All news – Page 6756
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Down-but not out
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Supporters of turboprops should take heart. If history is anything to go by, it is possible that the surge of development work on new small turbofans with thrust ratings of below 35kN (8,000lb) may spawn new turboprop and turboshaft versions. Complementing their technical advances, ...
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Testing progress
Graham Warwick/NAS PATUXENT RIVER Development flight testing of the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will not end as planned in November, but will be extended into next year. The continuation is necessary because of the effort that was required to resolve the manoeuvre wing-drop issue, but will be covered by ...
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Bad for the business
David Learmount/LONDON Available statistics from the major national agencies suggest that general aviation is getting safer, even though there were more business aviation accidents last year than in 1996. In the USA, where more than half the world's general aviation activity takes place, the accident rate for general aviation as ...
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Top of the props
Guy Norris/MONTREAL Later this month Pratt & Whitney Canada will receive Transport Canada certification for its PW150A turboprop. Flat-rated at 3,780kW (5,070shp) for take-off on Bombardier's de Havilland Dash 8Q Series 400, the engine has virtually double the power of any other member of the PW100 family from which it ...
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Bacon interests engine maker in innovative 3X Jet
Richard Bacon, the inventor behind the concept of powering aircraft with dissimilarly sized engines, says that his 3X Jet Aircraft company has held "major talks" with an interested powerplant manufacturer. Golden, Colorado-based 3X Jet hopes to persuade the unnamed engine supplier to champion the 3X configuration in subsequent discussions ...
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Gulfstream seeks Russian secondhand market
Gulfstream is looking to tap into a developing market for secondhand business jets in Russia by certificating its more elderly models there. Joe Walker, senior vice-president of international sales, says that the GIII, produced between 1980 and 1987, has already received Russian certification. The 1966-79 GII should be certificated there ...
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New Piper ambitions focus on building a business jet family
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON New Piper Aircraft is examining market needs for a "family" of business jets to add to its line-up of piston and turboprop-powered aircraft. "We feel that this will be a natural progression for our Malibu Meridian customers," says Larry Bardon, New Piper's director of sales. He says ...
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Boeing defines 747-400X
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Paul Lewis/SEATTLE Almost 18 months after cancelling the 747-500X/ 600X programmes, Boeing has finally settled on a firm design configuration for the next version of the 747-400, which could be in service in less than three years. The long awaited move increases the maximum take-off ...
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Possible Belgian buyer emerges for Explorer
Boeing is in "final negotiations "with a Belgian buyer for its MD900 Explorer helicopter line, which was effectively orphaned when its two former McDonnell Douglas Helicopters stablemates, the MD500 and 600, were sold in March to Bell Helicopter Textron. The chief executive of Belgium's Heli Fly, Tom Piron, confirms ...
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Airbus firms up second engine option for high-capacity A3XX
A second engine option is now officially available from Airbus Industrie on its planned A3XX high capacity airliner, with the firming up of plans to offer the General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance joint venture GP7000 on the aircraft. Airbus signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Engine ...
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France approves Aerospatiale sale
Julian Moxon/PARIS The French Government's moves to start the process of privatising Aerospatiale have received a cautious welcome from the European aerospace industry, with the prospect that it will remove a key barrier to consolidation. Aerospatiale president Yves Michot has been charged with developing proposals on the way ...
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USA smoothes path for UK EF2000 missile selection
Douglas Barrie/LONDON William Cohen, the US defence secretary, has written to his UK counterpart, George Robertson, offering critical assurances concerning the latter's £850 million ($1.4 billion) procurement of a next generation beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile (BVRAAM). US missile giant Raytheon Systems is competing with Matra BAe ...
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Dragonair forced to rethink expansion
Hong Kong's Dragonair is deferring delivery of its last of nine new Airbus A320 family aircraft and has shelved the planned launch of new services to Japan and South Korea because of the Asian economic downturn. The airline is undertaking a fleet roll-over with International Lease Finance (ILFC), with ...
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FLS retreats from Team Aer Lingus plans after workers rejection
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON FLS Aerospace has shelved its acquisition talks with Team Aer Lingus, after workers at the Irish aircraft maintenance unit voted against a deal. The Danish group says that it is prepared to revive the bid, if workers have a change of heart, and will meanwhile continue to ...
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American switches to Raisbeck for Stage 3 727 solution
American Airlines has decided against hushkitting its Boeing 727-200s and will instead switch to an aerodynamic modification developed by Raisbeck, which will enable the aircraft to meet Stage 3 noise limits. Jeffrey Lown, vice-president for the Raisbeck Commercial Air Group's Stage 3 system, says the company persuaded American away ...
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USAF allots funding for TCAS and TAWS
The US Air Force has earmarked $497 million for the purchase of traffic alert collision avoidance system (TCAS) and terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) avionics and, in doing so, has narrowed the field of competing manufacturers. USAF aircraft programme managers will be allowed to buy the TCAS, already ...
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D-30 to get new combustor
Rybinsk Motors is developing a new combustor and a hushkit for its D-30 turbofan, which powers the Ilyushin Il-76 freighter (pictured) and the Tupolev Tu-154. The proposed hushkit has vortex generators and an ejector with acoustic mixer, claimed to cut noise by 3-4dB, while the updated combustor has a new ...
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Dassault Electronique prepares to rival AlliedSignal's EGPWS
Ian Sheppard/LONDON Despite delaying certification of its ground collision avoidance system (GCAS) until September, Dassault Electronique is still confident that the system will head off AlliedSignal's market domination with the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). The French company, now allied to Thomson-CSF, is flying the GCAS on ...
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NASA develops new engine enhancer
NASA Dryden Flight Research Centre and Physical Sciences have teamed to develop an optical sensor which can detect the density and velocity of air passing through an aircraft engine, opening the possibility of real time performance optimisation. The air mass flux sensor provides data without interrupting airflow through the ...
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Hamilton Prop centre
Hamilton Standard has established a spare parts distribution centre in Frankfurt, Germany, to speed deliveries to airlines across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The centre will be managed by Lufthansa Technik. Source: Flight International