fredag 26. april 2024
Martin Mars til Pima Air and Space Museum ved Davis-Monthan AFB - AIN
WWII-vintage
Martin Mars Flying Boat To Return to U.S.
The massive
flying boat will become a display at Arizona's Pima Air and Space Museum
The Philippine Mars, one of five WWII-vintage four-engine flying boats
built for the U.S. Navy's long-haul cargo transport needs, would go on to end
its career as a fire bomber in Canada. The retired aircraft is expected to be
flown to Arizona's Pima Air and Space Museum by the end of the year. © Coulson
Aviation
By CURT EPSTEIN • Senior Editor
April 25, 2024
A Martin JRM Mars, the largest flying boat ever
produced for the U.S. Navy, will be returning to the U.S. as a museum piece
later this year. The massive, four-engine “Philippine Mars”—one of only five
JRMs produced—was acquired from its operator Coulson Aviation and will go on
display at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona, which is home to one of
the world’s largest collections of historic aircraft.
The Mars entered service at the tail end of World
War II and were used to ferry cargo to distant U.S. bases in the Pacific.
During the Korean War, they served as medical transports, flying between Hawaii
and California carrying dozens of wounded soldiers on each flight. One was lost
in 1950 when an engine fire consumed the airplane near Hawaii after the crew
successfully evacuated to life rafts.
Decommissioned in 1956, Philippine Mars and her
three surviving sisters were to be sold for scrap, but in 1958 a consortium of
Canadian timber companies purchased them and their spare parts inventory and
converted them into fire bombers based in British Columbia. They were capable
of dumping more than 7,000 gallons of water and fire retardant on a blaze at a
time. Skimming the surface of the water, the Mars could refill its tanks with
30 tons of water in just 22 seconds through retractable scoops in the hull.
One of the “Big Four” crashed in 1961 during
firefighting operations, while another was wrecked the following year by a
Pacific typhoon that severely damaged its fuselage. In 2007, the remaining two
were bought by Coulson Aviation, which operated them for years as contract fire
bombers, but by the mid-2010s the cost of their operation and upkeep began to
mount and the company withdrew them from service.
Last month, it was announced that Hawaii Mars
would be donated to the British Columbia Aviation Museum in recognition of its
decades of firefighting duty and fulfilling a clause in its 2007 purchase
calling for it to remain in the province after its retirement.
“This has been an exciting month for both Martin
Mars waterbombers,” said Coulson Group CEO Wayne Coulson. “As a fitting tribute
to their years of service and years of hard work by many people in BC and the
U.S., we are pleased to see both Mars aircraft landing to rest at world-class
institutions in 2024.”
Helikopter - Bell med kvartalsrapport - B525 ikke ferdig testet - AIN
Jeg stiller meg totalt uforstående til Equinor som har bestilt en helikoptertype som ikke er ferdig testet. Man burde ha bestilt H175 i stedet. (Red.)
Bell Helicopter Shipments Lag in 1Q2024
Bell delivered 18 commercial helicopters in the first quarter, down from 22 in the same period last year. The breakdown included twelve 505s, four 407s, one 429, and one 412. This represents a slight shift from the first three months of last year, when four 429 helicopters were handed over to customers.
On the defense side, Bell shipped two H-1 helicopters in the quarter but did no V-22 tiltrotors. This contrasts with two V-22s and no H-1s in the same period a year ago.
Despite a slight decline in some commercial and military programs, Bell had revenues of $727 million in the quarter, a $106 million year-over-year increase. Bell's earnings in the first three months were up $20 million from a year ago, to $80 million.
During an earnings call yesterday, parent company Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly provided further insights into the rotorcraft division's financial dynamics. He highlighted an expansion in Bell's margins, crediting a blend of cost management initiatives and the resolution of a lawsuit that temporarily boosted profits.
Meanwhile, Donnelly said the Bell 525 is on track for certification by year-end, progressing through critical flight tests and nearing the completion of required durability and reliability evaluations. “We should wrap up flight testing as we get to mid-year,” he said, adding that deliveries of the 525 are expected to start in late 2025.
US Navy får nytt treningsfly for multiengine fly - DefenseNews
First
T-54A trainer jet arrives at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
By Diana Stancy
Apr 26, 11:02 AM
A T-54A multi-engine aircraft sits on the flight line of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 18. (Anne Owens/U.S. Navy)
The inaugural T-54A multi-engine training system aircraft arrived at Training Air Wing 4 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, last week — a move that comes as the Navy phases out the T-44C Pegasus aircraft the service commissioned in 1977.
The Navy will use the T-54A to train aviators flying the P-8A Poseidon, E-2D Hawkeye and C-130 Hercules, and it features a pressurized aircraft cockpit with side-by-side seating as well as a jump seat.
“We produce the best multi-engine pilots in the world,” Capt. Michael Albus, Training Air Wing 4 commander, said in a statement. “The T-54A will be the training aircraft to carry that legacy into the future. With its ProLine Fusion avionics suite, combined with increased range, speed, and altitude, the T-54A will ensure that our aviators are well-prepared to operate complex fleet aircraft, and are ready for tomorrow’s challenges in a multi-domain environment.”
FOT-rutene utredes - Regjeringen
FOT-rutene: Vil utrede hvordan flyrutetilbudet kan bli best mulig
Pressemelding | 26.04.2024 | Samferdselsdepartementet
- At folk kan bo og leve gode liv i hele landet, er en viktig prioritet for denne regjeringen. Derfor halverte vi maksprisene på FOT-rutene fra 1. april, i tillegg til å øke setekapasiteten og ta inn to nye ruter i ordningen. Nå arbeider vi med et utredningsoppdrag for å se på hvordan vi kan videreutvikle og optimalisere det regionale flytilbudet i Norge. Vi skal gjennomføre en bred vurdering av hvordan vi best mulig kan legge til rette for et godt flyrutetilbud i hele landet til en overkommelig pris, både for de reisende, men også for staten som kjøper, sier samferdselsminister Jon-Ivar Nygård.
Nyheitsvarsel om: Luftfart
Norges Luftsportforbund går for elektrisk slepefly - Future Flight
|
At the Aero Friedrichshafen trade show in Germany last week, French start-up Aura Aero signed a purchase agreement with Norges Luftsportforbund, the Norwegian Air Sports Federation, for the purchase of an Integral E electric two-seat airplane. Norges Luftsportforbund is purchasing the Integral E in a tow-plane configuration and plans to use it to tug gliders at the Ole Reistad center for gliding near Elverum, Norway. |
flightradar24
Ukraina - Stoppes GLSDB av russisk jamming? - The War Zone
Have Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs Been ‘Thrown Aside’ By Ukraine?
Rafale til Croatia - X
Herc med lange bein - Stars & Stripes
Norge har den samme flytypen. (Red.)
Super Hercules makes Air Force history with
marathon flight from Texas to Guam
By
JONATHAN SNYDER
STARS AND STRIPES • April
25, 2024
A
C-130J Super Hercules with the 40th Airlift Squadron takes off from Dyess Air
Force Base, Texas, April 18, 2024, on its way to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
(Leon Redfern/U.S. Air Force)
An Air Force
C-130J Super Hercules from Texas recently set a new endurance standard on a
one-stop, daylong flight halfway around the globe to Guam.
The 26-hour,
33-minute flight on April 18 from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to Andersen Air
Force Base, Guam, with one refueling stop in Hawaii, was a maximum endurance
feat that established the Super Hercules as fit for marathon operations,
according to a news release from the 7th Bomb Wing.
Designated Hazard
Leap, the 317th Airlift Wing mission was the first of its kind in Air Mobility
Command history by a C-130J equipped with external fuel tanks, the release
said.
The mission was
flown by two aircrews with the 40th Airlift Squadron, according to the Air
Force.
The squadron’s
C-130Js are not equipped for aerial refueling but can carry two external tanks,
Tech. Sgt. Dana Cable, a spokeswoman for the 7th Bomb Wing, said by email
Wednesday.
The tanks not only
allow the Super Hercules to fly farther, they deliver a fuel supply for other
aircraft at its destination, Capt. Anna Santori, a Hazard Leap pilot, said in
the release.
“The external
tanks have new capabilities for us, allowing us to fly farther without refueling,”
she said. “It gives us about 17,000 pounds of fuel, which translates to roughly
four extra hours of flying.”
The preflight
preparation involved careful planning of the flight route, analyzing wind
patterns and devising contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances such as
thunderstorms or modified flight paths, Santori said.
“Crews began
shifting their circadian rhythm 48 hours prior to departure,” 2nd Lt. Cyan
Brown, also with the 7th Bomb Wing, said by email Wednesday.
While in the
region, the aircraft and crews will participate in the Balikatan exercise in
the Philippines, according to the release.
They will focus on
deploying forward area and refueling point equipment and flying Marines from
Lal-Lo to Batan Island in the Luzon Strait near Taiwan, Brown said.
Batan “is a
strategically important island in the northern island chain that USAF mobility
aircraft have not been to in over a decade,” she said. “Utilizing our external
tanks and ability to land in austere locations, we will be able to provide fuel
for follow on missions from USMC aircraft.”
The aircraft will
return to Guam without needing to refuel, proving that the C-130J can maneuver
between the second and first island chains with a minimal footprint and the
need for robust ground services, Brown said. The island chains are successive
geographic barriers between China and the Pacific Ocean.
torsdag 25. april 2024
Helikopter - Ny motor utvikles for Black Hawk - DefenseNews
US
Army’s next-gen helicopter engine could fly in Black Hawk next year
By Jen Judson
Apr 25, 06:42 PM
A 3D-printed model of the GE T901 engine hangs from its sling awaiting installation on an H-60M Black Hawk at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility. (Sikorsky)
DENVER
— The U.S. Army’s next-generation helicopter engine is
projected to hit the skies early next year, powering a UH-60M Black Hawk,
according to the service and industry representatives involved in the program.
The Improved Turbine Engine Program engine,
developed by General Electric’s aerospace division, has experienced a slew of delays related
to technology development and supply chain woes. A year ago, the Army predicted
a nearly two-year delay getting the T901 engine into the UH-60.
The
Black Hawk will be the first to receive the capability, and the AH-64 Apache
attack helicopter will follow.
The
T901 engine will replace the 1970s-era T700 and provide aircraft with a 50%
power increase to restore performance. It’s 25% improved fuel consumption
reduces energy usage and carbon emissions. The engine is also expected to have
more durable components, which will lower life-cycle costs.
While
the Army remains committed to the ITEP engine, earlier this year it decided to keep the program in development longer, pushing
back plans for procurement and fielding. The service does not yet have a new
plan for when fielding will take place.
Even
so, ITEP engines are scheduled to arrive at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach,
Florida, test center this summer, Paul Lemmo, the company’s president, told
reporters at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual summit.
The
Army had planned to use the ITEP engine in its Future Attack Reconnaissance
Aircraft, or FARA, but canceled the helicopter program this year after two
competing industry teams — Bell and Sikorsky — received the engine for the prototypes they
were building.
Sikorsky
had taken advantage of fiscal 2024 FARA program funding before the Army
officially closed the program at the end of the year to run tests of the ITEP
in the prototype, ahead of integrating the engine into the UH-60, in order to
drive down risk, Lemmo said. On April 10, the company conducted its first
ground run of the ITEP engine in the FARA prototype, Lemmo added.
“We
lit off the engine and turned rotors for the first time on our FARA
[competitive prototype],” Lemmo said. “Obviously watching the rotors turn could
be mundane, but it’s pretty exciting to see multiple years’ worth of work that
went into that aircraft, but also that engine by our partners General
Electric.”
The
ITEP engine had previously undergone testing in stands; it was the first time,
Lemmo said, that the engine was under a full load, turning rotors.
“We
collected that data [at] low speed, and we’re analyzing it,” Lemmo said, noting
that “it performed well.”
The
Army authorized Sikorsky to run the rotors at full speed to further test ITEP
and collect more data, he added.
The
ITEP engine, when installed, also fit into the aircraft with no issues, Lemmo
noted.
“I
think the fact that we proved it on FARA, that the engine fit the first time,
it gives us good confidence that it should fit properly, that all the
connections should match up when we fit it into the Black Hawk,” Lemmo said.
The
Army plans to deliver two ITEP engines to Sikorsky in late May or June,
according to Brig. Gen. David Phillips, the service’s program executive officer
for aviation, who spoke at the AAAA event.
The
company will conduct a fit check with an engine in one of the two modified
Black Hawks and install one in the Black Hawk for actual ground runs and flight
tests, Lemmo said. Once the company has the engines, it could begin ground runs
within a month, he noted.
Then
“it’s probably going to take us a good six months to integrate and do the
ground runs,” Lemmo said. The aircraft is expected to begin “flying about six
months after we get the engine,” he added.
Phillips
predicted that getting in the air would “probably occur next year, just based
on the schedule where we’re at today.”
Avinor beklager - NRK
Avinor beklager flykaoset i Sør-Norge
En teknisk feil lammet all flytrafikk i Sør-Norge torsdag morgen. Avinor beklager til alle reisende.