All Systems & Interiors news – Page 797
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Whither Russia's Air Force?
Little wonder that few Westerners understand Russia. In the month that its air force finally reveals the closest thing it has to a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (MAPO's Article 1.44), and hints at grandiose plans for new fighters, missiles and long-range bombers, it also announces swingeing manpower cuts that include some ...
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Management actions
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Flight management systems (FMS) are no longer luxury items found only on large airliners, but essential equipment on commercial aircraft of all sizes and ages. The reason is the navigation accuracy now possible and the cost benefits available to airlines in the form of fuel and ...
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Sticky business
Tim Furniss/LONDON Dust from the comet Wild 2 will be collected and returned to earth by the fourth mission in NASA's Discovery programme which kicks off with a Delta II launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 6 February. It will be the first time that samples from a ...
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DaimlerChrysler Airbus will link headquarters
DaimlerChrysler has ordered an Airbus A319 Corporate Jet (CJ) for delivery in early 2000. The aircraft will be operated by a new subsidiary company, DaimlerChrysler Aviation, based in Stuttgart, to ferry employees between the German city and the conglomerate's second headquarters in Detroit, USA. Before it receives the International ...
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Canadian unveils new image
Canadian Airlines has revamped its image with a new name, new uniforms and a new stylised "Canada goose" logo. The Calgary-based carrier has dropped the word "International" from its name in an effort to promote its domestic services, and the new livery features more bare metal so as to more ...
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Safest approaches are those flown...
Safest approaches are those flown at 3¼ angle- David Lonsdale's letter (Flight International, 23 December, 1998-5 January, 1999, P48) makes the very valid point that the safest approaches flown in a swept-wing transport are those that are close to a 3¼ angle, and the reply from SAS (Flight International, 6-12 ...
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Asiasat stake
Luxembourg-based Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) has acquired a 34.13% stake in Hong Kong-based Asiasat in a $372 million deal that will give SES a hold in the Asia Pacific market. The deal came as Cable and Wireless and Hutchinson Whampoa left Asiasat. Cable and Wireless will use the cash ...
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SIA abandons plan to buy stake in China Airlines
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Singapore Airlines (SIA) has abandoned plans to buy a stake in Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL), ending proposals for a strategic tie-up, including codesharing, frequent flyer links and lounge sharing. In August 1998, SIA announced a memorandum of understanding with CAL, covering a wide-ranging alliance, with SIA ...
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Software problems delay WAAS implementation
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has delayed initial fielding of the Raytheon Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) by at least 14 months because of software development problems. The WAAS was to have entered service in July 1999, but the FAA says this has been pushed back to September ...
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Niche accidents
David Learmount/LONDON Despite a worldwide campaign to reduce it, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) increased in 1998 for the second year running, both among jet and non-jet flights, confirming the reversal of a previously favourable trend. There were five jet CFIT accidents and eight involving propeller-driven commercial aircraft. This ...
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Orenda wraps up Turkish deal
Canada's Orenda Recip has clinched its first original equipment manufacturer contract after a multimillion dollar deal with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Orenda will supply and install its OE-600 V-8 piston engine for a multimission aircraft, under development at TAI's Ankara, Turkey-based factory. "The agreement is expected to result in ...
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Bring back Loran C
US Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey says the global positioning system (GPS) "-is probably going to be the primary means" of navigation within the USA, requiring "some form of backup system" - which might be Loran C. The FAA has commissioned the John Hopkins University to report on the risks ...
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Economic crisis hits Russia's commercial traffic
Russia's Federal Aviation Service (FAS) expects its 1998 passenger traffic levels to be about 10% down because of the country's economic crisis. FAS director Gennady Zaitsev says results for the first 10 months of 1998 show a 10% drop in passenger and 20% in cargo air traffic. To combat ...
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Cathay seeks higher productivity in costs drive
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Cathay Pacific Airways has agreed on productivity increases with ground staff as it negotiates with cabin crew and begins early talks with pilots' unions, as part of its drive to improve efficiency and cut costs. According to the airline, the productivity gains are being rewarded with ...
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So near, so far
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft has been thwarted in its attempt to make interplanetary history on 10 January by becoming the first craft to enter orbit around an asteroid. The NEAR, the first craft in the NASA Discovery programme to be launched - on ...
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Sikorsky S-92A Helibus completes maiden flight
Flight testing of the Sikorsky S-92A Helibus medium helicopter began on 23 December. With its maiden flight successfully concluded, attention has now switched to a final decision by the company on a production go-ahead later this year. The first General Electric CT7-6D-powered prototype S-92 made its inaugural flight from ...
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Sundstrand boosts Airbus APU life
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Sundstrand's Auxiliary Power International (APIC) plans to boost the in-service life of its APS 3200 auxiliary power unit on the Airbus single-aisle aircraft family with a block upgrade in the next few months. APIC is confident of growing business on the 100-seat A318 after being selected ...
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Alcatel and Loral plan joint
Alcatel and Loral Space and Communications are planning to form a new company, EuropeStar. Initially, it will operate two Alcatel-built communications satellites co-located at 45í in geostationary (GEO) orbit. Launches are scheduled to take place in 2000 and 2002, and the satellites will serve Europe, the Middle East, South ...
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Rivals act on SAA's domestic fares
South Africa's three independent airlines, BA-Comair, Sun Air and Nationwide, have lodged an urgent complaint to the Competition Board claiming South African Airways is charging fares that are "below cost and therefore constitute predatory behaviour on the part of the dominant carrier". The board's chief director support ...
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New commission cap sparks fury
United Airlines has capped commissions on international tickets at $50 one-way and $100 roundtrip, setting off a furore in the US travel agency community. The move has prompted the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) to put together plans to file a complaint to the US Department ...