All news – Page 6726
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US trainers make progress with first flights and roll-outs
The first production Raytheon T-6A Texan II trainer for the US Air Force is expected to make its maiden flight from Wichita, Kansas, by 17 July. The first of more than 700 T-6A Texan II trainers for the US Air Force and US Navy's Joint Primary Aircraft Training System ...
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Venezuela selects MB339FD and AMX ATA combination
Andrea Spinelli/GENOA Venezuela has chosen a mix of the Aermacchi MB339FD jet trainer and the new ATA version of the Alenia-Aermacchi-Embraer AMX trainer/attack aircraft to meet its advanced jet trainer and light strike fighter requirements. The purchase of the AMX will be the first export order for the aircraft. The ...
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Preparing for Tiger
Julian Moxon/LUC EN PROVENCE French army aviation is changing fast. The decision two years ago to move France's armed forces towards an all-professional body has meant that the army must cut its force by 60% before 2002 and its helicopter numbers by more than one-third. In addition, ...
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Quicksilver machine
Guy Norris/DALLAS-FORT WORTHWithin the next five years, the combined fleets of American Airlines and its regional affiliate, American Eagle, will number almost 1,000, of which the vast majority will be jet powered. Managing these huge fleets, and restructuring them to meet the changing needs of the 21st century, has become ...
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Have Hercules, will travel
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON, DC Nobody has done a tour on this scale, according to Lockheed Martin international business development vice-president Rick Hundley, who claims to have "kissed the ground" at Marietta, Georgia, when he and the C-130J Hercules 2 completed their marathon sales drive on 27 June. The world ...
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Calling all choppers
Paul Lewis/GIFU, JAPAN Japan can best be summarised as a geographically compact and mountainous island nation of 120 million inhabitants, the bulk of whom are tightly squeezed into an urban coastal belt. The country therefore presents some fairly unusual challenges when it comes to disaster relief planning, in which ...
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A late entry
Tim Furniss/LONDON A new European Space Agency (ESA) launcher, the Vega, will fly from Kourou, French Guiana, in 2002. The heads of the space agencies of ESA's 14 member states gave the initial go-ahead at a meeting in Brussels late last month (see box), with Italy taking the largest ...
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Power demand delays Koala tests
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Agusta has pushed back certification of its A119 Koala single-turbine helicopter to the fourth quarter of this year. The Italian company cites two reasons - plans to enhance the aircraft's performance in response to customer demands, and the need to concentrate on satisfying high demand for its ...
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Conair anxious to introduce fire-fighting C-130
Canadian fire-fighting specialist Conair hopes to introduce its first Lockheed Martin C-130 aerial tanker by the start of the 1999 fire season. The Abbotsford, British Columbia-based company says it has been "frustrated" in its efforts to find suitable C-130s, or civil L-100s, for conversion because delays in the development ...
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Deliveries near as Learjet 45 receives JAA certification
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Bombardier has received European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) approval for the Learjet 45, clearing another obstacle to deliveries of the all-new light business jet. The JAA letter of recommendation is expected to result in type certificates from most of the agency's 25 member states "within the next ...
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FAA and Coast Guard to maintain Loran-C
The US Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard have agreed to keep the Loran-C navigation system in service beyond its planned termination date of 31 December, 2000 in a move which will be welcomed by the general aviation sector. The decision, which must be approved by transportation secretary Rodney ...
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Detection opposition
The US National Air Transportation Association is opposing a Federal Aviation Administration proposal to require business aircraft used for on-demand charter to be equipped with fire detection and suppression systems in Class D baggage compartments, arguing that there have been no cargo fires in such compartments. Source: Flight International
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Boeing studies triple-engined 777X
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing is considering the use of a third, tail-mounted engine in the 777-200X/300X that would also double up as an auxiliary power unit. The virtually unprecedented use of a thrusting APU is one of a wide range of changes being studied to improve the field performance of ...
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BA ponders engine switch for big new 777 acquisition
British Airways is considering buying 20 more Boeing 777s in a $2 billion deal that could see it switch engine suppliers. The carrier selected the General Electric GE90 engine for its current fleet of 777-200s, having rejected an offer from traditional supplier Rolls-Royce, but it is now seeking bids ...
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EC allows American/BA alliance in exchange for Heathrow slots
Carriers on both sides of the Atlantic are stressing that there is still all to play for despite the European Commission's long-awaited ruling on the British Airways and Lufthansa transatlantic alliances. Major USairlines are already gearing up to lobby the USDepartment of Transportation to increase access to London Heathrow, while ...
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P&W warns partners on future of V2500 engine programme
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Pratt & Whitney has warned its International Aero Engine (IAE) partners that it will pursue development of the PW6000 and geared PW8000 turbofan family unless agreement can be reached on the future direction of the collaborative V2500 programme. "Pratt can't survive without participating in the largest ...
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Boom continues for Airbus and Boeing
A surge of narrowbody business kept the order boom going for Airbus and Boeing over the first half of 1998, although both will be watching for signs of a slowdown in the second half, when the full impact of the Asian recession is likely to be felt. The two ...
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Huge UPS contract provides A300-600 lifeline for Airbus
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON UPS Airlines has chosen the Airbus A300-600 for its long-awaited widebody regional freighter requirement, with a deal for up to 100 aircraft, including 40 new build examples. The deal, which was won over a several bidders, including Boeing, provides a vital boost to the flagging A300 ...
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ATR to set up asset management unit
ATR plans to set up an asset management business as part of a restructuring plan that will see the Franco-Italian turboprop consortium become a single corporate entity early next year. The move comes as ATR and British Aerospace go their separate ways following the formal dissolution of the Aero ...
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Remmele advances machining on Bell 427
The first application of high-velocity machining (HVM) to a civil helicopter has been pioneered by New Brighton, Minnesota-based Remmele Engineering on Bell Helicopter Textron's new twin-engined Model 427. HVM at 40,000rpm spindle speed has made it possible to form the keelbeam, the primary structural member of the nose, as a ...