All news – Page 6609
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Midway starts to boost its Eastern US network
Midway Airlines plans to bolster frequencies, capacity and reduce seat kilometre costs on its eastern US network with the delivery this month of the first of 17 Boeing 737-700s. It will also receive further smaller, 50-seat, Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) next year. The carrier, based in Raleigh/ Durham, ...
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That's entertainment
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry is experiencing a mini order bonanza this month if the deals by Virgin, United Airlines and an unnamed carrier are anything to go by. But a closer look at the deals and the airlines' reason for them say more about the recent troubled history ...
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Black Hawk tests show airbag safety
Airbag technology has been successfully demonstrated on a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during tests by the US Army. The Simula cockpit air bag system (CABS) supplemental restraint is designed to prevent fatal and serious injuries during survivable crashes. US Army test pilots maintained control during flight and ...
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Australian Army sets missile priorities for firepower plan
Peter La Franchi/ADELAIDE The Australian Army is exploring the acquisition of shore-based anti-ship missiles (ASMs) as part of evolving plans for its future firepower architecture. The move highlights an army push to regain control of Joint Project 117 for a new generation surface-to-air missile. The plans may also include ...
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RAF changes Strike Command
The UK Royal Air Force is restructuring Strike Command - which controls its front line assets - to reflect changes introduced as part of the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR). A key to the SDR is the creation of combined-service entities, including the Joint Helicopter Command, Joint Force 2000 and ...
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AIDC pins hopes on F-5 upgrade
Andrzej Jeziorski/LANGKAWI Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) aims to fly its prototype upgraded Northrop F-5E Tiger in July, in anticipation of a 40-aircraft upgrade contract from the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF). Albert Wu, deputy director of AIDC's military aircraft division, says the RoCAF is, for ...
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Malaysia focuses on aerospace development
Andrzej Jeziorski/LANGKAWI Malaysian aerospace companies have signed a string of co-operative contracts as the economically recovering country pushes to develop its aerospace industry. Component manufacturing contracts and a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules upgrade deal were signed at Malaysia's Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 99), which took place from ...
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The inside story
Improved software has added a new dimension to Dassault's Falcon Jet Completion Center Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCODassault has completed the installation of the latest version of a state-of-the-art digital design system at its Falcon Jet Completion Center at the Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas. The system, CATIA R, was originally ...
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Fan finale
Turbofan engines for the Millennium are bigger and better than ever Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Flight International's final turbofan directory of the 20th century reveals the broadest power range and most capable set of engines in the industry's history. Topping the list are the mighty Boeing ...
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Pakistan launcher
Pakistan is developing a satellite launch vehicle and plans to test it in "two to three years". Its second indigenously built satellite - the 70kg (150lb) BADR-B - will be sent into orbit by a Ukrainian-Russian Zenit booster next year. The BADR-A was launched by China in 1990. Source: Flight ...
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Kistler struggles
Kistler Aerospace, which plans to develop the reusable K-1 satellite launch vehicle, is considering issuing debt or equity to help raise the $400 million it still needs to develop the technology. Kistler has received $500 million from 400 shareholders and investors, including Northrop Grumman, which is to build the K-1's ...
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Soho rescue
The European Space Agency's SOHO solar observing spacecraft is back on track after going into "safe mode" for unknown reasons on 28 November. The spacecraft is still not in the right position, but efforts continue to re-establish the correct attitude. The SOHO may have been hit by a high-energy particle, ...
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Close shave
Just 4min before the Galileo's 300km fly-by of one of Jupiter's moons, Io, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers restored power to its cameras. They had been decommissioned by the craft going into "safe mode" as it flew through the intense radiation of the gaseous planet on 25 November. Source: Flight ...
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NASA prepares to launch Earth-observing Terra
The first International Launch Services Atlas booster to fly from Vandenberg AFB, California, is due to lift off on 16 December. The Atlas IIAS will carry NASA's flagship Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite, Terra, into a 705km circular Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Terra, originally called EOS AM, is the first ...
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Airbus hunts MAS with A320 offer
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is being offered an attractive financial package deal by Airbus Industrie to roll over its narrowbody fleet and replace it with new A320 family aircraft. The move comes as Airbus seeks to bolster an earlier A340-500/600 proposal and undermine support for the yet-to-be launched ...
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Troubleshooting team probes 737-400 wiring
A team from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has been inspecting the wiring on 737-400s. The checks were ordered after an Alaska Airlines aircraft was forced to return to Portland, Oregon, when chafed wires triggered false low fuel pressure readings. As Flight ...
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Pilots applaud ADS-B after human factors evaluation
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC A human factors evaluation of the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system has shown the technology can significantly improve pilot awareness. The tests, led by the US Cargo Airlines Association (CAA) and UPS Aviation Technologies, are being analysed by Johns Hopkins University, which is due to issue a ...
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Premiair takes first A330-200 for long haul winter flights
The first of two Airbus A330-200s for Scandinavian charter airline Premiair is poised to enter service on a six-month wet lease from sister company Airtours International. The Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-powered A330-200 has been delivered new to Premiair. The second A330-200 is due this month, while three Trent-powered A330-300s will arrive ...
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Study reveals steady safety improvement
David Learmount/LONDON Airline safety is improving more quickly than traditional statistics indicate, says a study by Airclaims in association with the European Union. The annual number of aircraft totally destroyed in airline accidents has been steady since 1970, despite a 350% expansion of the world fleet and an increase ...
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First Boeing 737-700 door takes shape
Boeing has begun to install the main-deck cargo door on the first cargo version of the Next Generation 737 at its plant in Wichita, Kansas. The 737-700C (Convertible) is under development for civil and military markets. The US Navy is the initial customer, with an order for three aircraft. The ...