Boeing 747-8 Freighter Begins Flight-Test Operations in Southern California

PALMDALE, Calif., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter, RC521, landed in Palmdale, Calif., today, marking the beginning of a planned transition of 747-8 Freighter testing to Southern California. The more than four-hour flight from Boeing Field in Seattle included testing on avionics and cruise performance.

“Taking the airplane to Palmdale is a big step,” said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. “The team is focused on ensuring a seamless transition into the next phase of the flight-test program as we prepare to expand testing of the 747-8 Freighter’s performance characteristics.”

The airplane will be stationed in Palmdale for the majority of its scheduled flight-test program. The crew will conduct several tests on the airplane with fuel-mileage and engine-performance testing as key focus areas.

“Palmdale provides an excellent test environment for the 747-8 Freighter,” said Andy Hammer, 747 test program manager. “It allows us to take full advantage of one of the world’s premier experimental test flight facilities and the excellent weather conditions to meet our flight-test requirements on the road to obtaining our amended type certification.”

A contingent of employees has been stationed at Palmdale for the testing, including flight-test engineers and the support personnel who prepare the airplane for each day’s flights. In the coming weeks, the two other 747-8 airplanes in the flight-test fleet will join RC521 in Southern California.

The entire flight-test program calls for the three airplanes to perform a total of about 3,700 hours of ground and air testing. The first 747-8 Freighter delivery to Cargolux is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Source: Boeing

EMBRAER DESIGNATES 1ST PHENOM SERVICE CENTER IN CALIFORNIA

 

Embraer has named Clay Lacy Aviation (CLA) as the Company’s authorized service center for the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 jets in Southern California. Located at Van Nuys Airport, in the Los Angeles Basin, CLA is one of the most prominent, well-established corporate aviation service providers in the world.

“With the appointment of this new support base, Embraer has met the need for Phenom authorized service in the Southern California market,” President, Customer Support, USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean – Executive Jets.

 

said Scott Kalister, Embraer Vice “Clay Lacy’s reputation as a premier executive aviation provider and its location at Van Nuys Airport make it an ideal choice for the support of our Phenom jet customers.” 

 

Operating from their 8-acre (32,400-square meter) facility, CLA has one of the largest Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Diamond Award and Class III and IV certified maintenance repair stations in the western U.S. Five large hangars are available to Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 customers who will be offered inspections, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, paint touchups, and interior shop services.

“We are excited to work with Embraer, whose creativity and experience brought the Phenom to the market in a timely manner, at a very competitive price and with a performance greater than originally specified,” opportunity to strengthen our relationship with one of the premier aviation manufacturers in the world, since we already operate its aircraft.”

 

said Clay Lacy, founder and CEO of CLA. “We see this as an A total of 64 Phenom jets are currently registered with the FAA. The entry level Phenom 100 has been operating in North America since December 2008. The Phenom 300, which was certified in December 2009, is also flying in the region. The certification results for both cleansheet, state-of-the-art aircraft boast significant improvements in runway length, range, speed, and fuel consumption.

Source: Embraer

Discovery Crew Lands Safely in California

Space shuttle Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Base In California on Friday to end a 14-day mission to the International Space Station dedicated to outfitting the orbital laboratory with new experiments, science equipment, supplies and other gear the six people living on the station will need. Unacceptable weather conditions at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday and Friday forced the detour by Discovery to the West Coast.

“We’re very happy to be back on land here in California,” STS-128 Commander Rick “C.J.” Sturckow said after the astronauts got off the shuttle and surveyed their craft. “It was a great mission and we just want to thank everybody for their support.”

The crew of seven astronauts, including former station resident Tim Kopra, will fly to their training base at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. Meanwhile, technicians at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, adjacent to Edwards, will take about a week to get the spacecraft ready for its cross-country flight back to Kennedy atop a modified 747.

Source and Photo: NASA