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Threads about the world of aviation outside of airshows. General aviation, airlines, spotting, etc.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Wed Jun 24, 2020 2:29 pm

USMC contract for MQ-9A Reaper

On 22 June 2020, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, based in Poway (CA) was awarded a USD 27 million contract containing two MQ-9A Reaper Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) destined for the US Marine Corps.

The contract also includes one dual control mobile Ground Control Station (GCS), one modular data center; and one mobile ground control station for Group 5 UAS Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance services/persistent strike efforts. The USMC announced earlier in 2019 that they would acquire the MQ-9A. A USMC crew from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron (VMU) 1 "Watchdogs" worked in March 2020 with a General Atomics Company Owned and Company Operated (COCO) MQ-9A Reaper over an area of operations in the Middle East.

The new USMC Reapers will be delivered by December 2020 and are part of the US Navy Fiscal Year 2020.
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Kazakhstan’s Air Force fleet has added four Mi-35Ms

Reports issued by Interfax-Kazakhstan shows four new Mi-35M multi-functional attack helicopters arriving at an air base in the west of the country on 22 June 2020. The delivery of helicopters to the Kazakhstan Air Defence Force (KADF) was carried out as part of military-technical cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as an agreement between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Rosoboronexport enterprise.

This is the third batch of Mi-35Ms delivered to Kazakhstan. The first contract for the attack helicopters was signed in 2016 and saw the delivery of 01-04 Red. A follow-on contract came in early 2017, with deliveries of Mi-35Ms marked 05-08 Red in 2018. The contract for the current batch has been signed in May 2018, marked 09-12 Red, and rounds up the total number of Kazakh Mi-35Ms to a dozen.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Thu Jun 25, 2020 3:11 pm

And here it is; the Royal Air Force VIP Airbus Voyager ZZ336 in its new livery. Apparently it was inspired by PM Boris Johnson himself.

The departure from Cambridge to its homebase was covered live by the major newschannels Sky and BBC.
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Qantas has announced drastic measures as the government of Australia decided on continuing to ban all international flights (except New Zealand) for the foreseeable future.

The airline will ground up to 100 aircraft for another year, defer deliveries of new aircraft on order (mainly The Boeing Company B787s and Airbus A321neos) and fire up to 6,000 co-workers. It currently has a fleet of 133 planes.

Qantas has also announced the immediate retirement of their B747-400s, of which most were already flown to Mojave (CA) for storage and scrapping. Currently only one is left in Australia, which is VH-OEJ that is parked at Sydney.
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As a follow-up on our earlier post on Qantas, we can now report that the airline also announced that they are planning to fly their twelve Airbus A380s to Mojave (CA) for storage.

According to the CEO, it might take until 2023 before they re-activate them. There are also rumours that six of the twelve will be permanently retired, which will be the planes that haven't gone through the cabin refurbishment programme.
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USAF back at Hato, Curaçao

Withing two days, a contingent USAF aircraft arrived taking up temporary duty (TDY) on a drug trafficking control duty in this part of the Caribbean. One E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) from the 116th ACW/GA ANG "GA" from Robbins AFB (GA) and one E-3G Sentry from the 964th AACS/552nd ACW "OK" from Tinker AFB (OK) arrived on Monday 22 June 2020.

The next day, 23 June 2020, three KC-135R Stratotankers from three different Air National Guard units arrived. Support arrived on 21 June 2020 with an Air Force Reserve Command C-5M Galaxy from the 68thAS/433rd AW based at Lackland AFB (TX).

Details of the aircraft involved are:
78-0576/OK E-3G 964th AACS
92-3289/GA E-8C 116th ACW/GA ANG
58-0109 KC-135R 174th ARS/IA ANG
59-1466 KC-135R 108th ARS/IL ANG
59-1504 KC-135T 147th ARS/PA ANG
86-0015 C-5M AFRC 68th AS

The aircraft will operate from the Curaçao-hosted Cooperative Security Location (CSL), also commonly referred to as a forward operating location, in Willemstad. U.S. Air Force aircraft have previously conducted similar missions from the CSL under a counter narcotics partnership agreement with the governments of Curaçao and the Kingdom of the Netherlands dating back two decades. The aircraft will fly detection and monitoring missions in international airspace to help the United States and international law enforcement authorities disrupt and defeat transnational criminal organizations trafficking illegal narcotics in the region. Approximately 200 airmen, including aircrews, maintenance technicians, logisticians and administrative personnel will support the operation.
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Yesterday this Skybus Jet Cargo DC-8-73(F) N805SJ was ferried from Kingman (AZ) to Victorville (CA). It flew with the gear down for the total flight of 18 minutes.

Rumours are that the aircraft, which has been stored at Kingman (AZ) for years, will be repainted at Victorville (CA). Does this mean this classic beauty will return to the sky?
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Belgian Air Force NH90-TTH retirement and Luxembourg hesitating on the purchase of NH90s

Rumours on the internet indicate that the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces (Belgian Air Force) is planning to early retire the four NH90-TTH helicopters in order to save money. However, other sources claim the replacement of the helicopter is needed because of its high operating costs, low employability and the low amount of helicopters itself. Only four NH90-TTHs are in the air force's inventory.

Nevertheless this is sad news as the last NH90-TTH, serial RN08, was only delivered to 1 Wing on Beauvechain air base on 13 November 2014! On the brighter side, the helicopters will still fly until 2023. At that point in time the NH90s will see their 900 flying hours inspection.

It is said that the air force is now looking for a replacement for the Agusta A109BA as well as the NH90-TTH. The Airbus Helicopters H145M has been named as a possible replacement, with ten to fifteen helicopters needed. The first Agusta A109s were already delivered to the armed forces in 1992.

And then there is Luxembourg. The country intended to buy two NH90-TTHs and one NH90-NFH. These would have been added to the Belgian fleet at Beauvechain air base and at Koksijde air base. But mainly due to the news on the Belgian NH90-TTHs, Luxembourg is now hesitating to go ahead with the purchase. Most probably this will affect the TTHs, but not the NFH model. We will have to wait and see how this will evolve further.

The Belgian Armed Forces have four NH90-TTHs and four NH90-NFHs in their inventory. The NH90-NFHs, serials RN01-RN04, are based at Koksijde air base with 40 Squadron. The unit will move to Oostende airport in the near future as Koksijde will be closed. The required infrastructural works in Oostende are expected to be ready by 2022. After the move, the base will be able to function with much less crew – from 331 to 123 – as technical services, air traffic controllers and fire brigade are already present at the new location. The reduction, however, should come through “natural redundancies” only. The NH90-TTHs, serials RN05 to RN08, are based at Beauvechain air base with 1 Wing.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Thu Jun 25, 2020 6:03 pm

Taiwan Boosting Domestic Jets Development To Counter Threat From China - See Details: https://bit.ly/2Yyx7AD
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Fri Jun 26, 2020 3:36 pm

Yesterday, the first The Boeing Company B777-200ER for Eastern Airlines rolled-out of the paintshop at Victorville (CA).

The aircraft, which is registered N771KW, is c/n 28530 and is a former Singapore Airlines-plane. It will be delivered to the airline soon.
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In the court case between Volga-Dnepr Group and The Boeing Company it became clear that the manufacturer already had sold the two B777Fs to a new airline as part of a deal for additional B787s and quite possible B777Xs.

There was a lot of speculation which airline that could be and EVA Air was the frontrunner. But today, we can end all speculation as one of the two B777Fs originally destined for Volga-Dnepr (c/n 66623) has surfaced in the livery of China Cargo Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines. It is seen here landing at Paine Field (WA) on 24 June.

If this means an order by this airline for B787s and B777Xs is indeed to follow soon is unknown at this moment.
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Change over US Army Reserve Command Cessna Citations

On 25 June 2020, US Army Reserve Command (USARC) Cessna UC-35A1, serial 96-00111, arrived with call-sign WING13 at Prestwick (UK). The Citation originated its flight in Kuwait and after a stop-over in Wiesbaden (Germany) it continued to Prestwick.

In the opposite direction, USARC Cessna UC-35A1, serial 96-00110, flew with call-sign PAT337A via Keflavik (Iceland) to Wiesbaden (Germany) on 24 June 2020. After the stop-over in Germany it continued its way to Kuwait.

According to the latest information in the Scramble Magazine US Army database, Citation 96-00111 is operated by Co C/6-52nd Aviation Regiment and based at Fort Hood-Killeen/Robert Gray AAF (TX). Citation 96-00110 was last noted at Fort Hood (TX) in October 2016, the unit at that time was unconfirmed. Scramble assesses this one is also operated by 6-52nd Aviation Regiment.
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The first Airbus A330-800 for Kuwait Airways looks very sharp. It is currently registered as F-WWYU and has c/n 1964. It will become 9K-APF once delivered.

It was photographed at Toulouse-Blagnac on 24 June by Eurospot.
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Air Atlanta Icelandic has decided to pause plans to add two Airbus A330-200s and three The Boeing Company B777s for use on ACMI-operations as worldwide passenger demand is very low.

However, they did decide to give their cargo operations a boost by adding two more B747-400Fs. The first one is registered TF-AMB, which has c/n 28263 and is a former China Cargo aircraft. The second one is TF-AMC, which is c/n 26563 and former 4X-ELF of El Al.
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As a result of the much lower passenger demand, Jetstar Asia has decided to shrink the fleet and its workforce. Up to 180 co-workers will be laid off and five of their 18 Airbus A320s will leave the fleet.
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NokScoot has announced that they plan to liquidate itself as the airline can’t recover from the effects of the Corona-crisis.

The airline, a joint-venture between Nok Air (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%), was established in 2014 and operated a fleet of seven The Boeing Company B777-200ERs, all leased from Singapore Airlines.
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This afternoon Air France said goodbye to the Airbus A380. To commemorate the occasion the airline took F-HPJH on a two hour flight over France.

The tenure of the A380 with Air France lasted for eleven years, as the first plane was delivered in 2009.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:52 pm

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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 5:25 pm

According to Reuters, The Boeing Company will tomorrow start their recertification programme for the B737MAX-family.

Depending on the weather, Boeing will use a B737-7 for three days of flying, conducting a series of tests.

After these days the data will be evaluated by the Federal Aviation Administration to see if the type is good to go again. The head of the FAA also wants to fly the plane himself before the final approval.

Although not communicated by the manufacturer, the hope is to have the MAX back in commercial operations before the end of this year.
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Pakistan Navy ATR72 at Mönchengladbach (Germany)

On 27 June 2020, the third Pakistan Bharia (Pakistan Navy) ATR72-212A, serial 77 and msn 808, arrived at Mönchengladbach for conversion into a "Sea Eagle". The conversion process will be done by Rheinland Air Service (RAS).

The ATR72, operated by 29(ASW/EW/IW) Squadron and based at Sharea Faisal (PNS Mehran/Karachi), arrived with callsign PN77 on a 5 hour flight direct from Izmir-Adana Menderes.

In 2016, Rheinland Air Service was awarded a contract to convert two ATR72s (serials 78 and 79) for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). So with the arrival of the third aircraft, a new contract must have been awarded. This might even be for another two aircraft, with serial 77 (the one that arrived) and serial 76 not yet converted to Sea Eagles.
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Some special Boeing C-135

Dylan Phelps photographed the two special C-135s at Greenville/Majors (TX) on Wednesday 24 June 2020. Boeing NC-135W "Big Safari" (serial 61-2666) serves as the Rivet Joint testbed for L3Harris Technologies which has a sizeable facility at Majors Field. The aircraft is operated by the 645th MATS Det.2 and is one of the few 135s left with the TF-33 powerplants. It flew with call-sign SAME40.

The second aircraft is RC-135U Combat Sent (serial 64-14847) from the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offut AFB (NE) which arrived for depot maintenance. Before making a final stop at Greenville/Majors, the Combat Sent first made an approach with call-sign COBRA55, flew straight back to Offut AFB (NE) as SHINR51 before returning to Greenville later in the evening.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Sun Jun 28, 2020 5:27 pm

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