Airbus A350-900 Team Discusses Progress, Plans

The articles at the links below are pretty typical of company press releases on projects like this, but they do provide a couple of data points for other testers.  Looks like they plan to have five test articles flying for the lion's share of the test program.  They also seem to think that they can go from maiden flight to certification and delivery in 16 months.  I must admit that it's possible, but so is winning the lottery.  The good news is that it is a derivative of an already-certificated airframe, so... guess we'll see.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-airbus-a350-20131021,0,6590292.story

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_10_21_2013_p0-628702.xml

Indian Mig-29K Completes Carrier Trials

Carrier suitability testing is the final feather in the caps of most Naval aircraft.  If the story at the link below is correct, indications are that the testing has gone well for the Mig-29.

http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2013-09-27/mig-29k-carrier-trials-complete

Anyone want to make a first flight... in Kenya?

George Tumuti was stopped by authorities in Kiambu, Kenya from performing the maiden flight of his homebuilt design.  Anyone want to do it for him?  Must be rotary-wing qualified, and a staunch optimist.



http://allafrica.com/stories/201309250523.html

Boeing 787-9 Makes First Flight

While there is little detail regarding the objectives or results of the flight, the story at the link below makes it pretty clear that a lot of eyes in Asia are watching how the entire Dreamliner complement of options evolves.  Eventually the Dreamliner battery grounding will be mostly a faded memory, but we're not there yet.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/international/boeing-s-larger-787-9/816860.html

Bombardier C-Series Takes Wing

This news is just a bit stale because life has kept me away from the keyboard for a couple of weeks, but this is huge news.  The story at the link below points out that this plane is a first for quite a while for Canadian manufacturers.  Way to go, Chuck!  Now I feel even worse for putting a dent in your car all those years ago!

http://www.cp24.com/news/bombardier-s-cseries-jet-lands-after-taking-first-test-flight-1.1456673

Test Pilot Killed

I'm retired USAF, but on this one I have to give a nod to the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School motto: "Plan the flight... Fly the plan."

http://avstop.com/September_2013/flight_instructor_killed_in_an_experimental_aircraft_while_performing_a_flight_test.htm

Don't Read This Post

(Photo credit: Paramount Pictures)



http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/travel/ground-control-pilotless-planes/

(Hey... I told you not to read it.)