It is not uncommon for aircraft to be struck by lightning but this super heavy Emirates Airbus A380 got hit by a jagged bolt of lightning right over the pilot’s seats.
A huge amount of electric energy must have passed through the airframe of the aircraft during its approach at London Heathrow last week. Amazingly the commercial aircraft escaped damage, and nobody was hurt.
Is it any wonder this airplane may sustain such a stress in a clap of thunder? The size and the nature of the A380 airframe seems to be the right solution to such hazards. Thanks to its thick metal structure, the plane behaved as a perfect Faraday cage:
The Canadian Kenn Borek Ltd. DC-3 you can see below has been modified to perform landing on ice strips with skis. This aircraft, as well as another DC-3T – a Basler BT-67 – carry out Antartica Logistics and Expeditions (ALE) flights. Therefore they have been upgraded to sustain take off, flight, and landing at very low temperatures. Please, listen to Philippe Cousteau:
Andre Borschberg took off from Switzerland, flew across France,then Luxembourg, and Belgium, and finally landed safely thanks to the sunlight-powered HB-SIA Solar Impulse in Brussels in the evening of May 13, 2011. Bertrand Piccard was there:
Russia begins test flights of Su-35S series fighter
14:4003/05/2011Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer has started test flights of its first series-produced Su-35S Flanker-E multirole fighter, the company said on Tuesday.>>
The Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) should be a European fighter jet. India shortlisted the Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Rafale for a $12 billion fighter jet deal. 126 fighter aircraft are to be ordered! As controversial rumours have spread for months through the Internet and the Indian channels, nobody could be certain of the sort of decision that could be made. For instance, remember this idea of purchasing two different combat aircraft that was issued a few months ago. Then, the news came right out of the blue yesterday April 28, 2011. Indeed the American, Russian, and Swedish jetfighters have been discarded.
According to the video hereafter,
The high-flying American campaign to win the $10 billion multirole combat aircraft tender has crashed.
The Indian Defence Ministry confirmed that the F/A-18F Super Hornet and the latest F-16IN were out of the race. Neither of these U.S. fighters would have met the Indian Air Force’s technical requirements during the trials that were also submitted to the JAS-39 Gripen; the MiG-35; the Rafale; and the Typhoon.
RAFALE La Ferté Alais 2010 - Xavier Cotton http://passiondesavions.blogspot.com/
One may wonder why the Gripen was not selected in this competition. Well, this excellent aircraft is not equipped with any arrestor hook, and that is probably why it has not been kept in the race for this tender.
It is important to notice that the Rafale purchase is a rather expensive option. However, it should also be noted that, in spite of the modest political clout of France in India, as well as its price tag – $90 million – the Dassault Rafale remains in the final competition. A transfer-of-technology amendment might be added to the contract.
As the Super Hornet and the Super Viper have been rejected, this is a deep disapointment for Lockheed Martin; McDonnell Douglas; Boeing; General Dynamics; as well as a real watershed in the geopolitical approach in Asia.
