Cessna 172

Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane.
More Cessna 172s have been built than any other aircraft. It is probably the most popular flight training aircraft in the world.
Design and developmentMeasured by its longevity and popularity, the Cessna 172 is the most successful mass produced light aircraft in history. The first production models were delivered in 1956 and they are still in production as of 2008; more than 43,000 have been built. The Skyhawk's main competitors have been the Beechcraft Musketeer and Grumman AA-5 series (neither in production), the Piper Cherokee and, more recently, the Diamond DA40.
The Cessna 172 started life as a tricycle landing gear upgrade from the taildragger Cessna 170, with a basic level of standard equipment. The first flight of the prototype was in November 1955. The 172 became an overnight sales success and over 1400 were built in 1956, its first full year of production.
Early 172s were similar in appearance to the 170, with the same straight aft fuselage and tall gear legs, although the 172 had a straight vertical tail while the 170 had a rounded fin and rudder. Later 172 versions incorporated revised landing gear and a lowered rear deck that allowed an aft window. Cessna advertised this added rear visibility as "Omni-Vision". The final aesthetic development in the mid-1960s, was the sweptback tail which is still in use today. This airframe configuration has remained almost unchanged since then, except for updates in avionics and engines, including the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit in 2005. Production had been halted in the mid-1980s, but was resumed in 1996 with the 160 hp (120 kW) Cessna 172R Skyhawk and was supplemented in 1998 by the 180 hp (135 kW) Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP.

Airbus A400M

Airbus A400M

The Airbus A400M is a four-engine turboprop military transport & tanker, designed by Airbus Military. Its maiden flight is scheduled for July 2008.
The project began as the Future International Military Airlifter (FIMA) group, set up in 1982 by Aerospatiale, British Aerospace, Lockheed, and MBB to develop a replacement for the C-130 Hercules and C-160 Transall. Varying requirements and the complications of international politics caused slow progress. In 1989 Lockheed left the grouping and went on to develop an upgraded Hercules, the C-130J. With the addition of Alenia and CASA the FIMA group became Euroflag.
The partner nations, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Belgium, and Luxembourg, signed an agreement in May 2003 to buy 212 aircraft. These nations decided to charge OCCAR with the management of the acquisition of the A400M.
Following the withdrawal of Italy and revision of procurement totals the revised requirement was for 180 aircraft, with first flight in 2008 and first delivery in 2009. On 28 April 2005, South Africa joined the partnership programme with the state owned Denel Aerospace Systems receiving a contract for fuselage components.
The Airbus A400M will increase the airlift capacity and range compared to the aircraft it was originally set to replace, the older versions of the Hercules and Transall. Cargo capacity is expected to double over existing aircraft, both in payload and volume, and range is increased substantially as well. Like Airbus' other aircraft, the A400M will have a full glass cockpit (all information accessed through large colour screens) and fly-by-wire and as such will represent a technological leap compared to the older C-130s and C-160s that many countries now operate.
The Airbus A400M will operate in many configurations including cargo transport, troop transport, MEDEVAC, aerial refuelling, and electronic surveillance.
Originally the SNECMA M138 turboprop (based on the M88 core) was selected to power the A400M. Airbus Military issued a new Request for Proposal in April 2002 which Pratt & Whitney Canada and Europrop answered. Although industry sources indicated the P&WC proposal was the winning bid Airbus Military announced, after evaluating both designs, the selection of the Europrop TP400-D6 in May 2003.
The A400M's wings are primarily carbon fibre reinforced plastic. The cockpit features a fly-by-wire flight control system with sidestick controllers and flight envelope protection. High performance turboprop engines will allow operation in a civil air traffic control environment.

Airbus A350

Airbus A350

The Airbus A350 is a long range, mid-sized, wide-body family of airliners currently under development, designed to compete with the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. The A350 will be the first Airbus with fuselage and wing structures made primarily of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It is scheduled to enter into service in 2013.
When Boeing announced its 787 Dreamliner project, it claimed the lower operating costs of this airplane would make it a serious threat to the Airbus A330. Publicly, Airbus initially rejected this claim, stating that the 787 was itself just a reaction to the A330, and that no response was needed to the 787.
The airlines pushed Airbus to provide a competitor, as Boeing had committed the 787 to have 20% lower fuel consumption than today's equivalent types. Initially Airbus proposed a simple derivative of the A330, unofficially dubbed the 'A330-200Lite', with improved aerodynamics and engines similar to those on the 787. The airlines were not satisfied and Airbus committed €4 billion to a new design to be called the A350. The original version of the A350 superficially resembled the A330 due to its common fuselage cross-section and assembly. A new wing, engines and a horizontal stabilizer were to be coupled with new composite materials and production methods applied to the fuselage to make the A350 an almost all-new aircraft.
On 16 September 2004, then Airbus president and CEO Noël Forgeard confirmed that a new project was under consideration, but did not give a project name, and would not state whether it would be an entirely new design or a modification of an existing product. Forgeard indicated that Airbus would finalise its concept by the end of 2004, begin consulting with airlines in early 2005, and aim to launch the new development programme at the end of that year.
On 10 December 2004 the boards of EADS and BAE Systems, then the shareholders of Airbus, gave Airbus an "authorisation to offer (ATO)", and formally named it the A350.
On 6 October 2005 full industrial launch of the program was announced with an estimated development cost of around € 3.5 billion. This version of the A350 was planned to be a 250–300-seat twin-engined wide-body aircraft derived from the design of the existing A330. Under this plan, the A350 would have modified wings and new engines while sharing the same fuselage cross-section as its predecessor. Controversially, the fuselage was to consist primarily of Al-Li, rather than the CFRP fuselage on the 787. It was to see entry into service in 2010 in two versions; the A350-800 capable of flying 8,800 nautical miles (16,300 km) with typical passenger capacity of 253 in 3-class configuration and the 300-seat (3-class) A350-900 with 7,500 nautical mile (13,890 km) range. It was designed to be a direct competitor to the 787-9, and 777-200ER.
Almost immediately Airbus faced criticism on the A350 project by the heads of two of its largest customers, ILFC and GECAS. On 28 March 2006, in the presence of hundreds of top airline executives, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, of ILFC lambasted Airbus' strategy in bringing to market what they saw as "a Band-aid reaction to the 787," a sentiment which was echoed by GECAS president Henry Hubschman. Udvar-Hazy called on Airbus to bring a clean-sheet design to the table, or risk losing most of the market to Boeing.
Several days later, similar comments were made by Chew Choon Seng, CEO of Singapore Airlines. Chew stated, "having gone to the trouble of designing a new wing, tail, cockpit" and adding advanced new materials, Airbus "should have gone the whole hog and designed a new fuselage." At the time, Singapore was reviewing bids for the 787 and A350.
Airbus responded by stating it was considering improvements for the A350 to satisfy customer demands.At the same time, Airbus then-CEO Gustav Humbert suggested that there would be no quick fixes, stating, "Our strategy isn't driven by the needs of the next one or two campaigns, but rather by a long-term view of the market and our ability to deliver on our promises."
On 14 June 2006, Singapore Airlines announced it had selected the 787 over the A350, ordering 20 787-9s.Emirates Airline decided against making an order for the initial version of the A350 because of weaknesses in the design.

Airbus A310

Airbus A310

The Airbus A310 is a medium to long-range widebody airliner. Launched in 1978, it was the second aircraft created by the Airbus consortium of European aerospace companies, which is now fully owned by EADS. The A310 is a shortened derivative of the A300, the first twin-engined widebody airliner. The A310 (along with the A300) ceased production in July 2007. Freighter sales for which the A310 competed are to be fulfilled by a new A330-200F derivative.
The A310's range exceeds that of all the A300 models, except for the A300-600, which surpases the A310-200. This feature has led to the aircraft being used extensively on transatlantic routes. The A300 and A310 introduced the concept of commonality: A300-600 and A310 pilots can qualify for the other aircraft with one day of training.
Like its sister aircraft, the A300, the A310 has reached the end of its market life as a passenger and cargo aircraft. There have been no new A310 passenger orders since the late 1990s, and only a few freighter orders remain. The A310 (along with the A300) ceased production in July of 2007, though five orders from Iraqi Airways remain on the books. The remaining freighter sales are to be fulfilled by the new A330-200F derivative.
The aircraft was formally launched in July 1978 for Lufthansa and Swissair. A further development of the A300, the aircraft was initially designated the A300 B10. Essentially a "baby" A300, the main differences in the two aircraft are
Shortened fuselage - same cross section, providing capacity of about 200. Redesigned wing - designed by British Aerospace who rejoined Airbus consortium Smaller vertical fin The A310 was marketed as an introduction to widebody operations for developing airlines. The A310 was replaced in Airbus' lineup by the highly successful A330-200, which shares its fuselage cross-section. Between 1983 and the very last aircraft produced 1998, 255 A310s were delivered by Airbus.
The A300 and A310 established Airbus as a competitor to Boeing and allowed it to go ahead with the more ambitious A320 and A330/A340 families.

Airbus A300

Airbus A300

The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody
aircraft. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined
widebody, it was the first product of the Airbus consortium
of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS.
The A300 ceased production in July 2007, along with the
smaller A310. Freighter sales for which the A300 competed are to be fulfilled by a new A330-200F derivativeDevelopment historyThe mission requirements were given in 1966 by Frank Kolk, an American Airlines executive, for a Boeing 727 replacement on busy short- to medium-range routes such as US transcontinental flights. His brief included a passenger capacity of 250 to 300 seated in a twin-aisle configuration and fitted with two engines, with the capability of carrying full passengers without penalty from high-altitude airports like Denver. American manufacturers responded with widebody trijets, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, as twinjets were banned from many routes by the
FAA.French president Charles de Gaulle resented the US domination of civil aviation and wanted a European airliner that could compete with American designs.[citation needed] Concorde was part of the answer, designed for intercontinental routes; the other was the A300, designed to
meet Kolk's US domestic requirements.
In September 1967, the British, French, and German governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) tostart development of the 300-seat Airbus A300. An earlier
announcement had been made in July 1967, but at that time the announcement had been clouded by the British Government's support for the Airbus, which coincided with
its refusal to back British Aircraft Corporation's (BAC) proposed competitor, a development of the BAC 1-11 — despite a preference for the latter expressed by British European
Airways (BEA).In the months following this agreement, both the French and
British governments expressed doubts about the aircraft. Another problem was the requirement for a new engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce, the RB207. In December 1968, the
French and British partner companies (Sud Aviation and Hawker Siddeley) proposed a revised configuration, the 250-seat Airbus A250. Renamed the A300B, the aircraft would
not require new engines, reducing development costs. To attract potential US customers, American General Electric CF6-50 engines powered the A300 instead of the British
RB207. The British government was upset and withdrew from the venture; however, the British firm Hawker-Siddeley stayed on as a contractor, developing the wings for the
A300, which were pivotal in later versions' impressive performance from short domestic to long intercontinental flights.[citation needed] (Years later, through British
Aerospace, the UK re-entered the consortium.) Airbus Industrie was formally set up in 1970 following an agreement between Aérospatiale (France), the antecedents to Deutsche Aerospace (Germany) (joined by CASA of Spain in 1971). Each company would deliver its sections as fully
equipped, ready-to-fly items.In 1972 the A300 made its maiden flight. The first
production model, the A300B2, entered service in 1974. Initially the success of the consortium was poor, but by 1979 there were 81 aircraft in service. It was the launch of
the A320 in 1981 that established Airbus as a major player in the aircraft market — the aircraft had over 400 orders before it first flew, compared to 15 for the A300 in 1972.
The A300 was the first airliner to use just-in-time manufacturing techniques. Complete aircraft sections were manufactured by consortium partners all over Europe. These
were airlifted to the final assembly line at Toulouse-Blagnac by a fleet of Boeing 377-derived Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft. Originally devised as a way
to share the work among Airbus's partners without the expense of two assembly lines, it turned out to be a more efficient way of building airplanes (more flexible and
reduced costs) as opposed to building the whole airplane at one site. This fact was not lost on Boeing, which, over thirty years later, decided to manufacture the Boeing 787 in
this manner, using outsized 747s to ferry wings and other parts from Japan.
The A300 cemented European cooperation in aviation. Its first flight was commemorated on a French three franc stamp.

Boieng 767

Boieng 767

Design and developmentThe Boeing 767, a wide-body jet, was introduced at around the same time as the 757, its narrowbody sister, in 1981-1982. Prior to production, it was referred to as the 7X7. With the 707 aging, Boeing decided to offer a mid-size aircraft to fit in between the 727/737/757 and the 747. The 767 has a fuselage width of 15 ft 6 in (472.44 cm) that is midway between the two other aircraft.
Planform view of a British Airways Boeing 767-300 after take off. The undercarriages have retracted.The 767 was designed using engines used on the 747 with wings sized to match. The wings were larger and provided longer range than the initial customers wanted. However, the larger wings only increased fuel usage slightly and provided better takeoff and landing performance. Boeing designed the 767 with enough range to fly across North America and across the north Atlantic.
The 767 has an outer fuselage diameter of just 198 inches, narrower than most other wide-body airliners. On the upside, this offers a twin aisle configuration of 2+3+2 in economy with the most common business configuration of 2+2+2. It is possible in some charter configurations to squeeze an extra seat for a 2+4+2 configuration, however the seats are very narrow and this is not common. The 767 has a seat-to-aisle ratio in economy class of an efficient 3.5 seats per aisle, making for quicker food service and quicker exit of the plane than many other jetliners, which typically have between four and six seats per aisle in economy class.
On the downside, the relatively narrow fuselage means that the 767 cannot carry freight in Unit Load Devices which are standard in practically all other wide-body jets: namely, LD6s, LD11s, and (unless with significant fuselage space wastages) LD3s. Instead the smaller LD2s and LD8s are specially designed for use by the 767. Indeed, one of the design requirements of the 767's replacement, the Boeing 787, was for it to use the LD3/6/11 family of ULDs to solve the wasted volume issue.
British Airways Boeing 767-300The flight decks of the Boeing 757 and 767 are very similar and as a result, after a short conversion course, pilots rated in the 757 are also qualified to fly the 767 and vice versa. The 767 was approved for U.S. CAT IIIb operation in March 1984. This revision permitted operations with minimums as low as RVR 300 (Runway Visual Range 300 feet). It was the first aircraft certificated for CAT IIIb by the U.S.[5]
Newer 767-200s and 767-300s, as well as all 767-400ERs, feature a 777-style cabin interior, also known as the "Boeing Signature Interior". The 767-400ER also features larger windows exactly like those found on the 777. All new 767s built feature the Signature Interior, and it is also available as a retrofit for older 767s.
In the late 1980s, Boeing proposed a stretched version of the 767, and then a partial double deck version with parts of a 757 fuselage built over the aft (rear) fuselage.[6][7] These concepts were not accepted and Boeing shifted to an all new airliner that would become the 777.[8] Boeing would later develop a stretched 767 version in the form of the 767-400ER in the late 1990s.
In addition to the Boeing Signature Interior retrofit option, a simpler mod known as the "Boeing 767 Enhanced Interior" is available. This retrofit borrows styling elements from the Boeing Signature Interior; however, the outer section overhead bins are traditional-style shelf bins rather than the 777-style pivot bins.
US Airways 767-200ER cockpit after landingThe 767 sold very well in from late 1980s to the late 1990s, with a decrease during the recession in the early 1990s. After strong sales in 1997, sales have declined significantly, due to the economic recession of the early 2000s, increased competition from Airbus, and the recent emergence of a direct replacement program, the Boeing 787. Boeing has kept the line open due to KC-767 tanker program, which use the 767 airframe. In early 2007, United Parcel Service and DHL have prolonged the 767's production with orders for 767-300 freighters of 27 and 6, respectively.[1][2]
The renewed interest in the 767-300 freighter has Boeing considering enhanced versions of the 767-200 and 767-300 freighter, with increased gross weights, 767-400ER wing technology, and 777-200 avionics.[3] Boeing sees the advanced 767-200F and 767-300F as complementing the 777F, and allowing Boeing to compete more effectively against the A330-200F, which is larger than the proposed 767-200F and 767-300F, but smaller than the 777F.
As of July 2007, the Boeing 767 has 1011 orders, with 953 of those delivered. Delta Air Lines is currently the world's largest 767 operator, with approximately 102 planes, including the 767-300, 767-300ER, and 767-400ER. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, their hub, has the highest number of Boeing 767 operations in the world.

Boieng 777

Boieng 777

The Boeing 777 is an American long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The world's largest twinjet and commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, it can carry between 283 and 368 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a range from 5,235 to 9,450 nautical miles (9,695 to 17,500 km). Distinguishing features of the 777 include the six wheels on each main landing gear, its circular fuselage cross section, the largest diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft, the pronounced "neck" aft of the cockpit, and the blade-like tail cone.
Singapore Airlines is the largest operator of the Boeing 777 family with 69 in service (46 are the 777-200ER variant, 12 are 777-300s, and 11 are 777-300ERs with 8 on firm order and 13 more on option). As of February 2008, 53 customers have placed orders totaling 1,050 777s.
Direct market competitors to the 777 are the Airbus A330-300, A340, and some models of the A350 XWB, which is currently under development. The 777 may eventually be replaced by a new product family, the Boeing Y3, which would draw upon technologies from the 787. The Y3 may also replace the Boeing 747 series.
Design phase the mid-1980s Boeing produced proposals for an enlarged 767, dubbed 767X. There were also a number of in-house designations for proposals, of which the 763-246 was one internal designation that was mentioned in public. The 767X had a longer fuselage and larger wings than the existing 767, and seated about 340 passengers with a maximum range of 7,300 nautical miles (13,500 kilometers). The airlines were unimpressed with the 767X: they wanted short to intercontinental range capability, a bigger cabin cross section, a fully flexible cabin configuration and an operating cost lower than any 767 stretch. By 1988 Boeing realized that the only answer was a new design, the 777 twinjet.
Designing of the 777 was different from previous Boeing jetliners. For the first time, eight major airlines (Cathay Pacific, American, Delta, ANA, BA, JAL, Qantas, and United) had a role in the development of the plane as part of a "Working Together" collaborative model employed for the 777 project.At the first "Working Together" meeting in January 1990, a 23-page questionnaire was distributed to the airlines, asking each what it wanted in the new design. By March 1990 a basic design for the 767X had been decided upon; a cabin cross-section close to the 747s, 325 passengers, fly-by-wire controls, glass cockpit, flexible interior, and 10% better seat-mile costs than the A330 and MD-11. ETOPS was also a priority for United Airlines.
All software, whether produced internally to Boeing or externally, was to be written in Ada. The bulk of the work was undertaken by Honeywell who developed a Airplane Information Management System (AIMS). This handles the flight and navigation displays, systems monitoring and data acquisition (eg flight data acquisition).
United's replacement program for its aging DC-10s became a focus for Boeing's designs. The new aircraft needed to be capable for flying three different routes; Chicago to Hawaii, Chicago to Europe and non-stop from the hot and high Denver to Hawaii.
In October 1990, United Airlines became the launch customer when it placed an order for 34 Pratt & Whitney-powered 777s with options on a further 34. Production of the first aircraft began in January 1993 at Boeing's Everett plant near Seattle. In the same month, the 767X was officially renamed the 777, and a team of United 777 developers joined other airline teams and the Boeing team at the Boeing Everett Factory. Divided into 240 design teams of up to 40 members, working on individual components of the aircraft, almost 1,500 design issues were addressed.
The 777 was the first commercial aircraft to be designed entirely on computer. Everything was created on a 3D CAD software system known as CATIA, sourced from Dassault Systemes. This allowed a virtual 777 to be assembled, in simulation, to check for interferences and to verify proper fit of the many thousands of parts before costly physical prototypes were manufactured. Boeing was not totally convinced of the abilities of the program, and built a mock-up of the nose section to test the results. It was so successful that all further mock-ups were canceled.