All news – Page 6393
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Beal booster may fly late next year
Beal Aerospace, the privately funded company that is developing the Beal satellite launcher, could test fly a version of the booster from Cape Canaveral late next year or in early 2001. The all-liquid-fuelled three-stage BA-2 model will be as large as the Titan 4B, the USA's most powerful unmanned ...
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Fregat qualification
Starsem, the Arianespace/Aerospatiale/Russian Space Agency/Samara consortium which markets the Soyuz booster for commercial launchers, has completed qualification of the Fregat upper stage for the vehicle. Added to the Soyuz, the Fregat will improve the booster's low and medium earth orbit capability and enable it to complete planetary-type missions. The Soyuz-Fregat ...
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Joining the jet age
Turbofan power is giving the 328 regional airliner a new lease of life Andrew Doyle/OBERPFAFFENHOFENIt is an unconventional way of bringing a regional jet to the marketplace. Fairchild Aerospace has created a capable 30-seat aircraft by re-engining the Dornier 328 turboprop with turbofans. First deliveries of the 328JET were made ...
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Transatlantic first
An EH Industries EH101 civil utility helicopter completed its first transatlantic crossing from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Iqualuit, North West Canada on 1 September. The 18h flight covered 4,020km (2,170nm) at 150kt (280km/h) and involved a total of four refuelling stops. Source: Flight International
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Unmanned alternatives
II(AC) Sqn pilots see unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) as a viable alternative to the manned aircraft for certain missions, particularly suppression of enemy air defences, and because of the political pressure to avoid casualties. A flight commander says the difficulty with UCAVs "is the physical pushing of the button. ...
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Airports
South African president Thabo Mbeki opened a new passenger terminal at Johannesburg International Airport on 27 August. The R259 million ($43 million) development makes the airport the largest and busiest on the African continent. It handles 10 million passengers annually. The Kobe municipal government in Japan has reached agreement with ...
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Prague opening brings Central European ATC services closer
Julian Moxon/PARIS The eight-nation Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) system is to become reality with the establishment of a directorate in Czech capital Prague and first moves towards an experimental centre to be based in Budapest, Hungary. CEATS brings together Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, ...
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BA 747-400 wings in without winglet
British Airways recently operated one of its 747-400s (G-BNLR) for about a week without the winglet on its port wingtip. The winglet had been removed having suffered minor damage on the ground and has been replaced. BA says it is "perfectly acceptable according to the Boeing dispatch deviation manual" ...
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Traffic figures stall Indian Airlines plans
State-owned Indian Airlines has shelved plans to lease four new Airbus A320s for domestic routes, because of worse-than-expected traffic figures. The carrier began its search in April for International Aero Engines V2500-powered aircraft to dry lease for three years from October. But traffic growth up to next March looks ...
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ACAS for Aeroflot
Aeroflot Russian International Airlines has selected AlliedSignal to supply airborne collision avoidance systems (ACAS) for eight Ilyushin Il-76 freighters to enable them to comply with new legalisation scheduled to take effect in Europe next January. Source: Flight International
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GE Harris signs Comair CRJs for datalink trial
US regional Comair has committed two Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) to test a high-speed wireless datalink system developed by General Electric-Harris joint venture GE Harris Aviation Information Solutions. GE Harris Aviation's automated On, Off, On, In (OOOI) datalink will be installed on the first CRJ in mid-November. The second ...
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BAe to relaunch regional jet family with update of RJ85
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC British Aerospace expects to launch development of the re-engined Avro RJ-X programme with the RJ-85 as a result of stronger market interest in the smallest version of the regional jet family. Two unbuilt RJ airframes have been allocated to the development programme, aircraft serial numbers ...
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SA Airlink rethinks Swazi operation
Operations BY Airlink Swaziland, the new venture between SA Airlink and the Swazi Government, may have to be reconsidered, says SA Airlink chief executive Rodger Foster. "The five-week-old operation has been fraught with political resistance from groups in Swaziland who want the government to operate the service," he says. ...
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Uzbekistan takes first 757-200
Uzbekistan Airways has received the first of two Boeing 757-200s for international scheduled services. The 184-seat aircraft, which includes a 26-seat business-class cabin, will be used on services from Uzbekistan to points in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The new 757-200 joins two 767-300ERs, three Airbus A310s, three Avro ...
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Radical reform
The US Air Force is shifting priorities and working on a major facelift of its force structure Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Air power is on the verge of major changes, but it will take time to reshape today's force structure for the realities of expeditionary operations and coalition warfare, ...
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Digital giant
Boeing and Northrop Grumman have combined forces to bring construction of the 747 into the 21st century Guy Norris/SEATTLELate next month a 747-400 destined for Japan Airlines (JAL) will roll out of Boeing's Everett manufacturing site in Washington. On the outside it will look just like any other -400, but ...
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Precision prerequisite
Without precision strike capabilities, a nation will not be asked to participate in coalition warfare. In most air forces, the laser-guided bomb (LGB) is the primary precision guided munition (PGM). Poor weather over Kosovo and Iraq during Desert Fox highlighted problems with bombing through cloud. RAF Chief of the ...
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Negative stability tests aid Airbus A3XX design
Airbus Industrie has begun trials of an A340 set up to fly with reduced stability margins as part of its drive to validate technology for the proposed 550-seat A3XX. Ina recent initial trial, the natural stability of the A340 was reduced by transferring fuel between tanks so that the ...
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Gold delivery
Gold Air has taken delivery of a refurbished British Aerospace HS-125-800, which will join the company's 14-strong charter aircraft fleet. This includes one BAe HS125-700 and two Cessna Citation SIIs. "As there is a limited number of mid-size business aircraft available for charter in the UK, interest from the industry ...
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First Century Jet risk-sharer signs
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Century Aerospace has signed the first of five risk-sharing partners to help fund and develop its Century Jet CA-100. The remaining contractors will be announced at the US National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention in October, a year after the six-seat aircraft was transformed from a single to ...