aviation

Concorde Parts up for Auction

Maybe you never got a chance to fly on the Concorde before the last flight in 2003, but soon you will have the opportunity to own a piece of it. Beginning September 28th and continuing through October 1st, 835 lots of Concorde related items will be sold to the highest bidder. Included in the sale is everything from spare parts to pilot's uniforms, with most bids expected to range from $67-$400. If you have a little more to spend and possibly a larger place to house your collection, you can bid on the plane's landing gear, which weighs 1.5 tons and is expected to fetch upwards of $2,700. Don't be surprised if these estimates are low. In 2003, the Concorde's trademark needle nose sold for $634,000 although it was valued at only $13,000.

The proceeds of the auction will finance a planned airline park in the French City of Toulou. The Aeroscopia will open in 2010 and feature the history of Aerospatiale Toulouse, the maker of Concorde.

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Tags: aeroscopia, aircraft, airplane, auction, aviation, concorde, plane, supersonic, toulou

The First Customer-Painted Airbus A380

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The first customer-painted Airbus A380 has been revealed. Singapore Airlines has the honor of being the first to splash their logo on the ultimate doubledecker jumbo jet. It took 21 days for 100 workers in four shifts to polish and paint the blue and gold Singapore Airlines logo and the name "Singapore Airlines" across the massive plane. The job also took over 580 gallons of paint. Airbus is trying to minimize the ecological damage from the massive project, electrostatic pistols are used to minimize paint mist and used air is cleaned and washed through a multi-stage cleaning process. Singapore Airline will receive the aircraft in October.

[via Asia Travel Tips]

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Tags: a380, airbus, airline, aviation, jumbo jet

Eclipse Delivers First Customer Plane

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We've been waiting for this news since mid 2005 when we first started covering this company, Eclipse Aviation has finally delivered their first very light jet, the Eclipse 500, and just before the end of 2006 too. AV Web reports that the first Eclipse 500 was delivered to a customer on Sunday, New Year's Eve. A formal delivery ceremony will follow at the company headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M. The first customer Eclipse 500 went to co-owners David Crowe, a private owner, and Jet-Alliance, a shared jet ownership company. Crowe is planning to fly recreationally and the jet will be part of Jet- Alliances shared ownership program. Eclipse has another 37 planes currently on the line and goal of delivering 500 planes before the end of 2007 but with a backlog of 2,500 orders you may have to wait a while for yours.

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Tags: aviation, eclipse, jet, plane, vlj

Buy A Plane, Get A Car

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

Buy a plane, get a car, that's the new offer from Comp Air Inc. From now until the end of the year they are offering new Chevy Aveos to buyers of selected models of its airplanes. The offer applies to seven of Comp Air's kit models. The offer means that those who trek down to Merritt Island, Florida to build their own aircraft will have their own way to get around and two new rides to take home. The Aveo has an MSRP of $9,350-$13,050. Probably not the car of your dreams but it's still a free car.

Those who build their aircraft at home are eligible for the new car too as long as they are willing to fly down and drive it home. Comp Air makes composite, kit-built airplanes from two to 11 seats which are powered by piston, turboprop and turbo.Their latest model is the carbon fiber Comp 12 shown here. The high-tech turbine aircraft sells for $249,000 less engine, avionics and interior.

[via General Aviation News]

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Tags: aviation, flying, plane, turbine aircraft

Rare A-20 Rare War Plane For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

You are looking at the only Douglas A-20 capable of flight is for sale. This rare plane, which has been exhibited in several flight museums, was impeccably restored. This plane was part of three different Air Force units as a trainer but was never in combat. After World War II, it was part of the 474 military planes sold to Paul Mantz, one of Hollywood's most famous stunt pilots, for use in movies and as camera planes. The plane was later sold, abandoned and then bought and restored by William J. Farah in 1970. It has bounced in and out of museums including the National Air & Space Museum, the Liberal Flight Museum and the Lone Star Flight Museum. It is selling for $1,150,000 through Courtesy Aircraft.

[via General Aviation News]

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Tags: aviation, douglas a-20, plane, war plane, WarPlane

Versace To Design Jet Interiors

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Not content with fashion and a burgeoning hotel empire, Versace will now be designing interiors for private jets. The fashion company has announced a new collaboration with Tag Group SA to design interiors for the Boeing BBJ, Bombardier Global Express and other private jets. The interiors will be shown at a British Air Show this summer. The prototype is described as having a white and black scheme including white leather chairs and black carpeting.

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Tags: airline, aviation, boeing bbj, bombardier global express, flight, tag group sa, versace

Silverjet, Another London to New York Flight Option

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The already competitive London to New York flight market is about to get a bit tighter. We've already covered Eos and MAXjet which both offer the same route. Silverjet Limited will offer low fare, all business class flights. CNN reports that Silverjet is currently raising money to get on London's Alternative Investment Market in May. They expect to start business class service from Luton to Newark within six to nine months after getting on the market. They eventually plan to run ten aircraft to a variety of destinations. Like MAXjet, Silverjet will offer around 100 seats which are flatbeds. The average roundtrip is expected to be $1,700.

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Tags: airline, airline industry, aviation, business class, eos, flight, london, maxjet, new york, planes, silverjet

Air France To Debut In Flight Phone Usage

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Services, Wings

Want to be the first to be allowed to use your phone in flight? Then you will want to fly Air France. Breaking Travel News reports that they will take delivery in early 2007 of the first Airbus A318 with the On Air GSM equipment which lets you use your cell phone or BlackBerry during flight. Air France will use the aircraft during a six-month trial of the new service testing it out on short flights within Europe and North Africa. As much as it will be convenient, I think I will mourn the days of the phone-free flight.

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Tags: airbus a 318, AirbusA318, aviation, cell phone, cell phone flight, phone, wings

Jetmousine

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

We saw something similar once on eBay but this article in the Bend Bulletin goes in depth on the "Jetmousine" created by Dan Harris. In Bend, Oregon, Harris turns old private jets into luxury limos. He is currently at work on his first project which has a bright red exterior and a plasma TV, high-definition TVs, an 8,000 watt sound system and plenty of leather upholstery. The first one which costs around $1 million, has been sold to Exotic Coach, a limo company in Chicago, and is street-legal. It uses a 1974 Lear jet fuselage with chrome wheels and a 400-horsepower 8100 cc ~~Vertec~~ Vortec engine from a Chevy truck.

[Thanks, Eric]

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Tags: aviation, flight, jet, jetmousine, learjet, limojet, limousine

Australia Tests Out The Scramjet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The Concorde may have been retired but that doesn't mean that fast flight is a thing of the past. Enter the scramjet, an Australian bullet-shaped jet engine that may one day take people from London to Sydney in two hours. The scramjet engine created by QinetiQ (a British defense company) and will be tested today in the Australian desert. The scramjet operates at speeds greater than Mach 5 and works by rapidly sucking in oxygen and burning hydrogen fuel. The test for the latest evolution of the scramjet engine will fly for five seconds, 325 kilometers high (over 200 miles) in a parabolic arch. It is hoped that eventually scramjets could be used to get from one side of the world to the other. It could also have military applications as well as becoming a possible replacement for the space shuttle.

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Tags: aviation, flight, jet, scramjet

Eclipse 500 Jet Heads Into Production

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

One down, 2,399 to go. This week, Eclipse Aviation started production on their first Eclipse 500 jet for a customer. The first customer, pilot David Crowe, was there to start the automated welder and will receive his Eclipse 500 this summer. The FAA is expected to certify the Eclipse in late June. Eclipse is expects to employ 1,000 people by the end of the year and hopes to have 130 planes built. By 2008, the company plans to produce 1,000 planes per year. Once the Eclipse jets start to flood the market we will finally get to see if the predictions of air taxis ruling the skies.

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Tags: aviation, eclipse, flight, jet, jet aviation, plane, private planes, very light jet

Hummingbird Kit Helicopter

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We've seen plenty of kit planes but the Hummingbird is a kit helicopter that is designed for the amateur pilot. The four-place copter from Vertical Aviation Technologies has a 375 mile range and is designed to be able to be built by the "average person." The kit comes complete with every nut, bolt, washer, switch and circuit breaker, plenty of detailed manuals and takes at least 800 hours to complete. The helicopter has a maximum gross weight is 2700 lb.s and the fuel tank holds 57 gallons. The FAA will issue a Repairman Certificate to the builder so that they can maintain their own helicopter. When you are done with your helicopter Vertical Aviation Technologies has a test pilot/technician that can assist with the final testing. The kit sells for $123,750.

[via Helicopter Association International]

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Tags: amateur pilot, aviation, flight, helicopter, hummingbird helicopter, vertical aviation technologies, VerticalAviationTechnologies

"Fuddy Duddy" Plane For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It’s not exactly going to be your commuter plane but if you are looking for a piece of history that still flies check out this B-17. “Fuddy Duddy” is up for sale. The yellow-tailed plane belongs to the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center which is selling it to fund the changing interests of the museumgoers. According to General Aviation News, the museum is pursuing more space-related exhibits and World War II prop planes aren’t as popular as they once were. The plane is one of only a dozen airworthy B-17s left in the world and is selling for $3.5 million.

Tags: aviation, classic planes, ClassicPlanes, history, planes, planes for sale, world war II, WorldWarIi, WW II planes