All air transport news – Page 2511

  • News

    Latin America looms large

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Burgeoning economies and international trade links boost business-aircraft prospects. Graham Warwick/Santiago MOST AEROSPACE ANALYSTS focus their efforts on understanding the US, European and Asian markets, while largely ignoring Latin American potential. When considering business-aircraft sales prospects, that could prove to be a mistake. ...

  • News

    MDC and NASA unveil X-36

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/St Louis McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) and NASA unveiled the once-classified X-36 tailless fighter-agility research aircraft at St Louis, Missouri, on 19 March, revealing a canard-configured design. The sub-scale remotely piloted X-36 is said to be the first fighter-type aircraft to be designed from the ...

  • News

    Boeing plans to step up production during 1997

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES BOEING PLANS to increase production of all models in 1997 in response to the recent surge in orders and strong indications of a continuing recovery in the industry. The increase will take monthly output of all types to 27 aircraft by the ...

  • News

    Found finds new market for old design

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    New company Found Aircraft Canada plans to restart production of a light-utility aircraft certificated and produced in the mid-1960s. The Toronto based company says, that re-instating the Canadian and US type certificates for the Found FBA-2C, will save "several million dollars" compared to a full certification programme. Canadian ...

  • News

    US Aerobatic Team has a Super Stinker

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    AVIAT HAS delivered the first Pitts S-1-11B Super Stinker to the US Aerobatic Team. The aircraft is a "ground-up redesign" of the Pitts S-1 Special aerobatic biplane, with increased power and manoeuvrability. Aviat plans to build more S-1-11s, but has yet to decide whether to sell the aircraft ...

  • News

    CVR data indicate chaos in 757 crash

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    David Learmount/LONDON THE COCKPIT-VOICE recorder (CVR) of the Birgenair Boeing 757-200 which crashed in February reveals a picture of pilots who, faced with minor problems, became confused and lost control of a flyable aircraft, according to an interim report by the Dominican Republic's accident-investigation commission. ...

  • News

    Elta wins Indian air force EW deal

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    ISRAEL AIRCRAFT Industries (IAI) subsidiary Elta is to supply electronic-warfare (EW) systems to the Indian air force for the Mikoyan MiG-21 upgrade being undertaken by the Russian and Indian aerospace industries. The $80 million IAI contract was signed as part of a wider agreement, finally sealed earlier ...

  • News

    Air France Europe fights to regain business

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    FRENCH DOMESTIC and regional carrier Air France Europe (incorporating the former Air Inter) is fighting to regain traffic, which it has lost since French air services were opened to competition from domestic rivals. In what he says will be an "aggressive" campaign to prepare the airline for total ...

  • News

    A340 'super-stretch' to take-on 777-300

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Andrew Doyle/LONDON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE IS working on a radical "super-stretch" version of the A340, which could include fore-planes and be powered by Pratt & Whitney advanced ducted propulsors (ADPs). Designated the A340-600, the aircraft is intended as head-on competition for the Boeing 777-300, ...

  • News

    Vietnam to receive delayed A320s

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    VIETNAM AIRLINES WILL now take delivery of its first new Airbus A320 in early July, after finally reaching agreement with Region Air and leasing underwriters to register the aircraft locally. Region Air of Singapore and Airbus, have been waiting to close the deal, to lease ten A320s since ...

  • News

    Rockwell may sell out of aerospace and defence

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES REPORTS THAT Rockwell International is, actively seeking a buyer, for its aerospace and defence businesses have been greeted with silence, from the US corporation. Although the bulk of the aerospace business is understood to be for sale, the group's Collins Commercial Avionics ...

  • News

    Mitsubishi seeks CRJ-X share

    1996-03-27T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE MITSUBISHI HEAVY Industries (MHI) is discussing taking a significant risk-sharing stake in the development of Bombardier's proposed Canadair CRJ-X stretch Regional Jet. Japanese sources say that MHI is being "strongly encouraged" to join the programme by an offer of funding from Japan's Ministry ...

  • News

    Biting into false alarms

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Despite modern diagnostics, "no fault found" is frequently the mechanics' verdict after avionics fault alerts. Terence Hardeman/SINGAPORE FAULT INDICATIONS on avionics line-replaceable units (LRUs) are costing airlines millions of dollars, and engineering executives around the world have called for action by component manufacturers to combat ...

  • News

    Airbus partners scale up combined R&D for A3XX

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Andrew Doyle/LONDON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE IS pushing for an unprecedented level of co-operation between its partners and suppliers during the research-and-development (R&D) phase of the proposed A3XX ultra-high-capacity airliner. The new approach, under the so-called "3E Plan", is seen as crucial to the consortium's efforts to keep the aircraft's ...

  • News

    Learjet modifies 45 tests

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    LEARJET HAS SHIFTED flutter testing of the Learjet 45 business jet to the second prototype, to avoid grounding the first aircraft. The move has delayed the first flight of the Learjet 45-002, but has allowed flight-testing of aircraft -001 to continue, the company says. Wichita, Kansas-based Learjet ...

  • News

    Airports grow again

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Airports report continued strong passenger growth for 1995. Kevin O'Toole/LONDON THE WORLD'S MAJOR airports have reported a fourth successive year of strong passenger growth for 1995, although the rate of expansion now appears to be slowing. Preliminary figures from the Airports Council International ...

  • News

    Cathay profits leap

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE CATHAY PACIFIC Airways beat market expectations with a 25% leap in profits for 1995, boosted by higher revenue and improved cost efficiency, but also helped by an accounting change. The Hong Kong carrier turned in a net profit of just under HK$3 billion ...

  • News

    Singapore studies tanker options

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SINGAPORE IS considering an offer from the US Air Force to sell it up to four surplus Boeing KC-135s, as a more cost-effective solution to its requirement for a boom-equipped aerial-refueling tanker. A Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) team is understood recently ...

  • News

    MEA makes progress - at last

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Gunter Endres/LONDON MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES' (MEA) increasingly desperate quest, for a large capital injection to fund a fleet update, appears to be nearing an end, after an extraordinary shareholders meeting approved the move. The recommendation is expected to be ratified, at a General Assembly, called for 17 April. ...

  • News

    NASA-sponsored experimental Tu-144 in Moscow roll-out

    1996-03-20T00:00:00Z

    A MODIFIED TUPOLEV Tu-144 supersonic transport which will serve as the platform for a six-month, high-speed experimental research programme was expected to be rolled-out at Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow, Russia, on 17 March, signaling the start of a co-operative US-Russian flight-test programme. The aircraft, Tu-144LL, will carry NASA-sponsored ...