A fresh wind in Le Bourget
After a multi-year boom, aircraft manufactures have recently been in a sales lull. But the world's largest aviation fair in Le Bourget, a suburb of Paris, is supposed to change all that.
Plane art
… looks quite nice, at least on this Embraer E195-E2 prototype. But it is doubtful if it will make big waves in the mass market of commercial airlines. Despite this the Brazilian manufacturer along with Comac from China and Irkut of Russia are aiming to become real competition for giants Airbus and Boeing.
Reaching into its box of tricks
... is supposed to bring a turnaround at Airbus. Since sales of the huge A380 are slow, the European aircraft builder is experimenting with larger bent-wing ends. This will allow the new "A380plus" to use up to four percent less kerosene than current straight-wing models.
It takes two to fight
... but while Airbus and Boeing are dueling it out, there are many others just waiting to fill market niches. China, for example, just introduced its Wing Loong II drone. Unmanned drone taxis could revolutionize urban transport, according to some visions of the future.
When rumors come true
… according to gossips, Lockheed Martin, a producer of military jets, could be steps away from the biggest fighter jet order in its history. A group of eleven countires, including the US, are planning to order a total of 440 F-35 jets in three tranches. The fighter jet in our picture is hovering over the French exhibition grounds.
More complicated than it looks
... the instrument panel in this test version of Boeing’s 787-10 is a lot to take in. Boeing is expanding its range of products for long distance flights. This variation offers more room for passengers than the current models. Supposedly 149 of the planes have already been ordered; Singapore Airlines should be one of the first to take delivery in 2018.
New technologies
... are also finding their way onboard. Here, Maziar Farzam, head of the company Inhance Digital, presents his virtual reality glasses in front of a Boeing 787-10. These glasses are supposed to provide pilots with additional information. Airbus developers also hope that in the future digital technology can save 30-50 percent of plane manufacturing costs.
Not yet defect free
… the A400M military transport plane remains a problem for Airbus. This was most recently felt by German Defense Minister von der Leyen during a trip to Lithuania, when an engine failed and the plane was grounded in Kaunas.
Even the Austrians
... can build aircraft. Here is the Daimond DA42 MPP from Daimond Aircraft Industries Austria. MPP stands for Multi Purpose Platform. According to the manufacture the DA42 can be used as a sea and coastal reconnaissance plane to combat illegal fishing and piracy.