This AeroMexico 737 has winglets on the wing tips.
Posted on 03/21/2005 11:55:43 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
The Airbus A380 has long been expected to steal this year's Paris Air Show.
It will be the public debut of the world's biggest plane at the world's biggest air show, at none other than Le Bourget, one of the world's most storied airfields.
Paris in June will be all about one airplane.
Or will it?
Facing a breakneck test flight program to get the A380 certified and the first plane delivered to Singapore Airlines in the second quarter of 2006, Airbus claims it has not decided on its plans for the A380 at the air show.
"It remains to be seen whether the A380 will be parked ... nothing is definite yet," an Airbus spokeswoman said.
Airbus was asked to comment after Charles Champion, the project's chief engineer, told at least one reporter at the January unveiling of the first A380 in Toulouse, France, that the plane would only make a flyby at the air show and would not be parked there.
Don't bet on just a flyby or two.
The Boeing Co. certainly expects to see the A380 in Paris. It is flying over its 777-200LR, which Boeing touts as the world's longest-range jetliner. The jet, which recently began a test flight program, will be on static display and will not be making daily flights.
A Boeing insider with knowledge of the aircraft seating chart for the Paris show said Airbus has reserved space for the A380. It is supposed to be parked one spot over from the 777-200LR.
And a spokeswoman for the air show said officials at Le Bourget told her last week that the A380 will not only be parked at the airfield throughout the show but also will be making daily flights.
Held every other year, the air show runs from June 13 through June 19. But only that last weekend is open for the public.
The rollout of the first A380 in Toulouse in January was by invitation only. Paris will be the public coming-out party for the new Airbus giant of the skies.
When it enters service next year, the double-deck, 555-passenger A380 will supplant Boeing's 747 as the world's biggest commercial jetliner.
Thirty-six years ago, in June 1969, Boeing's new plane was the sensation of the air show. The first 747-100 arrived at Le Bourget 42 years after Charles Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis there on his historic non-stop flight from New York to Paris.
The 747 approached Le Bourget through a thick overcast.
"Onlookers could hear the whine of the turbines before the giant snout suddenly poked through the clouds, and the 747 appeared out of the cloud cover like a stately galleon emerging from a fog bank," wrote Robert Sterling in his Boeing book, "Legend and Legacy."
The 747 had made its first flight in February, four months before the show.
The A380 is still waiting to get off the ground. Airbus has refused to give a specific date for that first flight, but it has slipped into at least early April.
The 13-month A380 test flight program, using four planes, was to have started this month. Any delay could affect when Singapore Airlines takes delivery of the first A380 next year.
Emirates, a Singapore rival, will be the second airline to receive an A380. Slippage of the second-quarter delivery date for Singapore means it will have less time to boast that it is the only airline flying an A380. So Airbus is under a lot of pressure to get the test flights under way as soon as possible, and taking one of the four test planes out of action for the Paris show won't help to get back on schedule.
Even so, the air show is a major political, flag-waving event in France, and it is hard to believe that the A380's arrival at Le Bourget will be treated as anything less than a state ceremony.
All about winglets: Last week, a 757-200 belonging to Continental Airlines flew from Everett to Los Angeles, with a brief stop at Boeing Field. But instead of passengers, this plane carried something else -- winglets.
It was the first test flight in a series that is expected to lead to certification this summer of blended winglets for the 757-200.
Produced by Aviation Partners Boeing, the blended winglets improve performance and can save an airline on fuel. They have almost become standard on Boeing's next-generation 737s.
Continental Airlines and Icelandair are the launch customers for the 757-200 winglet program, with Continental providing the test plane.
Aviation Partners Boeing believes the 8-foot-tall winglets will lower fuel consumption on 757-200s by as much as 5 percent, allowing about 200 nautical miles of additional range. Icelandair has said it expects to save about 160,000 gallons of fuel annually for each of its 757-200 equipped with the winglets.
With fuel prices soaring, that can mean significant savings.
Boeing ended production of the single-aisle 757 last year, but there are more than 600 flying today, many with U.S. airlines such as Continental.
The modification work on the first 757-200 with winglets took place at Goodrich's Everett site. The flight test program and certification by the Federal Aviation Administration is expected to take about eight weeks.
After the 757, the 767 will be Boeing's next jet to get the winglet treatment.
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What is a winglet?
Thanks
This AeroMexico 737 has winglets on the wing tips.
Blended Winglet Equipped Boeing 757 Makes First Flight
Another Aircraft Model Enters the Sky with Blended Winglets - Landmark Milestone Achieved
SEATTLE, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 9th a Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200, outfitted with 8 foot 2 inch tall Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets, flew from Everett, WA to Los Angeles with a brief stop en route at Boeing Field Seattle. "The first flight was a complete success," says Aviation Partners Boeing Vice President of Programs Jay Inman.
"From an airline perspective, this is our most significant Blended Winglet Program ever. With this technology, Boeing 757-200 operators will experience block fuel improvement of up to 5%, saving as much as 300,000 gallons per aircraft, per year for every Blended Winglet Performance Enhanced 757-200," said Aviation Partners Boeing Vice President Sales and Contracts Patrick LaMoria.
FAA certification of 757-200 Blended Winglets is anticipated in May 2005 with first customer installations beginning in July. Initial launch customers Continental Airlines and Icelandair are the first operators that will take advantage of patented* Blended Winglet Technology on their 757-200's.
"Market interest in this program has been unprecedented," says Aviation Partners Boeing CEO Mike Marino. "The 757-200 is a very popular aircraft that has been coming up in value lately. More and more airlines are looking to increase the utilization of one of the most efficient aircraft every designed on a cost per seat basis. Blended Winglet Technology, now available for the 757-200, is helping to make this possible."
Aviation Partners Boeing expects to Performance Enhance the majority of the 600 plus existing fleet of 757-200s with revolutionary Blended Winglet Technology. Operator benefits include: a block fuel improvement of up to 5%, approximately 200 nautical miles of additional range or up to 10,000 lbs. of incremental payload capability, improved second segment climb, enhanced operational flexibility (such as trading improved fuel burn for faster cruise speeds), improved takeoff performance out of high, hot, or obstacle limited airports, reduced engine maintenance costs, enhanced aesthetic appeal, increased aircraft residual value, and a range of environmental benefits that will equate to an economic payback period of less than 3 years for most operators.
"The 757-200 Blended Winglet Program is a tremendous milestone for us and very exciting from a sales perspective," says Aviation Partners Boeing Chairman Joe Clark. "This landmark program will translate into about 180 million gallons in annual fuel savings when the entire fleet of 757-200's is upgraded with Blended Winglet Technology. Anytime you can enhance the productivity of an existing asset we feel it is a wise business investment."
I recall reading at some posts on Free Republic that some pilots do not want to fly Airbus aircraft due to perceived safety issues, and have gone as far as undergoing extensive retraining even though that may have a significant impact on them.
Can any pilots out there comment on whether this is true or not?
I flew on an A320 today, and will be on an A330 in a few days, I have no problems with them, they make good planes.
Hey, they can always tow it to the show! Image is everything!
Airbus' ideal for long distance flying is not mine. If you've ever watched rush hour at JFK, that is Airbus' vision. Imagine 20-30 of these things waiting in line to take off. I'd much rather be able to catch a direct flight at DFW or IAH than have to go through JFK.
Yeah. . .I've had five internation flights this year and I can't stand LAX, JFK and IAD.
Hopefully it goes better for Airbus than the 1988 one did...
The last time I flew Airbus, stuff in the cabin was falling apart, and the plane was making these weird noises. I've never been afraid to fly, but on that trip, I was seriously giving thought to changing my return flights to be something other than Airbus, and I could not wait for that flight to be over...
A wiglet reduces the loss of lift at the wingtip producing a more efficient wing. Better wing equals better fuel economy.
That's because LAX and JFK still haven't completely updated their international terminals to modern standards. This is totally unlike SFO (San Francisco International Airport), which has a totally new International Terminal that opened at the end of 2000 designed to support more 747-400 operations and even has four gates that are ready to support the A380-800 right now. 
By the way, I've heard that Airbus will start taxiing tests on the A380 prototype within the next few days.
On a Boeing product if you want to wave off on auto pilot you start with the Take Off/Go Around button on the throttles. This brings the power up first and makes inputs to the flight director system, as well.
All depends on the airline, my airline, which I retired from and have free flights on for life flies 320/319, no problem, I'm no fan of the A300 or the A300-600, but the A330 is a joy to be a passenger on.
I don't care for the MD-11, a crappy plane, poorly built and thankfully being used for cargo mostly.
The winglet's function is to break the vortex that forms at the tips of the wings. A vortex creates substantial extra drag. If you've heard of ground effect, where an airplane has less drag close to the ground, this is because the ground breaks the vortex. Winglets have this same effect, though require high structural strength at the weakest part of the wing.
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