Civil

“We removed all Russian flights as a consequence of the War in Ukraine,” Philipp Schaer, MiGFlug founder.

MiGFlug, the famous company that offers jet rides, canceled planned flights in Russia and removed all Russia-based flights from its platform.

“We removed all Russian flights as a consequence of the War in Ukraine,” said Philipp Schaer, one of the company founders along with Flavio Kaufmann.

“We did not only offer jet flights in Russia for 18 years, it was also where our company started,” he said.

The idea of fighter jet rides started with the end of the Cold War and the downsizing of military services and air forces due to strained public finances in the former Eastern Block – the former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe.

At that time, many former Warsaw Pact military aircraft appeared in the West or on the market for sale. One of the reasons was a lack of state control in the Eastern Block countries in the years after 1991 – or 1989, respectively.

This led to a lack of control and chaos.

Given the huge amount of military hardware that these countries owned, including nuclear weapons, this was a very dangerous situation. Corruption and unscrupulousness were widespread, things just “vanished.”

A former Swiss pilot who made a fortune by buying Aero L-39 Albatros jets and selling them in the west, mainly in the US, told MiGFlug: “In some countries those who were in the positions were just trying to earn something from the diminishing stock of military equipment. In the Ukraine for example you could give them a waggon full of potatoes, they would give you an L-39 in exchange.”

The idea of MiGFlug came about when Schaer and Kaufmann were travelling through Eastern Europe during their University years. One epic night in a Moscow dive bar, they met a Russian military pilot and convinced him to take them for a fighter jet flight. Despite the question was meant as a joke, one of the upcoming days, the pilot smuggled them into a Russian Air Force training airbase and took them on an Aero L-39 Albatros flight.

As unbelievable as it may sound, this is how the company was born. MiGFlug [the name of the company was obtained by merging the words MiG (for the legendary Soviet fighter jets) and Flug (that means flight in German)] was founded in 2004 in Zurich, Switzerland.

Following this first unforgettable flight, Schaer and Kaufmann navigated the complex Russian military administration to make the experience available to other aviation enthusiasts.

Surprisingly jets were made available for civilian fighter jet rides by Russia’s state operators. The jets made available included modern fighter jets of the 4th generation, such as the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker, Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrum and MiG-31 Foxhound. In fact, because of the huge 1997 financial crisis, Russians tried to earn some hard currency from everything they had and these incredible Russian fighter jets were suddenly made available for fighter jet rides even to US tourists.

Flights took place from Zhukovsky airbase, where the MAKS airshow takes place. Other supersonic jets available for flights at this time included the MiG-23 Flogger and the MiG-25 Foxbat. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, flights were still available today, even though Zhukovsky had been closed for civilian supersonic jet rides in 2006. Additional flights were available from Sokol airbase in Nizhny Novgorod. MiGFlug was also the first company to offer MiG-29 supersonic flights as well as Edge of Space flights there.

And as demand for flights grew, MiGFlug expanded and now offers fighter jet flights across the world (CLICK HERE for overview of fighter jet flights currently available).

But now all Jet Rides in Russia are canceled.

‘It is coming to an end due to this tragic and unnecessary war,’ the company said on its Facebook page. ‘Any profits generated from flights in Russia in the last two years will be used to support Ukraine. We are currently looking for the most effective way to help. If you have a suggestion, please share it in the comments!’

Photo by: MiGFlug

The Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest plane ever built, was destroyed at Hostomel airport during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Posted by Dmitri Alperovitch on Twitter, the sad photos in this post show the remains of the Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest plane ever built, destroyed on Feb. 27, 2022 at Hostomel airport.

The remains of Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest and heaviest lift aircraft ever operated. Destroyed during Russian assault on Antonov airport on Feb 24, 2022

Another photo of the magnificent plane in flight. RIP pic.twitter.com/LgIMwvJm2E

— Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch) March 4, 2022

The following video instead was posted on Twitter by Aldin and comes from Russian state TV report from Gostomel Airport, Ukraine showing the wreckage of the An-225.

Russian State TV report from Gostomel Airport in Kyiv. Sadly An-225 completely destroyed. pic.twitter.com/9kN04Gkz91

— Aldin 🇧🇦 (@aldin_ww) March 4, 2022

Ukrainian Government confirmed via Twitter on Sunday that the Antonov AN-225 “Mriya” (The Dream) had been destroyed.

The news was first reported by our friends at Horizon.mt on their Facebook page, that on Feb. 27 wrote;

‘As fighting continues between Ukrainian and Russian Military Forces, it seems that the life of the Antonov An-225 Mirya aircraft has come to a sad end when its hangar was hit a few minutes ago at Antonov/Gostomel/Hostomel Airport. The Antonov Company via Twitter confirmed on February 25th that the aircraft was parked at Gostomel Airport and was still intact.

‘While this day will be marked in history for the loss of this aircraft iconic aircraft, we cannot forget the pain, sadness and loss of life due to this conflict.’

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It was powered by six turbofan engines and was the heaviest aircraft ever built. It also had the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built had the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994 because of lack of funding and interest, but revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60–70% completion. On Aug. 30, 2016, Antonov agreed to complete the second airframe for Airspace Industry Corporation of China (not to be confused with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China) as a prelude to commencing series production.

The Antonov An-225 was an enlargement of the successful Antonov An-124 that was initially developed for transporting the Buran spaceplane. The only An-225 airplane was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and re-introduced, and was in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads. The airlifter held the absolute world records for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kilograms (418,830 pounds), and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It had also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.

H/T: Christian Nentwig

Photo by: Dmitri Alperovitch Twitter Profile

Video: Russian state TV via Aldin Twitter Profile

Ukrainian Government confirmed via Twitter that the Antonov An-225 “Mriya” has been destroyed

Ukrainian Government confirmed via Twitter that the Antonov AN-225 “Mriya” (The Dream) has been destroyed.

‘The biggest plane in the world “Mriya” (The Dream) was destroyed by Russian occupants on an airfield near Kyiv. We will rebuild the plane. We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine.’

 

The biggest plane in the world “Mriya” (The Dream) was destroyed by Russian occupants on an airfield near Kyiv. We will rebuild the plane. We will fulfill our dream of a strong, free, and democratic Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Gy6DN8E1VR

— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 27, 2022

The news was first reported by our friends at Horizon.mt on their Facebook page, that earlier today wrote;

‘As fighting continues between Ukrainian and Russian Military Forces, it seems that the life of the Antonov An-225 Mirya aircraft has come to a sad end when its hangar was hit a few minutes ago at Antonov/Gostomel/Hostomel Airport. The Antonov Company via Twitter confirmed on February 25th that the aircraft was parked at Gostomel Airport and was still intact on Friday.

‘The first picture [below], taken a few minutes after the event most likely from a drone, shows the hanger on fire after being hit by a rocket or missile.

‘While this day will be marked in history for the loss of this aircraft iconic aircraft, we cannot forget the pain, sadness and loss of life due to this conflict.’

According to Traveller, the airport has been targeted by Russian military and some reports say it is under their control, others that the aircraft was destroyed in the fighting, and still others reporting that the airbase has been recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

Gostomel/Hostomel is known as Antonov Airport as it was built by the aircraft manufacturer and is used as a test site.

Gostomel/Hostomel was also home of the world’s largest and heaviest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya. On Feb. 24, various media outlets and social media accounts reported that the massive cargo aircraft was destroyed when the hangar housing it caught fire.

But on the same day in the afternoon Dmitry Antonov, chief pilot of Antonov Airlines, said the An-225 was whole. A claime he confirmed again today in the afternoon on his Facebook account.

But now the Ukrainian Government statement leaves no room for doubts: the Mriya has been destroyed.

Photo by: Ukrainian Government and @canada_osint via Twitter via Horizon Facebook Page

The Antonov An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest aircraft might have become a casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ‘dream’ or ‘inspiration’; NATO reporting name: Cossack), the world’s largest aircraft might have become a casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Traveller reports.

A claim confirmed by our friends at Horizon.mt that along with the photos featured in this post written on their Facebook page;

‘As fighting continues between Ukrainian and Russian Military Forces, it seems that the life of the Antonov An-225 Mirya aircraft has come to a sad end when its hangar was hit a few minutes ago at Antonov/Gostomel/Hostomel Airport. The Antonov Company via Twitter confirmed on February 25th that the aircraft was parked at Gostomel Airport and was still intact on Friday.

‘The first picture [below], taken a few minutes after the event most likely from a drone, shows the hanger on fire after being hit by a rocket or missile.

‘While this day will be marked in history for the loss of this aircraft iconic aircraft, we cannot forget the pain, sadness and loss of life due to this conflict.’

According to Traveller, the airport has been targeted by Russian military and some reports say it is under their control, others that the aircraft was destroyed in the fighting, and still others reporting that the airbase has been recaptured by Ukrainian forces.

Gostomel/Hostomel is known as Antonov Airport as it was built by the aircraft manufacturer and is used as a test site.

Gostomel/Hostomel is also home of the world’s largest and heaviest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya. On Feb. 24, 2022 various media outlets and social media accounts reported that the massive cargo aircraft was destroyed when the hangar housing it caught fire.

But in the afternoon of the same day, Dmitry Antonov, chief pilot of Antonov Airlines, owner of the An-225, assured that the Mriya was intact with a post on his Facebook account.

Today instead Antonov wrote:

Friends! There is a full scale war going on. The Ukrainian people are fighting fiercely. Kyiv is repelling the attacks of subversive groups for the third day. Around Kyiv, regular troops of Russia, Chechen detachments. Flying ballistic and cruise missiles in residential buildings. Every night they land troops. Armed Smly Ukraine successfully crush this horde. Belarusian troops enter Ukraine. Hard. But we’ll manage. Victory will be ours. Glory to the Armed Forces. Glory to Ukraine.nP.S. There are many rumors about Mriya’s condition. Until there is reliable information, we do not believe in anything.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built. It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994 because of lack of funding and interest, but revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60–70% completion. On Aug. 30, 2016, Antonov agreed to complete the second airframe for Airspace Industry Corporation of China (not to be confused with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China) as a prelude to commencing series production.

The Antonov An-225 was an enlargement of the successful Antonov An-124 that was initially developed for transporting the Buran spaceplane. The only An-225 airplane was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and re-introduced, and is in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads. The airlifter holds the absolute world record for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kilograms (418,830 pounds), and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It has also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.

Stay tuned for additional updates if further details on this story had to come to light!

Photo by: @canada_osint via Twitter via Horizon.mt Facebook Page

The NATO Strategic AirLift International Solution (SALIS) is based at Hostomel too.

In the framework of the invasion carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government, a confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian troops took place at Hostomel airport in the vicinity of Kiev.

According to The New York Times, at least a half dozen Russian helicopters were spotted flying west over the Dnieper River toward Hostomel, a town on the outskirts of the city. The helicopters also attacked Hostomel’s airport and at least one of those helicopters appears to have been shot down by Ukraine’s armed forces.

Hostomel is known as Antonov Airport as it was built by the aircraft manufacturer and is used as a test site.

As reported by Aviacionline.com, Hostomel is also home to the world’s largest and heaviest aircraft, the Antonov AN-225 Mriya. Various media outlets and social media accounts have reported that the massive cargo aircraft was destroyed when the hangar housing it caught fire.

But in the afternoon of Feb. 24, 2022, Dmitro Antonov, chief pilot of Antonov Airlines, owner of the AN-225, assured that the Mriya is intact with a post on his Facebook account.

‘Dear friends. Everything fell into place. Great deception again. The Russian troops were near Kyiv. Gostomel airport is now under Russian airborne forces. Large planes big possibility will land tonight. From the positive Mriya is whole. We hold on and Glory to Ukraine,’ Antonov said.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ‘dream’ or ‘inspiration’; NATO reporting name: Cossack) is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the heaviest aircraft ever built. It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration number UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994 because of lack of funding and interest, but revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60–70% completion. On Aug. 30, 2016, Antonov agreed to complete the second airframe for the Airspace Industry Corporation of China (not to be confused with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China) as a prelude to commencing series production.

The Antonov An-225 was an enlargement of the successful Antonov An-124 that was initially developed for transporting the Buran spaceplane. The only An-225 airplane was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and re-introduced, and is in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads. The airlifter holds the absolute world record for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kilograms (418,830 pounds), and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It has also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.

Moreover, the NATO Strategic AirLift International Solution (SALIS) is based at Hostomel too. SALIS is a program created to provide unique air transport capability (outsized cargo) for its participating nations. Currently, a group of nine NATO Allies (Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) are benefiting from the program.

The program is managed by the NATO Support Procurement Agency (NSPA) on behalf of the nine nations. In December 2018, NSPA signed a contract with the German-based company Antonov Logistics Salis to obtain assured access to up to five AN-124 aircraft within a few days. In addition, the current contract also provides access to AN-22, AN-225, and IL-76 Chap IV aircraft.

H/T Earl Belz

Photo by: Vasiliy Koba and Oleg Belyakov via Wikipedia

‘I have a Concorde operating westbound on a conflicting route with you at 60,000ft. I need a 4,000ft vertical separation. Do I have it?’ Pete Clarke, former air traffic controller.

The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde was a British-French supersonic passenger jet airliner. It had a maximum speed of Mach 2.04 (1,354 mph or 2,180 km/h at cruise altitude, over twice the speed of sound), with seating for 92 to 128 passengers. The aircraft entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years.

Air France (AF) and British Airways (BA) were the only airlines to purchase and fly Concorde.

The aircraft flew at a cruising altitude of 60,000 ft., from where passengers could see the curvature of the Earth. According to Aerotime.aero, in the same altitude bracket, flew the US Air Force (USAF) SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. During the Cold War, pilots of the Concorde were asking air traffic control to move the SR-71 out of its way so it could proceed to New York’s JF as well as other destinations.

Pete Clarke, former air traffic controller (ATC) remembers an interesting story that appeared on ATC History titled Concorde in conflict with an SR-71 Blackbird;

‘If you type the above subject into your internet search it comes up with stories referring to a possible conflict between an Air France Concorde and an SR-71 which many doubt actually happened.

‘The following DID happen as I was the controller.

‘I have read an account from a Concorde captain on the BBC News site a few years ago who was being interviewed about Concorde after it had been taken out of service. He narrated this story as it was unique for it to be suggested Concorde could possibly be in conflict at the altitude it cruised.

‘There is also a documentary that has appeared on the “Quest” TV channel about the SR-71 Blackbird during which one captain relates this story from his perspective.

‘Here is my version.’

Flying between 55,000 to 60,000ft Concorde was above the subsonic jet aircraft. It was given this vertical profile of 5,000ft as the actual altitude the Concorde would level off at depended on the actual temperature on the day. This temperature could also vary during the crossing so the aircraft would adjust altitude accordingly. One or 2 executive jet aircraft could possibly reach 43,000ft on a good day but they were still not a problem to Concorde. On one particular day, however, I did control another aircraft that could more than match Concorde both in speed and altitude, the American military SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ spy plane. Sometimes military aircraft crossing the Atlantic would have a reserved route kept clear for them in order for formations of jets to refuel en route, as necessary, from an accompanying tanker.

The SR-71 had more than sufficient range for the crossing and was operating solo. Although we would control many American subsonic aircraft like the C-141 or C-17 heavy cargo aircraft or maybe even troop carriers on our Track system they would not communicate with our HF radio station near Shannon. Instead, they would use an American military HF radio station (Croughton) in Oxfordshire. Like most military units they had a regular change of staff so, generally, the radio operators had very limited experience of the operations they were handling. Keep it simple for them and it was OK. Anything out of the ordinary and it caused much confusion.

I was controlling a westbound Concorde just entering my airspace when I received details of an SR-71 coming eastbound on a route that would conflict with Concorde. The SR-71 did not always fly supersonically, it was doing less than Mach 1 on this day, but it was still at a very high altitude. I had been told it was “above 600”, i.e. above 60,000ft. Concorde was operating up to 60,000ft and the vertical separation standard at that altitude was 4,000ft.

I sent a message to the American radio operator to ask for the exact altitude of the SR-71. A few minutes later the answer came back, “Above 600.”

I telephoned the radio operator explaining I needed the exact altitude. The radio operator’s response was, “I’ll patch you through.” The operator had a facility to operate a 2-way switch on the radio. Push it one way and you could transmit over the telephone, switch it the other way to receive. At the end of each transmission, you had to remember to say “Over’ in order for the radio operator to know when to flick the switch.

I was now talking directly to the pilot of the SR-71. “This is the Shanwick controller, confirm your altitude. Over.”

SR-71, “We are above 600. Over”

Me, “I need to know your exact altitude. Over”

SR-71, “Above 600. Over”.

Me, “Am I to understand you are unable to give me your exact altitude? Over”

SR-71, “Affirmative. Over”

(These aircraft had a stealth capability and could fly at very, very high altitudes, often above 70,000ft. They did not, however, want anyone to know exactly at what altitude they were flying so would switch off their radio signal that would indicate altitude to a radar operator once they climbed.)

Me, “OK, I have a Concorde operating westbound on a conflicting route with you at 60,000ft. I need a 4,000ft vertical separation. Do I have it? Over”

SR-71, “You sure have.”

Me, “That’s all I need to know. Thanks. Out”

Just another little moment to brighten my day.

For more posts containing documents and photographic collections of UK Air Traffic Control check out ATC History.

Photo by: U.S. Air Force, Arthur Gibson, Spaceaero2 via Wikipedia and Adrian Meredith / Crown Copyright

The best way to describe the fundamental differences between Boeing and Airbus is to compare its two short-haul airliners, the A320 and Boeing 737.

The main difference between Airbus and Boeing has historically been their design philosophy. This really comes down to differences in how the aircraft is operated by the pilots, something which goes unnoticed by the passengers.

According to Flight Deck Friend, the best way to describe the fundamental differences between Boeing and Airbus is to compare its two short-haul airliners, the A320 and Boeing 737 because they are the most widely used short-haul aircraft by airlines around the world by some margin.

How do they compare to each other?

‘It’s a heated debate usually between two people who have not flown both,’ says Randy Duncan, Boeing 737 pilot, on Quora.

‘The Airbus people say their system lowers pilot workload and improves their situational awareness because it allows them to focus on the conduct of the flight at a higher level rather than worrying about flight dynamics.

‘The Boeing people say they don’t want some “damn computer” flying the airplane and that they have full control of the airplane and can roll it upside down if they needed to.

‘A320 overhead panel. I don’t know how it works but it looks well designed.

‘A 737 overhead panel. I do know how this one works but the layout is complex and can get confusing.’

Duncan continues;

‘I fly a 737 which has no stability augmentation except in the yaw axis. I hear a lot of Boeing pilots complaining about Fly By Wire. The ones with the strongest opinions have never flown an Airbus.

‘Boeing does have Fly by Wire in their widebody aircraft. The design philosophy is slightly different but there’s still a microprocessor that makes dynamic decisions about control deflection.

‘Personally, I like my little 737 and I enjoy flying it. I would love to fly an Airbus but not enough to go through a training cycle to do it. When I’ve ridden in the jumpseat of an Airbus, I’m pretty much lost. I wouldn’t know how to start the engines and the procedures are foreign to me.

‘The Airbus cockpit looks spacious and well-designed compared to the cramped quarters in a 737. I particularly like the Airbus jumpseat. The 737 jumpseat is an ironing board type of thing that folds out of the wall and the legroom makes a coach seat seem like a luxury. It would be an engineering challenge to make it less comfortable. The 737 layout is very old and although it has had a lot of avionics, engine, and wing updates, it still feels dated. That said, the 737 is very, very reliable. It’s very rare that we can’t dispatch the airplane. That wasn’t true of the older models.’

Duncan concludes;

‘I don’t really know which airplane is superior. Both companies are great at designing and building airplanes. The philosophy may be different in terms of controls and layout but both deliver a safe and reliable product.’

Photo by Bill Larkins via Wikipedia

A mid-eastern royal, a Russian oligarch, and a broker tried to convert three Airbus A380 airliners into business jets, but their projects were scrapped.

The Airbus A380 was developed to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747. Studies for what was to become the A3XX project were started by Airbus in 1988. The A3XX was announced in 1990 and presented in 1994. They would invest a staggering €9.5 billion in the project, which was launched on Dec. 19, 2000.

The first prototype was unveiled in Toulouse on Jan. 18, 2005, and performed its maiden flight on Apr. 27 of that year. Delivery to launch customer Singapore Airlines took place on Oct. 15, 2007, and it entered service ten days later.

Featuring two full-length decks with wide-body dimensions, the A380 has a maximum takeoff weight of 575 tonnes (about five blue whales!), it has 40% more usable space than the Boeing 747 and can provide seating from 525 to 853 passengers.

All these features made the A380 the largest passenger airliner in the world.

Did anyone use the A380 as a business jet?

‘No,’ Howard Freidman, Managing Director at BluechipJets.com, says on Quora.

‘A mid-eastern royal ordered one; the position was subsequently sold to a Russian oligarch. Airbus later canceled the contract, because (I hear) the engineering was too extensive, which makes sense because everything would be one-off. I can’t adequately describe how eye-wateringly expensive one-off aircraft alterations are. For example, on a heavy business jet, replacing two club seats like the ones below:

‘With a divan like this:

‘Will cost around $250,000.

‘That’s for a relatively simple configuration change that’s done all the time, involving less than a quarter of a 350 square-foot cabin. Imagine custom engineering every aspect of a 6,500-square-foot cabin.

‘In 2019 a broker we know well brought two A380s to market for VIP conversion. A buyer placed a LOI to purchase one, provisional on the engineering study for conversion and completion. The deal never closed, and eventually, those two aircraft were parted out.’

Why so expensive?

‘Low volume, insane regulatory requirements including certification of materials and process, and one-off tasks. Weight distribution for the center of gravity, structural integrity, oxygen, custom fabrication, replacing expensive things like $500/yard carpeting, and nature of the market.’

Freidman concludes;

‘For example, this Safran (best known for jet engines) aircraft espresso maker costs $30,000.’

Photo by Private Jet Charter and User:Keta via Wikipedia

‘I realized that Minneapolis/St. Paul airport was shut down on that day due to heavy snow, and further found out that MSP is not an A380 Airport…’

The Airbus A380 was developed to challenge the dominance of the Boeing 747. Studies for what was to become the A3XX project were started by Airbus in 1988. The A3XX was announced in 1990 and presented in 1994. They would invest a staggering €9.5 billion in the project, which was launched on Dec. 19, 2000.

The first prototype was unveiled in Toulouse on Jan. 18, 2005, and performed its maiden flight on Apr. 27 of that year. Delivery to launch customer Singapore Airlines took place on Oct. 15, 2007, and it entered service ten days later.

Featuring two full-length decks with wide-body dimensions, the A380 has a maximum takeoff weight of 575 tonnes (about five blue whales!), it has 40% more usable space than the Boeing 747 and can provide seating from 525 to 853 passengers.

All these features made of the A380 the largest passenger airliner in the world and when launched, airports had to upgrade their facilities to accommodate the giant.

Given its hugeness, can an A380 divert to an airport not suited to accommodate it?

‘It was December 29th, 2017, we were flying from San Francisco to Frankfurt on LH 455, an A380 aircraft,’ Shekar Chandrasekaran, an aviation expert, says recalls on Quora. ‘Right after meal service, I found a group of people congregating adjacent to my seat, along with flight attendants; quickly I realized the crew discovered that an old lady seated in the middle set of seats had suffered a stroke and she needed medical attention.

‘The plane was just crossing the US-Canadian Border, and the Captain came on the PA system to announce that he is redirecting the airplane to Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, due to a medical emergency of a passenger.

‘The first order of business was to dump fuel to get to landing weight, and therefore the plane flew in circles while dumping quite a bit of fuel. A half-hour later, the plane landed on an absolutely snow-covered runway at MSP airport. I realized that MSP airport was shut down on that day due to heavy snow, and further found out that MSP is not an A380 Airport. [Of course, it could handle 747s]. Therefore, no gate was allocated, but stayed on the taxi way, Emergency Medivacs came on board, lifted the passenger, and was safely transported to the hospital.

‘Now came the issue. The Airplane needed to refuel again, and the biggest issue was the airport did not have the right set of system and practice to fuel an A380. Captain and the ground staff kept working with Captain. Almost 90 minutes later, they somehow got the required fuel, and we got to finally take off 2 hours and 30 minutes later. Essentially, 30 minutes of fuel-dumping, 30 minutes to evacuate the passenger, and what should have been a 30-minute refueling, it took 2 hours to get the plane moving.’

Chandrasekaran concludes;

‘We were late to Frankfurt by 3+ hours and missed our connection. [Of course, Lufthansa rearranged the connections upon our arrival at Frankfurt; we finally reached our destination several hours later]. Never felt bad about the delay, but only wanted to know that the evacuated passenger is safe and will enjoy her life for many more years to come.

‘[Gave me the confidence that I can travel Lufthansa anytime; they paid more attention to passenger’s health than flight delays, related compensation, and cost of fuel, etc..].’

Photo by Vuxi Own work via Wikipedia

QRA launches were frequent to intercept Argentinian Boeing 707 or Lockheed Electra Elint aircraft, however, sometimes other aircraft blundered into the Falkland Island Control Zone…

First flown in November 1985, and in training use with No 229 OCU at Coningsby from July 1986, the Tornado F3 entered Squadron service (No 29 Squadron RAF Coningsby) in April 1987, that squadron being declared NATO operational in November 1987 after the usual ‘working up’ period to refine tactics, etc. The Tornado successively replaced the Lightning and Phantom squadrons in the air defense role.

As told by Michael Napier in his book RAF Tornado Units in Combat 1992-2019, in July 1992, four Tornado F3s deployed to Mount Pleasant airfield on the Falkland Islands via Ascension Island as replacements for the soon-to-be-retired Phantom FGR2s of No 1435 Flight, which had responsibility for the air defense of the Islands. The personnel for No 1435 Flight was seconded to Mount Pleasant from other Tornado F3 units, with groundcrew undertaking a four-month tour and aircrew completing a five-week tour of dut

Two fully armed aircraft were kept at Readiness 10 (RS10) continuously for 365 days a year, with another crew at RS30. The QRA aircraft were supported by a VC10K tanker. Each Tornado crew worked a ten-day cycle throughout their deployment of alternating 24-hour QRA shifts and days flying training flights in the two non-QRA aircraft, followed by a day off. Sometimes, all four aircraft would be flown together. On these occasions, all four would be armed in the QRA weapons fit, and the first two to land would be refueled and placed on RS10, whilst the other two would sit ‘airborne QRA’ with a tanker in support.

QRA launches were frequent to intercept Argentinian Boeing 707 or Lockheed Electra Electronic Intelligence (Elint) aircraft, although they invariably remained outside the Falkland Island Control Zone (FICZ). However, sometimes other aircraft blundered into the FICZ, including a USAF WC-135 weather reconnaissance jet that was intercepted on May 25, 1993. During the afternoon of Jan. 19, 1999, Flt Lt R A Macintyre was called to cockpit readiness;

‘Having finished strapping in, I contacted Ops via the aircraft telebrief for a situation report. We were told an unidentified track was heading toward the Zone from the North. It was very high (66,000 ft) and doing Mach 1.6, but was following an upper air route. We were instructed to standby for further. We remained at the cockpit ready for about ten minutes, during which time I considered what type of aircraft this could be, and how we were going to try and intercept it. Then a thought occurred to me, but I discounted it, thinking Ops couldn’t have made such a silly mistake.

‘We were told to revert to RS10. I asked what had happened, but was told Ops would call on the secure landline. Back in the Flight, I answered the phone and immediately said, “That was Concorde, wasn’t it?” “How did you know?” was the reply. “Because there was an article about a South American tour in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph!” “Oh” was the embarrassed response.’

The Air France Concorde had been routing from Buenos Aries to Ushuaia, on Tierra Del Fuego.

RAF Tornado Units in Combat 1992-2019 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by Adrian Meredith / Crown Copyright and Mike Freer – Touchdown-aviation via Wikipedia