European manufacturer Airbus successfully
ew the rst aircraft built at its US
manufacturing facility on March 21.
The A321, destined for JetBlue, lifted
off from the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley,
in Alabama at 0936hrs, landing back
at the site at 1302hrs. Test Pilots Mark
McCullins and Bruce Macdonald had the
honour of performing the rst ight and
were accompanied by Flight Test Engineers
Thierry Cros and Nick Picconi, and Ground
Test Engineers/Cabin Specialists Alexander
Gentzsch and Mike Johns. Tests were
performed on systems, engines and
structure performance during the 3hr 26min
sortie.
“We’ve come to an exciting milestone in
the production of any aircraft, but this oneis particularly special,” said Daryl Taylor,
Vice President and General Manager of
the Airbus US Manufacturing Facility. “The
Mobile team has worked hard, and I’m
proud that their skill and talent have brought
us to this moment. Together we are ful lling
the promise we made to the city of Mobile,
the state of Alabama, and the Gulf Coast
region – we’re creating a new centre of
commercial aircraft production in the US.
This is just the rst of many aircraft to come.”
Following the maiden ight, the aircraft
will go through several more weeks in
nal production before being delivered to
JetBlue.UK-based Straightline Aviation (SLA) has
signed a letter of intent (LOI) to purchase up
to 12 Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airships.
The deal is valued at approximately
$480m and SLA is working with Hybrid
Enterprises, Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airship
reseller, to nalise the purchase agreement.
“We are delighted to be rst in line with
this magni cent aircraft that is going todramatically change the way cargo is moved
around the world,” said Mike Kendrick,
SLA co-founder and CEO. “The clear-cut
economic and environmental advantages of
these Hybrids are attracting vast amounts
of attention from a wide range of potentialend-users.”
The Hybrid Airship uses a unique, tri-lobe
shape and air cushion landing system, and
can transport cargo and passengers to
and from extremely remote locations. The
airship requires little or no xed ground
infrastructure, and the manufacturer claims it
burns signi cantly less fuel than conventional
aircraft.An artist’s impression of a Straightline
Aviation Lockheed Martin Hybrid Airship.
Lockheed MartinLOI for Lockheed Martin Airship
First US-built Airbus Flies
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 5JetBlue Airbus A321 F-WZMA (c/n 6512) in the
nal stages of its maiden ight from Mobile
Aeroplex at Brookley in Alabama. AirbusThis month’s issue includes the rst of our
Viewing Area Guides from airports around
the world. This irregular series will cover all
the things you need to know, such as opening
times, photographic advice, any cost for entry
and what can be seen. We will cover the official
viewing areas, ranging from those on the air eld
perimeter that can be quite basic, to terraces
with amenities. And where an airport has more
than one such facility, we’ll cover them all in the
same feature. In addition to photos, we aim to
include videos taken from viewing areas in the
digital version of our magazine. For example,
this month’s guide on the viewing terrace at
Salzburg Airport includes footage that gives
you a full panorama. This new feature comes
in addition to our popular Room with a View
articles.
We aim to produce a magazine that is an
enjoyable and enlightening read but also
provide useful information so that readers can
get more out of the hobby.
On another matter we are always looking to
expand our pool of contributors, so if you are in
the aerospace industry, a professional writer or
enthusiast and have an idea for an article we’d
be delighted to hear from you.
Enjoy the issue.Dino Carrara
Editor
[email protected]EDITORIAL
04-05_headlines.JR.mfDC.mfDC.indd 5 08/04/2016 14: