Marking a milestone for both Pacific Helicopters and aviation operations in Papua New Guinea, the company has taken delivery of the first of three H145 helicopters from Airbus Helicopters. The first H145, leased from international lessor, Waypoint Leasing, has arrived in the Eastern Highlands Provincial capital of Goroka, following final reassembly at Airbus Group Australia Pacific’s Sydney...
The H160’s second prototype took off today in Marignane, kicking off a busy 2016 for the H160 as it pursues its flight test program with two prototypes. The second prototype is the first H160 to fly with the Turbomeca Arrano engines. PT1 had accumulated more than 75 hours of flight testing by the end of 2015, allowing the aircraft to open the flight envelope and validating some of the helic...
Airbus Corporate Jet Centre, the innovative provider of customized nose-to-tail solutions toVIP and airline customers under Airbus standards, has delivered a refurbished Airbus ACJ319 for an undisclosed government, after a successful C-Check (10 years) and heavy work on the fuselage. This project presented a double challenge by requiring high-level communication and in-flight entertainment (I...
On 26 January 2016, Air France and Air Tahiti signed a new special prorate agreement offering the two airlines’ customers increased services to the islands of French Polynesia. With this agreement, customers will be able to more easily book their flights to 19 islands of French Polynesia* on departure from Paris, Los Angeles as well as the entire global network served by Air France and its...
The Lycée Airbus will present on 6th February the four Vocational Baccalaureates it offers to students: Industrial Metalworking Technician; Machining Technician; Aeronautics – Avionics option and Aeronautics – Structure option. These courses last three years, and are taught in a school context for the first two years, and then as an apprenticeship for the last year. They...
Assembly of the main airframe sections of the first A350 XWB for China Airlines is advancing at Airbus’ Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France. This involves the assembly of the wing-fuselage junction, the installation of the tailplane and also the tailcone. The aircraft will then be moved to the next assembly station for structural completion, ground testing of mechanical, e...
During 2015, Airbus Helicopters delivered 395 rotorcraft from the company’s civil, parapublic and military product lines, strengthening its leading position on the civil & parapublic market while maintaining its share of the worldwide military market. Meanwhile, the company booked 383 orders – adjusted to 333 due to contract amendments for governmental NH90 and Tiger helicopters &n...
In December, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) awarded the certification of the increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) for the H145. With this enhancement, the helicopter can carry an extra 50kg, raising the MTOW to a total of 3.7 metric tons. It will be available for customers in early 2016. As the improvement does not require any structural modifications or additional equipment, it wi...
When the Airbus A380 began flying passengers in 2007, the manufacturer hailed the double-deck transport as a game-changer. It still does, citing the emergence of space-constrained hubs as the key factor that will force airlines to seek out the largest-capacity aircraft on the market. However, total sales of just over 300 superjumbos – around half of them to Emirates – hav...
France appears to have selected Sagem's Patroller for its army’s tactical unmanned air vehicle requirement, defeating the rival Thales Watchkeeper system. If the deal goes ahead, Paris will be the first customer for the Patroller, under a reported €300 million ($324 million) contract, according to French news outlet Air & Cosmos. In June, Boulogne-Billancourt, France-...
K5 Aviation GmbH of Germany has firmed up a previously announced commitment for an Airbus ACJ319neo, adding to the growing number of orders for the world’s newest private jet family, which includes the ACJ320neo launched in 2015. The ACJ319neo will be operated by K5 Aviation, which will be the first to fly the new type. K5 Aviation already manages three ACJ319s that are offered for VVIP c...
As a commercial venture, Concorde was a several-billion dollar failure. Between its introduction in 1976 and retirement 27 years later, the world’s only in-service supersonic airliner was only ever flown – as a loss-leader – by the national airlines of the two countries that led its development. Yet as a technological triumph and icon of aviation, it has never been surpassed, del...
