Model Airplanes

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – It’s the end of era, but also, the beginning of a new one at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

You’ll see them, but you may not hear them, at least not nearly as loud as they used to be. Westover has 8 C-5 cargo planes. They are the A-model.

7 of them are being upgraded to at Lockheed Martin, the final one will leave on Wednesday. When they all return they’ll be the M-model with an upgraded, quieter engine that’s easier on the ears and easier for the military to maintain.

Master Sgt. Andrew Biscoe told 22News, “Many people have been used to the sound of these big airplanes since they’ve been here in 1987. When these new M-models get here, which we are expecting in the spring. People are going to look up in the sky and wonder if it’s the same airplane.”

Westover has old loaner C-5’s that will be used for training purposes until the new ones are back on the flight line. They’ll also be getting a new flight simulator. The C-5 cargo plane is the biggest plane in the Air Force. It can carry 265,000 pounds. They have been in operation since 1970 and the military plans to use them until 2040.

Each upgraded C-5 costs about $90-million, money that comes out of the federal defense budget.

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[1] “Drone” is itself a fairly broad term that encompasses several types of flight-capable machines. Currently, quadcopter and related designs are popular with commercial and consumer operators, although fixed-wing drones that more closely resemble traditional remote-controlled airplanes do exist. For the purposes of this Legal Memorandum, the term “drone” refers to a device weighing less than 55 pounds that is incapable of carrying a human occupant and is generally designed for low-altitude, relatively low-speed flight. Larger drones that are capable of high-altitude, high-speed, and long-range flight—military drones, for example—are beyond the scope of this paper, although Congress should not assume that manned aircraft statutes apply to this category of drone either.

[2] Air Mail Act of 1925, 43 Stat. 805, ch. 125.

[3] Air Commerce Act of 1926, 44 Stat. 568, ch. 344.

[4] The history of aviation regulation in the United States is a complicated one, and regulatory authority was transferred several times in the decades after 1926. In 1934, the aeronautics branch became the Bureau of Air Commerce. In 1938, Congress passed the Civil Aeronautics Act and created a new, independent Civil Aeronautics Authority to regulate aviation. In 1940, the agency was divided into the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), each with different functions. The CAA was tasked with air traffic control and the enforcement of aviation safety rules; the CAB was responsible for accident investigation and economic regulation, including setting prices and determining airline routes. In 1958, Congress created an independent Federal Aviation Agency to

Article source: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2017/01/redefining-aircraft-defining-drone-a-job-for-the-115th-congress

Airbus Group SE EADSY revealed its commercial aircraft orders and delivery numbers for 2016. Airbus registered net booking of 731 aircraft, beating its archrival The Boeing Company’s BA booking of 668 planes during the year.

However, Boeing delivered a higher number of planes to its customers across the globe than Airbus. Specifically, Boeing and Airbus delivered 748 and 688 aircraft, respectively, in 2016.

Since Boeing and Airbus are the two largest players in the commercial aircraft space and therefore direct rivals, competition in the industry is intensifying. At the end of 2016, total commercial airline industry backlog stood at 12,589 aircraft, out of which Airbus’ share was 55% or 6,874 aircraft, while Boeing has a 45% share or 5,715 aircraft.

Details of Order Deliveries

Looking at Airbus’ 2016 order details, the company booked 731 net commercial orders (accounting for cancellations), valued at $104.9 billion at current list prices. This includes orders for 607 single-aisle planes and 124 widebody jets.

In 2016, the company delivered 688 aircraft, higher than its last delivery guidance of 670. The numbers reflect an 8% year-over-year increase.

Airbus aims to deliver more than 700 aircraft in 2017.

Bookings to Fall?

Boeing anticipates the worldwide commercial fleet to double over the next two decades to 45,240 airplanes by the end of 2035, backed by sustained 4.8% annual growth in commercial passenger traffic. For that, the world will need 39,620 new planes, worth $5.9 trillion, between 2016 and 2035.

However, in the near term, Airbus expects new bookings to drop from

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/airbus-2016-orders-beat-boeings-124912087.html

United Airlines plans to fly its last Boeing 747 jumbo jet late this year, retiring its largest airplanes a year ahead of schedule as the iconic aircraft glides into the sunset.

The decision marks the end of an era for US airlines, which have relied on the humpbacked 747 to bring jet travel to a mass consumer market since the plane debuted in 1970. United flew its first jumbo between California and Hawaii that year.

It is also a reminder of the tough task Boeing faces as it tries to keep its newest 747 model, the -8, aloft amid waning demand for four-engine aircraft. The plane maker has just 28 unfilled orders, after closing 17 sales of the freighter version of the jet last year. Boeing has said it would end production if more orders don’t materialise.

“It’s a bittersweet milestone – this jumbo jet with its unmistakable silhouette once represented the state-of-the-art in air travel,” the United president Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees.

Last year, the UK’s Daily Mail reported a former Pan Am 747 passenger plane was being advertised as a “head of state configured aircraft” and thought to be worth in the region of £18 million (Dh81m).

It was extensively refurbished in 2004, and the aircraft’s extravagant interior features luxury en-suite bedrooms, ministerial boardrooms complete with conferencing facilities, offices, stylish dining areas and soft furnishing.

The 195ft wingspan special performance model plane has been a regular feature at Bournemouth Airport, Dorset, for roughly a decade and is one

Article source: http://www.thenational.ae/business/aviation/jumbo-jets-last-hurrah-looms-as-united-retires-largest-planes