Model Airplanes

Just before 10 a.m. on a spring morning sixty years ago, Canada’s first supersonic fighter plane roared off the ground and into the sky above Malton, Ont., with a World War Two pilot in the cockpit and a crowd of staff staring upwards from the tarmac below.

It was March 25, 1958, and it was the first test flight of the Avro Arrow. Reportedly, the plane only used half of the runway, and test pilot Janusz Zurakowsi’s only complaint was the cockpit didn’t have a clock. The plane, designed to defend Canada’s northern border in the event of a Russian attack, was deemed a success.

But 11 months later, on Feb. 20, 1959, the project was abruptly halted, setting off a controversy that continues among aviation and history buffs that has echoed into contemporary circles.

• Avro Arrow 60th anniversary marked by Calgary group constructing replica

• Who killed the Avro Arrow?

“It was said to be everything that they had hoped it would be. It was extremely fast and extremely effective, theoretically, at what it was built to do,” said Davide Montebruno, curator assistant at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

“Obviously, it never got a chance to do those things, except in the tests.”

Unveiling the Arrow0:33

The Arrow, designed by A.V. Roe Canada in Malton, was designed to serve in the Cold War, and intercept bombers expected to come over the North Pole. At the time, Montebruno says it was the most advanced aircraft ever designed in Canada.

“This plane had the first fly-by-wire system on an operational

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/avro-arrow-test-flight-anniversary-1.4592370

To help relieve its pilot shortage, the Air Force needs to lean on more bad guys.

Check that: They need good guys who fly like bad guys. And one Newport News-based contractor has that job in its sights.

Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., owned by Textron, employs former fighter pilots to play the role of enemy aircraft during military training exercises. It has a history of serving the Navy, using older fighters such as the F-21 Kfir, the MK-58 Hawker Hunter and the L-39 Albatros to challenge the Navy’s workhorse F/A-18 Hornet, preparing aircraft carrier strike groups before deployments.

Enter the Air Force, which is trying to claw back from a 2,000-pilot shortage it logged at the end of fiscal year 2017. Couple that with a chronic drop-off in the number of fighter squadrons and Air Force leaders say they will lean more on outsourcing Adversary Air, or ADAIR, at least for the short term to compensate for dwindling numbers of pilots and aircraft.

Glitches with Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc engines that have dogged Boeing Co.’s 787 wide-body jet are also an issue for the competing A330neo model from Airbus SE.

Rolls-Royce’s Trent 7000 turbine, the only one available on the Airbus plane, shares durability problems afflicting the Trent 1000 from which it was developed, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing concerns that haven’t been made public.

A Rolls-Royce spokesman confirmed the A330neo issues in response to questions from Bloomberg. The upgraded version of the Trent 1000 — the Trent 1000 TEN — that Rolls is offering as a replacement for the original turbine is also affected, the manufacturer said.

The earlier Trent 1000 snag has led to unscheduled shop visits for dozens of 787s at carriers including Virgin Atlantic Ltd. and British Airways, costing the engine maker more than 220 million pounds ($310 million) in charges last year. While the A330neo hasn’t entered service, the Trent 7000 glitch is of concern to Airbus because it could deter buyers, one of the people said.

Parts of the A330neo engine are being redesigned, though most fixes won’t be available until about six months after the first plane is due for its first delivery this summer, according to one of the people.

Trent 1000 TEN

It’s “possible that a population of early Trent 1000 TEN and Trent 7000 engines may benefit from proactive maintenance to embody parts in their first shop visit that weren’t available at the point of production,” Rolls-Royce said by email. “This

Article source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-23/rolls-royce-s-787-engine-snag-is-said-to-extend-to-airbus-a330

As Boeing Co. celebrated the first delivery on Sunday of a 787-10 Dreamliner to Singapore Airlines, the aerospace giant said it’s taking steps to keep North Charleston at the forefront of commercial airplane production.

Singapore Airlines took the first of 49 787-10s it eventually will buy during a nighttime event featuring Boeing and airline executives, local and state business leaders, Singapore’s ambassador to the United States and thousands of Dreamliner campus employees.

“The 787-10 is indeed a magnificent piece of engineering and truly a work of art,” said Goh Choong Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines, launch customer for the “Dash 10” that’s built exclusively in North Charleston. “It will be an important element in our growth strategy and will allow us to extend our network and strengthen our operations.”

Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, kicked off the event with a rousing “Good evening Boeing South Carolina,” calling the 787-10 “a great milestone for Boeing, the 787 family and for our South Carolina team,” which was featured prominently in videos shown as part of a delivery event light show.

“Just look at how beautiful she looks in Singapore Airlines livery,” McAllister said of the 787-10 parked next to the speakers’ stage.  

Singapore Airlines now flies all three Dreamliner models and will use its first 787-10 on flights to Osaka, Japan beginning in May and later to Perth, Australia.

Earlier on Sunday, Boeing said it will move global operations for its Dreamlifters — the modified 747s that move Dreamliner parts around the globe — to North

Article source: https://www.postandcourier.com/business/singapore-airlines-takes-delivery-of-st---dreamliner-built/article_37783e2c-3067-11e8-bb46-13e3181a1abc.html