Air Berlin Flight No. AB 7420 arrived Saturday afternoon — landing on Runway 10 and marking its first arrival in Chicago at O’Hare International Airport.

Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG is Germany’s second largest airline, after Lufthansa German Airlines, and Europe’s seventh largest airline in terms of passengers. Air Berlin operates an extensive network including holiday destinations in the Mediterranean region, the Canary Islands and North Africa as well as intercontinental destinations in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Americas. Air Berlin is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and its Austrian subsidiary NIKI is an affiliate member of Oneworld.

Destination BER-ORD
http://www.airberlin.com/en/destinations/routes/flight/ber-ord/

Air berlin timetable …

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The Aeroscraft model ML866 is a planned 20-ton lifting capacity rigid airship, to be built by the Worldwide Aeros Corporation. There has also plans for a 60-ton ML868 and a 500-ton ML86X.

Worldwide Aeros Corp is an American aircraft manufacturing company, specializing in the manufacturing of Hybrid airships, and based in Montebello, California. The company’s target market is government rescue missions and military applications. The airships may also be used for cargo companies.

The Aeroscraft uses a combination of aerodynamic and aerostatic principles to remain airborne. Aerostats are so named because they use “aerostatic” lift which is a buoyant force, such as helium gas, that does not require movement through the surrounding air mass, as in aerodynamic aircraft.

Approximately two-thirds of the Aeroscraft’s lift is provided by helium gas. The remaining lift is provided by the forward thrust of the craft’s propellers, in combination with its aerodynamic shape, and its canards (forward fins) and empennage (rear fins).

Working with the horizonal propellers, the Aeroscraft has six downward-pointing turbofan jet engines for vertical take-off and landing. The Aeroscraft also uses Dynamic Buoyancy Management. Helium gas can be pressurized into tanks while taking air from the surrounding atmosphere to lower the lift force of the free helium gas in the vacant space inside the rigid Aeroscraft (for controlled descent). Releasing the compressed helium into the gas bags expanding inside the rigid structure displaces the air and creates lift.

Aeroscraft Video showing concept engineering, fabrication, construction, and civilian applications.

Aeroscraft Cargo Airship operation explained with military applications explained.

Aeros Worldwide history timeline.

UPDATE: FAA has grounded United Airlines fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft until battery issues are resolved.

Japan’s two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s on Wednesday after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing. All Nippon Airways reported instruments aboard a domestic flight indicated a battery error, triggering emergency warnings to the pilots. Shigeru Takano, a senior safety official at the Civil Aviation Bureau, said a another warning light indicated smoke. the latest in a series of incidents in recent days to heighten safety concerns over a sequence of mishaps and glitches, including a battery fire, fuel leaks, wiring problem, a brake computer glitch and a cracked cockpit window.

Japan Airlines reported it suspended operations of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet Wednesday following the emergency landing of the All Nippon Airways Co. Boeing 787 earlier in the day.

All Nippon Airways was the first operator providing service with a Boeing 787 on October 26, 2011. All Nippon has taken the most deliveries of the aircraft with at least 17. Japan Airlines has taken delivery of at least seven aircraft, and United Airlines has taken delivery of at least six.

SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation,is a space transport company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX was founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur Elon Musk.

In 2006, NASA awarded the company a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract to design and demonstrate a launch system to resupply cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). On December 9, 2010, at the launch of the COTS Demo Flight 1 mission, SpaceX became the first privately-funded company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

On May 22, 2012, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carried the unmanned Dragon capsule into space, marking the first time a private company has sent a spacecraft to the space station. The unmanned, cone-shaped capsule became the first privately built and operated vehicle to dock with the ISS.

NASA recently awarded SpaceX a contract to develop and demonstrate a human-rated Dragon as part of its Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to transport crew to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX is planning its first crewed Dragon/Falcon9 flight in 2015, when it expects to have a fully certified, human-rated launch escape system incorporated into the spacecraft.

SpaceX also launched a low earth orbiting satellite for a paying customer with its Falcon 1 booster in 2009.

The company has aspirations to be participants in a permanent presence on Mars.

After 4:00 p.m. Wednesday eyewitness reports were coming in that two F-16 or F-15 fighter jets were seen flying low and fast over Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Bolingbrook, Bloomingdale and Medinah. Some reported the aircraft were cruising slow.

Excellent Flyover Details from Eyewitnesses

Saw them about 4:45-5:00 while heading South on I-355, near Downer’s Grove. They appeared to be two F-15 jets though. Maybe something to do with the First Lady being in Chicago?

– Phil (September 28, 2012 01:39 am at 1:39 am)

I saw’ em. I was on my way home from work, traveling WB on I-88/Reagan Mem. Tollway, just past Highland Ave. exit at about 1658 CDT today, and there they were on a heading of 360 and 2200 MSL. I arrived home at 1715 CDT and my wife informed me that my daughter had called her after the pair had done their third pass over their area (Woodridge/Bolingbrook area), after which my wife tells me she saw them go over one time, herself. That was most likely the same pass I saw them fly, since they continued flying due North after I spotted them.

– David Kent (September 28, 2012 01:39 am at ~ 12:30 am)

They were up there.. only they were a flight of 2 F15′s. Maybe at 1000 feet. Not moving very fast though.. kind of just lounging in an orbit that seemed to lie along 355… Speculation is that it had something to do with The First Lady being in town. One of their circuits took them right over 83rd and Janes, where I had stopped to get out and watch what they were doing. Shot a short video of them coming overhead.. Pretty sight. I did notice that the usual traffic coming out of Midway seemed to be keeping out of their way while they were in the area.

– Ray Moeller (September 27, 2012 at ~ 11:35 pm)

yes we saw and heard one jet. it flew over our lisle home off of rt 53. it went a few mile down the road and turned around and came back.
it was further east on the on the flip side, could not see it.
it was the lowest and loudest fighter we have ever seen flying in burbs.
i would love to know what it was doing.
ps maybe it was 2 jets. one going south and the other north?

– tk (September 27, 2012 11:22 pm at 11:22 pm)

Yes, I saw them in Glen Ellyn, next town to Lombard, about 4:45PM.

– Kathy King (September 27, 2012 10:15 pm at 10:15 pm)

They weren’t F-16′s. Two black F-15′s, maybe. I even thought they may be Mig 29′s in town for The Ryder Cup or something. Flying in formation right over Bolingbrook, and then circling south, west and back over the Wheaton area for about ten minutes at about 1645 hrs. No markings. Long range fuel tanks.

– T Hawls (September 27, 2012 07:40 pm at 7:40 pm)

Ryder Cup flyover?

– jeepguy (September 27, 2012 06:09 pm at 6:09 pm)

Thanks for reports!

Meanwhile back at the Ryder Cup …

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps introduced the ceremony’s co-host, Team USA Liaison Justin Timberlake, and NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks joined Timberlake, who is an avid golfer, in emceeing the opening ceremony.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks sang the U.S. National Anthem “Star Spangled Banner,” complete with the fighter jet flyover. Fellow “American Idol” singer Joshua Ledet also performed, singing The Beatles’ “Come Together” with Soul Children of Chicago.

F-15 and F-16 videos …

F-15 takeoffs (Video by Staff Sgt. Jose Rodriguez 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs).

F-15 takeoff. (Courtesy Video Defense Imagery Management Operations Center. Produced by Tech Sgt. Willis.)

Video by Master Sgt. Jason Wilkerson 2nd Combat Camera Squadron
388th FW Participates in Red Flag 2012 Personnel from 388th FW out of Hill AFB, Utah participate in Red Flag 2012. Red Flag is an advanced aerial combat training exercise hosted annually at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

F-16s At Nellis (Courtesy Video 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
F-16s taxi, take off and air refuel at Nellis AFB).

F-16 Night Ops (Courtesy: 177th Fighter Wing — NJ Air National Guard, Video by Staff Sgt. Matt Hecht).

See more …
The Cardinal Fighter Jets Over I-355, West Suburbs, Lombard, Medinah Were on Flyover Mission for 39th Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony

Hearing a report of two F-16 fighter jets flying low and fast over Lombard, a west suburb of Chicago. No confirmation. Please comment below if you have seen anything.

Video by Master Sgt. Jason Wilkerson 2nd Combat Camera Squadron
388th FW Participates in Red Flag 2012 Personnel from 388th FW out of Hill AFB, Utah participate in Red Flag 2012. Red Flag is an advanced aerial combat training exercise hosted annually at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

F-16s At Nellis (Courtesy Video 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
F-16s taxi, take off and air refuel at Nellis AFB).

F-16 Night Ops (Courtesy: 177th Fighter Wing — NJ Air National Guard, Video by Staff Sgt. Matt Hecht).

Airlines started collecting baggage fees in 2008.

Delta collected the most fees — $430 million in baggage fees in the first six months of the year.

United Airlines collected $351 million.

Associated Press Airlines Writer Scott Mayerowitz reports that with razor thin margins, fees are the only way the airlines make a profit.

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There are no reports of any injuries. Passengers exited and were bused back to the terminal.

According to FlightAware.com tracking, the aircraft circled over Elgin and also circled over an area southwest of Aurora and over Naperville before being diverted back to O’Hare International Airport.

Also Thursday morning, all inbound flights were being held at their origin until 11:00 a.m. CDT because of low visibility.

Yesterday an American Eagle commuter plane was clipped by a Beoing 747 cargo plane on a taxiway at O’Hare International Airport.

See also …
Flightaware.com American Eagle (MQ) #4069 31-May-2012 KORD-KTUL Flight Tracker

A man with a video camera at a soccer field in Elgin, Illinois has claimed to have captured on May 12, 2012 what appears to be a drone Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that he says was flying toward Chicago the weekend before the NATO Summit. The aircraft appears to be an MQ-1 Predator. The reported appearance of the aircraft has many people speculating that the aircraft is working in the area for the upcoming NATO Summit.

See also …
Allegedly a fake: The Cardinal Chicago NATO UAV Drone Over Elgin a Fake? HOAX Killer Provides Rationale with Perspective Analysis

The image in the video appears similar to an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle.

The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance.

The MQ-1 Predator was originally designed for reconnaissance and forward observation roles but now can carry and fire two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or other munitions.

Offensive uses and related offensive information about the MQ-1 Predator is classified.

Some critics claim the video is a fake. The issues are discussed in another article — The Cardinal Video Surveillance Drone? Apparent Drone Sighted Over Elgin Headed Toward Chicago Week Before NATO Summit

View Larger Map of Elgin and Chicago …

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A man with a video camera at a soccer field in Elgin, Illinois has captured on May 12, 2012 what appears to be a drone unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that he reports was flying toward Chicago the weekend before the NATO Summit.

See also …
Allegedly a fake: The Cardinal Chicago NATO UAV Drone Over Elgin a Fake? HOAX Killer Provides Rationale with Perspective Analysis

The Cardinal NATO Drone Chicago: MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper Over Elgin?

Critics have claimed that the video is fake because the aircraft is banking left, but traveling straight. However, the flight behavior might be what you would see in a flight that was experiencing steady winds from the northeast. The weather station at O’Hare International Airport reported steady winds in the 12.7 mph to 18.4 mph range and gusts in the 19.6 mph to 25.3 mph range on Sunday May 12, 2012. Also, steady winds in the 8.1 to 12.7 mph range and gusts in the 19.6 to 20.7 mph range were reported on May 12, 2012 — a little closer to Elgin at DuPage Airport. Others critics have claimed that the high winds would have thrown that aircraft around a little more.

There is also some skepticism because the video camera was not panned to the right to follow the aircraft — something critics say fakers would do if they did not have a posterior-oblique image of the aircraft to superimpose. However, the camera man might have lost sight of it in the camera’s viewfinder or LCD display, decided he had a good enough shot already, and then enjoyed watching the rest of the flight with his own eyes. It is not easy to catch small objects in the viewfinder of a camera, and a videographer doesn’t have much time to capture the moving image — especially if it wasn’t expected or if the camera operator isn’t used to tracking aircraft with a camera. It is common to zoom in and out to find the aircraft in the field of vision, or to try to get it in focus when autofocus is on. It is hard enough to capture some aircraft — even when they are expected.

The sound of the UAV has also been questioned. Up close, UAV aircraft have a distinct propeller engine sound — especially from behind. The sound of the aircraft over Elgin does not have a distinct propeller engine sound, but it is at a considerable distance at constant speed with the associated aerodynamic noise of air flow around the blades louder than the propeller engine noise. But one also could conclude it’s the sound of a jet turbine.

Up close video of MQ-1 Predator MQ-9 Reaper UAV Operations in 2011 with distinct prop sound. However, sound at 0:53 is air rushing aerodynamic noise without propeller engine noise.

MORE ON DRONES …


Unmanned military aircraft have tracked and killed terrorists overseas. Their civilian cousins are now in demand by those wanting a bird’s-eye view that’s too impractical or dangerous for conventional planes or helicopters to get.

In 2002 the Pentagon owned 50 unmanned predator drones, but today the number has ballooned to over 7,000. Additionally the Pentagon has asked Congress for an extra $5 billion to expand the drone program.

Judge Andrew Napolitano: “Government needs a search warrant to use drones to spy on American citizens.”

Studio B Fox Anchor Shepard Smith: There “could be 30,000 drones flying overhead within the next decade.” … no legislation to limit what they can see … can analyze video data for up to 90 days.

View Larger Map of Elgin and Chicago …

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Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday unveiled a $200 million International Cargo Project that he claims will create 1,200 construction jobs, 1,200 permanent on-site cargo jobs and another 10,000 regional jobs over the course of a decade-long development. The cargo center could boost the Chicago economy if plans succeed.

The cargo site is on the complete opposite side of existing cargo areas on the southwest side of the airport near Bensenville and Elk Grove Village.

Aeroterm LLC, the city’s designated developer, will contribute $130 million to the 840,000-square-foot cargo center which will be built on 65 acres of former military land on the northeast side of O’Hare International Airport. Another $62 million will come from O’Hare airport funds. The City of Chicago acquired the military land in 1996 when the Air National Guard’s 126th Air Refueling Wing moved out.

With common wind conditions from the west, that could mean a lot of midnight and early morning cargo takeoffs from runway 27R at the far north end of the O’Hare International Airport. The use of the runway would be a short taxiway to the east end of Runway 9L/27R from the new cargo center at the northeast corner of O’Hare International Airport. Aircraft headed for China and Europe via a flight plan over the arctic circle region of the globe would take a right turn over Elk Grove Village and southern Arlington Heights to head north after taking off from the due west Runway 27R. Runway 9L/27R is the northernmost runway at O’Hare International Airport. The runway was originally touted as a runway that would be less commonly used because of its distance from the passenger terminals. The runway was touted as being useful during inclement weather when visibility is low and its separation from other parallel runways would be useful because of its greater distance from the other parallel runways.

View O’Hare International Airport in a larger map
Orange runways are planned or new runways. Blue runways are existing runways or runways that are planned for closure Click color for details.

Delta Flight 3163 was quarantined at a gate at Midway International Airport on Thursday afternoon. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was holding a Delta Airlines aircraft at the gate Thursday afternoon while analyzing a report that a female with a rash and possible contagious disease was onboard the aircraft.

The aircraft arrived at Midway International Airport at 3:36 p.m. CDT Thursday after departing from Metro Airport in Detroit, Michigan at 3:29 p.m. EDT. As of about 5:50 p.m. CDT Thursday, the aircraft was at the gate, but the jetway was not connected to the aircraft.

Passengers were allowed to leave the Canadair Regional Jet aircraft at about 6:10 p.m. CDT after the jetway and aircraft were connected. Forty-three passengers were onboard. The aircraft is capable of being configured with up to 78 seats.

Witnesses reported two Chicago Fire Department paramedics boarded the aircraft first, and then CDC officials in personal protective suits boarded the aircraft.

Subject: CDC Response to Sick Passenger on Delta Plane in Chicago

CDC received a report earlier this evening of a passenger on a plane at Midway Airport who had a rash. Since the passenger had been in Africa, a family member had reported concerns that the rash might be monkeypox. The passenger was evaluated by Chicago Emergency Medical Services. Medical staff at CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) reviewed the case and, based on the patient’s symptoms and photographs of the rash, it does not appear that the signs and symptoms are consistent with a monkeypox infection. The ill passenger was advised to seek medical care and the rest of the passengers were released from the plane. CDC and CDPH believe there is very little risk to other passengers. However, out of an abundance of caution, the airline will be collecting contact information for other passengers should CDC need to contact them in the future.

– Centers for Disease Control (April 26, 2012)

The CDC has apparently declared that the subject with the rash did not have a contagious disease. The female with the rash was originally reported by some media sources as a ‘male’ from Ghana or Uganda. The subject’s native country has not yet been confirmed.

See also …
cdc.gov/media

The aircraft wreckage was spread over a large area near a logging road in the Deschutes National Forest. No information was available about the origin or destination airport.

The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating the crash.

The Lancair IV-Propjet is a single-engine four-seater made of carbon fiber and capable of speeds of 350 mph, and capable of climbing 4,000 feet-per-minute. The model was designed in 1992 and there were about 600 sold as kits before it was replaced by another design several years ago.

View Larger Map
Approximate crash site (green arrow).

View Larger Map
Approximate crash site (green arrow).

Global Traveler’s CEO and Publisher Francis X. Gallagher and Vice President Richard T. Evans presented the award this week to Michael Boland, CDA First Deputy Commissioner in O’Hare’s Terminal 2.

Michael Boland, First Deputy, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) (left),
accepts the “Best Airport in North America” award from Global Traveler
magazine’s CEO and Publisher Francis X. Gallagher. The readers’
award presentation was made in Terminal 2 at O’Hare.

“On behalf of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, we are delighted to again have O’Hare International Airport recognized by Global Traveler’s readers as the best among the best,” said CDA Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino. “O’Hare is one of the busiest airports in the world and we are constantly working to improve the traveler experience by enhancing air service, world-class dining and shopping and other passenger amenities expected and demanded by business and leisure travelers. And we will continue to invest in the areas of technology, efficiency, sustainability, safety and other amenities.”
Global Traveler readers were polled on 66 categories related to airlines, hotels, airports, loyalty programs and travel-related products, and the results determined the winners in each category. The full survey results can be found here or going to Global Traveler’s web site. More than 36,000 responses were received to the annual survey. Global Traveler readers are frequent premium travelers averaging 16 international and 16 domestic round-trip flights a year, with an average annual household income of $340,000. Global Traveler’s readers spend an average 80 nights per year away on foreign travel and 40 on domestic travel, and 78 percent regularly travel in first or business class.

O’Hare has won “Best Airport in North America” award for eight consecutive years, between 2004-2011, from Global Traveler, and four years between 2000-2003 from Global Traveler’s precedessor magazine, Business Traveler.

British Airways Television Ad Transcript
Those first young men, the pioneers, the aviators building super highways in an unknown sky. Leaving wives and children in their snug homes, with just a kiss and a promise to return.

Roaring into the clouds to battle wind and stars.

Their safety systems built of brain and heart. They landed where there were no lights. Transforming strange names from tall tales into pictures on postcards home.

And those next young men, travelling further, faster, higher than any in history and the ones who followed them, who skimmed the edge of space, the edge of heaven, the edge of dreams.
(Speedbird 1, Speedbird 1…. cleared for take off)

And we follow them up there to live by an unbreakable promise. The same four words stitched into every uniform of every captain who takes their command.

To Fly. To Serve.

facebook.com/britishairways

Amazing pictures from Switzerland show where “jetman” Yves Rossy gave this incredible flying display, using a tailor-made jet pack with tail wings strapped to his back. The aviation enthusiast jumped from a Breitling helicopter and performed a series of aerial acrobatics above the Swiss Alps. He then joined two jet planes in a synchronized flight. To synchronize their flight paths the jets reduced their speed to 220 kilometres per hour (137 miles per hour), which put their engines at a point close to stalling. Rossy’s previous aerial feats include flying the English Channel and doing a loop-to-loop around a hot-air balloon.

The Breitling Jet Team is the largest civilian aerobatic display team in Europe. Based in Dijon, France, it flies seven Aero L-39 Albatros jets. Since the 2010 season all of the fleet received a new livery in the colours of sponsor Breitling. Worldwide Aero L-39 Albatros jets serve as trainers and fighter planes.

A Boeing 767 Polish LOT airliner carrying 231 people from the Newark, New Jersey (U.S.) landed on its belly Tuesday in Warsaw, Poland after pilots discovered a problem with the chassis and that landing gear failed to lower. The landing occurred without gear down, and triggered sparks and small fires.

No injuries were reported.

The aircraft was circled near the airport for about one hour to dump flammable jet fuel to all but empty fuel tanks before descending and landing without lowering the landing gear wheels.

The landing appears very smooth, considering no wheels were down in their normal position. Fire suppression foam was immediately applied to the aircraft as a precaution when it landed.

In late July in Chicago World War II aircraft were exhibited at Chicago Executive Airport and DuPage Airport. Videos below show a B-29 bomber at DuPage airport; and a B-17 bomber, a B-25 Liberator bomber, and a P-51 fighter at Chicago Executive Airport.

Commemorative Air Force B-29 Superfortress on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at DuPage Airport, 2700 International Drive.

The B-29 was the primary aircraft in the American firebombing campaign against the Empire of Japan in the final months of World War II, and carried out the atomic bombings that destroyed Hiroshima (Enola gay dropped the nuclear weapon “Little Boy” on August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (Bockscar dropped nuclear weapon “Fat Man on August 9, 1945).

The Commemorative Air Force’s B-29 ‘Fifi’ is the last-remaining flying B-29. Today’s pilots flying the aircraft describe flight after takeoff as being an urgent struggle for airspeed (generally, flight after takeoff should consist of striving for altitude). The aircraft’s four radial engines need airflow to keep them cool, and failure to get up to speed as soon as possible could result in an engine failure, overheating and risk of fire. One useful technique was to check the magnetos while already rolling rather than from a “braked” start.

Magnetos (rotating magnets) adapted to produce pulses of high voltage are used in the ignition systems of some gasoline-powered internal combustion engines to provide power to the spark plugs. A magneto ignition system is considered more reliable than a battery-coil system.

At startup, ground mechanics also manually turn the propellers so that oil doesn’t remain pooled at the bottom of the radial engine. Pooled oil could burn out the engines.

World War II aircraft part of the Wings of Freedom Tour from the Summer of 2011 in Chicago showing a B-24, a P-51, and a B-17.

The Collings Foundation’s B-24J is the only restored flying B-24J in the world. Initially, when it was restored in 1989, the Colling Foundation honored the 15th A.F. in Italy with the selection of the ALL AMERICAN — a very distinguished aircraft with a record of having shot down 14 enemy fighters on a single mission (only two B-24’s came back out of a squadron of 19).

The B-17G “Nine O Nine” aircraft was a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, completed 140 combat missions during World War II, believed to be the Eighth Air Force record for most missions, and never lost a crewman as a casualty. B-17G-85-DL, 44-83575, civil register N93012, owned and flown by The Collings Foundation, Stow, Massachusetts, currently appears at airshows marked as the historic Nine-O-Nine.

The original aircraft was a block 30 B-17G manufactured by the Boeing Company — nicknamed after the last three digits of the serial number: 42-31909. The aircraft was added to the USAAF inventory on December 15, 1943, and was flown overseas on February 5, 1944. After depot modifications, the B-17 was delivered to the 91st BG at RAF Bassingbourn, England, on February 24, 1944, as a replacement aircraft. The original Nine-O-Nine was one of the last B-17s that received in factory-applied camouflage paint.

After the end of World War II, Nine-O-Nine was returned to the United States on June 8, 1945, and was consigned after the war to the RFC facility at Kingman, Arizona on December 7, 1945. The original B-17 was eventually scrapped.

See additional video of the B-29 at DuPage Airport …

The only flyable B-29 is shown taking off and landing at the Dupage Airport in West Chicago, Illinois.

In West Chicago, Illinois on July 22, 2011. 8 minutes real-time compressed to about 1 minute. The view is looking slightly west of south as a storm rolled in from the west, and the the B-29 ‘FIFI’ landed.

There are more aircraft flying, too. See more via the links below.

See also …
http://www.collingsfoundation.org

http://www.commemorativeairforce.org/

Over 800 Boeing 787 aircraft are on order. United Airlines has ordered 25 with options to purchase 50.

Besides the International Lease Finance Corporation, who have 74 on order, Qantas and Qatar Airways have the most orders, 50 and 30, respectively.

FedEx is the aircraft operator with the most Boeing 777F aircraft — standing at 12. The next leading aircraft operator is China Southern with 5. There are five other models of passenger aircraft — the Boeing 777-200, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, 777-300, and 777-300ER. Currently a total of 39 Boeing 777F aircraft exist, compared to 924 Boeing 777 aircraft of all models.

The 777 Freighter (777F) is an all-cargo version of the Boeing 777 twinjet, and shares features with the 777−200LR, with the same airframe, engines, and fuel capacity. The 777-200LR is the world’s longest-range airliner and holds the record for longest distance flown by an unrefueled commercial aircraft. On Nov. 9-10, 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner set a new world record for distance traveled non-stop by a commercial jetliner. The 777-200LR set a record distance of 11,664 nautical miles (nmi) on a route traveling eastbound from Hong Kong to London (Heathrow). The flight lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes.

The freighter has a range of 4,900 nmi (9,070 km) at maximum payload, although greater range is possible if less cargo weight is carried.

With a maximum payload of 226,000 lb (103,000 kg), cargo capacity is similar to the 243,000 lb (110,000 kg) of the 747-200F.

As the aircraft promises improved operating economics compared to existing freighters, airlines have targeted the 777F as a replacement for older freighters including the 747-200F and MD-11F.

There are 3 million parts in a 777 provided by 500 suppliers from around the world.

A lightly loaded 777 (not a freighter) can accelerate from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in less than six seconds.