Boeing 787 Goes Commercial

While space junk comes down [ in the Pacific Ocean??], the Boeing 787 Dreamliner goes up and finally gets to be commercial, with September 26 the handover of the first commercial plane to All Nippon Airways of Japan.

Likely to be a short while before it is part of the day to day commercial fleet, however.

I have not checked, but would be sure there will be plenty of coverage online, including photos.

Remember......it is carbon fibre, NOT aluminium. A definite first for commercial large aircraft.

Planes Above

Darwin is an important link in many old and new air routes and aviation. A vital link between Australia and the rest of the world.

A lot of it is unseen, but pass overhead the aircraft do........with monotonous regularity.

Sometimes, especially at night you can hear aviation traffic overhead, or even see an aircraft by the moving navigation lights. Darwin is a way point, where slight adjustments to the course are made, so coming close is a regular occurrence for many commercial aviation operators.

Last night was unusual with two north bound aircraft leaving very large and conspicious con trails in the sky above Darwin, a few minutes apart. They hung in the sky for maybe 30 minutes, without dispersing, two obvious pink con trails illuminated by the setting sun.

Even captured one on camera, with the light of the rising moon.

Enjoy the view - going north. Leaving Australia.

Aeroplanes Are Coming

Two types actually, live military ones and dead big ones.

First the live military aircraft.

We are about to be subjected to a month or more of serious military aircraft flying out of Darwin. The cream of the RAAF, FA-18s, will be here for an exercise, with lots of flying out of the Darwin airport. And NOISE.

We live about 2km directly N of the end of the main runway and in the dry season do get more aircraft noise, albeit at a modest level, due to SE wind patterns during the dry season.

A short while ago............yes, the RAAF arrived! Very noisy. But it is in short bursts and a necessary evil to provide pilot training and exercises. Trouble is, this now replaces the jets of the Singapore Air Force, who also use Darwin for training purposes several times a year.

Oh well.............usually not at night, so you still get to have a good night's sleep.

The second stanza is somewhat intriguing.

Alice Springs has just received approval as only the first site outside of the USA as an "aeroplane wreckers yard" for large aircraft. It is a significant industry in itself and today they announced that Alice Springs has approval for a 100ha site - potentially holding up to several hundred aircraft, as an aircraft graveyard, adjacent to the airport site [really part of it].

Desert areas are generally preferred for these sites and Alice Springs obviously meets the criteria..........even if last year was much wetter than just about any previous year on record!

It is expected to be quite an industry development. More here-
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/26/3227852.htm

But let's wait and see when the first aircraft arrives.