Engines – Page 589
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Precision quick-start for pistons
PRECISION AIRMOTIVE has introduced a lightweight electric starter for aircraft piston engines. The Lamar permanent-magnet starter has demonstrated quicker engine starts than conventional starters under most conditions, the Everett, Washing- ton-based company says. The bulky field windings of a conventional starter motor are replaced with lightweight permanent magnets. ...
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MDC and NASA unveil X-36
Guy Norris/St Louis McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) and NASA unveiled the once-classified X-36 tailless fighter-agility research aircraft at St Louis, Missouri, on 19 March, revealing a canard-configured design. The sub-scale remotely piloted X-36 is said to be the first fighter-type aircraft to be designed from the ...
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US Aerobatic Team has a Super Stinker
AVIAT HAS delivered the first Pitts S-1-11B Super Stinker to the US Aerobatic Team. The aircraft is a "ground-up redesign" of the Pitts S-1 Special aerobatic biplane, with increased power and manoeuvrability. Aviat plans to build more S-1-11s, but has yet to decide whether to sell the aircraft ...
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A340 'super-stretch' to take-on 777-300
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Andrew Doyle/LONDON AIRBUS INDUSTRIE IS working on a radical "super-stretch" version of the A340, which could include fore-planes and be powered by Pratt & Whitney advanced ducted propulsors (ADPs). Designated the A340-600, the aircraft is intended as head-on competition for the Boeing 777-300, ...
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Mitsubishi seeks CRJ-X share
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE MITSUBISHI HEAVY Industries (MHI) is discussing taking a significant risk-sharing stake in the development of Bombardier's proposed Canadair CRJ-X stretch Regional Jet. Japanese sources say that MHI is being "strongly encouraged" to join the programme by an offer of funding from Japan's Ministry ...
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NASA-sponsored experimental Tu-144 in Moscow roll-out
A MODIFIED TUPOLEV Tu-144 supersonic transport which will serve as the platform for a six-month, high-speed experimental research programme was expected to be rolled-out at Zhukovsky airfield near Moscow, Russia, on 17 March, signaling the start of a co-operative US-Russian flight-test programme. The aircraft, Tu-144LL, will carry NASA-sponsored ...
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Rolls-Royce joins GE-Allison JAST team
Guy Norris/Los Angeles ROLLS-ROYCE HAS formally signed an agreement giving it full participation in the joint General Electric/Allison development of a cruise engine and lift engine for the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) aircraft programme. GE says, that the long expected agreement with R-R, makes ...
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Boeing
Scott Brandenburg has been appointed director of Boeing programmes for the Commercial APU [auxiliary power unit] Enterprise at aero-engine manufacturer AlliedSignal. He has had 15 years of experience with the company, most recently as director of business-aviation and regional-airline APU programmes at the Seattle office. He replaces Jim Wojciehowski, who ...
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Russia refuses to back down on 757
RUSSIA HAS REFUSED to back down on its claim for $25 million in excise duty, which, it says, is owed on a Baikalavia-operated Boeing 757, despite intense pressure from the US Government to remove the levy. The 757-200, leased from International Lease Finance, has been impounded by police, ...
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Development problems continue
Sir - Further to my letter on solving problems in development (Flight International, 7-13 February, P44), barely was the ink dry when, in the next issue (Flight International, 14-20 February), two further examples are given. The first relates to the BR710 (P12), with problems on the bird-strike test ...
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CFMI forced into redesign of CFM56-5A/B
Andrew Doyle/LONDON CFM INTERNATIONAL has been forced into a redesign of a turbine rear-frame (TRF) destined for use on all CFM56-5A/B turbofans, after cracks were discovered in the double-annular combustor (DAC) variant, powering Swissair Airbus A320s and A321s. The problem was uncovered, by Swissair engineers ...
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ILFC's latest order spree counts in favour of Airbus
Gunter Endres/LONDONGuy Norris/LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL LEASE Finance (ILFC) is further strengthening its aircraft portfolio with an order for 38 new Airbus aircraft, plus eight options, and 18 Boeing 777-200/-300s, plus two options, estimated to be worth a combined $5.8 billion. This latest transaction with Airbus consists ...
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Condor the favourite as launch customer for stretched 757
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELESKevin O'Toole/LONDON GERMAN CHARTER airline Condor is expected to sign up as the launch customer for Boeing's proposed 757-300X, the long-anticipated stretched version of the 200-seat twinjet. Boeing and Condor are in negotiations over the terms of the launch, which could come as early as ...
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R-R stays on course
ROLLS-ROYCE KEPT the good news rolling with an improved set of 1995 financial results to follow its best year ever for commercial engine orders. Recovery in the core aero-engine business and an unexpectedly good performance from the Allison acquisition helped the group drive net profits up by nearly ...
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Canada starts funding programme for industry
CANADA HAS LAUNCHED a new programme to provide Government funding support for industry, particularly aerospace. The Technology Partnerships Canada fund will replace the Defence Industry Productivity Programme (DIPP), which was cancelled in 1995. Industry had attacked the decision to cancel the DIPP, which was instrumental in providing seed ...
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THE GE 747 testbed
THE SHEER SIZE AND extra capacity of General Electric's Boeing 747 test-bed gives it an obvious advantage over its smaller predecessors. "It is five, or even ten times, as efficient as the 707," comments Phil Schultz, GE flight-test organisation (FTO) chief pilot. "We can run five or six objectives in ...
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EMB-145 'exceeds expectations'
EMBRAER'S EMB-145 regional jet is performing better than predicted, the Brazilian manufacturer says. One prototype and two pre-series aircraft are now in flight-test and a fourth EMB-145, is scheduled to have been flown, by 20 March. Engineering director Luis Affonso says that the performance is exceeding specification because ...
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Northwest takes A320s and defers A330 deliveries
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC NORTHWEST AIRLINES has postponed and may eventually cancel delivery of 16 Airbus A330s in favour of acquiring 20 more A320s and hushkits for its 32 Boeing 727-200s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s. The decision puts in doubt the US carrier's intentions of ever ...
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Nepal looks to modernise fleet
NEPAL'S FLEDGLING airline industry is looking for more modern aircraft, in response to market deregulation, growing competition and new regulations forcing the retirement of older equipment. The number of fixed-wing Nepali carriers has grown to four since deregulation of the country's domestic services in 1992. State-run Royal Nepal ...
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Thai Airways plans fleet shake-up over five years
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE THAI AIRWAYS International is to purchase 21 new jet-powered airliners and dispose of 31 older aircraft, under a five-year fleet-rationalisation plan approved by its directors. The carrier's 1996-2000 long-term plan calls for a reduction from 14 to six baseline aircraft types and a ...