All news – Page 6366
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Austria ready to modernise
Keen to show its neutrality, Austria has long kept its air force to a minimum. This strategy could soon change René van Woezik/VIENNA Austria spends less than most European countries on defence, as a proportion of its GDP that is, and stretches the lives of its aircraft to their ...
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Intrepid Explorer
Flying the MD 902 Explorer proved it to be vice-free - as befits a helicopter with a design dictated by pilots and operators Peter Gray/REDHILL The MD Explorer should be the perfect helicopter. The design was conceived in the early 1990s when McDonnell Douglas asked owners round the world what ...
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Destination unknown
Replacing its current fleet could be the least complicated issue facing Canadian Regional Airlines as an airline takeover battle looms Paul Seidenman/CALGARY As Air Canada and Canadian Airlines (CAI) face up to each other in what is becoming one of the hardest-fought airline takeover battles in recent years, shock waves ...
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Galileo partners set up consortium
The industrial partners in the European Galileo navigation satellite programme have established a joint venture consortium with headquarters in Brussels. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, Dornier Satellitinen-systeme, Alenia Aerospazio and Matra Marconi Space are working on the definition phase of the Galileo system funded by the European Community and the European Space Agency. ...
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NASA reschedules Shuttle launches
NASA has given tentative launch dates for the next three Space Shuttle missions as wiring inspections and repairs on orbiters Discovery and Endeavour near completion and similar work begins on Atlantis. The STS103 Discovery, the Hubble Space Telescope-Servicing 3A mission, will be launched on 2 December. The Shuttle ...
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Brazilians lose contact with faulty research satellite
Brazil's INPE space agency has been unable to make contact with its $4.6 million SACI-1 satellite, launched last month. It is thought to have suffered a communications, antenna or computer fault, which may be correctable. The small Brazilian technology research satellite was launched on the second Chinese Long March ...
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Roton makes first translational flight
Rotary Rocket's Roton Atmospheric Test Vehicle approach and landing demonstrator made its first translational, forward, flight in the envelope expansion programme on 12 October. The craft, which is planned to be a single-stage to low-earth-orbit vehicle, flew 1,310m (4,300ft) along Mojave Airport's runway at a maximum altitude of 72ft ...
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Star leaders seek to repel hostile bid for Air Canada
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Star Alliance leaders Lufthansa and United Airlines have sought to fend off a hostile bid for partner Air Canada by bankrolling a C$892 ($597 million) counter-offer. Though the deal would also see Canadian Airlines taken over by the flag carrier, the smaller airline would remain a separate ...
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Sextant aims for US presence
Stewart Penney/BORDEAUX French avionics manufacturer Sextant is keen to buy a US-based avionics company as part of a three-pronged strategy to increase its military business. The plan could see it bidding against the UK's Smith Industries, which is also on the acquisition trail. Sextant military aircraft avionics president Jean-Loïc ...
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Lockheed Martin improves tactical strike systems
A unitary-warhead version of the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) could be delivered within three months, according to Lockheed Martin. The company is also developing modifications to the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)which would turn the rocket artillery system into a smart weapon. The delivery promise follows a ...
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USAF gets funding to begin work on Galaxy re-engining
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force has secured $18 million in long lead funding to begin work on re-engining the Lockheed Martin C-5A/B Galaxy, as the Air Mobility Command (AMC) prepares to conclude a critical study of its future heavylift transport options. Congress has approved initial funding in ...
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Composite Falcon
Dassault is introducing carbonfibre horizontal stabilisers on its Falcon 900 and 2000 series, to reduce parts count and weight. The new units, to be phased in for deliveries from late next year or early 2001, will feature a cast titanium centre box and composite spars and skins. Source: Flight International
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Fractional ownership scheme expands in Mexico
Mexico's first business jet fractional ownership programme is slowly expanding after its first year. The MexJet 2000 programme, operated by AeroLineas Ejecutivas (ALE), will add a fifth Raytheon Beechjet 400A in December and has two more aircraft due for delivery next year. Six Raytheon Premier Is are planned for ...
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First came the mega-deal: now comes the mega-challenge
Chris Jasper/LONDON As the dust settles on the Franco-German accord that will ultimately lead to the formation of the new European Aeronautics, Defense and Space Company (EADS), one thing is becoming clear: the landscape of the aerospace industry worldwide has changed for ever. Beyond that realisation, however, some initial impressions ...
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Private road beckons for Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc is on course for partial privatisation next year. The government, which holds a 94% stake, plans to sell 25% of the airline and to increase its capital by 15%. The move could see 40% of the flag carrier become available to private investors. Maroc's senior vice-president ...
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Schreiner Group snaps up Air Holland
Dutch aviation company Schreiner Group has agreed to buy Amsterdam-based charter carrier Air Holland. The airline operates two Boeing 737-300s and four 757-200s. It is attractive because of its slot holdings at crowded Schiphol Airport, although the Schreiner deal should allow it to continue operations. Meanwhile, French regional ...
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Dassault considers options following creation of EADS
Julian Moxon/PARISDassault Aviation says its future within the new European Aeronautics, Defense and Space Company (EADS) will be decided "when our shareholders are ready". DaimlerChrysler Aerospace's (Dasa's) merger with one of its two major shareholders, Aerospatiale Matra, creates conditions in which it could reassert its independence, Dassault says. Following the ...
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Alliance blames Congo problems for loss
Rwandan carrier Alliance Express has posted a $4 million operating loss for its first trading year, ended 31 March, with the result blamed on its failure to open routes to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because of the conflict there. The airline, formed in February last year, is ...
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Boeing technique leaves trailing vortices behind
Andrew Doyle/BRUSSELS Boeing aerodynamicists believe they have discovered a revolutionary technique for tackling aircraft wake vortices and hope to begin flight testing the system "as soon as possible". Details of the design remain secret because Boeing does not expect to be formally granted a patent until next month, ...
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FedEx MD-11 in Subic Bay overrun
A FedEx Boeing MD-11 freighter was destroyed in a landing accident at Subic Bay freeport, Philippines, on 17 October. The tri-jet overran the airport's 2,745m (9,000ft) runway 07 and fell into the sea, sinking quickly. Injuries to the two pilots, the only occupants, are reportedly minor. The aircraft (N581FE), inbound ...