In an attempt to reduce spending and costs Jat Airways will close its landmark office in New York, open since 1971. The office, located on the famous Fifth Avenue, has been the airline’s office during its golden years as JAT Yugoslav Airlines as well as the not so golden years during the 90’s and more recent years. The airline used to operate regular flights from Belgrade and Zagreb to the largest city in the United States. The office has been host to many distinguished guests over the years including Serbia’s Crown Prince Alexander, the world number three tennis player Novak Djokovic and many others. It is still uncertain if the airline will sell the office or simply lease it. Furthermore the airline’s office in Amsterdam will be leased out with offices to be opened at the airport which will reduce costs. Jat Airways has many offices outside of Europe (with its own representatives from Serbia) including those in Tunisia, Tripoli, Cairo, Dubai, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne. The airline once had offices in many US cities including Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. Just before the civil war Jat was to open an office in Caracas, Venezuela.

Meanwhile the Serbian finance minister has announced that the government will not invest any money in Jat due to EU regulations which outline that governments cannot support the national airline (which is the root of problems for Alitalia and Olympic). The announced purchase of new aircraft will probably be made possible through banking leases. Jat’s development strategy should be made public on October 23.

The closure of the New York office was not met with enthusiasm from Jat’s employees. It should be known by the end of the week if Jat’s current CEO, Saša Vlaisavljević, will keep his job.

Stability of an airplane in flight is slightly more complex than just explained, because the airplane is free to move in any direction and must be controllable in pitch, roll, and direction. When designing the airplane, engineers must compromise between stability, maneuverability, and controllability; and the problem is compounded because of the airplane’s three-axis freedom. Too much stability is detrimental to maneuverability, and similarly, not enough stability is detrimental to controllability. In the design of airplanes, compromise between the two is the keyword.

The Montenegrin national carrier, Montenegro Airlines, has transported more than 400.000 passengers during the last nine months, which is by one fifth more than it has been the case during the same period last year. It is expected that a Montenegro Airlines financial report, to be published within the following days, should show that the company has achieved positive business results during these nine months. The number of passengers on international flights has increased by 78%. The airline had 11 regular lines and serviced 20 charter destinations this summer. When statistics are broken down in more detail it can be seen that 39% of the total number of passengers transferred were tourists. The airline has recently introduced flights to London and Milan. The flights to London have proven profitable. Up until now 5.000 passengers have flown on this line. Use of capacities on these flights are 70% at the moment. The flights to Milan are somewhat weaker in terms of results. The current use of capacity on the flights is at disappointing 32%.

Good news for all passengers is that Montenegro Airlines will not change its ticket prices in the upcoming period, despite the developments at the global financial markets.

The flightpaths and attitudes in which an airplane can fly are limited only by the aerodynamic characteristics of the airplane, its propulsive system, and its structural strength. These limitations indicate the maximum performance and maneuverability of the airplane. If the airplane is to provide maximum utility, it must be safely controllable to the full extent of these limits without exceeding the pilot’s strength or requiring exceptional flying ability. If an airplane is to fly straight and steady along any arbitrary flightpath, the forces acting on it must be in static equilibrium. The reaction of any body when its equilibrium is disturbed is referred to as stability. There are two types of stability; static and dynamic. Static will be discussed first, and in this discussion the following definitions will apply:

• Equilibrium—All opposing forces acting on the airplane are balanced; (i.e., steady, unaccelerated flight conditions).
  
  
• Static Stability—The initial tendency that the airplane displays after its equilibrium is disturbed.
  
  
• Positive Static Stability—The initial tendency of the airplane to return to the original state of equilibrium after being disturbed. [Figure 3-10]
  
  
• Negative Static Stability—The initial tendency of the airplane to continue away from the original state of equilibrium after being disturbed. [Figure 3-10]
  
  
• Neutral Static Stability—The initial tendency of the airplane to remain in a new condition after its equilibrium has been disturbed. [Figure 3-10]
  
  

Every pilot who has flown numerous types of airplanes has noted that each airplane handles somewhat differently—that is, each resists or responds to control pressures in its own way. A training type airplane is quick to respond to control applications, Lateral Axis PITCHING Longitudinal Axis ROLLING Vertical Axis YAWING Figure 3-9. Axes of an airplane. CH 03.qxd 10/24/03 6:44 AM Page 3-9 3-10 while a transport airplane usually feels heavy on the controls and responds to control pressures more slowly. These features can be designed into an airplane to facilitate the particular purpose the airplane is to fulfill by considering certain stability and maneuvering requirements. In the following discussion, it is intended to summarize the more important aspects of an airplane’s stability; its maneuvering and controllability qualities; how they are analyzed; and their relationship to various flight conditions. In brief, the basic differences between stability, maneuverability, and controllability are as follows:

• Stability—The inherent quality of an airplane to correct for conditions that may disturb its equilibrium, and to return or to continue on the original flightpath. It is primarily an airplane design characteristic.
  
• Maneuverability—The quality of an airplane that permits it to be maneuvered easily and to withstand the stresses imposed by maneuvers. It is governed by the airplane’s weight, inertia, size and location of flight controls, structural strength, and powerplant. It too is an airplane design characteristic.
  
• Controllability—The capability of an airplane to respond to the pilot’s control, especially with regard to flightpath and attitude. It is the quality of the airplane’s response to the pilot’s control application when maneuvering the airplane, regardless of its stability characteristics.

Every pilot who has flown numerous types of airplanes has noted that each airplane handles somewhat differently—that is, each resists or responds to control pressures in its own way. A training type airplane is quick to respond to control applications, Lateral Axis PITCHING Longitudinal Axis ROLLING Vertical Axis YAWING Figure 3-9. Axes of an airplane. These features can be designed into an airplane to facilitate the particular purpose the airplane is to fulfill by considering certain stability and maneuvering requirements. In the following discussion, it is intended to summarize the more important aspects of an airplane’s stability; its maneuvering and controllability qualities; how they are analyzed; and their relationship to various flight conditions. In brief, the basic differences between stability, maneuverability, and controllability are as follows:
Stability—The inherent quality of an airplane to correct for conditions that may disturb its equilibrium, and to return or to continue on the original flightpath. It is primarily an airplane design characteristic.
Maneuverability—The quality of an airplane that permits it to be maneuvered easily and to withstand the stresses imposed by maneuvers. It is governed by the airplane’s weight, inertia, size and location of flight controls, structural strength, and powerplant. It too is an airplane design characteristic.
Controllability—The capability of an airplane to respond to the pilot’s control, especially with regard to flightpath and attitude. It is the quality of the airplane’s response to the pilot’s control application when maneuvering the airplane, regardless of its stability characteristics.

A Boeing B737-800 from Germany’s XL Airways has made an emergency landing at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport (as seen above) after fire broke out in the left engine. The aircraft with 182 passengers was on route from Frankfurt to Antalya when fire broke out in its left engine. Flying over Serbia’s airspace, the pilot immediately requested emergency landing at Belgrade’s airport. Landing safely at Belgrade, the aircraft was escorted by the emergency fire services and paramedic services. Upon landing there were visible flames coming from the engine. This is the most serious incident at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport since a Lufthansa jet skidded off the runway 3 years ago. The seriousness of the situation is highlighted by the fact that the plane could have exploded above Belgrade had the pilot not responded quickly. Due to pressure in the engine the pilot had only 5 minutes to make an emergency landing. Luckily the aircraft was above Serbia’s capital at the time and could make a quick emergency landing. The passengers, which are currently at Belgrade Airport, will be flown to Germany this evening. The emergency occurred at 07.47 this morning.