Завод Антонов представил новый самолет

На государственном предприятии Антонов сегодня официально проходит презентация нового самолета АН-178.

Фотографии самолета на своей странице в Facebook выложил мэр Киева Виталий Кличко, который присутствует на презентации.

Этот самолет сможет в будущем использовать как армия, так и гражданская авиация.

"На Антонова уже работают над его версией для украинской армии", - написал Кличко.

Отметим, строительство первого экземпляра самолета началось в 2013 году, при этом сам самолет разрабатывался с 2010 года как замена для устаревших моделям Ан. Самолет создается на базе пассажирского Ан-158, лишь недавно запущенного в серийное производство.

Украинский Антонов готовит новый самолет к выставке во Франции - репортаж

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The big players in aviation are pinning their hopes on twin-engine jetliners like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which promise greater efficiency due to their groundbreaking composite designs. But with these planes set to take over more and more transoceanic routes, those two engines could be a problem. To follow the "great circle" routes that are the most direct routes between cities, which can save hours and lots of fuel on ultra long-distance flights, planes can fly far from land over remote stretches of ocean. With twin-engines planes, however, losing one engine could leave the jet searching for a place to make an emergency landing as quickly as possible.

And the closest airfield could be hundreds of miles away. Just this past weekend, a United Airlines flight from Honolulu to Guam diverted to the remote island of Midway, the site of an historic WWII battle, after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit. This wasn't an engine failure; the cause was a malfunctioning equipment cooling fan, United said after it flew in a replacement plane to pick up the 348 passengers and crew. But this kind of problem isn't totally uncommon. Just two months earlier, a Delta 767 made an emergency landing on Wake Island, another WWII site with a rarely used runway left over from its days as a naval base. That time, the airborne emergency was caused by an engine problem, just the kind of scenario that's sparking worries about how far a twin-engine jet can stray from land.

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Just six weeks ago, the two-engine 787 won FAA approval to fly as far as five and half hours from the nearest suitable landing strip, the same as the 777. That was a major coup for Boeing, especially after the jetliner's much-documented troubles with its lithium batteries. In fact, after the plane was grounded in 2013, the FAA hinted that it might not even grant the Dreamliner a more conservative 180-minute certification for extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS). That would have ruled out many routes over the Pacific, where distances are so vast that airlines also depend on a network of far flung diversion airports like Wake and Midway to comply with ETOPS requirements.

Years ago, airlines were permitted to fly twin-engine planes no more than sixty minutes from the nearest airfield. Once jets like the 767, 777 and A330 started replacing 747s and DC-10s on the North Atlantic, Boeing and others argued successfully that twin-engine jets were so reliable that it made little sense to restrict them. The costs saved by flying twin engines on long stretches are so compelling that many airlines made the switch on the longest routes.

Of course, any plane—even one with four engines—can have a in-flight emergency. A Qantas 747 reportedly once had to land on deserted Johnston Atoll in the southern Pacific, a chemical waste site that was decommissioned as a working airfield in 2007. Midway, about 1,300 northwest of Hawaii, is a protected sanctuary for the albatross, which apparently are such a danger to planes that landings can only be made safely at night for a good part of the year. Others include Shemya and Adak, two treeless and tundra-covered islands in the Aleutians chain off Alaska where winter temperatures can dip well below freezing. Flights taking polar routes can also avail themselves of some landing strips in Siberia in an emergency, where conditions are even harsher. Farther south in the Pacific and near the South Pole, there are even fewer alternatives, which is why Airbus was recently reported by the Wall Street Journal to be seeking an ETOPS of 420 minutes, or seven hours, to make possible non-stops on routes like Australia to Brazil or New Zealand to South Africa.

To fly the super long routes under ETOPS, the specific aircraft has to get a special certification that requires extra maintenance and rigorous checks as well as enhanced fire suppression and emergency systems onboard the plane. Among things, the jet has to demonstrate that it can safely fly on one engine for the maximum number of hours approved.

John Cox, a pilot and head of an aviation safety consultancy, says the ETOPS program actually has made long-distance flying safer overall. The twin jets that get this rating "are actually more robust than the earlier generation three- or four-engine airplanes," he says, and the latter can effectively operate without any restrictions on their distance from land. "We are now routinely flying over vast oceans with a better safety record."

But what if an engine does conk out? "Nobody likes losing an engine," Cox notes, no matter where they are, but this isn't the doomsday scenario most people assume. With the lower power generated by just one engine, the plane would go into what pilots call "driftdown", or flying at a lower altitude at slower speeds. As fuel burns off, the plane would be lighter and could ascend to higher altitudes. There are few routes in the world where the plane would be so far from an airport that it would need to take advantage of the maximum time allotted under the expanded ETOPS rules, he says.

Aircraft manufacturers, the FAA, and many safety experts say the record for ETOPS operations is excellent. But the public may take bit more convincing. After all, the industry's inside joke is that ETOPS stands for "Engines Turn or Passengers Swim."

Improving performance with incremental innovation: The first enhanced 242-tonne A330 variant is granted EASA airworthiness approval

Underscoring the company’s philosophy for incremental innovation across its product line in order to meet ever-changing market needs, Airbus marked a key programme milestone with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification of the first 242-tonne maximum take-off weight A330-300 variant.

As Airbus’ latest evolution to the twin-engine A330 Family, the increased take-off weight A330-300 and A330-200 jetliners incorporate a new aerodynamic package, engine improvements and optional centre fuel tank activation for the A330-300 version – upgrades which offer more capability at a lower operating cost and also serve as the development platform for the A330neo (new engine option). 

The increased take-off weight A330-300 variant delivers an extended range of up to 6,100 nautical miles for operators with the new centre fuel tank configuration, while offering up to 2 percent reduction in fuel consumption.  In operational terms, this means Airbus’ 242-tonne A330-300 can fly routes connecting Europe and Southeast Asia; while serving over 90 percent of long-haul traffic from London. 

The EASA airworthiness approval covers the increased take-off weight A330-300 powered by GE CF6-80E1 engines – with this variant’s subsequent certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expected to follow soon. The GE-powered A330-300 variant’s certification culminates Airbus’ successful flight test campaign that included approximately 100 total flight hours performed by an in-house development A330 jetliner to validate the new aerodynamic package, and a production aircraft to confirm the centre tank configuration and overall A330-300 performance. 

In the coming months, Airbus also is planning to certify the remaining increased take-off weight A330-300 and A330-200 variants for the jetliners’ other engine choices: the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 and Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000. U.S.-based launch customer Delta Air Lines is scheduled to take delivery of the initial increased take-off weight A330 variant later this year – as the first of 11 worldwide customers who have ordered this option since its launch in 2012.  Delta Air Lines selected the GE-powered version for its 242-tonne maximum take-off weight A330-300.

The incremental innovations incorporated on Airbus’ 242-tonne A330 variant represent a key step on the path toward the A330neo (new engine option), which was launched in 2014.  Benefitting from additional aerodynamic improvements and its use of new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330neo will offer unmatched operating economics, while also featuring the latest cabin interior innovations

Drive from Europe to the U.S.? Russia proposes world's greatest superhighway

Route as roughly interpreted by CNN. The proposed plan for a massive trans-Siberian highway would link Russia's eastern border with the U.S. state of Alaska.

It could happen if the head of Russian Railways has his way.

According to a March 23 report in The Siberian Times, Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin has proposed a plan for a massive trans-Siberian highway that would link his country's eastern border with the U.S. state of Alaska, crossing a narrow stretch of the Bering Sea that separates Asia and North America.

The scheme was unveiled at a meeting of the Moscow-based Russian Academy of Science.

Dubbed the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TEPR), the project calls for a major roadway to be constructed alongside the existing Trans-Siberian Railway, along with a new train network and oil and gas pipelines.

"This is an inter-state, inter-civilization, project," the Siberian Times quoted Yakunin. "The project should be turned into a world 'future zone,' and it must be based on leading, not catching, technologies."

"Are we there yet?"

The road would run across the entirety of Russia, linking with existing road systems in Western Europe and Asia.

The distance between Russia's western and eastern borders is roughly 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).

Yakunin said the road would connect Russia with North America via Russia's far eastern Chukotka region, across the Bering Strait and into Alaska's Seward Peninsula.

The road would likely enter Alaska some distance north of the town of Nome, where the famed Iditarod sled dog race ends.

How would drivers span the ocean gap between Siberia and Alaska? Ferry? Tunnel? Bridges?

The report didn't offer specifics on the route across the sea.

The shortest distance between mainland Russia and mainland Alaska is approximately 88 kilometers (55 miles), according to the Alaska Public Lands Information Centers.

The main route of the Trans-Siberian railway runs from Moscow to Vladivostok and covers 9,258 kilometers.

A theoretical drive (as fancifully calculated by CNN) from London to Alaska via Moscow might cover about 12,978 kilometers (8,064 miles).

Relatively isolated even by Alaska standards, no road connects Nome with the rest of the state's road system.

About 836 road-less kilometers (520 miles) across desolate terrain separates Nome from the closest major city and road network in Fairbanks, the unofficial northern terminus of the Alaska Highway.

From Fairbanks, Canada and the 48 contiguous U.S. states can be reached by road.

Assuming a road to Nome were ever built (the idea has been studied by the state of Alaska), a fantasy road trip from London to New York might cover a grueling but presumably photo-op-laden 20,777 kilometers (12,910 miles).

Facebook posts from forlorn Siberian rest stops might alone make the trip worthwhile, though the journey would also easily establish irritating new records for "Are we there yet?" gripes from the kids.

Who's gonna pay for this thing?

Yakunin has been described as a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some sources have speculated that he could be Putin's likely successor as president.

TEPR would reportedly cost "trillions of dollars."

According to Yakunin, however, massive economic returns would more than make up for the massive cash outlay -- about which the report also included no details.

Why military wants to spend billions on new Air Force One

(Photo: AP)

Boeing 747 planes become Air Force One when the commander in chief is aboard. The current planes are getting old, and the Pentagon wants to buy new ones. CBS News' Mark Albert reports from behind the scenes on how for the first time the military may buy three 747s to replace the current two.

Air Force One is the most recognizable aircraft in the world: six stories tall, two-thirds of a football field long and carrying immeasurable prestige.

More than "Hail to the Chief," more than the ubiquitous Secret Service agents, even more than the famous seal, there is no more identifiable symbol of the mobile presidency than Air Force One.

"It has come to represent the power of the American presidency, the reach of the American presidency," author Ken Walsh said. "It's come to symbolize American technology and America's technological prowess."

Walsh wrote a book on Air Force One and has covered the past five presidents for U.S. News and World Report. He's flown on Air Force One about 300 times, which begs the question, what's it like to fly on the presidential aircraft?

"For a president, it's fabulous," Walsh said with a laugh. "When they left office, the four who've left office say the thing they miss the most is Air Force One."

But under their polished exterior, the two aircraft that commonly serve as Air Force One are aging, now a quarter-century old. Even though both Boeing 747-200s have only flown a fraction as much as a commercial 747 of the same age, the Air Force says it's time for a new generation of presidential wings.

"We've got a pretty good size team working on it," Air Force Col. Amy McCain said.

McCain is in charge of ordering the new Air Force One.

"The current airplane was fielded in 1991," McCain said. "It's the only 747-200 left in the United States that is flying. So it costs a lot more time and money to keep that airplane flying than it used to. It's actually cheaper in the long run to replace it."

McCain's team has grown from 20 people to 80 in just the past year. It will soon expand to 100.

In January, the Air Force announced its intention to use Boeing's 747-8 airframe.

The long-range, wide-body aircraft is made in Everett, Washington. It comes with a longer fuselage, greater wing span and new engines and avionics. It will be heavily modified with all of the latest technological and security gear. But this symbol of America doesn't come cheap.

Updated budget documents show its request to Congress starts with $102 million this year, and the numbers quickly gain altitude to more than $3 billion in total in the next five years. And that's not counting the final three years of the project.

Some say that the aircraft does not need to be replaced and that the taxpayers simply can't afford to buy a new presidential plane.

"The top priority is an affordable aircraft that will meet the presidential requirements," McCain said. "We're buying up to three. It depends on all the availability of having two airplanes available for the president at any one time."

If the deal takes off, the current Air Force One will likely land in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, home to nine presidential aircraft.

The museum's historian, Jeff Underwood, said the history of the presidential aircraft is filled with triumph and turbulence.

Franklin Roosevelt was the first to fly while in office. The plane the president took to Yalta in 1945 had an electric-powered elevator.

The four-engine Douglas plane, code-named "The Sacred Cow," was modified for the president, who was stricken by polio at age 39.

Roosevelt flew on the plane only once before his death. Harry Truman then used it, signing the act that created the Air Force.

The Boeing 707 that took the first American president to China is at the museum. It carried eight presidents over 36 years.

Jackie Kennedy approved the now-iconic blue and white design still in use today.

The 707 also flew the Kennedys to Dallas and President Kennedy's successor back to Washington.

The original log book from that date shows the one flight with two presidents, after Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office in a packed, sweltering cabin.

The headwinds of history buffeted George W. Bush aboard Air Force One on 9/11 as the plane became an airborne refuge after the terror attacks.

In 70 years of presidential flight, Underwood said the unique set of aircraft we now know as the Air Force One has taken the country to new heights.

"This is not just the president's plane," Underwood said. "This is the plane that belongs to the people of the United States. When you look on the side of the airplane, it tells you, United States of America. This is a symbol of the United States, and we are the people of the United States."

The Air Force hopes to sign the first contract with Boeing later this year for the next Air Force One. The goal is to have the new 747s flying the president eight years from now in 2023.

Less Leasing Love From Lessors

Image: Courtesy JDL Multimedia

New airplanes are good for everyone; that’s the story aircraft manufacturers are pushing and even some airlines are buying in to. With greater fuel efficiency, longer range, and higher capacity, the push is on to get new aircraft into every airline’s hangars.

United Airlines predicts that it will save approximately two million annually for each Boeing 757-200 it replaces with a new Boeing 737-900ER in its domestic fleet, for example, but this prediction is based when aviation fuel prices were much higher. Meanwhile, Allegiant has made a different business decision of flying old–but reliable–aircraft until they break; then, Allegiant will replace them with another inexpensive, older plane, but it would seem that Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker has a much different different approach as he recently suggested that the 787s his airline has recently acquired will be out of the fleet in less than a decade, making way for newer and larger aircraft.

Boeing expects to be producing 52 of its 737 aircraft each month by 2018 while Airbus is increasing its A320 family output to 46 per month by Q2 2016. Some widebody aircraft, such as the A330 or 747-8 families, are seeing reductions in production rates to partially offset the increase while others, including the 787 family, see increasing production rates to counter large backlogs.

And then there are those who worry about the ever increasing pace of aircraft delivery and its potential impact on the market overall. Many of them are in the aircraft leasing and financing business who are faced with a rapidly changing market structure and demand profile, one which the major manufacturers are upsetting with increased production rates.

CIT Aerospace, a lessor with roughly nine billion in aircraft under management, and plans to buy 15 A330neo aircraft, pressed for caution amongst the manufacturers in the near future. The statement was made at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference recently amidst talk of an even greater push by Airbus and Boeing to capture market share.

Much of it comes down to residual value and amortization over time. The lessors historically have depended on a reasonably strong secondary market, often in secondary or tertiary countries, where used aircraft can operate reliably well after the initial service run at a major carrier. Today, however, more and more airlines are buying new from Airbus or Boeing rather than taking planes second-hand. More airlines are focusing on providing the comfortable passenger experience rather than simply transportation from A to B.

So airlines are owning new planes for shorter lifecycles and buying or leasing fewer used planes. This glut of inventory pushes down costs in the secondary market which is understandably bad for the lessors, but what does it mean to the broader industry as a whole? Passenger experiences are generally better on newer planes and the environmental impact is hard to argue, but for the airlines, is it better to run the newer aircraft with higher capital costs and lower operating costs or the older planes with that ratio reversed? Especially if the secondary market continues to see declining prices. This will impact the first owners of new planes down the line as they look to unload and cash out on the airframe.

Ultimately, this could portend an inversion in the market where the traditional legacy carriers start operating more and more second-hand planes to better control total costs while the upstarts, flush with investor cash or loan guarantees, happily take the new planes off assembly lines around the world. And, in the middle, the private-sector financing groups will struggle to make a profit from the industry where public financing seems spectacularly easy to secure.

10 самых безумных грузов, перевезенных по воздуху

Авиаперевозки принято классифицировать по направлению, категории груза и типу загрузки, однако порой встречаются примеры, не поддающиеся никакой классификации.

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10. Кит-косатка

Косатка Кейко, звезда американского фильма «Освободите Вилли», был авиапассажиром дважды — сначала его доставили из Мехико в Орегон с помощью C-130 Hercules, а затем на Boeing C-17 Globemaster III кита вернули обратно на родину в Исландию, где позже он был выпущен на волю.

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9. Офтальмологическая клиника

Некоммерческая организация Orbis International построила «летающий госпиталь» на базе самолета McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Полноценная офтальмологическая клиника с международной командой врачей предназначалась для лечения глазных заболеваний в развивающихся странах, где отсутствует необходимая медицинская инфраструктура.

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8. Коровы

Крупный рогатый скот тоже иногда нуждается в авиаперевозках. Пилоты Boeing 747, однажды перевозившие 390 коров над Ирландским морем, были напуганы сработавшей пожарной сигнализацией. Как выяснилось после экстренной посадки, чувствительные датчики подняли тревогу из-за тепла коровьих тел.

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7. Конвертоплан V-22 Osprey

Серийный конвертоплан V-22 Osprey, сочетающий возможности самолета и вертолета, нельзя назвать маленьким, однако он без особых усилий поместился в грузовой самолет Aero Spacelines Super Guppy.

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6. Вкусовые добавки для собачьего корма

90 тонн вкусовых добавок для собачьего корма однажды были отправлены во Францию с помощью Boeing 747. Смесь вожделенных для собак химических веществ, о вкусе которых можно лишь догадываться, заняла весь грузовой отсек самолета.

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5. Фюзеляж C-130

Транспортировка фюзеляжа C-130 Hercules с помощью военно-транспортного самолета повышенной грузоподъемности Lockheed C-5 Galaxy С-5 потребовала от военных более двух лет планирования и испытаний.

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4. Весь Париж-Дакар

В 2000 году гонка Париж-Дакар была под угрозой партизанского нападения в Нигере, так что все грандиозное мероприятие «в сборе» — от людей до транспортных средств — было доставлено в Ливию, где гонка возобновилась. Для этого потребовалось три тяжелых транспортных самолета Ан-124 «Руслан», которые совершили 18 рейсов, и 5 миллионов долларов.

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3. Гигантский лазер

Экспериментальный самолет Boeing YAL-1 на базе 747 нес в носовой части большую лазерную пушку, предназначенную для уничтожения ракет. Правда, после испытаний проект был закрыт.

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2. Ядерный реактор

Американский самолет с ядерным реактором на борту Convair NB-36H был построен и испытан в 1955 году. Чуть позже, в 1961 году, в СССР построили Ту-119, который также был оснащен ядерной силовой установкой. В середине 1960-х годов правительства обеих стран свернули свои проекты и отказались от дальнейшего развития «атомолетов».

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1. 190-тонный генератор

Ан-225 «Мрия» сам по себе является самым тяжелым транспортным самолетом в мире, а в 2013 году он перевез из швейцарского Цюриха в Бахрейн генератор весом 190 тонн, крупнейший объект, когда-либо перевезенный по воздухк.

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Here's Why Airliners Still Don't Have Real-Time Tracking Tech

It's been one year since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished into thin air. So why aren't we doing a better job of tracking planes yet?

From the moment MH370 disappeared more than one year ago, the world has been asking how a jumbo jet carrying 239 people could vanish. Now, the aviation industry is grappling with another question: Where are the promised flight tracking systems that would prevent this from ever happening again?

The technology would transmit in real time a multidimensional picture of an aircraft's position, measured by longitude, latitude, altitude, and the local time as provided by satellites. This is the same data that is captured by the flight data recorders (the black boxes), which, in the case of MH370, are presumed to be somewhere in the depths of the Indian Ocean. However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it might not be possible to meet its goal of making all aircraft traceable within a year—something that had seemed a reasonable deadline in the aftermath of MH370.

Tony Tyler, the former Cathay Pacific executive who heads the 250-member airline trade group, said that while the group is taking the issue "seriously," it's not clear whether all carriers are on board with the timetable.

"There is no silver bullet solution on tracking," he said at a briefing in Geneva. "The industry is working to improve, but some issues…. will take time to address and implement," he added, noting that the sealing of cockpit doors after the Sept. 11 attacks took several years to complete.

So what's the problem? The IATA just released a study from its Aircraft Tracking Task Force, which, after the disappearance of MH370, was charged with developing tracking options for planes. The study's main focus is how to track planes in areas that have no radar coverage, such as remote areas over water. Thanks to the modernization of air traffic control systems, that tracking is already improving, but that alone won't be enough to track all planes if airlines don't make their own upgrades.

The IATA report is supposed to contain information about how many airlines are already equipped for real-time tracking, but the details have not yet been made public. We do know the authors conclude that some may not be able to meet the new standards by target date of the end of 2015.

Plus, there's the question of authority: The IATA can't make the airlines fall in line and add new tracking tech. Any governmental action to require such tracking must come via the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization, which could put pressure on individual countries to act if it sees fit. The issue next goes before them at a summit in February.

The study also raised the prospect of requiring carriers to acquire tamper-proof transponders within three years. A criminal investigation under way in Malaysia is examining the possibility that someone on the plane intentionally disabled the transponder of the 777, which effectively made it untraceable and allowed it to fly undetected for hours. But IATA stopped short of saying that the new transponders should be mandated.

There's also disagreement on how much it will cost. The upgrades could cost tens of thousands of dollars per aircraft, and many airlines have expressed concern about the high cost given how rare it is for an aircraft to disappear.

Of course, those same arguments were made after Air France 447 crashed into the South Atlantic in 2009, when the industry had an opportunity to make the changes that might have prevented MH370's disappearance.