Arrival Times Flights Arriving Gatwick Airport

The busiest single-run airport in the world, keeping track of arrival times flights arriving Gatwick airport can seem difficult. But, thanks to a myriad of new information services, it has just gotten a whole lot easier to track arrival times of flights arriving at Gatwick Airport. Here are a few to check out:

• The Gatwick Website. You can find out arrival times flights arriving Gatwick airport as well as other airport information on their website at www.gatwickairport.com.
• Subscribe to their newsletter and get the latest information from Gatwick sent straight to your inbox.
• Register for Flying Messenger, an electronic update that can be sent to whatever handheld devices you use.
• Call for flight times. Although the most tedious of all of the options listed, calling the airport directly and speaking with a customer service representative can supply you with the information you seek.

Whether you want to check on a friend’s arrival, or simply do not want to get stuck waiting at the airport through a long delay, it is important top keep track of arrival times flights arriving Gatwick airport. So, use the services listed above to keep abreast of the latest flight information the airport has to offer.

Largest Airplane Ever

Can you believe that the largest airplane ever measured was more than 275 feet long and featured a wing span of 290 feet? Well, it did! The Russian An-225 Cossnak may be considered the largest airplane ever built, but there are other largest airplane ever facts out there to consider when learning about super-large-scale aircraft. Here are just a few:

• the An-225 Cossnack had a miximum takeoff weight of 1,322,770 pounds!
• The An-124 Condor is the second largest plane to be produced in the world (it too is Russian). It measures 226 feet 8.5 inches, and has a wingspan of 240 feet 5.75 inches.
• The C-5 Galaxy (an American-made plane) ranks third with a length of only 247 feet 10 inches, a wingspan of 222 feet 8.5 inches. It carries a mere 837,000 pounds compared to its Russian counterparts.
• The largest pusher plane in the world is the B-36 Peacemaker, made by Convair - USA. It is 162 feet 1 inch long and features a 230 foot wingspan
• The HK-1 Spruce Goose (more commonly known as the H-4) I featured the largest wingspan in aviation history — 320 feet long, with a height of 80 feet, a length of 218 feet, 6 inches.

For aviation specialists, it can be difficult to choose the largest airplane ever built since so many things can be considered in the calculation: the body length; wingspan and of course lift-off capacity.

China Facing The Skies With Many Hurdles

As it has tried to do with almost everything, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) wants to put its finger print in the buoying field of wide-body aircraft development. During the summer of 2006, Chinese aerospace officials expressed their intentions of producing a big body, commercial airplane within a fifteen year range. The project, which is interimly known as Program ‘Jumbo’, is an integral part of China’s Five Year Economic Developing Plan.

Jumbo’s profile calls for an air platform with 150 passenger seats and a weight of more than 220,000 pounds at time of takeoff, which will make it bigger then Boeing’s 757 and in the same class of the Seattle-based companys highly successful Boeing 767 type. Plans are in the works to complete the first model and have it flying by the end of the decade.

At the same time, a parallel program designed to deliver the Jumbo’s massive engines is well underway. With full backing of the PRC, a domestic aerospace group named Avic I is developing a revolutionary turbofan engine with greater thrust than the best know western one, the CFM-56 and V-2500. But despite full monetary and an all out technical support from the government, Avic I is still a few years away from completing its first testing model. Thus, the possibility that Jumbo will be initially fitted with western-provided engines is all but assured.

China is also working on a cargo version of the Jumbo, which, according to government insiders, will come out first. The new plane will have roughly the same dimensions as Boeing’s 787.

While both programs are showing signs of promise, there are still problems associated with both projects. Although China’s two main aerospace bureaus, Avic I and II, already have long lasting experiences building parts for western planes, both companies failed to put together a commercially-successful domestic assembly line for their western-demanded products. Their main attempt, the MD-90, in which most of the newly produced ARJ-21 regional jet’s technology has derived, can be considered a monumental failure.

The only source of encouragement is China’s ability to reproduce 787 parts, which had allowed the firms currently doing the work to gain valuable experience in the handling of carbon-fiber products. Still, as good as the Chinese have become at duplicating western technologies, they, are far from the development of a reliable and efficient wide-body aircraft that can attract international interest.

Time has shown that without massive government subsidies, the nascent Chinese aerospace industry simply can not produce the much advertised Jumbo. Unfortunately for the industry, no huge government investment is on the horizon as China needs to keep up with the World Trade Organization’s strict free trade rules. There’s also another factor to consider. One that could jeopardize the entire project: technology.

For years, aluminum airframes offered a slow-moving target for aircraft development startups, which knew that even if the design was conservative, the key to their efficiency laid on their ability to buy off the shelf engines. But dramatic advances in structural design and systems done for the 787 and Airbus A350, means that no conservative design will be profitable, no matter how efficient it turns out to be.

To add more, current state-assured funding will run out before the second stage of the Jumbo program is completed. In 2009, the PRC began slashing the budgets of several, non essential projects and although no Jumbo money was touched, chances are history will not repeat itself come next July. Industry experts believe that budgetary availability for the entire cycle needs to be maintained until the production line for the Jumbo, now a few years away, is up, running and profitable. Yet another challenge for the entire enterprise is to earn a reputation as a reliable supplier.

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

Cheaper Days to Fly

Before you plan your next trip, you may want to consider what day of the week you fly. Believe it or not, there are actually cheaper days to fly. There are three things that drive airline pricing: competition, demand and inventory. When it comes to finding cheaper days to fly, you will want to concentrate on demand. The less demand there is for airline seats, the less expensive they will be. Here are some tips to consider when looking for cheap flight seats:

• Book flights on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Saturdays for the best deals. Be sure to book a Saturday night stay-over for the absolute cheapest tickets.
• Always fly in the early morning.
• Look to see which days are the least travelled days in and out of specific areas. Stay away from busy days when everyone else wants to book their flight.
• The cheapest airfares are found in the spring and summer months when business travel is down and more seats are available.

Finding the absolute best deals on airfare requires doing a little research to determine cheaper days to fly which means figuring out when everyone else wants to get out of town, and book your flight on another day.

Airport Shuttle Bay Area

Flying into the Bay Area? Then you will need some transportation information. Airport shuttle bay area offerings are best found using Bay Area Shuttles, an independent guide to transportation to and from the area’s four international airports. By using this unique shuttle directory you can rest assured that you are getting:

• The most reliable and up-to-date information available regarding shuttle companies (and their fees) that service the bay area.
• The most comprehensive listing of shuttle services available at these prominent airports: San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento.
• Information on the safest shuttles offering service. Since the directory is linked to the California Public Utilities Commission, the agency which regulates and licenses airport shuttle services within the state, users can easily link onto updates about each service using the directory and view their complete operating license complaints.
• The best possible prices. The service now includes coupon offerings to ensure that users are not paying more than they need to for shuttle service.

Airport shuttle bay area service do not have to be hard or expensive to obtain. Using the airport shuttle bay area directory you can quickly and easily find just the right provider for your needs.

Puerto Rico Aviation

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return”-Leonardo Da Vinci.

Man’s fascination with flying is one of the common bonds universally shared. Men and women all around the globe take to the skies on a daily bases to commute, work or simply to enjoy what Da Vinci once called “the magnificent view from atop”. This powerful ‘addiction’ to such incredible adventure is the driving force behind the booming recreational flying industry, one of the few platforms not deeply affected by the world-wide economic depression.

As in many places, recreational flying spearheads a great deal of interest in the small Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Located just a few hundred miles out of Miami. Puerto Rico, a United States territory since 1898, is a hot bed for aviation enthusiast trying to build their own enterprises.

One such man is Greg Bettis, a Texas-born pilot who has made this tropical island his home. “I was flying out of Texas and Massachusets before moving to the Caribbean. It’s has been an incredible experience working here as flying is becoming an important aspect of the Puerto Rican life style”, said the young entrepreneur. The sector Bettis talks about is panoramic flying, a source of recreational flight that takes the passengers along sightseeing trips.

Bettis, who took of the art of flying in 1999, began his career as a panoramic pilot in 2004 running charters for one of the biggest recreational outfits on the island. Two years later he founded Vertical Solutions, a small, two man operation which is primed for bigger things as the 2010 Centro American and Caribbean Games will be held on Puerto Rico’s western coast. “The Games will be a very significant opportunity for us. We are coordinating to shuttle VIPs as well as regular personnel and even cargo, if the need arises, to and from Mayaguez (the city where the majority of the events will be celebrated)”, added the thirty-something cowboy turned beach tourist.

There’s nothing like seeing a city from 4,000 feet above, especially if it’s at night! Or watching the venerable El Morro Fort, one of the oldest edifications in the New World, and imagining the history surrounding its massive walls. For the nature lover there’s a trip to El Yunque, the US only tropical rain forest, and the Central Mountains, a curvedly looking region situated in the middle of the island. If you are a beach lover, then luck is in your side. Puerto Rico’s beaches are usually ranked near the top as their beauty is unparallel in the region. Whatever is your craving, Bettis and his staff will be more than willing to satisfy it.

“We slowly are changing the thinking. If you want to make it quick to a point, fly an airplane. But if your goal is sightseeing, a helicopter is your ticket”. Solutions had on its inventory three helicopters, one Robinson R-22 and two R-44s. The R-22, designed in the early 1970s, is only used for training as it only sits two people. The bigger one, it accommodates four people comfortably, and the more complex R-44 is used to transport personnel and cargo across the small country.

Right across Solutions lays another small transportation company. Founded ten years ago. Flight Training, Inc. is more than a sightseeing venture. With three fixed wing aircraft at its disposal, Training looks more the part of a small airline than a panoramic outfit. With two Cessna 172SP and one Cessna 150, the company is ready to make its mark in an ever competitive market. Still, this is a panoramic industry and Training is seen its piece of the pie get bigger and bigger by the month.

Accordingly to local Ports Authority officials, every month more than 100 panoramic flight plans are filed. That’s an increase of 25 percent compared to last year’s (2008) totals. It also marks the third time in the last five years the figure has increased in double digits, a clear sign that this industry is booming in the island. “The industry does not feel, up to date, the effects of this dire recession”, said Robert Gonzalez, aviation liaison for the Puerto Rican Tourism Company.

“We haven’t experienced a sharp drop on our panoramic trips, yet”, stated Dynah Negron, Training’s executive secretary. But even if they encounter one, Training, as well as Solution and all the rest of the units operating out of the Isla Grande Regional Airport in San Juan are well situated to expand to another, largely untapped sector: flight training. Official Ports Authority numbers for Puerto Rico shows that almost 15 new flying aficionados applied for flight training every month, an increase of just 5 percent, but one that has maintained a steady pace since 2002.

Both companies are gearing up to training would-be pilots with aggressive campaigns. Even if they succeed in enticing more enthusiasts to their pilot training courses, panoramic flying still will be the bulk of their business for the foreseeable future. And why not? Where else would they live Da Vinci’s dream if not in the air?

An article by Raul Colon: rcolonfrias@yahoo.com

A Brief Look at China’s Current Air Capabilities

In the past few years, The People’s Republic of China’s growing military capability has attracted a great deal of interest, but major details regarding China’s near-future military strength have been hard to come by. At this moment, China is spending massive amounts of financial resources in order to improve its overall military capability. This spike of budgetary expenses by China is setup in the background of the country’s need to upgrade its low-tech arsenal. Current reports have placed the number of deployable nuclear weapons the country possesses at four hundred. Of these, around twenty are deployed in the Intercontinental ballistic missile configuration. Nearly two hundred and twenty of them are reported to be deployed in various delivery platforms such as aircraft, submarines and short-to-medium range missile systems. All of these weapons are of tactical capability. The remaining weapons are believed to be held in tactical reserves for short range missiles, low yield attacks and demolition purposes.

The country has several delivery systems for their ever growing nuckear stockpile. The main component of the system is the Dong-Feng 5 liquid-fuelled missile, with an estimated range of 13,000 km and can carry a single use, multi-megaton warhead. The Dong-Feng 5 was first deployed in the summer of 1981 and has remained the backbone of China’s ICBM force for the past two decades. Twenty, frontline Feng 5’s are believed to be stationed in full alert somewhere in central regions of the country. The Feng 5 was a drastic departure from the early versions of China’s ballistic missiles systems. Those early missiles were mainly stored in caves and were rolled-out for launch. The Feng 5 can be launched from vertical silos after just a few hours of the order being received by their launch crews. The Feng 5 operational range give China the capability to launch a small nuclear attack against most of Continental Europe, Asia and some parts of the United States, mainly the southeast part of the country. Today, two additional missile platforms are deployed or being tested for possible deployment. They are the medium range DF 31’s, which entered first-line operation in 2005, and its long range variant, the DF 31A, formerly called the DF-41; which is expected to be fielded by late 2010. Both missiles are going to be propelled by solid fuel cells and based on mobile launchers. China is expected to attempt producing a multiple re-entry vehicle (MVRs) for their new missile systems. An attempt to produce the more technical challenge multiple independently-targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) is underway.

China also deploys intermediate range ballistic missiles and medium range ballistic missile systems. These weapon platforms are capable of threatening the security of many countries in Asia, including India, but its effects on the overall strategic security of Russia are minimal. China’s intermediate missile systems are also capable of hitting targets on Japan’s coastal cities and United States bases in South Korea and Japan. The oldest missile platform deployed by China is the “near stationary” DF 3A missile system. This platform is being phased-out in favor of the more modern DF 4 and DF 21 systems. The DF 4, with a maximum operating range of 4,750 km, is still the backbone of China’s regional deterrence force. The DF 4 is a liquid fueled system that operates mainly now out of fixed launch sites. With the deployment of the DF 21 in 1986, China’s regional ballistic missile capabilities increased twofold. The operational DF 21 has an estimated range of 1,800km and is carried in mobile launchers for security reasons. The DF 21 is also the base of China’s sea-launch ballistic missile systems. The older, liquid fueled missiles can carry a single nuclear warhead of an estimate 3.3mt yield. The newest missiles also carry a single warhead with maximum yields in the hundreds kilotons range. China also possesses a limited number of short-range ballistic missile batteries. The DF 11/M 11, with an operational range of 300km, and the DF 15/M 9, with a range of 600km, are the backbone of China’s tactical force. Its believed that most of these missile platforms are configured to carry only a small nuclear or conventional warhead.

China’s bomber force is based on the local production of Russian made aircraft first deployed in the early stages of the 1950s. With the overdue retirement of the Ilyushin IL-28 bomber from front-line, nuclear delivery role, the Tu-16 Badger will most likely assume the role of a medium range, nuclear strike bomber. Being a product of the 1950s technology, the Tu-16 could only carry two or three nuclear bombs over a range of 1,5,00 to 3,100km. China is believed to have over 130 of these vintage planes in operational conditions. The Chinese Navy also operated the Tu-16 in a reserve role primarily. Although the Chinese Air Force possesses a great number of other possible nuclear carrying aircraft, such as the venerable MiG-21, the Russian supplied Su-27, and the newly designed JH-7s; they are not believed to be used for such a role. The Chinese Air Force also has a large inventory of strike and fighter aircraft at their disposal. It is estimated that by 2004 China has a total aircraft inventory of around 4,200 operational aircraft of many types. This inventory includes all the variants of the J-6 or MiG-19 fighter, J-7 or MiG-21, Su-27, IL-28 and Tu 16 bombers. Of these aircraft, the vast majority entered service with the Chinese air force before 1970. The tactical airlift aspect of the air force is at a diminishing capability. Over the last two decades, Chinese leaders have stressed the development of a localized aerospace industry sector capable of designing and developing advanced avionics needed for military aircraft. Despite the investment of large amounts of budgetary and human resources, the Chinese had not shown the ability to promptly design, develop and mass produce an indigenous combat aircraft. The recently revealed J-7, and the J-8, both of which took so long in their developmental stages that by the time they were ready to enter front-line services they were already obsolete by Western standards, showed China the need for more investment in financial and human resources as well as the training of experienced technicians to work in all aspects of the technical design of a combat aircraft. The same holds true of the most vaunted of China’s aircraft developments, the J-10.

China is not alone in this area, other countries had tried in the past to design and mass-produce indigenous aircraft systems, most notable Israel, South Africa, India, Taiwan and south Korea; all abandoned their programs in favor of purchasing existing and proved aircraft types from the five largest weapons producers: the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and Germany. The main reason is the fact that the economic resources needed, not only to design a generation-leaping aircraft, but to be mass produced for local consume, are so massive that developing countries with a small industrial base simply can not afford to spend the necessary resources for a long period of time. This also holds true of large economies with a small gross national product output such as Russia, which is lagging far behind the Western countries in military technology designs. As a direct result of their failure to establish a permanent industrial base capable of producing front-line aircraft, China has renewed its imports of combat airplanes from Russia.

The reality is that China is investing massive amounts of money to modernize its armed forces, but the current force structure is so old and that the rate of retirement will surpass the rate of acquisition in all major weapon platform systems. This fact means that China overall military force would decrease in size. Aircrafts and missile systems would decrease in numbers. Also, the modernization process is slow due to the massive investment needed to accomplish it. China is also adding a small number of new technology weapon systems to its overall arsenal. New weapon platforms are purchased in small quantities, which can not dramatically alter the balance of power. China current acquisitions of Russian systems are not as impressive as they might look. Those systems are not comparable to the ones fielded by the United States or Japan. The main problem of China’s militarization might be their inability to produce a continuous indigenous weapon industry to produce next-generation military technology. Which could be used on their existing or newest systems? The recent reversal of policy from the Chinese government, from developing its own weapon systems to purchasing systems, mainly from Russia and Israel; has left the government in Peking without control over the military they so desperately desire. For the foreseeable future, China’s potential military action, mainly against Taiwan, is limited, let alone branching out of the regional setting they are now. Overall, the balance of air power in East Asia would remain the same for the next fifteen years.

1 John W. Lewis and Hua di, China’s Ballistic Missile Programs: Technologies, Strategies, Goals, International Security, Original: July 1997 - Updated December 2006.
2 Jeffrey Lewis, The Ambiguous Arsenal, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, May-June 2003.
3 Bill Gertz, China Advances Missile Program, Washington Times, June 22, 2005.
4 NTI and The Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, China Profile: Nuclear Capabilities, Nuclear Treaty Initiative, Fall 2003.

Build an Airbus A340 in 340 Seconds

Awesome video showing how an Airbus A340 is built in only 340 seconds. Quite amazing since the main parts are assembled off site in multiple countries.

Airbus A340 Review

The Airbus A340 was developed as a long-range four-engined wide-body commercial passenger airliner and manufactured by Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It can seat between 261 and 380 passengers comfortably and has a range of between 6,700 and 9,000 N M. It’s design is similar to the twin-engined A330. The first A340 versions shared the fuselage and wing of the A330 while later models of the A340 are longer and have larger wings.

Launched in June 1987, the Airbus A340 was a long-range partner to the short-range A320 and the medium-range A300. At the time, Airbus’s twinjets were at a disadvantage against aircraft such as the Boeing 747 because of the ETOPS problem as defined by the then-current regulations: two-engined aircraft had to stay within 60 minutes’ flying distance of a suitable diversion airport, which prevented them from competing on long over water routes.

The A340 was designed beside the twin-engined A330 so both aircraft now share the similar fuselage structure and the same wing, and lend heavily from the advanced avionics and composite structure technology developed for the A320.

Funny Airplane Etiquette Video

Some airline humor for the soul. This funny video demonstrates the rules of etiquette when flying on a major aircraft….enjoy! Enter your email to the right of this note to receive our daily feed of aviation related articles…..do it now before you forget!

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