N787BX Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Farnborough 2010

Dreamliner N787BX arrived at Farnborough, UK on Sunday 18th July 2010 - this was the first time the Boeing 787 had been shown outside of the USA.

This aircraft is the third ( ZA 003 ) Boeing 787 to be built by Boeing and has construction number c/n 40692. This aircraft flew for the first time on 14th March 2010 at Paine Field, Seattle, WA, USA.

For many the Dreamliner was the star attraction at this years Farnborough Air Show 2010 - the aircraft was displayed in the static park on Monday 19th July and Tuesday 20th July. The aircraft is made primarily of carbon fibre composite materials. The lighter weight improves fuel efficiency and aircraft range - it also allows the passenger cabin to be pressurised to a more comfortable level than conventional airliners and allows for larger cabin windows.

The photo above shows 787 N787BX being towed out of the static display on the afternoon of Tuesday 20th July 2010 before departing back to Boeing at Seattle, USA. Upon departure the 787 returned to do one flypast at Farnborough with a World War 2 Spitfire alongside each wingtip before heading towards East Midlands airport for a flypast and again at the Rolls Royce factory at Debry ( the aircraft in powered by two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines )  - N787BX continued on to the west coast of Ireland where it landed for fuel at Shannon airport before the long flight to Seattle.

The first UK customer to receive the Boeing 787 will be Thomson Airlines who are due to receive 8 aircraft from 2012 onwards.

Steve

N610AT AT-6 at Farnborough July 2010

The Hawker Beechcraft AT-6 made its first appearance outside of the USA at this years Farnborough Air Show in the UK.

The AT-6 is a development of the T-6 Texan II trainer and is designed to offer close air support and reconnaissance patrols in counterinsurgency war environments. The aircraft has a strengthen airframe and six underwing hardpoints.

The aircraft shown at Farnborough was N610AT c/n AT-1 and it features an L-3 Wescam targetting turret on the under fuselage, plus HOTAS controls ( allows more time for the pilot to keep his eyes outside of the cockpit in combat ).

In April 2010 N610AT completed a two week Joint Expedtitionary Forces Experiment ( JEFX ) demonstration exercise operating out of Nellis AFB in Nevada,USA operating alongside the A-10C.

N610AT will shortly be re-engined with an upgrade P&W PT6A-68D developing 1,600 shp. A second AT-6 prototype N620AT has now joined the program and flew for the first time in April 2010.

The AT-6 will also receive a defensive aids suite before participating in the USAF Light Attack Armed Reconnaissance ( LAAR ) aircraft program that could lead to order from the US military and foreign military sales.

More information on the AT-6 can be found on the link below

http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/military_and_special_mission/light_attack.aspx



Steve

USMC UH-1Y - 167802 coded "VT-09" of HMLA-367

Among the many aircraft at Farnborough 2010 was Bell UH-1Y Bu No 167802 operated by USMC squadron HMLA-367 coded "VT-09". The unit has the nickname "Scarface".

 
The UH-1Y is currently in production by Bell Helicopters and is replacing the older UH-1N. The UH-1Y is equipped with a modified four-blade, all-composite rotor and has upgraded engines and transmissions to give it increased payload and performance capabilities. Under the nose is a Brite Star Block II FLIR. This system  allows the pilots to view and mark targets with infrared sightings further out and aid in visual target recognition.

 
HMLA-367 were the first unit to deploy with the new UH-1Y to Afghanistan - they arrived at Camp Bastion, Helmand province in October 2009 from their own home base at Camp Pendleton, California, USA. The unit returned to the USA in May 2010.

The badge of HMLA-367 on the nose of this helicopter has been adapted to incorporate the outline shape of Afghanistan.

This UH-1Y 167802 was accepted into service from Bell Helicopters in August 2009 and the c/n appears to be 97499 ?  However others suggest the c/n is 55110.

More information on the UH-1Y can be found on the Bell Helicopters website below

http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/aircraft/military/bellUH-1Y.cfm


Steve

Kemble - 12.7.2010

Kemble is always worth a look, among the many interesting aircraft here today were

Technoavia SMG-92 Turbo Finist HA-YDF c/n 001-05 was built in 2000. This attractive aircraft is used for parajumping and is currently operating from the nearby airfield of South Cerney. It is shown here parked by the Tower at Kemble. The Finist is a rugged all metal aircraft designed in Russia and the type was first flown in the 1990s. The aircraft is built at Smolensk, Russia before being fitted out to SMG-92 spec by Aerotech at Bratislava, Slovakia. This aircraft is fitted with a Walter M601D-2 turboprop.


The storage and scrapping of retired airliners continues with pace at Kemble. Since my last visit at the end of May 2010 it was good to see A300 EI-OZA now parked away from the scrapping area and apparently complete near the Middair hangers. Inside these hangers was the newly arrived ex JAT Boeing 737 YU-AOS.

F-GFKN Airbus A320 c/n 128 in the process of being scrapped at Kemble. This former Air France airliner was built in 1990 - it arrived at Kemble on 22nd April 2010 from Paris CDG after 20 years of short haul operations across Europe.


Steve

Nympsfield - 12th July 2010

The airfield at Nympsfield is located high up on the hills a few miles south of Stroud, Gloucestershire along the B4066 towards Dursley.

The airfield is home to the Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club ( BGGC ) and also Targett Aviation.

G-DEWR Grob G 103A Twin II Acro c/n 33894-K-132 coded "P70" is part of the BGGC training fleet. This particular glider has an interesting history. It was originally delivered new from Grob in Germany in 1985 as a Viking T1 training glider with military serial ZE525 ( also allocated BGA 3015 Trigraph EWR  ) to the RAF for use by Air Cadets within the Volunteer Gliding Squadron ( VGS ) system.

In January 1990 ZE525 was damaged when a VGS hangar collapsed at Predannack, Cornwall - I saw it myself hangared at RAF Syerston in October 1990 with rear fuselage damage. The glider was subsequently rebuilt and passed on to the Royal Air Force Gliding and Soaring Association ( RAFGSA ) where it operated with tail code "R70" by the Anglia Gliding Club based at RAF Wattisham, Suffolk.

This glider was bought by the BGGC at Nympsfield in 2006 and flown as BGA 3015  - the "R70" tailcode was easily changed to "P70" ( "R number" tail codes are reserved for the RAFGSA ). In December 2007 the glider was registered with the CAA as G-DEWR as part of the process of bringing modern gliders onto the Civil Aviation Authority controlled UK aircraft register - thanks to Richard Cawsey for help with the above.

G-CFYV Schleicher ASK 21 c/n 21468 is operated by the Bristol and Gloucestershire Gliding Club - this glider was first registered as BGA 3639 in 1990 with Trigraph tail code FYV. For many years it was based at Booker / High Wycombe.  In November 2007 this glider took up the CAA registration G-CFYV.



For more information about the BGGC visit their website via the link below

http://www.bggc.co.uk


Outside the Targett Aviation workshop at Nympsfield was the rare Phillips ST2 Speedtwin G-STDL.

G-STDL c/n PFA 207-12674 is the only example of this design in the UK. It was the second Speedtwin to be built and was originally registered as G-DPST in 1996 ( it became G-STDL in 2006 ). The Speedtwin was designed by Peter Phillips and the first example of this distinctive design was registered as G-GPST c/n PFA 207-11645 in 1990. This first example was sold to an owner in the USA in 2008.

G-STDL is a sleek tandem two seat all metal aircraft painted in a very distinctive two tone blue scheme and is currently fitted with twin Walter M332B engines.
   
For more information about Targett Aviation visit their website
 
http://www.sailplaneservices.co.uk/


Steve