All news – Page 6569
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Agency abandons supersonic transport
NASA'S decision to abandon its decade-long supersonic transport research effort was precipitated by Boeing and, to some extent, NASA's own HSR team last year, when the two concluded that the future High Speed Commercial Transport (HSCT) would need to meet Stage 4, rather than Stage 3 noise levels. As a ...
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IPTN planning to cut workforce by 33%
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Indonesian aircraft manufacturer Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) is planning to slash its huge workforce by 33% over the next two years. Some 700 staff will go next month as IPTN starts shedding 5,200 workers, reducing employee numbers to 10,500 by 2001, says the company. Employees ...
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FAA to issue directive on 777-200 tail corrosion
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The US Federal Aviation Administration is expected to issue an airworthiness directive in March, recommending inspections to 18 Boeing 777-200s affected by a potential tailplane corrosion problem. Aircraft line numbers 15 to 33, excluding 18, are affected. The aircraft involved are in service with All Nippon Airlines ...
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France and India strike ATR assembly agreement
The French and Indian governments have signed a preliminary agreement, which could lead to local assembly and manufacture of the ATR 42 regional and military turboprop by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). The Franco-Italian consortium was the sole remaining contender for the deal, after the elimination of Bombardier and Saab, offering respectively ...
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Air-India funds A310 with 747 leases
Air-India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a UK aircraft broker to lease out two of its Boeing 747 classics. Funds from the deal will help boost its Airbus A310 fleet. The agreement covers the short term lease of two 747-200s to London Gatwick Air Charters. The airline ...
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Japan to revise slots policy
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The Japanese transport ministry plans to revise its policy on domestic airport slot allocation, taking into consideration applicants' load factors and fares. The move could cause concern among the big three Japanese carriers - Japan Airlines (JAL), All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Air System (JAS) ...
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Criticism over MLU hits US fighter bid to Norway
Andrew Doyle/OSLO Lockheed Martin's campaign to sell NKr10.5 billion ($1.39 billion) worth of new fighter aircraft to Norway has suffered a setback, following the publication of a highly critical report on the mid-life upgrade (MLU) programme for the country's fleet of F-16s. The report, compiled by Norway's general audit office ...
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Global Hawk looks to a wider role as DarkStar burns out
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical's Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance system has demonstrated the ability to collect and transmit synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electro-optical (EO) and infrared (IR) imagery in near real time, in a flight which marked the first use of all three sensors on the same mission. ...
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737 wiring ultimatum
All Boeing 737 models up to and including the -500 are to be retrofitted with new fuel tank wiring systems, a US Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive (AD) requires. The AD includes shielding and separation of fuel system wiring from adjacent wiring and installation of flame arrestors and pressure relief ...
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First production V-22s to roll off line
Bell is preparing to begin final assembly of the initial two production V-22 Osprey tiltrotors at its new Amarillo plant, for delivery to the US Marine Corps. It marks the end of the programme's engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. Final assembly of the V-22 will switch to Amarillo ...
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GE renews F110 push for F-15E
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES General Electric is stepping up its campaign to equip the Boeing F-15E with its F110-129 engine following the completion of an extensive field service evaluation (FSE) with the US Air Force. The move comes despite an initial rejection by the USAF of an unsolicited offer of an ...
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SAir adds loss-making AOM to its portfolio
Julian Moxon/PARIS France's second largest airline, AOM, has become the latest independent carrier to fall to a foreign carrier's expansion plan, with the SAir Group purchasing a 49% stake from Credit Lyonnaise. As Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, a majority holding must remain in France, and ...
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Sea Launch aims for March take-off
The Boeing-led Sea Launch group is planning the maiden launch of its Zenit 3SL booster, from the Odyssey offshore platform in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, on 15 March. It will carrya dummy satellite to demonstrate geostationary orbit-launch capability. Six Ukrainian-Russian Zenit boosters are complete and three commercial flights are ...
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Crown Air opens Czech book for Citation X
Czech operator Crown Air has ordered a Cessna Citation X business jet for delivery in late May, the US manufacturer's first sale of the type to a European executive charter company. Based at Prague's Ruzyne Airport in the Czech Republic, Crown was formed in 1997 as Eastern Europe's first ...
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KLM suffers EC Martinair blow as slump bites into profits
Chris Jasper/LONDON European Union competition chiefs have blocked KLM's planned take-over of charter carrier Martinair Holland pending an investigation into the proposed deal. The European Commission (EC) announced the probe on the day that the Dutch flag carrier revealed that it had lost NLG29 million ($15 million) during the last ...
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Bombardier Continental takes shape
Ramon Lopez/FORT LAUDERDALE BOMBARDIER has agreed a series of deals covering the construction of most of the airframe for Continental super mid-size business jets. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and two of the Canadian company's subsidiaries are to build sections of the eight-passenger aircraft. MHI becomes a risk-sharing partner to provide ...
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Watching from the wings
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS In the Asia Pacific region's uncertain economic climate, the first major air show of 1999 is likely to be observed with close interest by the organisers of competing events. The Australian International Airshow, at Avalon Airport, near Melbourne, may be an overly optimistic guideline for planners of similar ...
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A long and difficult development
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA After eight years of development, a 20-month long Parliamentary inquiry into delays, and at a cost of more than A$1.7 billion ($1.06 billion), Australia's Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) is scheduled to come on line progressively over the next 30 months. A fully functioning system ...
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Deep range vision
Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA Toward the end of last year, the Royal Australian Air Force undertook a low-key but highly significant restructuring of its operational Air Command, to bring into being what is now designated the Surveillance and Control Group. Planned as the home of Australia's future airborne early warning and ...
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Tailored training
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Ansett Australia, the country's principal domestic carrier, believes it has broken new ground in enhancing quality and standardisation in its flight operations. The source of those gains is in aircrew training: under Ansett's system, it more closely matches individuals' needs. The airline's training department assembles a database of ...