All Airframers articles – Page 1587
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History
The Tu-144 programme was started only in 1963, when the Soviet Government had told Tupolev that, although the equivalent Aerospatiale/ British Aerospace Concorde programme had started earlier, the Soviet aircraft should be the first to be flown - and it was. To speed things up, the design team ...
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Loss of power
The world, it seems, is awash with new airliner projects. The manufacturers may be able to afford to launch some of these aircraft and, in some cases, the airlines will be able to afford to buy and operate them - but will the engine makers be able to afford to ...
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Supersonic resurrection
It seemed as if the Tupolev Tu-144was bound for the scrapheap, but things have now changed. Paul Duffy/MOSCOW When Marshal Boris Bugaev, the Soviet minister of civil aviation, ordered the termination of Aeroflot's Moscow-to-Alma Ata supersonic service in May 1978, it looked like the end of the line ...
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American and FedEx finalise DC-10/727 hushkit exchange
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES American Airlines has concluded a long-awaited deal with FedEx, which will see the US package carrier take over at least 14 of American's McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s in exchange for supplying hushkits for up to 81 Boeing 727-200s. Some 30 of American's 727s ...
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First A330-200 enters production
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Components for the first Airbus A330-200 are being fabricated at plants around Europe, with final assembly scheduled to begin at Toulouse in March 1997. The 256-seat, 11,800km (6,400nm)-range derivative was launched in November 1995. Thirty-one orders have been announced to date. The first wingset ...
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Fairchild Dornier may move 328 wing to HAL
Fairchild Dornier and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) are in negotiation to move wing production for the 328 turboprop from Germany to India. The Indian company has also been earmarked to build the aircraft's fuselage shell, now fabricated by Daewoo in South Korea. In a separate move, ...
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Dragonair A330
Hong Kong's fast-growing regional carrier Dragonair is planning to acquire a sixth Airbus A330-300 for delivery in 1998. The airline is negotiating with Airbus to convert an A330 option already held by its sister carrier Cathay Pacific Airways. Source: Flight International
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CFM56-7B passes final blade-out examination
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES A full blade-out test was successfully completed on CFM International's CFM56-7B turbofan at Villaroche, France, on 2 December, just six days before the unveiling of the first of the next-generation Boeing 737 series for which the engine is designed. The engine was ...
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Croatia to replace 737S
Croatia Airlines is in negotiation for the acquisition of up to six Airbus A319s, to replace its fleet of Boeing 737-200s, in a deal valued at around $200 million. Negotiations on the final conditions of the sale are understood still to be in progress, but, if confirmed, it would signal ...
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Boeing looks to increase 777IGW take-off weight
Paul Lewis/SEATTLE Boeing is discussing a further increase in the 777-200IGW's maximum take-off weight (MTOW) as an interim step towards a new ultra-long-range derivative of the twinjet. The US manufacturer is considering offering a 777-200IGW+ version for entry into commercial service from 1998 onwards, says ...
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DoD AIM-9X decision will launch US missile sector restructuring
Even closer links could develop between the MDC F-18 and Hughes' AMRAAM Douglas Barrie/LONDON An imminent decision from the US Department of Defense (DoD) over a Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile replacement presages a radical shake-up of the US missile-manufacturing industry. The decision, due ...
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Aeroflot and Ilyushin agree Il-96T production deal
Aeroflot and Ilyushin have signed the final contract paving the way for the production of 20 Il-96Ms and Il-96Ts. The $1.5 billion deal, signed on 3 December, will see the Russian-manufactured aircraft fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW2337 turbofans and Western avionics to be integrated by Rockwell-Collins. ...
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Airbus and Boeing vie to modernise Indian Airlines
State-owned Indian Airlines has take the first step towards a massive overhaul of its fleet by informing manufacturers in late November that it is to replace its ageing fleet of Boeing 737-200 and A300B2/B4s. The 15 737s are operated by the recently created Indian Airlines subsidiary, Alliance ...
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Growing ambitions
Emirates has achieved a phenomenal rate of growth during its first ten years, achieving profit in all but its second year. Paul Phelan/Dubai Since its inception in 1985, Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has, on average, doubled in size every three and half years and made a profit in all ...
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A Whimper, Not a Bang
There is no doubt, even among French commentators, that the privatisation of Thomson SA has been bungled, leaving the restructuring of the European aerospace industry little further than the launch pad. The latest failure to agree will undoubtedly prove to be a temporary setback, but it still means that, as ...
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Finnair vacates hotel business
Finnair is flying away from its hotels and restaurants Finnair is selling control of its hotel and restaurant business as part of a broader restructuring of the group which has seen its airline profits virtually halved over the past six months. The bulk of the ...
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Flight engineers call for world drive to improve flight safety
Andrezj Jeziorski/MUNICH The International Flight Engineers Organisation (IFEO) has highlighted six areas in which it considers that action must be taken to counter spiralling air-accident fatalities. At its 1996 general assembly in Munich, the organisation expressed "regret and dismay" at the increasing number of fatalities ...
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New Meyers develops four-seater
M300 flight-testing is scheduled to begin in early 1997 New Meyers Aircraft has begun development of a four-seat light aircraft, with certification flight-testing scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 1997. The new M300 is planned to enter production alongside the company's two-seat SP20, an updated version of ...
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Hughes exports trainer devices
Hughes Training (HTI) has secured the first international customers for its unit training device (UTD), developed to provide squadron-level training for USAir Force Lockheed Martin F-16 pilots. Jordan has ordered an F-16A UTD, South Korea has committed to six F-16 devices, and Bahrain is to buy an F-16C UTD. ...
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VPK MAPO offers Flogger upgrade
VPK MAPO is offering the Indian air force an upgrade for its fleet of Mikoyan MiG-27 Flogger strike aircraft, with an aircraft in attendence at the Bagalore air show, as well as proposing to upgrade its MiG-29 Fulcrum As to MiG-29SM standard. The Flogger would receive new cockpit avionics while ...