All news – Page 6424
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News
Kosovo proves need for pilots
Stewart Penney/THE HAGUEThe Kosovo conflict proved the continued need for a man in the cockpit and the need for the highest possible level of technology, regardless of the sophistication of the threat, according to Lt Gen Ben Droste, commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF). A man in ...
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JDAM tested with smaller munitions
Boeing and the US Air Force have tested the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit on a 227kg (500lb) Mk82 bomb in a manufacturer-funded development and flight test programme. The weapon is a candidate for a future US miniaturised munition and for foreign military sales. The weapon was launched ...
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P&W compensates S Korea for fighter crashes
Pratt & Whitney has agreed to compensate the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) for two engine-related Lockheed Martin F-16C losses during 1997. Both crashes were attributed to problems with the aircraft's single P&WF100-229 turbofan. The first accident was caused by an engine failure over Yosu on 6 August, ...
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New Zealand navy will purchase Maverick-equipped SH-2G
New Zealand is to buy a fifth Kaman SH-2G helicopter in a NZ$43 million ($23 million) deal. A further NZ$20 million is being allocated to purchase additional Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick missiles, spares and support equipment. New Zealand ordered four SH-2Gs in 1997, with an option on two during the production ...
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ETOPS refusal wrecks Airtours A330 introduction
The introduction of the Airbus A330-200 by charter airline Airtours International has been severely disrupted after the UK Civil Aviation Authority unexpectedly refused to clear it to operate its new twinjets on 180min extended range twin engined operations (ETOPS) flights. UK-based Airtours introduced two 360-seat Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered A330-200s ...
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Airports
The Dutch Government has postponed imposition of a curfew at Rotterdam Zestienhoven Airport planned for 5 August until 1 November. Dutch charter airline Transavia had threatened legal action. The government says the aim is to reduce aircraft noise around the airport. Barbados has begun a $70 million renovation of Bridgetown's ...
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GE plans crucial fan test for growth CF6
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric is preparing for vital fan blade containment tests early next year that will pave the way for freezing technology input in its proposed growth version of the CF6, the -80G2. The hybrid wide chord fan is key to increasing the thrust of the CF6 family ...
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Chautauqua tackles cost and pilot problems
US Airways Express operator Chautauqua Airlines is moving to overcome spiralling costs and pilot defections, while trying to mould operations around partner US Airways' requirements. The operator's new chief executive Bryan Bedford says "the last year has not been very good for Chautauqua-escalating costs and high pilot attrition are ...
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Embraer steps up production of RJ-135/145 and picks partners
Paul Lewis/SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS Embraer plans to increase production of its RJ-135/145 to 16 aircraft a month to keep pace with a record order backlog and continue to compete for new business. Meanwhile, it has finalised the selection of partners and suppliers for the new ERJ-170/190 regional jet. ...
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Drinking alleged before Fiji crash
A Fiji Air pilot had been drinking alcohol less than 4h before his Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante crashed, the pilot's brother has alleged on Australian television. The accident happened on a flight from Fiji's capital, Suva, to Nadi, the island's international airport, on 24 July. Wreckage disposition, however, appears to support ...
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Routes
US freight forwarder BAX Global has launched twice-weekly all-cargo charter services between its Toledo, Ohio, hub and Sao Paulo, Brazil, using an Atlas Air Boeing 747-200 operated in partnership with Aerofloral, a Florida-based company specialising in transporting flowers between the USA and South America. BAX also offers northbound services from ...
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Airbus offers synagogue in the sky
Airbus Industrie is offering a "sky synagogue" to Israeli airline El Al in a bid to win the campaign to supply the carrier with a fleet of long-haul widebodies. Airbus is offering a mix of A330/A340s and has proposed using its underfloor cargo hold unit to accommodate the synagogue, which ...
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Workshop
AAR Landing Gear Services has signed a five-year agreement with Condor Cargo Technik to overhaul the landing gears of the airline's Boeing 767s. Hapag-Lloyd has placed a 12- year deal with SR Technics to overhaul CFM56-7s on its 16 Boeing 737-800s. The Swiss company has also extended its contract with ...
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Galaxy re-engining options opened up
Paul Lewis/MARIETTA Lockheed Martin has dissolved its C-5 Galaxy re-engining partnership with General Electric. It is soliciting competing proposals from Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce as the US Air Force leans towards making the airframer sole source contractor for C-5 re-engining. Draft requests for proposals (RFP) have been sent to ...
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DARPA plans robotic workhorse
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to demonstrate a robotic spacecraft capable of refuelling, repairing or reconfiguring satellites in orbit. If it is funded, the Advanced Space Transportation and Robotic Orbiter (ASTRO) technology demonstrator would be flown in late 2001. With ...
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Columbia returns to Kennedy after initial mission hiccups
Tim Furniss/LONDON The STS93/Columbia Space Shuttle mission ended on 28 July with a night landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The launch on 23 July - thwarted earlier by an erroneous sensor at T-7s and by lightning - continued to be eventful after it was airborne, coming close ...
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Farewell Mir mission extended five days
Russia has extended by five days the Mir space station mission by cosmonauts Viktor Afanasyev, Sergei Avdeyev and Jean-Pierre Haignere. The crew, of what will probably be the last Mir mission, was scheduled to return to earth on 23 August. Despite the impending end of the Mir station, experimental ...
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Globalstar launch
Boeing's Delta II booster launched a further four Loral Globalstar satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral on 25 July, bringing to 32 the number of Globalstar communication satellites in orbit. The launch will enable Globalstar to initiate a regional service in September. The establishment of a full 48-satellite constellation, with ...
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RAF Canberras receive survivability upgrade
Tim Ripley/LONDON The Royal Air Force's five veteran BAC Canberra PR9 strategic reconnaissance aircraft are receiving a defensive aid suite (DAS) upgrade to increase their ability to penetrate hostile airspace safely. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) at Boscombe Down designed and is fitting the upgrade, but the programme ...
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USA/Russia argue over Il-96 Exim Bank deal
The delivery of 20 Ilyushin Il-96M/Ts to Aeroflot Russian International Airlines is being held up by a US/Russian wrangle over import duties on new Boeing aircraft for the Russian national carrier. The US Government is believed to have linked the release of $1 billion in Exim Bank funding for ...