Fixed-wing – Page 1164
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New breed
Researchers are at work on European comfort and safety Julian Moxon/PARIS It used to be said that a helicopter, with its complex mechanics and whirling, vibration-producing, aerodynamic surfaces, was best described as "a million individual components flying in close formation". While it may be amusing, the image is becoming less ...
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From bad to worse
Helicopter accidents skyrocket in the civil aviation sector David Learmount/LONDON Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Turbine engined helicopter accident numbers for last year are well up on those for the previous year: 239 compared with 171 in 1997. Comparison with 1996 also shows an increase, although less dramatic, from the 218 accidents ...
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Boeing's helicopter hat trick
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter is threatening to rival the B-52 bomber for endurance Paul Lewis/PHILADELPHIAWhen it comes to aeronautical longevity little equals the B-52 bomber other than perhaps the CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the same Boeing stable. With no successor in sight, 300 of the US Army's tandem-rotor helicopters are ...
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Staying one step ahead
Paul Lewis/STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT Sikorsky has adopted a three-step strategy to keep it at the forefront of the world's helicopter industry. Its immediate goal is to sustain output through US domestic UH-60/CH-60 and international S-70 sales, while continuing to press ahead in the long term with the RAH-66 Comanche. It hopes ...
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Israel's Elta develops miniature synthetic aperture radar pod
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Israeli electronics manufacturer Elta has developed and begun manufacture of the first podded synthetic-aperture radar (SAR)system that can be carried on fighter-sized aircraft as small as the Lockheed Martin F-16. Lockheed Martin's tactical aircraft division will work with Elta to market the radar. The EL/M-2060P ...
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Brazil's Tiger upgrade stalled by currency and cost cuts crisis
Paul Lewis/RIO DE JANEIRO Brazil's planned Northrop F-5E/F Tiger upgrade programme faces further delay, as a weaker local currency and mounting pressure on selected suppliers to cut costs prolongs protracted contractual negotiations. Elbit was selected as the integrator for the F-5 avionics upgrade last October, but because of the devaluation ...
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B-2 repair move
Northrop Grumman has begun the transfer of its B-2 composites repair operation to the US Air Force overhaul facility at Hill AFB, Utah, from its Pico Rivera, California, plant, which is to close by the end of the year. The company will continue to be responsible for most depot maintenance ...
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Russia plans airlifter update
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW The Russian air force plans to upgrade its ageing transport aircraft and improve its inventory readiness, which is threatened by delays to the introduction of new types. The plan's centrepiece will be a life extension for the Ilyushin Il-76 tactical transport, the most numerous aircraft in ...
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UK pauses on unmanned combat role
Ramon Lopez/BRISTOL Howard Gethin/LONDON The UK Ministry of Defence is to launch a third-phase concept study of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and conventional air launched cruise missiles (CALCMs). The study will seek alternatives to manned aircraft in the Future Offensive Air System (FOAS) project to develop a successor to ...
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Dassault Aviation to restructure by year end
Dassault Aviation will carry out its planned split into civil and military subsidiaries by the end of the year, with the new entities to be known as Dassault Falcon and Dassault Defense, the company has revealed. President Serge Dassault says the business will continue to maintain a strongly independent ...
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Perfect partner?
CASA's Alberto Fernandez has steered the Spanish manufacturer in a clear strategic direction, creating 'a lovely bride' for European manufacturers courting it Julian Moxon/MADRIDFor a 75-year-old national aerospace company on the verge of being sold to one of four European suitors, it would seem reasonable to assume that the atmosphere ...
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Joint Strike Fighter avionics flying laboratory takes off
The Boeing Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) 737 Avionics Flying Laboratory made its first flight at Wichita on 26 March. Boeing Aerospace Support has modified the aircraft to accommodate special avionics and instrumentation for development of the JSF. After two test flights lasting 2h, the 737 was delivered to the Boeing ...
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Chile revives fighter purchase competition
Paul Lewis/RIO DE JANEIRO Chile's deferred fighter modernisation programme is showing signs of revival, with Santiago asking competing US and European manufacturers to submit updated price and availability data. According to defence sources, Chile has requested British Aerospace, Saab, Dassault and the US Government to forward new information ...
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Civilian casualties rise as air attacks intensify
NATO aircraft and missiles attacking targets in Yugoslavia caused significant collateral damage to civilian targets for the first time last week, as hundreds more aircraft were sent from the USA to Europe to join the campaign. The heaviest raids yet were mounted against Serbian capital Belgrade and several other cities ...
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F-22 test
Flight testing of the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft has resumed with the flight on 8 April of the second development aircraft following three months of modifications and ground testing. The aircraft has been retrofitted with new brakes, fuel pumps and probes, and horizontal tail actuators, and fitted with ...
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Eurofighter starts negotiations for Greek buy
Graham Warwick/MUNICH Eurofighter has begun formal talks with Greece over its planned purchase of 60-80 Typhoon fighters. A contract is not expected to be signed until this time next year. A team led by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) visited Athens last week for the first discussions since the Greek Government ...
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Four companies to battle for Spanish aero manufacturer
Julian Moxon/MADRID British Aerospace, Aerospatiale of France, Italy's Alenia and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany are all candidates for the purchase of up to 100% of CASA from Spanish holding company SEPI, the aero-structures manufacturer has revealed. CASA chairman Alberto Fernandez tells Flight International "...there is no particular scheme for ...
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Poles, Czechs and Hungarians pursue advanced fighter
Andrew Doyle/WARSAW The air forces of NATO's three newest members - Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary - are urging their governments to procure a common advanced fighter to reduce training, maintenance and support costs. All three East European nations have a requirement to introduce Western fighters early next ...
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USAF seeks funding to modify cruise missiles for NATO
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Air Force is seeking emergency funding to modify 230 more nuclear-tipped Boeing AGM-86Bs to conventional air-launched cruise missiles (CALCMs), while accelerating delivery of 92 conversions already approved. The bid is part of a move to stem the impending cruise missile shortage faced by ...
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KAL acknowledges damning safety report
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE David Learmount/LONDON The existence of a damning report of dangerous Boeing 747 operations has been acknowledged by Korean Air (KAL), which has suffered 11 serious accidents since 1990. KAL, however, insists that the report was not part of the safety audit being carried out by Delta ...