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Happy Birthday Boeing 747

Forty years ago today — on Sept. 30, 1968 — the first Boeing 747 jumbo jet rolled out of the company’s new factory in Everett. Thousands turned out at the ceremony to marvel at the giant new plane with a wingspan of 196 feet and a tail that was six stories high.
Capable of carrying more [...]

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Last Airbus A340-300 leaves the production line

The last Airbus A340-300 currently on order is undergoing testing in Toulouse ahead of delivery to an undisclosed customer - believed to be a Russian VIP. Unless Airbus secures more orders, this aircraft (MSN 955) will be the last of 246 CFM International CFM56-powered A340-200/300 “Classics” to be delivered.

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Airbus A320 with Winglets

After an abortive evaluation two years ago of an in-house design and one developed by Winglet Technology of the USA, Airbus revealed in May that it intended to re-examine the concept in conjunction with Boeing’s long-established supplier API.

… Airbus is preparing to relaunch flight-testing of winglets on the A320, following an agreement with US specialist Aviation Partners (API) to carry out trials.

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Airbus is making a higher-gross weight version of the A330-200

Airbus is making a higher-gross weight version of the A330-200 available in the first half of 2010 in hopes of capturing new market share caused by Boeing 787 delays. Derek Davies, Airbus’ investor marketing director, told the US Valuation Conference hosted by ATI affiliate Commercial Aviation Online that the modification will increase maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) for the passenger airliner by 5t.

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Emirates A380 grounded in Dubai

Our A380 will be deployed on commercial service again as soon as possible,” Arabian Business quoted an airline official as saying.

… Dubai-based Emirates Airline has grounded its Airbus A380 plane, an online business news service reported.

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Ice in fuel tiggered the British Airways Boeing 777 accident at Heathrow Airport

It also demanded that Boeing put in place new safety measures to ensure that planes travelling at high altitude in temperatures far below freezing do not suffer a potentially disastrous build up of ice in their fuel systems. The recommendations were made in a report into the crash in January in which a BA 777 flying from Beijing crash landed short of the runway with 136 passengers and 16 crew on board.

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Boeing Machinists on strike - 787 to suffer further delays

That’s mostly from revenue that will be deferred when those commercial jets that Roberts and Arias help make won’t be built or delivered because of the work stoppage. … Perhaps worse for Boeing, the 787 Dreamliner, already some 14 months behind schedule because of production issues, may not fly for the first time until 2009 because of the strike.

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Bombardier CRJ1000 makes maiden flight

The prototype Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen regional jet took to the air on 3 September from the airframer’s plant at Mirabel, near Montreal. During the 3h 25min maiden sortie the 100-seater reached an altitude of 30,000ft (9,150m) and a maximum speed of 260kt (480km/h). Bombardier CRJ1000

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Some interesting facts on the Boeing 747-8 compared to the 747-400

2. 52% below CAEP/6 limits for NOx CAEP - ICAO Council’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection set a limit for NOx in the 6th meeting.

…2. 52% below CAEP/6 limits for NOx CAEP - ICAO Council’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection set a limit for NOx in the 6th meeting.

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Boeing starts assembly of 747-8

The unit was loaded into a new automated assembly tool earlier this month following completion of the final 747-400 wing spar in a conventional jig late in July.

…The unit was loaded into a new automated assembly tool earlier this month following completion of the final 747-400 wing spar in a conventional jig late in July.

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