All news – Page 7033
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Northern exposure
Max Kingsley-Jones/TORONTO Fortunes of Canadian charter airlines have been mixed in recent years. Established names have disappeared, to be replaced by new carriers seeking to Ìll the void, as the market itself has begun to undergo a metamorphosis. The country's inclusive-tour "holiday" market has traditionally broken ...
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The big picture
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES As he trundles across the Mojave Desert, the driver has no idea that his truck has been detected by the radar as a "mover". More than 70km (43 miles) away, and 27,000ft (8,200m) up, the HISAR operator switches to spot mode and places his cursor ...
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Small is beautiful
Tim Furniss/GUILDFORD When the UK's UoSAT 1 microsatellite was launched in 1984, the project was run by a small team of engineers and graduates in the University of Surrey at Guildford, in the UK. Today that team is Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), a world leader in the ...
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Flanker flies in at the last moment
Sukhoi's Su-27M Flanker (Su-37) thrust-vector technology testbed eventually made it to the show, with only a couple of days to spare. The aircraft is being used by Sukhoi to integrate thrust vectoring with the digital flight-control system. This work will feed into the development of the Su-30MKI two-seat thrust-vectoring derivative ...
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Germany surprises UK with FLA shift
A German volte face over the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) has allowed the partner nations to release the request for proposals (RFP), but has wrong-footed the UK, which only became aware of the change in Germany's position shortly before an FLA policy group meeting in Paris on 17 June. ...
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Forgeard resists US pressure for tie-ups
French aerospace industry chief Noel Forgeard has hit out at US pressure to form transatlantic alliances and prevent European industry reforming itself. The Matra Haut Technologies president says that his proposed take-over of a privatised Thomson-CSF is "the only solution to the US juggernaut". The European industry "-must ...
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Century revises its single jet
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTONDC CENTURYAEROSPACE is preparing for windtunnel testing of a revised design for its Century Jet single-engined business jet. Changes include a 150mm-longer fuselage with a circular cross-section, compared with the original "nearly square" design, says the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company. The fuselage was stretched to ...
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Stage III refines Gulfstream II/III hushkit
STAGE III Technologies is completing a redesign of its planned hushkit for the Gulfstream II and III business jets, and hopes to begin flight tests in October-November. Design refinements resulted from proof-of-concept ground tests completed earlier this year at Dallas Airmotive and Rohr. Dallas Airmotive has agreed to ...
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Helicopter operator starts information link
A MICHIGAN-based air-medical helicopter operator has introduced a vehicle-location and patient-information datalink produced by Canadian company AVL Information Systems. The equipment is used to relay aircraft position and patient condition back to the dispatch centre, where it is displayed on a workstation. A helicopter operated by Omni-flight for ...
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VisionAire plant begun
VisionAire has broken ground for the Ames, Iowa, final-assembly plant for its Vantage single-engined business jet. Scheduled for completion in mid-1998, the plant will consist of buildings for final assembly and flight testing, with land available for a paint hangar and additional final-assembly space, if required. Source: Flight ...
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Robinson offers turnkey R44 for law enforcement
Robinson is to integrate a Wescam aerial camera with the police version of its R44 helicopter and offer a turnkey airborne law-enforcement system. The initial order is for two Model 12DS dual-sensor cameras, with an option for 14 more. The lightweight, gyro-stabilised system combines a staring-array thermal imager and colour ...
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GEC and Honeywell to offer civil HUD
GEC-Marconi Avionics and Honeywell have signed a memorandum of understanding to modify and market a derivative of their jointly produced business-jet head-up display (HUD) for commercial airliners. The move is designed to challenge the growing strength of Sextant Avionique and, particularly, Flight Dynamics in the market, the latter ...
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AAlliedSignal cleans up
Aircraft lighting specialist Grimes Aerospace has been bought by AlliedSignal from investment firm Forstmann Little for an undisclosed sum. Ohio-based Grimes makes interior and exterior lighting systems, strobes, night-vision imaging systems and power supplies in addition to a range of aircraft engine systems, electronic and windshield systems. AlliedSignal has also ...
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NetJets heads eastwards with Gulfstream
Gulfstream and Executive Jet International plan to extend their fractional-ownership programme to the Middle East within the next six months and to the Asia-Pacific region within 12 months. The joint Gulfstream Shares marketing venture has also now been extended to cover the new Gulfstream V. Executive Jet chairman ...
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USA corrects Czech F-16 versus F-18 gaffe
US DEFENCE secretary William Cohen has moved to defuse a row over a letter, apparently favouring the Lockheed Martin F-16, sent by a US embassy official in Prague to the Czech defence ministry. The F-16 is being offered in competition with the McDonnell Douglas F-18 for a Czech air force ...
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Foreign aircraft safety checks get green light in EU
European transport ministers have given the political go-ahead for the safety assessment of foreign aircraft (SAFA) programme, under which airlines suspected of operating unsafely will be submitted to ramp inspections at European Union (EU) airports from 1999 or possibly sooner. Final clearance for the SAFA programme, which embraces ...
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F-22 first flight delayed by engine FOD
LOCKHEEDMARTIN has replaced one of the Pratt &Whitney F119s in the first F-22 after the engine suffered minor foreign-object damage (FOD) during ground runs. The incident is likely to delay the maiden flight of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 until early July. Minor impact damage to the three fan ...
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GE and P&W hold talks over new 777 engine
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are negotiating a radical widening of their existing GE-PW Engine Alliance to develop a joint powerplant for the Boeing 777. The move, which follows Boeing's decision to raise the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of the proposed ultra-long range 777-200X to as much ...
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BAe joins Lockheed Martin's JSF team
Douglas Barrie/PARIS British Aerospace is to team with Lockheed Martin on the USA's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme, having spurned Boeing's overtures to join its team. The US companies have been courting BAe since the US Department of Defense (DoD) rejected the McDonnell Douglas bid for ...
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Sweden Gripen order
The Swedish Government has approved plans to go ahead with the purchase of a third tranche of 64 Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters. The procurement, budgeted at SKr28 billion ($3.7 billion), includes provision for work on improving the aircraft's computers and displays, as well as the launch of a programme ...