All news – Page 7258
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Smiths waits a year for delivery upturn
THE FULL IMPACT of the upturn in civil and military aerospace markets will take another year to feed through to the bottom line, forecasts Smiths Industries, as it turns in another steady set of annual results. The aerospace business saw sales edge up a little, to ú377 million ...
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US airlines voice concern despite records
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON LATEST RESULTS coming in from the major US airlines point towards another round of record profits in the third quarter, but beneath the headline figures there is growing concern in the industry over how much longer the boom will last. Continental led off the ...
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Comanche weight under fire
A GROWING DEBATE is emerging over the impact of weight increases on the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche scout/ attack helicopter, with one critic claiming that the problem needs to addressed urgently if the helicopter's operational capability is to be unaffected. Boeing Sikorsky and Pentagon programme managers claim ...
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Congress supports Chinook upgrade
US ARMY PLANS to upgrade its ageing Boeing Chinook CH-47D fleet have received a fillip from Congressional supporters, with funding being made available to begin the programme earlier than expected. The improved-cargo-helicopter (ICH) refurbishment project also recently won the endorsement of the US Army leadership, which approved the ...
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Flight Safety acquired by investment giant Buffet
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA FLIGHT SAFETY International (FSI) is to be acquired by US financier Warren Buffet, after the aviation-training company accepted a surprise take-over offer from his investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway. The cash and/or stock offer values the US-based company at $1.5 billion. New York-based FSI ...
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MD-90 receives European certification
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES THE McDONNELL Douglas (MDC) MD-90 was certificated by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on 16 October, as Scandinavian carrier SAS took delivery of its first aircraft. Type certification was formally presented by the JAA to MDC just before the SAS delivery ceremony. ...
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NASA makes plans for Russian pull-out
NASA HAS DRAWN UP contingency plans to cope with the growing likelihood of Russia being unable to meet its commitments on the International Space Station (ISS) programme because of cash shortages. NASA is keen to avoid costly delays if its Russian partners fail to deliver on time, and ...
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FAA uses Cessna in 'free-flight'
DEMONSTRATIONS of "free flight" for general-aviation aircraft are now under way as part of a larger evaluation of the USA's future air-traffic-management concept. The trials involve a Cessna 401, equipped with avionics supplied by Magellan Systems and Arinc, and a ground-based free-flight evaluation system which was developed ...
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Aviastar seeks state guarantees for Tu-204 sales
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW STRUGGLING RUSSIAN aircraft manufacturer Aviastar is pushing for $30 million in Government guarantees in an attempt to keep alive the deal with Egyptian company Kato Group for the delivery of five Tupolev Tu-204 airliners. The Ulyanovsk-based manufacturing plant, which is responsible for production ...
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China receives Su-27 batch and discusses third order
Paul Lewis/BEIJING CHINA'S AIR FORCE has finished taking delivery of a second batch of Sukhoi Su-27 fighters and is now believed to be discussing a third follow-on purchase with the Russian company. According to local defence sources, a further 24 fighters have now entered service with ...
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Accusations fly over SAAF Mirage re-engineing deal
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW SOUTH AFRICA and Russia are involved in a bout of mutual recriminations over the abortive plan to re-engine the former's Mirages with Klimov RD-33s, part of a deal which also included the supply of the Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missile. Work on ...
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Spanish pilots fight
THE SPANISH pilots' union SEPLA is fighting a government decision to make other European Union pilots' licences acceptable in Spain. SEPLA has presented two appeals against the ruling on 8 August by the Spanish civil-aviation authority, claiming that Spanish licences are not accepted in northern European countries. The ...
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Lagardere's franc gives it control of Thomson
Julian Moxon/PARIS FRENCH DEFENCE minister Charles Millon says that the decision to favour Lagardere's bid for the privatisation of Thomson will pave the way for creation of the world's "second-largest weapons-systems group" and Europe's biggest defence-electronics company. Final approval for the bid will now ...
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Air France signs US pacts
Julian Moxon/PARIS AIR FRANCE HAS ended its long-running search for transatlantic partners with the signing of commercial pacts with both Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The French flag carrier also hints that an Asian partner could be signed up in the first half of 1997. ...
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Japan Airlines/British Airways refute speculation on alliance
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE JAPAN AIRLINES (JAL) and British Airways have both denied that they have sealed a secret agreement to form a strategic alliance, although neither denies that talks have taken place. The claims were made by Virgin's Richard Branson, when he stopped off in Hong Kong ...
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Swedish SH37 Viggen crashes photographing...
Swedish SH37 Viggen crashes photographing new Russian cruiser IN AN EPISODE reminiscent of the Cold War, a Swedish air force reconnaissance aircraft crashed on 16 October while on a low-level pass over a new Russian cruiser at sea for the first time. The Saab SH37 Viggen ...
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. . . as newcomers target local Japan market
TWO PRIVATE Japanese companies have announced plans to launch new domestic airlines. This move follows recent initiatives by the transport ministry to liberalise parts of the country's over-regulated airline industry, which carries 75 million passengers annually, and is the second-largest domestic market in the world. Cut-rate Japanese ...
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Deutsche BA undergoes major revamp
DEUTSCHE BA HAS announced a major restructuring, which will see the fast- growing, but loss-making, British Airways subsidiary withdraw from unprofitable international routes and expand its domestic network. The move follows the carrier's decision to sell its turboprop operation to France's Regional Airlines, dispose of its five Fokker ...
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Kiwi International forced to suspend operations
KIWI International suspended flight operations on 15 October after failing to gain a cash infusion from investors. The US airline had filed for bankruptcy protection two weeks before, and cut services, blaming high debts and the fall-out on other low-cost start-ups from the ValuJet crash. Kiwi has struggled ...
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NTSB urges 737 rudder changes
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE US NATIONAL Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging the US Federal Aviation Administration to require that Boeing make various changes to the design of 737 rudder-control and system components. Three of 14 NTSB recommendations would require Boeing 737 design changes, and ...