All air transport news – Page 2216
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Martian gliders
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA hopes to deploy a fleet of small gliders to explore parts of Mars that other spacecraft cannot reachSwooping through Mars' own grand canyon, the Valles Marineris, would be the ultimate hang-gliding trip. The first aircraft to make that tantalising journey could be the $40 million Mars ...
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Archedyne revamps Amjet 400 amphibian
Archedyne has redesigned its Amjet 400 single-engined amphibian business aircraft, changing the name, the number of engines and fuselage length. Now dubbed the Nautic Air 450, the aircraft will be powered by two Williams FJX-2s when they enter the market next year, and its 12.2m (40ft) fuselage has been extended ...
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Rolls-Royce plan for Allison 250 replacement is shelved
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Rolls-Royce has postponed efforts to develop a replacement for the Allison 250 based on a low-cost industrial gas turbine (Flight International, 25 February-3 March, 1998). The so-called World Engine programme is "on hold", says vice-president, customer operations Tommy Thomason. "We found we couldn't combine ...
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Lease disposals key to Atlantic's jet buy
Atlantic Coast Airlines' (ACA) search for a new 30-seat class of passenger jet hinges on the disposal of the carrier's large fleet of British Aerospace Jetstream 41 and smaller J32 turboprops. Many are locked in long-term leases from BAe Asset Management Turboprops (AMT). The United Express partner carrier is ...
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Boeing delays 767-400ERX service entry to 2003
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Boeing is pushing back the projected entry into service date of the 767-400ERX to 2003, as American Airlines' interest in the proposed extended range development cools in the face of softening traffic and yields. Initial delivery of the 767-400ERX had tentatively been targeted for March ...
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More Asian woes loom for Boeing
South Korea's Asiana Airlines has confirmed it is in talks with Boeing on possible cancellations of aircraft orders. But the airline adds: "It is too early to say exactly how many we want to take or don't want to take." The Seoul-based carrier has 15 outstanding firm orders for ...
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USA votes against Concorde in hushkit conflict
The US House of Representatives has voted to ban Aerospatiale/British Aerospace Concorde operations into the USA. The decision is a reaction against European Union (EU) plans to restrict hushkitted aircraft in Western Europe. The USA is concerned that the EU's action would harm the exclusively US hushkit industry by ...
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PW4000 operators face surge inspection
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Operators of more than 560 Pratt & Whitney PW4000-powered Airbus A300/ A310s, Boeing 747s, 767s and MD-11s are starting inspections for potential surge problems. The problems are restricted only to 2.37m (94in)-diameter fan versions of the PW4000. The move follows a suspected double surge event ...
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Marketplace
· FedEx has revised its wet-lease contract with Atlas Air covering the lease of two Boeing 747-400 freighters and one -200F. This has resulted in the latter being returned to Atlas and it is now placed with Ladeco. · Mesa Air Group has sold 16 of its ...
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SEC clears PAL to resume 737 payments
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the resumption of payments by debt-ridden Philippine Airlines (PAL) on four leased Boeing 737-300s. Monthly payments of $220,000 for each aircraft will restart to Airplanes Finance, GE Capital Aviation Services and the GPA Group. The go-ahead staves off ...
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Routes
· Air Jamaica is launching nonstop services between Montego Bay and London on 1 June, using an Airbus A340-300 which is due for delivery soon. · Samara Airport, Samara Airlines and Uzbekistan Khavo Yillury, the Uzbek flag carrier, have signed an agreement to market alternative air routes ...
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Bombardier and Embraer subsidies 'were illegal'
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is poised to rule that rival regional aircraft manufacturers Bombardier of Canada and Embraer of Brazil both benefited from illegal subsidy payments, according to Canadian newspaper reports. If the ruling is confirmed, it could ultimately benefit Bombardier, since it received smaller subsidies and would ...
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News in Brief
Air Afrique plan The principal owners of Ivory Coast-based Air Afrique - 11 national governments, plus Air France - have agreed a partial privatisation plan for the carrier. A successor to former chairman Sir Harry Tirvengadum awaits appointment. The plan would see state involvement in Air Afrique cut from ...
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Alleged rule bending stymies BA plans to start Italian airline
Chris Jasper/LONDON Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Secret British Airways plans to establish a franchised airline in Italy have been hit by allegations that Australian regional carrier National Jet Systems (NJS), which had aimed to launch the service, has been trying to circumvent European regulations to gain an air operators certificate ...
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Technology transfer hits Boeing AEW bid
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Boeing has been unable to give the required guarantee of technology releasability in its bid to supply Australia with airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. Boeing and Northrop Grumman, supplier of the MESA phased-array radar to be carried by the 737-based ...
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Lockheed Martin sees red hot future for laser manufacturing
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin has begun making prototype parts using a laser direct manufacturing process that it believes could eventually be used to produce complete wing and fuselage structures as single pieces. Under Project Lightspeed, the company has set up a research facility on the factory floor at ...
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News in Brief
Special operations Honeywell has won a $3.2 million US Army contract for 55 shipsets of Primus 700 colour weather radars to equip Boeing MH-47 and Sikorsky MH-60 special operations helicopters. Power generation AlliedSignal is to supply the power generation and distribution system for Bell/ Agusta ...
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Python 4 upgrade team formed
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin and Rafael have formally joined forces to modernise the Israeli-developed Python 4 air-to-air missile. But workshare issues will not be finalised until the US and Israeli governments work out export control and other technical issues, according to Lockheed Martin's David Lundquist. In September, ...
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On the offensive
Guy Norris/LONG BEACH Boeing's campaign to secure the future of the 717 is going into overdrive Boeing's efforts to establish the 717-200 in the marketplace were boosted on 24 February with the first flight of the premier production example, P-1, at its Long Beach division in California. Even ...
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FAA settles on leasing plan for ATC update
Paul Lewis /WASHINGTON DC The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is planning to lease new communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) equipment from industry to finally modernise its oceanic control centres. "We've looked for and settled on a new solution," says Nancy Graham, FAA's oceanic and offshore acting integrator product ...