All news – Page 6921
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US DARPA outlines strike-UCAV goals
Unmanned combat air-vehicles (UCAVs) could be operational in defence-suppression and deep-strike roles within 12 years, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) believes. The presence of such UCAVs by around 2009-10 could also lead to a cut in the required number of next-generation strike fighters, because of ...
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Domestic bliss?
Next year will mark a watershed in Japanese civil-aviation history: for the first time in 43 years, the country will see the emergence of new domestically owned airlines. In all, there will be six new carriers - four start-ups and two subsidiaries belonging to two of the three major incumbent ...
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Fliers who lose the way
According to the US General Accounting Office (GAO), some licensed professional pilots should never have been given their jobs, and no amount of training will rectify this situation. While many in the industry would agree with that, there are real differences of opinion on just how those pilots' deficiencies should ...
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Lancair studies shared-ownership options for Columbia
Lancair is considering a fractional-ownership option for its new Columbia 300 piston single. The Oregon-based company has booked 142 orders for the all-composite four-seater, which is scheduled to be certificated in April 1998, but acknowledges that the $205,000 price tag may be too high for some potential owners. ...
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SME achieves Malaysian first
SME Aviation has become the first Malaysian airframe manufacturer to produce an aircraft for export, having won US type certification and production approval for its two-seat MD3-160 Aero Tiga aerobatic trainer. Selangor-based SME heralds the development as a watershed for the local aircraft industry, claiming that "this is ...
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Gulfstream delivers
Gulfstream Aerospace says that its firm-order backlog at the end of the third quarter of 1997 remained unchanged from a year ago, at 89 aircraft, but its value declined to $2.8 billion from $3 billion in 1996, because of increased deliveries of the more expensive Vs. The Savannah, Georgia-based company ...
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Viking starts Orenda re-power work on Beaver
Canadian conversion specialist Viking Air has begun design work to re-engine the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver utility and floatplane with the Orenda Aerospace 450kW (600shp) turbocharged OE600 vee-8 water-cooled piston engine. The British Columbia-based company already holds supplemental type certificates for re-engineing the Beaver with the Pratt & ...
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Competitions poised to launch 30-seat jet
American Eagle and Continental Express have launched competitions for a combined total of up to 250 regional jets in the 30- to 40-seat category, effectively signalling the beginning of what is being seen as another regional-jet buying frenzy in the US industry. The competitions are a two-horse race ...
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Boeing pushes ultra-long range 747 derivative
Boeing could obtain board approval to offer airlines a new ultra-long-range - more than 14,800km (8,000nm) - derivative of the 747 as early as May 1998, if it can attract sufficient market interest, particularly from key Asia-Pacific airlines including Cathay Pacific Airways, EVA Airways of Taiwan and Qantas. ...
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Airbus and R-R strive for A340-500 orders
Airbus Industrie and Rolls-Royce are engaged in a concerted final push to enlist sufficient airline orders for a launch of the new A340-500/600 growth derivatives. The European consortium is understood to be keen to launch the two ultra-long-haul and stretched versions of the A340 by mid-November. Airbus sales ...
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Ariane 5 is launched
The Ariane 5 was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana on 30 October, boosting the morale of the European space industry after the failure of the first attempt 16 months ago. The latest launch, however, was marred by a premature shutdown of the Vulcain first-stage engine, which resulted ...
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China signs up for $3 billion-worth of Boeings
China's long-awaited and highly politicised deal for new Boeing aircraft has finally been signed in Washington, covering the purchase of up to 50 widebody and narrowbody passenger jet aircraft, worth $3 billion. The deal, as expected, was announced on 30 October during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's state visit ...
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EC slams France on consolidation
The European Commission (EC) has added its voice to warnings over the nationalistic flavour of the French Government's aerospace industry restructuring in the wake of the Thomson-CSF decision. "The European Commission does not commend the decision, as national restructuring is not a long-term solution," says Paul Weissenberg, chef ...
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German committees clear EF2000
The German parliamentary defence and budget committees have added their approvals to the Bonn Government's recent go-ahead for the DM23 billion ($13 billion) procurement of 180 Eurofighter EF2000s. The procurement was approved despite opposition from Social Democrat (SPD) and Green Party parliamentarians. The budget committee passed the programme ...
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Sukhoi's S-37 fighter is optimised for agility
The first pictures of the Sukhoi S-37 Berkut combat aircraft reveal a twin-engined aircraft of similar size to the Su-27 Flanker, but with an aerodynamic design optimised for agility at extremely high angles of attack. Russian press reports say that the twin-engined aircraft is 22.6m long, with a ...
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UK MoD considers re-engineing Harrier
The UK Ministry of Defence is considering a re-engineing programme for the Royal Navy's British Aerospace Sea Harrier F/A2s and Royal Air Force's Harrier GR7s, which would improve performance, and may extend the aircraft's service life. The MoD confirms that a re-engineing project is being studied, although it ...
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Plug-in fuel tank for Apache undergoes testing
Boeing and the US Army are testing a crash-survivable, ballistic-tolerant auxiliary fuel tank for Boeing's AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. The interal tank, developed by Robertson Aviation, replaces the helicopter's 30mm-ammunition magazine, but frees up all four pylons for long-range missions. Extended-range missions now require an 870litre external ...
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Windows added to cockpit choices
US company Avidyne claims to be the first to certificate an avionics system which uses Microsoft's Windows NT software. The firm has begun shipping its 130mm multi-function displays after hardware supplier Electronic Designs received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration. Avidyne had earlier gained Level-D "advisory-only" certification ...
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Hushkit demonstrator for One-Eleven stays on target
Quiet Technologies is preparing to deliver its BAC One-Eleven-500 engine hushkit demonstrator this month to European Aviation in time for a test programme starting in December. Around 100 aircraft which could benefit from hushkits remain in operation, says UK-based European Aviation, which also hopes that a future adaptation ...
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JSF prognostics system may replace maintenance checks
Lockheed Martin is to test predictive-maintenance technology planned for its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) under a $6.5 million prognostics and health-management (PHM) demonstration contract. The company will demonstrate a proof-of-concept prototype of the PHM subsystem planned for its production JSF, while Boeing is negotiating a similar contract to ...