All news – Page 6919
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Point to point delivery
David Learmount/LONDON Transporting outsized, heavy machinery or plant to a remote site on a different continent is a logistics nightmare which might involve three or more modes of transport. The unit, perhaps a hydro-electric generator, often has to be designed not only for its mechanical efficiency, but to enable modular ...
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Facing the future
Emma Kelly/LONDON The in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry has come in for sharp criticism over the last few years, with some well-publicised interactive IFE failures giving it a bad name. To limit the chances of this happening in the future, the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) - the IFE industry ...
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Raptor approaches supersonic tests
The first supersonic tests of the Lockheed Martin Boeing F-22A Raptor air superiority fighter are expected to take place later this month at Edwards AFB, California. The tests will be conducted with the Raptor 1 (aircraft 4001), which is now dedicated to expanding the high and fast part of ...
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Proteus aims to reach new high
Scaled Composites, manufacturer of the Proteus high-altitude long operation aircraft, plans later this month to expand the flight envelope to altitudes above 35,000ft (10,700m) and speeds up to 175kt (320km/h) indicated airspeed (or Mach 0.55) as part of its goal of achieving "loiter" operations at 64,000ft. Proteus, which was ...
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Phantom satellite
Tim Furniss/LONDON US intelligence officials admit they were caught unawares when North Korea launched a three-stage satellite booster on 31 August. The attempt failed, but it exposed the USA's lack of knowledge about the country's ability to develop a three-stage rocket. The booster was a two-stage Taepo Dong ...
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Growing pains
Emma Kelly/LONDONThe in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry is growing up. But it has had to. The IFE industry today is showing the first signs of realism and credibility - much improved characteristics than the over-promises and disappointments that have plagued the industry in recent years. After years of considerable effort, interactive ...
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Beriev makes first flight with Be-200
Beriev completed a 30min first flight of the Be-200 twin-turbofan amphibian on 24 September at the Irkutsk Aviation Production Organisation airfield in Irkutsk, Siberia. Four days later the prototype made a second test flight, during which the aircraft reached a maximum speed of 216kt (400km/h). Tagenrog, Russia-based Beriev ...
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Proteus market predicted to fly
Guy Norris/MOJAVE Wyman-Gordon is predicting an estimated market for up to 1,000 of the unconventional Proteus high-altitude, long operation (HALO) aircraft being built by its subsidiary Scaled Composites. The US investment company hopes to begin proof-of-concept trials as early as 2000. The prediction, from Wyman-Gordon's chairman and chief ...
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Kaman warns K-MAX users on fuel pump failure
Kaman has alerted K-MAX operators that the first fatal crash of the external lift helicopter, in Germany early in September, may have been caused by a fuel pump failure. The company is meeting engine manufacturer AlliedSignal to decide what action should be taken. The single-seat, single-engined helicopter, operated by ...
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Cirrus tests
Cirrus Design has successfully completed development tests on the crew seats for its SR20 business aircraft. Final FAA evaluation on the seat tests was planned to have taken place by 5 October. Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus, has received more than 200 orders for the four-seat SR20, which is due for certification ...
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Maryland Eurocopter
The Maryland State Police in the USA is scheduled to take delivery of a Eurocopter AS365N3 Dauphin in April 1999. The twin turbine helicopter will be added to the aviation division's existing fleet of 11 AS365s. Source: Flight International
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Bombardier extends fractional ownership project to Europe
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Bombardier is planning to launch its Business Jet Solutions fractional ownership programme in Europe by the end of the year. An announcement could be made at the National Business Aviation Convention in October. The Dallas, US-based programme, arguably the world's second largest fractional ownership scheme, will ...
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S-70 Firehawk sparks Asian sales for Sikorsky
Sikorsky Aircraft is negotiating the sale of two S-70A-37 Firehawk firefighter helicopters to an unnamed Asian customer as a prelude to what it hopes will be a substantial market demand from the region in the wake of devastating forest fires in 1997. The customer, believed to be the Sultan ...
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FAA extends checks on ageing airliner fleet
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Federal Aviation Administration has disclosed a series of safety initiatives covering detailed inspection of wiring and other operating systems for older airliners. The phased safety project is similar to the agency's ageing aircraft inspection programme, which covers the structures of vintage commercial transports. ...
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AOM sale progresses
The first phase in the sale of France's largest independent airline AOM was completed on 2 October, with the receipt by major shareholder Credit Lyonnais of bids from interested purchasers. Several European airlines are known to have been invited to tender for the carrier, including Air France, British Airways, Iberia, ...
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Airbus may move wing production to China
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Airbus Industrie is proposing to transfer part of its A320 aircraft series wing production to China, in a move intended to compensate for the recent demise of the Sino-European AE31X regional jet programme and to counter a similar offer of 717 wing work from Boeing. The European consortium ...
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ICAO safety rules meet
Regular compulsory audits by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) of individual states' aviation safety oversight programmes were approved on 2 October at the ICAO Assembly in Montreal, Canada. The ruling becomes effective on 1 January, 1999. Members agreed the audits should not be used for purposes other than safety, ...
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Philippine Airlines reprieved by union deal
Grounded Philippine Airlines (PAL)has won a reprieve from a final shutdown, following a "yes" vote by ground staff to accept a government-brokered last-ditch deal to revive the ailing carrier financially . The 6,500-strong PAL Employees Association voted on 2 October by a two-to-one margin to accept the deal reached ...
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European Commission denied air negotiation rights
The European Commission (EC) has been denied the full mandate it sought to negotiate air services agreements with non-European Union (EU) member states after the transport ministers met in Luxembourg on 1 October. The EC will now take legal action in the European Court of First Instance at Luxembourg. ...
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Fairchild Dornier admits doubts over Crossair 728JET order
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Fairchild Dornier has admitted that doubts are growing over Crossair's commitment to the new 728JET family of regional aircraft, as a result of recent configuration decisions which have gone against the Swiss airline's wishes. Crossair and Lufthansa CityLine each signed a letter of intent earlier this year to ...