Issue 11 may 2015

Features:

Airliners: BAC 1-11

Technology: The Flight Data Recorder

Aero Modelling: Getting started with aircraft modelling

Plus over 40 pages of the latest news from the industry, current training opportunities, and much more!

Welcome to the May edition of FL600!

Hard to believe but this humble little digest will celebrate a milestone next month—we’ll have been going a whole year. In truth, that should have been this month but we had a slight glitch and had to miss a month!

There have been a number of revisions the format in our first year.

Those that have been around ATT Services for a while will probably remember that we started out as little more than a few pages of news and the training diary list. From that, we’ve grown to being almost 100 pages every single month with a variety of different articles covering the entire industry and a lot of associated interests including models, simulation and bits for the avgeek in general!

Have we got it right? Well, people seem to think so but we’re always looking to make improvements and introduce things that you find of interest. Get in touch with us at FL600@attservices.co.uk and let us know what you want to see in future editions or submit an article or images you want us to publish.

Hope you all enjoy this months edition!

Andy Kewley

@kewnet

Facebook group: Picture of the month There was only 1 choice for this month—submitted by Hellu Zar, a spitfire shaped cloud. An eary reminded of VE Day, 70 years on.

See more great images at:

www.facebook.com/ groups/ATTServices/ Cover Photo: JAMES LUCAS

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Headlines Industry News Airliners Technology Event Diary Aero Modelling Airports Air Brain Museum Focus Training Calendar Fleet Deliveries

News in brief from the aviation world

Articles from civil, military, commercial and space sectors British Aircraft Corporation One Eleven

The flight data recorder

May / June Aerospace Events Diary

Getting started with aircraft modelling

Evolution of design

Air Brain: Test your aviation knowledge with our monthly quiz!

Air and Space Museum in Paris Le Bourget

Current training opportunities

Latest airline fleet additions from airfleets.net

NEXT ISSUE OUT: 5TH JUNE 2015 3

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Budget carrier, Ryanair, have recently celebrated their 1.3 millionth passenger on their route to Tallinn.

Brussels airport has been awarded “Best Cargo Airport of the Year” at the World Cargo Awards.

A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing Thursday 7th May in Charleston, S.C., after smoke filled the cabin.

Celebrating its 83rd anniversary, Egypt Air has announced offering its customers special rates for flights from Egypt to worldwide starting EGP 300, and from Africa, Europe, Middle East, the Far East and North America to Egypt starting USD 30 excluding any taxes and surcharges.

Seven people including two pilots died in crash landing of a MIL Mi-17 helicopter on 7th May while carrying diplomats to the opening of a chairlift.

light aircraft crashed near a village in Perthshire on 4th May. Gatwick revealed as having lowest number of scheduled flights on time in UK, with 26% delayed, and also had the longest average delay of 15 minutes.

Budget airline Ryanair is to add Verona route from Stansted to its 2015 winter schedule.

Leaflets distributed by Save Manston Airport (SMA) campaigners have been handed to police after claims that views of election candidates have been misrepresented.

Howard Davies 'to launch new public consultation' on Gatwick and Heathrow expansion.

Liverpool Airport’s newlook departure lounge nears completion.

An American Airlines flight from Germany to America was forced to make an emergency landing at Glasgow Airport on May 8th.

Two men have died after a

have today launched a brand new service for its customers flying from Manchester Airport, Twilight Check-in.

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays 4

British Airways owner IAG has reported a first quarter profit for the first time ever, as cost-cutting in its three main airlines starts to pay off.

Birmingham Airport has received positive news from one of its new operators, Icelandair. The company has announced it is to double the number it operates from the hub.

Olly, the Manchester Airport cat, has taken her final journey - sparking an outpouring of tributes from across the world. Slipping away at 10pm on Tuesday during one last cuddle from her devoted owner, the ginger moggy succumbed to a lung infection which vets had been battling for days.

RIP Olly, from all of us at ATT Services & FL600

Air force welcomes first female F35 pilot The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has welcomed its first female F35 Lightning II pilot at Eglin Air Force Base.

On Tuesday 5th May, Lt. Col. Christine Mau, 33rd Fighter Wing Operations Group deputy commander, completed her first training flight in the single-seat fifth-generation fighter following 14 virtual training missions in the Full Mission Simulator at the F-35 Academic Training Center.

"It wasn't until I was taxiing to the runway that it really struck me that I was on my own in the jet," said Mau, formerly an F15E Strike Eagle pilot. "I had a chase aircraft, but there was

no weapons system officer or instructor pilot sitting behind me, and no one in my ear like in simulators." And with that, like the other 87 F-35A pilots trained over the last four years at Eglin, Mau thundered down the runway and was airborne as the first woman in the Air Force's premier fighter.

training syllabus is designed to orient pilots with the physical aspects of flying the F-35 compared to other fighters they've flown previously, such as the F-15E Strike Eagle, F15C Eagle, F-16 Falcon, A-10 Warthog or F-22 Raptor.

“Flying is a great equalizer. The plane doesn't know or care about your gender as a pilot, nor do the ground troops who need your support. “

"It felt great to get airborne.

The jet flies like a dream, and seeing the systems interact is impressive. Flying with the Helmet Mounted Display takes some adjusting, but it's an easy adjustment," said Mau. "The training missions in the simulator prepare you very well, so you're ready for that flight."

Women have served in combat aviation roles in those and The initial flight in the F-35 other aircraft for more than 20 years. Mau acknowledged that although she may be the first female in the F-35 program, her gender has no bearing on her performance as a fighter pilot. Mau joked that the only difference between her and her fellow F-35 pilots is the size of her G-suit and facemask. They are both extra-small. "Flying is a great equalizer," said Mau. "The plane doesn't know or care about your gender as a pilot, nor do the ground troops Continued on page 6 5

Continued from page 5 who need your support. You just have to perform. That's all anyone cares about when you're up there - that you can do your job, and that you do it exceptionally well."

Mau's combat experience and technical prowess in the cockpit were the primary draws for her selection to her position with the 33rd Operations Group.

"Lt. Col. Mau brings a valuable level of combat and operational knowledge to our team," said Col. Todd Canterbury, 33rd Fighter Wing commander. "We're nearly a year out from declaring Initial Operational Capability with the F -35. We need battle-tested pilots to help us put the F-35A through its paces and ensure we have a trained and ready

force of F-35 pilots to feed into coalition and Afghan forces in our combat air forces." the Kunar Valley, AfghaniCanterbury witnessed Mau's stan. From the pilots and weapons system officers of the “we need to attwo F-15E jets to the mission tract the most in- planners and maintainers, the entire mission was carried out novative and entirely by women. skillful Airmen "As a service, we need to atpossible for one tract the most innovative and reason - it makes skillful Airmen possible for us more effecone reason - it makes us more effective," said Canterbury. tive�

"The broader the net that we cast into the talent pool, couleadership and combat effecpled with a laser focus on pertiveness first-hand when they formance, ensures we have the were both deployed to Afbest Airmen in place to carry ghanistan in 2011, where she out the mission. Performance was part of another important is key, and it's the standard we milestone for women in the hold all of our Airmen to in combat aviation community. the Air Force," said CanterWhile with the 389th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Mau bury was part of the first all-female combat sortie. The combat Photo Credit: mission provided air support to mypanhandle.com

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EU asks safety agency to look into Germanwings report findings

The European Commission asked the European Aviation Safety Agency to assess a report on the causes of the Germanwings jet crash in the French Alps in March and will then decide whether to update aviation safety rules.

According to the preliminary findings from the report by France's BEA accident investigation agency, the Germanwings co-pilot suspected of deliberately crashing the jet on March 24 rehearsed the manoeuvre on the morning of the disaster.

European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc asked the European Aviation Safety

Agency (EASA) to look into areas such as the cockpit door locking system, cockpit access and exit procedures and the procedures for medical checks on pilots.

“EASA taskforce will gather evidence from safety and medical staff from the aviation industry as well as from regulators�

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot on the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, had twice been refused medical papers needed to fly, the investigators said on Wednesday.

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The EASA taskforce will gather evidence from safety and medical staff from the aviation industry as well as from regulators. Based on its findings, the European Union will decide whether to change its aviation safety rules, the Commission said.

EASA has the power to make rules that all European airlines have to follow. Germany has also set up a task force of aviation industry experts to look into any possible changes that should be made to medical tests for pilots and cockpit doors security.

Photo Credit: Andreas Fletz & planespotters.net

Air ambulance celebrates 15 Years with a new helicopter After 15 years and nearly 15,000 emergency calls, the Thames Valley's Air Ambulance is expanding.

The charity offers an 'airbourne hospital' during the day at the moment, but a new helicopter will soon mean they can fly at night, too.

“the Charity has developed over the last 15 years from a 'swoop and scoop' service to an advanced air ambulance service” But, as CEO Mark McGeown explains, it's not cheap: "It's not cheap paying for doctors to be on duty for 365 days a year. Last year, the charity spent around £1.75m and next year we're looking closer to £2m. Then with the next stage of development, those bills are going to go up."

intervention, helicopter aviation and on-scene patient care.

Mark McGeown, TVAA CEO said: "Over the last 15 years, TVAA has significantly adTVAA's doctor-led teams are vanced pre-hospital trauma able to perform a range of life- care in the counties of Berksaving medical interventions at shire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to reach, treat the roadside, providing early and save more people than diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions that other- ever before. In the year 2000 TVAA carried the same mediwise could only be identified cal kit as a land ambulance; in hospital. now the air ambulance brings the expertise of the A&E to the Medical innovations on board roadside to treat patients at have advanced from basic the scene. 2015 is set to be an medical kits to a full range of life-saving equipment. TVAA exciting year for us as we look towards night flying. As well was the first air ambulance to as introducing a new image carry an I-Stat machine used for the Charity, we are looking for immediate blood analysis forward to the delivery of our helping to shave off valuable new helicopter that will enable seconds in the golden hour. us to deliver our life-saving service by night as well as by The move into Night Operaday." tions will be a major step change for TVAA enabling the To find out more about the helicopter and crew to bring work of the Thames Valley their life-saving care to the most seriously injured or most Air Ambulance, please visit: seriously ill people by night as well as by day, responding to www.tvairambulance.org.uk more emergency calls and saving more lives.

Photo Credit: C S Dee & ukemergencyaviation.co.uk

The new helicopter will have night-flying capabilities, meaning crews can get out for 17 hours a day.

Established in 2000, the Charity has developed over the last 15 years from a 'swoop and scoop' service to an advanced air ambulance service is pushing the boundaries of medical 8

Emirates airline annual profit jumps 40 percent

Reported by Associated Press, the Middle East's biggest airline, Emirates, said it overcame the effects of temporary runway closures at its Dubai base to pull in a $1.24 billion profit, a 40 percent gain driven by the rapid expansion of its business and helped by a drop in fuel prices.

The Dubai government-owned carrier is one of the world's fastest growing airlines, funneling mostly long-haul travelers through its fast-expanding hub in the Gulf commercial center. That growth has helped make Dubai International Airport the world's busiest international air passenger hub.

The airline said it benefited from the drop in oil prices last year, giving it some relief on fuel costs in the second half of its financial year. But it also cited a number of challenges affecting profitability, including the effects of the Ebola outbreak and armed conflict in several areas where it operates,

the strength of the U.S. dollar — its hometown currency is pegged to the dollar — and Dubai runway work last summer that forced it to ground 19 planes.

destinations added over the year included Abuja, Nigeria, Brussels, Budapest, Hungary, Chicago and Oslo, Norway.

Emirates' success has won it plenty of attention, not all of it welcome. It is embroiled in an Emirates' earnings for the fisincreasingly shrill dispute with cal year that runs through the the biggest U.S. carriers, who end of March of 4.56 billion allege that Emirates and its dirhams, or $1.24 billion, far smaller Gulf rivals are unfairly surpassed the 3.25 billion dirpoaching passengers by relyhams it earned during the same ing on government subsidies. period a year earlier.

Emirates strongly denies the allegations.

“ rowth has g helped make Dubai International Airport the world's busiest international air passenger hub”

It was the 27th straight year of profit for the airline, a rare winning streak in the industry.

Sales for the year rose 7 percent to 88.82 billion dirhams ($24.2 billion). New passenger 9

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman and CEO, cautioned that currency fluctuations, economic uncertainty and "the looming threat of protectionism" will pose challenges for the future. But he said the company was moving into the new financial year with confidence and a strong foundation for profitability.

"We will continue on our journey of steady and rational growth," he said.

Continued on page 10

Continued from page 9 Emirates' overwhelmingly wide-body fleet includes more Boeing 777 and double-decker Airbus A380 planes than any other carrier on the planet.

Sheikh Ahmed told The Associated Press earlier this week the airline aimed to increase services "on every continent" by launching new routes and increasing frequencies on

more than 140 existing ones.

That includes in the United States, where it now flies to nine cities. Orlando will be the 10th when it begins in September.

ground and travel services provider, reported its profit rose 34 percent to 5.46 billion dirhams ($1.49 billion) on revenue of 96.49 billion dirhams ($26.29 billion).

The airline's parent company, Emirates Group, which includes the airline and related businesses such as the Dnata

Photo Credit: emirates.com

Airport moves to SITA's cloud technology to attract international airlines to Rhode Island In a move to make T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Providence, Rhode Island more attractive to international carriers, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation is investing in the latest technology for passenger management. Now international airlines that wish to fly to the airport can use a check-in and boarding platform provided by the global airport technology provider SITA. This flexible, cloud-based technology, SITA AirportConnect Open makes it easy for international carriers to operate at T.F. Green Airport by allowing them to use their common-use passenger management applications here in the same way as they do at other airports around the world.

Kelly Fredericks, President and CEO, Rhode Island Air-

port Corporation, said: “As an international airport we need to provide the best facilities to overseas airlines to encourage them to set up routes to Rhode Island. SITA’s airport technology is used by hundreds of airports across the world and in-

“flexible, cloudbased technology, SITA AirportConnect Open makes it easy for international carriers to operate”

airport and new airlines can be up and running quickly and adding seasonal routes will be easy.”

SITA’s world-class technology will be in place at T.F. Green Airport by June of this year when international carriers will begin flying to Rhode Island including TACV/Cabo Verde Airlines’ new flights to Cabo Verde and Condor Airlines with seasonal non-stop service to Frankfurt, Germany and connecting European destinations.

The benefits of common-use at stalling this system makes it airports are well proven; it alquick and easy for airlines to lows any airline to check-in work here in the same way and board passengers from any they operate at other airports. location and enables them to SITA has also provided us with deliver a consistent level of a solution that is hugely flexicustomer service. The added ble and scalable. Because it is benefit for Green Airport is a cloud-based service we do that SITA’s innovative cloud not have to invest in infraContinued on page 11 structure on site here at the 10

Continued from page 10 offering is scalable both in terms of the level of usage and pricing so costs are in line with the varying levels of airport business and revenues.

Paul Houghton, SITA President, Americas, said: “T.F. Green Airport is a perfect example of how cloud technology benefits airports. Common-use systems, which allow many airports to use the same checkin desks, boarding gates, etc, are used all around the world but for smaller airports the

upfront investment can sometimes make it difficult to implement. SITA provides AirportConnect Open to more than 400 airports and more than 250 airlines are operational on the platform. Now SITA’s cloud services are becoming increasingly popular; they are already in use at around 20 airports around the world.

Our airport experience and rate of deployment are unmatched and we were happy work with Green Airport and share our expertise as they

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moved to common-use in the cloud.”

T.F. Green Airport joins a growing number of airports around the world taking advantage of SITA’s cloudhosted solution, which provides the same technology that larger airports use, but with the flexibility and cost structure mid-sized and smaller airports require.

Photo Credit: SITA

American becomes 2nd US airline to use 787

American has joined the list of airlines flying the Boeing 787 jet, which it hopes will appeal to passengers and open new, profitable international routes.

Passengers boarded at DallasFort Worth International Airport on Thursday morning for American’s debut flight of a 787 to Chicago. Domestic service is just a warm-up. Next month, American will begin using 787s on flights to Beijing and Buenos Aires and eventually other places.

American joins United as the only U.S. airlines using the plane, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner.

The 787 is made with lightweight carbon material and other advances to improve fuel efficiency. The interiors feature larger windows and mood lighting.

The plane’s range and efficiency make it ideal for long flights, particularly to secondary cities in Asia, where there might not be enough demand to regularly fill a larger jumbo jet. The 787 has run into many delays and glitches, from staff strikes that slowed production to a problem getting seats from

“Boeing has taken nearly 1,100 Dreamliner orders and has delivered about 270 planes so far” a supplier. Most ominously, regulators grounded the worldwide fleet of Dreamliners in 2013 while Boeing developed a fix for lithium-ion battery packs that overheated.

Just last week, U.S. officials ordered airlines to shut down the planes’ electrical systems every few months to prevent a 12

loss of power that showed up in laboratory testing. Boeing is working on a more lasting software fix.

Boeing has taken nearly 1,100 Dreamliner orders and has delivered about 270 planes so far, according to a spokesman, but it continues to lose money on each one because of high production costs.

American has ordered 42 Dreamliners and has taken delivery of the first five. United has 17 with 38 more on order, and Delta has 18 on order but none due for delivery until 2020. American took delivery of its first 787 in January. For several weeks, pilots who trained on 787 simulators have taken the planes out on practice runs, mostly across the western United States.

Photo Credit: worldairlinenews.com

Erickson's Oil & Gas VP moves to Columbia Helicopters Columbia Helicopters has hired Santiago Crespo as its new Vice President of Business Development and Marketing.

Crespo previously served as Vice President & General Manager of Oil and Gas Aviation at Erickson Incorporated, and will assume his new duties on May 11th.

“I am pleased that Santiago has decided to join the Columbia Helicopters family,” said Jim Rankin, company president. “His experience in the heavy-lift helicopter industry, as well as his extensive knowledge of the oil and gas and government services industries, make him a perfect fit within our organization. He will play an integral role in our goal to aggressively expand our fleet of twin-rotor, heavy-lift helicopters.”

In his previous position with Erickson, Crespo was responsible for the company’s petro-

leum exploration support operations. He also previously worked at CHC Helicopter as the Global Key Account Director where he managed its oil and gas business with over $1 billion in annual revenues.

He served as Commercial Director for the Americas for CHC, and as Director of South American Sales and Marketing for Evergreen Helicopters. He holds an undergraduate degree in Finance from Catholic University of Ecuador and an MBA from the University of Portland. He is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.

“I am delighted to join the team at Columbia Helicopters and believe that the company has an excellent opportunity to expand its heavy-lift and MRO services worldwide and grow into one of the world’s leading aviation services companies.”

Crespo replaces Todd Petersen, Columbia’s current VP of marketing, who is retiring in September after more than 43 13

years with the company. Until his retirement date, Petersen will continue to work for the company as VP of Marketing Programs, and will assist Crespo during the transition period.

“Crespo replaces Todd Petersen, Columbia’s current VP of marketing, who is retiring in September” “I doubt there are many people in this industry who have the experience, knowledge and integrity that Todd possesses. He has been instrumental in building Columbia into the company that we are today and I appreciate his desire to assist in Santiago’s transition into Columbia,” added Rankin.

Photo Credit: heliweb.com & omep.org

Globe Swift released for flight simulator Aeroplane Heaven have released the Globe Swift that is based on the original 'A' version, in 12 liveries and with a Paint Kit with the FSX, FSX:SE and P3D flight simulation platforms.

An in-game tutorial and tips system is included, and ingame options allow you to choose from four different pilots and copilots, remove VC glass and gauge glass and interact with simulator-specific functions - all from the comfort of the pilot's seat.

“in-game options allow you to choose from four different pilots and copilots” Custom sounds and 3D modelled needles ensure accuracy and smoothness. With lovely flight characteristics, the Globe Swift will ensure that

even the most novice flight simulator user will have a smile on his or her face.

It seems that you need a university degree nowadays to operate the television, but the great thing about this aircraft... no computers! If it can’t be fixed by a piece of tape and a spoon, you won’t find it here!

Two very different models (chrome and painted) have been produced for a better rep-

resentation of this iconic aircraft. Two liveries (one blank painted texture and one blank chrome texture) and Paint Kit are also provided.

Globe Swift-specific Collins radios (NAV1, COM1 and ADF1). A custom hide-able autopilot control and custom options clipboard with the following options are also included: Pilot's positions - Choice of pilots (choose one or two from a roster of four) Hide-able cockpit glass Hide-able gauge glass Innovative tutorial mode with Cold Start functionality Stock SimIcons Quickstart start list and tips and tricks Original Swift custom sounds.

Cockpit guide and Flight Manual PDFs. Photo Credit: justflight.com

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EU passenger rights revision faces two-year setback The revision of European Union (EU) passenger rights bill Regulation 261 is on the brink of stalling, with airlines fearing continued financial risk and potential safety issues if it is not passed by June.

The European Commission drafted changes to Regulation 261 two years ago, but a dispute between Spain and the UK over whether Gibraltar should now be covered by the legislation has stalled the proposal in the Council, the upper house of the EU. Regulation 261 has been criticized for being too ambiguous and forcing airlines to become the insurer of last resort in exceptional circumstances such as volcanic eruptions. A series of national and European court rulings also mean that in some EU countries, airlines must pay compensation after a three -hour delay, even if it is tech-

nical. “After two years, the situation is worse for the airlines,” European Commission head of consumer rights JeanLouis Colson said.

Qatar adds routes, inks JV with Royal Air Maroc “If there’s one thing I fear, its Regulation 261. It gives me the goose bumps just talking about it,” Danish Air Transport (DAT) CEO Jesper Rungholm told delegates at the ERA Regional Airline Conference in Rome in April.

Why? Because if a marshaller accidentally caused two DAT aircraft to strike wingtips, compensation claims could put his company out of business.

“I’m in the situation where someone I’ve never met can ruin my companyby making a mistake,” he said.

Rungholm said he also fears a safety incident related to the current rules. “I have been fly-

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ing commercially for many years. I’m absolutely certain that one day there will be some captain, somewhere, who’s going to fly with a technical fault that they shouldn’t fly with for the sake of not having to pay out EU compensation. It is not going to happen on my airline—I can assure you of that—but I can’t vouch for every airline that flies in and out of Europe. Safety is at risk and it is a clear risk,” he said.

To further complicate matters, the six-month revolving Council presidency is about to switch from Latvia to Luxembourg. If the Gibraltar issue remains unresolved, the new rules could be delayed by another two years. “We must try to influence the Council to take a decision in substance by the end of this presidency, by the end June or even May. It is extremely important,” Colson said.

CFM LEAP-1B engine begins extensive flight test program CFM International initiated flight testing of the LEAP-1B engine on April 29 on a modified 747 flying testbed at GE Aviation Flight Test Operations in Victorville, California.

The testing is the next major milestone in a two-year program that will culminate in engine certification in 2016 and delivery of the first Boeing 737 MAX in 2017. The engine behaved well and completed multiple aeromechanical test points at various altitudes during the five-hour, 30minute first flight.

"I continue to be really impressed with the LEAP family," said chief test pilot Steven Crane. "These engines are demonstrating a maturity that you don't always see in new products. I think our airline customers are going to be very pleased with this engine."

The LEAP-1B engine is the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 737 MAX family. The first engine began ground testing on June 13, 2014, three days ahead of the schedule set when the program was launched in 2011.

“With this major engine milestone and the test results to date we continue to be confident that the LEAP-1Bpowered 737 MAX will pro-

vide our customers with the most fuel efficient, reliable and maintainable airplane in the single-aisle market,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “The 737 MAX is on track to deliver 14 percent more fuel efficiency than today’s most efficient Next-Generation 737s and 20 percent more efficiency than the first Next-Generation 737s to enter service.”

Swirler (TAPS) combustor, ceramic matrix composite shrouds in the high-pressure turbine and titanium aluminide blades in the low-pressure turbine.

There are currently a total of 26 LEAP engines (all three models) on test, with 10 additional engines in various stages of final assembly. "The LEAP engine has been doing incredibly well throughout a very rigorous ground and flight test program," said Allen Paxson, CFM executive vice president.

"All of these engines are heavily instrumented, many of them deliberately deteriorated, to calibrate performance and durability in the most extreme conditions. We have successfully completed several major certification tests, including icing, flocking bird ingestion,

Over the next several weeks, the flight test program will encompass a comprehensive test schedule that will gauge engine operability, stall margin, performance, emissions, and acoustics. It will also further validate the advanced technologies incorporated in the engine, including the woven carbon fiber composite fan, the Twin-Annular, Pre-Mixing Continued on page 17 16

Continued from page 16 large-bird ingestion, and even a fan blade-out test. We have passed them all and the results are right in line with what we predicted and where we wanted this engine to be. We are on track to meet all of our commitments at entry into service."

This LEAP-1B engine is part of the most extensive ground and flight test certification program in CFM's history. The total program, which encompasses all three LEAP engine variants, includes 28 ground and CFM flight test engines, along with a total of 32 flight

“flight test program will encompass a comprehensive test schedule that will gauge engine operability, stall margin, performance, emissions, and acoustics� test engines for the aircraft manufacturers. Over a threeyear span, these engines will accumulate approximately

40,000 engine cycles leading up to entry into service. By the time this engine enters service, CFM will have simulated more than 15 years of airline service with 60 different engine builds.

In 2011, Boeing selected the LEAP-1B as the sole powerplant for its new 737 MAX, extending a more than 30-year relationship. CFM has been the only engine provider for the 737 aircraft family since the 737 Classic entered service in 1984.

Photo Credit: CFM

Your advert could be here for as little as ÂŁ50 per month!

Contact us today: FL600@attservices.co.uk 17

Boeing receives $118.1M contract to aid U.S Navy Of all the work contracts the Department of Defense (DoD) awarded this month, Boeing was the biggest winner.

The company will be receiving a $118.1 million modification to a Navy contract for the obtainment of training systems and materials which will support the P-8A Multi-mission maritime aircraft for the U.S. Navy and the Australian Government.

According to the DoD, the modification will result in the obtainment of two operational flight trainers (OFTs), two weapons tactics trainers (WTTs), and an improvement to the training system support center (TSSC) for the Navy.

The modification also “provides for the installation of two OFTs, two WTTs, one part task trainer, and one TSSC; the procurement and installation of six electronic classrooms, 26 mission station desktop trainers, and 32 flight mission system trainers; and the procurement of Royal Australian Air Force courseware, training and interim support

for the government of Australia under a memorandum of understanding.”

The firm-fixed-price contract modification is broken down into purchases for the U.S. Navy ($92.2 million; 78 percent) and the Australian Government ($25.9 million; 22 percent).

All of the funds are being assigned at the time of the award as fiscal 2013 and 2014 aircraft procurement and international funds. Of those funds, $76.1 million will expire at the end of the 2015 fiscal year.

Work will be conducted in Whidbey Island, Wash. (52 percent): St. Louis (34 percent); and Edinburgh, Australia (14 percent). The work should be finished by June 2019.

Alliant Techsystems was awarded a $14.1 million modification to an Air Force contract action, tasking the company with providing logistic support for the Iraqi Air Force’s Cessna 208B fleet.

The firm-fixed-price and costplus-fixed-fee undefintized contract provides a request to return to original performance location. It also provides aid regarding the ongoing security situation in Iraq.

Labor will be conducted in Iraq and should be finished by Dec. 31, 2015.

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The DoD awarded a $24.4 million Army contract modification to A-T Solutions, thus exercising a second option for Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) operations support requirement.

“the modification will result in the obtainment of two operational flight trainers (OFTs), two weapons tactics trainers (WTTs), and an improvement to the training system support center (TSSC) ” According to the DoD, the deal tasks A-T Solutions with “providing the personnel, expertise, and skills required to support AWG's mission to observe, analyze, train, and advise Army and Joint Forces worldwide to successfully predict, mitigate, counter, and defeat asymmetric and emerging hybrid threats.”

Work will be conducted at Ft. Meade, Md. and should be finished by June 14, 2016.

Photo Credit: pddnet.com

Airbus to support Turkish Technic MRO for A400M AF fleet

Airbus Defence and Space and Turkish Airlines’ industry-leading subsidiary; Turkish Technic Inc. have signed an agreement at IDEF 15 for the provision of maintenance support for the Airbus A400M new generation airlifter.

Under the terms of the agreement, Airbus Defence and Space will support Turkish Technic in further developing its capability to provide longterm maintenance services initially for the A400M fleet of the Turkish Air Force.

The new arrangement comes just over a year after the first A400M entered service with

the Turkish Air Force in April 2014, followed by a second in December. Between them the

“ irbus Defence A and Space will support Turkish Technic in further developing its capability to provide long-term maintenance services” aircraft have completed more than 400 flight hours and achieved an availability rate of more than 80%.

Airbus Defence and Space Head of Services, Philippe

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Galland, said: “We are very pleased with the record of the A400M in Turkish service so far and we are confident that this agreement will contribute to building a robust support service for the years ahead.”

Turkish Technic General Manager, Ahmet Karaman, said: “We have an excellent working relationship with all departments of Airbus and we look forward to developing a robust maintenance capability for the A400M to meet the needs of the Turkish Air Force.”

Photo Credit: aerotime.aero

QANTAS triples siz of lounge at LAX added more seating and installed a state-of-the-art kitchen. The new kitchen enables us to offer a bigger menu and a greater variety of dining options,” said Ms Hudson.

Everyone loves an upgrade and what better place to experience it than the Oneworld Lounge.

Managing partners Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways have unveiled their final LAX business Lounge refurbishment.

“tripled the space available across both lounges, added more seating and installed a state-of-the-art kitchen.

Vanessa Hudson, Qantas Regional General Manager, The Americas said Qantas was excited to reveal the full benefits of its multi-million dollar lounge refurbishment to customers travelling through Los Angeles.

“The completion of this project represents our significant investment in the US market.

We have tripled the space available across both lounges,

It follows the opening of stage one of the development in June 2014 and the opening of the adjacent Qantas First Lounge, designed by Marc Newson in December 2014.

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Qantas has a deep commitment to the United States and has offered flights to and from the U.S. for over 60 years, with nonstop A380 flights from Los Angeles and Dallas/ Fort Worth, daily B747 services from JFK via Los Angeles, and four flights per week from Honolulu to Sydney.

Qantas also partners with American Airlines, US Airways, Alaska Airlines and WestJet, to offer connections to and from more than 270 destinations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, connecting to Qantas in LAX, Dallas/Fort Worth, JFK and Honolulu.

Photo Credit: destinationluxury.com

Aer Lingus selects Mercator's RAPID Passenger Revenue Accounting Solution Dubai based Mercator has announced that Aer Lingus Group has selected Mercator's RAPID Passenger solution to accelerate Aer Lingus' automation and optimisation of passenger revenue accounting.

With a fleet of 50 aircraft and over 11 million passengers in 2014 (including Aer Lingus Regional franchise operations), Aer Lingus’ mission is to connect Ireland with the world and the world to Ireland

“RAPID Passenger will enable Aer Lingus to scale and automate its revenue accounting processes” by offering its customers the best product in the Irish airline market at the most competitive fares. Aer Lingus decided to replace its existing in-house passenger revenue accounting

system with RAPID Passenger to facilitate greater operational efficiency, maximize productivity, integrate revenue accounting information with other management information systems and provide meaningful business insights.

The implementation of RAPID Passenger will enable Aer Lingus to scale and automate its revenue accounting processes, achieve high accuracy in proration, tax and interline revenue management and meet stringent auditing and industry standards. Speaking on behalf

of Aer Lingus, Rosemary Queenan, manager, revenue accounting, said: “We need a revenue accounting solution that is scalable in response to the growth of our company and passenger volumes. Mercator’s proven technology will meet those needs. We are looking forward to a very positive business partnership.” Bernard Donoghue, chief commercial officer, Mercator, commented: “Across the industry, accurate and timely revenue accounting is mission critical to a carrier’s business. We know that airline leaders want industry-tested solutions that respond swiftly and intelligently to their operating and financial challenges and we’re delighted to have been chosen by Aer Lingus as they work to meet their strategic objectives.”

Photo Credit: Mercator

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Thomson Airways tastes sweet success in Bristol Airport's track-keeping awards

Thomson Airways has topped the table in Bristol Airport’s annual Tracker Awards.

Based on all flight records for 2014, the scheme measures compliance with departure routes set up to minimise noise disturbance for local residents and also encourages airlines to use procedures which reduce their noise impact. Thomson Airways, which serves eighteen destinations from the Airport and operated over 1,000 flights during the 12 month period, was the only airlinewith a 100 per cent record, although several competitors came close.

Captain Mark Karim of Thomson Airways was presented with a certificate to mark the achievement and a large cake to share with his fellow flight

crew. Ryanair, easyJet, bmi regional and Thomas Cook Airlines were also recognised for their outstanding performance during 2014 in achieving 99.85 per cent on track departures.

“Mark Karim of Thomson Airways was presented with a certificate to mark the achievement and a large cake to share with his fellow flight crew” The Tracker Awards were introduced in 2013 to recognise outstanding operational performance by airlines at Bristol Airport, based on monitoring of compliance with noise pref22

erential routings (NPRs). The league table format is an effective way of encouraging continuous improvement and ensuring any deviations from track are taken seriously.

Melanie King, Environment Manager at Bristol Airport, said “Thomson Airways had to see off strong competition from several airlines at Bristol Airport and we are delighted to recognise their commitment to operational excellence. It is an outstanding achievement to operate 100 percent on-track flight departures. Initiatives like the Tracker Awards can only encourage further improvements which will help to minimise the noise impact on local communities.”

Photo Credit: Andrew Thomas/flikr

Smiths Detection to showcase Next Gen security solutions at Airport Show With an objective to support the ongoing development of key airport infrastructure facilities in the UAE and across the Middle East, Smiths Detection, will showcase its next generation detection and security solutions at the Airport Show 2015 in Dubai.

In line with fast growing passenger numbers at airports in the UAE, coupled with the intent of airport operators to offer unmatched passenger experience, Smiths Detection will showcase its latest Checkpoint.Evo solution that can significantly enhance efficiencies at airports in the Middle East while also offering a fast and hassle free security experience.

“The UAE and some other key countries in the Middle East, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia are now being recognized as major global travel hubs, with millions of passengers travelling through these airports every year. Countries in the GCC are expected to

receive over 400 million passengers annually by 2020.”, said Paul Baker, Managing Director – Middle East, Smiths Detection. “Airport operators across the region are now looking for smart security solutions that not only detect modern day CBRNE threats, but can also make the screening process fast, hassle free and seamless. Owing to our three decade long presence in the region and our global technological expertise, we understand these niche requirements and are hence showcasing our latest solutions that have been developed specifically to address these challenges.”

Besides Checkpoint.Evo, Smiths Detection will also showcase the IONSCAN 600, a next-generation, portable desktop system, used to detect and identify trace amounts of explosives. Equipped with a proprietary non-radioactive Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) source, the IONSCAN 600 eliminates the need for special licensing, handling or

disposal requirements, making it ideal to meet the growing security demands of the regions’ aviation and infrastructure sector.

“Smiths Detection will showcase its latest Checkpoint.Evo solution that can significantly enhance efficiencies at airports” Weighing just 23 pounds (10.4 kilograms), the IONSCAN 600 features a built-in handle that provides easy portability. With an analysis time of less than 8 seconds, IONSCAN 600 provides accurate trace explosives detection making it an ideal checkpoint solution for busy airports.

Furthermore, Smiths Detection will also showcase HazMatID 360, a handheld solid and liquid chemical identifier that performs an analysis in 1 minute or less, and the SABRE 5000 which is programmed to detect and identify over 40 threat substances in approximately 20 seconds.

Photo Credit: Smiths Detection

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Belgrade Airport Planning Expansion Belgrade's main airport plans to invest EUR€20 million over two years in expanding capacity to cope with a sharp increase in traffic, with the government hoping to attract bids to run the airport.

Traffic has increased since 2013 when Abu Dhabi's Etihad bought a 49 percent stake in indebted flag carrier JAT, rebranding it as Air Serbia and introducing new routes. "We are close to the limit of our capacities at the moment," Ana Lukovic, director of development and investment, said in an interview with Reuters. "That's why we decided to start a short-term investment cycle."

Shares in Aerodrom Nikola Tesla - of which the state holds 83.15 percent - have shot up in value by nearly 40 percent since the turn of the year, driven by a rise in profit to RSD3.4 billion dinars in 2014

from RSD13.3 million in 2013.

Once closed to international air traffic during a decade of war and sanctions under late Serbian strongman Slobodan

“ assengers usp ing the airport rose by more than 1 million last year and is expected to hit 5 million this year” Milosevic, the number of passengers using the airport rose by more than 1 million last year and is expected to hit 5 million this year, Lukovic said, nearing its current capacity of 5.5 million. Lukovic said the airport would spend EUR€15 million of its own funds in expanding Terminal 2 by building 8 new gates and a new passenger area. On completion in mid-2016, the terminal will be able to handle long-haul air-

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craft. Another EUR€2 million will be spent on renovating Terminal 1 and EUR€3 million on new de-icing equipment.

"Once this investment cycle is completed we will expand capacity to 7, 7.5 million passengers a year," Lukovic said.

Cargo traffic at the airport was up 13 percent in 2014, driven by the new Air Serbia and by Turkish Airlines cargo flights. "We have seen real boom since the national flag carrier was transformed," Lukovic said. "We expect to see another boom once longhaul flights start." Air Serbia flights account for 50 percent of all air traffic at the airport.

The airline hopes to start flights to the United States by the end of the year.

The government says it plans to offer the airport on concession, with Europe's biggest construction and concession company - French Vinci - already expressing interest.

Avianca firms up order for 100 A320neo Family aircraft Following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) announcement in February, Avianca has signed a purchase agreement for 100 A320neo Family aircraft, the largest single order ever made in Latin America’s aviation history.

The agreement, which includes A319neo, A320neo and A321neo aircraft, will allow Avianca to maintain one of the youngest fleets in the region as the airline aims to replace airplanes currently operating from their Bogota, Lima and San Salvador hubs.

“This historic order allows us to solidify our passenger experience strategy in local markets on a broader scale,” said Fabio Villegas Ramirez, Avianca Chief Executive Officer. “Thanks to the A320neo Family’s fuel efficiency, technical reliability and unique passenger comfort, we can further Avianca’s fleet modernization process, while connecting the region and supporting its development.”

“Avianca has benefitted from the excellent operating economics and awardwinning reliability of the A320 Family”

“For over 15 years, Avianca has benefitted from the excellent operating economics and award-winning reliability of the A320 Family,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “The A320neo brings Avianca the highest efficiency at the lowest cost, making it ideally suited to operate within their network and especially within the region’s challenging airports.”

Established in Colombia in 1919, Avianca was the first airline in the Americas, and is the second oldest airline in the world. The Airbus-Avianca partnership was taken to a new level in 1998 when TACA (now part of Avianca), LAN, and TAM placed a joint order for 90 single-aisle aircraft.

This was the largest joint contract ever signed in Latin American commercial aviation 25

history. To date, the Avianca airline group has ordered nearly 300 aircraft including 276 A320 Family (among them, 133 A320neo Family) and 15 A330 Family.

To date, the A320neo program has 345 firm orders from six customers in Latin America -- Avianca, Azul, Interjet, LATAM Airlines Group, VivaAerobus and Volaris. With more than 950 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 500, more than 550 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet, while delivering more than 60 percent of all aircraft operating in the region.

Photo Credit: Airbus

Swiss finalize order for three additional 777300ERs The Lufthansa Group and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have finalized an order for three additional 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplanes, valued at $990 million at current list prices.

This order, previously attributed to an unidentified customer, follows SWISS' 2013 order for six 777-300ERs, and will form the backbone of the Swiss flag-carrier's long-haul fleet renewal.

"I am delighted that with the formal signing of the contract, SWISS has set a further milestone in its long-haul fleet renewal," said Harry Hohmeister, CEO of SWISS. The 777-300ER is the most

fuel and cost-efficient airplane in its class today with 99.5 percent reliability, making it the most reliable twin-aisle aircraft in the world. The flagship of the world's elite air-

“777-300ER is the perfect platform for SWISS to showcase its exceptional customer offering � lines, the 777-300ER carries 386 passengers in a standard three-class configuration up to 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 kilometers), on non-stop routes.

"SWISS' latest order for additional airplanes is a testament to the unrivaled economics of

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the 777-300ER as the carrier continues to renew its longhaul fleet," said Todd Nelp, vice president of European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 777-300ER is the perfect platform for SWISS to showcase its exceptional customer offering and remain at the forefront of international travel."

SWISS is part of the Lufthansa Group, serving 106 destinations in 49 countries from the Swiss cities of Zurich, Geneva and Basel, carrying over 16 million passengers a year with a fleet of 95 airplanes.

Photo Credit: Boeing

Textron Aviation launches "Top Hawk" university partnerships

Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc., announced at the annual Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-in and Exhibition, the launch of Top Hawk, a partnership with U.S. university aviation schools.

Top Hawk will provide students access to industryleading aircraft, coupled with a unique internship opportunity during the summer of 2015.

Universities selected as the initial partner schools are, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Kansas State University, Liberty University and the University of North Dakota.

Through Top Hawk, Cessna

will provide partner schools full use of a branded Cessna Skyhawk 172 aircraft for the remainder of 2015.

“ tudents will get s exposure to business operations, lead ground school classes, and continue to build flight hours ” Partner schools will use the aircraft for flight training, recruiting and promotional activities. In addition, one student from each school will participate in Textron Aviation’s internship program in 27

cooperation with the Textron Aviation Employees Flying Club.

During the summer internship, students will get exposure to business operations, lead ground school classes, and continue to build flight hours through flying lessons and discovery flights.

At the end of the summer, the interns will participate in a flying competition through which one aviator will be named Top Hawk.

[Ed: Move over, Maverick!]

Photo Credit: Textron

Bombardier to debut the Challenger 650 jet at EBACE 2015 Bombardier Business Aircraft have announced that it will showcase its Challenger 650 jet at the 15th annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva from May 19 to 21, 2015.

Business Aircraft. “We currently have more than 570 Bombardier business aircraft flying within Europe, and with a full range of products and services, we are committed to maintaining our leadership position within the market.”

The extensive lineup of the Bombardier business jets on display will also include the Learjet 75, Challenger 350 and Global 6000aircraft, as well as the full-scale mockup of the Global 7000 aircraft.

“with a full range of products and services, we are committed to maintaining our leadership position ”

“We are thrilled to be unveiling our Challenger 650 aircraft, which is scheduled to enter-into-service in the second-half of 2015,” said Éric Martel, President, Bombardier

Bombardier will also be showcasing a number of other products on the static aircraft display including:

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Learjet 75 Challenger 350 Challenger 650 Global 6000 Also present will be the Global 7000 aircraft mock-up.

The Global 7000 aircraft will set the standard for a new category of large business jets with the first true four-zone cabin. Passengers flying on the Global 7000 will experience a spectacularly spacious cabin, coupled with a superior high-speed cruise of M 0.90.

The Global 7000 aircraft will have a range of 7,300 NM (13,520 km).

Photo Credit: Bombardier

Sikorsky’s rig approach system gets Canadian OK Stratford-based Sikorsky’s Rig Approach – a retrofittable system for bringing its S-92 helicopters toward offshore platforms – in April won approval for use by Transport Canada Civil Aviation.

Termed a “functionality” by Sikorsky, Rig Approach was first used successfully in 2013.

“Rig Approach is a first of its kind functionality on the S-92 helicopter that provides helicopter operators with an automated approach to offshore rigs and platforms,” Sikorsky said in a statement.

“In 2014, Sikorsky marked the 10-year anniversary of the S-92.

The fleet has reached more than 800,000 flight hours”

Sikorsky has delivered more than 240 S-92 helicopters throughout the world. In 2014, Sikorsky marked the 10-year anniversary of the S-92. The fleet has reached more than 800,000 flight hours, with more than 90 percent of those hours providing offshore oil and gas worker transportation.

Sikorsky developed Rig Approach in collaboration with Louisiana-based helicopter

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services company PHI Inc., which operates Sikorsky helicopters in the Gulf of Mexico, providing transportation to offshore oil workers to and from the platforms there. PHI Inc. flew the first operational Rig Approach flight in November 2013.

Photo Credit: helipress.it

Third Sukhoi Superjet 100 Joined Red Wings Fleet On April 2, 2015 the third Sukhoi Superjet 100 joined Red Wings Airlines fleet.

ies, as well as to develop interregional flights. Since entry into service in early February this year, two SSJ100 in Red

The aircraft SSJ100 with tail number RA-89001 flew from the Delivery Centre of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company to Moscow Domodedovo Airport.

“Red Wings plans to expand the route network for SSJ100 �

Currently, the airline is successfully operating two SSJ100 aircraft on the flights from Moscow to the Russian cities Makhachkala, Grozny, Ufa, Nalchik and Ulianovsk City. Red Wings plans to expand the route network for SSJ100 to Gelendzhik, Saratov and other Russian cit-

Wings fleet operated more than 500 hours, while the aircraft has already transported more than 17 000 passengers.

In accordance with Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft Lease Agreement signed in October 2014 between Russian airline Red Wings and Sukhoi Civil

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Aircraft Company, the leasing period of three SSJ100 shall be three years with possible extension. SSJ100 is being delivered to Red Wings in 93seat two-class cabin configuration.

Red Wings Airlines is a Russian airline based in Moscow, it was founded in 1999. The Airline performs regular and charter domestic and international flights. Passenger traffic volume of Red Wings in 2014 totaled more than 1 million passengers.

Photo Credit: Sukhoi

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Textron Aviation hosts inaugural joint customer conference

Textron Aviation company, welcomed more than 500 Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker aircraft operators together for the first time at the Textron Aviation Customer Conference last week in Wichita.

This was the first joint customer conference since the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands combined last year.

“The inaugural joint customer conference provided us a great opportunity to showcase the customer benefits of the integration of these three storied brands through the sharing of company knowledge and customer experiences across the fleet,” said Brad Thress, senior vice president, Customer Service. “The conference also provides an important forum for us to hear firsthand from

our operators. We greatly value this feedback, which always plays a role in future products and services we offer.”

Throughout the two day event, customers had access to Textron Aviation leaders and attended a variety of seminars from subject matter experts and numerous supplier repre-

“ onference proc vided us a great opportunity to showcase the customer benefits of the integration of these three storied brands” sentatives on nearly every aspect of aircraft maintenance and operation. Conference seminars were grouped either 32

by aircraft model or by general aviation topic, such as new products, fleet operations, airspace management, international operations or other general interest topics.

Suppliers exhibited technologies and services for aircraft across the entire turboprop and jet product range. Attendees were also offered tours of the various Textron Aviation facilities throughout Wichita, as well as given access to the full turboprop and jet product line – including the new Citation Latitude.

Throughout the remainder of 2015, Textron Aviation will be hosting additional operator forums in Europe, Asia and South America for customers based in those regions.

Photo Credit: Textron

North Pole Investments signs contract for one AW139 and one AW189 AgustaWestland have announced that North Pole Investments Inc. of Panama has signed a contract for one AW139 intermediate twinengine and one AW189 super medium helicopter.

The aircraft will be delivered by early 2016 and operated by Helistar de Aviacion of Colombia for offshore transport missions in support of the oil and gas industry. This contract strengthens collaboration between Helistar, the leading OGP operator in Colombia, North Pole Investments and AgustaWestland, marking an expansion of the fleet of AW139 helicopter elected by Helistar, following an order for two units last year for offshore and EMS operations, and the entrance of the all new AW189 in Spanish South America. With this contract, Helistar will benefit from the unique advantages offered by operating the AW139 and AW189 models, part of the AgustaWestland Family of new generation helicopters,

thanks to commonalities across design, certification and safety standards, components, maintenance and training approach and services.

“ ontract c strengthens collaboration between Helistar, North Pole Investments and AgustaWestland�

Nearly 900 AW139s have now been ordered worldwide by over 220 customers with more than 730 units already in service to perform a wide range of roles including offshore transport, search and rescue, emergency medical services, VIP/corporate transport, law enforcement, homeland security and utility. The AW189 was designed in response to the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole super medium twin engine helicopter. The new 8.3 / 8.6 tonne AW189 is

optimized for long range offshore transport and SAR missions and more than 150 orders have already been signed, including options and framework contracts, making it the outright market leader in its class.

AgustaWestland has a longstanding and well established presence in South America with the sale of hundreds of helicopters for both civil and government applications in a number of countries. Over 250 commercial units have been sold in South America in the last ten years. Established in the nineties, North Pole Investments Inc. is a prime player conducting business and investments in the aviation sector, primarily for the leasing of aircraft and aviation equipment. North Pole Invesments has customers in Central and South America and is headquartered in Panama.

Helistar de Aviacion is the leading helicopter company in Colombia, operating more than 30 helicopters. Helistar focuses on providing services with fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Helistar is one of the fastest growing companies in the aviation sector, with a culture of customer service and safety as its main corporate values.

Photo Credit: Agusta Westland

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New Gatwick airport program ties data to rewards Data collection is hardly a new thing in the aviation industry. Every time a passenger flies, the airline collect reams of information ranging from gender to birth dates, place of residence to phone numbers and even relatives.

But Gatwick Chief Commercial Officer Guy Stephenson says it is about much more.

“This is about engaging with more people than we ever have before on a personal level,” he said at the 24th annual Phoenix International Aviation Symposium.

Much of that data, particularly for those in frequent flier programs, is leveraged to offer a more customized experience on the ground and especially in the air.

“Passengers must sign up for the program online and provide answers to a handful of questions ”

But what if airports started to do the same thing?

Enter MyGatwick, a recently rolled out program at London’s Gatwick airport that provides passengers with small rewards in exchange for providing personal data. Passengers must sign up for the program online and provide answers to a handful of questions including “what is your destination?’ and “why are you travelling?” among others.

Once completed, passengers can choose between a handful of rewards, ranging from discounts on parking to a free cup of joe or free double WiFi to a discount on a local hotel.

The intent is, much like with an airline, to build data on the individual and collective level, allowing the airport to track behaviors and travel patterns.

He envisions expanding the service down the line to be able to custom tailor packages to individuals, exposing different types of flyers to different types of services. Fly regularly for business? Stephenson says that parting with a little more data could earn you an “individualized bundle” of say, close-in parking and fast pass security access.

What exactly a ‘little more data’ entails wasn’t clear, and Stephenson didn’t volunteer much beyond “it won’t be intrusive.” But whatever it is, he remained confident that the cheese would attract the mice: “The value transfer is you tell us about you and we’ll give you something right away.

Passengers will be willing to impart more about themselves 34

the more they get stuff from us,” he said.

At least so far, that appears to be the case: over 115,000 people signed up in the first month.

Stephenson is quick to clarify that this is not a ground-based equivalent of an airline loyalty program. “[This has] nothing to do with redemption for loyalty,” he said. “This is all about instant gratification.”

Yet at the same time, the program is being rolled out as Gatwick works to build and keep market share in one of the world’s most competitive air markets: Greater London.

While the airport handles a respectable 20 million travelers per year, it fights for Londoners and beyond against five major regional airports – including the biggest player of them all, London Heathrow.

The challenge, says Stephenson, is learning how to create preference. He argued that a three-fold approach–the physical journey, emotional journey, and the digital experience–can combine to make a memorable experience that turns customers into advocates for the airport.

You can try mygatwick at: https:// www.gatwickairport.com/ mygatwick/

Aspen reveals pricing for AOA

Aspen Avionics has released the price for its recently introduced Evolution Angle of Attack Indicator (AOA), which integrates directly into its Evolution primary flight and multi-function displays.

“angle of attack safety product that provides real-time stall margin awareness without hardware, cabling or aircraft modifications”

The software upgrade will be priced at $1,995 and is expected to be available in July.

“We are offering an affordably -priced, software-based angle of attack safety product that provides real-time stall margin awareness without hardware, cabling or aircraft modifications. The only tasks associated with the installation consists of a simple software upgrade to the Aspen primary and/or the multi-function flight displays, plus a short calibration flight as part of the return to service,” said Perri Coyne, director of marketing operations.

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Aspen’s Evolution AOA indicator calculates angle of attack from the flight envelope data received from the air data computer and attitude heading reference system (AHRS) integrated in the Evolution 1000 PFD or Evolution 1000 MFD, and a certified GPS. It does not require additional hardware, nor does it require any external aircraft modifications or sensors, saving significant resources on installation costs.

Photo Credit: Aspen Avionics

Cirrus aircraft customer experience ‘Vision Center’ will expand to Knoxville During a special ceremony on May 6, 2015, at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder and CEO Dale Klapmeier joined Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and announced the expansion of Cirrus Aircraft to Knoxville with the new Vision Center.

This Cirrus Customer Experience Center will be the central location for all Cirrus Aircraft pilot, owner and customer activities. This will also include sales, delivery, training, maintenance, support, personalization, fixed base operations and more for all Cirrus airplanes concentrating around the new Vision SF50 single-engine personal jet.

The Vision Center will be the location for factory direct type rating training from Cirrus Aircraft. A key component of the SF50 training curriculum at the Vision Center is a Level

D, full-motion flight simulator currently under development at CAE. This full flight simulator will be the cornerstone in Vision SF50 type rating training and annual recurrent training. In addition to factory direct training, the Vision Center will provide support for the

“ election of s Knoxville for the home of the Vision Center was the result of a thorough site evaluation process ” new Vision SF50 and more than 6,000 SR aircraft. A design center will allow customers to personalize new and current aircraft. Research and development (R&D) as well as manufacturing operations for Cirrus Aircraft will remain in Duluth, Minnesota. All aircraft will continue to be produced at

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company facilities in Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth.

The selection of Knoxville for the home of the Vision Center was the result of a thorough site evaluation process that included more than 15 states and 30 airport locations.

McGhee Tyson Airport rose to the top and became Cirrus’ choice with the combination of a convenient location to the connected Cirrus owner base in North America, unique airport and area amenities, favorable weather and, most importantly, a welcoming community for Cirrus Aircraft employees and their families.

Todd Simmons, Cirrus Aircraft Chief Customer Officer, will lead the Cirrus Aircraft Team at the new home for all Cirrus Aircraft customer activities and operations.

Photo Credit: Cirrus Aircraft

Annual Safety Review For Ireland 2014 published The Annual Safety Review for Ireland 2014 has been published.

Overall 2014 was quite a good year for aviation safety both in global terms and in Ireland as well. There were no fatal aviation accidents in Ireland during 2014 involving Irish registered or Irish operated Commercial Air Transport aeroplanes or helicopters nor were there any fatal accidents involving the General Aviation community.

There were small numbers of non-fatal accidents and serious incidents involving both commercial air transport and general aviation operators, details of which are provided in the report.

“small numbers of non-fatal accidents and serious incidents involving both commercial air transport and general aviation �

Notwithstanding the continuing improvements in aviation, fatal accidents can still occur and we must continually strive to look for opportunities to improve safety and remain vigilant to potential safety risks. Identifying the potential cause of accidents before they

occur continues to be our priority and to this end, we encourage persons engaged in aviation activities, whether part of approved or certified organisation or not, to report safety occurrences affecting aviation safety so that the body of data available for risk assessment continues to grow. A new EU Regulation 376/2014 on occurrence reporting becomes applicable on 15th No37

vember 2015 which includes enhanced legal provisions in this area, including, for the first time, mandatory reporting requirements for those involved in general aviation.

The whole report can be found at: https://www.iaa.ie/media/ AnnualSafetyReview20141.pdf

NBAA's 2015 Maintenance Management Conference Breaks Records The 2015 NBAA Maintenance Management Conference (MMC2015), held this year for the first time in Portland, OR, attracted a record number of attendees – more than 800 individuals representing 42 states and the District of Columbia, as well as several foreign countries.

The event also featured a soldout exhibit hall with a record 156 exhibitors. The annual Maintenance Management Conference provides attendees a high-caliber educational program with an emphasis on leadership and management.

“The 2015 NBAA Maintenance Management Conference exceeded all expectations, with the largest exhibit hall to date and a greater than 10 percent increase in attendance from last year,” said Mike Nichols, NBAA’s vice president of operational excellence and professional development.

“This conference is about developing the next generation of business aviation maintenance

leaders, providing new tools and skills for current leaders, and enabling those individuals to develop important business relationships and networks.

We are confident MMC2015 excelled in these areas, and we were pleased to offer attendees high-quality educational content," he added.

During the conference, FAA officials awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award to William E. Kerchenfaut. This prestigious award – named in honor of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic of powered flight – recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior maintenance technicians. Kerchenfaut was honored for his more than 50 years of contributions to aviation safety as a professional aircraft mechanic.

At the conference NBAA announced the recipients of the NBAA Maintenance Committee’s Maintenance Technical Reward and Career Scholarships (TRACS). Thanks to the scholarships, more than 40 individuals will be able to attend aircraft model-specific courses at training centers offering aircraft, engine and avionics instruction. Learn more about the scholarship winners.

Also, the Maintenance Committee announced the two winners of the inaugural Hank 38

Hilsmann Memorial Scholarship. This new award was presented in coordination with Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. and Dassault's authorized training providers CAE Simuflite and Flight Safety International in memory of Hilsmann, a former field representative with Dassault Falcon Jet. Learn more about the Hilsmann award winners.

“ onference is c about developing the next generation of business aviation maintenance leaders.”

MMC2015 also featured several charitable special events, including a golf tournament, silent auction and raffle for a one-of-a-kind custom toolbox from Snap-On Tools, the proceeds from which help support the TRACS program.

“We congratulate the recipients of this year’s TRACS scholarships and are grateful to the NBAA Maintenance Committee, attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and everyone who helped raise funds to continue this important program,” said Nichols.

Photo Credit: NBAA

Southwest Airlines Reports April Traffic Southwest Airlines have announced that the Company flew 9.9 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in April 2015, an 8.6 percent increase from the 9.1 billion RPMs flown in April 2014.

Available seat miles (ASMs) increased 6.7 percent to 11.9 billion in April 2015, compared with the April 2014 level of 11.2 billion. The April 2015 load factor was 83.1 percent, compared with

“Southwest flew 9.9 billion revenue passenger miles (RPMs) in April 2015�

81.7 percent in April 2014. For April 2015, passenger revenue per ASM (PRASM) is estimated to have decreased approximately 2.0 percent, compared with April 2014.

For the first four months

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of 2015, the Company flew 35.8 billion RPMs, compared with 33.3 billion RPMs flown for the same period in 2014, an increase of 7.5 percent. Year-to-date ASMs increased 6.2 percent to a level of 44.2 billion, compared with the 41.6 billion for the same period in 2014. The year-to-date load factor was 80.9 percent, compared with 79.9 percent for the same period in 2014.

London City the most punctual airport in UK according to CAA London City is the most punctual airport in the UK with 88% of the flights flying on time, and the shortest average delays not exceeding seven minutes in 2014.

“ round 73% of A charter flights left on time compared with 77% in 2013.�

According to a new report by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Gatwick Airport figured last in punctuality with 74% flights operating on-time and average delay lasting up to 15 minutes.

Glasgow.

The findings of the report come at a time when a decision is pending with the Airports Commission on the expansion of either the Gatwick or the Heathrow airport.

CAA's report has covered ten airports in the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City and other regional airports including Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Edinburgh and

Flight punctuality across the airports fell to 79%, a dip of one percentage point. The CAA defines an on-time performance as a flight early or up to and including15 minutes late. Taking into account both aircraft arrival and departure in its report, CAA monitored around 69,000 chartered passenger flights and 1.4 million scheduled passenger flights in 2014 for the report.

Around 73% of charter flights left on time compared with 77% in 2013.

CAA group director for regulatory policy Iain Osborne said: "Arriving on-time matters

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to passengers and our work helps ensure consumers have the best data and information to make better and more informed choices. In the last five years punctuality has been improving and it is therefore disappointing to see a small dip in performance in the last year. Notwithstanding this, the industry has had to deal with some unseasonably poor weather and a number of overseas air traffic control strikes, both beyond their control."

Whereas the Newcastle, Manchester and Heathrow airports saw an improvement in ontime performance from 2013, the performance of the other seven airports saw a dip with Luton showing the biggest fall of five percentage points.

Photo Credit: London City Airport

Airport museum to mark rich history Work has begun to transform a hangar at Blackpool Airport into a museum to celebrate the Fylde coast’s rich aviation history.

The Lytham St Annes Spitfire Display Team (LSASDT) has secured Hangar 42, off Squires Gate Lane, for ambitious plans to open a Fylde Coast Museum of Aviation and Aircraft Manufacturing. The idea was announced in February but the team already hopes to move into the hangar by mid to lateJune.

John Coombes, of the LSASDT, said: “The airport has been having a lot of changes which worked in our favour. Blackpool Airport and

“museum will include displays, skills sessions and replica aircraft ” Balfour Beatty have been really helpful. We are hoping to move from our current premises – a private site in between Warton and Wrea Green – to the hangar in mid to late-June to then open to the public later on in the summer or autumn. Lots of schools and associations like the Rotary want to see our work but we can’t accommodate them on our current site. That’s why we

hope the hangar will be a popular venue.

“Our plan is to have the hangar how it worked and operated in the Second World War, so it’d be like walking back in time. We’ll have educational talks so school groups can come in and learn about aviation history.”

The team hopes to use the museum to recognise the area’s contribution to aviation, which includes bases such as RAF Squires Gate, RAF Lytham, RAF Freckleton, the Stanley Park Aerodrome and the Warton Aerodrome – once operated by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

The planned museum will include displays, skills sessions about how planes were built and replica aircraft such as Spitfires and a Hawker Hurricane. But the team needs to raise £100,000 to make improvements to the hangar and to fund some larger exhibits – including the dream of bringing a 176ft Vickers Wellington bomber, originally built at 41

Stanley Park Aerodrome, back to the resort. Mr Coombes added: “We’d like to get a Wellington bomber to return to Squires Gate. There are very few around and it would be nice to bring one home.

The works for the museum are under way and Hangar 42 at Blackpool Airport will soon become our new home, but there is much to do. Work is required on the hangar’s roof, lighting, access gate and pathway works. We need to raise just over £100,000.

We’ll have some open days and we are going to launch the fund-raising drive with a 1940s hangar dance. We will hopefully encourage local trades and merchants to help along the way.”

Readers can donate online by visiting www.gofundme.com and searching for the Fylde Coast Museum of Aviation, or visit the Lytham St Annes Spitfire Team Facebook page.

Photo Credit: Blackpool Gazette

EasyJet April carryings rise despite French ATC strike Norwegian managed to increase carryings in April despite suffering from the impact of a pilots strike. The airline said its traffic figures for April were influenced by repercussions from the industrial action by pilots in Scandinavia and an earlier Easter.

EasyJet saw passenger carryings top 6 million last month despite increased levels of flight cancellations due to air traffic control strikes in France.

The budget carrier was forced to ground 602 flights in April against 48 cancellations in the same month last year.

The number of passengers flown increased by 3.8% yearon-year from 5.7 million.

The passenger load factor rose by one percentage point to 90.8%. April’s figures mean that annual carryings to April were up by 6.2% to 66.2 million.

Meanwhile, central and eastern European low-cost rival Wizz Air reported a 21% rise in passengers carried in April to more than 1.7 million with an improved load factor of 86.2%, up 1.7 percentage

points on the same month last year.

The number of passengers carried by Aer Lingus in April dropped by 5.2% year-on-year to 923,000. Short-haul numbers dropped by 5.5% to 710,000 while long haul carryings rose by 1.8% to 113,000.

The load factor increased by 2.4 percentage points to 78.2%.

“budget carrier was forced to ground 602 flights in April against 48 cancellations in the same month last year” Aer Lingus Regional traffic dropped by more than 10% to 100,000.

Scandinavian low-cost carrier 42

Norwegian carried 2.1 million passengers in April, an increase of seven percent compared to the same month last year. The load factor was up by 2.6 percentage points 82.4% as capacity rise by 11% with the delivery of a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bringing its long haul fleet up to eight aircraft.

Chief executive Bjørn Kjos said: “The pilot strike in Scandinavia also had an impact on April’s traffic figures. But we are pleased that – in spite of this – the load factor is better than the same period last year. We are especially pleased that we continue to attract many new customers in Europe and USA, which proves that our international strategy works.”

EasyJet has launched a new livery design ahead of its 20th anniversary.

Photo Credit: easyJet

Trains to leave Gatwick Aiport for London 'every three minutes' under new plans A train will leave Gatwick for London every three minutes in the next few years.

A new Thameslink service from Brighton to Bedford, via Gatwick, will launch next year along with new trains on the Gatwick Express route to London Victoria. From 2018, new direct services from Gatwick to Peterborough and Cambridge will also launch following the completion of a £6.5 billion infrastructure upgrade by service provider Thameslink.

The firm is also rolling out new track and state-of-the-art trains to serve the airport and

routes into London. Guy Stephenson, Gatwick's chief commercial officer, said: "The new high-frequency service that will serve Gatwick will transform rail journeys for our passengers, with capacity doubling and a train to London every three minutes. Combined with robust new track and signalling systems, Gatwick's passengers will experience a really pleasant and dependable service."

According to Gatwick bosses, once the services are operational, every hour there will be about four Gatwick Express trains to London Victoria along with six other services to

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“high-frequency service that will serve Gatwick will transform rail journeys for passengers” London Victoria via the airport and ten services to London Bridge via the airport.

The improvements come shortly after Gatwick chiefs announced a £120 million redesign of the airport's railway station, which is set to double the size of the concourse area.

Photo Credit: citytransport.info

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Flybe commences Jersey-Cardiff summer route British low-fares airline, Flybe, has commenced its summer schedule with the launch of service between Cardiff and Jersey on May 2, Cardiff Airport said in a release.

Launched as a Saturday flight, the frequency will be increased to three-times weekly from June 1, with a Sunday service being added from September.

One way fares are available from GBP34.99 including taxes and charges. Most southerly of the British Isles, Jersey is known for its natural beauty and attractive coastline, and offers holidaymakers an ideal destination for a short break with exciting events and fine restaurants.

Starting May 2, 2015 to May 30, 2015, the new service will operate on Saturdays departing Cardiff at 1140 and arriving at Jersey at 1235; with the return flight departing Jersey at 1315 to arrive in Cardiff at 1410.

From June 1, the schedule will expand to include Monday and Friday, with the flights departing Cardiff at 1030 and arriving Jersey at 1115; while the return will depart Jersey at 1145 and arrive in Cardiff at 1235. In addition, Sundays will be added to the schedule between September 6 and October 18, with flights departing Cardiff at 1955 and arriving Jersey at 2040; with the return

departing Jersey at 2110 and arriving in Cardiff at 2200.

Paul Simmons, Flybe’s chief commercial officer, said: “It’s going to be a busy summer!

Our 2015 summer schedule from Cardiff is taking off to a great start. The return of our seasonal flights to Jersey fur-

“ ew service will n operate on Saturdays departing Cardiff at 1140 and arriving at Jersey at 1235” ther boosts the large selection of flights to great destinations that that we will be operating from our new base with effect from June.”

Managing director at Cardiff Airport, Debra Barber, added: “Jersey is a truly unique destination which really celebrates its coastal location and French influence. The island offers a 45

wealth of things to see and do for families, groups of friends and couples alike. In addition, this route brings great potential for inbound tourism into Wales as well as strengthened business links between the two destinations. We look forward to welcoming Flybe passengers and a busy summer season ahead at Cardiff Airport.”

A popular holiday destination, Jersey is part of the 12-strong route network that Flybe will operate to and from Cardiff Airport when it opens its new base there on June 1, 2015, utilising two Embraer 195 jet aircraft. With its new base, Flybe will offer increased capacity and frequency on existing flights, as well as offering eight routes including brand new services to Cork, Edinburgh, Munich, and Milan, the airport said.

Photo Credit: Flybe

British Aircraft Corporation One—Eleven 1990s, which was partly due to the introduction of aircraft noise restrictions in many European nations.

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC111 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s.

It was the second short-haul jet airliner to enter service, following the French Sud Aviation Caravelle. The aircraft was also produced under license in Romania during the 1980s as the ROMBAC OneEleven.

The One-Eleven was originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft and was subsequently developed by the British Aircraft Corporation when Hunting merged into BAC along with several other British air-

craft manufacturers in 1960.

The One-Eleven was intended to replace the earlier turboprop -powered Vickers Viscount on short-range routes. The OneEleven made it to market ahead of rivals such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, which gave it a temporary edge on the market.

The aircraft proved to be popular with domestic airlines and with various international operators; over half of the One -Eleven's sales at launch were to the largest and most lucrative market, the United States.

The One-Eleven was one of the most successful British airliner designs and served until a widespread retirement in the 46

In the 1950s, although the pioneering de Havilland Comet jetliner had suffered multiple disasters in service, strong passenger demand for the qualities provided by jet propulsion had been demonstrated. Several aircraft manufacturers raced to release their own passenger jets, including those aimed at the short-haul market, such as the Sud Aviation Caravelle.

In July 1956, British European Airways published a paper calling for a "second generation" jet airliner to operate beside their existing turboprop designs. This led to a variety of designs from all of the major players in the British aerospace industry. Hunting Aircraft started design studies on a jet-powered replacement for the successful Vickers Viscount, developing the 30seat Hunting 107.

Around the same time, Vickers started a similar development of a 140-seat derivative Continued on page 47

Continued from page 46 of its VC10 project, the VC11.

Many other aviation firms had also produced their own designs.

In 1960 Hunting, under British government pressure, merged with Vickers-Armstrongs, Bristol, and English Electric to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). The newly formed BAC decided that the Hunting project had merit, but that there would be little market for a 30-seat jet airliner.

“Hunting, under British government pressure, merged with VickersArmstrongs, Bristol, and English Electric to form the British Aircraft Corporation �

The design was reworked into the BAC 107, a 59-seat airliner powered by two 7,000 poundsforce (31 kN) Bristol Siddeley BS75 turbofan engines. BAC also continued development of the larger, 140-seat VC-11 development of theVickers VC10 which it had inherited.

Other competing internal projects, such as the Bristol Type 200, were quickly abandoned following the absorption of Hunting into BAC.

on the more promising OneEleven. Unlike other contemporary British airliners such as the Hawker Siddeley Trident, the One-Eleven was not designed to specifically meet the needs of the state-woned British European Airways or British Overseas Airways Corporation, but on the needs of airlines around the world, and BAC expected that they could receive orders for as many as 400 aircraft. Test flying was conducted by Squadron Leader Dave Glaser.

Market research showed that the 59-seat BAC 107 was still too small, and the design was again reworked in 1961, with passenger capacity growing to 80 seats, and the BS75s being discarded in favour of RollsRoyce Speys. The revised design was redesignated the BAC 111 (later becoming known as the One-Eleven), with BAC abandoning the VC11 project to concentrate

On 9 May 1961 the OneEleven was publicly launched when British United Airways (BUA) placed the first order for ten One-Eleven 200s.

On 20 October Braniff International Airways in the United States ordered six. Mohawk Airlines sent representatives to Europe seeking out a new aircraft to bring them into the jet era, and on 24 July 1962 concluded an agreement for four 47

One-Elevens. Other orders followed from Kuwait Airways for three, and Central African Airways for two.

Braniff subsequently doubled their order to 12, while Aer Lingus ordered four. Western Airlines ordered ten aircraft but later cancelled.

Bonanza Air Lines also ordered three One-Elevens in 1962 but was stopped by the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), who claimed that subsidies would be needed to operate a jet on Bonanza's routes, an action which was claimed by some at the time to be protectionism.

The CAB also stopped Frontier Airlines and Ozark Air Lines from ordering OneElevens, although allowing Ozark to order the similar Douglas DC-9 and Frontier to order Boeing 727-100s. The CAB had also unsuccessfully tried to block Mohawk's orders.

In May 1963, BAC announced the One-Eleven 300 and 400. The new versions used the Mk. 511 version of the Spey with increased power, allowing more fuel upload and hence longer range. The difference between the 300 and 400 lay in their equipment and avionics, with the 400 intended for sales in Continued on page 48

Continued from page 47 the United States and thus equipped with US instruments.

On 17 July 1963, American Airlines ordered 15 aircraft, bringing the order total to 60, plus options for 15 more.

American Airlines eventually bought a total of 30 of the 400series, making the airline the largest ever customer of OneElevens.

The prototype (G-ASHG) rolled out of the Hurn assembly hall on 28 July 1963, at which point BAC had received orders for the type from a number of operators. On 20 August 1963, the prototype conducted its first flight, painted in BUA's livery. The first flight had taken place almost a year before the Douglas DC-9, a rival American jetliner; BAC considered the BAC to hold a technological edge. The One-Eleven's lead was of significant importance

commercially, since — as shown by the Bonanza Air Lines case — US authorities could refuse to approve sales of foreign aircraft to domestic airlines where an American alternative existed.

The One-Eleven prototype, flown by test pilot Mike Lithgow, crashed on 22 October during Stall testing, with the loss of all on board. The investigation led to the discovery of what became known as deep stall or superstall, a phenomenon caused by reduced airflow to thetailplane caused by the combined blanking effects of the wing and the aft-mounted engine nacelles at high angles of attack, which prevents recovery of normal (nose-down) flight. To prevent such stalls, BAC designed and added devices known as stick shakers andstick pushers to the One -Eleven's control system. It

also redesigned the wing’s leading leading edge to smooth airflow into the engines and over the tailplane.

The specially modified aircraft used for testing this problem is at Brooklands Museum.

Despite the crash, testing continued and customer confidence remained high. American Airlines and Braniff took up their optional orders and placed further ones in February 1964. Further orders came from Mohawk, Philippine Airlines and Helmut Horten who ordered the first executive modification of the aircraft. By the end of 1964, 13 aircraft had rolled off the production line. The OneEleven was certified and the first handover, of G-ASJI to BUA, was on 22 January 1965. After several weeks of route-proving flights, the first revenue service flew on 9 April from Gatwick to Genoa. Braniff took delivery of its first aircraft on 11 March, while Mohawk received its first on 15 May. Deliveries continued, and by the end of 1965 airlines had received 34 aircraft. Demand continued to be buoyant, with a second production line set up at Weybridge.

In 1967 a larger 119-seat Continued on page 49

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Continued from page 48 version was introduced as the One-Eleven 500 (also known as Super One-Eleven). This "stretched" version was delayed for at least a year while its launch customer BEA assessed its requirements. This gave competing US aircraft (being the Douglas DC9 and Boeing 737) the chance to make up for the OneEleven's early penetration of the U.S. domestic market. The British aircraft's initial oneyear advantage now turned into a one-year delay and the stretched series 500 failed to sell in the United States although the type did see service with Cayman Airways and Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) in the Caribbean.

“additional equipment included a more sophisticated autoflight system, which allowed CAT II autolandings and included an autothrottle�

Compared with earlier versions, the One-Eleven 500 was longer by 8 ft 4in (2.54 m) ahead of the wing and 5 ft 2in (1.57 m) behind it. The wing span was increased by 5 ft (1.5 m), and the latest Mk. 512 version of the Spey was used. The new version sold reasonably

well across the world, particularly to European charter airlines. In 1971 it received an incremental upgrade to reduce drag and reduce runway requirements.

BEA/British Airways 500 series aircraft (denoted OneEleven 510ED) varied significantly from other OneElevens, at BEA's request. The One-Eleven 510ED had a modified cockpit which incorporated instrumentation and avionics from or similar to that of the Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident, for better commonality with the type.

Their additional equipment included a more sophisticated autoflight system, which allowed CAT II autolandings and included an autothrottle.

The modifications went as far as reversing the "on" position of most switches to match that of the Trident; indeed, the 510ED was so different from other One-Elevens and 500 series aircraft that a different type ratingwas required to fly it.

Having faced competition from US aircraft by 1966, by 1970 the One-Eleven also faced competition from newer, smaller aircraft such as the Fokker F28 Fellowship.

The F28 was lighter, less complex, and cheaper. The OneEleven 475 of 1970 was launched to compete with the 49

F28. It combined the 400 fuselage with the higher power and larger wing of the 500 and was intended for hot and high operations, however only ten One-Eleven Mk 475 were sold. In 1977, the One-Eleven 670, a quiet and updated 475, was offered to the Japanese domestic market, also failing to sell.

Total deliveries for 1966 stood at 46 aircraft, and another 120 were delivered by 1971. At this point orders slowed to a trickle. British production continued until 1982. There were two reasons why the production line was kept open for just 35 aircraft delivered over 11 years: first, BAC hoped that Rolls-Royce would develop a quieter and more powerful version of the Spey engine, making possible further One-Eleven developments; second, throughout the early part of the period Romania was negotiating to buy the entire One-Eleven programme and transfer production of the type to Bucharest.

By 1974, BAC invested significant effort into launching the One-Eleven 700. This had a longer body with a 134-seat interior and the projected Spey 67 engine producing greater power. It was approximately the same size as the Continued on page 50

Continued from page 49 latest DC-9s and 737s and would have been available in time to prevent large-scale defections by One-Eleven clients to McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing. Rolls-Royce was still recovering from bankruptcy, however, and the uprated Spey failed to materialise. An altogether less ambitious 700 made a reappearance in 1978 as a 500 with specially "hushkitted" Speys which would be replaced by the proposed RB432 in the mid-1980s. This was offered to British Airways in competition with Boeing 737-200s, but was ultimately rejected.

In 1977, BAC merged with Hawker Siddeley to form British Aerospace (BAe) and the One-Eleven 800 was proposed with CFM-56 engines. It would have accommodated some 150 passengers in a mixed class layout. The One-Eleven 800's fate was involved with the development of a European competitor to ubiquitous U.S. short/medium range airliners and it did not progress to the design stage.

The BAC Two-Eleven and Three-Eleven were British airliner studies proposed by the British Aircraft Corporation in the late 1960s which never made it to production.

On 9 June 1979, Romanian president Nicolae CeauĹ&#x;escu signed a contract

for One-Eleven licence production in Romania. This was to involve the delivery of three complete One-Elevens (two 500-series aircraft and one 475 series) plus the construction of at least 22 in Bucharest, with reducing British content. It also involved Romanian production of Spey engines and certification of the aircraft to British standards by the Civil Aviation Authority. A market for up to 80 Romanian-built aircraft was projected at the time, largely in China and other developing economies, and possibly Eastern Europe.

The aircraft was redesignated ROMBAC 1-11.

The first Rombac One-Eleven, (YR-BRA cn 401) a series 561RC was rolled out at Romaero Băneasa factory on 27 August 1982, and flew for the first time on 18 September 1982. Production continued until 1989 at a much 50

slower pace than foreseen in the contract: nine aircraft were delivered, with the tenth and eleventh aircraft on the production line abandoned when they were 85% and 70% complete. The first aircraft was delivered to TAROM on 29 December 1982. The Romanian carrier took delivery of all but two of the aircraft produced, with the remaining two going to Romavia, the last of which (YR-BRI cn 409) was delivered on 1 January 1993.

There were three reasons why the Rombac initiative failed: Romania's economy and international position deteriorated to the point where supplies for One-Eleven manufacture slowed to a trickle, with hard currency restrictions delaying the delivery of components that were still sourced outside Romania; the market foreseen Continued on page 51

Continued from page 50 by the Romanians failed to show an interest, though some Rombac machines were leased out to European operators; the One-Eleven's noise level and fuel economy had failed to keep pace with US and West European competition.

“ dopting a new A engine would have resolved noise and fuel economy issues”

Adopting a new engine would have resolved noise and fuel economy issues, and following the fall of the Ceauşescu regime, plans were made to restart production using theRolls -Royce Tay. British aircraft leasing company Associated Aerospace agreed a $1 billion deal to purchase 50 Taypowered One-Elevens fitted with a new electronic glass cockpit for onward leasing to western customers.

lower unit cost; the DC-9 offered more seating and its engines were interchangeable with those on the Boeing 727.

These factors led to Trans Australia Airlines choosing to purchase the DC-9 instead. In the United States, the Civil Aeronautics Board was sceptical of smaller operators' need for jet aircraft and withheld financing, leading to several US customers cancelling their One-Eleven orders.

The liquidation of Associated Aerospace in April 1991 stopped this deal, however.

Despite this setback, Rombac continued to try to sell the One -Eleven, with US operator Kiwi International Air Lines placing a firm order for 11 Tay-engined aircraft with options for a further 5, but these plans came to nothing.

Mohawk Airlines became both the first American operator of the type and the first airline in the US to operate jet aircraft on short haul routes. On 25 June 1965, Mohawk introduced its first One-Eleven into passenger service; by the end of the decade, the airline operated a fleet of 20 BAC OneElevens. Buying the jets pushed Mohawk into debt and this, along with an economic downturn and strike action, led to its forced merger with Allegheny Airlines. In July 1963, American Airlines had placed an order for 15 400-series One -Elevens for £14 million; this was the first time American

Once in service, the One Eleven quickly found itself in direct competition with the Douglas DC-9, and was joined by another competitor, the Boeing 737, only a year after its introduction. Advantages over the DC-9 included a

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Airlines had purchased a foreign aircraft type for its fleet.

Several British operators, including Dan Air and British Caledonian, made extensive use of the type. Dan Air progressively increased the number of One-Elevens they had in service in the 1970s, eventually replacing their ageing first-generation de Havilland Comets with the One-Eleven entirely in the 1980s, with the type becoming the airline's main revenue generator. Dan Air would often lease OneElevens, including ROMBAC -produced aircraft, to meet short-term demands; during periods of low demand Dan Air would also lease its own One-Elevens out to other operators; British Caledonian and Dan Air One-Elevens would often be exchanged between the two airlines on temporary and permanent arrangements. Passenger demand grew on several key One-Eleven routes, exceeding even the Series 500's larger capacity during the 1980s, which began to force airlines to use other planes.

Prior to the formation of British Airways (BA), some of its predecessor companies, British European Airways and Cambrian Airways, had been operating the Continued on page 52

Continued from page 51 services from regional airports, and obtained OneElevens. The first of these, a ROMBAC-produced 500Series, entered service on the Dublin–Luton route on 1 December 1986. Ryanair's fleet expanded to six aircraft by 1988, with three leased directly from Romania. These leased aircraft were later replaced with former BA OneElevens; ultimately Ryanair replaced the One-Eleven with the Boeing 737 in the mid1990s.

One-Eleven. Their fleets were inherited by BA; British Airways Regional Division found the performance of the OneEleven more than adequate and sought to expand the airline's operations with the type, including further acquisitions, in the early 1970s in part to replace remaining Vickers Viscounts. BA's 400-Series One-Elevens were all named after areas and locations in the English Midlands, reflecting the type's new base at Birmingham Airport. BA ordered more Series-500 aircraft in the late 1970s and the airline received some of the last Britishmade One-Elevens.

British Caledonian had begun replacing their One-Elevens with the new Airbus A320, when they were merged with British Airways in 1987 due to financial problems. In both Caledonian and British Air-

ways service, the One-Elevens were a dominant type for the operator's European routes.

BA proceeded to rationalise their fleets, retiring many overlapping types, the OneEleven being gradually phased out for the more modern A320 and Boeing 737 jetliners. The last aircraft was removed from regular service with BA in October 1992. A number of exBA aircraft saw service with Maersk Air before, in turn, being replaced in by the Bombardier CRJ200 in the late 1990s.

In Ireland Aer Lingus flew One-Elevens for three decades, in both the scheduled and charter markets; the aircraft was used on less-busy European routes into the 1990s.

The One-Eleven was important in budget airline Ryanair's early years: it had sought an aircraft for low-fare scheduled 52

In April 1966, Philippine Airlines began operating One Elevens in revenue service; they eventually operated 12 of the later 500-Series. One of these aircraft suffered two separate in-flight bomb explosions, but was repaired both times and continued in service until 1992. In another highprofile incident on 21 May 1982, John Clearno tried to hijack a Philippine OneEleven while on the ground but he was eventually overpowered by the cockpit crew following hours of negotiation and no passengers or crew were injured. Philippine Airlines replaced the type with the Boeing 737 from 1989 onwards.

Romania was a major customer for British-produced Continued on page 53

Continued from page 52 One-Elevens, with several large orders in the 1970s.

These aircraft were often fitted with equipment such as engine 'hush kits'. In May 1977, a major cooperation agreement between British Aerospace and the Romanian government was signed, and this led to a gradual One-Eleven technology

“factor for the withdrawal from European service of remaining One-Elevens was the Stage III noise abatement regulations� transfer to Romania. Full contracts for license production under the ROMBAC name followed two years later; both complete airframes and components were provided to assist in the venture. All OneElevens manufactured by ROMBAC were delivered to TAROM, who leased them to airlines across both Eastern and Western Europe. ROMBAC-produced One-Elevens

would be adopted by many emerging operators across the world, including Lauda Air in Austria, Aero Asia International in Pakistan, and Romavia in Romania.

One-Elevens remained in widespread use with European operators into the 1990s. Once retired from major operators, they were often sold to smaller airlines, often in the Far East and Africa; Nigeria was a major operator until the type was grounded after a crash in 2002.

A major factor for the withdrawal from European service of remaining One-Elevens was the Stage III noise abatement regulations, which came into effect from March 2003.

Bringing the Rolls-Royce Spey engines into compliance with the noise regulations with hush kits was expensive and many European operators chose to dispose of the type from their fleets instead. In 2010, the European Aviation Safety Agency accepted an Airbus request to revoke the Type Certificate for the BAC One-Eleven. As a result BAC One-Eleven aircraft registered in any EU Member

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State are no longer eligible for a Normal Certificate of Airworthiness. In December 2012, the last operational One -Eleven in the UK, that had continued to fly as a military aircraft, was retired.

As of October 2013 only one aircraft was still in service used by Northrop Grumman as an airborne test bed for the F-35 programme, Since the One-Eleven's type certificate has been withdrawn, it flies as an experimental aircraft in the research and development category.

Some airframes survive as static display, most notably: 475AM G-ASYD at the Brookland Museum 510ED G-AVMU at the Imperial War Museum 510ED G-AVMO at the National Museum of Flight 539GL ZH763 at the Classic Air Force Museum N999BW at Tristar History and Preservation Inc

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The flight data recorder A flight recorder, colloquially still called black box, although it is now orangecoloured, is an electronic recording device placed in anaircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.

Any type of aircraft in any condition of flight can be viewed in terms of its input parameters (e.g. control instructions) and output parameters (e.g. flight sensors), without any knowledge of its internal workings, as a black box model. The flight data recorder (FDR) is an independent device that preserves the recent history of the flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit including the conversation of the pilots. The two recorders give a testimony, narrating the flight history with accuracy and impartiality, to assist in an investigation.

FDR and CVR may be combined in a single unit. The two recorders are required by international regulation to be capa-

ble of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft accident. For this reason, they are typically specified to withstand an impact of 3400g and temperatures of over 1,000 °C (1,830 ° F) as required

by EUROCAE ED-112. They have been required in commercial aircraft in the US since 1967.

Early designs As with many successful devices, probably no single person could be credited with the invention of the flight recorder. One of the earliest and proven attempts was made 55

by François Hussenot and Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at the Marignane flight test center, France, with their "type HB" flight recorder; they were essentially photograph-based flight recorders, because the record was made on a scrolling eight meters long by 88 milimeters wide photographic film. The latent image was made by a thin ray of light deviated by a mirror tilted according to the magnitude of the data to record (altitude, speed, etc.). A pre-production run of 25 "HB" recorders was ordered in 1941 and HB Continued on page 56

Continued from page 55 recorders remained in use in French test centers well into the seventies. In 1947, Hussenot founded the Société Française des Instruments de Mesure with Beaudouin and another associate, so as to market his invention, which was also known as the "hussenograph". This company went on to become a major supplier of data recorders, used not only aboard aircraft but also trains and other vehicles. SFIM is today part of the Safran group and is still present on the flight recorder market. The advantage of the film technology was that it could be easily developed afterwards and provides a durable, visual feedback of the flight parameters without needing any playback device.

On the other hand, unlike magnetic bands or later flash memory-based technology, a photographic film cannot be erased and recycled, and so it must be changed periodically. As such, this technology was reserved for one-shot uses, mostly during planned test flights; and it was not mounted aboard civilian aircraft during routine commercial flights. Also, the cockpit conversation was not recorded.

Another form of flight data recorder was developed in the UK during World War II. Len Harrison and Vic Husband developed a unit that could with-

stand a crash and fire to keep the flight data intact. This unit used copper foil as the recording medium with various styli indicating various instruments / aircraft controls which indented the copper foil. The copper foil was periodically advanced at set periods of time therefore giving a history of the instruments / control settings of the aircraft. This unit was developed at Farnborough for the Ministry of Aircraft Production. At the war's end the Ministry got Harrison and Husband to sign over their in-

“Len Harrison and Vic Husband developed a unit that could withstand a crash and fire to keep the flight data intact” vention to them and the Ministry patented it under British patent 19330/45. This unit was the forerunner of today's black boxes being able to withstand conditions that aircrew could not.

The first modern flight recorder, called "Mata Hari", was created in 1942 by Finnish aviation engineer Veijo Hietala. This black high-tech mechanical box was able to record all important aviation details during test flights 56

of World War II fighter aircraft that the Finnish army repaired or built in their main aviation factory in Tampere, Finland. The "Mata Hari" black box is displayed in the Vapriikki Museum in Tampere, Finland.

DSTO working In 1953 and 1954, a series of fatal incidents involving the de Havilland Comet prompted the grounding of the entire fleet pending an investigation. Australian engineer David Warren, a chemist specializing in aircraft fuels, was involved in a professional committee discussing the possible causes. Since there had been neither witnesses nor survivors, Warren conceived of a crash-survivable method to record not only the instruments' readings, but also the flight crew's conversation, reasoning they would greatly assist in determining a cause and enabling the prevention of future, avoidable accidents of the same type.

Warren, when working with the Defence Science and Technology Organisations' Aeronautical Research Laboratory (Melbourne, Australia) published a 1954 report entitled "A Device for Assisting Investigation into Aircraft Continued on page 57

Continued from page 56 ing at the University of Minnesota from 1931 to 1963.

Ryan's "Flight Recorder" patent was filed in August 1953 and approved on November 8, 1960; see US Patent 2,959,459.

Accidents" and built a prototype FDR called "The ARL Flight Memory Unit" in 1957.

The first coupled FDR / CVR prototype designed with civilian aircraft in mind, for explicit post-crash examination purposes, was produced in 1958. However, aviation autho rities from around the world were largely uninterested. This changed in 1958 when Sir Robert Hardingham, the Secretary of the British Air Registration Board, visited the ARL and was introduced to Warren.

The Aeronautical Research Laboratory allocated Warren an engineering team to develop the prototype to airborne stage. The team, consisting of electronics engineers Lane Sear, Wally Boswell and Ken Fraser developed a working design incorporating a fire and

shockproof case, a reliable system for encoding and recording aircraft instrument readings and voice on one wire, and a ground-based decoding device. The ARL system became the "Red Egg", made by the British firm of S. Davall & Sons, Ltd., of Greenford, Middlesex. The "Red Egg" got its name from its shape and bright red colour.

In 1965 the units were redesigned and moved to the rear of airplanes to improve the probability of successful data retrieval after a crash.

Independent invention The "Flight Recorder" was invented and patented in the United States by Professor James J. "Crash" Ryan, a professor of mechanical engineer57

A second patent by Ryan for a "Coding Apparatus For Flight Recorders and the Like" is US Patent 3,075,192 dated January 22, 1963. An early prototype of the Ryan Flight Data Recorder is described in the January 2013 Aviation History Magazine article "Father of the Black Box" by Scott M. Fisher. Ryan, also the inventor of the retractable safety seat belt now required in automobiles, began working on the idea of a flight recorder in 1946, and invented the device in response to the 1948 request from the Civil Aeronautics Board for development of a flight recorder as a means of accumulating data that could be used to get information useful in arriving at operating procedures designed to reduce air mishaps. The original device was known as the "General Mills Flight Recorder". The benefits of the flight recorder and the coding apparatus for flight recorders were outlined by Ryan in his study entitled "Economies in Airline Operation with Flight Recorders" which was entered Continued on page 58

Continued from page 57 into the Congressional Record in 1956. Ryan's Flight Recorder maintained a continuing recording of aircraft flight data such as engine exhaust, temperature, fuel flow, aircraft velocity, altitude, control surfaces positions, and rate of descent.

A "Cockpit Sound Recorder” (CSR) was independently invented and patented by Edmund A. Boniface, Jr., an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation and originally filed with the US Patent Office on February 2, 1961 as an "Aircraft Cockpit Sound Recorder"; the 1961 invention was viewed by some as an "invasion of privacy".

Subsequently Boniface filed again on February 4, 1963 for a "Cockpit Sound Recorder" (US Patent 3,327,067) with the addition of a spring loaded switch which allowed the pilot to erase the audio/ sound tape recording at the conclusion of a safe flight and landing. Boniface's participation in aircraft crash investigations in the 1940s and in the accident investigations of the loss of one of the wings at cruise altitude on each of two Lockheed Electra turboprop powered aircraft (Flight #542 operated by Braniff Airlines in 1959 and Flight #710 operated

by Northwest Orient Airlines in 1960) led to his wondering what the pilots may have said

just prior to the wing loss and during the descent as well as the type and nature of any sounds or explosions that may have preceded or occurred during the wing loss. His patent was for a device for recording audio of pilot remarks and engine or other sounds to be "contained with the in-flight recorder within a sealed container that is shock mounted,

“Ryan's Flight Recorder maintained a continuing recording of aircraft flight data such as engine exhaust, temperature, fuel flow, aircraft velocity, altitude, control surfaces positions, and rate of descent” fireproofed and made watertight" and "sealed in such a manner as to be capable of withstanding extreme temperatures during a crash fire". The CSR was an analogue device which provided a progressive erasing/recording loop (lasting 30 or more minutes) of all sounds (explosion, voice, and the noise of any aircraft structural components undergoing serious fracture and breakage) which could be overheard in 58

the cockpit.

Terminology The origin of the term "black box" is uncertain. In a systems engineering context (since the 1960s when the term was spreading), the meaning is: the aircraft is modeled as a black box, and its behaviour will be understood by its recorded inputs (ex. pilot instructions) and outputs (ex. panel data like flight level).

The term "flight recorder" is more precise, and the popular synonym "black box" is used only informally — almost never used within the flight safety industry or aviation.

The recorders are not permitted to be black in color, and must be bright orange, as they are intended to be spotted and recovered after incidents. The term black box is a misnomer popularised by media in general, however reporting of recent incidents in 2014 / 2015 the media appear to be showing some tendency toward using more accurate terminology.

One explanation for popularization of the misnomer "black box", comes from the early film-based design of flight data recorders, which required the inside of the recorder to be Continued on page 59

Continued from page 58 perfectly dark to prevent light leaks from corrupting the record, as in a photographer’s darkroom.

Another explanation of the "black box" term popularization came from a meeting about Warren's "Red Egg", when afterwards a journalist told Warren, "This is a wonderful black box." The unit itself was based on an EMI Minifon wire recorder (originally a 1950s espionage gadget from the West-German manufacterer Protona Monske) fitted into a perspexbox firmly screwed together.

Another possible origin of the term is World War II RAF jargon. During the period 19401945 new electronic innovations, such as Oboe, GEE and H2S, were added to aircraft (specifically bombers) on a regular basis. The prototypes were roughly covered in hand-

made metal boxes, painted black to prevent reflections.

After a time any piece of "new" electronics was referred to as the "box-oftricks" (as illusionist box) or the "black-box".

The first recorded use of the term "black box" in reference to flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders was by Mr E. Newton of the AAIB at a meeting of the Aeronautical Research Council in August 1958.

Components Flight data recorder: A flight data recorder (FDR) (also ADR, for accident data recorder) is an electronic device employed to record any instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft. It is a device used to record specific aircraft performance parameters. Another kind of

flight recorder is the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which records conversation in the cockpit, radio communications between the cockpit crew and others (including conversation with air traffic control personnel), as well as ambient sounds. In this both functions have been combined into a single unit. The current applicable FAA TSO is C124b titled Flight Data Recorder Systems.

The data recorded by the FDR is used for accident investigation as well as for analyzing air safety issues, material degredation and engine performance. Due to their importance in investigating accidents, these ICAO-regulated devices are carefully engineered and stoutly constructed to withstand the force of a high speed impact and the heat of an intense fire. Contrary to the popular term "black box", the exterior of the FDR is coated with heatresistant bright orange paint for high visibility in wreckage, and the unit is usually mounted in the aircraft’s empennage (tail section), where it is more likely to survive a severe crash. Following an accident, the recovery of the FDR is usually a high priority for the investigating body, as analysis of the recorded Continued on page 60

59

Continued from page 59 parameters can often detect and identify causes or contributing factors.

Modern day FDRs receive inputs via specific data frames from the Flight Data Acquisition Units (FDAU). They record significant flight parameters, including the control and actuator positions, engine information and time of day.

There are 88 parameters required as a minimum under current US federal regulations (only 29 were required until 2002), but some systems monitor many more variables.

Generally each parameter is recorded a few times per second, though some units store "bursts" of data at a much higher frequency if the data begins to change quickly.

Most FDRs record approximately 17–25 hours worth of data in a continuous loop. It is required by regulations that an FDR verification check (readout) is performed annually in order to verify that all mandatory parameters are recorded. This has also given rise to flight data monitoring programs, whereby flights are analyzed for optimum fuel consumption and dangerous flight crew habits. The data from the FDR is transferred, in situ, to a solid state recording device and then periodically analyzed with some of the same technology used for acci-

dent investigations. In other cases the data is downloaded from the aircraft's Quick Access Recorder (QAR), either by transfer to a portable solid state recording device or by direct upload to the operator's headquarters via radio or satellite.

“Most FDRs record approximately 17–25 hours worth of data in a continuous loop” FDRs are usually located in the rear of the aircraft, typically in the tail. In this position, the entire front of the aircraft is expected to act as a "crush zone" to reduce the shock that reaches the recorder. Also, modern FDRs are typically double wrapped in strong corrosion-resistant stainless steel or titanium, with high-temperature insulation inside. They are usually bright orange. An underwater locator beacon is mounted on a bracket bolted to the front of an FDR, this is designed to emit an ultrasonic "ping" for up to 30 days and can operate immersed to a depth of up to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft).

Cockpit voice recorder: A cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is a flight recorder used to record the audio environ60

ment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents. This is typically achieved by recording the signals of the microphones and earphones of the pilots' headsets and of an area microphone in the roof of the cockpit. The current applicable FAA TSO is C123b titled Cockpit Voice Recorder Equipment.

Where an aircraft is required to carry a CVR and utilizes digital communications the CVR is required to record such communications with air traffic control unless this is recorded elsewhere. As of 2008 it is an FAA requirement that the recording duration is a minimum of two hours.

A standard CVR is capable of recording 4 channels of audio data for a period of 2 hours.

The original requirement was for a CVR to record for 30 minutes, but this has been found to be insufficient in many cases, significant parts of the audio data needed for a subsequent investigation having occurred more than 30 minutes before the end of the recording.

The earliest CVRs used analog wire recording, later replaced by analog magnetic Continued on page 61

Continued from page 60

tape. Some of the tape units used two reels, with the tape automatically reversing at each end. The original was the ARL Flight Memory Unit produced in 1957 by Australian David Warren and an instrument maker named Tych Mirfield.

Other units used a single reel, with the tape spliced into a continuous loop, much as in an 8-track cartridge. The tape would circulate and old audio information would be overwritten every 30 minutes. Recovery of sound from magnetic tape often proves difficult if the recorder is recovered from water and its housing has been breached. Thus, the latest designs employ solid -state memory and use digital

recording techniques, making them much more resistant to shock, vibration and moisture.

With the reduced power requirements of solid-state recorders, it is now practical to incorporate a battery in the units, so that recording can continue until flight termination, even if the aircraft electrical system fails.

Like the FDR, the CVR is typically mounted in the rear of the airplane fuselage to maximize the likelihood of its survival in a crash.

Combined units: With the advent of digital recorders, the FDR and CVR can be manufactured in one fire61

proof, shock proof, and waterproof container as a combined digital Cockpit Voice and Data Recorder (CVDR). Currently a CVDR is manufactured by L-3 Communications as well as other manufacturers.

Solid state recorders became commercially practical in 1990, having the advantage of not requiring scheduled maintenance and making the data easier to retrieve. This was extended to the two hour voice recording in 1995.

Additional equipment: Since the 1970s, most large Continued on page 62

Continued from page 61 civil jet transports have been additionally equipped with a "quick access recorder” (QAR). This records data on a removable storage medium. Access to the FDR and CVR is necessarily difficult because of the requirement that they survive an accident. They also require specialized equipment to read the recording. The QAR recording medium is readily removable and is designed to be read by equipment attached to a standard desktop computer. In many airlines, the quick access recordings are scanned for 'events', an event being a significant deviation from normal operational parameters. This allows operational problems to be detected and eliminated before an accident or incident results.

Many modern aircraft systems are digital or digitally controlled. Very often, the digital system will include Built-In Test Equipment which records information about the operation of the system. This information may also be accessed to assist with the investigation of an accident or incident.

are contained in ICAO Annex 6 which makes reference to industry crashworthiness and fire protection specifications such as those to be found in the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment documents EUROCAE ED55, ED56 fiken A and ED112 (Minimum Operational Performance Specification for Crash Protected Airborne Re-

“ odern aircraft m systems are digital or digitally controlled.

Very often, the digital system will include Built-In Test Equipment which records information about the operation of the system”

Specifications

corder Systems). In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates all aspects of US aviation, and cites design requirements in their Technical Standard Order, based on the EUROCAE documents (as do the aviation authorities of many other countries).

The design of today's FDR is governed by the internationally recognized standards and recommended practices relating to flight recorders which

Currently, EUROCAE specifies that a recorder must be able to withstand an acceleration of 3400 g (33 km/s²) for 6.5 milliseconds. This is 62

roughly equivalent to an impact velocity of 270 knots (310 mph) and a deceleration or crushing distance of 450 cm. Additionally, there are requirements for penetration resistance, static crush, high and low temperature fires, deep sea pressure, sea water immersion, and fluid immersion.

EUROCAE ED-112 (Minimum Operational Performance Specification for Crash Protected Airborne Recorder Systems) defines the minimum specification to be met for all aircraft requiring flight recorders for recording of flight data, cockpit audio, images and CNS / ATM digital messages and used for investigations of accidents or incidents. When issued in March 2003 ED-112 superseded previous ED-55 and ED -56A that were separate specifications for FDR and CVR. FAA TSOs for FDR and CVR reference ED-112 for characteristics common to both types.

In order to facilitate recovery of the recorder from an aircraft accident site they are required to be coloured bright yellow or orange with reflective surfaces. All are lettered "FLIGHT RECORDER DO NOT OPEN" on one side in Continued on page 63

Continued from page 62 Regulation In the investigation of the 1960 crash of Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 at Mackay (Queensland) the inquiry judge strongly recommended that flight recorders be installed in all airliners. Australia became the first country in the world to make cockpit-voice recording compulsory.

The United States first CVR rules were passed in 1964 requiring all turbine and piston aircraft with four or more engines to have CVRs by 1 March 1967. As of 2008 it is an FAA requirement that the CVR recording duration is a minimum of two hours, following the NTSB recommendation that it should be increased from its previouslymandated 30-minute duration.

As of 2014, flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders are only required on US aircraft that have 20 or more passenger seats, or those that have six or more passenger seats, are turbo-charged, and require two pilots.

its formal jurisdiction. The NTSB does not have regulatory authority, but must depend on legislation and other government agencies to act on its safety recommendations.

Proposed requirements The NTSB recommended in 1999 that operators be required to install two sets of CVDR systems, with the second CVDR set being "deployable or ejectable". The "deployable" recorder combines the cockpit voice/flight data recorders and an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) in a single unit. The "deployable" unit would depart the aircraft before impact, activated by sensors. The unit is designed to "eject" and "fly" away from the crash site, to survive the terminal velocity of fall, to float on water indefinitely, and would be equipped with satellite technology for

For US air carriers and manufacturers, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is responsible for investigating accidents and safety-related incidents. The NTSB also serves in an advisory role for many international investigations not under 63

immediate location of crash impact site. The "deployable" CVDR technology has been used by the US Navy since 1993. The recommendations would involve a massive retrofit program. However, government funding would negate cost objections from manufacturers and airlines. Operators would get both sets of recorders for free: they would not have to pay for the one set they are currently required by law to carry. The cost of the second "deployable/ejectable CVDR" (or "Black Box") was estimated at $30 million for installation in 500 new aircraft (about $60,000 per new commercial plane).

In the United States, the proposed SAFE Act calls for implementing the NTSB 1999 recommendations.

Continued on page 64

Continued from page 63 However so far the SAFE ACT legislation failed to pass Congress in 2003 (H.R. 2632), in 2005 (H.R. 3336) and in 2007 (H.R. 4336).

Originally the "Safe Aviation

“NTSB has also asked for the installation of cockpit image recorders in large transport aircraft to provide information that would supplement existing CVR and FDR data in accident investigations.”

Flight Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2003" was introduced on June 26, 2003 by Congressman David Price (NC) and Congressman John Duncan (Tennessee) in a bipartisan effort to ensure investigators have access to information immediately following commercial accidents. On July 19, 2005, a revised SAFE Act was introduced and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Aviation during the 108th, 109th, and 110th congresses.

The NTSB has also asked for

the installation of cockpit image recorders in large transport aircraft to provide information that would supplement existing CVR and FDR data in accident investigations. They also recommended image recorders be placed into smaller aircraft that are not required to have a CVR or FDR. The rationale is that what is seen on an instrument by the pilots of an aircraft is not necessarily the same as the data sent to the display device. This is particularly true of aircraft equipped with electronic displays (CRT or LCD). A mechanical instrument is likely to preserve its last indication, but this is not the case with an electronic display. Such systems, estimated to cost less than $8,000 installed, typically consist of a camera and microphone located in the cockpit to continuously record cockpit instrumentation, the outside viewing area, engine sounds, radio communications, and ambient cockpit sounds. As with conventional CVRs and FDRs, data from such a system is stored in a crash-protected unit to ensure survivability.

Since the recorders can sometimes be crushed into unreadable pieces, or even located in deep water, some modern units are self-ejecting (taking advantage of kinetic energy at impact to separate themselves from the aircraft) and also 64

equipped with radio emergency locator transmitters and sonar underwater locator beacons to aid in their location.

On March 12, 2014 in response to the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, David Price re-introduced the SAFE Act in the House of Representatives. The disappearance of the Malaysian aircraft demonstrated the limitations of the contemporary flight recorder technology, as physical possession of the flight recorder device is necessary to help investigate the cause of an aircraft incident. Considering the advances of modern communication technology commentators called for flight recorders to be supplemented or replaced by a system for "live streaming" data from the aircraft to the ground. Furthermore commentators called for the battery life of the underwater locator beacons to be extended from 30 to 90 days, the range of the locator to be increased and additionally for the outfitting of civil aircraft with deployable flight recorders, which are commonly used in military aircraft. Previous to MH370 the extension of the battery life has been suggested as "rapidly as possible" by investigators of the Air France Flight 447 crash – the AF447 crash happened in 2009, however it took until 2011 to recover the flight recorders.

MAY/JUNE United States & Canada May 1 - 3 May 2 May 2 - 3 May 2 - 3 May 2 - 3 May 2 - 3 May 8 May 9 May 9 May 9 - 10 May 9 - 10 May 9 - 10 May 9 - 10 May 10 May 15 - 17 May 16 May 16 May 16 May 16 May 16 May 16 May 16 - 17 May 16 - 17 May 16 - 17 May 16 - 17 May 16 - 17 May 20 May 22 May 23 May 23 - 24 May 23 - 24 May 23 - 24 May 23 - 24 May 27 May 28 May 29 - 30 May 29 - 31

Central Texas Airshow 2015 Manassas Regional Open House and Airshow Defenders of Liberty Air Show Planes of Fame Air Show Dyess Big Country Airfest Great Alaska Aviation Gathering Arsenal of Democracy WWII Victory Capitol Flyover Estrella Warbirds, Wings & Wheels Corsicana Airshow Quad City Air Show Millville Wings & Wheels Airshow Salute America 2015 Air Show Valdez May Day Fly-in and Air Show Cache Creek Mother's Day Fly-In Warbirds Over The Beach 2015 Hangar 24 Craft Brewery AirFest Warbirds Over Hondo Auburn Opelika Airshow Paine Field Aviation Day Aeros & Autos 2015 Thunder Over Augusta Armed Forces Day The Great New England Air Show Boshears Skyfest & Fly-in Wings Over Wayne 2015 Discover Aviation Days Warbirds Over Addison USNA Air Show USNA Graduation Flyover U Mercer County Wings & Wheels Bethpage Air Show Salute to Veterans Air Show Rochester International Air Show Discover Aviation Airshow Spectacular Anderson Regional Airshow USAFA Graduation : Thunderbirds Display Midwest Aviation Fun Days Virginia Beach Patriotic Festival Oceanfront Air Show 65

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MAY/JUNE United States & Canada Continued May 29 - 31 May 30 May 30 May 39 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 31 Jun 03 Jun 05-07 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 10 Jun 13 Jun 13 Jun 13 Jun 13-14 Jun 13-14 Jun 13-14 Jun 16 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21

Rocky Mountain Airshow Greenwood Leflore Airport Airshow Good Neighbor Day PDK Airshow BCATP Fly-In - Canadian Warplane Heritage Rhode Island Open House and Air Show Virginia Regional Festival of Flight Discover Aviation Days North Bay Armed Forces Day 2015 Mid-Atlantic World War II Weekend Skypark Aviation Festival Ada Air Expo 2015 Indiana Wing CAF Warbird Expo '15 Rusk County Fly-In & Airshow Knox County D-Day Event Nebraska State Fly-in and Air Show Rockford AirFest 2015 Cavalcade of Planes The Heart of Texas Airshow Fallen 4 Marathon : CF-18 Hornet display Pueblo Air Blitz Fort Frances Snowbirds Display Highest Show On Earth Military Aviation Museum Flying Proms Warbirds Over The West Fly-in OC Air Show 2015 Wings over Whiteman 2015 Spectacle aérien de Rimouski Saint-Isidore Snowbirds Display Ray Fagen Memorial Airshow Denton Airshow 2015 Wings and Wheels Fly In & Drive In Carson City Airport Open House Pacific Legends Day American Heroes Air Show Lee's Summit Airport Open House Westmoreland County Air Show Spectacle Aérien International de Bagotville 66

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MAY/JUNE United States & Canada Continued Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 21 Jun 24 Jun 26-28 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 30 Jun

Dayton Air Show AirShow San Diego Wings Over Gaylord Air Show Hollister Airshow Father’s Day Fly-In Wings & Wheels Expo 2015 Skyfest - Canadian Warplane Heritage Canby Father's Day Air Show Goderich Air Show Evansville Freedom Festival Air Show Greenwood Aviation Expo 2015 Rotors 'n Ribs helicopter fly-in Menomonie Airfest & Autorama Celebrate Neosho Airshow Olympic Air Show Cameron Air Show Minnesota Air Spectacular 2015 Waterloo Air Show Warbird Weekend—Idaho The Hadfield Youth Summit

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MAY/JUNE Europe May 8 - 10 May 9 May 9 - 10 May 10 May 14 May 14 May 15 - 17 May 16 May 16 - 17 May 19 May 19 - 21 May 20 May 21 May 21 - 23 May 22 - 23 May 23 May 23 May 23 May 23 - 24 May 23 - 24 May 23 - 24 May 24 May 24 May 24 - 25 May 24 - 25 May 25 May 25 May 25 May 25 May 28 - 31 May 29 - 30 May 29 - 31 May 29 - 31 May 29 - 31 May 30 May 30 May 30

Yorkshire Air Museum: Battlegroup North Russia May Victory Day Parade Sky is not the limit Airshow Oldtimer Fly-In Historischer Verein Hangar 31 Hoogeveen Airport Wings & Wheels Ischia Air Show International Biplane Rally Hangariada : air displays Antwerp Stampe & Ercoupe Fly-in Satakunta Air Command Career Day EBACE 2015 Spottersday THPU 2015 Tikkakoski Air Force Academy Career Day May Heli Russia 2015 Crocus Expo Pushkin Military-Historical festival Llandudno Air Show 2015 Shuttleworth Classic Evening Airshow Open Day Caslav Air Duxford VE Day Anniversary Air Show Festyn Lotniczy Ostrów La Ferté-Alais Meeting Aérien: Le Temps des Hélices Cold War Jets Open Day "Scilla e Cariddi" Air Show Oostwold Airshow 2015 Tag der offenen Tür FSV Ailertchen Driffield Vintage Fair & Fun Day Villeneuv'Air Show Skyforce Launch : Red Arrows display—Blackpool Lanc, Tank and Military Machines East Kirkby Oostende voor anker - Rescue at Sea Air Fair Bydgoszcz 2015 AeroExpo UK Heli UK Expo Legendák a Levegőben Repülőnap AirExpo 2015 Clinceni Children's Day Air Show Den otevřených dveří 2015 Jaroměř 68

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APRIL/MAY Europe Continued May 30 - 31 May 30-31 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 31 May 30 - 1 May 31 May 31 May 31 Jun 02 Jun 04-06 Jun 04-07 Jun 05-07 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 06-07 Jun 07 Jun Jun 07 Jun 07 Jun 09 Jun 09 Jun 10 Jun 11-13 Jun 12-14 Jun 12-14 Jun 13 Jun 13 Jun 13 Jun 13 Jun 13

Großes Oldtimer Festival Siegerland Red Bull Air Race—Russia Cancelled Aerosport 2015 Meeting de l'Air - Corsica Red Bull Air Race - Croatia 104th Anniversary of the Turkish Air Force Midlands Flight Fest Volkel in de Wolken Kjeller Flydagen 2015 Spiaggia d'Argento Air Show Festa della Repubblica Roma France Air Expo Kehler Flugtage Flugplatz Kehl-Sundheim Legendák a Levegőben Repülőnap Szolnok-Szandaszőlős Throckmorton Air Show Arctic Airshow 2015 Sodankylä BOBAS 2015 Växjö Airshow 2015 Letecký deň Senica Aviatická Pouť - Pardubice Aviation Fair Turku Airshow Compiègne Aéro-Classic 2015 Estonian Aviation Days 2015 Shuttleworth Light Aircraft Association Airshow Meeting de l'Air Bellaria Igea Marina Air Show Isle of Man TT Races Red Arrows Display (Ramsey) Isle of Man TT Races Red Arrows Display (Douglas) RNAS Merryfield Open Evening European Helicopter Show Klassikwelt Bodensee Friedrichshafen Cholmondeley Pageant of Power Fly-In Air France: Meeting Aérien Saint-Yan Biggin Hill Festival of Flight RAF Northolt Centenary Open Day Tag der Bundeswehr Satu Mare Miting Aviatic 2015 69

MAY/JUNE Europe Continued Jun 13 Jun 13-14 Jun 13-14 Jun 13-14 Jun 14 Jun Jun 14 Jun 14 Jun 14 Jun 14 Jun 14 Jun 15-21 Jun 19-20 Jun 19-20 Jun 19-21 Jun 19-21 Jun 19-21 Jun 20 Jun 20 Jun Jun 20 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 20-21 Jun 21 Jun 21 Jun 21 Jun 21 Jun 21 Jun 25-28 Jun 26 Jun 26-28 Jun 27

Tag der Bundeswehr Flugplatzfest Bergneustadt AEROFestival 2015 Flugtag Straubing RAF Cosford Air Show Welshpool Bob Jones Memorial Air Show Her Majesty The Queen's Birthday Flypast Airport Day Munich Jesolo Airshow Meeting Aérien Lorient Paris Air Show Whitehaven Airshow 2015 Tankové dni Laugarício Weston Park Model Airshow Wings, Wheels and Goggles Jubiläumsfest / Armeeausstellung Morgarten 2015 Shuttleworth Edwardian Picnic & Evening airshow 90th Anniversary Polish Air Force Academy Flydag Stord Lufthavn 2015 Weston Air Festival 2015 Air-Britain Vintage & Classic Aircraft Fly-In Great North Fly In 2015 Piknik Lotniczy Bucharest International Air Show (BIAS) Barry Wartime Weekend 2015 Parma Air Show Formula 1 Spielberg : air displays Aero-Moto Víkend 2015 Festival Aéreo de Motril Chotěboř Airshow Rodzinny Piknik Lotniczy Wellesbourne Wings & Wheels 2015 Journée Portes Ouvertes de la Marine Nationale Goodwood Festival of Speed Air Traffic Control Center Open Door Wings & Wheels Telemark Armed Forces Day National Event 70

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MAY/JUNE Europe Continued Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 27-28 Jun 28 Jun 28 Jun 28 Jun 28 Jun 28 Jun 29

Nederlandse Veteranendag Plymouth Armed Forces Day 2015 Lowestoft Armed Forces Day Eslövs Flygfest Red Pigs Festival : Patrouille Suisse display Piknik Lotniczy Świdwin Fly Party 2015 - Aviosuperficie di Montagnana Piknik Szybowcowy - Leszno Rozwiń Skrzydła Chalke Valley History Festival Air Show Oris Ambri Fly-In 2015 Meeting de l'Air BA116 Luxeuil Małopolski Piknik Lotniczy Ursel Avia (Opendeur Vliegclub Ursel) Fly-in Moorsele Flughafenfest 2015 Erfurt Memorial Air Show 2015 Centenario de la Hidroaviación Militar Española Würzburg fliegt Stockerauer Flugplatzfest 2015 North East Lincolnshire Armed Forces Day Portes Ouvertes Air Race 1 World Cup Hunstanton Carnival air display Swięto Marynarki Wojennej (Navy Day) Stornoway Port Authority 150th Anniversary: Red Arrows display

Rest of World May 2 - 3 May 3 May 16 May 16 - 17 May 23 May 23-24 May 30 Jun 07 Jun 07

May Wings over Illawarra Air Show MCAS Iwakuni Friendship Day Botswana Airshow 2015 May Red Bull Air Race, Japan Lowveld Air Show The Old Station Fly-In & Heritage Show Watts Bridge All-In Fly-In Air Race 1 World Cup JASDF Open House 71

MAY/JUNE Events in BOLD text have more information on our website: www.attservices.co.uk

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Getting started with model aircraft So you've read some of our reviews and decided to build a plastic model aircraft kit.

Welcome to an absorbing and fun-filled hobby! Nothing quite captures the imagination as airplanes locked in battle high in the sky. This hobby is a great way to re-live an important period of world history, or to spend time with kids building patience and hand-eye coordination.

This series of articles, adapted from modelairplanebuilding.com will give you some basic hints and tips to get you started. You may have already built or partially built a model, and have mentally compared it to the ones you see on display at the hobby shop. You are wondering how they make the kits turn out so amazingly realistic! Some of your questions might be: How do they get rid of the gap between the body halves?

How do they get the paint to look so smooth?

How do they get the small details to stand out instead of disappear?

You certainly aren’t alone in those thoughts. But everyone starts of that way—the articles will help you learn many of the insider tricks that are used to turn a humble box of molded plastic parts into a museum-worthy masterpiece.

“you don’t need to have the most expensive or extensive range of tools and equipment” You can use as few or as many of these tricks as you like to improve your models. But the most important thing is to have fun doing it!

This month we look at some of the tools you need to get started and the best ways to prepare the workspace and model to get that perfect finish!

Tools and materials: To get started, you don’t need to have the most expensive or extensive range of tools and equipment. It is possible to put together a kit with just a few items from your local hobby shop but for a model that 73

really stands out, there are a few items you might want to consider: Essential Hobby Knife - Used for removing model parts from the frames ("sprues"), trimming off excess plastic ("flash"), plus a million other uses. Common brand is Xacto knife, a handle plus removable blades (#11) is the most used).

Safety glasses - Used these whenever you need to cut anything.

Sand paper - For general cleanup of plastic, removing excess glue, and creating a smooth finish before paint. Get a range of grits (400 - 1000, or even 2000).

Fine tweezers - For gripping small parts.

Paint brushes - Even if you plan to use spray cans or an airbrush, there are still small parts that will need to be brushed.

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Continued from page 73 Pins - For applying a fine bead of glue.

Cutting pliers - Helps remove stubborn parts from the sprues.

Toothpicks - Great for stirring or mixing paint.

Razor saw - Also for parts removal from sprues.

Glue - Indispensable. The standard “Glue in the tube” works well for most things although you will probably want to look at the ones with needle applicators for finer work.

White glue is good for attaching canopies.

Cyano-acrylate glue - Useful for filling gaps. Use only with safety glasses.

“If you can, find a space in a spare room where you can leave your project whilst you aren’t working on it” Filler - Used to fill gaps between glued parts. Also available in a tube like the glue.

Tape - Used for test fitting parts, and masking areas during painting. Even at a starter level, quality matters here.

Look for low adhesive tapes from your hobby shop. They are more expensive than normal masking tape but you will get better results.

Paint and Thinner - Also indispensable. Get the thinner recommended by the paint manufacturer.

Nice-to-Have

Airbrush or Spray Cans - Will generally give a better finish than paintbrushes. We will cover masking and painting in a later article.

Air Compressor - Used with the airbrush. Better performance and more versatility than the cans of propellant.

Paint Booth - Used to catch overspray of paint. Better designs have exhaust fans and ducting to the building exterior. Not needed if you only spray outside.

Turntable - An inexpensive rotating table for cake decorating and other crafts. Allows you to paint all sides of a model without touching wet paint or leaving your chair.

Dremel motor tool - Useful for cutting and grinding plastic. Comes in handy for advanced modelers when modifying an airplane model to another version ("conversions").

a piece of scrap material, so that they be conveniently brush-painted.

Preparation Many a model has been built on a kitchen or dining table. This is a good work space if you can get it. However it's unlikely that you will finish the model in a single sitting; there is also the everpresent threat of paint or glue spillage.

If you can, find a space in a spare room where you can leave your project whilst you aren’t working on it. An old but sturdy table is best and lighting should be adequate (a lamp with a built-in magnifier is a nice luxury). There should also be good ventilation, especially when using glues and spray paints.

Wherever you choose to make your model, cleanliness is absolutely essential. Nothing will spoil your work more than dust and debris. Remember that any debris that gets onto your model, although only small in reality, will look like a house brick on the finished kit!

Washing parts The injection molding

Hot-glue gun - Use the hot glue to position small parts on 74

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Continued from page 74 sure should be enough to remove it. For really thick attachment points, you can use a razor saw (by X-acto) or cutting pliers. There are also specialty tools available known as sprue cutters.

process that made your kit uses a "mold release agent" to help the parts un-stick from the molds.

This material will prevent paint from sticking perfectly to the plastic. So the first order of business is to wash the parts. The sprues full of parts can be placed one by one in a baking pan full of soapy water. Gently rub the larger pieces with your fingers before rinsing and air dry on paper towels. You can use a blow drier to get rid of more stubborn droplets, in order to prevent water stains, but take care not to warm the plastic as this causes it to warp.

It is worth noting that oils from your fingers can also affect the paint. After basic construction, wash the whole model again with soap and water before painting. It is also prefer to wear disposable

gloves during the paint process, to prevent the odd fingerprint here and there. These are available from most chemists or healthcare suppliers. In the UK, SP Services are one of the leading suppliers and offer a wide range, in both vinyl or latex, from stock at reasonable prices.

Removing parts

You may also need to "clean up" the parts, not in the sense of washing them, but in the sense of repairing molding defects. "Flash" refers to excess thin plastic that gets squeezed out of the mold in the manufacturing process.

This can be removed with the hobby knife.

There are sometimes "sink marks", small circular holes that help the molding process. These are usually placed in out of the way areas, if not they must be filled-in. Also look out for random writing on the surface.

If you built one of these models as a kid, you probably ripped open the box and started twisting the airplane parts to get them off the sprues. This method can work OK, sometimes. Other times, parts with multiple attachment points will get distorted, or a piece of plastic from the part itself will get ripped off.

To prevent this, using the hobby knife to gently score next to the part. Several passes followed by gentle hand pres75

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Continued from page 75 Storing parts Parts can be kept on the sprues until needed. You can place the sprues back in the box, with paper towels separating them to prevent scratches.

Sometimes a bunch of smaller parts are taken off to be painted with the same colour, but are not used right away.

It's best to store these parts (after drying) in zip-loc bags or similar safe containers.

“Make notes on the instructions if there is something to pay special attention to, or if you plan to deviate somewhat from the instructions�

Instructions

Decal sheets also benefit from storage in zip-loc bags, especially if they are to remain unused for a long time.

Last but not least, read the instructions carefully. Understand the building sequence, and locate the major parts in the box.

You should be able to fit everything back into most model's original boxes, if you need to take a break, change workspaces, or move house (yes, it happens).

Make notes on the instructions if there is something to pay special attention to, or if you plan to deviate somewhat from the instructions. Make a list of the recommended paint col-

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ours that you need to purchase.

It is also worth noting, at this stage, that it is worth doing your research on the model you are trying to build. Military aircraft especially have hundreds of livery and stores combinations depending on the particular moment in history you are trying to recreate.

Get as many reference pictures and drawings of the exact aircraft you are building and compare it with the instructions.

You may find that you will have to consider scratchbuilding or purchasing after market components to complete the model accurately, but we will look at that in a later article.

Evolution of design into the wind.

College Park Airport (CGS) just north of Washington, DC is a small community airport.

It is no different than many small airports with one major exception. College Park Airport is the world's oldest continuously operated airport. It has been in operation since 1909. College Park Airport began operation just six years after the Wright Brothers first flew a heavier-than-air airplane. Since College Park Airport's inception, airports have evolved from large vacant fields to concrete mini-cities with thousands of workers and passengers. The design of these airports varies depending

upon geography, local environment and number of operations. These airports provide access to a great transportation network that criss-crosses the United States.

Airports were not always known as airports. They were originally called "flying fields". This is because they were just that, fields. During the early days of aviation, a large field was needed for airplane operations. A long and equally as wide field was necessary because the airplane needed to be oriented into the wind no matter which direction the wind was blowing.

Airplanes take off and land more efficiently when oriented 77

To maximize the airplane's potential to achieve the greatest lift in the shortest amount of distance and time during takeoff, airplanes should be pointed into the wind. By landing into the wind the ground speed is minimized.

This allows the pilot more time to make the adjustments necessary for a smooth touchdown. Ground speed is a combination of airspeed (the speed provided by the propulsion system's thrust minus some drag) plus wind speed. Therefore if an airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing with a wind that has a speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 120 mph (100 mph + 20 mph = 120 mph). Conversely, if the airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing into the wind with a wind speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 80 mph (100 mph 20 mph = 80 mph). This is helpful to the pilot as the pilot attempts to stall the airplane just above the runway for a smooth landing.

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Continued from page 77 In early aviation times, the takeoff procedure consisted of people moving the airplane to the downwind side of the field and pointing it into the wind. Early aircraft were designed to fly, not move about the ground, so the landing of many airplanes were merely skids, not wheels. After the airplane was checked out to see if everything was ready, the pilot switched on the fuel and the magneto.

A helper would turn the propeller by hand while others held onto the airplane to keep it from moving. When the engine started and the helper who "propped" the plane was out of the way, the airplane was released, bounced awkwardly along the field and eventually took off. Since the wind speed and direction varied, a large field allowed the airplane to always takeoff and land into the wind. Not until

“When the engine started and the helper who "propped" the plane was out of the way, the airplane was released, bounced awkwardly along the field and eventually took off�

after the 1930s were airplanes equipped for self-propelled taxiing (move slowly along the ground) and quite a few airports were still large fields.

Many airports around the country still have the word "Field" in their name. Merrill Field (MRI) in Anchorage, AK, and Love Field (DAL) in Dallas, TX are two airports still referred to as fields.

Aircraft and airports have evolved and continue to evolve. In the 1950s airplanes began to have a variety of uses for transportation and business. Airplanes were equipped with steerable tail wheels instead of tail skids so they could operate more easily on the ground. As airplanes got 78

larger and heavier it became necessary for airports to have hard surface runways instead of the grass or gravel fields because such fields could not support the weight of heavier airplanes. (A Boeing 747 can weigh more than 800,000 pounds at takeoff.)

Airports eventually began to offer more services for airplane operators and their increasing number of passengers. A modern large airport today has thousands of workers, accommodates tens of thousands of passengers, and loads or unloads hundreds of thousands of pounds of baggage and cargo daily.

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Continued from page 78 There are many types of airports that exist today as part of the United States' air transportation system. These airports range from a single grass airstrip in an agricultural or rural area to the large airports serving major cities. There are seven basic types of airports: Rural airstrip Private airport Military airports Small community airport Regional community airport Regional airport Major city airport Not all airports are located

near towns and cities. Driving through agricultural regions, a single narrow strip of grass or pavement along the highway could indicate that there is an aerial operation based there.

These are referred to as rural airstrips.

There are several private communities in the United States with a small, common airstrip where homes with attached hangars allow owners to taxi from their hangar to a shared runway. An interesting note: in Alaska any public road can be used as a runway, however in the state of New York it is ille-

gal to make an emergency landing on any highway.

Military airstrips or airports are usually restricted to military aircraft usage from flight testing to military training routes. These airports are designed to handle rotorcraft or fixed wing aircraft. Most of the runways of military airports can accommodate heavy, wide-body aircraft and have a runway length of 8,000 to 13,000 feet.

Many small communities have single airstrip airports where private and small business airplanes are based.

These small community airports support general aviation flying. Most of these smaller airports do not have operating control towers. Often these regional community airports offer facilities for training student pilots. A few of these smaller airports near remote towns and cities have limited airline service. These services usually consist of small, propeller airplanes or small, regional jets that seat no more than 20 passengers.

The airline service from a small community airport can provide service to a major city airport and a regional airport, and also to a regional community airport Continued on page 80

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Continued from page 79

The regional community airports typically are larger than the small community airports, have airport control towers, and have facilities for operation in instrument conditions when visibility is poor. Commuter airlines using slightly larger jets (like 727s) provide service from these airports to other regional community airports, regional airports, and to major city airports.

Regional airports are supported by several communities. Working together these communities can have an airport with instrument facilities, a control tower, and airline service. These airports provide passenger and cargo service on a regular basis and support the larger passenger aircraft. The Kingston, NC area airport is the Kingston Regional Jetport at Stallings Field, (ISO), and the Tri-cities Regional TN/VA (TRI) airport is operated by the cities of Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport TN. Airports can be privately owned or owned by counties,

cities, or groups of cities.

Some airports are owned by counties or small cities with the costs, profits, and rewards being shared by the citizens of the county or city. Fulton County-Brown Field (FTY) near Atlanta is a busy airport with all the services offered at major city airports. It has a control tower and instrument landing facilities. Many of these smaller city airports have two or more runways and facilities for making instrument approaches when the weather causes ceilings and visibilities below authorized minimums.

“ irport "size" is A judged either by the number of operations (takeoffs and landings) or the number of passengers who fly in or out of the facility. �

Airport "size" is judged either by the number of operations (takeoffs and landings) or the number of passengers who fly in or out of the facility. In 2008 for the United States, Hartsfield (ATL) in Atlanta, Chicago-O'Hare International (ORD), and the Los Angeles International (LAX) were the three largest airports as measured by passenger traffic.

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These major city airports handle most national and international flights and support mainly the much larger airliners such as 737s, 747s and 777s. Characteristics of these major city airports include separate terminals for national and international flights, two or more long runways capable of handling the larger jet airliners, and fully functioning airport control towers with instrument landing capabilities.

In the United States, the primary means of travel between large cities at least 1,000 miles apart is by air. Airliners transport large numbers of passengers and vast quantities of luggage and freight over great distances in relatively short time frames. The smaller general aviation aircraft provide passenger and cargo service to the less-populated communities. Overall, airports bring business and industry to every community they support. All airports regardless of their size, provide access to the air transportation network.

A few of the larger airports are commonly referred to by their airport identifiers. In Los Angeles people fly out of L-A -X, that is, Los Angeles International Airport. In New York City, the largest airport is Continued on page 81

Continued from page 80 often referred to as J-F-K instead of John F. Kennedy International Airport. In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, people fly in and out of D-F-W.

listed in smaller type (DTW = Detroit, Michigan).

In navigation and surveying, all measurement of direction is performed by using the numbers of a compass. A compass is a 360° circle where 0/360° is North, 90° is East, 180° is South, and 270° is West. Runways are laid out according to the numbers on a compass. A runway's compass direction is indicated by a large number painted at the end of each runway. Preceding that number are 8 white stripes.

All airports have an airport identifier. The identifier is actually four letters or a combination of letters and numbers.

Since the first letter of all continental United States airports is "K", it is just omitted from the remaining identification letters. For airline luggage tags all identifiers for all countries have only three letters. If you have flown into any of the destination airports listed below you might recognize the threeletter luggage tag.

SFO San Francisco International LHR London Heathrow CDG Paris Charles De Gaulle Bar codes contain four characters signifying the final destination.

Carrier initials (Speedy Flight) and a six-character bag number are followed by a threecharacter abbreviation for the final destination (FWA = Fort Wayne, Indiana).

Final flight listed first, carrier initials, flight numbers, and date for all parts of the journey show a mini-itinerary. Destinations for initial flights are

National Airspace System.

Aviation is controlled by an agency of the United States' government known as the Federal Aviation Administration or the FAA. This agency mandates identification standards for airport layout that is meant to assist pilots in easily recognizing runways from the air and to taxi safely from the runway to the gate. From runway numbers and painted stripes to airport and runway lights and signs, the FAA regulates the 81

Following that number by 500 feet is the "touchdown zone" which is identified by 6 white stripes. A runway's number is not written in degrees, but is given a shorthand format. For example, a runway with a marking of "14" is actually close to (if not a direct heading of) 140 degrees.

This is a southeast compass heading. A runway with a marking of "31" has a compass heading of 310 degrees, that is, a northwest direction.

For simplicity, the FAA rounds off the precise heading to the nearest tens.

For example, runway 7 might have a precise heading of 68 degrees, but is rounded off to 70 degrees.

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Each runway has a different number on each end. Look at the diagram below. One end of the runway is facing due west while the other end of the runway is facing due east. The compass direction for due west is 270 degrees ("27"). The compass direction for due east is 90 degrees ("9"). All runways follow this directional layout. This runway would be referred to as "Runway 9-27" because of its east-west orientation.

The FAA includes over 20 different runway layouts in their advisory materials. There are 4 basic runway configurations with the rest being variations of the original patterns. The basic runway configurations are the following: Single runway This is the simplest of the 4 basic configurations. It is one runway optimally positioned for prevailing winds, noise,

land use and other determining factors. During VFR (visual flight rules) conditions, this one runway should accommodate up to 99 light aircraft operations per hour.

While under IFR (instrument flight rules) conditions, it would accommodate between 42 to 53 operations per hour depending on the mix of traffic and navigational aids available at that airport.

Parallel runways There are 4 types of parallel runways. These are named according to how closely they are placed next to each other.

Operations per hour will vary depending on the total number of runways and the mix of aircraft. In IFR conditions for predominantly light aircraft, the number of operations would range between 64 to 128 per hour.

Open-V runways Two runways that diverge Continued on page 83

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Continued from page 82 “Two or more runways that cross each other are classified as intersecting runways� from different directions but do NOT intersect form a shape that looks like an "open-V" are called open-V runways. This configuration is useful when there is little to no wind as it allows for both runways to be used at the same time. When the winds become strong in one direction, then only one runway will be used. When takeoffs and landings are made away from the two closer ends, the number of operations per hour significantly increases.

When takeoffs and landings are made toward the two closer ends, the number of operations per hour can be reduced by 50%.

greatest capacity for operations is accomplished when the intersection is close to the takeoff end and the landing threshold.

airport runways and freeways, airports have rotating beacon lights. These beacons usually flash green and white lights to indicate a civilian airport.

The capacity for the number of operations varies greatly with this runway configuration. It really depends on the location of the intersection and the manner in which the runways are operated (IFR, VFR, aircraft mix). This type of configuration also has the potential to use a greater amount of land area than parallel runway configurations.

They are visible from the air long before the entire airport is recognizable. To help pilots at night quickly identify the beginning of a runway, green threshold lights line the runway's edge.

Airports also use standardized lighting and ground markings to provide direction and identification to all air and ground crews. To assist pilots in differentiating at night between

Intersecting runways Two or more runways that cross each other are classified as intersecting runways. This type of configuration is used when there are relatively strong prevailing winds from more than one direction during the year. When the winds are strong from one direction, operations will be limited to only one runway. With relatively light winds, both runways can be used simultaneously. The 83

Red lights mark the ends of runways and indicate obstructions. Blue lights run alongside taxiways while runways have white or yellow lights marking their edges. All these markings and lights serve to set a safety standard for all pilots to follow.

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Continued from page 83 When runways are built, their layout is influenced by many factors: Federal Aviation Regulations environmental concerns Noise level impacts Terrain and soil considerations Natural and man-made obstructions Annual weather patterns Size and performance characteristics of the airplanes that will use the runways These are all factors in runway and airport planning. Many issues are studied before final decisions on airport location and runway layout are determined.

Environmental impact requirements for airports were first established with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and in 1970 with the Airport and Airway Development Act. These acts ensure that due consideration is given to the effects on the quality of the environment and the surrounding communities in regard to airport expansion, use and development. Before building a new facility or expanding an existing facility, an impact study or feasibility study must

be done. These studies include a critical assessment of all impact issues from soil to air quality.

Controlling water pollution from airports has been wellmastered by planners. Airports can be major contributors to water pollution if suitable treatment facilities are not provided for the various types of

“Environmental impact requirements for airports were first established with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 � airport wastes. These wastes include the following: domestic sewage, industrial wastes such as oil and fuel spills and high temperature water degradation that stems from the heat of various power plants in nearly constant use at an airport.

One of the most severe problems is that of aircraft noise in and around an airport. Laying out runways so that air traffic patterns occur minimally over heavily populated areas is a practice now widely employed during runway expansion and when building new airports.

Controlling the land use around an airport also helps 84

reduce the interference of aircraft noise with the public.

Noise abatement procedures during takeoff and landing make for quieter airport operations.

Such procedures consist of a faster takeoff speed quickly followed by slowing the engine once airborne over a populated area, then returning the engines to full speed and resuming normal flight operations. This lessens the amount of engine noise over the populated area without adversely affecting the flight. Improvements in engine design have also been a successful factor in reducing aircraft noise.

Airports attract business and people, but airports are noisy.

Businesses and people do not like airport noise. There are very few airports in the world where no noise complaints have been recorded. Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) records the time and track of every arriving and departing aircraft. If a complaint is received DFW personnel can identify the aircraft that was the cause. There is an organization called the San Francisco Airport Roundtable that keeps tabs on noise and other concerns at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

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Continued from page 84 The goal of NASA's Quiet Aircraft Technology project (sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate) is to reduce perceived aircraft noise by 50 percent by 2015 and by 75 percent in 25 years, using 1997 levels as the baseline.

Noise in the vicinity of airports generated from aircraft operations has an adverse impact on a community's quality of life. At the very least, aircraft noise is distracting and it can be unhealthy. Noise is generated from the propulsion system by the rotating machinery, the combustion process, the jet flow from the nozzle as well as by the aircraft from airflow over wing flaps and around the landing gear. Noise is measured as sound pressure levels in decibels (dB). Noise impact on communities is a function of both the noise (dB)

from a single aircraft operation and the number of aircraft operations. Therefore, as operations increase, overall community noise impact increases.

NASA's objective is to lower aircraft source noise such that there is a substantial reduction in community noise impact even as the number of aircraft operations increase.

The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) makes the regulations (CFR, Part 36) but airport operators are primarily responsible for planning and implementing action designed to reduce the effect of noise on residents of the surrounding area. Such actions include optimal site location, improvements in airport design, and noise abatement procedures.

Noise abatement procedures can include designated arrival and/or departure paths and procedures. Land acquisition

“ oal of NASA's g Quiet Aircraft Technology project (sponsored

by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate) is to reduce perceived aircraft noise by 50 percent by 2015.� and restrictions on airport use should not unjustly discriminate against any user or impede the federal interest in safety and management of the air navigation system.

During the 1990s, aircraft were required to become less noisy. This change was accomplished with the design of quieter engines and in some cases "hush kits" were installed on some older aircraft.

The change came in three stages where the aircraft noise level in decibels was reduced to less objectionable and less dangerous levels. As of the first of January 2000 Stage 3, the final stage, was implemented.

The noise level of Stage 3 aircraft is comparable to a busy urban street and is much Continued on page 86

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Continued from page 85 “The wind pattern on the leeward side of a mountain contains dangerous downdrafts or "rotor waves" quieter than the Stage 2 aircraft noise level which is similar to an amplified rock music concert.

To find noise restrictions for individual airports visit the Boeing Corporation web site: http://www.boeing.com/ commercial/noise/index.html The ground on which the airport is to be built must have a stable stratum of earth upon which building foundations can be anchored. The soil must be capable of supporting heavy loads without shifting or sinking. If the airport's runways are to be used by heavy aircraft (airplanes with a gross weight 300,000 pounds and heavier) the underlying soil and/or bedrock must be able to support the weight of the runway plus the aircraft's weight. Many airport runways have several feet of reinforced concrete to support the airplanes without cracking.

Land at a greater elevation surrounding an airport such as mountains also have a pro-

found effect on winds. In the daytime, air next to a mountain slope is heated by contact with the ground as it receives radiation from the sun. This air usually becomes warmer than the air farther up the slope.

Colder, denser air in the area settles downward and forces the warmer air near the ground up the mountain slope. This wind is called a "valley wind" because the air is flowing up and out of the valley. At night, the air in contact with the mountain slope is cooled by terrestrial radiation and becomes heavier than the surrounding air. It sinks along the slope producing the "mountain wind" which flows like water down the mountain slope.

Mountain winds are usually stronger than valley winds, especially in winter. The wind

There are many airports within mountainous areas where the runway headings generally run parallel with the length of the valley in which they are located or run along neighboring rivers. The terrain often influences development of the runways in the mountains. The airport runway at Aspen, CO, Aspen-Pitkin County/Sandy Field (ASE) is located near the end of a long valley. Airplanes land up the valley and takeoff down the valley. Mountains rise abruptly from the airport elevation of 7,815 feet to above 14,000 feet on three sides of the airport.

pattern on the leeward side of a mountain contains dangerous downdrafts or "rotor waves".

An aircraft flying through such wind would encounter hazardous turbulence that would push the airplane towards the ground. These are all considered when orienting runways in an area near mountains.

orientation. Landing at Reagan National Airport on Runway 15 requires a curving approach that follows above the Potomac River's course.

Takeoff on Runway 33 from the same airport requires the reverse trip following above

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Man-made obstructions like multi-storied high rises, transmissions towers and bridges can and do influence runway

Continued on page 87

Continued from page 86 the Potomac River because of government buildings to the north of the river and many high buildings south of the river.

“weather patterns of an area, especially the prevailing winds, are a major factor in determining runway headings" Consideration of local weather patterns is also a factor in determining an airport's layout.

The weather patterns of an area, especially the prevailing winds, are a major factor in determining runway headings.

Prevailing winds are defined as the direction from which the winds blow most frequently.

Remember that airplanes take off and land into the wind.

Let's say that at a given airport the prevailing winds blow in from the west 65% of the year, while 30% of the year the wind blows in from the east, and the remaining 5% coming from the northwest. It would be best then to orient the runway W (27) and E (9). That would mean that approximately 95% of the year airplanes would be landing and taking off into the wind. In most of Texas and Oklahoma the runways are generally N-S runways because the winds are

usually from either the North or South. In parts of the Eastern United States there are many airports with NE-SW and NW-SE runways because the winds are more likely to change between those two directions.

providing more gates and more room within the terminal for ticketing and passenger processing.

Terminal Configuration Although there are many types of terminal configurations currently in use at airports across the United States, the five basic types are given below with a brief description of each.

Simple terminal This configuration consists of one building holding a common ticketing and waiting area with several exits leading to a small aircraft parking apron for boarding. This is used at mainly small aircraft airports and some older large airports.

Pier finger terminal This terminal configuration evolved during the 1950s when gate concourses were added to the simple terminal building designs. A concourse is actually defined as an open space where paths meet.

Passengers are usually processed at the simple terminal location and then routed down a "pier" where aircraft are parked in the "finger" slots or gates for boarding.

Linear terminal/ Curvilinear terminal This is simply an extension of the simple terminal concept 87

Continued on page 88

Continued from page 87 Pier satellite terminal/ Remote satellite terminal This configuration involves a single terminal where all the ticketing and passenger processing takes place. Connected to this are numerous concourses that lead to one or more satellite structures.

At the end of each concourse the aircraft are parked in a cluster. This increases the distance a passenger must walk to get from one terminal to another or one gate to another.

People-mover systems are employed in these settings to reduce these walking distances.

These systems can be highspeed escalators, monorails or electric-powered carts. This design concept lends itself to a compact central terminal, but is difficult to expand without disrupting airport operations.

“ obile lounge m can also be used as holding rooms for waiting passengers at gate positions. " Mobile lounge or transporter terminal (remote aircraft parking concept) This concept is currently in use at Dulles International Airport and Tampa International Airport. In this concept passengers are transported to and from the building to the parked airplane. The mobile lounge can also be used as holding rooms for waiting passengers at gate positions.

Several sets of parallel parking rows can be created as increased traffic deems such expansion necessary. This design has excellent expansion capabilities and can maintain the pace with increased airport usage. With this concept, aircraft can be parked remotely from the terminal buildings thus increasing the amount of aircraft enplaning and deplaning passengers.

Airplane taxiing time to and from the runway is decreased as well as the amount of aircraft engine noise around the terminal.

Airplanes are parked at gates placed along parallel rows.

This article features on the NASA Virtual Skies website. To discover more about them, please visit their website at:

http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/

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So you think you know aviation? Test your knowledge with our monthly quiz Answers to the April edition Air Brain: 1.

5.

9.

USA Saudi Britain (RN)

2.

6.

10.

Canada Germany India

3.

7.

11.

Sweden Russia Spain

4.

8.

12.

Britain (RAF) Argentina New Zealand

How did you do last month? Get all 12 right? Let’s see how you do this month. This month, aircraft identification: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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Air and Space Museum in Paris Le Bourget record-making airplanes, prototypes and helicopters show the wide diversity of use of these "heavier than air" devices.

From the room devoted to the "ballooning era" to the gallery containing the finest collections of aircraft, lifesize models of the European Ariane rockets to the exhibit of Concorde 001, you will learn about two epic centuries of history from this exceptional exhibition featuring over 150 original machines.

As witness of man's dream to conquer the sky, it is also the protector of the memory of this historical site : Paris-Le Bourget aeroport. Stretching over 18,000 m2 of exhibition space, it offers the finest collections touching on all themes of air an space. The terminal, in this historical site more than 200 m long, a chronological

exhibition will transport the visitor from the first balloon ride at the end of the 18th century, up to 1918, passing by the forerunners and pioneers.

This collection of genuine old aircraft is unique in the world.

The rocket exhibition hall, satellites and space engines include a genuine Soyouz spaceship), and a large choice of audiovisual sequences enabling us to better understand the history and stakes involved in the conquest of space in a completely renovated exhibition hall measuring 2,500 m2.

Animated presentations show on a large scale the launching path of an Ariane 5 rocket and the Apollo 11 mission. The aviation exhibition halls, military aircraft, stunt flying and 92

The 2 Concorde exhibition hall, visitors can climb on board the impressive Concorde prototype 001 and Concorde Sierra Delta, an Air France supersonic commercial aircraft and holder of several speed records. The SaintExupéry exhibition room, where parts of the pilot's plane including his identity bracelet are exposed: On the Tarmac, dominated by a Boeing 747 and life-sized models of the Ariane rockets 1 and 5, several commercial and military aircrafts are exhibited. The interior of a Boeing 747-128 has been designed to allow the visitor to discover the usually hidden parts of the aircraft such as the cockpit, baggage hold, petrol reservoir, and landing gear.

Open daily except Mondays, 10am to 5pm (6pm from 1st May to 31st October) Information Aéroport du Bourget 93350 Le Bourget / Tél. : + 33 (0)1 49 92 70 62

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Latest airline fleet additions from airfleets.net Airbus A330 Airbus A321 Airbus A330 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Airbus A330 Boeing 737 Next Gen Boeing 737 Next Gen Boeing 737 Next Gen Embraer 170/175 Boeing 787 Airbus A321 Boeing 737 Next Gen Embraer 190/195 Boeing 737 Next Gen Embraer 190/195 Airbus A380 Boeing 737 Next Gen Boeing 777 Airbus A319 Embraer 135/145 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Boeing 777 Boeing 777 Boeing 777 Boeing 787 Airbus A321 Airbus A321 ATR 42/72 Airbus A330 Airbus A330 Sukhoi SuperJet 100 Boeing 787 Airbus A321 Boeing 787

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B-LBJ N136AN LV-FVI EC-MFL EC-MFK D-AIUM G-VGYK PR-GXY B-1773 B-1506 N141SY N805AN RP-C9923 D-ATUR PR-AUJ N68880 OO-JVA A6-APB B-1763 VQ-BUB P4-MGU VP-CRA EC-MFL A7-LAC A7-ALA B-1683 JA891A F-GZNP PH-BVO JA836A B-1639 XA-VLH PR-AQZ B-LBK TC-JOH XA-OUI B-2761 N948JB HS-TQE 95

Cathay Pacific American Airlines Aerolineas Argentinas Vueling Airlines Vueling Airlines Lufthansa Thomas Cook UK GOL Transportes Aereos China Eastern Airlines Shandong Airlines SkyWest USA American Airlines Philippine Airlines TUIfly Azul Linhas Aereas United Airlines JetairFly Etihad Airways Air China Aeroflot Global Jet Luxembourg Private Vueling Airlines Al Maha Airways Al Maha Airways Shenzhen Airlines All Nippon Airways Air France KLM All Nippon Airways Air China Volaris Azul Linhas Aereas Cathay Pacific THY Turkish Airlines Interjet Xiamen Airlines JetBlue Airways Thai Airways

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Continued from page 97 Airbus A321 ATR 42/72 Airbus A380 Airbus A319 Airbus A330 Embraer 170/175 Embraer 170/175 Airbus A330 Airbus A321 ATR 42/72 Embraer 170/175

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US Airways Wings Air Emirates China Eastern Airlines THY Turkish Airlines Mesa Airlines SkyWest USA THY Turkish Airlines EVA Airways Garuda Compass Airlines USA

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Airbus A321 MSN:6573 RP-C9923, Philippine Airlines—Delivered as D-AVXD Photo Credit: Dick Grothe / planespotters.net 96

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