Next Gen Air Traffic Technology Goes Live
A new technology platform that will
transform air traffic management in the UK
has successfully entered service at NATS’
Prestwick Control Centre. The system- called iTEC (interoperability Through
European Collaboration) – includes a range
of tools to help reduce controller workload,
increase airspace capacity and improve
safety by automatically detecting potential
aircraft conflicts ahead of time. It also helps
reduce aircraft fuel burn and emissions by
enabling the future introduction of ‘Free Route
Airspace’ above 28,000ft, giving aircraft
greater flexibility to fly optimum routes and
to take advantage of prevailing weather
conditions.
iTEC entered limited operational service
at Prestwick late on January 21, with a Jet
flight from Stansted to Edinburgh being the
first to be controlled using the new system.
It is now being used periodically during
increasingly busy times to ensure a safe andsmooth transition to full operational service
in the early summer. Initially the system is
only controlling aircraft in Scotland’s upper
airspace sectors, but will be rolled out across
the entire NATS operation at Prestwick and
Swanwick over the next five years. The
successful deployment of iTEC at Prestwick
is part of a broader technology transformation
programme at NATS that will see the air traffic
management company investing £600m over
the next five years. David J SmithUS Production for Seeker
The Seabird Seeker is to be manufactured
in the USA by Erickson of Portland, Oregon
on behalf of Albuquerque-based Seeker
Aircraft. The Seeker, which was designed
in Australia where approximately 17 have
been built by Seabird Aviation, is a two-seat
multi-purpose surveillance aircraft with a
strut-braced high wing and a pod-and-boom
fuselage. The original prototype (VH-SBI,
c/n 89001), known as the SB5N Sentinel,
flew on October 1, 1989 and the production
version is the SB7L-360A2 powered by apusher 160hp Lycoming O-360-B2C engine.
Some early Seekers were assembled in
Jordan and at least two have been delivered
to the Iraqi Air Force’s 70 Squadron for
border patrol, equipped with the FLIR
Systems Ultra 8500 surveillance suite. The
US-built aircraft, which can be fitted with a
gimbal-mounted WESCAM MX-10 video/IR
system, will be marketed to governmental
and law enforcement agencies as a
significantly cheaper alternative to
helicopters. Rod SimpsonFilm Star
Turkish Airlines is promoting the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice film with this special
livery on Boeing 777-3F2ER TC-JJN (c/n 40795). The left-hand side of the jet features the
Superman logo with Batman represented on the other. Turkish is the ‘official airline partner’ of
the movie. The jet visited Heathrow on March 22. Richard VandervordBombardier CS100 C-FFCO (c/n 50006) conducted a European route-proving exercise during
March. Operating from Zürich, the home base of launch customer Swiss International Air
Lines, the aircraft flew more than 30 city-pair flights during the three-week long trial. It visited
Manchester Airport on March 16. Ashley FrenchC Series Completes
European Route-Proving
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 9A350 Arrives
in Singapore
Singapore Airlines became the latest Airbus
A350-900 operator when its first example,
9V-SMA (c/n 026), was delivered on February
26.
“The A350 is a key element in our overall
capacity growth and fleet renewal strategy,” said
Singapore Airlines CEO, Goh Choon Phong.
“Its improved operating efficiency offers us
the opportunity to open up even more new
routes, providing more travel options to our
customers.”
Singapore Airlines has 67 A350s on order.
After crew familiarisation services within
Asia, the aircraft will be deployed on long-
haul services to Amsterdam from May, and
Düsseldorf from July.IN BRIEF
BLUE ISLANDS has signed a ten-year franchise
agreement with Flybe starting from June. The
Channel Islands carrier will repaint its five ATRs
into the Flybe livery and operate six routes,
including Jersey to Bristol and London City, on
behalf of the Exeter-based airline.
AIR FRANCE has cancelled its remaining
commitment for two Airbus A380s in favour of
three A350-900s. The superjumbos had been
due for delivery in 2013 but were deferred to 2017
due to the airline’s weak financial performance at
the time. The switch was revealed in parent Air
France-KLM Group’s latest financial statement.
Low-cost carrier NORWEGIAN says it will base
50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at Gatwick should
the Sussex airport get the green light to build a
second runway. Speaking at the Aviation Club
in London on March 17, CEO Bjørn Kjos said
they would be joined by a further 100 short-haul
aircraft.
Bombardier’s CHALLENGER 650 business jet has
received full type certification from the European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The achievement
was announced by the manufacturer on March 8.
AIRBUS has started construction on its new A
Completion and Delivery Centre in Tianjin, China.
‘Green’ aircraft destined for Chinese and Asian
customers will be flown to Tianjin for completion
activities including cabin installation, aircraft
painting and flight testing as well as aircraft
delivery and customer flight acceptance. Building
work is expected to take around a year to complete
with Airbus anticipating initial customer deliveries
starting in September 2017.06-09_civil.JRDC.indd 9 08/04/2016 11: