All General aviation articles – Page 589
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Found finds first customers for new Bush Hawk
Found Aircraft Canada is assembling the first pre-production Bush Hawk light utility aircraft, with a maiden flight expected by early October. The aircraft will be used to certificate modifications to the original 1960s vintage Found FBA-2C design, which will be incorporated into new production aircraft. Found hopes to begin deliveries ...
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Restored French budget revives Rafale hopes
France's defence budget has been restored to the level called for in the 1997-2002 spending plan, raising hopes that the long-awaited multi-year procurement funding for Dassault Aviation's Rafale fighter will finally be released. The extra money - around Fr4 billion ($660 million) - has come from unspent equipment funds ...
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New software will advise flight planners on integrity of GPS
Julian Moxon/PARIS Eurocontrol has developed an internet tool for helping pilots assess the availability of global positioning system (GPS) satellites for European operations. The Augur system will provide all of the information needed to advise on GPS integrity, and, says Eurocontrol, will help aircraft operators to use GPS ...
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Myanma Airways hit by second fatal F27 crash this year
A missing Myanma Airways Fokker F27 Mk600, which is presumed to have gone down on 24 August among forested mountains in northern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), had still not been found three days later as Flight International went to press. There were 29 passengers and four crew on ...
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Meridian on course for 2000 certification
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC New Piper Aircraft flew the single-turboprop Malibu Meridian for the first time on 21 August, 10 days ahead of schedule. The Vero Beach, Florida-based manufacturer says there were "no major problems" on the maiden flight of the turboprop derivative of its Malibu Mirage high-performance piston single. ...
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Raytheon remarkets 1900Ds to help out Mesa
Raytheon Aircraft has agreed to remarket 15 Beech 1900D turboprops operated by cash-strapped Mesa Air Group. The airline will receive an immediate $5 million payment for the aircraft. Raytheon will also reduce the terms of the purchase of the last of the aircraft acquired by Mesa. Raytheon is putting ...
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Recipe for reform
Romania's national airline still hopes to attract a western partner, if only the economy would improve. Take one battered old airport, add a few old Russian aircraft, and then throw in years of political instability. Stir with economic collapse, simmer for nine years, and serve with a garnish of ...
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Brussels has the last word
Europe's privately owned and publicly quoted airlines must be wondering what they have to do to make a dent in the European Commission's stance on state aid. Their jubilation at the European Court of Justice's annulment of the FFr20 billion (US$3.3 billion) aid package to Air France on 25 June ...
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Europe: few direct answers
Will Europe's aviation industry be ready for the year 2000? The honest answer is that nobody yet knows. To date, companies have largely been preoccupied with their own internal compliance issues, but the wider debate over how the issue will affect the industry as a whole has only just begun. ...
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Squirrel Lease
The UK's Kent Air Ambulance is due to resume operations on 2 September, flying a Eurocopter AS355F1 Twin Squirrel helicopter, leased by Medical Aviation Services, to replace a similar model to the one that crashed in late July, killing the pilot and crew. The decision follows a recent incident in ...
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Weighing in
US holding company The Aviation Group of Dallas, Texas, is to acquire General Electrodynamics, the Texas-based manufacturer of scales used for weighing aircraft during maintenance and repair procedures. The holding company will pay $1.6 million for the business, which achieved revenues exceeding $5 million in 1997. The Aviation Group acquired ...
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Raytheon prepares to produce Horizon fuselage
Raytheon Aircraft is preparing to produce the first composite fuselage sections for its Hawker Horizon mid-size business jet. The Horizon fuselage will be the biggest pressurised structure yet produced using automated fibre placement, the company says. Raytheon selected fibre placement to produce the fuselage of its Premier I light ...
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Kestrel seeks extra funding for family of utility piston singles
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Kestrel Aircraft has pushed back certification and first deliveries of its four-seat, single-engined K-250 utility aircraft to 2000, while it seeks funding for the programme. "Development is ongoing and we are now in the process of ordering tooling for the first production prototype," says Kestrel vice-president ...
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US fatalities drop
US National Transportation Safety Board figures show that the number of people killed in aviation accidents involving US-registered aircraft fell from 1,093 in 1996 to 976 last year. General aviation fatalities rose, from 631 to 646, but accidents involving US major airlines claimed only eight lives. Source: Flight International
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Commander offers trade-up scheme
Commander Aircraft has introduced a factory-direct trade-up programme. The company hopes this will boost sales of new and used Commander 114B/TC piston singles by making it easier for owners of Beech, Cessna, Mooney and Piper piston singles to trade-in their aircraft. "We offer prospective customers a fair market value for ...
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Ayres takes over Let Kunovice
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH After almost a year of talks, US agricultural and utility aircraft manufacturer Ayres has completed the purchase of 93.6% of Czech regional aircraft producer Let Kunovice. The US company says that it has taken over Let's long-term debt as part of the deal, but declines to disclose the ...
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AlliedSignal studies enhanced ground proximity warning
Guy Norris/Redmond An advanced ground proximity warning system for general aviation applications is under study by AlliedSignal and could be given the go-ahead by the end of the year. The system would take advantage of packaging features of the Mk VI enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) now ...
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New Piper test demand for complete range of aircraft
Dave Higdon/VERO BEACH New Piper Aircraft is examining market needs for a complete family of piston, turboprop and jet-powered aircraft. "We want New Piper to grow, and our product line to expand into a full family of aircraft," says chairman Chuck Suma. The Vero Beach, Florida-based company is also keen ...
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Ilyushin prepares for Il-96T US approval
Paul Duffy/MOSCOW Ilyushin expects the freighter version of the Pratt & Whitney PW2337-powered Il-96, the -96T, to receive US Federal Aviation Administration certification by October, but the US engine manufacturer is less optimistic. The Il-96T recently received Russian/CIS certification for operation by CIS airlines, but deliveries cannot begin ...
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Wilksch completes 90kW diesel flights
Wilksch Airmotive has completed initial development testing of a new two-stroke diesel engine for light aircraft. The UK company says that it plans to unveil details of the new powerplant in the middle of September. Mark Wilksch, founder of the Milton Keynes-based company, says that the first flight of ...