Airbus

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Airbus innovation - Voice recognition

Innovative voice recognition software is being developed by Airbus' Corporate Innovation Team -- working in collaboration with Indian software company Uniphore -- for improved pilot communication with air traffic controllers. A prototype of this programme has already received enthusiastic responses from flight test crews and customer airline pilots.

http://www.youtube.com/v/UbWrn172Q5M

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VietJetAir places firm orders for Airbus jets

Low-cost Vietnam airline, VietJetAir, placed an order for up to 100 Airbus aircraft, the latest entrant seeking to tap into a booming Southeast Asian market.

The airline placed a firm order for 63 jets and 30 purchase options and will lease the remainder, VietJetAir officials said at a signing ceremony with Airbus at the Singapore Airshow on Tuesday.

The purchase agreement covers firm orders for 42 A320neo, 14 A320ceo and seven A321ceo.

Last year, privately owned VietJetAir and Airbus agreed a provisional order for the 100 jets but the deal did not show up in the order book of Airbus in its 2013 data.

A firm order is seen as a strong indication of future revenue for airplane manufacturers and triggers a deposit from airlines. Airlines mainly pay for aircraft when they take delivery and usually win significant discounts for large orders.

Sursa: Reuters

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SINGAPORE: A350 flight test pace "quite remarkable" - Airbus

Hundreds of people gathered around to see the A350 being pushed into position at the exhibition center proving an unobstructed view of the aircraft. Singapore Airshow at Singapore - Changi (SIN / WSSS)

The high availability rate of the Airbus A350 XWB flight-test fleet has enabled the airframer to de-risk the flight-test programme as it heads towards its summer 2014 certification target date on schedule.

The flight-test programme, which currently comprises two A350s, has recently passed the 1,000h mark in a 2,500h flight-test programme. Two more test aircraft join the fleet this month, and a fifth in May.

The flight rate achieved so far has been "quite remarkable", says Fernando Alonso, senior vice president flight and integration tests. "It has been way, way beyond our expectations from experience with previous test programmes.

"On the A350 we have been routinely flying at about 100h per aircraft per month. On average we had previously flown 50-55h per aircraft per month," said Alonso at the Singapore air show, where the A350 is making its public debut. "We're going twice as fast as we have before."

Alonso attributes the smooth test effort to the high availability of the A350s. "We have seen from the very beginning a very robust and mature airplane," he says.

"We have achieved this because of the extremely good preparation of all the teams. The other things that have contributed has been the knowledge that the flight-test teams have of the aircraft and systems because of their involvement, and the upstream equipment testing at the suppliers and integration testing."

Alonso views the good progress of the flight-test programme as "taking away risk" in the schedule rather than creating a buffer. "As usual, at the end there will be a big rush because the modifications and equipment for the certification come right at the end. The advantage is that we will reach that stage in a very comfortable situation in terms of maturity," he says.

Airbus is working towards certification of the initial A350-900 in the third quarter, with first deliveries to launch customer Qatar Airways scheduled before the end of the year.

Sursa

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First look inside the Airbus A350 XWB

To fully appreciate all the A350 XWB promises to offer, your imagination needs to take a rather giant leap. On display for the first time at an airshow, the brand new extra wide bodied passenger jet has been one of the Singapore Airshow's major attention grabbers.
Flying high above the Changi Exhibition Centre, it looks sleek and maneuverable.

It's a big draw, part of the airshow's static display sitting beside its key competitor, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

But step on board, and it's unlike any other experience on a passenger jet, because the A350 is still a test aircraft. Packed with flight testing gear, including the equivalent of 400 kilometers of bright orange testing cables, every nuance of what happens when the plane is in the air is captured by equipment that feeds data live to Airbus' headquarters in Toulouse.

Some 600,000 parameters can be monitored and recorded at any one time as part of that testing. Large water tanks under the floor are filled to the exact weight the aircraft will carry when it's full of passengers and baggage.

The A350 first took to the skies on June 14 last year. Soon after, it performed a fly-by at the Paris Airshow.



So far two test planes have clocked 1,000 hours of flying time, some in extreme conditions.

To date the A350 has experienced the cold of northern Canada and the high altitude of La Paz in Bolivia. In the next few weeks it will also conduct tests in the stifling heat of the Middle East.

All five test A350s will have to fly for 2,500 hours before achieving certification.





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Sursa si mai multe poze: CNN

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http://www.youtube.com/v/84r31vXZsUw

http://www.youtube.com/v/Tm1oFbXyQdU

http://www.youtube.com/v/c_7t_wIZG0w

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The new A350 test aircraft in the "Carbon Fibre" Livery. Toulouse - Blagnac (TLS / LFBO) France, February 14, 2014

Source: airliners.net

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This is such an impressive sight - watching the mighty A380 slowing down on Runway 23R. Moisture from the runway surface is disturbed by the reverse thrust employed. The full 80 metre wingspan is shown off in this image to such good effect. The 05L lights are lit for their daily visual inspection, to check for any bulb malfunctions. Manchester - International (Ringway) (MAN / EGCC)

Sursa: airliners.net

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Sursa: airliners.net

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Final assembly starts on A320neo

Airbus has commenced final assembly of the first A320neo, the re-engined version of its single-aisle A320 family.
The first aircraft, MSN6101, has undergone forward and aft fuselage join at Toulouse, sections which have been delivered from plants at St Nazaire and Hamburg.

Following fuselage join, the aircraft will proceed to wing mating. Airbus intends to conduct the maiden flight in the fourth quarter of this year, and says the programme is "on track" to meet this schedule.

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sursa

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Asiana A380 emerges from Hamburg paint shop

Asiana Airlines's first Airbus A380 aircraft has emerged from the paint shop in Hamburg, Germany.

The aircraft will now have its cabin completed and undergo ground and flight tests in Hamburg, says Airbus. This round of tests will focus on cabin systems such as air conditioning, lighting, galleys, lavatories, and the in-flight entertainment system.

The aircraft will subsequently return to Toulouse where it will be prepared for delivery in the second quarter of 2014.

Asiana has firm orders for six A380 aircraft. It will initially use the type on regional routes before commencing long-haul services to the USA

Sursa

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The new Airbus ACJ319 ELEGANCE

Detalii

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Airbus reshuffles large American Airlines jet order

Airbus took 78 orders in April but remained behind Boeing in the battle for new business after a relatively quiet month dominated by the reshuffling of existing orders, data released by the European planemaker showed on Wednesday.

The planemaker unit of Airbus Group (AIR.PA) said it had received 236 orders up to the end of April and cancellations for 94, bringing its net order total for 2014 to 142 aircraft.

U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA.N) has said it booked 335 gross orders and 288 net orders up to April 29.

Airbus data reflected some reallocation of an order from American Airlines for 260 Airbus A320-family planes in 2011.

That deal, a record at the time, was due to be split equally between versions of the revamped A320neo family and the existing generation of Airbus medium-haul jets known as A320ceo.

The transaction was so big that Airbus agreed to arrange for half of the 260 jets to be supplied by leasing companies from planes already in the market, but the new data showed it will sell part of this leasing quota instead.

American (AAL.O) has downgraded 30 orders for the A321neo, the largest version of the series, to options, the airline said recently, leaving a total of 100 revamped jets on firm order.

At the same time, 71 aircraft that were originally due to have been leased to American now appear as direct purchases from Airbus. This is in addition to seven aircraft already switched from leases to direct purchases from the planemaker.

The net result is that American will buy more planes directly from Airbus than originally intended, though its firm order for 130 of the new "neo" version of jet now stands at 100.

The 2011 American deal forced Boeing to follow Airbus' strategy by revamping its 737 jets with new engines rather than waiting for a more ambitious redesign of its most-sold jet.

The fleet overhaul was complex not only because of its size but because the airline went into bankruptcy protection in November 2011, four months after signing the deal. It exited bankruptcy when it merged with US Airways in December 2013.

Airbus sales chief John Leahy told Reuters last year some of the jets due to be supplied to the U.S. airline on its behalf by lessors would be supplied directly instead.

The reshuffle came as U.S. leasing giant International Lease Finance Corp, which is due to be taken over by Dutch-based AerCap (AER.N), cancelled orders for 9 A321ceo aircraft.

Airbus's order tally was boosted by an internal sale of six A330 long-distance jets to its military division for conversion into aerial refueling tankers.

Airbus delivered 193 aircraft between January and April including six A380 superjumbos. In the first quarter, the latest period for which Boeing delivery data is available, the U.S. company delivered 161 passenger aircraft.

Sursa: Reuters

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What a beauty!



Sursa: Airbus

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https://www.youtube.com/v/RhRQ2L8-ruI

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Relive history with footage from previous first flights in Airbus history, including maiden voyages of the A300B, A310, A320, A340, A330, A380 and A400M military airlifter.

https://www.youtube.com/v/3YjGP0HXkDQ