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Man builds plane using Youtube, will fly it to his own wedding…! 

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How does one arrive at a wedding? Car? Carriage? How about homemade airplane?
That’s the plan for aviation geek Asmelash Zeferu. After an aborted attempt earlier this year, he is taking to the skies in K-570, his handcrafted light aeroplane. On November 28 the intrepid Ethiopian will fire his engine at an airstrip near Addis Ababa, and if all goes well, marry his fiance Seble Bekele the moment he lands. What makes it truly remarkable? The fact that Zeferu has never, ever flown before. Back with a bang

  

The Ethiopian’s second attempt comes five months after he first taxied to a runway 40 kilometers from the capital. That time a broken propeller — sculpted from laminated wood — scuppered his chances, but now he’s back and more confident than ever.

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His engine has been upgraded to a model salvaged from a Volkswagen Transporter, doubling his power to 78 horsepower. Moreover, he’s sought professional advice to help him in the air.
Captain Solomon Gizaw of Abyssinia Flight Services and Captain Abera Lemi of the National Aviation College both confirmed to CNN that they had been helping out the budding pilot. Their mentorship sits alongside that of Rene Bubberman, chairman of the NVAV, the Dutch Experimental Aircraft Association — part of an international cohort backing Zeferu’s endeavor.

It’s been a long and remarkable journey, and for the Ethiopian a successful flight will be a moment over 10 years in the making. Zeferu, 35, says that ever since childhood he’d wanted to become a pilot. He was on the right track, but when the time came, Zeferu was denied for the most arbitrary of reasons. Leaving Alemaya University with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, he tried to enroll at the Dire Dawa branch of the Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Academy.

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“I couldn’t fulfill the air school height requirements,” he explains. Zeferu was a centimeter too short. Despite this setback, Zeferu was unperturbed. “I decided to build my own aircraft if I couldn’t be a pilot,” he reasons, “then I’d be able to fly high in the sky.”

The first stage of his labor of love lasted 10 years. Aviation manuals and YouTube tutorials were his guiding stars; every aspect of aircraft manufacture gradually imbibed in painstaking detail. When the time came, Zeferu opted to model his plane on one used by trainee pilots in the U.S. in the 1920s and 1930s.

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Some items were salvaged, others bought second hand from the Merkato market in Addis Ababa. The 8.5 meter wing was crafted from timber imported from Australia, with each wooden panel hand-sculpted. But there was one element of the plane Zeferu could not imitate.

The design called for a Ford engine, but the amateur engineer “couldn’t get [it] cheap in Ethiopia,” settling instead for a four cylinder, 40 horsepower model stripped from a Volkswagen Beetle — since upgraded to a 78 behemoth at a cost of 12,000 Birr ($570). But after a year and seven months Zeferu had finished. Not bad for someone who had “never stepped onto an airplane,” never mind worked within the aviation industry.

Zeferu’s earlier disappointments are now behind him and he’s ready to complete the task at hand. In doing so he would take a seat among a pioneering group of amateur enthusiasts from the continent. Not all have been successful: Kenyan Gabriel Nderitu has attempted to take off 13 times, but like his dream, his plane has so far failed to fly. Nigerian student Mubarak Muhammed Abdullahi created his own helicopter in 2007 with parts stripped from, amongst other things, a Boeing 747. Abdullahi had more luck, and after lifting 2.1 meters off the ground went on to gain a TED Global Fellowship and an aircraft maintenance scholarship in the UK.

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Zeferu has made some modifications after receiving advice from fellow flight enthusiast Rene Bubberman, chairman of the NVAV, the Dutch Experimental Aircraft Association. “We gave him some well-meant advice about his prop and especially about test flying,” says Bubberman. “[His project] deserves a lot of respect… [it] truly breathes the spirit of the early airplane pioneers and his enthusiasm is contagious.”

On November 28, Zeferu will return to the same air field and rev his newly-modified machine. Taking off at 90 mph, the dizzying height he will aim for is 10 meters — not unreasonable considering he has “no parachute or anything to protect me.”

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Zeferu demurs about the achievement of getting off the ground — he has other concerns. “To fly an aircraft is not a big deal,” he explains. “The greatest danger will be in landing.” That will involve slowing the plane down from its cruising speed of 70 mph to 45 mph, then hoping the wheelbase — taken from a Suzuki motorcycle — holds out.
Asked how he has been able to train for this, Zeferu says YouTube flight simulators have been key.

If he does land safely, Zeferu will have overcome the most persistent obstacle in his quest for flight. Despite support from his family, he argues that “the biggest challenge in building my aircraft was the people around me… people calling me mad. People were asking ‘How can you build an aircraft in Ethiopia? In Africa?’”
He’s emphatic about his chances this time around: “I am very sure that I will fly.”
‘We have lift off…’

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Touching the skies in his homemade airplane is only the first step for Zeferu. He hopes a flight school will accept him in the near future so he can train as a commercial pilot. However the long-term goal is to boldly go further still.
“My dream is to become an aerospace engineer at NASA,” he admits. “And I will be.”

Source : CNN 

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Airbus delivers first C295 to India

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) received its first C-295 transport plane on Wednesday during a ceremony in Seville, Spain. The aircraft may carry out unique missions such as disaster relief and marine patrol.

“The IAF has placed an order for 56 aircraft.” The aircraft is also required by the Coast Guard, the Home Ministry, and, in the future, the Indian Navy. “The numbers could easily exceed 56,” Chaudhari said from Spain.

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Airbus, a multinational aircraft maker, built the aircraft for India at its Seville factory.

“The first aircraft was delivered 10 days ahead of schedule,” the IAF chief stated after receiving the plane’s symbolic keys from Airbus.

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The Indian Air Force has inked a deal for a total of 56 C-295 aircraft, with 16 of them being manufactured in Spain and the remaining 40 to be built as part of a joint venture between Tata and Airbus at their facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.

The C-295 is a versatile transport plane with a cargo capacity ranging from 5 to 10 tonnes. It is intended to replace the aging Avro aircraft in the IAF’s fleet and boasts advanced technology features. Notably, the aircraft is equipped with a rear ramp door, facilitating rapid cargo and troop para-dropping operations.

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The C-295 is a twin-turboprop aircraft that can fly great distances with fully equipped personnel while also having the ability to land on tiny airstrips. To improve its capabilities in the operational zones, the IAF says all 56 aircraft would be equipped with a native Electronic Warfare Suite (EWS).

According to the agreement, Airbus will deliver 16 aircraft in “flyaway” condition from Spain within 48 months of the contract’s signature, and the Tata consortium would produce the 40 additional aircraft in India over the course of the next ten years. This represents a groundbreaking initiative, as it marks the first time a private firm in India will be responsible for producing military aircraft.

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This move aligns with the Indian government’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan,” providing a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter the highly technical and competitive aviation industry. It’s anticipated that this initiative will bolster domestic aircraft production, reducing dependence on imports and potentially leading to increased exports in the future. This development is a significant step forward in India’s quest for self-reliance in defense manufacturing.

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Rolls-Royce Successfully Tests UltraFan Technology Demonstrator using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

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Rolls-Royce Successfully Tests UltraFan Technology Demonstrator

The first tests were conducted using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY) today announces it has successfully completed the first tests of its UltraFan technology demonstrator at its facility in Derby, UK. The first tests were conducted using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

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Rolls-Royce UltraFan technology ready to test(Opens in a new browser tab)

This is a historic moment for Rolls-Royce – it’s the first time in 54 years the aero-engine manufacturer has tested a brand-new engine architecture and is proof of what can be achieved when industry and Governments work together.

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Confirming the capability of the suite of technologies incorporated in the demonstrator is a big step towards improving the efficiency of current and future aero-engines. UltraFan delivers a 10% efficiency improvement over the Trent XWB, which is already the world’s most efficient large aero engine in service.

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In the nearer term, there are options to transfer technologies from the UltraFan development program to current Trent engines, providing our customers with even greater availability, reliability, and efficiency.

Rolls-Royce reaches new milestone building world’s largest aero-engine(Opens in a new browser tab)

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In the longer term, UltraFan’s scalable technology from ~25,000-110,000lb thrust offers the potential to power new narrowbody and widebody aircraft anticipated in the 2030s.

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Aviation

Is it true that airplanes cannot fly over the Bermuda Triangle? Why?

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Is it true that airplanes cannot fly over the Bermuda Triangle? Why?

It’s not accurate to say that aircraft can’t pass over the Bermuda Triangle. Over the years, a number of ships and aircraft have mysteriously vanished in the Bermuda Triangle, a location in the western North Atlantic Ocean. However, a large percentage of airplanes that fly over the Bermuda Triangle do so safely and incident-free.

Despite this, some people choose not to cross this part of the ocean because of the widespread superstition there. You’d be surprised at how many people have flown or sailed over the area without noticing anything peculiar despite the strange stories.

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The Bermuda Triangle is not inaccessible to aircraft, as is commonly believed. There are no official flying restrictions in place, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Bermuda Triangle is not considered a special area of concern.

The reasons why so many ships and aircraft have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle are the subject of numerous theories, ranging from human error to natural disasters to alien action. However, none of these explanations are supported by scientific data, and the majority of the disappearances may be accounted for by natural factors like bad weather or navigational mistakes.

Fly Unlimited with Frontier’s GoWild! Pass starting at $699(Opens in a new browser tab)

In conclusion, despite having a bad reputation for being a hazardous area for ships and airplanes, there is no evidence that the Bermuda Triangle is any more dangerous than other oceanic regions. The final communication that was received described compasses acting strangely and the crew continuously getting lost no matter how many times they changed course. What had started out as a typical training flight quickly transformed into a big mystery.

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