Kulula Air with New Funny Livery

South African low-fare airline kulula.com recently came up with a brand-new, funny livery. One of their Boeing 737-86N (ZS-ZWP / OK-PIK), called “Flying 101” is entirely covered with details and funny remarks about the plane.

Photos – by Malcolm Nason

Kulula Air Special Livery

Kulula Air Funny Livery

Kulula Air Boeing 737-800 Funny Livery

Kulula Air Boeing 737-800 Special Livery

The captain’s window is marked with the big cheese (“captain, my captain!”), the co-pilot’s window with co-captain (the other pilot on the PA system) and the jump seat is for wannabe pilots.

In addition, the following descriptions of plane parts can be found:

  • galley (cuppa anyone?)
  • avionics (fancy navigation stuff)
  • windows (best view in the world)
  • wing #1 and #2
  • engine #1 and #2 (26 000 pounds of thrust)
  • emergency exit = throne zone (more leg room baby!)
  • seats (better than taxi seats)
  • some windows = kulula fans (the coolest peeps in the world)
  • black box (which is actually orange)
  • landing gear (comes standard with supa-fly mags)
  • back door (no bribery/corruption here)
  • tail (featuring an awesome logo)
  • loo (or mile-high club initiation chamber)
  • rudder (the steering thingy)
  • stabiliser (the other steering thingy)
  • a.p.u. (extra power when you need it most)
  • galley (food, food, food, food…)
  • boot space
  • ZS-ZWP (OK-PIK) = secret agent code (aka plane’s registration)
  • overhead cabins (VIP seating for your hand luggage)
  • fuel tanks (the go-go juice)
  • cargo door
  • aircon ducts (not that kulula needs it… they’re already cool)
  • front door (our door is always open … unless we’re at 41 000 feet)
  • cockpit window = sun roof
  • nose cone (radar, antenna, and a really big dish inside)

Video+Photos – Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 First Flight

Today the prototype of the first Russian fifth generation jet fighter, the Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 successfully completed its first flight!

“In the course of the flight we’ve conducted initial evaluation of the aircraft controllability, engine performance and primary systems operation, the aircraft had retracted and extracted the landing gear. The aircraft performed excellently at all flight-test points scheduled for today. It is easy and comfortable to pilot”, – said the pilot Sergey Bogdan.

Video

Photos

Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 In-Flight
Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 First Flight
Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 First Flight

The current prototype is fully developed and intended to replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with India. As fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.

Photos: Sukhoi

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Crashed Into Mediterranean Sea

Today Ethiopian Airlines flight 409, a Boeing 737-8AS(WL) (ET-ANB), crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon. The flight was bound for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unfortunately, no one of the 8 crew and 82 passengers survived this accident.
Weather reported about the time of the accident was: Wind 310 degrees at 8 knots, variable from 280° to 340°; visibility 8km; thunderstorms in the vicinity; few clouds with cumulonimbus at 2,000 ft; scattered clouds at 2,600 ft; temperature 13 degrees C

N106US “Hudson A320” Wreckage To Be Sold

Almost one year after the famous US Airways 1549 New York Hudson River emergency landing, Airbus A320-214 N106US (S/N 1044) was put on auction recently. The auction closes March 27 and is open to the general public. Bids can be submitted online. The wreckage is currently stored in Kearny, NJ – wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers have been separated from the fuselage, the engines are not included in the sale.

Photos
Hudson River Airbus A320 Fuselage - US Airways 1549 N106US
US Airways 1549 Airbus A320 Fuselage Impact Damage
Hudson River US Airways 1549 Airbus A320 Cockpit
Hudson River Airbus A320 Cockpit
Hudson River US Airways 1549 Airbus A320 Cabin

Link to auction:
http://www.aigaviation.com/aviationsalvage/salvagedetail.aspx?faano=N106US

Photos: aigaviation.com

Airbus Delivers 6000th Aircraft

Airbus today celebrated the delivery of the 6,000th aircraft in the airframe manufacturer’s 40 year history. The aircraft, an A380 (MSN025), was handed over to Emirates Airline in a ceremony in Hamburg. The aircraft is Emirates’ eighth A380.

6000th Airbus Aircraft - 25th Airbus A380

Accepting delivery of the new aircraft, Adel Al Redha, Executive Vice President, Emirates’ Engineering and Operations, said: “The A380 represents the future of air travel and our strength and determination to drive forward, alongside Airbus, to meet our ambitious expansion plans and traffic demand. If a powerful demonstration of the resilience of the aviation industry was required, today has provided that. All who have flown the A380 will realise that this is a very special aircraft, embracing the latest in passenger comfort, technology and environmental credentials.”

“Today’s delivery is our 25th A380 so far, and more importantly, the 6,000th Airbus produced in our 40 year history. It is particularly significant that it is both an A380 and for Emirates, as they were involved in its development from early on. We are proud to have the words’ Airbus 6,000th Aircraft’ inscribed alongside the Emirates livery,” said Tom Enders, Airbus CEO.

With a total order for 58 aircraft, Emirates is the single largest customer for the A380. Established in 1985, Emirates became an Airbus operator from the outset. Today, Emirates’ Airbus fleet has grown to 55 aircraft with a further 121 on order.

Airbus delivered its first customer aircraft in May 1974 – an A300B2
The 1,000th aircraft was delivered in March 1993 – an A340-300
The 2,000th was delivered in May 1999 – an A340-300
The 3,000th was delivered in July 2002 – an A320
The 4,000th was delivered in September 2005 – an A330-300
The 5,000th was delivered in December 2007 – an A330-200

Airbus was formed in 1969, and by 2005 had reached more than 50 per cent of worldwide deliveries in a single year, of all aircraft of more than 100 seats. It also took Airbus some 30 years after its initial creation to bypassBoeing in terms of sales and remain at around half the market share.

Source: Airbus
Photo: Airbus

United Airlines Airbus A319 Emergency Landing at Newark

An United Airlines Airbus A319-131 (N816UA) was substantially damaged today when it landed at Newark-Liberty International Airport, NJ (EWR) with its right hand main landing gear retracted.

Videos

Photos
United Flight 634 after emergency landing at Newark on Twitpic Share photos on twitter with Twitpic

United Airlines flight UA634 was bound from Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, IL (ORD) to Newark-Liberty International Airport, NJ (EWR). While on finals, the crew experienced problems getting the main gear down and locked. After the crew carried out a missed approach, a new approach was carried out to runway 04L. The airplane landed with the right main gear retracted and came to rest on the runway with the nr.2 engine touching the runway surface. The plane was evacuated using the emergency slides, no one was injured.

Source: aviation-safety.net

Russia Tests 5th Generation Fighter

Russia has started tests of its fifth generation fighter – the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA! The project in which India is also a partner, prepares to compete with the F-22 Raptor.

The first prototype of the aircraft rolled out on the runway of KNAAPO aircraft plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the country’s far east. The test pilot switched on its engines and made two runs on the runway.

The Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA has a range of 5,500 km, and is scheduled to enter service with the Russian Air Force in 2015. Ahead of the maiden flight scheduled for this month, first runway tests of the fighter were held in December.

Although there is no reliable information about the PAK FA’s specifications yet, it is known from interviews with people in the Russian Air Force that it will be stealthy, have the ability to supercruise, be outfitted with the next generation of air-to-air, air-to-surface, and air-to-ship missiles, incorporate a fix-mounted AESA radar with a 1,500-element array and have an ‘artificial intellect’. The PAK FA will use on its first flights 2 Saturn 117S engines (about 14.5 ton thrust each). The 117S is an advanced version of the AL-31F, but built with the experience gained in the AL-41F program. The AL-41F powered the Mikoyan MFI fighter (Project/Article 1.44). Later versions of the PAK FA will use a completely new engine (17.5 ton thrust each), developed by NPO Saturn or FGUP MMPP Salyut.

Currently the only developed fifth generation jet fighters are the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.

Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA

Under an agreement signed in October 2007, India has also joined Russia in the project based on Sukhoi’s PAK FA project, and the two nations are in negotiations to finalise the commercial contract for the deal.

At least three prototypes have been built by the KNAAPO aircraft plant.

Photo: paralay.com
Source: dnaindia.com