Last year Dubai Air Show opened on a wave of optimism and great expectations having attracted some 1000 exhibitors and a record-breaking 56548 trade visitors to the biggest event in the Middle East yet.

In contrast with the economic woes afflicting other areas, the show has become a global forum for the Middle East aerospace market and a growing rival to the larger, legacy shows in Europe such as Farnborough and Paris.

Boeing was quick to be first off the blocks at Dubai with the arrival of its 787 Dream liner which made its debut appearance in the Middle East. This was quickly followed by a record-breaking order from Emirates Airline for 50 Boeing 777-300ERs (Extended Range) plus options for an additional 20. The order, with a value of $18-billion, makes this the single largest commercial aircraft order in Boeing's history by dollar value.

Boeing has now set a record for 777 orders in a single year with 192 to date. That surpasses the previous record of 154 set in 2005. The company also announced two record-setting deals with Emirates and Lion Air, as well as other deals during and after the Dubai Air Show. These included 787-8s for Oman Air and two 777 Freighters for Qatar Airways.

Although not strictly within the bounds of the show but during the same week, Boeing chalked up a commitment by Lion Air to buy 201 B737 MAXs and 29 Next Generation 737-900ERs. The agreement also includes purchase rights for an additional 150 aircraft.

Aviation Capital Group (ACG) committed to buy 35 737 MAX aircraft and finalized a firm order for 20 Next-Generation 737-800s; Singapore Airlines finalized order for eight 777-300ERs and an unidentified customer ordered eight 777s. Little wonder Boeing trumpeted that it had “made history, in a week to remember.”

Predictably, Airbus was not far behind, with its own claim of a record order when Qatar Airways made the single largest firm order (50 A320neo and five A380s) worth US$6, 4-billion at list prices.

Firm orders for the A320neo from ALAFCO (50) and ACG (30) added to the score with a combined worth of US$ 7,3-billion .By the close of the show, Airbus had won a total of 211 orders and commitments worth US$20,5-BILLION.

These included a commitment from Comlux for an Airbus ACJ321, the first placed with Airbus for the type, expanding Airbus corporate jet family. This deal, worth US$99, 7-million, will make Comlux the first to operate the Airbus ACJ318, ACJ319, ACJ320, and ACJ321.

A growing customer and operator base plus an increasing business volume have prompted Airbus to create a new business unit, Airbus Corporate Jets, to better respond to this part of its business. The unit will bring together commercial, programme and support activities in a single in-house unit. It will also have a direct link to the company’s Airbus Corporate Jet Centre cabin-outfitting subsidiary, part of a worldwide network of approved completion centres.

Bombardier Joins In

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft showed a full-scale flight deck demonstrator for the all-new Series aircraft. As in a real aircraft, visitors could “board” the C Series aircraft demonstrator, turn left to experience the flight deck or turn right to walk down the aisle of the cabin.

The cabin features spacious seating, increased shoulder space, extra large windows and larger overhead storage that deliver a new level of wide body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft.

The integrated flight deck features high-resolution 384 mm diagonal LCD displays, the industry’s largest, which are capable of enhanced and synthetic vision future upgrades. The flight management system display is based on a phase of flight approach, giving the flight crew improved access to information while reducing workload.

Graphical Flight Planning functionality allows the crew to click on the map to search for information or modify the flight plan, permitting increased situational awareness. An intuitive graphical human-machine interface enhances operational efficiency, reduces pilot workload and pilot training costs.

The MultiScan weather radar auto-nomously processes the entire block of atmosphere ahead of the aircraft and searches for the most significant weather information, without pilot intervention. The crew is alerted with a colour change when the radar predicts wind shear, giving the crew plenty of time to take appropriate action.

The glare shield radio tuning is a feature unique to the C Series aircraft that illustrates Bombardiers focus on head-up flying. It allows critical tasks, such as frequency changes, head-up guidance system data entry, navigation control and support functions for the displays, to all be done from the glare shield.

Side sticks allow the pilot to interface with the fly-by-wire control system that provides simplified handling with flight envelope protection.

The Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion system offers extensive growth capabilities to meet all anticipated future air space requirements.

Bombardier Aerospace announced that Petroleum Air Services (PAS), of Cairo, had signed a contract to acquire one CRJ900 Next Gen regional jet .The transaction also includes an option for another CRJ900 Next Gen airliner. PASs CRJ900 Next Gen aircraft will be the first CRJ Series aircraft to operate in Egypt.

Atlas jet Havacilik A.S of Istanbul, Turkey, signed a letter of intent to acquire 10 CS300 jetliners and take options on a further five CS300 aircraft.

“Little Guys” Foothold

Perhaps the real gloss of a Middle East show is the executive corporate world, with its desire for “long –legged “ jets, though this year some of the “little guys “also gained a foothold.

Typical of this latter group and a good new story was the announcement that Medrar Financial Group and Diamond Aircraft Holdings had reached an agreement for the acquisition of a majority interest of Diamond Aircraft Holdings, Canada.In addition to arrange of Diamond Aircrafts piston powered aircraft, and the agreement also includes the D-JET programme.

Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. has gained the AUE Type Certificate Validation of the Total Eclipse twin-engine jet, making its first appearance at Dubai. Eclipse Aerospace has already secured commitments and contracts for five Total Eclipse aircraft to customers who will register their aircraft in the UAE.

Eclipse has been working very closely with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and last October received validation of the United States Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) Eclipse Jet Type Certificate. The manufacturer currently offers the Total Eclipse twin-engine jet configured with the all-new Avio integrated flight management system (IFMS) and certificated for flight known icing (FIKI).The Total Eclipse also comes complete with a “tip-to-tail” factory warranty, new paint and a new interior.

Eclipse Aerospace also offers the Eclipse 550,a new production version of the Total Eclipse .Eclipse Aerospace announced Eclipse 550 jet at last years NBAA event in Las Vegas. The Eclipse 550 is scheduled for first deliveries in 2013 and will come with state-of-the-art avionics. It will retain the same fuel-efficient airframe and engines as the Total Eclipse, and remain the most economical twin-engine jet in the world.

Another encouraging sign was the announcement that Nextant Aerospace ,maker of the 400XT ,the worlds first completely re-manufactured business jet ,has entered into an agreement that authorizes Action Aviation to become the exclusive sales agent for the 400XT in Europe ,the Middle East and India.

The Nextant 400XT, which received full FAA certification last year after a three-year development and flight testing process, saw its first deliveries last October.

It has a range of 2005 nm with four passengers and NBAA IFR reserves.Its range enables flights originating in Europe, the Middle East and India to easily reach other major destinations throughout Europe and Asia.

The 400XT process employs a re-manufactured airframe from the Beech craft 400A/XP aircraft, enhanced with new, state-of-art technology including the Williams FJ44-3AP Turbofan engine, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite, advanced electronics and completely rebuilt interiors.

Hawker Beech craft

Due to strong demand and customer feedback, Hawker Beech craft Global Customer Support (GCS) confirmed the availability of factory-completed Hawker 400XPR and Hawker 800XPR aircraft.

Through this programme, GCS will assist customers in locating and purchasing airframes for installation of applicable XPR programme updates and any other customer-specific options.

This enables customers who do not currently own a Hawker 400 or Hawker 800 aircraft to easily acquire a completed XPR aircraft with full-factory warranty and support.

The Hawker 400XPR offers greatly improved range and airfield performance, while reducing noise footprint and emissions by replacing the existing engines with new, more fuel-efficient Williams International FJ44-4A-32 dual FADEC high-bypass turbofans.

The upgrade also features the addition of Hawker wing lets and an optional modernized flight deck with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics.

Thanks to the incorporation of 70 design and material improvements, the TFE731-50R now delivers a seven percent reduction in specific fuel consumption while increasing maintenance intervals. The result is a 32% reduction in Honey-Wells minimum Maintenance Service Plan (MSP) costs thanks to major periodic inspections of 3 000 hours and core zone inspection intervals of 6000 hours, as compared with 2100 and 4200 hours respectively on the original engines.

Cessna Shows Its Wares

Cessna was keen to set out its wares as being particularly opposite to the Middle East. It expects the Citation latitude mid-size business jet to become a favourite with customers in the region.

Positioned between the Citation XLS,+ and Citation Sovereign ,the Citation Latitude offers a full fuel payload of 1000 pounds (454kg) , a maximum cruise speed of 442 knots true airspeed and a range of 2000 nautical miles.

First flight of the Citation Latitude prototype is expected to be mid-year 2014, with entry into service expected in 2015.

In addition, Cessna expects its Citation Ten mid-size business jet to be equally attractive to this discerning market, particularly given the features of clairity, Cessna’s new proprietary cabin technology system.Clairity is standard on Citation ten.

Developed by Cessna in partnership with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies,Clairity is an intelligent, cabin technology solution that ties into the aircraft avionics systems and can integrate cabin electrical systems and data and communication sharing through a fibre optic backbone, controlled through either an intuitive touch-screen user interface at each seat or the customers personal electronic device.

Clairitys touch-screen system controllers or Wi-Fi connectivity to a personal electronic device, allow complete control of cabin lighting ,window shades,temperature,audio (digital media,MP3/iPhone), video (digital ,Blu-ray ) and individual interactive moving maps. The basic system includes the interactive moving maps and USB/device inputs.

Options such as satellite radio, Blu-ray players, external cameras or high-speed Internet browsing can be easily added.

The Citation Ten programme is on track for an imminent first flight and deliveries are expected for the second half of 2013.

Aircraft & Maintenance News

Plaggio Aero was highlighting the delivery of the first P.180 Avanti 11 aircraft to JSC FIS, THE Russian company which provides flight inspection and calibration services. JSC FIS and Piaggio Aero have also jointly announced the signing of new contract for five more P.180 Avanti 11 flight inspection aircraft to be delivered from 2012 .Flight Inspections and Systems has a 100% per cent share of the aviation work on flight inspections in the civil airdromes of the Russian Federation.

Hyper Mach introduced- its revolutionary concept- SonicStar-to the Middle East. This is a project that both excites and puzzles the industry; the idea of a very high speed, hybrid aircraft flying at five or six times the speed of current commercial aircraft is not too easy to grasp. Despite formidable technical challenges the company hopes to make the first flight, of a non-conforming article, in 2012.

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has selected AMAC Aerospace as a fully authorized and exclusive sales centre for the Pilatus PC-12 aircraft in the Middle East. The exclusive territories consist of: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey.

AMAC Aerospace started its sales activities through a local office in Beirut, Lebanon, as of this month. All the aircraft will be maintained at a maintenance service centre, based in Istanbul and the operation will start during the second half of 2012 .All manufacturer warranty work can be performed on behalf of Pilatus.

Maintenance activity and cooperation was very much of the fore at Dubai, with suggestions of increased outsourcing by a number of companies’ .Bombardier Aerospace has signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco for the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Morocco. The exact site location will be announced at a later date.

Bombardier Aerospace intends to invest approximately US$ 200-million in equipment ,buildings and start –up costs over the next eight years. Scheduled to be implemented in phases starting this year, Bombardier Aero spaces new Moroccan facility will initially include sub-assembly capabilities for simple structures .the new facility is scheduled to start manufacturing in 2013.

By the end of 202, employment at the Morocco facility is expected to reach 850 skilled and trained workers.

Bombardier is said to have chosen Morocco for a number of reasons- internationally competitive manufacturing costs, low shipping and transportation costs, proximity to Europe and the commitment by Moroccan Government to the development of the aerospace industry.

A J Walter Aviation (AJW) has been awarded Aeronautical parts and Components Supplier Approval by the General Civil Aviation Authority, in accordance with UAE Civil Aviation Rules and Regulations. GCAA is the sole authority for the control and regulation of civil aviation in the UAE and is responsible for the provision of en route air navigation services and all aspects of flight safety.

The AJW team in Dubai is also expanding to maintain the company’s customer service standards. With locally available Airbus and Boeing inventories, AJW is able to support a growing number of requirements from operators across the MENA region.

GE Aviation and Emirates have signed a 12-year On Point solutions agreement for the Emirates fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft. The agreement will include maintenance and inventory support services of various avionics, electrical power and mechanical products for the Boeing 777 aircraft.

In addition, Emirates and GE Aviation have signed an agreement that will enable GE to help oversee the design and construction of Emirates new engine overhaul shop to be built in Dubai.

Similarly, under a general terms agreement, Emirates and Lufthansa Technik AG have signed a non-exclusive agreement for a period of five years related to the maintenance of components installed on the Airbus A330/A340 and Boeing 777 fleets operated by emirates.

Lufthansa Technik AG is expanding its activities in this aviation market even further with a new company head-quartered in Dubai- Lufthansa Technik Middle East Services. The new business will bundle all the Middle East sales and service activities currently pursued by a variety of members of the international Lufthansa Technik Group and establish a repair operation for nacelle components such as fan reverse rs, inlet cowls and fan cowls.

Embraer continues to grow its commercial aviation organization an customer support structure in the Middle East by opening an office in Dubai .The company is also expanding its customer Services in the region and has established a partnership with Kuehne + Nagel, logistics group, to offer its E-Jets customers a new spare parts distribution centre in Dubai, which will be operational in the second half of 2012.

Guest Surprise

The rotary world sprang something of a surprise when Quest Helicopters, a new name in helicopter design and technology, has launched at the show. The privately-=owned company ,head-quartered in Dubai,UAE,announced plans to fund,develop,define and refine new technology for a family of new, light twin engine and twin rotor system helicopters.

Originally dubbed “Project Q”, the Quest AVQ series will be the first civil helicopters to be assembled and manufactured in Umm Al Quwain, in the UAE, and will incorporate a number of innovative features, including a unique passenger and crew safety, ejection system.

These “clean sheet,” prototype helicopters, have been designed by Volodymyr Udovenko and will feature a new series of engines with FADEC, built in Ukraine. The long life airframes have been engineered for robust operations and feature a raft of ‘cutting edge’ technologies.

These includes an all-new primary fly-by-wire control system ,a distinctive ejectable crew and passenger safety capsule cabin and telemetry down link,maintenance monitoring system.

The UAE Principals and investors in quest Helicopters, a subsidiary of Quest Investments, have pledged an initial investment of up to US$50-million in the initial programme .Quests investment lends support to further develop the expertise of design bureau chief, Vlodomyr Udovenko, overseen by the Ukraine’s Academy of Science and Technology .Quests project is expected to generate new jobs in the UAE from the end of 2012.

Collaboration on the project has been further bolstered by a proposed bilateral agreement between EASA and the Ukraine’s Civil Aviation Authority enabling the new helicopters to be built with joint cooperation and a parallel certification programme.

The helicopters will be powered by new technology engines from Progress DB/Motor sich Ukraine ,twin Al-450 M turbines with FADEC ,delivering up to 465 shaft horse power per engine .

The initial four-seat model, which is highly competitively prices at US$2, 95-million, will have a range of 185 mph and a maximum endurance of 3, 6 hours. The helicopters maximum take-off weight will be 2250 kgs and empty weight will be 1300 kgs.

The goal is to produce 20 aircraft in the first year of production, rising to 40 in the third year, working toward a five-year initial plan to certification and production.

Other Agreements

Sikorsky Aerospace Services announced the signing of a follow-on contract with the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command (RSLFAC) to upgrade its fleet of the Black Hawk UH-60A helicopter to the more modern UH-60L configuration.

The parties anticipate that, as a result of this upgrade programme, the RSLFACs fleet of 12 UH-60A Blackhawk helicopters will benefit from improved performance, increased mission readiness, extended service life and reduced maintenance and support costs.

New agreements concluded during the show have further enhanced Euro copters Middle East and Asia footprint.

These included creating a cooperative maintenance programme for Royal Jordanian Air Force AS 332 M1 Super Pumas, establishing customer support services for helicopters with the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces and marking the sale of a corporate EC130 b4 To Pakistan.

An agreement with Global Aerospace Logistics (GAL) marks another element in its strategy of local presence .GAL is an Abu Dhabi –based supplier of professional aerospace services in the UAE and the new agreement with Euro copter establishes it as a provider of routine customer support services for the UAE Navy and UAE Presidential Guard Command, including spare parts, repairs, training and technical publications.

As the organizer closed the door on Dubai 2011, There was cause for Satisfaction, the week having seen US$63,3-billion worth of orders for aircraft, maintenance services and flight training programmes.

Through air shows aircraft manufacturing companies are able to get commitments and firm orders for their products and services. Also it creates opportunities in job employments for pilots, engineers and other administration staff as when orders are placed there is a time frame thus need of more human resource. Also new aircraft models and helicopters are displayed and it attracts the air operators based on cost effectiveness in terms of maintenance, efficiency and effectiveness and comfort thus creating opportunity for orders and modernization of the fleet in the air transport.Bussiness jet aircraft are the most exhibited and displayed by manufacturers for the attraction of the business executives, corporate travelers and air ambulance and emergency medical evacuations flights as they are fast and have long haul endurance and they are in-built with fittings for medical facilities for air ambulance flights.

Anthony Juma is the Editor and Senior Aviation Director at Wings Over Africa Aviation Limited. <br><a href='http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com’> This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Flight Air News On Private Charter Flights | VIP Executive Jet Flights | Business Jet Executive Flights Air Ambulance Flights Emergency &Medical Evacuation Flights| Corporate Executive Flights| Leisure Corporate Jet| Helicopter Flights , Kenya, Middle East, Tanzania,Uganda,Somalia,South Sudan,DR Congo, Eastern & Central Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Europe, United States of America & Entire Africa Continent. </a> The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http://www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/vip-executive-flights.html</a>