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Due to the high demand from emails about the A380 Production my main articles. We are now closing Global Aviation Express and moving to http://a380production.blogspot.com over the next month we will be moving and changing emails and URLS stay tuned for updates on http://a380production.blogspot.com

December - Airbus A380 Update

Well I have been away for around three weeks and there has been a lot of news on the production line of the A380.
First of all we have MSN015 for Qantas has been delivered. It was handed over to Qantas on the 15th December and landed in Sydney the next day.
We also have MSN021 for Singapore Airlines which made its first flight on the 10th December and is now currently in Hamburg for outfitting.
MSN022 the third A380 for Qantas will most likely be delivered on the 27th November it is seen in this photo as the A380 in the back.
MSN020 the fourth for Emirates will also most likely delivered in late December. Also MSN034 is also most likely to fly before the end of the month. In the hangers we have MSN023, MSN027 and MSN033 which there have been a few photos circulating around from early November. From my sources MSN023 and MSN033 have there engines installed and should be coming out of the hangers in late December with MSN027 in mid January.

Photo Courtesy of David Barrie

Air New Zealand A320 Crashes into Sea killing 2

Rescuers have found the body of two crew members but five others are missing after an Air New Zealand passenger jet plunged into the Mediterranean Sea off France, officials say.

The wreck of the Airbus A320 was located off the southern city of Perpignan, where it had been undergoing maintenance and from where it had taken off, but there was no sign of any of the five missing crew.

The plane was on a flight to check it was operating normally when it crashed into the sea, said officials in Perpignan.

A major rescue operation was under way, with a surveillance plane, two rescue helicopters and five ships scouring the seas around the crash site 3.5 nautical miles (2.5 kilometres) from the shore.

Today is the 29th anniversary of Air New Zealand's biggest disaster, when Flight TE901 crashed into Mt Erebus while on a scenic trip over Antarctica. All 257 people on board died.

UPDADTES TO COME

Image Courtesy of Colin Hunter

Lufthansa's Restores Starliner to be Airworthy in 2011

Lufthansa Technik is hoping to restore its Lockheed L-1649 Starliner to airworthy condition by 2011, after opening a new hangar in which the work will be performed.

The maintenance hangar at Maine's Auburn-Lewiston Airport opened on 20 November, will enable repair work to be conducted on the aircraft N7316C one of three - plus 13 engines - acquired by historic preservation specialist Deutsche Lufthansa.

Lufthansa Technik says the aircraft's primary structure will undergo "a kind of D-check" in the hangar, a thorough examination for evidence of corrosion and fatigue. Wiring and cables will be replaced and the cockpit will be fitted with necessary instrumentation.

The L-1649's characteristic tail section has been removed and transported to the company's Tulsa-based division BizJet to be renovated.

Other components - including its four engines, flaps and fairings - have already been detached from the aircraft as part of the strip-down. The powerful Curtiss-Wright engines are undergoing separate restoration.

"Together with the core team of Lufthansa Technik, 12 qualified mechanics are working on the aircraft," says the company, pointing out that it will be transformed back from cargo to passenger configuration. "The cabin will be restored to its former historic splendour."

Forty-four L-1649s were manufactured and Lufthansa operated four in long-haul service between 1958 and 1966.

A380 Update: MSN019 and MSN026 Arrive at XFW

MSN019 for Singapore Airlines and MSN026 (First Wave 2) for Qantas have arrived in XFW (Hamburg). For the first time no re wiring is needed. But will be for MSN019. Also MSN034 also for Singapore Airlines has been seen with engines on the production line. No photos as such will post as soon as some come up.

November A380 Update

There has been a lot of A380 news in the last week. First of all the first Wave 2 aircraft MSN026 for Qantas made its first flight from Toulouse. Currently there are no photos of this aircraft in the air. It will be delivered in Q1 2009.
Second Emirates third A380 A6-EDC (MSN016) will now be delivered on November 15th. Also A6-EDD (MSN020) will now be delivered on December 30th a day earlier.
Last of all the second A380 for Qantas VH-OQB (MSN015) has left the hangers in full livery and should be delivered in December.

Singapore Airlines 7th A380 MSN019 Flys

The first flight of MSN019 (F-WWSP) the seventh A380 for Singapore Airlines has been completed. It was completed on the 8th November (AEST). It is now currently in Hamburg for outfitting.
Image Courtesy of DAVID BARRIE