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November 17, 2009

Happy Design makes your aircraft stand out in a crowd

By Thierry Dubois

Didier Wolff, owner and sole employee of the Happy Design Studio from Strasbourg, France, is here in Dubai promoting his skills in designing original aircraft liveries and hoping to find his first customers in the region.

“For a long time, refrigerators could be found only in white,” Wolff pointed out to AIN, reasoning that aircraft–especially business jet–owne more

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Horizon Flight on the prowl for opportunities

By Ian Sheppard

Al Ain-based Horizon International Flight Academy, which has assembled a fleet of nearly 30 aircraft since it was established in 2002, is looking for growth opportunities. General manager Mohammed Al Zaabi told AIN that Horizon established a second training center to north of Dubai with the signing of a contract with the Umm Al Quwain emirate in September 2008 and that it is “op more

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UAVs, network-centric ops top talk at air chiefs meeting

By Chris Pocock

The movers and shakers of the airpower world were out in force here Saturday for the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference. Organized by the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis–the UAE-based think tank–the conference featured presentations from nine air force commanders or their deputies.

Gen. Norton Schwarz, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, described the more

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News Clips from Dubai 2009

Jet Aviation Joins JSSI’s Network of Mx Providers
Jet Aviation of Basel, Switzerland, has signed a service agreement with Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) to provide maintenance and supply spare parts to JSSI and its clients. Independently owned JSSI provides hourly cost maintenance programs for aircraft engines and airframes. Jet Aviation, which is owned by General Dynami more

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P&W gearing up on new engine

By Ian Sheppard

While focused on delivering geared turbofan (GTF) engines for the new Mitsubishi MRJ and Bombardier C Series, Pratt & Whitney is turning its attention to the wider applications of a technology that offers a 12- to 15-percent improvement in fuel burn by allowing the engine fan and low-pressure turbine to operate at optimum speeds.

Robert Keady, senior v-p sales P&W Commercial Eng more

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UAE companies partner on humanitarian cargo effort

By Chad Trautvetter

Maximus Air Cargo announced yesterday that it is joining forces with Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Airports Co. (ADAC) to launch “Care By Air,” a humanitarian effort that will provide cargo space at cost for relief aid to disaster-stricken areas of the world. Supporting members include the United Arab Emirates’ Red Crescent and the United Nations World Food Program, and more are expected to j more

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Mantis looks forward to Spiral 2 trials

By David Donald

Last weekend BAE Systems concluded the first flight trial campaign of its Mantis UAV, the world’s first twin-engine autonomous large UAV. Although the UK Ministry of Defence remains coy about details, AIN understands that the first flight was on October 21, and that the aircraft flew five times. With initial flight trials successfully completed, the Mantis industrial team and th more

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Next stop for exhibitors: Singapore Airshow

By Charles Alcock

Next stop for many Dubai exhibitors will be the Singapore Airshow, which is now less than three months away–Feb. 2 to 7, 2010. About 90 percent of the 430,000 sq ft of exhibition space has been sold, with more than 800 companies booked. These companies include 62 of the top 100 global aerospace companies such as BAE Systems, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce and HEICO.

The Singapore show, held more

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Bizav in MidEast in growth mode, Cessna shows

By Ian Sheppard

Cessna has provided firm evidence that business aviation in the Middle East is still in growth mode by delivering four of its Citation business jets to customers here at the Dubai Airshow. The U.S. manufacturer also has announced a new product support initiative (see below).

Yesterday, Arab Wings of Jordan took delivery of a new Citation Sovereign, while Egyptian Aviation Academy receiv more

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Gulfstream: bizav market is ‘awakening’

By Ian Sheppard

Executives from Gulfstream Aerospace were clearly starting to relax about the economic situation at a Dubai Airshow press conference here this week. The business aircraft manufacturer is banking on an upturn to ensure that its two new jets–the G250 and G650–prove real winners. Both aircraft have been rolled out in recent weeks and are being prepared for their first flights and test campaigns a more

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