The very first Boeing 747 took to the air February 9, 1969, barely four months after the airplane rolled out of its then new factory in Everett, Washington. The prototype, “Queen of the Skies,” was known by her serial number RA001. She was soon joined by additional test aircraft, all working towards the airplane’s entry-into-service in January 1970 with Pan American World Airways. Since then, over 1,500 747s have been delivered.
Joe Sutter is a giant in the history of commercial aviation. And he’s also not the least bit reserved about speaking his mind! Sutter, now in his ‘90s, graduated from the University of Washington’s College of Aeronautical Engineering in 1943. After World War II, in 1946, he joined Boeing’s aerodynamics group and was assigned to work of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a four-engine propeller passenger plane that would enter service in 1949. Sutter would go on to a life-long career with Boeing, and is famously known as “The Father of the 747.”
The iconic de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter enjoyed an initial 20-year production run before the final plane rolled off the Downsview, Ontario assembly line in 1988. It took almost another 20 years until Viking Air launched the upgraded Series 400 Twin Otter, responding to a market that couldn’t find a replacement for the legacy STOL utility plane. But Viking believes the new version has found its place.
Cascade Aerospace is leveraging its experience in the management and maintenance of the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) C-130E/H Hercules fleet into the international marketplace. The company is looking to provide comprehensive upgrades and maintenance, along with ongoing support to the "legacy" Hercules fleet. There are over 1,000 aircraft worldwide, with 800 in the U.S. forces. The remaining 200 aircraft flying with other countries will need to be modernized to continue operations beyond 2020. This represents an upgrade market worth between CA$750 million and CA$1 billion.
With the 10 July departure of Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 on its delivery flight to Auckland, the airline is anticipating a smooth entry-Into-service (EIS) for the first “stretch” Dreamliner. The 787 will flight plan with 180min extended operations (ETOPS) certification, according to Capt Dave Morgan, Air New Zealand’s chief pilot. The airline expects to eventually obtain 240min ETOPS for the 787-9, or 90min fewer than allowed by regulations
Air New Zealand is not ready to confirm if the launch of the Boeing 787-9 in commercial service will come with one of the Star Alliance carrier’s strategically viral marketing videos. When asked if a new safety video was to be premiered with the introduction of Air New Zealand’s new 787-9, chief financial officer Rob McDonald just smiled and said,“That’s something we keep under wraps.”
Air Canada “got the keys” to its very first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner early in the morning on Sunday, May 18. After a small celebration at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center near Seattle, Wash., a select group of Air Canada executives and employees boarded C-GHPQ (Fin #801), for the plane’s first flight to Canada. The trip to Air Canada’s main operational base in Toronto (YYZ) was a short three hours, 48 minutes at a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet.
Air Canada’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was introduced to the media and Air Canada’s friends, partners and Aeroplan status members at a special event in Toronto on Tuesday morning. The aircraft sat gleaming in Hanger 7 of Air Canada’s Maintenance Base at Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ). Not since the introduction of Air Canada’s first 747-100 in the early 1970s has a new aircraft type generated this level of interest and excitement.
Air Canada’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (C-GHPQ) had its initial test flight on April 22 at Paine Field (PAE), in Everett, Wash. The General Electric GEnx-1B-powered plane lifted off from Runway 16R at 4:03 p.m., in the shadow of Boeing’s massive widebody assembly plant. This initial test flight was unexpectedly short, and the plane returned to land at 4:22 p.m. The flight test crew then did a high-speed ground run northbound along Runway 34L before taxiing to the flightline ramp.
Regular Airways readers have seen our stories about the Bombardier CSeries first flight, and our tour of the Flight Test Vehicle Final Assembly Facility. The day after the events at Mirabel Airport, Bombardier invited us to their facility in St. Laurent, Quebec, not far from Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport. We were being treated to a visit at the CSeries Customer Experience Centre. Our hosts were Sam Cherry, Director, Product Strategy; Martin Gignac, Product Manager & Strategy; and Marc Duchesne, Director of Public Affairs and Communications.
