All news – Page 7616
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China backs US gyroplane
US GYROPLANE developer Groen Brothers Aviation (GBA) has signed a letter of intent covering licence-assembly of its aircraft in China. Shanghai Energy and Chemicals (SECC) plans to buy 200 H2X three-seat commercial gyroplanes with which to establish an air-taxi company in China, and for corporate transport around congested Shanghai. SECC ...
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US Forces team up to analyse alternative precision approaches
THE US AIR Force has issued a request for information (RFI) on precision-approach systems. The Air Force, Navy and Army have formed a Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) team which will analyse alternatives for both land- and sea-based operations. Key JPALS objectives include interoperability within the ...
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Japan goes it alone
Japan's helicopter industry is only now beginning to come of age, with the development of its own indigenous designs Paul Lewis/TOKYO JAPAN'S AEROSPACE INDUSTRY lays claim to a rich and varied history of manufacturing helicopters, dating back more than 40 years. For the most part, however, this ...
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Grand restrictions
Sightseeing aircraft will be banned from 87% of the Grand Canyon National Park, compared with the current 45%, under rules proposed by the US Department of Transportation and intended to "-restore natural quiet". About 40 operators carry 800,000 tourists annually over the Canyon. Source: Flight International
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IAI Turkish F-4 upgrade will go ahead
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV ISRAELI financial institutions have agreed on a funding package enabling Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) to proceed with the upgrade of Turkish air force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms. IAI is also negotiating a deal to upgrade Turkish Northrop F-5s. The Phantom loan will ...
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FAA review attacks modern cockpits
David Learmount/LONDON MODERN AIRLINER cockpits are full of traps for pilots, according to a US Federal Aviation Administration-led international review of aircrew performance since the introduction of electronic flight-instrumentation systems. The report says that pilots "...too frequently had limited understanding of automation's capabilities, limitations, functions, ...
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Asiana to take its first Boeing 767 Freighter
ASIANA, THE LAUNCH CUSTOMER for Boeing's 767-300 General Market Freighter, will take the first of two aircraft this month. Based on the 767-300F package freighter developed for UPS, the General Market Freighter has cargo-handling systems on both main and lower decks, and incorporates environmental-control-system changes to enable live animals and ...
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Defective payload shrouds get the blame for Soyuz crashes
Tim Furniss/LONDON RUSSIAN SPACE officials have confirmed that the losses of two Soyuz U boosters on launches from Baikonur and Plesetsk on 14 May and 20 June were caused by defective payload shrouds. Each shroud disintegrated at T+49s (Flight International, 3-9 July). The Plastik company ...
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UK sets out plan for future
THE UK GOVERNMENT has launched a policy document for the future direction of the country's space industry which proposes concentrating around 50% of resources on establishing a commercial Earth-observation industry by 2005. Ian Taylor, UK minister for space, launched the plan for the country's future space policies and ...
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September debut for unique A300
A SPECIALLY CONVERTED EARLY Airbus A300 prototype will begin parabolic microgravity flights in September, operated by French companies Novespace and Sogerma, part-owned by French space agency CNES and Aerospatiale, respectively. The commercial venture has so far booked only two firm flights, carrying customers with processing and other equipment being evaluated ...
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Dornier signs up to develop Envisat instruments
Dornier Satellite Systeme (DSS) has signed a DM1.5 billion ($1 billion) contract with the European Space Agency to develop the instrument payload for the Envisat 1 polar-orbiting environmental satellite, which is scheduled to be launched by an Arianespace Ariane 5 in 1999. The 8,000kg spacecraft - being built ...
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Indian aim
India plans to net a 25% share in the world's $800 million remote-sensing-satellite-imagery market by 2000, widening the sales of images from its Indian remote-sensing satellite, the IRS 1C. The US Earth Observation Satellite Company is selling IRS data worldwide and the Indian Space Research Organisation hopes to have sold ...
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Cessna reveals singles prices
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES CESSNA AIRCRAFT has announced the prices of its re-launched Model 172 Skyhawk and Model 182S Skylane. The first 172 is due to be delivered in January 1997, with the first 182 following a month later. The manufacturer has not produced single-engined aircraft since 1986. ...
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Jordan signs F-16 lease with USAF
JORDAN HAS signed an agreement to lease 16 ex-US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs from the USA, which will pay for the bulk of the $220 million deal. Most of the funds will go towards structural and engine upgrades for the aircraft, which have 25% of their 4,000h lives remaining. ...
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First production C-130J Hercules takes shape
LOCKHEED MARTIN has begun final assembly of the first production C-130J Hercules 2. The aircraft, the first of 12 stretched C-130J-30s for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), will join the certification flight-test programme, which has been boosted to eight aircraft to recover delays (Flight International, 19-25 June). ...
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Dassault receives STC for Falcon 50EX avionics
Dassault Aviation has received US supplemental type-certification (STC) for the Rockwell-Collins Pro Line 4 integrated-avionics suite for its Falcon 50EX business-jet. The STC paves the way for certification of the upgraded Falcon 50EX in the third quarter of 1996 and also applies to retrofits of the Pro Line 4 package ...
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Aermacchi proves Yak-130/AEM performance
Julian Moxon/PARIS WINDTUNNEL tests of the latest configuration of the Yakovlev/Aermacchi Yak-130/AEM trainer at the Italian company's Milan headquarters have revealed aerodynamic characteristics "similar to those of the latest generation of combat aircraft", says Aermacchi technical director for the programme, Pierclaudio Iaia. The Yak-130/AEM is ...
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Rafael develops long-range Litening variant
RAFAEL, THE Israeli armament development authority, is developing a variant of its Litening airborne laser-designator and navigation pod enabling it to undertake long-range intelligence gathering. Rafael is to equip the pod with a datalink capable of transmitting images to a ground station or control and command aircraft. The Litening is ...
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US airlines exploit the boom
Kevin O'Toole/LONDON THE MAJOR US AIRLINES have followed up their latest round of record profits with predictions that their spectacular performances will continue into the second half of the year. The airlines turned in their best-ever net profit - of more than $1.5 billion - ...
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PAL will make regional-jet decision soon
Paul Lewis/MANILA PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) wants to finalise the selection of a new regional jet by the end of the year, as a replacement for its fleet of loss-making Fokker 50 turboprops. Domestic fares on routes operated by turbprops are limited, but the introduction of ...