All news – Page 7812
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Croats thwart UN arms ban in building air force
Andrzej Jeziorski/ZAGREB CROATIA HAS succeeded in buying a force of Mil Mi-24V Hind helicopter gunships, despite the continuing UN arms embargo on the former Yugoslav republic. Military officials say that the gunships, which came into Croatian service last year, have been bought only for casualty evacuation, ...
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FAA to run icing tests on major turboprop models
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration is to examine how a range of turboprop airliners behaves in icing conditions, following its new directives relating to the ATR 42 and 72 (Flight International, 18-24 January). Extensive testing of ATR aircraft in the wake of the ...
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FAA restricts R22/44 but resists grounding
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration is placing highly restrictive airworthiness directives (AD) on Robinson Helicopter R22 and R44 light helicopters in an effort to prevent mast-bumping and rotor/fuselage strikes. Its actions stop well short, however, of the grounding recommended by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) pending ...
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A dozen Su-34s planned by 1998
RUSSIA'S NOVOSIBIRSK Chkalov plant plans to produce 12-13 Sukhoi Su-34 tactical bombers by 1998. Chkalov plant officials say two more production-configuration Su-34s are now being assembled at the site. The plant had been producing Sukhoi Su-24 Fencers until 1992, and the new type is to be substituted for ...
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Zambia troubles spark regional-airline hopes
THE COLLAPSE OF Zambia's flag carrier is proving the catalyst for the probable creation of a new domestic carrier and the possible formation of a network of southern African regional airlines. South Africa's SA Express (SAX) has told Zambia that it is willing to fund 40% of the ...
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Snecma makes cost cuts to combat losses
Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS SNECMA HAS embarked on a new cost-cutting plan, including further job losses, in the face of mounting losses at the French state-owned engine maker. "We're still in a deep crisis which is expected to last for another two or three years," said new chairman ...
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Eurofighter rejects new control proposal
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH THE Eurofighter consortium has decided to stop work on an alternative flight-control system (FCS) for the Eurofighter 2000, based on technology from the Daimler-Benz Aerospace (formerly DASA)/ Rockwell X-31 programme. An FCS presentation to the Eurofighter management agency NEFMA was scheduled for 24 January, ...
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UK may cancel Phoenix UAV
Douglas Barrie and Simon Elliott/LONDON THE BRITISH ARMY is considering the cancellation of a key unmanned-air-vehicle (UAV) programme which is six years behind schedule and has cost the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £227 million. Project costs have more than doubled, compared with the original estimates when the deal ...
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Defence sales give MDC a record year
A RECORD performance from the defence division in 1994 left McDonnell Douglas (MDC) showing its highest-ever profits, despite a further decline in civil-aircraft sales. The group ended the year with net profits of $598 million, an improvement of more than $200 million on 1993. Operating profits also broke ...
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Swissair strikes blow for satellite links
Kieran Daly/LONDON SWISSAIR HAS dealt would-be providers of terrestrial-based air-to-ground telephones a major blow by opting to fit its domestic European fleet with satellite communications. It is understood, however, that Lufthansa is about to sign up to use the competing terrestrial flight-telephone system (TFTS). ...
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Entertainment problem hits delivery of Cathay's A330
DELIVERY OF the first Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered Airbus A330 to Cathay Pacific Airways has been delayed by problems with the aircraft's Matsushita inflight-entertainment (IFE) system. Cathay was due to accept the aircraft in mid-January, but that has slipped to 23 February because of "teething problems with the Matsushita ...
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Fighting options
If you need a new piece of military equipment, there are four major ways to acquire it: to buy something which satisfies most of your requirements off somebody else's shelf; to buy something off somebody else's shelf and modify it for your own purposes; to develop it entirely yourself; or ...
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X-31 wrecked after test-flight crash
One of two Rockwell/Daimler-Benz Aerospace X-31 enhanced-fighter- manoeuvrability demonstrators crashed near Edwards AFB, California, on 19 January. German test-pilot Karl Lang ejected safely. The single-engined canard-delta aircraft, designed to be used in high angle-of-attack, post-stall manoeuvres using thrust vectoring, was being flown back from a test flight when ...
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LHTEC engines to power Indian light helicopter
ALLIEDSIGNAL/ALLISON joint-venture LHTEC has signed a contract to supply CTS800 engines for flight testing on India's Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The 970kW (1,300shp) CTS800 is the commercially certificated version of the T800 military turboshaft developed to power the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. Two ...
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USAF grounds GE-powered F16s
THE US AIR FORCE has grounded all General Electric (GE) F110-129-powered Lockheed F-16s following the non-fatal crash on an F-16D in Belgium on 13 January. The front fan from the engine of the crashed aircraft has been returned to GE for testing. The precautionary stand-down is the third ...
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APIC becomes latest Awards sponsor
AUXILIARY POWER International (APIC) has become the latest sponsor to lend its backing to the Flight International Aerospace Industry Awards '95. APIC, which is jointly owned by Labinal and Sundstrand, joins eight other leading aerospace and airline companies in backing the Awards (see Flight International, 18-24 January). ...
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Soyuz TM20 separates and re-docks
THE SOYUZ TM20 spacecraft separated from its mooring on the Mir 1 space station on 11 January and re-docked 26min later to qualify the Kurs docking system. Malfunctions of the system have caused several previous automatic docking attempts to be aborted (Flight International, 19-25 October, 1994). ...
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China aims for moon
The Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) next five-year space plan includes a series of lunar and planetary spacecraft, starting with a lunar orbiter to be launched in about 2000. The CAS intends to be "a leader in lunar exploration", says professor Jiang Jingshan, the director of the academy's space unit. ...
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MDC gives F-15D reconnaissance modifications
McDonnell DOUGLAS (MDC) has begun modifying an F-15D for flight tests of a reconnaissance pod beginning in March. A modified F-15 will be offered to meet an emerging US Air Force requirement for a successor to the cancelled Advanced Tactical Air Reconnaissance System (ATARS). The pod will be ...
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Pilots enjoy job boom as US airlines increase personnel
US AIRLINES HIRED more than 8,000 new pilots in 1994, up by 55% over 1993, says Aviation Information Resources (AIR). The Atlanta, Georgia-based consultancy forecasts that US carriers will recruit more than 9,000 new pilots in 1995. AIR says that the 201 US airlines it monitors hired 8,044 ...