thats a clever pic..  ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

Must be a nightmare for the air traffic control.

Could be worse .... think it has been posted before but can't be arsed searching ....


ARRIVALS AT SAN DIEGO

DEPARTURES AT SAN DIEGO



LAST ONE IS A CRACKER .....

The A350 test fleet flying in formation. It's about to gain certification and begin revenue service.

Click image to enlarge

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KurtVerbose wrote:

The A350 test fleet flying in formation. It's about to gain certification and begin revenue service.

And it's been certified in Europe. USA will probably happen tomorrow.

Don't know when the first delivery and passenger flights will happen though. First customer is Quatar Airways.



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Quite a good video on the certification process.

Great video.

However, having just read that Air Canada will be joining the Who charge for each piece of checked luggage, I wonder how long airplanes will continue to be thought of as things of beauty.

Nothing like a bit of showing off when you pick up your new plane.

jeeeez

fk'in ell...madness  GONE 2010 Facelifted 3.6 TDV8 - Stornoway Grey + 22" Overfinch Olympus
HAVE 1999 Discovery 2 GS 4.0 V8 - Silver - Off Road Toy
GONE 2013 L405 4.4 SDV8 Vogue. Black with Silver roofline and 22" s
HAVE 2015 Jaguar XF.

^^^

Wow, that's a "fly it like you stole it" type move. I'd want the wings very level that close to the ground.

As a new plane, it reminds me a bit of the post on the General section about the L322 being "old and brutal." The B747 is a great, legendary plane, but there are far newer options. I'm rather surprised, but they still seem to be doing okay in the cargo market.

The 747's are being pulled from service across the globe. As soon as they reach a C check they get parked in the dessert. It's strange as you might get a 20 year old plane that's a few years from the next C check still flying, while a 12 year old one coming up for a C check will be parked in the dessert.

They're very expensive to run and the zero capital cost is a small saving compared to the high cost of fuel and maintenance vs a newer aircraft.

Basically, high fuel costs and low interest rates are killing them.

The new 747-8 is doing very badly. Only cargo versions have sold in any numbers, and the cargo market is very bad at the moment as 777's can carry a lot of cargo as well as passengers.

I think the 747 line will close when the current orders are complete, and very many 747's will be grounded and scrapped also. There will still be some flying into the 2020's though.

Sad end to a fabulous aircraft, but it's had a very good run.

Interesting info, Kurt. Thanks.

Shame to think they'll soon disappear. With all the twin jets, it's getting hard to tell them all apart.

One of my favourite B747 stories comes from the building of the planes. Boeing had almost finished the first plane but was still waiting on the new, huge engines that it would required. News had just reached them that a prototype engine had just exploded while being run up on a test bed.

One of the engineers turns to the others and said, "Well, gentlemen. We may have just built the worlds biggest glider."

Of course, they got the engines sorted and the rest is history.

The first B747 is now on show at the Seattle Museum of Flight, a few hours south of me on the motorway. It's well worth the stop. They also have a BA Concorde (FANTASTIC!), and a B707 that had been used as US Air Force One (president's plane) from the 60s. It was so cutting edge, the president even had a COMPUTER. It was the size of a modern, full-size refrigerator. Last time I was there, they were working on a Mk IV Comet. Now, THAT'S a cool plane that won't be mistaken for anything else. (The Mk IV was the one with all the bugs worked out.)

The same fate for the A380 i think.