Civil Aviation Authority

As the Western economies suffered setbacks and confusion there was a popular conception, almost a mantra, that the Middle East was recession-proof .This idea was somewhat dented when Dubai's property bubble burst with spectacular results.

However, in terms f the overall picture this was merely a local difficulty and other areas were unaffected and continued to prosper. The reality of one of the bellwethers of the current financial situation can best be judged by the recent Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) air show in Dubai.

MEBA was organized on behalf of the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBAA) and is the world's third largest show dedicated to business aviation. The last MEBA show, in November 2008, attracted some 250 exhibitors from 30 countries and over 5500 visitors, resulting in some US$ 1, and 5-billion worth orders. The recent event catered for the same number of exhibitors, but 7000 visitors, an increase of around 35%.

It may seem churlish at this point to mention recent findings in last years Honeywell Business Aviation Outlook that suggests that Middle East purchase plans have now moved more in-line with the overall world average. Purchase expectations of nearly 30% recorded in Africa and the Middle East were off markedly from the record 2009 level but still above North American levels for replacement and expansion rates over the next five years.

The Honeywell report goes on to suggest that Middle East economies have become more cautious in their outlook for sustained economic growth, no doubt stemming from the leveling out of oil prices through much of the year and the outlook for slower increases in oil demand coupled to the reduced pace of economic growth.

Nevertheless, operators in these regions still expect to be active buyers, at or near the world average rate. Planned purchases, even at the world average, will still result in more rapid regional growth in the Middle East and there was little doubt that MEBA would not fail to confirm this assumption. In the recent past much has been said about lack of infrastructure in the area that was inhibiting growth. This is something that is certainly being addressed, a good example being the concept and development of the Al Bateen facility. Originally built in the 1960s, Al Bateen was Abu Dhabi's first airport.

When Abu Dhabi International Airport, located some 20 miles outside the city, was opened in 1982, Al Bateen was used by military aviation until, in June 2009; it secured full aerodrome certification from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in recognition of its high standards in all areas of operations.

Al Bateen is the Gulfs first dedicated executive aviation airport. It is undergoing extensive re-development to be the premier business airport for the region, as it prepares to double its annual movements to more than 12000 by 2014.Last October the facility announced a 34,4% increase in aircraft movements in the first six month of this year, in comparison with the same period in 2009.

The airport is owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) which has embarked on a multi-million dollar plan to upgrade the airport with new ILS precision approach capability, new hangars and MRO facilities, plus a hotel on site. During MEBA, it was announced that the GCAA had completed the ILS category 1 upgrade.

In an attention-getting announcement during MEBA, ADAC announced its plan to reduce its aeronautical charges at Al Bateen Executive Airport by 35% on landing fees and by 17% on the current parking fees, for all aircraft, with immediate effect. The Al Bateen executive team also unveiled the new master plan model of the airport .Plans are in place to develop new hangars and complete apron enhancements, utilities and runway work.

There many news on flights on different developments going on globally .Below find the round up on flight news,

SAUDI ARABIA CONTRACTS FOR S-76Ds

The Kingdom of Saudia Arabia's Ministry of Interior has signed a contract to produce twelve Sikorsky S-76D helicopters and has taken options to acquire eight additional S-76Ds, this has been announced by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. The S-76D is the latest model in the highly successful S-76 helicopter line.Sikorsky has produced and delivered nearly 800 S-76 helicopters.

A400M WING PASSES CRITICAL TEST

The critical static test requires for certification for the highly advanced all-composite wing of the Airbus Military A400M has passed the ultimate-load up-bend test. During the test the wing was subjected to a load equal to 150% of the maximum bending load (limit load) predicted to be encountered in service. The wingtips of the full-size A400M static test specimen moved upwards 1, 41 metres (4, 6 feet) during the test which was completed at Airbus Military's Getafe, Madrid facility recently.

INTERJET WINS CONTRACTS

Interjet which is based at Lanseria International Airport has received approval from the South Africa Air Force (SAAF) and Armscor to provide steady state product support on the SAAF Raytheon King Air as well as the Cessna Caravan aircraft. This was announced in August this year by Interjet CEO, Paul Ludick who further said "The contract will include all levels of serviceable which allows the SAAF to provide the necessary readiness as required". Interjet recently received its B-BBEE accreditation for both maintenance and avionics departments which is a requirement to be met for medium and large companies in South Africa.

G450 SETS SPEED RECORD

A long-range Gulfstream G450 business jet recently established a city-pair speed record between Tokyo and Hong Kong. The G450 took off from Tokyo's Narita International Airport and flew the 1,694 nautical mile distance at an average cruise speed of Mach 0, 85, landing three hours and 58 minutes later at Hong Kong International Airport.

MALTESE HOT POTATO

In Malta during the past weeks a partenavia P68C Victor has been seen with huge ICCAT titles on the port side.ICCAT stands for international commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna. Lately, the issue of tuna fishing and penning has been a hot potato on the Mediterranean island of Malta, with fishermen being confronted by vessels from non-government organizations, namely Green Peace and Sea Shepherd. Maltese rural affairs Minister, George Pullicino, recently described the NGOs tactics as similar to those of "private armies". The issue of tuna fishing, which the Maltese Government insists is entirely legal, has also been raised at high level meetings in Luxembourg.

CATHY ORDERS 30 A350 XWBs

Following the signature of a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Airbus for the order of 30 aircraft, Cathy Pacific Airways has selected the all-new A350 XWB to form the backbone of its future mid-size wide-body fleet. With the capability of flying over 8000 nautical miles non-stop, the airline has selected the A350-900 variant of the aircraft.

FIRST T-6C FOR RMAF

The first of 24 Beech craft T-6C Military trainers ordered by the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) has been rolled out by Hawker Beech craft Corp. The RMAF is replacing its existing fleet of T-34 and T-37 jet trainers with the T-6Cs.The T-6Cs upgraded avionics include a head-up display, up front control panel, three multifunction displays and hands-on throttle and stick and in addition to the hard-point wings.

The RMAF order represents a government-to government agreement between Morocco and the U.S. In addition to the 24 aircraft, the contract includes aircraft ferry services, site survey, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, facility infrastructure support, personnel training and training equipment, and other related elements of technical and logistics support.

COMAIR EXPANDS AFRICAN NETWORK

From November Comair, Operator of British Airways in South Africa and kulula.com,is again expanding its African route network and will offer five return flights per week between Johannesburg and Daresalam,in Tanzania. The new route and the flights will be operated by British Airways and will also be integrated and sold through kulula.com distribution network.

TRANSATLANTIC JOINT BUSINESS

British Airways ,American Airlines and Iberia have received final regulatory approval from the European Commission to enter into a joint business agreement on transatlantic flights. The airlines anticipate that they will receive the final decision on transatlantic anti-trust immunity from the US Department of Transportation shortly. The transatlantic joint business will strengthen competition across the Atlantic by enabling the oneworld alliance to compete on a level playing field with the other global alliances that already have anti-trust immunity. The airlines plan to launch the transatlantic joint business this autumn.

LUFHANSAS SECOND A380

Lufthansa has received its second Airbus A380 which was recently ferried from Hamburg to Frankfurt prior to being named "Munchen" at a festive ceremony at Munich Airport. Its inclusion in the Lufthansa fleet in August has already raised frequencies ex Frankfurt to Tokyo from thrice-weekly to daily services and has opened the way for the type to be introduced to the South African service from next month.

LANDMARK DESTINATION

Kenya Airways recently broadened its network by launching regular flights between Nairobi and Angola's capital city, Luanda.

POSEIDON ENTERS FLIGHT TEST

Boeings new P-8A Poseidon aircraft T3 successfully completed its first flight test in Seattle recently and during the two-hour and 48 minute flight Boeing and US Navy test pilots performed airborne systems checks including engine accelerations and decelerations, autopilot flight modes, and auxiliary power unit and engine shutdowns and starts. The T3 is the P-8A programmes mission-system and weapon-certification aircraft. In the coming weeks, T3 will join the two P-8A test aircraft currently at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md, and complete additional ground and flight tests.

The Navy plans to purchase 117 P-8A anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.

ALAFCO OPTS FOR A350-900

ALAFCO, the Kuwait –based international aviation lease and finance company, has converted its existing firm order for 12 Airbus A350-800s placed in 2007, into the higher capacity A350-900 model. The A350-900 is the first of the three members of the A350 XWB family to be introduced and will enter service in mid-2013.The A350-900 typically has a capacity of around 40 more seats than the smaller 800 model.

RED BULL AIR RACES CANCELLED

The Red Bull Air Races have been cancelled for next year, according to a statement issued by the organizers in August. The one-year hiatus is needed to develop strong host city partnerships and secure a "long-term race calendar", according to Red Bull. Some late-in-the –game venue changes and cancellations disrupted the race schedule for this year, and a couple of near-accidents raised safety concerns.

CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., has announced the successful completion of the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter programme critical design review (CDR) event, signaling the program me is ready to proceed to assembly ,test and evaluation. Over the past four years, the CH-53K helicopter team has successfully completed numerous major reviews, including the system requirements review (SRR),system functional review (SFR), systems preliminary design review(PDR), 77 supplier-level critical design reviews (CDRs), 64 supplier and internal software reviews and 16 sub-system CDRs.

SVT FOR BARONS, BONANZAS

Hawker Beech craft Corp. has announced that Garmin's Synthetic Vision Technology (STV) and other associated avionics improvements will be included as standard equipment on its piston-engine Beech craft Baron and Bonanza Aircraft. Following the receipt of Supplement Type Certificates covering both models, the upgraded offerings were introduced on production aircraft as from August.

AWARD FOR ‘FATHER OF BOEING 747

Legendary Boeing aeronautical engineer, Joe Sutter, credited with leading the development of the iconic 747 jetliner ,won the inaugural Flightglobal Lifetime Achievement Award,Flight International magazine announced at the 2010 Farnborough International Air show recently " Joe Sutter helped shrink our planet for tens of millions of ordinary travelers," said Murdo Morrison, editor of Flight International. Sutter joined Boeing in 1946 as an aerodynamics specialist and worked on the Boeing 377,Dash -80,707,727,and 737.In 1965, he took on the role of chief project engineer of the new 747 programme,which pioneered the twin-aisle wide-body concept.

‘FIRST' FOR ARIK AIR

Nigeria's largest commercial airline, Arik Air, has scored another first by becoming, the first Nigerian airline to be re-certified by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The regulatory body announced recently that the airline had met the Federal Governments requirement of the new Civil Aviation Regulations. NCAA director-general, Dr. Harold Demuren, said Arik Air had fulfilled the 6th of the eight critical elements as stipulated by the United States of Americas Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to Dr. Demuren, the sixth element involved licensing and certification and one of the country's airlines needed to meet the new regulation. He expressed optimism that soon Nigeria would bag Category 1 status as the country was close to the end of the certification exercise by the American regulatory body.

ONE TIME TO MAPUTO

Voted by World Travel Awards for two in a row as Africa's leading low cost carrier,1 time Airline, in August launched a five-times –a-week service between Johannesburg and Maputo, Mozambique. It thus makes use of the full capacity granted to operate this route, in relation to existing bilateral agreements. 1times prices started at about 50% less than its competitors and current lowest airfare on the route is R2663 return inclusive, with 1times lowest fare coming in at R672 one-way all inclusive. Government –imposed airport taxes of R475 per way is included in the all-inclusive fare.

NEW A350 XWB HANGAR

From mid-2011 the worlds largest fuselage made of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) will be assembled in Hamburg, Germany ,less than a year after Airbus celebrated the "topping-out" of the new A350 XWB fuselage assembly hangar. Completion of the hanger is expected within the next few weeks. Then the jigs, tools and machinery will be set up with start of production scheduled for spring 2011. Airbus is investing over Euros 150-million in A350 XWB hangar (including jigs, tools and machinery) in Hamburg.