Going on Vacation

Flightstory.net LogoDear fellow aviation enthusiasts, for the next 2 weeks I’ll be gone on vacation. I’ll be going with Skytrax Airline of the Year to Skytrax Airport of the Year 2008 (and probably 2009). 😉

Sorry, but during that time I won’t publish new articles and no new commentators will be approved. I also won’t reply to your e-mails till I’m back.

Unfortunately, according to turbulenceforecast.com the flight could be quite boring 🙁 Let’s hope that the forecast isn’t right or that a little CAT may be waiting. 😉

Photos – Boeing Announces BBJ Convertible Availability

At EBACE (European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition) Boeing today announced the availability of the BBJ Convertible (BBJ C).
Boeing Business Jet
The Convertible version of the BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) allows the airplane to be reconfigured from all-passenger to all-cargo configuration in less than 8 hours.

Governments, corporations and private individuals can quickly change from transporting VIPs, staff or troops to delivering disaster-relief supplies or configuring for medical evacuation. There is room for transporting tools, parts and machinery; race cars or race horses; or equipment for touring bands and musicians.

Boeing BBJ Convertible Cargo Door
Boeing Business Jet Convertible (BBJ C) Passenger Cabin
BBJ C - Boeing Business Jet Convertible - Cargo Hold

Boeing recently finalized an agreement with Greenpoint Technologies to provide 747-8 VIP owners and their chosen completion centers with a kit that adds 75 square-meters of space to the airplane’s crown. The Overhead Space Utilization or OSU kit is installed post production above the main cabin ceilings between doors three and five. The kit includes stairs from the main deck to the space above. Greenpoint offers three artistically engineered OSU designs.

BBJ owners receiving their airplanes after mid-2011 will reduce fuel consumption by 2 percent through a combination of airframe and engine improvements that Boeing announced in late April. Airplane structural improvements will reduce drag on the airplane, reducing fuel use by about 1 percent.
Boeing’s engine partner, CFM is contributing a further 1 percent fuel savings through hardware changes to its CFM56-7B Evolution engine.

Source & Photos: Boeing

Photo – 50th 767 Delivered to Japan Airlines

Boeing last week delivered the 50th Boeing 767 jetliner, a 767-346ER (Registration: JA622J) to Japan Airlines (JAL), the fifth-largest 767 operator in the world.
The 767-300ER is the 404th Boeing airplane delivered to Tokyo-based JAL Group, a Boeing- and McDonnell Douglas-heritage customer since 1960.

Japan Airlines (JAL) 50th Boeing 767 (767-346ER - JA622J)

Source & Photo: Boeing

Embraer Delivers First Lineage 1000 Jet

Embraer delivered the first Lineage 1000 executive jet, yesterday, in São José dos Campos, Brazil, to HE Aamer Abdul Jalil Al Fahim, of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The aircraft, to be managed on behalf of the owner by Prestige Jet, also of Abu Dhabi, will have its first public exhibition at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), May 12-14, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Embraer Lineage 1000 Executive Jet - Managed by Prestige Jet - Abu Dhabi

In Embraer’s portfolio of six executive jets, the Lineage 1000 is the largest aircraft. Configured to accommodate up to 19 people in a total cabin volume of 4,085 cubic feet (115.7 cubic meters), the jet’s flexible interior offers five distinct privacy zones, as many as three lavatories, and an available stand-up shower. There is a wide variety of cabin configurations to fit all travelers’ needs, with plentiful room for work, rest and meetings. The airplane was launched three years ago, at EBACE.

Embraer Lineage 1000 Luxury Cabin Interior

Prestige Jet was formed in 2007, operating out of Abu Dhabi International Airport, and has quickly established itself as one of the foremost providers of top-of-range executive flight services from and to the Middle East Region. The range of services offered by Prestige Jet extends also to charter brokerage travel and aircraft sales, acquisition, and management.

Source & Photos: Embraer

Photos – Boeing 787 Dreamliner Moved to Flight Line

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that will fly later this quarter has moved to the flight line. Fuel testing – the first in the next phase of extensive checks the airplane must undergo – will begin in the next few days.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Moved to Flight Line (N787BA)

Boeing 787 Dreamliner (ZA001 / N787BA) on Flight Line

In recent weeks, the 787 (designated ZA001) completed a rigorous series of tests including build verification tests, structures and systems integration tests, landing gear swings and factory gauntlet, which is the full simulation of the first flight using the actual airplane. With Chief Pilot Mike Carriker at the controls, the simulation tested all flight controls, hardware and software. The simulation also included manual and automatic landings and an extensive suite of subsequent ground tests.

All structural tests required on the static airframe prior to first flight also are complete. The final test occurred April 21 when the wing and trailing edges were subjected to their limit load – the highest loads expected to be seen in service. The load is about the same as the airplane experiencing 2.5 times the force of gravity.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Structural Tests - Wing Load

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Tests - Wing and trailing edges on limit load

“We continue to analyze the data, but the initial results are positive,” Fancher said. On April 13, the leading edge of the wing was subjected to its limit load while the rest of the airplane was subjected to loads expected at cruise. And in September 2008, the “high blow” high-pressure test was completed on the static airframe. During that test, the airframe reached an internal pressure of 150 percent of the maximum levels expected to be seen in service – 14.9 lbs. per square inch (1.05 kilograms per centimeter) gauge (psig).

Ground vibration testing, which measures the airplane’s response to flutter, also concluded on the second flight-test airplane, designated ZA002, at the end of this week. All the necessary structural tests required prior to first flight now are complete.

Now on the flight line, ZA001 will undergo additional airplane power and systems tests as well as engine runs. After completing final systems checks and high-speed taxi tests, the airplane will be ready for first flight, which is on schedule for later this quarter.

Photos & Source: Boeing