All Programmes news – Page 48
-
NewsFirst Il-114-300 commences engine tests ahead of maiden flight
Ground tests have commenced with the first modernised Ilyushin Il-114-300, ahead of initiation of the turboprop’s flight campaign. The twin-engined aircraft has undergone low-power runs of its Klimov TV7-117ST-01 powerplant, developed by United Engine Corporation. Russia’s United Aircraft says it carried out the runs at the Zhukovsky flight-test base of ...
-
NewsDash 8-400 service update aims to stem cowl-door losses
Operators of De Havilland Aircraft Dash 8-400 turboprops are being urged to pay attention to a new maintenance task intended to avoid incidents of engine cowl doors separating from the aircraft on take-off. De Havilland Aircraft has taken over the production of the aircraft, which was formerly known as the ...
-
NewsA380 fan-hub disintegration traced to misunderstood ‘cold dwell’ fatigue
French investigators have traced the serious engine failure involving an Air France Airbus A380 over Greenland to a phenomenon known as ‘cold dwell’ fatigue, which had caused a failure in a fan hub slot which houses the root of the fan blade. The analysis by investigation authority BEA closes a ...
-
NewsEASA seeks alternative to FAA’s newly-adopted 777 fuel-tank order
Europe’s air safety authority is to seek further data to address a centre fuel tank ignition risk perceived by the US FAA on early Boeing 777s, but has opted against adopting the US regulator’s mitigation directive. Several foreign operators, among them British Airways and KLM, had objected to the FAA ...
-
NewsUK pilots seek assurance on sensor and trim aspects of 737 Max redesign
UK cockpit crew representatives are seeking assurances on several aspects of the Boeing 737 Max’s redesign, including scenarios relating to the angle-of-attack sensors and the potential need for two pilots to turn the trim wheel if the jet is out of trim. Pilots union BALPA has formally responded to a ...
-
NewsAirbus turns to hydrogen as energy promise of batteries fades
Airbus is backing away from battery power in favour of pursuing hydrogen as a primary propulsion source for future aircraft development, over concerns that battery technology will not advance quickly enough to adapt to large airliners. The airframer has unveiled three conceptual designs – two based on conventional turboprop and ...
-
In depthFrom the archive: Boeing 747 flight test
As the new Boeing 747 was making its debut in early 1970, Flight International’s test pilot, Captain R E Gillman, was given the opportunity to try out the behemoth in the air. This is an edited version of that article, originally published on 12 March 1970
-
NewsAirbus shows off hydrogen-fuelled concept aircraft for 2035 service entry
Airbus has unveiled conceptual designs for a potential zero-emission commercial aircraft, which it believes could be developed for service entry in the next 15 years. All three of the preliminary designs – branded as ‘ZEROe’ aircraft – would use hydrogen as the main power source. Source: Airbus ...
-
NewsATR flies first new-build 72-600 freighter for FedEx
ATR has flown the first example of its newly-developed 72-600 freighter, a purpose-built cargo version of its larger turboprop. The aircraft was launched three years ago with an order for up to 50 from US express freight specialist FedEx. Thirty of the aircraft under the FedEx agreement were firm. ATR ...
-
In depthHow widebodies caused a revolution in aviation
Air transport entered a new era half a century ago when airframers created a step-change in size and capacity with the first generation of twin-aisles, of which the Boeing 747 was only the first. 9,683 The number of widebody airliners delivered globally, according to Cirium fleets data 1,638 Total ...
-
AnalysisAirbus increases the gap in commercial revenues over Boeing
How did the Top 100 companies rank when it came to sales in the airliner and business aircraft segments? As in the main table, Boeing descended sharply
-
In depthWhy 1970 fundamentally redefined air transport
However you look at it, 1970 was an epoch-making year for commercial aviation. The revolution in aircraft design heralded in that year would be the springboard for the airline industry to accelerate capacity growth in a way it could only dream about previously.
-
In depthFive decades of widebody deliveries and development
Since Boeing handed the first 747-100 (N733PA) to Pan Am at its Everett plant near Seattle on 12 December 1969, the world’s manufacturers have delivered almost 9,700 more widebodies to airlines, governments, air forces – and even some wealthy individuals.
-
In depthHow Soviets decided four was the magic number
Call it an air transport anachronism, but just as four-engined airliners are slipping, perhaps prematurely, into the realms of nostalgia, Russian airframer VASO is assembling a new widebody quadjet, the Ilyushin Il-96-400M, at its facility in Voronezh.
-
NewsProposed A380neo would have offered double-digit fuel reduction: Clark
Emirates Airline president Tim Clark laments Airbus’s decision to abandon the “A380neo”, believing that the proposed re-egngining would have created an “absolutely brilliant” aircraft offering a double-digit fuel-burn reduction.
-
NewsAirbus delivers 39 aircraft but records just a single order in August
Airbus recorded a single order during August, for one corporate A320neo which was received from a private customer. It took the airframer’s overall net order total this year to 303 aircraft. Total deliveries over the first eight months of the year reached 284, the manufacturer’s latest backlog figures show. This ...
-
NewsSupersonic passenger aircraft research in line for Russian federal grant
Creation of a Russian supersonic passenger aircraft research centre has been selected for funding by the federal government. The aim of the scientific centre is to establish a world-class technological knowledge base for conceptual design and aerodynamic analysis of an aircraft with low sonic boom. This work on key technological ...
-
NewsAirbus redesigns A350 control panel to resist liquid spillage
Airbus has developed a new liquid-resistant integrated control panel for the A350, designed to avoid the risk to engine systems from accidental drink spillage in the cockpit. Its development follows two incidents, in November last year and January this year, in which A350-900s diverted as a result of uncommanded engine ...
-
News‘Flying-V’ model embarks on first test flight — with Airbus support
A scaled model of the ‘Flying-V’ blended wing aircraft concept — first unveiled by Dutch researchers last year — has completed its first test flight in Germany. Airbus also emerged as the latest partner in the project, after Dutch flag carrier KLM threw its weight behind the project last year. ...
-
NewsBOC Aviation cancels order for 18 A320neos
BOC Aviation has cancelled an entire order for 18 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, after its airline customer opted to purchase the aircraft directly from the manufacturer, a 30 August filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange shows. The order, first announced on 31 December, was scheduled for delivery between 2022 ...