PLANES OF EARTH 20-11-08

The Honda HA-420 HondaJet The Honda Motor Company Ltd quietly developed a light corporate jet, the HA-420 HondaJet, at its aerospace research facility at Greensboro-Piedmont Triad airport, North Carolina, US. In 1986 Honda began research into compact business jets, using engines from other manufacturers. However, details of this research have never been revealed. From 1999 Honda developed its own turbofan jet engine, the HF-118, which was testflown on a Cessna Citation. This engine features a single fan, a two-stage compressor and a two-stage turbine. The wing shape of the future HondaJet was tested on a Lockheed T-33. The HA-420 HondaJet made its first flight on December 3 2003. The aircraft will undergo about 200 hours of flight testing to verify its flying characteristics and performance. of the aircraft 20-11-08

The Aerospatiale SA-341/342 Gazelle The Gazelle will be long remembered for being the first helicopter to introduce Aerospatiale's (and now Eurocopter's) trademark Fenestron shrouded tail rotor system. While civil Gazelle use is not common, many are in service as personal or corporate transports. The Gazelle however is in widespread military service throughout the world, and a large number of military variants have been developed. The Gazelle was designed by Sud as a replacement for the popular Alouette II series. Design features included the Alouette II Astazou's powerplant and transmission system and enclosing the tail rotor within the tail for safety on the ground. First flight of the original Sud SA-340 Gazelle prototype occurred on April 7 1967. This aircraft was powered by the Astazou III, which became the standard powerplant on the subsequent SA-341 production model, which flew for the first time on August 16 1971, when Sud had been merged into Aerospatiale. 20-11-08

The MD Helicopters MD-600N The MD-600N is a stretched eight seat development of the five seat MD-520N helicopter. McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MD Helicopters since 1999) first announced it was developing a stretched MD-520N in late 1994, and unveiled the first flying prototype of the new helicopter, at that time designated the MD-630N, at the Heli Expo in Las Vegas in January 1995. This prototype, a modified MD-530F, had made its first flight on November 22 1994. The MD-630N created high levels of interest at the Heli Expo and McDonnell Douglas gave the go-ahead for the production aircraft, redesignated the MD-600N, in March 1995. 20-11-08

The Airbus A300-600ST Super Transporter The A300-600ST Super Transporter was designed to replace Airbus Industrie's Super Guppy transports, used by the consortium to ferry oversize components such as wings and fuselage sections between Airbus' partners' plants throughout western Europe. Development of the A300-600ST, nicknamed Beluga and also Super Flipper, began in August 1991. The A300-600ST's tight development program - for what in many ways is effectively a new aircraft - saw the transport rolled out in June 1994, with first flight on September 13 that year. The A300-600ST then entered a 400 hour flight test program which culminated in mid 1995, with certification awarded that September and with delivery and entry into service with Airbus in January 1996. All of the first four on order had been delivered by mid 1998 20-11-08

The Douglas DC-8-60/70 The successful DC-8 Super 60 airliners are stretched developments of the DC-8 Series 50. The Super 70s are Super 60s re-engined with CFM56 high bypass turbofans. Douglas announced the DC-8 Super Sixty series in April 1965. The first, a DC-8-61, took to the skies for the first time on March 14 1966, followed by the first flights of the DC-8-62 on August 29 1966 and the DC-8-63 on April 10 1967. The DC-8-61 differed from the earlier DC-8-50 in having two fuselage plugs which increased length by 11.18m (36ft 8in), increasing max seating capacity to 259 (the largest of any single aisle airliner prior to the 757-300) and underfloor freight capacity by 80%. Intended for domestic operations, its max takeoff weight was identical to the DC-8-50. 20-11-08

PICTURURES OF PLANES 20-11-08

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