The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair

Aviation Traders developed the Carvair in response to Channel Air Bridge's requirement for an air ferry capable of transporting passengers and their cars between the United Kingdom and continental Europe.

Although its external appearance is quite different, the Carvair is a conversion of the Douglas DC-4 airliner (or C-54 Skymaster in military guise), large numbers of which were available after World War 2. The airframe from the wings rearward is that of a standard DC-4, except for a lengthened vertical tail for enhanced controllability. The major modifications performed on the forward fuselage centred on a new lengthened nose section with a hydraulically operated cargo door and an elevated flightdeck (similar in appearance to that which would appear on the Boeing 747 several years later) which allowed nose loading for cars.

First flight of the Carvair conversion was on June 21 1961, the type subsequently entering service with British United Air Ferries (into which Channel Air Bridge had been merged, it later became British Air Ferries and was known as British World Airways, which ceased trading in December 2001) in March 1962. Deliveries to other operators included three for Aer Lingus of Ireland and two for Aviaco of Spain, with other aircraft operated by French, Australian and Luxembourg carriers.

Aviation Traders also proposed a Carvair type conversion of the Douglas DC-6, DC-6B and DC-7, with the option of reengining with RollsRoyce Dart turboprops, although these plans were never carried through.

In 1998 one Carvair was operated by Hawkair Aviation in British Colombia, Canada, registered C-GAAH. Another operates from Bear Creek/Tara Field in Georgia in the USA, while a third is stored in South Africa. All are ex Ansett machines

The Air Tractor series

The Air Tractor was designed by company founder Leyland Snow who earlier designed the Snow S-2
(built by Rockwell and Ayres).

The initial Air Tractor model was the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial powered AT-301 which established
the Air Tractor series' basic configuration. First flight was in 1973, and 600 were built. The PT6
turbine powered AT-302 introduced in 1977 was replaced by the AT-402. The R-1340 powered AT-401 introduced
a greater span wing and increased chemical hopper capacity and first flew in 1986. The AT-402 is similar
other than its 505kW (680shp) PT6A turboprop engine, the AT-402B has increased span wings.

The AT-502A (first flight Feb 1992) is based in the 402B but has a far more powerful 820kW (1100shp) PT6A-45R
turbine driving a slow turning five blade prop. Its excess power reserves allow high speed or high altitude
operations. The AT-502B has Hoerner wingtips and optional equipment including GPS.

The 5.4 tonne MTOW PT6 powered AT-602 first flew on December 1 1995 and became available for delivery in the
second half of 1996.

The larger and heavier two seat AT-802 and single seat AT-802A are the largest purpose designed single engine
ag aircraft in production. First flight was in October 1990. The AT-802F is a dedicated firefighting version.

Concorde

The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde is a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport (SST).
It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and
the British Aircraft Corporation. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued for 27 years.

Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow (British Airways) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Airport (Air France) to New York JFK and Washington Dulles, flying these routes at record speeds, in less than
half the time of other airliners.

With only 20 aircraft built, the development phase represented a substantial economic loss. Additionally,
Air France and British Airways were subsidised by their governments to buy the aircraft. As a result of the
type’s only crash, (on 25 July 2000), economic effects arising from the 11 September attacks, and othe
r factors, operations ceased on 24 October 2003. The last "retirement" flight occurred on 26 November 2003.[3]

Regarded by many as an aviation icon,[4] Concorde has acquired an unusual nomenclature for an aircraft.

In common usage in the United Kingdom, the type is known as "Concorde" rather than "the Concorde" or "a Concorde"

Beluga

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter) or Beluga is a version of the standard A300-600 wide-body airliner
modified to carry aircraft parts and over-sized or awkward cargo. It was officially called the Super Transporter
at first, but the name Beluga became popular and has now been officially adopted.

Development of the A300-600ST, nicknamed Beluga and also Super Flipper, began in August 1991. The A300-600ST's
tight development program - for what in many ways is effectively a new aircraft - saw the transport rolled out
in June 1994, with first flight on September 13 that year. The A300-600ST then entered a 400 hour flight test
program which culminated in mid 1995, with certification awarded that September and with delivery and entry into
service with Airbus in January 1996. All of the first four on order had been delivered by mid 1998
(allowing the Super Guppy's retirement in October 1997).

The A300-600ST is based on the A300-600 airliner, with which it shares the wing, lower fuselage, main undercarriage
and cockpit. The main differences are obvious - a bulged main deck, new forward lower fuselage, new enlarged tail
with winglets and an upwards hinging main cargo door. A design study of a similarly configured A340,
the A340ST Mega Transporter, to carry A3XX components is underway.

Antonov An-225

Antonov An-225 "Mriya" is the world's largest aircraft. When it was built, it surpassed any airliner built before
by 50%. It was designed for the transportation of the Russian Space Shuttle "Buran" by the Antonov Design Bureau
(HQ in Kiev, Ukraine), which already had built good and large cargo aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 "Ruslan".
The basic configuration of the An-225 is the same as the An-124, except the An-225 is longer, has no rear ramp/door
assembly, and incorporates a 32-wheel landing gear system (two nose and fourteen main wheel bogies, seven per side,
each with two wheels).

An-225 "Mriya" ("Mriya" is Ukrainian word for "dream) is also capable to transport other oversized objects/cargo.
It is not a military aircraft, but it could find many military uses, because of the ability to transport cargo that
no other aircraft is capable to.

The plane had the first flight in early 1988 and entered service in 1989. It's first flight took 75 minutes.
After the cancellation of the Buran space program, the only An-225 built was stored in spring 1994, and it's
engines were used for An-124s. In 2001 the aircraft was made airworthy again, and made it's new first flight
on May 7. There were rumors that the European Space Agency had plans to launch the unmanned British HoTOL
(Horizontal Take-Off and Landing) from the An-225, though these rumors appear to be unfounded. Although,
some possibilities for deployment have already been found. Plenty of customers are to be found in the USA.
According to Bruce Bird, Director of the Charter Division of Air Foyle, parts of rocket launchers like the
Delta and Atlas could be transported in the An-225. Lockheed's planned Venture Star could be transported on its back.
Additionally the Mrija could serve as a launch platform for the X-34B. Furthermore big sections of aircraft could
be transported in it. The complete assembled fuselage of a Boeing 737 can be fitted in the hold.

A380

Airbus first began studies on a very large 500 seat airliner in the early 1990s. The European manufacturer saw developing a competitor and successor to the Boeing 747 as a strategic play to end Boeing's dominance of the very large airliner market and round out Airbus' product line-up.

Airbus began engineering development work on such an aircraft, then designated the A3XX, in June 1994. Airbus studied numerous design configurations for the A3XX and gave serious consideration to a single deck aircraft which would have seated 12 abreast and twin vertical tails. However Airbus settled upon a twin deck configuration, largely because of the significantly lighter structure required.

Key design aims include the ability to use existing airport infrastructure with little modifications to the airports, and direct operating costs per seat 15-20% less than those for the 747-400. With 49% more floor space and only 35% more seating than the previous largest aircraft, Airbus is ensuring wider seats and aisles for more passenger comfort. Using the most advanced technologies, the A380 is also designed to have 10-15% more range, lower fuel burn and emissions, and less noise.

The A380 features an advanced version of the Airbus common two crew cockpit, with pull-out keyboards for the pilots, extensive use of composite materials such as GLARE (an aluminium/glass fibre composite), and four 302 to 374kN (68,000 to 84,000lb) class Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or Engine Alliance (General Electric/Pratt & Whitney) GP7200 turbofans now under development.

Several A380 models are planned: the basic aircraft is the 555 seat A380-800 (launch customer Emirates). The 590 ton MTOW 10,410km (5620nm) A380-800F freighter will be able to carry a 150 tonne payload and is due to enter service in 2008 (launch customer FedEx). Potential future models will include the shortened, 480 seat A380-700, and the stretched, 656 seat, A380-900.

On receipt of the required 50th launch order commitment, the Airbus A3XX was renamed A380 and officially launched on December 19, 2000. In early 2001 the general configuration design was frozen, and metal cutting for the first A380 component occurred on January 23, 2002, at Nantes in France. In 2002 more than 6000 people were working on A380 development.

On January 18, 2005, the first Airbus A380 was officially revealed in a lavish ceremony, attended by 5000 invited guests including the French, German, British and Spanish president and prime ministers, representing the countries that invested heavily in the 10-year, €10 billion+ ($13 billion+) aircraft program, and the CEOs of the 14 A380 customers, who had placed firm orders for 149 aircraft by then.

The out of sequence A380 designation was chosen as the "8" represents the cross-section of the twin decks. The first flight is scheduled for March 2005, and the entry into commercial service, with Singapore Airlines, is scheduled for March 2006.

Apart from the prime contractors in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, components for the A380 airframe are also manufactured by industral partners in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. A380 final assembly is taking place in Toulouse, France, with interior fitment in Hamburg, Germany. Major A380 assemblies are transported to Toulouse by ship, barge and road.

On July 24, 2000, Emirates became the first customer making a firm order commitment, followed by Air France, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic. Together these companies completed the 50 orders needed to launch the programme.

Later, the following companies also ordered the A380: FedEx (the launch customer for the A380-800F freighter), Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Etihad Airways, Thai Airways and UPS.

Four prototypes will be used in a 2200 hours flight test programme lasting 15 months.