2007-09-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

NEW ERA AIRBUS

Airbus A380

Formerly known as the A3XX, Airbus' double-decker passenger jet the A380, will be the largest airliner ever built. Lengthwise, it would nearly stretch from goal line to goal line of a football field while its wing tips would hang well beyond the sidelines. Three full decks will run along the entire length of the plane. Upper and main decks will serve as passenger areas, and will be connected by a grand staircase near the front of the plane and by another smaller staircase at the back.Although the lower deck will be reserved primarily for cargo, it could be outfitted for special passenger uses such as sleeper cabins, business centers or even child care service. In a one-class configuration, the A380 could accommodate as many as 840 passengers. The more likely three-class configuration will still offer an unprecedented 555 passenger seats. Either way, the A380 would offer 30% - 50% more seating than its direct competition, the Boeing 747-400.Although the A380 will be able to fly a distance of over 10,000 miles, the plane's usefulness will not be limited to long-haul flights. For instance, many flights within Japan are among the highest in passenger capacity and would be well suited for A380 service, despite their short distances. Whatever the flight distance, a new breed of engines will be required to lift the plane's 1.2 million pounds into the air. Rolls Royce and GE/Pratt & Whitney are both working on engines to provide thrust that will max out at 75,000 pounds. By comparison, the first American jet airliner in service, the Boeing 707, was powered by only 10,000 pounds of thrust.

LOCKHEED MARTIN F-16 FIGHTING FALCON HISTORY & FACTS

Mission The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a compact, multi-role fighter aircraft. It is highly maneuverable and has proven itself in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. It provides a relatively low-cost, high-performance weapon system for the United States and allied nations. Features In an air combat role, the F-16's maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions. In designing the F-16, advanced aerospace science and proven reliable systems from other aircraft such as the F-15 and F-111 were selected. These were combined to simplify the airplane and reduce its size, purchase price, maintenance costs and weight. The light weight of the fuselage is achieved without reducing its strength. With a full load of internal fuel, the F-16 can withstand up to nine G's -- nine times the force of gravity -- which exceeds the capability of other current fighter aircraft.

Apache-Helicopter

When a battle is unfolding, it is important to hit hard and disrupt the enemy's forces. The helicopter is the knight in shining armor to ground troops who need the flexibility and striking power of their own aircraft overhead, and the AH-64 Apache is the champion of battlefield helicopters.
Apache history was made 25 years ago when the first prototype--known as the YAH-64--lifted off on September 30, 1975, from test facilities in Carlsbad, California. The twin-engine, T-tailed attack helicopter was developed for the U.S. Army by Hughes Helicopters, today a part of the Boeing Company. The torch was passed from the YAH-64 to the AH-64A Apache to today's AH-64D Apache Longbow. The T-tail is gone and the aircraft's fully integrated avionics and weapons system have given today's Apache Longbow a digital capability that would have been hard to imagine in 1975.
The Apache uses electronic wizardry to find its way and to aim its high-tech missiles and cannon. The two pilots of the slender, mantis-like Apache can hug the earth when they need to or use night-vision equipment and high-tech sensors to navigate through smoke and rough weather to seek out enemy troops and tanks.
Assisted by observation helicopters and staying in close contact with troops on the ground, the Apache can shoot with remarkable accuracy from a greater distance than most other combat helicopters. With its speed, durability and accuracy, the Apache adds a new dimension to the ground commander's responsibility of outsmarting and outfighting his adversary.
There are three variants the Apache: the original AH-64A, the next-generation AH-64D, and the radar-equipped AH-64D called the AH-64 Apache Longbow. The Apache Longbow is the newest Apache version. The Longbow version is 28 times more effective than the original. More than 1,100 Apaches have been delivered to customers around the world since it went into production in the 1980s. Boeing has announced a commitment to deliver 1000 more in the next decade. The Apache has accumulated more than 1.5 million flight hours since the first prototype flew in 1975.
Dc-9_2

The Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engined jet airliner, first manufactured in 1965 and, in much modified form and under a succession of different names, still in production today as the Boeing 717.
Douglas launched the DC-9 development project in April 1963, intending the DC-9 as a short-range companion to their larger four engined DC-8. Unlike the competing but slightly larger Boeing 727, which used as many 707 components as possible, the DC-9 was an all-new design, using two rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney JT8D fanjet engines, a small, highly efficient wing, and a T-tail. The original version had five abreast seating for 70 to 90.
The DC-9 prototype flew in February 1965 and entered service with Delta Air Lines in December of that year. It was an immediate commercial success, and 976 were built by Douglas who then merged with McDonnell Douglas (MDC). In 1983 the world saw the advent of the DC-9-80 series (MD-80) which was a lengthened DC-9-50 with a higher MTOW ( maximum take-off weight ) and the ability to carry more fuel. The MD-80 was then developed into the MD-90 family. The MD-90 sports IAE V2500 engines and a glass cockpit as the MD-88 does. The last variant of the family was the MD-95, which is now marketed as the Boeing 717-200, in light of the merge between MDC and Boeing in 1997.
With total sales of over 2400 units, the long-lived DC-9 family is one of the most successful jet airliners ever made, ranking third behind the Boeing 737 (over 5100) and Airbus A320 family (just under 3000).
AirTran's Fleet of DC-9s and 737 Aircraft:The World's Most Durable Aircraft...
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and the Boeing 737 aircraft have proven themselves to be among the most durable and reliable jet aircraft ever built. Referred to as the "workhorses" of the aviation industry, the DC-9 and 737 continue to be the world's most reliable aircraft, as evidence by AirTran's strong on-time, completion and dispatch reliability figures. A few facts about the DC-9 and 737:

NEW ERA AIRPLANES