Sat, May 05, 2012
Restricted TC Precedes Full Certification, Which Is Expected In A Few Months
Airbus Military has received the initial type certification for the A400M new generation airlifter, marking a key milestone on the road to first delivery around the turn of the year. This first approval, known as a Restricted Type Certificate (RTC), was presented by EASA Executive Director Patrick Goudou at an internal ceremony Friday in Toulouse, France.
The RTC is a critical step towards the award of full civil type certification which is expected in mid-2012 following the completion of 300 hours of function and reliability (F&R) flight tests, and towards military Initial Operating Clearance later in the year. As part of the flight-test activity the A400M has recently visited countries in Latin America and South East Asia, and in the upcoming period will travel to the “home” nations that ordered the aircraft and the Middle East in the frame of the F&R tests.
The fleet of five A400M development aircraft continues to make good progress in the intense flight-test campaign in order to ensure delivery of a reliable aircraft to our customer and has now completed more than 3,100 hours in the air, despite continued engine challenges.
Cedric Gautier, Airbus Military Head of A400M program, said: “Achieving civil and military certification of the A400M as foreseen in the programme is an immensely challenging task, but the process of working on both simultaneously provides important benefits for our customers in the future. It is deeply satisfying to receive this initial certification, confirming the good progress that has been made towards the delivery of the first aircraft.”
More News
Aviation Governance Secured...At Least For a While The National Business Aviation Association similarly applauded the passage of the FAA's recent reauthorization, contentedly recou>[...]
Emphasis On Growing The Future of Aviation Through Concentration on 'AFFORDABLE FLYERS' It's been a number of years since the Latest Edition of Jim Campbell's HUGE SportPlane Resou>[...]
Amazilia Aerospace GmbH, Develops Digital Flight Control, Flight Guidance And Vehicle Management Systems Textron eAviation has acquired substantially all the assets of Amazilia Aer>[...]
Honeywell's Primus Brings New Tools and Niceties for Hawker Operators Hawker 4000 business jet operators have a new installation on the table, now that the FAA has granted an STC f>[...]
Company Celebrates Niche-but-Important Advancement in Industry Standards Echodyne has announced full integration of its proprietary 'EchoFlight' radar into the e American Aerospace>[...]