All Aircraft programmes articles
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News
A350-900 with enhanced-performance Trent XWB engine obtains EASA approval
Airbus has obtained European certification for the A350-900 fitted with enhanced-performance Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. The baseline XWB-84EP powerplant was separately certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency in December last year, along with the derated XWB-75EP and XWB-79EP. Airbus says the EP engine will provide a 1% reduction ...
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Condor prepares to introduce A330neo with enhanced low-speed performance
Airbus has secured European certification for an A330-900 performance-enhancement package which includes new take-off configurations and faster landing-gear retraction. German leisure carrier Condor is set to introduce aircraft with the modification, following the approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Airbus says the package – which is designated ‘Step-4’ ...
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Airbus adds large A350 and A320neo-family orders while Go First backlog is struck off
Airbus has revealed an order for 12 A350s and 30 A320neo-family jets, attributed to an undisclosed customer, in its latest backlog figures. The widebody part of the 6 March order is split between six A350-1000s and six -900s. Airbus has also listed a second, separate undisclosed order for 40 A321neos. ...
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Wideroe to upgrade older Dash 8 cockpits with Universal display system
Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe is to be the first to fit older De Havilland Dash 8s with a new digital cockpit display system. The upgrade of the displays – intended for Dash 8-100s and -200s – will enable the airline to keep the aircraft operating “well into the next decade”, ...
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Superjet fitted with PD-8 engines tests performance at cruise speeds and altitudes
United Aircraft’s re-engined Yakovlev Superjet 100 has carried out flight at cruise altitude as part of the test programme for its Aviadvigatel PD-8 powerplant. The aircraft is serving as a PD-8 testbed to support development of the SJ-100, a version of the Superjet which features a higher proportion of domestically-sourced ...
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Superjet facility supports fuselage panel optimisation for MC-21 serial production
United Aircraft’s aircraft plant at Komsomolsk is supporting serial production of the Yakovlev MC-21 by optimising control processes for fuselage panels. The Komsomolsk facility – which develops the Superjet and SJ-100 twinjets – has been working on processes for 16 panels which were originally manufactured by the Aviastar plant in ...
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Executive jets lift Embraer’s first-quarter deliveries
Brazilian airframer Embraer delivered 30 aircraft over the first quarter of this year, including seven commercial models. Embraer handed over three E195-E2s and four E175s during the three months to 31 March. The manufacturer complemented these airliner deliveries with 23 executive jets. These comprised nine mid-sized models – Praetor 500s ...
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Airbus sees no A350 delivery impact after fire halts fuselage section work at Illescas
Airbus believes there will be no impact on A350 aircraft deliveries after a fire damaged equipment at its Illescas plant south of Madrid. The fire broke out on 25 March in one of the production halls. FlightGlobal understands that the blaze affected an autoclave in the area of section 19 ...
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Il-114-300 prototypes fly formation as third aircraft joins test fleet
United Aircraft has flown its latest prototype airframe of the twin-turboprop Ilyushin Il-114-300, bringing the flight-test fleet to three aircraft. Its initial sortie – with three crew members on board – took place on 31 March and lasted for 30min. The crew tested controllability of the Il-114-300, number 54116, as ...
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Aeroflot Superjet accident probe asks United Aircraft to consider design modifications
United Aircraft has emphasised that the inquiry into a bounced landing, leading to a fatal fire which destroyed an Aeroflot Superjet 100, has found no faults with the aircraft design.
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China’s ‘Big Three’ expect strong growth in C919 deliveries
China’s three largest carriers expect a marked increase in deliveries of Comac’s C919 narrowbody jet this year, according to their latest fleet plans.
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United Aircraft starts expanding flight envelope of PD-8-powered Superjet
United Aircraft has conducted a second test flight with the Russian-powered Yakovlev Superjet 100, to expand the operating envelope. The twinjet has been fitted with Aviadvigatel PD-8 engines as a replacement for the PowerJet SaM146. PD-8s will be installed as standard on the SJ-100, a newly-developed version of the Superjet ...
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A380 testbed starts series of flights aimed at in-service fleet improvement
Airbus is undertaking a series of flight tests with its original A380 testbed as part of an effort to improve the in-service fleet. The airframer has not specified the nature of the testing involving MSN1. But it says the aircraft has undergone “several months of preparation” and system upgrades, as ...
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Modified Superjet 100 conducts maiden flight with Russian-built PD-8 engines
Russia’s United Aircraft has conducted the maiden flight of a Yakovlev Superjet powered by the domestically-built Aviadvigatel PD-8 engine. It took off from the manufacturing facility at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, on 17 March, for a sortie lasting 40min. The aircraft is a modified Superjet 100 airframe, serial number 95157, which was built ...
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Russian civil aircraft production needs structural overhaul: United Aircraft chief
Russian aerospace firm United Aircraft’s new chief has underlined to the country’s prime minister the need not only to modernise equipment but overhaul the fundamental structure of civil aircraft production. Premier Mikhail Mishustin sought an update on civil aviation programme status from Vadim Badekha four months after he was put ...
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Vertical sufficiently funded for this year as VX4 advances towards wingborne test flights
Vertical Aerospace’s recent public offering means the business is sufficiently funded throughout 2025, the company states, as it prepares for full-scale piloted wingborne flight tests of its VX4 eVTOL. The company – which has newly released its fully-year results – says its cash position stands at £77 million ($99 million), ...
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First A350F section 19 delivered featuring modification to protect freighter’s fuselage
Airbus’s Hamburg facility has taken delivery of the first A350 freighter section 19, the aerostructure which is located aft of the main fuselage barrel and interfaces with the empennage. It has been produced at the airframer’s Spanish facilities in Getafe. Manufacture has required a rethink of the plant’s production system, ...
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Life extension sought for An-26 as replacements remain under development
Russian civil aviation research institute GosNIIAS has ordered the initiation of work to prolong the life of Antonov An-26 regional aircraft by another 10 years. The Soviet-era An-26 first flew in 1969 and the order – listed in procurement documents, according to news agency Interfax – would extend the type’s ...
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Korean Air A321neos among Airbus orders recorded in quiet February
Airbus’s order activity quietened in February, with the airframer securing agreements for 14 aircraft, all from its single-aisle families. Korean Air signed for six A321neos while an undisclosed customer placed an order for eight. They took net orders for the first two months of the year to 65, following a ...
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German researchers claim aerodynamic and fuel-burn benefits from predictive load-alleviation
German aerospace researchers believe predictive load-alleviation can improve fuel consumption by more than 7% while improving passenger comfort. The conclusion is based on windtunnel testing conducted under a project known as ‘OLAF’ to examine optimal load adaption. But the German aerospace centre DLR is seeking to demonstrate the technology further ...