All news – Page 7797
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Norway puts back plan for North Sea ATC
Kieran Daly/LONDON NORWAY HAS PUT BACK its intended date for mandating positive air-traffic control (ATC) of North Sea helicopter operations, but still intends to go ahead with the plan. The Norwegian civil aviation authority has previously said that the system would be introduced in 1995, ...
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Bell launches Model 407
BELL HELICOPTER Textron has launched its Model 407, with orders for more than 40 of the new light-turbine helicopters. As expected, the single-turbine 407 and twin-turbine 407T are based on the current Model 206, with the four-blade-rotor dynamic system from the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Launch customer is Niagara Helicopters. ...
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EC.120 assembly to start shortly
FINAL ASSEMBLY OF THE first Eurocopter EC.120 light single-turbine helicopter will begin soon at Marignagne, France. The first flight is scheduled for the second half of 1995 and initial deliveries for 1997. The 1.5t gross-weight EC.120 is being developed jointly by Eurocopter France, Singapore Aerospace and CATIC of ...
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US schools drop R22s
TWO MAJOR US flight schools have decided to replace their Robinson R22s with Schweizer's new Model 300CB training helicopter, citing as a factor safety concerns with the R22. Schweizer launched the 300CB at Heli-Expo with orders for 23 aircraft, including ten for Concord, California-based Helicopter Adventures. Oakland, California-based ...
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FAA plans to publish standards for helicopter GPS approach
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration has completed a four-site test programme to develop standards for helicopter non-precision-approaches, using global positioning (GPS). A GPS based approach was demonstrated at Heli-Expo using an Eurocopter BK.117 equipped with an AlliedSignal Bendix/King KLN-90B GPS and Arnav Systems datalink. Steve ...
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Upgraded A.109 may be on the way
AGUSTA HAS declined to comment on reports that it is developing an upgraded A.109 turbine twin, which will be available with three engine options. Industry sources suggest that the Italian Company has tested an improved Allison-powered variant and is about to begin flight tests of a Pratt & Whitney Canada ...
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Arizona's Airstar confirms order for first MD 630Ns
AIRSTAR HELICOPTER, a Grand Canyon, Arizona-based tour operator, will be the launch customer for the newly unveiled MD 630N if McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) decides to go ahead (Flight International, 1-7 February). AirStar has placed a $20,000 deposit on each of the first two MD 630Ns ...
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Hiller acquires Soloy STC
HILLER AIRCRAFT has acquired the supplemental type certificate (STC) from Soloy to retrofit turbine engines into the Hiller UH-12E and Bell 47. The STC will be a "perfect complement" to Hiller's planned re-introduction of the UH-12E, says Jeffrey Hiller, leader of the investment consortium, which bought back the ...
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US schools drop R22s as Robinson turns on FAA and NTSB
FRANK ROBINSON, owner and founder of Robinson Helicopter, says that inadequate training is the cause of the recent spate of rotor-strike accidents, affecting the company's R22 and R44 helicopters. "It's not a helicopter problem, it's a training problem," he says. The US Federal Aviation Administration and National ...
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AlliedSignal works on new versions of LT101 turboshaft
ALLIEDSIGNAL ENGINES is working on growth plans for the LT101 turbo-shaft as a possible future engine option for the Bell 430, the US Coast Guard (USCG) HH-60 Dolphin and a heavier BK117 under study at Eurocopter. The two-stage growth option would increase engine rating over the LTS101 750B1 ...
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Allison unveils details of new turboshaft for Bell 407
Allison Engines has revealed details of a new variant of the 250 turbo-shaft for the Bell 407. The C47M is based largely on the C40, launched recently on the new Bell 430. The C47M's compressor incorporates a new high-flow impeller, which increases airflow by 7%, and a brush ...
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Hueys destined for US drug work
THE US BORDER Patrol is expected to begin using five LHTEC T800-powered Bell UH-1H Hueys in April 1995 for drug interdiction and patrols. The last of the five UH-1Hs is being fitted with its T800 engine at the US Army's Fort Rucker Aviation Technical Test Center in Alabama. ...
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Wreckage from Long March kills six people
Tim Furniss/LONDON FALLING DEBRIS FROM the explosion of the Long March 2E after its launch from Xichang, in Sichuan province, south-west China on 26 January (Flight International, 1-7 February), killed six people and injured 23 inhabitants of a hilly area 7km (4 miles) downrange. These ...
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Ariane 5 tests completed
Julian Moxon/PARIS THE LAST OF A SERIES of seven tests of the Ariane 5 cryogenic stage was carried out successfully at Kourou, French Guiana, on 27 January. On the same day there were a further two tests of the Vulcain main engine in France and Germany. ...
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Russia launches first US satellite
THE 400TH successful launch of a Cosmos booster from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 24 January carried the US data-relay satellite, Faisat 1, into orbit, together with Sweden's 26kg Astrid science spacecraft and a national 810kg Tsikada navigation satellite. The first commercial launch of a US satellite by Russia ...
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Engine family enters market
MICHAEL ZOCHE Antriebstechnik of Munich is preparing to begin production of its family of radial aero-diesel engines, with the first flight on an aircraft due to take place within six months. Launch customer is Westinghouse Airships (WAI), which will fly the eight-cylinder, 220kW (300hp) ZO 02A engine on ...
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Falcon sales boost Dassault
DASSAULT AVIATION, has clocked up ten orders for its Falcon 900EX business jet, since its launch in October 1994. The company hopes to fly the aircraft at the Paris air show in June. Delivery to first customer Sony is due in April 1996. "It's started well, and we ...
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Preparing for combat
Much of the Russian air force's tactical doctrine is developed at a base near Moscow. Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW The Combat Training and Flight Crew Conversion Centre (CTFCCC) at Lipetsk is one of the most important institutions of the Russian air force. Located some 400km (250 miles) ...
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US Army mothballs idea of surplus helicopter sell-off
THE US ARMY, conscious of the storm it has created by releasing surplus helicopters on to the civil market, is to put all this year's expected surplus into long-term storage at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona. Industry leaders, who are already involved with the US Federal Aviation Administration ...
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Sabena rejects baggage system at Brussels' new terminal
THE COMPUTERISED baggage-handling system at Brussels Zaventem Airport's new terminal is generating almost as much difficulty as experienced with that at Denver International Airport in Colorado. Belgian flag carrier Sabena, the main user of what was promoted as the "20-minute airport", has transferred all its baggage handling back ...