PP-1 is the first of five VH-71s scheduled to participate in the initial test programme for the type in the United States.

Luftwaffe Tornado IDS 45+44 of Jagdbombergeschwader 33 (JBG 33, fighter Bomber Wing 33) based at Buchel made its first flight after being painted to celebrate the wing's 50th anniversary. The aircraft carries artwork denoting the wing's 332 Staffel 'Devils' (seen here) on the port side of its tail, and the 331 Staffel 'Ghosts' on the starboard.

Not to be outdone, JBG 32 has painted Tornado ECR 46+23 to mark its own 50th anniversary. No 321 Staffel 'Tigers' and 322 Monsters' were represented on the port and starboard surfaces of the tail, while the aircraft is finished in a striking blue scheme overall.

The first A380-842 for Qantas (VH-OQA, c/n 014, ex F-WWSK) and the sixth A380-841 (9V-SKF, c/n 012, ex F-WWSI) for Singapore Airlines (c/n) face each other at the Airbus delivery centre at Toulouse in France on September 17, 2008. The following day, Singapore Airlines took delivery of its aircraft after it touched down at 0823hrs in the island state. On September 20 it began flying between Singapore and London. Qantas received its first A380 on September 19, and this was due to begin fare-paying flights on October 20 between Melbourne, Victoria, and Los Angeles, California.

Embraer 190AR 5N-VNH (c/n 190.00210, ex PT-SGT) was handed over to Virgin Nigeria on September 25, 2008. Its delivery flight took place between September 30 and October 1, when it flew from Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil to Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, with stops at Recife in Brazil and Dakar-Yoff-Leopold Sedar Senghor International in Senegal. The aircraft is configured with 12 first-class and 84 Elite seats, each equipped with a Thales i4000 in-flight entertainment system. It will operate from Lagos, feeding the carrier's international long-haul routes. Virgin Nigeria has three Embraer 190ARs on order and has options for six more.

AeBal (Aerolineas Baleares) ended its franchise with Spanair, with which it dew scheduled services as Spanair Link, on September 15, 2008. At least three of its five leased Boeing 717s remain with the airline and are currently offered for wet lease. Boeing 717-21S EC-JZX (c/n 55065) is seen soon after landing, late in the afternoon of October 1 at Palma de Mallorca after arriving from Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport where it underwent maintenance. The previously worn small Spanair Link titles have been removed

Philippine Air Force L100-20 Hercules 4593 on the ramp at Mactan AB, Cebu, on December 28, 1989. The aircraft crashed into the sea on August 25.

Свой последний боевой вылет вертолеты Pave Low из 20-й экспедиционной эскадрильи спецопераций совершили в Ираке 27 сентября 2008 года. Ночной снимок сделан вскоре после их взлета.
On September 27, 2008 the 20th Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron (ESOS) flew its last combat mission over Iraq. The sorties brought to an end the combat career of the Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV, the last of the H-53 variants to serve with the US Air Force, while the helicopter left the service three days later. The 20th ESOS was raised from the 20th SOS. 1st SOW based at Hurlburt Field, Florida, and its last 40 people returned there from Iraq on October 3. The 20th SOS itself was deactivated on October 16.

The first MB-339CD upgraded to Batch 2 configuration made its maiden flight on September 24th, 2008.

Amsterdam Airlines was formed in 2007 to provide both charter and wet lease services. It received its first and so far only aircraft on June 18, 2008. Leased from ILFC, A320-231 PH-AAX (c/n 430) formerly served with Mexicans as XA-TXT. It is currently flying services from Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino for the Italian airline Air Vallee.

The range of business aircraft on display at NBAA reflects the sector's buoyancy. Although manufacturers are confident the market will continue to expand, limits on the availability of credit may have an effect on future growth.

Soon after its first flight, Viking Airs Twin Otter 400 technology demonstrator made its public debut at the NBAA show at Orlando, Florida, held from October 6-8, 2008.

The second Alenia C-27J Spartan Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) for the US Army made its maiden flight from Turin-Caselle Airport in Italy on September 15, 2008. L-3 Communications, the prime contract for the JCA, handed over the first C-27J to the Joint Program Office on September 25. A total of six have been ordered for the US Army, although 54 for that service and 24 for the US Air Force are under contract. The first 14 will be built by Alenia in Turin. The second aircraft was due to be delivered to L-3 Communications at Greenville in Waco in Texas and will be handed over to the Army in November.

F-15D 85-131/'WA' of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, 57th Aggressor Training Group, seen taking off on July 30, 2008 - it later crashed at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

Making its public debut at Orlando was the Embraer Phenom 300.

The last airworthy Douglas C-133A Cargomaster touched down at Travis AFB in northern California, on August 30, 2008, bringing an end to the flying career of the type. Until recently the aircraft (N199AB, ex 56-1999) was operated by Cargomaster Inc based at Anchorage in Alaska, on government contracts, but its use has been extremely sporadic in recent years because of fatigue worries. Rising insurance costs and a lack of spares eventually forced its retirement. The strategic transport departed Anchorage on August 28 for a stopover at McChord AFB, before flying on to Travis two days later. Prior to commencing its final journey the aircraft was repainted with stars and bars and a MATS tailband.

Three Extra 330s were delivered to the I'Equipe de Volige de l'Armee de I'Air (EVAA, Aerobatic Flight of the French Air Force) based at BA701 Salon de Provence on September 1, 2008. Two single-seat EA330SCs (seen here, 04/F-TGCI, c/n SC004, and 05/F-TGCJ, c/n SC005) and a two-seat EA330LC (03/F-TGCH, c/n LC003) have been delivered to replace the CAP 232s previously flown by the team The Extras were acquired after an evaluation of the CAP 222, Sukhoi Su-26 and Su-29.

An AgustaWestland AW139 (40-HHH) is the first helicopter to carry Montenegran civil markings. It is pictured at Guernsey Airport on August 20, 2008 before being handed over to its new owner, having arrived the previous day from Liverpool Docks.

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan N23045 (c/n 208B2025) staged through Glasgow Airport on September 26, 2008, having arrived from Reykjavik Airport on its delivery flight to new airline Northeast Shuttles of India. The delivery flight continued the following day, via Luxembourg-Findel International Airport and Luqa, on Malta.

Two of the six Nanchang K-8 Karakorum advanced training and light attack aircraft delivered to the Air Force of Zimbabwe attended the Africa Air Defence Exhibition (AAD 2008) held at Air Force Base Ysterplaat, Cape Town, between September 17 and 21, 2008. The aircraft that attended were 2068N and 2106G, assigned to 4 Squadron based at Thornhill Air Base near the central city of Gweru. A third Zimbabwe K-8 was destroyed on September 5, while practising an aerobatic routine for the event. A further six K-8s are on order by Zimbabwe.

Bombardier 415 C-FUDY (c/n 2069) night stopped at Dublin in Ireland on September 14, 2008 during its delivery flight to the Ejercito de l'Aire (Spanish Air Force). Once in Spain the aircraft relinquished its delivery markings for its Spanish military identity, UD 14-03/'43-33'. The aircraft began its delivery flight three days earlier at North Bay, Ontario, and night-stopped at Goose Bay, Newfoundland in Canada; Reykjavik in Iceland and Dublin in Ireland, before arriving at Torrejon Air Base to join Ala 12 of Grupo 43 on September 15 Its arrival increases the number of Bombardier 415s in the Spanish inventory to three.

An unusual assignment for 816 Squadron of the Royal Australian Navy was to deliver the National Rugby League (NRL) Premiership Trophy to the ANZ Stadium in the Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush, Sydney. Tiger-stripped S-70B-2 Seahawk N24-001 was used to carry the trophy into the stadium at the start of the NRL Grand Final held on October 5, 2008.

MD-82 EC-HFP of Spanair touching down at Madrid-Barajas International Airport. The aircraft was destroyed at the same location on August 20, 2008 in the fifth worse aviation accident ever to occur in Spain.

Boeing 737-322 JY-JAD (c/n 24662) displays an image of the Petra located in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate of Jordan on its tail. The aircraft is owned by Jordan Aviation and operated by Safi Airways, an Afghan airline that flies from Kabul International to destinations in the Middle East. Its fleet consists of two Boeing 737-300s and a 767-200ER. JY-RAD is seen at Kabul International Airport on July 19, 2008.

Arik Air of Lagos, Nigeria, has two Bombardier DHC-8-402 Dash-8 Q400s awaiting delivery. Both 5N-BKV Cyprian (c/n 4219, ex C-FSRN) and 5N-BKU Christopher (c/n 4207, ex C-FPPU) are depicted at Bombardier's de Havilland Plant at Downsview Airport in Toronto, Ontario, on August 25, 2008, prior to beginning their flight test programmes. Arik Air also operates two Q300s sub-leased from Denim Air of the Netherlands. The rest of its fleet comprises two Boeing 737-300s and five 737-700Ws, two Bombardier CRJ200s and four CRJ900s, a Fokker 50 and two Hawker 800s, and it is in the process of taking delivery of Airbus A340-500s. Arik also has four Boeing 777-200/300s and three 787-9s on order.

The first four two-seat Saab JAS39D Gripens that will form the SAAF's Gripen Advanced Light Fighter Fleet at Air Force Base Makhado were handed over to the South African Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Air Force at Air Force Base (AFB) Ysterplaat on September 17, 2008. The third and fourth aircraft were delivered by Saab on August 15 and joined the second on strength with 2 Squadron. The initial aircraft is assigned to the Gripen Flight Test Centre at the SAAF Test Flight and Development Centre (TFDC) at AFB Overberg. South Africa has 26 Gripens on order, the last due to be delivered in 2012.

F-35 Test Pilot Jeff Knowles brings F-35A AA-1 down on to the runway at Edwards AFB, California, on October 1, 2008.

Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE) exhibited its Mi-24 Super Hind Mk V at the Africa Aerospace and Defence show held in late September 2008. The latest version has composite main blades to improve performance and reduce maintenance costs and PALL sand filters to reduce engine wear, potentially doubling the life of the powerplant. A Carl Zeiss Optronics sighting system has been installed, while the original nose-mounted weapon has been replaced by a Denel Land Systems 20-mm cannon. Denel Dynamics Ingwe anti-tank missiles can be carried, while Thales chaff and flares have been fitted to improve self-defence capabilities. The South African company has already sold Hind upgrades to Algeria and Poland, and is one of the few companies that have secured approval for such modifications from the Russian manufacturers and design authorities.

Piper displayed its new PiperJet inside the convention hall. At the time it had flown 72 hours during 42 flights. A total of 203 orders have been placed.

EADS North America announced on October 7, 2008 that it had delivered the first Final Assembly Line (FAL) example of the Eurocopter UH-72A Lakota to the US Army from its production facility located at the Golden Triangle Airport Industrial Complex in Columbus, Mississippi. Production of the helicopter in the 220,000sq ft (67,056m2) purpose-built factory is being phased in during three stages, known as Light Assembly Line (LAL), FAL and Production Line (PL), during which progressively more components and processes are undertaken at Columbus. The first FAL-built Lakota (N567AE, c/n 9179, to become 07-02044) underwent seven of the 14 stages required to build, assembly and deliver it at Columbus. PL status will be achieved when all 14 are completed at the factory.

The recently-flown Comp Air 9 prototype made its debut at NBAA.