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96-642: Canadair Aircraft Ltd. took over the Canadian Vickers Ltd. operations on 11 November 1944. Besides the existing Consolidated PBY Canso flying patrol boats in production, a development contract to produce a new variant of the Douglas DC-4 transport was still in effect. The new Canadair DC-4M powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin engines mounted in Rolls-Royce Universal Power Plant (UPP) installations emerged in 1946 as

192-598: A turbojet -powered, low-wing aircraft, complete with a tricycle undercarriage and a side-by-side cockpit arrangement. Despite a lack of official backing from the Canadian Government, the Royal Canadian Air Force 's (RCAF) Directorate of Training’s Jet Trainer Liaison Committee had closely engaged with the company; their involvement in the project had reportedly made a significant impact in the aircraft's final design. During September 1961,

288-495: A CFL official returning home from the previous day's annual All-Star game at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. On 11 October 1966, CF-TFM/HP925 crashed near Garoua, Cameroons, carrying spurious registration I-ACOA, believed to be carrying a cargo of machine guns bound for Burundi. Ex- Overseas Aviation, bought at Gatwick by Mike Keegan, it had been ferried to Coventry for onward sale; under new ownership, flown to Newcastle (UK), with

384-525: A federal crown corporation until 1986 when, having experienced record losses during its development of the Challenger business jet, the Mulroney government sold it to Bombardier Inc. Shortly after Canadair's acquisition, Bombardier was able to restore it to profitability; the company soon acquired other aviation companies, such as the near-bankrupt Short Brothers of Belfast , Northern Ireland, and

480-518: A kit allowing installation on the aircraft by the operator. The engine thus modified became the 'Merlin TMO' in contrast to the unmodified engine, the Merlin TML - Transport Merlin L. The modified exhaust conferred an increase in horsepower over the unmodified system of 38 hp, resulting in a 5 knot improvement in true air speed. Sound levels were reduced by between 5 and 8 decibels. Still air range of

576-430: A lack of transparency over the way in which the figures are calculated. The airport has always refused to publish a breakdown showing how many "Fly Quiet points" each performance benchmark has contributed towards the total score it awards to an airline, thereby putting obstacles in the way of any independent auditing of the published results. Among other criticisms of the league table are the unexplained omission of some of

672-448: A model of an Emirates Airbus A380 since 2008. Heathrow Airport has Anglican , Catholic , Free Church , Hindu , Jewish , Muslim and Sikh chaplains. There is a multi-faith prayer room and counselling room in each terminal, in addition to St. George's Interdenominational Chapel in an underground vault adjacent to the old control tower, where Christian services take place. The chaplains organise and lead prayers at certain times in

768-548: A new shared Heathrow Terminal 5 station . A dedicated motorway spur links the terminal to the M25 (between junctions 14 and 15). The terminal has 3,800   spaces multi-storey car park . A more distant long-stay car park for business passengers is connected to the terminal by a personal rapid transit system, the Heathrow Pod , which became operational in the spring of 2011. An automated people mover (APM) system, known as

864-610: A priority since the combined business will require accommodation at Heathrow under one roof to maximise the cost savings envisaged under the deal. A proposal for Concourse D was featured in Heathrow's Capital Investment Plan 2009. The transport network around the airport has been extended to cope with the increase in passenger numbers. New branches of both the Heathrow Express and the Underground's Piccadilly line serve

960-463: A result of this purchase, Canadair was reorganised as Convair's Canadian subsidiary. During the 1950s, Canadair decided that it would develop its own indigenous trainer aircraft as a private venture. This aircraft, which would become the CT-114 Tutor was the product of the company’s in-house Preliminary Design department. By August 1957, the basic configuration had been completed, which was of

1056-514: A revised underfloor hull structure. Perhaps the company's most commercially successful product was the Challenger 600 business jet . Originally conceived of by the American aviation inventor Bill Lear as the LearStar 600 , at the end of 1975, Canadair gave its backing to the concept; during April 1976, the company opted to acquire the whole project, formally launching it with the backing of

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1152-594: A site that covers 4.74 square miles (12.3 square kilometres). It was gradually expanded over 75 years and now has two parallel east–west runways , four operational passengers terminals and one cargo terminal. The airport is the primary hub for British Airways and Virgin Atlantic . Heathrow is 14 miles (23 km) west of Central London . It is located 3 miles (5 km) west of Hounslow , 3 miles (5 km) south of Hayes , and 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Staines-upon-Thames . Heathrow falls entirely within

1248-638: A small light-weight all-terrain amphibious tracked vehicle. In turn, Canadair developed the CL-70 RAT Remote Articulated Track ; this vehicle, while not a commercial success, gave Canadair useful experience towards the development of the upgraded CL-91 Dynatrac, which was a marketing success and purchased by the US Army as XM-571 . During 1976, the Canadian government acquired Canadair Ltd. from General Dynamics. It remained

1344-727: A subsequent long-term stay parked adjacent to the wooden control tower and subject to a restraining Court Order. Eventually re-registered in Panamanian markings, it was flown to Limburg, Netherlands, but ended up being involved in various arms shipment flights to West Africa. After the accident, the movements of this aircraft were investigated and extensively reported by, it is thought, the Sunday Times newspaper. Re-registration history and movements after leaving NCL courtesy of Propliner magazine's website. On 4 June 1967, Argonaut G-ALHG , owned by British Midland Airways , crashed near

1440-616: A third runway to the north of the airport, which would significantly increase traffic capacity. Policing of the airport is the responsibility of the aviation security , a unit of the Metropolitan Police , although the British Army , including armoured vehicles of the Household Cavalry , has occasionally been deployed at the airport during periods of heightened security. Full body scanners are now used at

1536-582: A thunderstorm, killing 29 of the 38 passengers and three of the seven crew members. On 9 December 1956: Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 crashed into Mount Slesse on a flight from Vancouver to Calgary , killing all 62 people on board the aircraft. Among the dead were five Canadian Football League players, including four members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and one member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers , as well as

1632-519: A £200   million upgrade to enable it to accommodate 45   airlines with an upgraded forecourt to reduce traffic congestion and improve security. Most flights using Terminal 4 are those from/to East Europe, Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East as well as a few flights from/to Europe. An extended check-in area with renovated piers and departure lounges and a new baggage system were installed, and four new stands were built to accommodate

1728-586: Is dedicated to British Airways's narrowbody fleet for flights around the UK and the rest of Europe, the first satellite (Concourse B) includes dedicated stands for BA and Iberia's widebody fleet except for the Airbus A380, and the second satellite (Concourse C), includes 7 dedicated aircraft stands for the A380. It became fully operational on 1 June 2011. Terminal 5 was voted Skytrax World's Best Airport Terminal 2014 in

1824-473: Is exclusively used by British Airways as its global hub. However, because of the merger, between 25 March 2012 and 12 July 2022, Iberia's operations at Heathrow were moved to the terminal, making it the home of International Airlines Group . On 12 July 2022, Iberia's flight operations were moved back to Terminal 3. On 7 July 2020, American moved to Terminal 5, to allow for easier connections from American's transatlantic flights to British Airways flights during

1920-444: Is home to Oneworld members (with the exception of Malaysia Airlines , Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc , all of which use Terminal 4), SkyTeam members Aeroméxico , China Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Middle East Airlines , Virgin Atlantic , and several long haul unaffiliated carriers. British Airways also operates several flights from this terminal, as do Iberia and Vueling . Opened in 1986, Terminal 4 has 22 gates . It

2016-549: Is not collected and exhausted via a single outlet, but instead exits the separate individual ejector-exhaust stubs in high-pressure bursts. In an effort to reduce cabin noise, the sole C-5 variant was powered by Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engines that were considerably quieter. The only C-5 was delivered to the RCAF in 1950, entering service with No. 412 Transport Squadron RCAF in Uplands, Ottawa, specially outfitted for

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2112-490: Is primarily used by Star Alliance airlines (consolidating the airlines under Star Alliance's co-location policy "Move Under One Roof"). The terminal is also used by a few non-aligned airlines. Terminal 2 is one of the two terminals that operate UK and Irish domestic flights. Although Scandinavian Airlines is now part of the SkyTeam alliance as of 1 September, 2024, it still uses Terminal 2. The original Terminal 2 opened as

2208-652: Is situated to the south of the southern runway next to the cargo terminal and is connected to Terminals 2 and 3 by the Heathrow Cargo Tunnel . The terminal has an area of 105,481 m (1,135,390 sq ft) and is now home to the SkyTeam alliance; except Scandinavian Airlines which uses Terminal 2, and China Airlines , Aeroméxico , Delta Air Lines , Middle East Airlines , and Virgin Atlantic which use Terminal 3 - Oneworld carriers Malaysia Airlines , Qatar Airways , Royal Air Maroc , and Gulf Air and to most unaffiliated carriers. It has undergone

2304-577: Is the main international airport serving London , the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom . It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others being Gatwick , Stansted , Luton , City and Southend ). The airport is owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings . In 2023, Heathrow was the busiest airport in Europe ,

2400-626: The Airports Commission , an independent commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies to examine various options for increasing capacity at UK airports. In July 2015, the commission backed a third runway at Heathrow, which the government approved in October 2016. However, the Court of Appeal rejected this plan, on the basis that the government failed to consider climate change and the environmental impact of aviation . On 16 December 2020,

2496-527: The CL-204 , was a purpose-designed water bomber that evolved into an amphibian flying boat configuration, powered by two shoulder-mounted 2,100 hp (1,566 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-2800 piston engines . Its design was shaped by a desire for the CL-205 to be well-suited for performing a range of roles, including air-sea search and rescue , cargo haulage and commercial passenger-carrying, in addition to

2592-531: The CL-44D , based on the British Bristol Britannia airliner , was the first design that allowed access by swinging the entire rear fuselage. The CL-89 and CL-289 were the first surveillance drones to be put into service in several countries' armed forces. The experimental CL-84 was the first VTOL aircraft that rotated the wings to achieve vertical lift-off ( tiltwing ). The CL-215 was

2688-706: The Canadian Regional Jet (CRJ). However, this branding has since been dropped; new projects from all of Bombardier's various aircraft divisions have since simply been known as Bombardier Aerospace. Shooting Star the Forty-Four AN/USD-502 Midge Challenger London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport ( / ˌ h iː θ ˈ r oʊ , ˈ h iː θ r oʊ / ), called London Airport until 1966 ( IATA : LHR , ICAO : EGLL ), and now known as London Heathrow,

2784-657: The Canadian federal government shortly thereafter. Development of the Challenger 600 was hampered by a deadly crash amid the flight test programme on 3 April 1980; despite this, type certification for the aircraft was approved by both Transport Canada and the Federal Aviation Administration later that same year. The high cost of developing the Challenger 600 has been attributed as a major cause of Canadair's poor financial situation during

2880-622: The M25 motorway . The airport is located within the Hayes and Harlington parliamentary constituency. As the airport is located west of London and as its runways run east–west, an aircraft's landing approach is usually directly over the Greater London Urban Area when the wind has a westerly component — as it often has. The airport forms part of a travel to work area consisting of (most of) Greater London, and neighbouring parts of

2976-691: The UK Supreme Court lifted the ban on the third runway expansion, allowing the construction plan to go ahead. Until it was required to sell Gatwick and Stansted Airports, Heathrow Airport Holdings, owned mostly by FGP and Qatar Investment Authority and CDPQ held a dominant position in the London aviation market and has been heavily regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as to how much it can charge airlines to land. The annual increase in landing charge per passenger

Canadair North Star - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-497: The business jet specialist Learjet of Wichita, Kansas , as well as de Havilland Aircraft of Canada of Toronto , Ontario . Together with these other entities, Canadair became a core component of Bombardier Aerospace . Following the company's acquisition by Bombardier, the Canadair name had continued to be prominently used in the branding of its larger series of business jets and regional jets , which have been marketed as

3168-421: The fourth-busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic and the second-busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic . As of 2023, Heathrow is the airport with the most international connections in the world. Heathrow was founded as a small airfield in 1930 but was developed into a much larger airport after World War II . It lies 14 miles (23 kilometres ) west of Central London on

3264-546: The "North Star." More than just an engine swap, the North Star had the Douglas DC-6 nose and landing gear and fuselage (shortened by 80 inches (6.7 ft; 2.0 m)); a DC-4 empennage , rear fuselage, flaps and wing tips; C-54 middle fuselage sections, wing centre- and outer-wing panels, cabin pressurisation , and a standardised cockpit layout with a different electrical system. Canadair built 71 examples of what

3360-618: The 1970s and most were declared surplus. TCA received its fleet of twenty DC-4M-2 North Stars during 1947 and 1948 and operated them on routes within Canada and to the USA until 1961. Starting in 1954 the North Stars were replaced on TCA's routes to Europe by Lockheed Super Constellations . To deal with passenger complaints about noise, TCA engineers developed a cross-over for the fuselage-side exhausts that reduced cabin noise by 6-8 decibels. "In

3456-561: The 1980s, being reportedly close to bankruptcy ; the company's condition in turn ultimately contributed to its acquisition by Bombardier Inc. during 1986. In the long run, the business jet was well received by the market and can be considered to be a success, being produced for over four decades. In excess of 1,000 Challenger 600s had been reportedly completed by late 2018. Outside of the field of aviation, Canadair opted to diversify into various other sectors, developing its own range of industrial and commercial products. The "Canarch" division

3552-475: The Airbus A380; Qatar Airways operates regular A380 flights. Terminal 5 lies between the northern and southern runways at the western end of the Heathrow site and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 14 March 2008, 19 years after its inception. It opened to the public on 27 March 2008, and British Airways and its partner company Iberia have exclusive use of this terminal, which has 50   gates, including three hardstands. The first passenger to enter Terminal 5

3648-486: The Annual World Airport Awards. The main terminal building (Concourse A) has an area of 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft) while Concourse B covers 60,000 square metres (650,000 sq ft). It has 60 aircraft stands and capacity for 30   million passengers annually as well as more than 100   shops and restaurants. It is also home to British Airways' Flagship lounge,

3744-671: The BOAC Argonaut Atalanta G-ALHK transported Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to Kenya to begin a Commonwealth tour. Some days later, 6 February, it was again Atalanta G-ALHK which returned the newly acceded Queen Elizabeth II to England upon the death of her father, King George VI. Rolls-Royce also developed a quieter 'cross-over' exhaust system for the DC-4M, the modifications being supplied in

3840-520: The Canadian government, having been impressed by the performance of the prototype, placed a sizeable order for 190 production aircraft on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Serving as the service's primary trainer platform, the Tutor would be operated as such for over thirty years. Another indigenously-developed design was the CL-215 amphibian. It arose from an internal research study during

3936-552: The Concorde Room, alongside four further British Airways branded lounges. One of those lounges is the British Airways Arrivals Lounge which is located land-side. A further building, designated Concourse D and of similar size to Concourse C, may yet be built to the east of the existing site, providing up to another 16   stands. Following British Airways' merger with Iberia , this may become

Canadair North Star - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-610: The Europa Building in 1955 and was the airport's oldest terminal. It had an area of 49,654 m (534,470 sq ft) and was designed to handle around 1.2   million passengers annually. In its final years, it accommodated up to 8   million. A total of 316   million passengers passed through the terminal in its lifetime. The building was demolished in 2010, along with the Queens Building which had housed airline company offices. Terminal 3 opened as

4128-529: The Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 to handle flight departures for long-haul routes for foreign carriers to the United States and Asia. At this time the airport had a direct helicopter service to central London from the gardens on the roof of the terminal building. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building. Other facilities added included

4224-584: The PBY contract, a development contract to produce a new variant of the Douglas DC-4 transport was also underway. The resulting aircraft, the Canadair DC-4M , which was powered by an arrangement of four British -sourced Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, began production during 1946; it was marketed under the "Northstar" name. During the immediate postwar era, Canadair purchased the "work in progress" on

4320-702: The RCAF. From 1950 to 1952, during the Korean War , RCAF North Star aircraft were employed ferrying supplies to Korea across the Pacific Ocean . They flew 599 round trips over the Pacific and delivered seven million pounds of cargo and 13,000 personnel on return trips. They flew 1.9 million miles without a fatal crash. After 1967, the remaining North Stars were assigned to No. 426 Transport Squadron RCAF initially deployed to Dorval, Quebec and then to Trenton, Ontario . Gradually, their service life diminished in

4416-491: The UK Government continued to develop the site as a civil airport. The airport was opened on 25 March 1946 as London Airport. The airport was renamed Heathrow Airport in the last week of September 1966, to avoid confusion with the other two airports which serve London, Gatwick and Stansted . The design for the airport was by Sir Frederick Gibberd . He set out the original terminals and central-area buildings, including

4512-470: The UK's first moving walkways . In 2006, the new £105   million Pier 6 was completed to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo; Emirates and Qantas operate regular flights from Terminal 3 using the Airbus A380. Redevelopment of Terminal 3's forecourt by the addition of a new four-lane drop-off area and a large pedestrianised plaza, complete with a canopy to the front of the terminal building,

4608-559: The US and UK signed a new US-UK Air Transport Agreement in November 2020 incorporating the essential elements of Open Skies, which came into effect in March 2021. The airport was criticised in 2007 for overcrowding and delays; according to Heathrow Airport Holdings, Heathrow's facilities were originally designed to accommodate 55   million passengers annually. The number of passengers using

4704-701: The US. In 1991, Pan Am and TWA sold their rights to United Airlines and American Airlines respectively, while Virgin Atlantic was added to the list of airlines allowed to operate on these routes. The Bermuda II Air Service Agreement was superseded by a new " open skies " agreement that was signed by the United States and the European Union on 30 April 2007 and came into effect on 30 March 2008. Shortly afterwards, additional US airlines, including Northwest Airlines , Continental Airlines , US Airways and Delta Air Lines started services to Heathrow after previously having to use Gatwick Airport . Following Brexit ,

4800-426: The air, almost all of the original runways can still be seen, incorporated into the present system of taxiways. North of the northern runway and the former taxiway and aprons, now the site of extensive car parks, is the entrance to the access tunnel and the site of Heathrow's unofficial " gate guardian ". For many years the home of a 40% scale model of a British Airways Concorde , G-CONC; the site has been occupied by

4896-694: The aircraft and one person on the ground. As a result of this crash, training flights are restricted south of the Trans Canada Highway and civil aviation transit north of the highway. On 21 September 1955: BOAC Argonaut G-ALHL which was traveling from Rome to Tripoli crashed on its fourth landing attempt in poor visibility and strong winds. Fifteen of the 40 occupants died when the aircraft descended too low, struck trees approximately 1,200 ft short of runway 11 and subsequently impacted terrain. On 24 June 1956: BOAC Argonaut G-ALHE crashed shortly after taking off from Kano Airport, Nigeria into

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4992-458: The aircraft to their final approach, merging aircraft from the four holds into a single stream of traffic, sometimes as close as 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) apart. Considerable use is made of continuous descent approach techniques to minimise the environmental effects of incoming aircraft, particularly at night. Once an aircraft is established on its final approach, control is handed over to Heathrow Tower. When runway alternation

5088-514: The aircraft was also improved by around 4 per cent. BOAC Argonauts initially, due to schedules being unable to be changed, had only the inner engines so-modified, the remaining outer engines being changed to the new exhaust system when time was available. After service with TCA and BOAC, the surplused North Stars and Argonauts had long careers with secondary operators such as British Midland Airways , Overseas Aviation and other charter companies. Cargo conversions of available airframes also lengthened

5184-422: The airport reached a record 70   million in 2012. In 2007 the airport was voted the world's least favourite, alongside Chicago O'Hare , in a TripAdvisor survey. However, the opening of Terminal 5 in 2008 has relieved some pressure on terminal facilities, increasing the airport's terminal capacity to 90   million passengers per year. A tie-up is also in place with McLaren Applied Technologies to optimise

5280-423: The airport, and passengers who refuse to use them are required to submit to a hand search in a private room. The scanners display passengers' bodies as cartoon figures, with indicators showing where concealed items may be. For many decades Heathrow had a reputation for theft from baggage by baggage handlers. This led to the airport being nicknamed "Thiefrow", with periodic arrests of baggage handlers. Following

5376-611: The boundaries of the London Borough of Hillingdon , and under the Twickenham postcode area , with the postcode TW6. It is surrounded by the villages of Sipson , Harlington , Harmondsworth , and Longford to the north and the neighbourhoods of Cranford and Hatton to the east. To the south lie Feltham , Bedfont and Stanwell while to the west Heathrow is separated from Slough , Horton and Windsor in Berkshire by

5472-457: The cabin, noise is reduced to 102 decibels near the windows and 93 at the aisle." BOAC ordered 22 DC-4M-4s and named them the " Argonaut class", each aircraft having a classical name beginning with "A". The Argonauts were delivered between March and November 1949; they flew to South America, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East from London Heathrow Airport until 1960. On 1 February 1952

5568-547: The centre (e.g. Camborne Road). The top cargo export destinations include the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates handling 1.4 million tonnes of cargo in 2022. The top products exported were books, salmon and medicine. Aircraft destined for Heathrow are usually routed to one of four holding points . Air traffic controllers at Heathrow Approach Control (based in Swanwick, Hampshire ) then guide

5664-672: The centre of Stockport , Greater Manchester , United Kingdom . Fatalities included 72 of the 84 on board; 12 others were seriously injured. The sole surviving airframe is an RCAF C-54GM example ( 17515 ), which is currently undergoing restoration at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum , Ottawa , Ontario . Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1951–52 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Canadair Canadair Ltd.

5760-497: The charges for landing at Heathrow are determined by the CAA and Heathrow Airport Holdings, the allocation of landing slots to airlines is carried out by Airport Co-ordination Limited (ACL). Until 2008, air traffic between Heathrow and the United States was strictly governed by the countries' bilateral Bermuda II treaty. The treaty originally allowed only British Airways, Pan Am and TWA to fly from Heathrow to designated gateways in

5856-542: The early 1960s at Canadair, originally conceived of as a twin-engined floatplane transport based on the design of the 369 Canso (a variant of the PBY). However, it was altered into a "firefighter" following a request by forestry officials in the Quebec Service Aérien ( Quebec Government Air Service ) who wanted a more effective way of delivering water to forest fires. The 1962 preliminary design, designated as

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5952-403: The existing Douglas DC-3 / C-47 series. In 1946, the Electric Boat Company , an American industrial group, bought a controlling interest in the company; shortly thereafter, the two companies merged to form the American company General Dynamics in 1952. During 1954, General Dynamics opted to purchase Convair , which had been created by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft; as

6048-433: The existing paths which were spread out. The zones used alternated weekly, meaning residents in the "no-fly" areas received respite from aircraft noise for set periods. However, it was concluded that some residents in other areas experienced more noise as a consequence of the trial and that it should therefore not be taken forward in its current form. Heathrow received more than 25,000 noise complaints in just three months over

6144-410: The first purpose-designed water bomber. Canadair was formally created on 11 November 1944 as a separate entity by the government of Canada. Having absorbed the operations of the Canadian Vickers company, it initially operated as a manufacturer of Consolidated PBY "Canso" flying boats on behalf of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Benjamin W. Franklin became its first president. In addition to

6240-536: The first six weeks ( United Airlines ' transatlantic flights) to avoid the opening problems seen at Terminal 5. On 4 June 2014, United became the first airline to move into Terminal 2 from Terminals 1 and 4 followed by All Nippon Airways , Air Canada and Air China from Terminal 3. Air New Zealand , Asiana Airlines , Croatia Airlines , LOT Polish Airlines , South African Airways , and TAP Air Portugal moved in on 22 October 2014. Flights using Terminal 2 primarily originate from northern Europe or western Europe. It

6336-411: The four main holds. The following four stacks are currently in place: In high-traffic situations, air traffic controllers can opt to use a number of RNAV STARs either to send traffic to a non-standard stack or to move traffic from one stack to another. These are not allowed to be used for flight planning and will be assigned by ATC tactically. In September 2012, the British government established

6432-446: The general procedure, reducing delays and pollution. With only two runways operating at over 98% of their capacity, Heathrow has little room for more flights, although the use of larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 has allowed some increase in passenger numbers. It is difficult for existing airlines to obtain landing slots to enable them to increase their services from the airport, or for new airlines to start operations. To increase

6528-681: The government of Canada on 11 November, 1944. Throughout much of its existence, it was a subsidiary of various other aircraft manufacturers prior to being nationalized by the Canadian government in 1976. For a decade, the company operated as a federally-owned Crown Corporation . In 1986, Canadair was privatized via its sale to Bombardier, after which it became a core element of the firm's aerospace division . The company's former principal manufacturing facility, Canadair Plant One , remains intact, although Cartierville Airport itself has been closed and since undergone redevelopment. During its operational years, Canadair achieved several aviation firsts;

6624-532: The nominated departure runway, to help reduce airborne delays and to position landing aircraft closer to their terminal, reducing taxi times. Night-time flights at Heathrow are subject to restrictions . Between 23:00 and 04:00, the noisiest aircraft (rated QC /8 and QC/16) cannot be scheduled for operation. Also, during the night quota period (23:30–06:00) there are four limits: A trial of "noise-relief zones" ran from December 2012 to March 2013, which concentrated approach flight paths into defined areas compared with

6720-402: The number of flights, Heathrow Airport Holdings has proposed using the existing two runways in 'mixed mode' whereby aircraft would be allowed to take off and land on the same runway. This would increase the airport's capacity from its current 480,000 movements per year to as many as 550,000 according to former British Airways CEO Willie Walsh . Heathrow Airport Holdings has also proposed building

6816-468: The original control tower and the multi-faith Chapel of St George's. Heathrow Airport is used by over 89 airlines flying to 214 destinations in 84 countries. The airport is the primary hub of British Airways and is a base for Virgin Atlantic . It has four passenger terminals (numbered 2 to 5) and a cargo terminal. In 2021 Heathrow served 19.4 million passengers, of which 17 million were international and 2.4 million domestic. The busiest year ever recorded

6912-400: The other. To further reduce noise nuisance, the use of runways 27R and 27L is swapped at 15:00 each day if the wind is from the west. When landings are easterly there is no alternation; 09L remains the landing runway and 09R the takeoff runway due to the legacy of the now rescinded Cranford Agreement , pending taxiway works to allow the roles to be reversed. Occasionally, landings are allowed on

7008-427: The pandemic. However, all American flights, except JFK, have returned to Terminal 3. China Southern Airlines used Terminal 5 due to the pandemic until it was relocated to Terminal 4 in November 2022. Built for £4.3   billion, the terminal consists of a four-story main terminal building (Concourse A) and two satellite buildings linked to the main terminal by an underground people mover transit system. Concourse A

7104-416: The pattern closest to their arrival route. They can be visualised as a helix in the sky. Each stack descends in 1,000 feet (305 m) intervals from 16,000 feet (4,877 m) down to 8,000 feet (2,438 m). Aircraft hold between 7,000 and 15,000 feet (2,134 and 4,572 m) at 1,000-foot intervals. If these holds become full, aircraft are held at more distant points before being cleared onward to one of

7200-415: The poorer performers among the 50 busiest airlines and the emphasis on relative rather than absolute performance, so an airline could well improve its "Fly Quiet" score quarter-on-quarter even if its environmental performance had in fact worsened over the period. In October 2024, Heathrow finally reinstated the programme, rebadged as “Fly Quieter & Greener”. Two more environmental benchmarks were added to

7296-408: The prayer room. The airport has its resident press corps, consisting of six photographers and one TV crew, serving all the major newspapers and television stations around the world. Most of Heathrow's internal roads’ names are coded by their first letter: N in the north (e.g. Newall Road), E in the east (e.g. Elmdon Road), S in the south (e.g. Stratford Road), W in the west (e.g. Walrus Road), C in

7392-799: The previous seven, but in all other respects the aforementioned deficiencies of the original scheme remain. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Heathrow has seen a large increase in cargo-only flights, not only by already established carriers at the airport operating cargo-only flights using passenger aircraft but also by several cargo-only airlines. Inbound aircraft to London Heathrow Airport typically follow one of several Standard Arrival Routes (STARs). The STARs each terminate at one of four different VOR installations , and these also define four "stacks" where aircraft can be held if necessary until they are cleared to begin their approach to land. Stacks are sections of airspace where inbound aircraft will normally use

7488-574: The principal operators of the " North Star ", with the CPA examples known as the " Canadair Four " and BOAC examples known as the " Argonaut ". The RCAF North Stars were unpressurized and were used on a variety of transport duties. Like other North Stars, they were notorious for the high level of cabin noise caused by the Merlin engines, as unlike the radials of the DC-4, the exhaust from the individual cylinders

7584-412: The service life of Argonauts and North Stars. CF-UXA, ex-RCAF 17510 was the last DC-4M in airline service, completing its final flight on 19 June 1975 at Miami , Florida . Despite the onset of jet airliners in the 1950s, the rugged Canadair North Star found a niche in both military and civil use. Canadair built 71 examples under the designations: North Star, DC-4M, C-4 and C-5. With the exception of

7680-402: The shape of a hexagram with the permanent passenger terminal in the middle and the older terminal along the north edge of the field; two of its runways would always be within 30° of the wind direction. As the required length for runways has grown, Heathrow now has only two parallel runways running east–west. These are extended versions of the two east–west runways from the original hexagram. From

7776-422: The single C-5 (which had Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines, as fitted to the Douglas DC-6 ), these variants were all powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and 51 of the production examples were pressurised. On 8 April 1954, a Royal Canadian Air Force Canadian Car and Foundry Harvard Mk.II 3309 collided with Trans-Canada Airlines North Star CF-TFW over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan , killing 36 people aboard

7872-554: The summer of 2016, but around half were made by the same ten people. In 2017, Heathrow introduced "Fly Quiet & Green", a quarterly published league table (suspended in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic) that awards points to the 50 busiest airlines at the airport, ostensibly based on their performance relative to each other across a range of seven environmental benchmarks, such as NO x emissions. Heathrow has acknowledged, but not attempted to refute, criticism over discrepancies and

7968-407: The surrounding Home Counties . Heathrow Airport began in 1929 as a small airfield ( Great West Aerodrome ) on land southeast of the hamlet of Heathrow from which the airport takes its name. At that time the land consisted of farms, market gardens and orchards ; there was a "Heathrow Farm" approximately where the modern Terminal 2 is situated, a "Heathrow Hall" and a "Heathrow House." This hamlet

8064-590: The transportation of VIP passengers. It was used to transport the Canadian Prime Minister, the Queen , and numerous other dignitaries on various high-profile missions, serving faithfully for 17 years, later becoming a crew trainer before being retired and sold in the United States. North Stars were also employed by 412 Squadron RCAF on various VIP transport duties and, overall, the aircraft provided valuable and reliable long range transport services for

8160-508: The water bomber mission. The definitive design was publicly revealed at the 1965 Paris Air Show . While the CL-215A served as the standard water bomber configuration, another model, designated as the CL-215C , had been envisioned to dispense with compromises meant to enhance its performance at the water bomber role, allowing it be furnished with larger doors on the sides of the fuselage and

8256-414: The widespread disruption caused by reports of drone sightings at Gatwick Airport , and a subsequent incident at Heathrow, a drone-detection system was installed airport-wide to attempt to combat disruption caused by the illegal use of drones. The airport's newest terminal, officially known as the Queen's Terminal, was opened on 4 June 2014 and has 24 gates. Designed by Spanish architect Luis Vidal , it

8352-408: Was 2019 when 80.9 million passengers travelled through the airport. Heathrow is the UK's largest port by value with a network of over 218 destinations worldwide. The busiest single destination in passenger numbers is New York, with over three   million passengers flying between Heathrow and JFK Airport in 2021. In the 1950s, Heathrow had six runways, arranged in three pairs at different angles in

8448-480: Was a Canadian civil and military aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1944 to 1986. In 1986, its assets were acquired by Bombardier Aerospace , the aviation division of Canadian transport conglomerate Bombardier Inc. Canadair's origins lie in the establishment of a factory for Canadian Vickers in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal, at Cartierville Airport . It was created as a separate entity by

8544-425: Was a UK ex-pat from Kenya who passed through security at 04:30 on the day. He was presented with a boarding pass by British Airways CEO Willie Walsh for the first departing flight, BA302 to Paris. During the two weeks after its opening, operations were disrupted by problems with the terminal's IT systems, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which caused over 500 flights to be cancelled. Terminal 5

8640-552: Was built on the site that had been occupied by the original Terminal 2 and the Queens Building. The main complex was completed in November 2013 and underwent six months of testing before opening to passengers. It includes a satellite pier (T2B), a 1,340-space car park, and a cooling station to generate chilled water. There are 52 shops and 17 bars and restaurants. The airlines moved from their original locations over six months, with only 10% of flights operating from there in

8736-488: Was capped at inflation minus 3% until 1 April 2003. From 2003 to 2007 charges increased by inflation plus 6.5% per year, taking the fee to £9.28 per passenger in 2007. In March 2008, the CAA announced that the charge would be allowed to increase by 23.5% to £12.80 from 1 April 2008 and by inflation plus 7.5% for each of the following four years. In April 2013, the CAA announced a proposal for Heathrow to charge fees calculated by inflation minus 1.3%, continuing until 2019. Whilst

8832-605: Was completed in 2007. These improvements were intended to improve passengers' experience, reduce traffic congestion and improve security. As part of this project, Virgin Atlantic was assigned its dedicated check-in area, known as 'Zone A', which features a large sculpture and atrium. As of 2013 , Terminal 3 has an area of 98,962 m (1,065,220 sq ft) with 28 gates, and in 2011 it handled 19.8   million passengers on 104,100   flights. Most flights from Terminal 3 are long-haul flights from North America, Asia and other foreign countries other than Europe. Terminal 3

8928-476: Was introduced, aircraft generated significantly more noise on departure than when landing, so a preference for westerly operations during daylight was introduced, which continues to this day. In this mode, aircraft take off towards the west and land from the east over London, thereby minimising the impact of noise on the most densely populated areas. Heathrow's two runways generally operate in segregated mode, whereby landings are allocated to one runway and takeoffs to

9024-495: Was involved in curtain wall design and manufacture for a number of buildings. They also produce the cabins for many air traffic control towers operated by the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States. Both tracked and air-cushioned vehicles were designed and underwent testing; however none proceeded into commercial production. In the late 1950s, the United States Army contracted Canadair to develop

9120-400: Was largely along a country lane (Heathrow Road), which ran roughly along the east and south edges of the present central terminals area. Development of the whole Heathrow area as a much larger airport began in 1944 during World War II . It was intended for long-distance military aircraft bound for the Far East. By the time some of the airfield's runways were usable, World War II had ended, and

9216-555: Was officially called the Canadair Four under the designations: North Star, DC-4M, C-4 and C-5. With the exception of the single C-5 (which had Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engines, as fitted to the Douglas DC-6 ), these variants were all powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and 51 of the production examples were pressurised. Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Canadian Pacific Airlines (CPA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) were

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