McConnell Air Force Base – Wichita, Kansas – June 2008
Fall Begins
The surprisingly busy Summer has now come to a close with Labor Day here in the United States, and based on the week ahead, things are really picking up speed quickly. Starting tomorrow, I begin two months of on-the-road reporting starting with Wichita on Tuesday (see below) and at least 36,000 miles to fly before it’s all said and done.
British Airways E-170
Last week British Airways took delivery of its first Embraer E-170 (G-LCYD) aircraft, the second new type for BA along side its first Airbus A318 (G-EUNA). Each aircraft are certified for the steep 5.5 degree approach to London City airport where they will be frequent visitors for significantly different missions. The E-170 will fly on UK regional routes, while the A318 will cross the Atlantic to JFK with an all-business configuration. The E-170’s UK arrival was postponed last week after an alleged bird strike following the climb out from Recife in Brazil. The aircraft has since returned to Sao Jose dos Campos for minor repairs. Embraer undertook steep approach trials at London City during the Summer with a specially painted E-190 aircraft.
COMAC & Asian Aerospace
On just about the other side of the planet from where I sit, a small and dedicated team of Flight journalist is covering Asian Aerospace 2009 in Hong Kong. (Make sure you check out Day One’s digital daily) While not the largest of shows, Asian Aerospace will certainly make headlines this year with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) unveiling preliminary details about its model C919 aircraft, the first major mid-market narrowbody to enter the fray since the A320.
Boeing Charleston De-certification Vote
On Thursday, Boeing Charleston
machinists and aerospace workers will vote to continue their
affiliation with the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers. The vote, which may not even take place this week
due to a complaint by the IAM, is being watched closely from all
corners of the country. It is widely believed that if Boeing Charleston
goes fully non-union, the South Carolina facility will garner a
significant leg-up over its Pacific Northwestern competition for the
second 787 assembly line. It’s more than a little bit worth noting that
one year ago last week both the IAM voted to strike, halting jetliner
production at Boeing for 57-days. What a difference a year makes.
Lufthansa A380
The first A380 for the fifth of sixteen customers has taken shape outside the aircraft’s final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The aircraft, which is bound for Lufthansa and will be delivered early early next year, has received its engines and is approaching its first flight. MSN038 (F-WWSH) will be flown to Hamburg for painting and cabin outfitting. As is the Airbus custom, European and Middle Eastern A380 customers receive their aircraft by way of the Hamburg Delivery Center. Lufthansa will be the second European operator of the type after Air France takes delivery of MSN033 later this year, and the German flag carrier is expected to configure its A380 fleet with around 550 seats, the largest operator to do so.
In addition, the first Wave 2 A380 – MSN026 – entered service with QANTAS yesterday, the first superjumbo to be outfitted with production standard wiring harnesses, and the fourth for the Australian airline. Previously A380s had been wired and re-wired by hand after it was found that CATIA V4 and V5 wiring definitions were incompatible, creating gaps in the extensive wiring throughout the A380.
No more AA300s
Two weeks ago, and with little fanfare, American Airlines completed retirement of its Airbus A300 fleet. The last day of scheduled operations took place on August 24th with a flight Guatemala City to Miami, a flight to Port-au-Prince with another return to Miami, followed by its last revenue flight from Miami to JFK as Flight 1908 with Ship 070 (N90070). The retirement marks the end of the type’s usage in North America. Discussion of a new twin-aisle medium haul has been reignited in recent weeks with reports that both Boeing and Airbus are actively looking at a twin-aisle offering as part of its 737 and A320 replacement studies.
Top Aviation Tweeters
Shashank Nigam over at Simpliflying has put together a great list of aviation tweeters and it’s a must read. I was honored to be included on the list along side 10 other must-follow industry tweeters that include: Benet Wilson, Steve Frischling, Dan Webb, Ron Callari, Addison Schonland, Devesh Agarwal, Mary Kirby, Brett Snyder, Rob Mark and Scott McCartney.
Flickr Cleanup
Some do Spring cleaning, others do Fall cleaning. That being said, I’ve more or less
cleaned up my Flickr account, which now contains more than 2,300
photographs. I added a handful of new ones last week, but the real
change is a more organized tagging that is much more easily searched.
For example, a query for Dreamlifter, British Airways or 737 yields a
much more polished result than before. Feel free to go exploring. May I
recommend a search through the 787 archives?
Why Wichita?
In February, I penned a business analysis on the rapidly changing fortunes of Wichita, Kansas, one of the United States’ biggest aerospace clusters. The city, which is home to Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Boeing, Bombardier (Learjet) and Spirit Aerosystems, has found itself at the center of a worldwide economic downturn and a political environment openly disdainful of its chief export, business aircraft. I’m in Wichita all week to expand on that original article for a feature for NBAA in October that will provide an up-close look at where things stand for the city and the prospects for the future.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.