The last of the A320neo variants, an Airbus A319neo, has completed its maiden flight powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines for the first time. The A319neo test aircraft took off from Toulouse at 12:30 local time and landed at 15:20. It was flown by a crew of five including Captain Philippe Castaigns, First Officer Shaun Wildey, flight test engineers Frank Hohmeister, David O’Nions, and Test flight engineer Cedric Favrichon.
The aircraft, MSN 6464, will perform an extensive flight test campaign in order to achieve its certification with P&W GTF engines by Q4 2019. The same aircraft had originally been powered with CFM International LEAP-1A engines for that variant’s full certification test campaign, which began on 31 March 2017 prior to FAA/EASA certification in December 2018.
The A319neo is the smallest member of the A320neo family. This family is the world’s best-selling single aisle aircraft, with over 6,500 orders from some 100 customers since its launch in 2010. It has pioneered and incorporated the latest technologies, including its new-generation engines and the industry’s reference cabin design, delivering 20% fuel cost per seat savings alone. The A320neo Family also offers significant environmental benefits with a nearly 50% reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Monday she named four experts to a blue-ribbon committee to review the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) aircraft certification process after two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes killed nearly 350 people.
Chao said she was naming NASA’s former aviation safety program director Amy Pritchett and Gretchen Haskins, chief executive of HeliOffshore Ltd, an international expert in aviation safety and a former U.S. Air Force officer.
She also named Kenneth Hylander, chief safety officer at Amtrak and a former senior safety executive at Delta and Northwest airlines, and J. David Grizzle, chairman of the board of Republic Airways and a former FAA chief counsel.
The committee is “specifically tasked to review the 737 MAX 800 certification process from 2012 to 2017, and recommend improvements to the certification process.”
U.S. lawmakers have criticized the FAA’s program that allows Boeing Co and other manufacturers to oversee the process that ensures air worthiness and other vital safety aspects of new aircraft.
Chao said last month the panel would be co-chaired by retired Air Force General Darren McDew, the former head of the U.S. Transportation Command, and Lee Moak, a former president of the Air Line Pilots Association.
Federal prosecutors, the Transportation Department’s inspector general and lawmakers are investigating the FAA’s certification of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft. A joint review by 10 governmental air regulators is also set to start April 29.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)
São Paulo, Brazil, April 18, 2019 – Embraer announces that the company’s new Praetor 600 super-midsize business jet was granted its Type Certificate by Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC—Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil), having been announced in October 2018 at NBAA-BACE and becoming the only super-midsize business jet to be certified since 2014.
The Praetor 600 is the best performing super-midsize jet ever developed, surpassing all its main design goals and becoming capable of flying beyond 4,000 nautical miles in long-range cruise speed or beyond 3,700 nautical miles at Mach .80 from runways shorter than 4,500ft, complemented by an outstanding payload capability.
“Our engineering and program teams have outperformed again by passionately designing, developing and certifying the class-leading Praetor 600 business jet, exceeding specifications and expectations, and ahead of schedule,” said Paulo César Souza e Silva, Embraer CEO. “This advanced aircraft reflects not only our journey of innovation, it is also a preview of the future of this great company.”
“The most disruptive and technologically advanced super-midsize business jet has arrived. The Praetor 600 will fascinate our customers with the highest performance, technology and comfort in its class and raise the customer experience to an unprecedented level,” said Michael Amalfitano, President & CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. “I want to thank and congratulate the Embraer family for bringing to market an aircraft that will create true value for customers and shareholders alike.”
The Praetor 600 is now the farthest-flying super-midsize jet, able to make nonstop flights between London and New York, São Paulo and Miami, Dubai and London. With four passengers and NBAA IFR Reserves, the Praetor 600 has an intercontinental range of 4,018 nautical miles (7,441 km). Take Off Field Length for such a mission is only 4,436 ft (1,352 m). At M0.80, range is 3,719 nm (6,887 km) with four passengers and NBBA IFR Reserves.
The
Praetor 600 is the first super-midsize jet with full fly-by-wire
technology, which powers the Active Turbulence Reduction that not only
makes every flight the smoothest but also the most efficient possible.
The Embraer DNA Design interior eloquently explores every dimension of the only super-midsize to feature a six-foot-tall, flat-floor cabin, stone flooring and a vacuum service lavatory, all in the same certified aircraft. The class-exclusive Active Turbulence Reduction and 5,800-foot cabin altitude, complemented by a whisper silent cabin, have set the highest standards in customer experience in the super-midsize category. In addition to the full-service galley and a wardrobe, eight fully reclining club seats may be berthed into four beds, and the baggage space is the largest in the class.
Advanced technology throughout the cabin is also a trait of the Embraer DNA Design, beginning with the industry-exclusive Upper Tech Panel that displays flight information and offers cabin management features also available on personal devices through Honeywell Ovation Select. High-capacity, ultra high-speed connectivity for all aboard is available through Viasat’s Ka-band, with speeds of up to 16Mbps and unlimited streaming, another industry-exclusive in super-midsize jets.
The Praetor 600 features Collins Aerospace’s newest edition of the acclaimed Pro Line Fusion flight deck. Capabilities such as the industry-first vertical weather display, air-traffic-control-like situational awareness with ADSB-IN, predictive wind shear radar capability, as well as Embraer Enhanced Vision System (E2VS) with a Head-up Display (HUD) and an Enhanced Video System (EVS), an Inertial Reference System (IRS) and a Synthetic Vision Guidance System (SVGS) are some of the highlights on the Praetor 600 flight deck.
Toulouse, 06 November 2018 – The first A330-800 took off this morning at Blagnac in Toulouse, France at 10:31am local time, for its maiden flight taking place over south-western France. The aircraft, MSN1888, will perform the dedicated flight-physics tests required for this variant.
The crew in the cockpit comprise: Experimental Test Pilots Malcolm RIDLEY and François BARRE and Test-Flight Engineer Ludovic GIRARD. Meanwhile, monitoring the aircraft systems and performance in real-time at the flight-test-engineer’s (FTE) station are Catherine SCHNEIDER and Jose CORUGEDO BERMEJO. The A330-800’s certification development programme itself will last around 300 flight-test hours, paving the way for certification in 2019. Its sibling, the larger A330-900 family member, recently completed its development testing and certification programme which validated the A330neo Family’s common engines, systems, cabin and flight & ground operations.
Launched in July 2014, the latest generation of Airbus’ widebody family, the A330neo builds on the A330ceo’s proven economics, versatility and reliability while reducing fuel consumption by a further 14 per cent per seat. The NEO’s two versions – the A330-800 and A330-900 – will accommodate 257 and 287 passengers respectively in a three-class seating layout, are powered by the latest-generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, offer new “Airspace” cabin amenities and feature a new larger span wing with Sharklet wingtip devices.
The A330 is one of the most popular widebody families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from 120 customers. More than 1,400 A330s are flying with over 120 operators worldwide. The A330neo is the latest addition to the leading Airbus widebody family, which also includes the A350 XWB and the A380, all featuring unmatched space and comfort combined with unprecedented efficiency levels and unrivalled range capability.
