Though again, for the record, the new livery looks ok on the A310 freighters. Wonder what the 747s will look like.. yeah, I cant wait to see those.
Airbus flight decks are great as a rule, but this one further ups the ante. Twin HUDs too, btw.
Hopefully a sight that's coming soon to an airbase near you :) 
Also, cant help but comment on the 3D renders released so far. They have been of great quality, giving an excellent idea of the aircrafts capabilities. I'm not saying that this is a guarantee of performance or anything, its just that airplane buffs can get a better idea and start having fun arguing on a.net :) Now if only they'd hire these same guys to do some renders on the XWB...
These are the pics of the concorde cardmodel I made as part of the aeromodelling workshop I'm conducting for my team at work. Will post more soon as i can shoot some. We have named the workshop operation wright, with phases in paper planes, card models and the final step of a flying electric model. Hopefully I'll be able to better document the flying model.
There are those (esp from Seattle) who say that this aircraft is ugly. I beg to differ. This is just for those Boeing cheerleaders who keep crowing that airbus planes (in general) are ugly and Boeing's are beautiful. Apart from the fact that their refrain is completely pointless since the airlines care more about frugality than looks, they also seem to be forgetting Boeing's own Quasimodo, the 747 LCF. 
Now, THAT'S an ugly airplane if i ever saw one. And by the time the XWB arrives, there wont be any competition for the looks.
They are part of the Russian Knights, the second best air show team in the world. These guys fly Su-27 flankers similar to the one shown above, and their antics in the sky are matched only on the ground by my antics on the bike :D kiddin.. my bike cant do any of the wild stuff below...
I could probably rig her up to shoot flares like this dude here, but i don't think I'll be able to go upside down.. might end up scratching my AGV :P These 'ere guys don't pay no attention to stuff like regulations. They aren't all that welcome at European air shows for the same reason. They have no qualms flying over the spectators. They've been cited for that more than once.
Shooting flares off is their standard air show trick. These flares are actually magnesium sticks that are used in self defence against an attack by heat seeking missiles. These are even hotter than the engine due to Mg's high flash point, and the sensor on the missile is lured their way. It's fitted in a dispenser between the twin tails of the aircraft. And its used to awesome effect.
And why are they second best? Heh, they probably are the best, but then i have a soft corner for the Strizhi Team.. they fly Fulcrums, have a better colour scheme, a cooler name.. i could go on..:) Will post them here soon enough.
In case you were wondering which corner of Russia I'd gone to find the name for my blog, well, here's the explanation. Pictured above is the Soviet Il-2 Shturmovik (Ил-2 Штурмовик) ground attack fighter, whose name I've borrowed for the blog. Along with its successor the Il-10, it is the single most produced military aircraft design with a production run of 36163 units. It played a crucial role in the Soviet victory in WW-II, as it could fly day and night and penetrate the thick armour of the Panzer and tiger tanks of the Nazis. The enemy nicknamed it black death while the soviets called it the flying tank. It also had a great capacity to absorb damage, leading to the German nickname Betonflugzeug or 'concrete airplane'.
And I told you we had Tristars as well :) ... i stumbled across a die cast model of an AI tristar while browsing through the IndUS Aviation store in Bangalore, and did a bit more of research on them. I could find only two registrations, V2-LEJ and V2 LEK. V2 is for Antigua, btw, and VT is India. It sure is a beautiful airplane.
This is a Boeing 767 that AI has on its rolls right now. It has been leased from flyglobespan UK, and has a British registration. Its not gonna be around for long, and should go back by the time the brand spankin new 777s start rolling in from Seattle. This aircraft is sporting the unfinished new livery, which is being changed for the third time now to integrate elements from the Indian livery since the two airlines are going to be merged in
This wasn't exactly a rare bird in its time, but then not many people know that AI used to operate Lockheed L-1049G constellations. These curvaceous tri-tailed beauties were all named after various queens in Indian history, like the Rani of Jhansi for instance. 
Speaking of unusual AI birds, I might as well add this one to the list. This is one of AI's leased A310s. This particular aircraft had been leased from CSA Czech airlines for a year and sported a livery that was a hybrid between AI and CSA. An AI A310 was the first fixed wing aircraft i ever flew in, and i'll probably write about that flight later :)
And why is this brand new 772 unusual you ask? Well, its unusual because this livery is probably never going to be used. The new livery will not have the centaur logo of AI, it will have an orange konark wheel instead on the tail and the engine nacelles, while maintaining the same red on the ivory base. The new airline would be named Air India.
aby as soon as possible. I cant wait to see it in the sky, and this coming from a guy who nearly blew all his savings plannin on seeing the 380 on its first visit to India.
d give Virgin's livery a run for its money.
bad landings or handling accidents could potentially warrant replacement of the entire part, unlike metal where a great degree of serviceability exists. I kinda think that this is a potshot at the 787, which is the first major commercial airliner to use composites extensively. How far Airbus would be able to deliver on their promises remains to be seen, but for an airbus supporter like me, this could be the future of long range aviation.
appeared on the net after its new 777-200 LR took to the skies for test flights. They haven't gone and ruined it like the last time with the sun livery, this time it is rather cool. The warm beige-ish colour and the stylized archer logo in gold is pretty good, and has class. And the famed window detail is still there, albeit smaller.
By contrast, Indian seems to have done an attention grabbing bid. The livery is stark, pretty much an LCC sort of thing. But the saving grace is the wheel graphic in deep blue, contrasting nicely with the loud orange. Besides the engine nacelles, like in AI, are a nice touch. But I got fooled once, thinking i was going to board one of their brand new 320s. Only on the airstairs did I notice that my flight had double bogey landing gears.. seen only on the oldest of Indian's 320s. Buggers had started repainting them already. The older ones have blotchy white paint, in case you want to tell the difference.
re. And when they finally changed, they didnt go the whole hog. Just a half hearted introduction of yellow to the front of the fuselage. I would've ranted more were it not for the sexy yellow uniforms they have given their cabin crew. That and the fact that they have ordered some 330s along with their 777s and 787s. And again, its not that the aircraft dont look cool, its just that i would have loved some more change. Of course, to each his own.
7s with the palace in the sky livery that was intricate and out-of-the-world for that era. The photographic stickers on the tail depicting bits of Indian culture, from art to dance to architecture, is simply brilliant. Each aircraft has a different picture on either side of the tail, each more intricate than the next in detail. It remains to be seen how AIX can manage maintenance on these, but for the moment I'm willing to put my money on these beauties for the title of 'most beautiful 737s in the skies' today. 
