Airframers – Page 1477
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News
Investigators explain British Airways 737 Dutch roll
Dutch roll in a British Airways Boeing 737-200Adv on flight test in October 1995 has been attributed to fluid penetrating connector pins associated with the yaw damper coupler, according to a UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report. The full inquiry had been prompted by fears of uncommanded "rudder hard-over" ...
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Boeing prepares to step up 737/747 production rates
Assembly rate increases on Boeing's Next Generation 737 and 747-400 are to go ahead, with the US manufacturer confident that its production problems are under control. Output of 737s will double in number to 14 a month in April, and 747-400 production will increase from four to five a month ...
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Air Namibia replaces costly 747 with 767-300ER
Chris Yates/MANCHESTER South-west African carrier Air Namibia has decided to replace its ageing Boeing 747SP with a 767-300ER. The airline had been expected to opt for the Airbus A340, but a last-minute offer saw a switch to the Boeing aircraft. The ex-Challenge Air aircraft is due to enter ...
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Marketplace
-Pearljet of Australia has purchased a second British Aerospace Jetstream 41 from BAe Asset Management - Turboprops (AMT), to be based at Brisbane. -O'Connor Airlines of Mount Gambier, Australia, has become the first customer in the Asia- Pacific region for the British Aerospace Jetstream 32EP enhanced performance aircraft, leasing two ...
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PW8000 launch will not dent V2500 sales, says IAE chief
International Aero Engines (IAE) president Barry Eccleston claims that market prospects for the V2500 turbofan will not be badly affected by Pratt & Whitney's launch of the directly competing PW8000, and adds that the engine family may even benefit from the development. The obvious threat to the V2500 posed ...
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China/Pakistan signal intent to resume FC-1 development work
China and Pakistan have signed a letter of intent (LOI) covering development of the FC-1 light fighter, breaking a long hiatus in the programme's progress. The single seat Chengdu FC-1, effectively a successor to the Super-7 programme, is intended for the air forces of both countries. Pakistan is understood ...
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Royal Saudi Air Force selects F-16C/Ds but waits for go-ahead
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has decided to replace its Northrop F-5 and RF-5 fleet with Lockheed Martin F-16C/Ds. All that remains to be determined is when the programme go-ahead is given, says Bob Elrod, vice-president of F-16 programmes with Lockheed Martin. The RSAF has a requirement for ...
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Pierson warns on A3XX costs
Airbus president Jean Pierson has warned that the A3XX 550-650 seat airliner should not be launched until the consortium is satisfied that the programme can meet its promised target of delivering significantly better economics than those offered by the Boeing 747. Speaking at his last official press conference before ...
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ATR and BAe aim to keep AI(R) link despite sales break-up
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON ATR and British Aerospace Regional Aircraft are studying ways to retain a loose alliance under the Aero International (Regional) banner, after taking the decision to disentangle the sales and marketing of their respective product lines. A decision was taken at the end of January that the ...
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BA allies with Finnair
British Airways agreed an alliance deal with Finnair on 27 February which will initially see codesharing between London, Helsinki and Swedish capital Stockholm. Deutsche BA and the Finnish airline will also codeshare. The deal came at the end of a busy week for the UK carrier, which started with ...
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Airbus examines A319 shrink
Max Kingsley-Jones/SINGAPORE Airbus Industrie is working on a secret study into a 100-sear A319 which could provide the consortium with a quick response to the recent Boeing decision to launch the rival 717. The studies centre around a five frame "shrink" of the A319 fuselage, which would bring ...
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China/Pakistan signal intent to resume FC-1 development work
From Flight International China and Pakistan have signed a letter of intent (LOI) covering development of the FC-1 light fighter, breaking a long hiatus in the programme's progress. The single seat Chengdu FC-1, effectively a successor to the Super-7 programme, is intended for the air forces of both countries. ...
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MD 900 left in limbo in Bell deal
Bell Helicopter Textron has agreed to acquire the bulk of Boeing's civil helicopter business, but says that it will not take the MD 900 twin engined line because of conflicts with its own range of helicopters. Bell president Terry Stinson says that he expects the deal to go through ...
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Asian crisis hits airline profits
Andrew Chuter/LONDON Economic turbulence in the Asia-Pacific region will wipe an estimated $2 billion off airline profits this year, according to figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The losses estimates have been released as part of a revision of the region's traffic growth forecasts to 2001 ...
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AirTran aims for 'fresh start' after making heavy losses
US low fare airline AirTran says that it is "positioned for a turn-around", despite posting heavy losses for last year. The former ValuJet has reported a net loss for 1997 of $96.7 million, more than double its 1996 loss, on operating revenues that fell slightly, to $211.5 million. One-time ...
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Lufthansa cargo loads profits
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Lufthansa Cargo has revealed a "turnaround after two difficult years" in 1997, but warns that the air freight market remains uncertain. Profits for 1997 are expected to exceed DM100 million ($61.7 million) while yields in the fourth quarter showed a 10% improvement on the previous year. ...
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Greece and Chile fighter contests near fruition
Greece is moving towards a decision on its next fighter purchase, scheduling in-country evaluations of the designs in contention for its requirement for 40 aircraft. Lockheed Martin's F-16C was evaluated in February and Boeing's F-15E will be assessed in March. The US fighters are being offered in competition with ...
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AIA 98 WINNER:AMECO-Beijing (Maintenance & Modification)
AMECO-Beijing took its first important steps into the international market for heavy aircraft maintenance in 1997, showing how far the Chinese joint venture has come over the past eight years. AMECO was set up at Beijing's Capital Airport in 1989 as a joint venture between Air China and Lufthansa, ...
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AIA 98 FINALIST:British Aerospace Aviation Services (Maintenance & Modifications)
British Aerospace Aviation Services set out just over two years ago to produce a realistically priced passenger to freighter conversion for the Airbus A300B4. In 1997 its plans became reality as the first three freighters left for customers. Last year's first milestone came in June as the conversion won ...
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AIA 98 FINALIST:Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (Maintenance & Modification)
During 1997 the Lockheed Martin F-16A/B Mid-Life Update (MLU) programme completed its development phase, passing key flight test milestones and with delivery of the first modified aircraft for operational service. The transatlantic programme is the most extensive and ambitious retrofit yet carried out on the F-16, involving major improvements ...