Page 23 - World Airnews Magazine October Edition 2020

AIRLINES AIRCRAFT

LOOK AT THE FLYING-V DREAMLINER PROBE ALERT

FOR KENYA AIRWAYS

he aviation regulator will monitor Kenya Airways’ Boeing
T787 Dreamliner fl eet to establish compliance with safety

requirements after the US manufacturer raised concerns that have
led to the grounding of eight planes worldwide.

Boeing Company found two distinct manufacturing faults affect-

ing the fuselage of eight 787 Dreamliner jets and said the planes
must be removed from service for repair, raising concerns that
others could also be facing the same problem.

Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) director-general Gilbert

Kibe said the regulator had received communication from Boeing

and is acting on it.
“There is ongoing surveillance on the airline to determine com-
pliance,” Kibe said in response to queries from the Business Daily.

Kenya Airways operates nine of this type of aircraft, billed as
more fuel-efficient, mainly for long-haul flights and at times for the The national carrier resumed international flights early last

medium range destinations. month with about 30 destinations for the first time since the routes

Air Canada, United Airlines Holdings Inc and Singapore Airlines were suspended in March due to the pandemic.
Ltd said they each had one of the eight grounded jets. This is down from the 56 destinations it was serving prior to the

The flaws were found in the joint of sections toward the rear of outbreak of the respiratory disease in the country.
the aircraft, according to a communication from Boeing last Friday. KQ said Covid-19 had hurt demand for air travel worldwide

Delft in June 2019 at the International Air "And then, to have it confirmed that it The manufacturer said all the jets that have been grounded as a hence the need to scale down the number of routes and flight

Transport Association's annual general flies, all of that hard work, it was worth result of this fault must be inspected and repaired before they can frequencies. Q

scaled model of KLM Royal Dutch meeting in Seoul, South Korea. putting in all of the hours making sure ev- take to the skies again.

AAirlines' aircraft of the future just Airlines and aircraft manufacturers erything's correct and built properly, built KQ, as the national carrier is known by its international code, has

took flight for the first time in a milestone are looking beyond today's conventional accurately, and it pays off." been using its fleet of Boeing 787s to transport cargo to Europe PRIVATE AIRSTRIP

event for the Dutch flag carrier's push for aircraft into the designs of the future with Though not a full-size prototype, the and Asia since the Covid-19 pandemic diminished passenger travel.

more efficient and environmentally respon- the flying wing design gaining traction. scaled model proves that the aircraft is The problems, which are the second to be raised this year after LIABILITY?
aerodynamically sound and can fly as

Industry trends call for smaller and more

sible aircraft. efficient aircraft in contrast to the golden designed. It's now up to the two companies another fault was detected on a different model of Boeing planes,

adds to the succession of woes for the American manufacturer

Engineers got their first look at what age of aviation that demanded larger to build the full-size prototype that can whose main rival is European multinational Airbus SE. Insure now with

might one day by the new flagship of KLM's aircraft like the four-engine Boeing 747 hold passengers and people, an investment DJA Aviation.

Operators of the Boeing 737 New Generation aircraft were forced to

fleet recently when the futuristic-looking that was once required for non-stop long- potentially calling for billions in research inspect afresh the engines of the planes after the US aviation regulator

Flying-V demonstrator successfully took to range travel. and development. warned that they could stall mid-air after being grounded for months.

the skies above Germany. KLM said the Flying-V would have the European aircraft manufacturing giant

The remote-controlled flight was the same wingspan as an Airbus A350 aircraft, Airbus revealed its flying wing demonstra- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the planes that

culmination of two-year's work of engi- which would allow it to utilize existing tor in February at the Singapore Air show have been idle since the outbreak of the pandemic could form cor-

rosion on the air check valves, an anomaly that can lead to stalling

neers from KLM and the Delft University of airport gates and taxiways, a problem 2020, signalling its interest in the "blended

Technology, also known as TU Delft. Boeing engineers had to solve with the wing" design type as a potential direction of the two engines when the airplane is flying.

The Flying-V differs from conventional new folding wing-equipped 777X. And de- for its commercial aircraft line-up. Interior KQ has 10 Boeing 737NG - mainly used for mid-range flights such

aircraft as the fuselage and wings are spite being able to carry roughly the same renderings show parallel passenger cabins as African destinations - in its fleet of 42. The FAA safety notice will

merged to form one giant flying wing. number of passengers, the Flying-V will be that take advantage of the aircraft's width affect more than 7,000 of 737NGs planes that Boeing has delivered DJA Aviation is the longest-established aviation insurance

New long-range aircraft from Airbus and able to fly farther than the A350 with the to house additional passengers. to carriers globally. broking specialist in the South African insurance market and a

Boeing focus on efficiency through the use same fuel load. The US military has its own flying However, most conspicuous of all is the Boeing 737 Max, which market leader in developing customised insurance products for

of composites and fuel-efficient engines, Passenger cabins would likely be split be- wing, a stealth bomber known as the B-2 has been grounded since March 2019 after two crashes killed 346 the aviation industry. We employ more than 30 staff and utilise
but flying wing aircraft take efficiency tween the two legs of the V-shape fuselage Spirit that's been serving the Air Force people aboard Indonesian and Ethiopian carriers. this great depth of aviation insurance knowledge, skill and

to the next level with a radically new design while turbofan engines powering since 1993, according to Military.com. The company was forced to come up with changes to this nar- expertise to manage our clients’ aviation insurance portfolios.

aerodynamically friendly fuselage design the wing would rest on top of the fuse- Designed for speed, stealth, and range, row-body’s flight control system and they have been undergoing

that enables longer ranges and better fuel lage instead of below the wing, a rare but the B-2 Spirit can fly up to 6,000 nauti- testing by the FAA. The planes are expected to be cleared for flight

performance. proven design. cal miles, according to the US Air Force, by year-end.

Researchers said the design will reduce KLM and TU Delft engineers and re- without stopping thanks to its aerody- The reports about the Dreamliners’ defects comes at a time

fuel consumption by 20% from today's searchers headed to an airbase in neigh- namically friendly design that commercial when KQ has opened talks with its lessors to convert some of the

most advanced aircraft such as the Airbus bouring Germany for the first flight where airlines hope to one day take advantage planes to freighters as the carrier seeks to utilise the idle capacity PROUD SUPPORTER OF

THE SOUTH AFRICAN
A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner, both the scaled model was manned by a drone of, though flying passengers instead of following a sharp drop in demand for passengers. GUIDE-DOGS ASSOCIATION

of which are currently employed by Air pilot directing the aircraft via remote munitions. The company’s chief executive officer, Allan Kilavuka, said the

France-KLM, parent company to the Dutch control. KLM hasn't given a timeline as to when negotiations to allow KQ to remove seats in some of the aircraft Defining the Right Approach to Aviation Insurance
carrier and one of the largest airline groups "It's been two years of intense stressful the Flying-V can be expected, but normal and convert them into cargo transporters had already begun.
in Europe. work to reach this moment," Malcolm aircraft development can last around 10 Kilavuka said the move will help the carrier to use the large-ca- www.dja-aviation.co.za | Tel: 0800 FLYING

KLM first announced its investment in Brown, TU Delft's chief engineer for the years from the drawing board to certifi- pacity aircraft for long-haul cargo services between Africa and

designing the craft in conjunction with TU Flying-V testing programme, said. cation. Q other continents. An Authorised Financial Service Provider FSP No. 15808

World Airnews | October 2020 World Airnews | October 2020
— 20 — — 21 —