All news – Page 6721
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FAA finalises parachute testing
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES The US Federal Aviation Administration is close to completing tests on a parachute system that will allow Cirrus Design's SR20 aircraft to decelerate and drift down to the ground in the event of a mechanical failure or other emergency. Tests on the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) ...
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Fresh malfunction of Hughes-built satellites hits PanAmSat
Tim Furniss/LONDON Three more Hughes HS-601-based communications satellites have experienced malfunctions in geostationary orbit, following the loss of the $165 million Galaxy 4 on 19 May, which put out of action 90% of the pagers used in the USA. Like the Galaxy 4, the latest victims, the Galaxy ...
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Further delays hit PW4098-powered 777-300
The long-delayed flight tests of the Pratt & Whitney PW4098-powered Boeing 777-300 are not expected to resume until at least the end of this month following an incident at SeaTac International Airport, near Seattle, in which a new engine slipped in its handling cradle. P&W says that the PW4098, ...
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Going separate ways
Andrzej Jeziorski/TOULOUSE After months of negotiations, ATR and British Aerospace put an end to their Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)) partnership on 3 July with the signing of the official termination documents, retroactively valid from the beginning of the month. Two-and-a-half year old AI(R) - formed under French law as a ...
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GPS takes over US non-precision flying
Operators at US provincial airports and airfields will soon be able to use satellite navigation equipment to carry out non-precision approaches for which distance measuring equipment (DME) and automatic direction finders (ADF) are now used. The Federal Aviation Administration has given notice that it will approve the new procedure ...
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Guizhou to expand as China Southern takes control
Guizhou Airlines is preparing for a major expansion of its aircraft fleet and domestic network following an agree- ment for China Southern Airlines to acquire a controlling interest in the Chinese provincial carrier. The Guiyang-based airline has received the first of three Boeing 737-300s on a seven-year dry lease ...
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Huey converted for firefighting role
Simplex has modified its Model 304 fire attack system to work on board the Bell UH-1H helicopter. The Oregon-based company received US certification in May after using an Idaho Helicopters-owned UH-1H for the test work. According to Simplex, no airframe modifications are required to fit the 304 and after ...
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Iranian carrier negotiates for ex-PAL A300B4s
The Iranian charter airline Mahan Air is close to finalising a deal for three Airbus A300s as part of its fleet restructuring from Russian to Western equipment. The five-year-old airline, based in Kerman, southern Iran, operates an all-Russian fleet of two Tupolev Tu-154Ms and two Ilyushin Il-76s. Negotiations are ...
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Italy's ground handlers complain to Commission
Marco Messalla/ROME Italy's independent ground-handling companies have complained to the European Commission's (EC) competition directorate about the Government's failure to implement EC rules on the liberalisation of ground-handling services. They claim the Government has introduced its own ground-handling legislation instead of making the EC's directive law, to the ...
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JAA 'category A' approval nears for Explorer helicopter
The European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) is expected to certify the Boeing MD Explorer helicopter to "category A" performance levels by the end of the month, according to the manufacturer. The long-awaited clearance rates the MD 902 version as capable of safely continuing flight during a landing or ...
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Jet Airways prepares to lease ATR 72s
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Jet Airways is close to signing a deal with ATR to lease eight new ATR 72 turboprops for an initial period of three years. This is the first move by the privately owned Indian domestic airline to form its own feeder fleet. Raj Desai, Jet Airways' ...
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Lockheed Martin drops acquisition
Douglas Barrie/LONDON Lockheed Martin has abandoned its attempt to acquire Northrop Grumman, exasperated with US Government opposition to its proposed $8.3 billion deal. After what has proved to be more than 12 months of fruitless negotiation, Lockheed Martin walked away from the planned acquisition on 16 July, describing ...
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Marketplace
-Continental Airlines has taken delivery of its first of 28 Boeing 737-800s. -Airtours International has confirmed its order for two additional Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered A330-200s, bringing its orders for the type to four. The second batch will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 1999 for operation by Airtours' Danish ...
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Mata develops infrared night light for helicopter rotor blades
The Mata helicopter division of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has developed a novel rotor blade tip light that will improve the safety of night formation flight. The add-on unit is a self-contained, battery-operated unit that generates an infrared light which is is undetectable by ground forces but can easily ...
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Ministry steps in to sort out Rafale F2 pricing squabble
Julian Moxon/PARIS Senior officials at the French defence ministry have taken over pricing negotiations with Dassault Aviation on multi-year procurement of the Rafale multi-role combat aircraft after talks with its weapons procurement division (DGA) broke down. The DGA had told industry suppliers to the Rafale programme to reduce significantly the ...
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MMS wins Eutelsat Europesat contract
Eutelsat has awarded Matra Marconi Space (MMS) a contract to build the Europesat 1B communications satellite. The craft will be based on an MMS Eurostar bus and will be placed in a geostationary orbit at 29íE, the second of two orbital positions used by the European satellite communications organisation. ...
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More Asian carriers negotiate order deferrals
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Korean Air (KAL) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) are negotiating with Airbus Industrie and Boeing to defer up to 16 widebody aircraft due for delivery in 1999 and 2000, as Asia's economic downturn takes its toll on air traffic. Industry and airline sources suggest that KAL is ...
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North Korea agrees to open up Pyongyang overland route
North Korea has agreed to the opening of the first overland route through the Pyongyang flight information region (FIR), clearing the way for more direct flights from Japan to China and Europe. International flights have also been started on two new air routes through Afghanistan between Asia and Europe. ...
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Nuclear experts aid air safety
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Sandia National Laboratories is helping the US Federal Aviation Administration to devise a new approach to airline safety which the FAA hopes will assist its 3,500 inspectors in tracking safety trends and predicting airline operating deficiencies. Calling on its knowledge from decades of systems engineering work ...
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Outrider procurement decision draws closer
Alliant Techsystems has completed a military user assessment and the advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) of the Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (TUAV), leaving the future of the joint US military project in the hands of the US Department of Defense. The US Navy and Marine Corps are expected ...