All articles by Flight International – Page 17

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Charleston debut breaks with 101 years of history

    2017-04-07T08:40:57Z

    ​After 101 years of history, the choreography of a first flight event for a Boeing commercial aircraft seems rather routine. The telemetry truck is stationed at an appropriate location, the Boeing-owned Lockheed T-33 chase plane taxies by and takes off and then the new model or sub-model completes pre-flight checks ...

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Bishkek crash highlights loss of airmanship

    2017-04-03T12:12:55Z

    ​Four decades, almost to the day, since the unsurpassed catastrophe at Tenerife, investigators in Russia detailed another completely avoidable fatal fiasco involving a Boeing 747, a fog-shrouded runway, and a bewildering absence of situational awareness.

  • F-35C - Lockheed Martin
    Opinion

    OPINION: Can Pentagon's new F-35 chief keep on target?

    2017-03-31T09:34:39Z

    ​A military acquisition manager has a tough job. There are schedules to meet and budgets to keep, fickle politicians to placate, penny-pinching from bureaucrats and relentless finagling by contractors.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Is this Alitalia's final last chance?

    2017-03-27T08:42:40Z

    ​As Alitalia ­faces yet another round of cost cutting, just how many last chances for salvation can one ­airline have?

  • Laptop ban - ImageBroker/REX/Shutterstock
    Opinion

    OPINION: Cabin laptop ban is selective, ineffective

    2017-03-23T17:19:54Z

    Just two hours before the UK parliament became the scene of an armed assault and counter-­terrorism ­operation, the transport secretary had been inside, fending off awkward questions about ­weaknesses in new enhanced security measures for airline passengers.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Dana Air crew failings highlight African safety gap

    2017-03-20T10:22:02Z

    ​As IATA stresses a continuing falling accident rate in its annual review of commercial airline safety, the circumstances of the Dana Air crash in Lagos serve to remind that global progress is far from a uniform affair.

  • United 757 - AirTeamImages
    Opinion

    OPINION: Why size matters for '797X' project

    2017-03-17T10:30:55Z

    ​It has an authority to offer from Boeing, public endorsements from influential airlines and lessors and finally, it seems, a name: the 797X.

  • FCX - Bell Helicopter
    Opinion

    OPINION: Why Bell had to impress with FCX concept

    2017-03-13T09:35:26Z

    ​For all its storied history of aviation firsts, Bell Helicopter has in recent years become stuck in a rut.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Are UK air shows safer post-Shoreham?

    2017-03-10T10:51:21Z

    ​For anyone who attended the Shoreham air show in 2015 – or who witnessed harrowing news footage of the Hawker Hunter crash that killed 11 people – the confirmation that pilot error caused the disaster will come as little surprise.

  • PW1100G A320 - Airbus
    Opinion

    OPINION: Can commercial engine suppliers deliver on innovation?

    2017-03-05T14:15:00Z

    ​For all the challenges within its own production system and the wider supply chain, it is engines that are producing the biggest headaches for Airbus.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Why safety pays on helicopter programmes

    2017-02-27T09:14:24Z

    ​Aerospace, by nature, is an industry of extremes. Costs are huge, technical and financial risks severe. Timescales are long, business cycles fierce. Political winds can be fair or very foul.

  • French A400M - US Air Force
    Opinion

    OPINION: Should A400M partners prop up Airbus?

    2017-02-24T09:33:58Z

    Even for a programme with a history as chequered as the A400M, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders’ latest critique of the troubled airlifter was astonishingly frank – and packed with intent.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: India needs fighters more than factories

    2017-02-20T10:47:09Z

    ​Visitors to Aero India this year could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu. Back in 2011, the soundtrack to the show was the roar of fighter aircraft as eager bidders put their jets through their paces.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: 737 Max 10 could be lucky 13 for Boeing

    2017-02-17T10:05:31Z

    ​A 13th passenger-carrying version of the Boeing 737 is now being seriously pursued in Seattle. If launched later this year, the 230-passenger 737 Max 10 would be 1.68m (66in) longer than the 737 Max 9 and 15.1m longer than the 737-100 that first flew 50 years ago in April.

  • Swiss CS100 - AirTeamImages
    Opinion

    OPINION: Will Bombardier's new loan stretch far enough?

    2017-02-13T09:17:08Z

    ​Bombardier has picked up another C$372.5 million ($282 million) from Canadian taxpayers to repair a fractured balance sheet as it enters the most difficult phase of a multi-year financial rebuilding campaign.

  • A380 - Airbus
    Opinion

    OPINION: Is A380 nearing the end?

    2017-02-10T09:42:46Z

    ​Not long ago it was the future. Now the A380 is officially a museum piece. Two flight test examples of the world’s biggest airliner are set to spend the rest of their lives in heritage centres in Paris and Toulouse.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: The dwindling pool of T-X bidders

    2017-02-06T09:26:24Z

    ​Back in October 1986, the US Air Force was faced with a difficult decision. It had received seven responses to a request for proposals to build two prototypes for the advanced tactical fighter competition that ultimately yielded the Lockheed Martin F-22. In the wake of later industry consolidation, the USAF, ...

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Does being launch customer matter?

    2017-02-03T10:25:35Z

    ​In a world where profit is king, it feels odd to see two airlines squabbling over a title that appears to carry no commercial advantage.

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Why tardy MRJ is worth waiting for

    2017-01-30T09:20:36Z

    ​Defending the latest delay to its MRJ programme, Mitsubishi Aircraft official Yugo Fukuhara notes: “Building and certifying a new aircraft is a very complex process and includes a lot of challenges.”

  • Opinion

    OPINION: Will political change hurt aerospace?

    2017-01-27T09:13:17Z

    ​The election of Donald Trump and the UK’s vote to quit the EU were the seismic political events of 2016. Often compared as popular revolts against liberal elites, big government and open immigration, the billionaire celebrity’s administration and Brexit are, in fact, sending their countries on very different courses. Each ...