New guidance launched to help UK airports deal with disruption

UK airports should be better placed to minimize the impact of disruption on passengers thanks to good practice guidance published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today.

The guidance sets out key principles and recommended practices to help airports work effectively in partnership with airlines, ground handlers and the many other organisations working within airports so they are better prepared for large disruption and can manage it effectively when it does occur. With the aviation industry now gearing up for the winter season, the guidance is a timely reminder of the practical steps airports can take to make sure they are prepared for bad weather and protect their passengers.

The CAA worked with the Airport Operators Association (AOA) to produce the guidance, which is aimed at UK airports with over 1m passengers per year, and reflects many of the existing practices at such airports. For the majority of airports, the guidance is voluntary as the CAA has no powers to regulate resilience measures at airports except Gatwick and Heathrow, which have recently published resilience plans as part of their licence conditions.

The key principles cover collaboration with other organisations operating at airports; identification and management of potential risks; planning and deploying contingency measures; communication with passengers so they know their rights and the latest situation; practicing the procedures they have in place to make sure they are fit for purpose; and learning lessons from past experiences.

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive at the Airport Operators Association, said:

“This guidance has been established to identify measures that will further improve the resilience of UK airports during periods of disruption, for example caused by severe weather.

The new guidance may be found here.

Source and image: CAA UK

cars will start flying ! Ever Dreamed To Fly A Car ?

"Believe it or not : a combination airplane and motorcar is coming. You may smile, but it will come." – Henry Ford,1940. 

The flying car was and remains one of the common features of science fiction of the future, including the nearest future of 21^st century. Here are the existing examples of today’s flying cars.

 Aeromobil

AeroMobil is a flying car that fits existing infrastructure created for automobiles and planes. It is now finalised and has been in flight-testing since October 2014. With the top speed over 200 km/h , being an aeroplane, it can use any airport in the world, but can also take off and land using any grass strip or paved surface just a few hundred meters long. And at the top speed of 160km/h, being an automobile, it fits into any standard parking space, uses regular gasoline, and can be used in road traffic just like any other car.

Transition

Transition - a fixed wing airplane, making its first step on the road to the practical flying car. A steering wheel, gas and brake pedals on the floor make it familiar to drive while a stick and rudder pedals provide control in the air. With the maximum speed of 185km/h and having capacity for 1 driver, Transition perfectly fits on any road and in any garage. The estimated purchase price was originally announced US$194,00, but afterwards increased to US$279,000. First customer delivery was announced to be held in the second quarter of 2016.

Moller M400 Skycar

Moller M400 Skycar is currently under development to ultimately transport four people, reaching the maximum speed of 531km/h. Variations for single driver, up to six-seat are also planned. After forty years and $100,000,000 amount invested, the Skycar demonstrated limited tethered hovering capability in 2003. It is the "vertical take-off and landing" part of the Skycar which really makes it unique and exciti

WHAT IS CHEMTRAIL ?

What is "chemtrail " it is a visible trail left in the sky by an aircraft and believed by some to consist of chemical or biological agents released as part of a covert operation, rather than the condensed water of a vapour trail. The term chemtrail is a portmanteau of the words "chemical" and "trail", just as contrail is a contraction of "condensation trail".

In 1996, a chemtrail conspiracy theory began to circulate when the United States Air Force (USAF) was accused of "spraying the U.S. population with mysterious substances" from aircraft "generating unusual contrail patterns." Official statements on the non-existence of chemtrails have not discouraged the conspiracy theorists. Believers of the chemtrails conspiracy theory claim chemical release is done for psychologic manipulation tests, human population control, and that the trails are causing respiratory illnesses and other health problems.

According to the well-known Edward Snowden, chemtrails are part of a program aimed at countering global warming. By cooperating in secret with jet fuel manufacturers, government agents have carefully kept the massive chemtrails efforts completely under wraps.

Experts on atmospheric phenomena say chemtrails do not exist, and that the characteristics attributed to them are simply features of contrails responding differently in diverse conditions in terms of the sunlight, temperature, horizontal and vertical wind shear.

To believe it or not – is your choice, but pay attention to everything that goes above your head.

MICHEL LOTITO WHO ATE CESSAN 150

Yes, there are individuals who can actually eat an entire plane.

Michel Lotto is a French entertainer, who is famous for eating indigestible objects. And yes, he ate Cessna 150 aircraft.

Michel started with things like bulbs, razor blades before he attempted this weird record. Eventually, Michel has lost his teeth but that did not stop him. The Cessna 150 took roughly two years to be "eaten", from 1978 to 1980. He began eating unusual material as a teenager around 16 years of age and performed publicly from 1966. When performing, he consumed approximately 1 kilogram of objects daily, preceding it with oil and drinking considerable quantities of water during the meal.

It is estimated that between 1959 and 1997, Lotito had eaten nearly nine tons of metal. Lotito eventually died at the age of 57, oddly, due to natural causes. 

Heathrow traffic and business commentary October 2014

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Heathrow saw its busiest ever October with 6.32 million passengers choosing to travel through the airport, an increase of 0.4% on October 2013.

Seats per aircraft increased 0.7% to 204.9, while load factors increased 0.1 percentage points to 76.1%. Passengers per aircraft rose 0.9% to 156.0. Furthermore, passenger volumes remained strong within emerging markets, increasing 9.6% to China, 7.2% to Brazil, 6.6% to Mexico and 4.5% to India.

Heathrow continued to welcome the transfer passengers that make such long-haul routes viable, with volumes increasing 1.1%
Cargo was up 8.3% overall, increasing 42.7% to Mexico, 35.8% to Brazil, 21.0% to Russia, 13.6% to China, 13.4% to India and 11.7% to Turkey.

An open letter to the Airports Commission from 24 Chambers of Commerce representing over 40,000 businesses from across the UK underlined growing business support for Heathrow’s expansion. The Chambers outlined how only a stronger hub at Heathrow can support their regions and connect local businesses to global markets

Successful completion of the transition of 26 airlines into Terminal 2: The Queen’s Terminal, with over 40,000 passengers now enjoying the world class facility every day. As a base for the Star Alliance, Terminal 2 is already enhancing efficiencies and enabling closer commercial cooperation amongst member airlines

Source and image: Heathrow airport

The Deadliest Accident In Aviation History

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27^th of March, 1977, was an ordinary day for many tourists of Tenerife islands. Who could possibly know that day would be later know for the deadliest accident in aviation history, as a result of on-ground collision, which took away the life of 583 people.

The day started with bomb explosion at Gran Canaria Airport and the threat of a second bomb causing many aircraft to be diverted to Los Rodeos Airport. Among them were KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 – the two aircraft involved in the accident. At Los Rodeos Airport, air traffic controllers were forced to park many of the airplanes on the taxiway, thereby blocking it. Further complicating the situation, while authorities waited to reopen Gran Canaria, a dense fog developed at Tenerife, greatly reducing visibility.

When Gran Canaria reopened, the parked aircraft blocking the taxiway at Tenerife required both of the 747s to taxi on the only runway in order to get in position for take-off. The fog was so thick that neither aircraft could see the other, nor could the controller in the tower see the runway or the two 747s on it. As the airport did not have ground radar, the only means for the controller to identify the location of each airplane was via voice reports over the radio. As a result of several misunderstandings, the KLM flight attempted to take off while the Pan Am flight was still on the runway. The resulting collision destroyed both aircraft, killing all 248 aboard the KLM flight and 335 of 396 aboard the Pan Am flight. Sixty-one people aboard the Pan Am flight, including the pilots and flight engineer, survived the disaster.

Afterwards, ground radar was installed at Los Rodeos. The accident had a lasting influence on the industry, particularly in the area of communication. 

The World's Biggest Aircraft

Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is the criteria to determine world’s largest aircraft. MTOW is the heaviest weight at which the aircraft has been shown to meet all the airworthiness requirements applicable to it. Using MTOW criteria, it is easy to pick a winner. It's the Antonov An-225.

An-225 is powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built with a maximum take-off weight of 640 tonnes. This aircraft was initially built to transport Buran space plane and then re-introduced for commercial operations with Antonov Airlines, carrying oversized payloads.

The first flight of Antonov An-225 was held in 1998, when a Buran space plane was carried from Kiev in a 74-minute flight.

The type's first commercial flight departed from Stuttgart, Germany on 3 January 2002. It flew to Thumrait, Oman, with 216,000 meals for American military personnel based in the region.

In May 2011, the Antonov CEO was reported to have said that the completion of a second An-225 Mriya transport aircraft with a carrying capacity of 250 tons requires at least $300 million. However, given the financing, its completion could be achieved in three years.

General characteristics

Crew: 7

Length: 84 m (275 ft 7 in)

Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 0 in)

Height: 18.1 m (59 ft 5 in)

Wing area: 905 m2 (9,740 sq ft)

Aspect ratio: 8.6

Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,317 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 640,000 kg (1,410,958 lb)

Fuel capacity: 300,000 kg

Cargo hold – volume 1,300m3, length 43.35m, width 6.4m, height 4.4m

Powerplant: 6 × ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) thrust each

Performance

Maximum speed: 850 km/h (528 mph; 459 kn)

Cruising speed: 800 km/h (497 mph; 432 kn)

Range: 15,400 km (9,569 mi; 8,315 nmi) with maximum fuel; range with maximum payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)

Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m2 (135.8 lb/sq ft)

Source : avitime.com

AFI KLM to support maintenance and overhaul services for XiamenAir Boeing 787

XiamenAir (Xiamen Airlines) has opted for AFI KLM E&M expertise in support of the launch of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners and subsequent component maintenance and overhaul services for the aircraft. The long-term contract between the two groups organizes component support for six Dreamliner aircraft operated by XiamenAir.

Franck Terner, Executive Vice President AIR FRANCE KLM E&M, said: "We are proud of the trust XiamenAir has placed in us when launching international passenger services with the 787, an important juncture in its history. We will do all we can to support their operations with reliable and economically competitive component support services of the highest technical quality."

Source and image: AFI KLM