All air transport news – Page 2533
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PATS replaces VIP 737 generating canisters
PATS has received US Federal Aviation Administration certification for a central, high-pressure oxygen system to replace oxygen-generating canisters in Boeing 737s. The first system has been installed in a 737 operated by ITT as a 50-passenger transport for two sports teams. Columbia, Maryland-based PATS says the system is ...
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Thai's R-R Trent woes continue on 777
Thai Airways International has removed a second Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engine from one of its Boeing 777 aircraft in two months, after metal debris was again found on the magnetic chip-detector (MCD). The second unscheduled removal by Thai of a Trent 800 occurred on 25 December, 1996, following ...
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Aerospatiale jumps back into profit
Aerospatiale has posted a dramatic turnaround in its financial fortunes during 1996, which president Yves Michot says will strengthen the group's hand as it prepares for major structural changes including the forthcoming merger with Dassault Aviation and the restructuring of Airbus. The manufacturer also reveals that it is involved in ...
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KC-135 Re-engineing
The first of ten re-engined Boeing KC-135 tankers will be delivered to an unidentified non-US customer in February under a $10 million deal announced on 7 January. The original Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets are being replaced with CFM International CFM-56 turbofans. Source: Flight International
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FAA demands total 737 rudder-retrofit programme
The US Federal Aviation Administration is to order airlines to retrofit four newly developed rudder-system components in 2,800 Boeing 737s. US Vice President Al Gore revealed the move in a speech on commercial aviation security and safety. The updated components will be incorporated in new-build 737-300, -400 and -500 series ...
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Special Osprey
Bell Boeing has been awarded a $490 million contract to begin engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the CV-22 special-operations variant of the Osprey military tilt-rotor. The contract calls for the joint venture to design, integrate and install special-operations-unique systems, including terrain-following/terrain-avoidance radar, and additional fuel tanks, in the baseline ...
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M88-2 delivered
French engine manufacturer Snecma has delivered the first series-production M88-2 engine destined to power the multi-role Dassault Rafale. The company says that it has orders for a further four engines during 1997, which will be supplied as part of the current 42-engine orderbook. Testing of the M88 continues, with the ...
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737 rudder procedures
An emergency airworthiness directive requires US Boeing 737 operators to adopt new procedures to improve pilots' control following sudden uncommanded rudder movements. The new procedures, to be included in the 737 flight manual, also outline actions to deal with a jammed or restricted rudder. Pilots are advised to lower the ...
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Airbus selects two vendors for advanced FMS
Airbus INDUSTRIE has selected Honeywell and Sextant Avionique/Smiths Industries to supply future air navigation system (FANS)-capable flight-management systems (FMS)on its aircraft from 1998. Honeywell plans to gain certification for its upgraded FMSon the A330 and A340 in April 1998, with A319/320/321 approval following six months later. Sextant/Smiths has ...
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STAe will expand leasing business
Singapore Technologies Aerospace (STAe) plans to acquire a leasing fleet of up to 20 aircraft over the next five years as part of a wider effort to expand the commercial side of its business. STAe, together with its parent holding company Singapore Technologies, has already established a joint-venture ...
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An-140 nears completion
Assembly of the first An-140 twin turboprop at Antonov's Kiev, Ukraine, factory is almost completed. The Klimov TV7-powered 50-seater, which is the successor to the ubiquitous An-24, is expected to be rolled out in March. A Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127-powered version has also been proposed. Reports have linked Antonov ...
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Bombardier beats Embraer to ASA deal
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) has followed its fellow Delta Connection carriers Comair and Skywest with the selection of the Canadair Regional Jet for its regional-jet needs, after a competition which also involved the Embraer EMB-145 (Flight International, 8-14 January, P10). The Atlanta, Georgia-based regional says that it will ...
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SIA's Indian airline investment clears another major hurdle
Singapore Airlines' (SIA) long-running plan to establish a new domestic Indian airline in partnership with the TATA Group has cleared one major hurdle, with approval from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The deal could still be derailed by the country's civil-aviation ministry, however, which plans to ban foreign equity ...
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British Aerospace AMJ sees BAe 146 sales rise as markets harden
British Aerospace Asset Management-Jets(AMJ) is targeting further sales from among its 107-strong fleet of leased BAe 146s this year, as the market for regional jets strengthens. AMJ general manager Andrew Davies says that, over the past four years, the organisation has completed its initial aim of re-establishing the ...
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Raytheon's TI purchase leaves options open for Hughes bid
RAYTHEON IS TO purchase the Texas Instruments (TI) defence electronics business for $2.95 billion, in a cash deal which is seen as leaving the group's options open for a possible take-over of Hughes Electronics. Northrop Grumman, which itself bid unsuccessfully for TI, is also understood to be sharpening up for ...
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Safety defeated
THE YEAR 1996 SAW the largest number both of airline fatal accidents and of fatalities on record. Other serious worries for the air-transport community highlighted by 1996 include the number of deaths on the ground caused by crashes - also the worst ever - and some compelling trends indicating that ...
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Freight fright
THE AIRLINE-ACCIDENT statistics for 1996 (P31) suggest that there is a serious safety problem in the air-freight market. Over one-third of all fatal airliner accidents last year were to non-passenger aircraft: they caused the deaths of 158 aircrew and other occupants, and more than 350 further deaths of innocent third ...
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Kawasaki in the Trent
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce to take a 6% stake in its Trent 900 programme. The 356kN (80,000lb)-thrust engine is aimed at the yet-to-be-launched Boeing 747X and Airbus A3XX projects. The Japanese company is the first risk-sharing partner to join Rolls-Royce on the project, ...
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European research group will study new blade-tip coatings
A consortium of nine European companies and research centres has launched a four-year project to develop advanced coatings for aero-engine turbine blade-tips. The work is aimed at achieving reduced tip-clearances, to improve engine performance without causing excessive wear in the blades. "When the blade tip rubs against the ...
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Hercules 2 line gets new tooling
Lockheed Martin has introduced a "flow-line" assembly process for the mid-fuselage section of the C-130J Hercules 2. Designed by Hyde Group of Cheshire, UK, the multi-stage jig allows mid-fuselage production to be integrated with the final assembly line. This replaces a 40-year-old practice of assembling the piece in a separate ...