Assembly line A350 XWB

Back of the assembly line  A350 XWB

Structural assembly of the first A350 XWB aft fuselage destined for the first flying A350 XWB (MSN1) has been completed at Airbus’ manufacturing site in Hamburg, Germany. The fuselage section will now undergo its secondary interior structural assembly and system installation before being delivered to the A350 XWB final assembly line in Toulouse, France.

Airbus has developed an innovative process for assembling this part of the A350 XWB fuselage which optimizes production efficiency and quality. The rear fuselage barrel is used as a guide and support for assembling the four aft fuselage panels (two lateral, one upper, one lower) and floor grid which together form the aft fuselage. This assembly method differs from other Airbus programmers where the panels and floor grid are first assembled into a full barrel, to which the rear fuselage section is subsequently joined.

Sumber: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com

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Retakan di Sayap Airbus A380 Kembali Ditemukan

PARIS, KOMPAS.com — Beberapa maskapai penerbangan yang mengoperasikan pesawat penumpang Airbus A380 menyatakan akan melakukan pemeriksaan khusus terhadap armada pesawat superjumbo tersebut. Itu dilakukan setelah pihak Airbus menemukan lagi beberapa keretakan yang terjadi di bagian sayap pesawat, Kamis (19/1/2012). Ini adalah penemuan kedua dalam beberapa pekan terakhir. Menurut pihak Airbus, retak rambut tersebut ditemukan di bagian penahan logam (bracket) yang menghubungkan kulit pada bagian sayap dengan struktur tulangan di dalamnya. Retakan ditemukan saat Airbus memeriksa dua pesawat dalam inspeksi rutin dua tahunan. Airbus berkeras, retakan tersebut terjadi bukan di bagian kritis struktur pesawat dan menegaskan bahwa pesawat-pesawat itu masih aman untuk diterbangkan. Awal Januari, retakan serupa ditemukan di lima pesawat lain. Pihak Airbus menolak mengungkapkan maskapai penerbangan pemilik pesawat-pesawat yang retak tersebut. Namun, beberapa sumber yang dikutip kantor berita Reuters menyebutkan, penemuan terbaru ini terjadi pada pesawat-pesawat milik maskapai Emirates dari Dubai, Uni Emirat Arab. Pihak Emirates tidak berkomentar soal temuan tersebut.

Meski menegaskan keretakan tersebut tidak berbahaya, asosiasi insinyur penerbangan Australia, yang menangani perawatan rutin dan pemeriksaan mesin A380 milik maskapai Qantas Airways, mengatakan bahwa reaksi Airbus tersebut justru memicu kekhawatiran. "Mereka menyebut retakan ini sebagai retakan-retakan kecil, tetapi setiap retakan berawal dari retakan kecil, dan retakan itu bisa berkembang cepat," ungkap Stephen Purvinas, Sekretaris Federal Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association. Purvinas khawatir dengan sikap Airbus yang seolah-olah tidak menganggap serius penemuan retakan-retakan tersebut.

"Saya khawatir bahwa Airbus tidak menganggap serius pada makin banyaknya penemuan retakan pada sayap pesawat A380 mereka. Kalau begini, saya tidak akan membiarkan keluarga saya terbang dengan A380 untuk saat ini," tutur Purvinas. Airbus telah menolak seruan untuk melarang terbang seluruh armada A380 yang mereka produksi. "Ini memang memalukan, tetapi kami akan melakukan segala cara untuk memastikan keselamatan tidak akan terganggu. Kami sudah cukup paham, tetapi penyelidikan akan terus dilakukan. Untuk sementara, kami menawarkan solusi perbaikan, dan akan kami terapkan pada berbagai pesawat, jika dan di mana pun diperlukan," papar CEO Airbus, Tom Enders.

Beberapa maskapai, termasuk Singapore Airlines dan Qantas, yang kali pertama menemukan retakan-retakan itu pada sebagian armada A380 mereka, mulai menjalankan program pemeriksaan menyeluruh terhadap seluruh armada superjumbo masing-masing. Korean Air Line Co menyatakan akan mempercepat pemeriksaan lima A380-nya lebih awal dari yang disarankan Airbus. Juru bicara Badan Keselamatan Penerbangan Eropa (EASA) mengatakan pula, pihaknya akan mengeluarkan perintah pemeriksaan kelaikan terbang terhadap pesawat-pesawat A380 ini. Badan Penerbangan Federal AS (FAA) juga menyatakan akan bekerja sama dengan otoritas Eropa, untuk mencari solusi jangka panjang guna mencegah keretakan tersebut terjadi lagi. (Reuters/DHF)

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First Chinese sustainable bio-fuel flight

Air China, Boeing and Chinese and US aviation energy partners have conducted China's first sustainable bio-fuel flight. The two-hour mainland flight from Beijing Capital International Airport was witnessed by officials from both countries and highlights the viability of using sustainable aviation bio-fuel sourced in China.

“Through our collaborative efforts with China we have found an incredible partner and place where national capability, innovation and technology come together in a remarkable way,” said Boeing China president Marc Allen. “This historic flight illustrates exactly how bilateral collaboration can help address environmental challenges, and we commend the Chinese for their leadership in helping to develop sustainable aviation solutions.”

PetroChina, working with Honeywell's UOP, sourced and refined the China-grown, jatropha-based bio-fuel used for this flight aboard a Boeing 747-400 powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. China National Aviation Fuel blended the bio-fuel with traditional jet fuel and also provided aircraft fueling support.

Sumber: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com

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X-47B Demonstrator flies in cruise mode for first time

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) aircraft reached a major milestone when it retracted its landing gear and flew in its cruise configuration for the first time.

The flight, conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, also helped validate precision navigation hardware and software that will allow the X-47B to land with precision on the moving deck of an aircraft carrier.
“The flight gave us our first clean look at the aerodynamic cruise performance of the X-47B air system, and it is proving all of our predictions correct,” said Janis Pamiljans, vice president and Navy UCAS program manager for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. “Reaching this critical test point demonstrates the growing maturity of the air system, and its readiness to move to the next phase of flight testing.”

The recent flight was part of an on-going ‘envelope expansion’ program for the first of two X-47B aircraft produced by Northrop Grumman for the Navy's UCAS-D program. Envelope expansion flights are used to demonstrate aircraft performance under a variety of altitude, speed and fuel load conditions.

Sumber: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news.php?NewsID=33856

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F-35 Progress Report

The F-35 flight test program moves closer to reaching its end of year milestones since the last update issued in July. Since then, the 5th F-35 Lightning II Generation multi-role fighter conducted 124 test flights, bringing the total number of flights for the year to 642.

Overall, the F-35 system development and demonstration (SDD) flight test remains on or ahead of plan for 2011, despite 15 days of testing lost due to fleet stand-down after a ground mishap involving the Integrated Power Package (IPP). Flight-testing was also interrupted at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River because of an August 23 earthquake and severe weather associated with Hurricane Irene. During this period of down time, the flight test teams at all locations continued working through planned modifications and maintenance.

Sumber: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/

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Navy trainer completes bio-fuel flight

The Navy's alternative energy program expanded when a T-45 training aircraft completed a successful bio-fuel flight at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River.
The ‘Salty Dogs’ of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 flew the high-performance jet trainer on a bio-fuel mixture of petroleum-based JP-5 jet fuel and plant-based camelina. The high oil content of the camelina seed makes it a valuable source of renewable and sustainable energy.
“This successful test flight brings us a step closer to meeting the Navy's energy security goals,” said Vice Adm David Architzel, commander, Naval Air Systems Command. “My congratulations to the Navy fuels team here at NAVAIR for playing an instrumental role in proving the viability of bio-fuels to power naval aircraft.” 

Sumber: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/

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P-8A Poseidon aircraft completes initial flight

The first Boeing P-8A Poseidon production aircraft completed its first flight, taking off from Renton Field and landing three hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The P-8A is the first of six low-rate initial production (LRIP) aircraft Boeing is building for the US Navy as part of a US$1.6 billion contract awarded in January.
The successful flight marked LRIP-1's completion of final assembly in the company's Renton factory and transition to mission system installation and checkout in Seattle. Boeing will deliver LRIP-1 to the US Navy next year in preparation for initial operational capability, which is planned for 2013.
“This is the first P-8 that will go directly to the fleet in Jacksonville, Florida, so the aircraft's first flight is an important milestone for the Boeing team and our Navy customer,” said Chuck Dabundo, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. “We're on plan to get LRIP-1 to the Navy in 2012.”

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F-16 breaks sound barrier

Two F-16 fighter aircraft from Volkel Air Base, Soesterberg have broken the sound barrier. The military air combat and air traffic control centre in Nieuw Milligen had ordered them to intercept an aircraft after radio contact with that aircraft had suddenly been lost.
Over Leeuwarden the fighter pilot managed to re-establish contact with the pilots of the airliner, after signalling to them by hand. The F-16s then escorted the aircraft, which was en route to Stockholm, as far as the German area of responsibility.
For the defence of the airspace over the Netherlands, F-16s are on standby for the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) task 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. 

From: http://www.aerospacetestinginternational.com/news.php?NewsID=30480

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News Of Aerospace Testing

ATR 72-600 receives EASA certification

The turboprop aircraft manufacturer ATR is pleased to announce that the ATR 72-600, the new member of its aircraft family, has obtained certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). A requirement for the aircraft's entry into service, this certification covers the new equipment on the aircraft, and is the successful conclusion to a series of ground and flight tests conducted on the ATR 72-600 prototype. Flight-testing on the aircraft began in the summer of 2009.

Filippo Bagnato, CEO of ATR, said “I’m very proud to see that the ATR 72-600 is now on the brink of entering into service and allowing airlines to discover its many advantages. Development of the new 600-series ATRs is based on our commitment to continue developing our line of aircraft in order to better meet the needs of regional airlines, in terms of operating costs as well as airworthiness and passenger comfort.”

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Final phase of 787 dreamliner examinations

Function and Reliability (F&R) testing and extended operations (ETOPS) demonstrations on the 787 Dreamliner have started. This is the final phase of flight-testing prior to certification of the airplane.

“We are ready for this final phase of flight testing,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “The team has created a solid plan for accomplishing the hours and test points required for F&R and ETOPS testing in support of delivery to our customer ANA in the August to September time period.”

F&R testing simulates various normal and non-normal operations for the airplane, in a realistic airline-like flight environment. ETOPS refers to extended operations, for twin-jets, flights that are more than 60 minutes away from a suitable landing field. During ETOPS demonstrations the company validates the airplane's ability to safely divert for a variety of reasons, including long diversions with one engine shut down.

In addition to F&R and ETOPS testing for the 787 with Rolls-Royce engines, Boeing continues certification testing on 787s with General Electric engines and will conduct a separate F&R/ETOPS test program for that version of the airplane. Other activities will continue on the flight test fleet to support Boeing objectives including examining potential technologies for the 787-9 and testing engine improvement packages.

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