement for more than 28,140 new aircraft in this segment.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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IndiGo gets its first eco-friendly A320 Neo Airbus

IndiGo is the first airline in India to take delivery of the first eco-friendly A320 Neo that has been built by European aircraft major Airbus. The aircraft landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and was delivered to the budget carrier IndiGo. This makes IndiGo to be the first airline among Asian airlines to have inducted the latest aircraft from Airbus.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 12 March 2016.

The delivery of this eco-friendly Airbus 320 was to have started from December 2015 but technical issues forced a postponement. It is felt that the A320 Neo fleet will set a benchmark by significantly reducing the impact on environment and give rise to a more sustainable mode of flying. It is claimed that the new aircraft is 15% more fuel efficient than the exiting versions of A320.
It is powered by Pratt and Whitney's fuel-efficient geared turbo fan engines, and has many new features including latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices - these two account for 15% in fuel savings from day one and 20% by 2020. This is equivalent to a reduction of 5,000 tonnes of CO2 per aircraft per year. And, in addition, the A320 Neo provides a double-digit reduction in NOx emissions and reduced engine noise.
All these would add up to more comfortable flying experience.


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Revolution in the skies - Airbus flies electric plane E-Fan across the English Channel

Airbus flew its electric E-Fan plane across the English Channel from Lydd to Calais. It happened soon after an independent French pilot made a similar voyage. Hugues Duval flew his twin-engine, one-seat Cricri plane from Calais to Dover and back. He, thus, beat Airbus, the aeronautics giant in this symbolically important step toward making electronic flight viable in the long term.
This has been reported in abcnews.go.com dated 10 July 2015.

The Airbus plane operates exclusively on batteries. There is no need for oil or water and, the 20-foot long, 1300-pound jet releases zero emissions.
The E-fan had done its maiden voyage in March 2014, and has taken off 100 times since its latest flight at the Paris Air Show last month. It plans to put the two-seater on the market in 2017 and target training facilities for entry-level pilots.
The plane flown by the Hugues Duval, French pilot had reached a speed of 150_kmpf on his 52-Km journey. Obviously, the age of flying using non-conventional fuel is gradually gaining prominence. After the flight in a solar powered plane around the world, it is now the turn of electric planes – these would fly on batteries.
A number of companies in different countries are already developing electric planes. All of them want to offer a fuel-free flight alternative for the future which will be free from pollution and would be environment friendly.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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2015 Paris Air Show to focus on green issues

#ParisAirShow #ElectricPlane #Boeing #Airbus President Francois Hollande will inaugurate the week-long Paris Air Show and the focus this year would be on green issues. European company Airbus has a whole range of new products to show off. One of these is its prototype all-electric plane, the E-Fan, along with a cleaner, quieter civilian helicopter, the H160.
The show is expected to attract around 315,000 visitors and 2,260 exhibitors from 47 countries.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 15 June 2015.

The focus on green innovations is because of the global climate conference which would be hosted in the same venue later this year – the aviation industry has already committed to being carbon-neutral by 2020.
Among the products would be fuel saving devices - rising fuel prices are a big motivator towards this objective.
Boeing has promised that its next mid-range carrier, the 737 MAX, will offer 20-percent fuel savings. It has already managed to bag more than 2,700 orders, even though it has yet to make an appearance.
Similarly, Airbus A320neo, with a 15 percent cut in fuel consumption, has also picked up a record 3,800 pre-orders before the first one has even left the production line.
Obviously, the stress on going green is of paramount importance to not only reduce the global warming but also to increase profits because no airline would want the cost of fuel to erode its profits.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Airbus to showcase its E-Fan 2.0 silent plane in Paris Air Show

#Airbus #electricplane #ParisAirShow Airbus would be showcasing its E-Fan 2.0 electric prototype at the Paris Air Show and will take flight throughout the show. It is a two-seater aircraft, weighs less than half a ton and can fly for an hour at up to 136 mph without making any noise.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 10 June 2015.

It is CO2 emission free, hence environment friendly and is powered by lithium-ion polymer batteries held in its 197kg (434lb) wings as well as dual electric motors, giving it a total power of 60 kilowatts.
As per the plans of Airbus, its production facility would be located at Pau in southwest France and it will be ready to enter service by the end of 2017 or early 2018. The two-seater is primarily aimed at flight school customers and will be a trainer version of sorts.
A larger model E-Fan 4.0, a four-seater, is next on the cards – it is scheduled for launch in 2019. Airbus has plans to produce electric-powered regional airliners and helicopters. In its goal is to build a 100-seat electric aircraft - that may not happen before the 2050s.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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#AirAsia #Flight 8501 #JavaSea #Airbus #USSSampson AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board vanished after seeking permission to climb above threatening clouds – permission was denied and possibilities of the Boeing crashing into the Java Sea cannot be ruled out especially when there are reports of oil slicks having been noticed.
It seems one of the pilots had sought permission to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. It was a two-hour journey from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
A U.S. destroyer is therefore on its way to the Java Sea to join the search for the AirAsia jet that was on a scheduled flight from Indonesia to Singapore over the weekend.
The 7th Fleet has revealed that the USS Sampson, which was already on an independent deployment in the Western Pacific, has been asked to proceed to the scene.
The probable location based on the plane's last known coordinates appears that the aircraft "is at the bottom of the sea" – this has been informed by Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. However, searchers have plans to expand their efforts to the land as well.
Already nearly 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters were looking for the jet and majority of the crafts were Indonesian but Singapore, Malaysia and Australia are also contributing to the effort. Aircraft from Thailand is also expected to join the search.