All Aircraft programmes articles – Page 51
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AnalysisAsian airframers tread diverging paths through the crisis
The coronavirus outbreak, which upended nearly everything in the aerospace industry, has fuelled the diverging trajectory Asian airframers Comac and Mitsubishi Aircraft are taking.
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AnalysisA320 family continues to deliver for Airbus as widebodies stall
The airframer is struggling to find customers for its A330 and A350 families, but narrowbody production will continue at 40 units per month. However, plans to add production capacity by turning the former A380 facility in Toulouse into a dedicated assembly line for the A321neo are on hold
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NewsWet-lease operator SmartLynx to introduce A321 freighters
Wet-lease and charter specialist SmartLynx’s Maltese division is to lease a pair of Airbus A321s which have been converted to freighters. SmartLynx Malta says it will lease the twinjets – MSN891 and MSN1017 – from Vallair in order to enter the freighter market. It adds that it holding discussions for ...
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NewsCivil aircraft subsidies: EU fails to persuade WTO of case for higher penalties
While the European Union, in its transatlantic civil aircraft subsidy dispute, had sought World Trade Organization authorisation to impose a higher penalty than the $7.5 billion awarded to the US government, it ultimately failed to convince the WTO of its case. Over the course of the long-running dispute the EU ...
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NewsEU can impose $4bn penalty in transatlantic aircraft subsidies row
European Union authorities have secured the right to impose almost $4 billion in tariffs on US imports, including aircraft, in retaliation for harm arising from US government subsidies to Boeing. The decision from the World Trade Organization arbitrator, issued on 13 October, states that the level of countermeasures “commensurate with ...
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NewsAirbus deliveries reach monthly high but orders stay quiet
Airbus achieved deliveries of 57 aircraft during September, although order activity remained practically non-existent. Its delivery figure is the highest for any single month so far in 2020, exceeding the 55 achieved in February, just before the onset of the air transport crisis. The only order change registered was the ...
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NewsA320neo line adapts to five digits for MSN10000 delivery
Lebanese flag-carrier Middle East Airlines has taken delivery of the first Airbus A320-family aircraft to have been assigned a five-digit serial number, with the handover of an A321neo bearing MSN10000. While the aircraft is not the 10,000th A320 to be transferred to a customer – that milestone is still a ...
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NewsHigher-weight A330-900 secures European certification
Airbus’s higher-weight A330-900 has obtained certification from the European airworthiness authority, enabling operators to take advantage of greater range. The aircraft, the larger variant of the A330neo family, has a maximum take-off weight of 251t. French carrier Corsair will be the first carrier to introduce the new version. Airbus commenced ...
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NewsLaunch operator Comlux among initial customers for six corporate A220s
Specialist corporate aircraft operator Comlux Aviation has disclosed that it is the launch customer for the Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty, opting to take two of the new business twinjet which is based on the A220-100. It will take delivery of the initial aircraft as early as December 2022, and plans to ...
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NewsAirbus A220-100 to evolve as ‘TwoTwenty’ corporate jet
Airbus’s corporate jet division has formally unveiled an executive version of its A220-100 twinjet, which will be able to operate across a range of up to 5,650nm (10,500km). The aircraft – which will be branded the ACJ TwoTwenty, a deviation from prior corporate jet designations – will be able to ...
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In depth2020 airliner census highlights coronavirus’s unprecedented impact on fleets
Flight International’s annual airliner census has tracked the industry’s many booms and busts over the several decades it has been published, but never on a scale seen in 2020.
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NewsFirst Il-114-300 commences engine tests ahead of maiden flight
Ground tests have commenced with the first modernised Ilyushin Il-114-300, ahead of initiation of the turboprop’s flight campaign. The twin-engined aircraft has undergone low-power runs of its Klimov TV7-117ST-01 powerplant, developed by United Engine Corporation. Russia’s United Aircraft says it carried out the runs at the Zhukovsky flight-test base of ...
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NewsDash 8-400 service update aims to stem cowl-door losses
Operators of De Havilland Aircraft Dash 8-400 turboprops are being urged to pay attention to a new maintenance task intended to avoid incidents of engine cowl doors separating from the aircraft on take-off. De Havilland Aircraft has taken over the production of the aircraft, which was formerly known as the ...
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NewsA380 fan-hub disintegration traced to misunderstood ‘cold dwell’ fatigue
French investigators have traced the serious engine failure involving an Air France Airbus A380 over Greenland to a phenomenon known as ‘cold dwell’ fatigue, which had caused a failure in a fan hub slot which houses the root of the fan blade. The analysis by investigation authority BEA closes a ...
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NewsEASA seeks alternative to FAA’s newly-adopted 777 fuel-tank order
Europe’s air safety authority is to seek further data to address a centre fuel tank ignition risk perceived by the US FAA on early Boeing 777s, but has opted against adopting the US regulator’s mitigation directive. Several foreign operators, among them British Airways and KLM, had objected to the FAA ...
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NewsUK pilots seek assurance on sensor and trim aspects of 737 Max redesign
UK cockpit crew representatives are seeking assurances on several aspects of the Boeing 737 Max’s redesign, including scenarios relating to the angle-of-attack sensors and the potential need for two pilots to turn the trim wheel if the jet is out of trim. Pilots union BALPA has formally responded to a ...
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NewsAirbus turns to hydrogen as energy promise of batteries fades
Airbus is backing away from battery power in favour of pursuing hydrogen as a primary propulsion source for future aircraft development, over concerns that battery technology will not advance quickly enough to adapt to large airliners. The airframer has unveiled three conceptual designs – two based on conventional turboprop and ...
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In depthFrom the archive: Boeing 747 flight test
As the new Boeing 747 was making its debut in early 1970, Flight International’s test pilot, Captain R E Gillman, was given the opportunity to try out the behemoth in the air. This is an edited version of that article, originally published on 12 March 1970
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NewsAirbus shows off hydrogen-fuelled concept aircraft for 2035 service entry
Airbus has unveiled conceptual designs for a potential zero-emission commercial aircraft, which it believes could be developed for service entry in the next 15 years. All three of the preliminary designs – branded as ‘ZEROe’ aircraft – would use hydrogen as the main power source. Source: Airbus ...
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NewsATR flies first new-build 72-600 freighter for FedEx
ATR has flown the first example of its newly-developed 72-600 freighter, a purpose-built cargo version of its larger turboprop. The aircraft was launched three years ago with an order for up to 50 from US express freight specialist FedEx. Thirty of the aircraft under the FedEx agreement were firm. ATR ...