North America – Page 478
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Opinion
OPINION: Will Lockheed cope with F-35 production rate hike?
A complex global supply chain, unfamiliar structural materials and aircraft systems, a history of supplier bottlenecks and serial breakdowns on the assembly line: are we talking about the Lockheed Martin F-35 or the Boeing 787? Frustratingly, the answer is both.
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News
Aurora seeks Orion production start after record flight
Aurora Flight Sciences hopes to launch production of up to seven or eight slightly improved versions of the Orion after the medium altitude long endurance unmanned air system broke the official and unofficial records for endurance with an 80h flight.
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News
Alaska firms two Q400 options for Horizon Air
Alaska Airlines has firmed options for two Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft for its Horizon Air subsidiary.
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News
United coy on potential 777-300ER order
United Airlines continues to hedge its bets regarding a potential conversion of some of its existing Boeing 787 orders to the Boeing 777-300ER.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: F-35 production system evolves ahead of ramp-up
Mass manufacturing and stealth aircraft have never mixed well. Hundreds of thousands of parts must align at tolerances measured in the thousandths of an inch. A structural misalignment no wider than a few human hairs is enough to make the aircraft shine like a lighthouse in electromagnetic space.
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News
AirAsia QZ8501 accident may reflect a trend
Accidents to aircraft cruising through tropical or sub-tropical zones are repeating often enough now for the industry to have cause to refresh its pilots on the risks. There have been three other accidents in similar circumstances during the last ten years.
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News
Goblin Shark micro-UAV provides 360-degree vision
Tuscon, Arizona-based Brock Technologies has launched a new line of small, tube-launched unmanned air system (UAS) that can provide 360 degree situational awareness with a distributed camera system. Unlike the deep-sea monstrosity it shares a name with, the Goblin Shark has excellent vision. It's four-to-eight camera payload can provide 360-degree ...
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News
F-35 missed key software testing goals in 2014
A recent report by the US Defense Department’s director operation test and evaluation (DOT&E) finds that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II missed key software testing milestones necessary for the US Marine Corps to field combat-ready jets while those already delivered remain unreliable and difficult to maintain.
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News
VistaJet establishes permanent US presence
Swiss VIP charter operator VistaJet has established a permanent presence in the USA following a “positive reception” to its service, launched in September 2013.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Accidents are not the only threat to safety
If large numbers of passengers and crew die on a commercial airline flight because of an event that was not an accident, is it valid to exclude it from airline safety statistics? After all, passengers boarding a flight want to be assured their lives are not at risk from any ...
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News
United could convert widebody orders to the 777-300ER
United Airlines could convert some of its existing widebody orderbook to the Boeing 777-300ER, amidst reports that it is preparing to order 10 of the widebody aircraft.
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News
Nextant's G90XT twin turboprop takes flight
Nextant Aerospace's G90XT programme made a giant leap toward the finishing line on 15 January when the remanufactured Beechcraft King Air C90 flew for the first time.
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News
MH17: ICAO to host conflict-zone information portal
ICAO is to host a prototype centralised system intended to provide information on conflict zones, enabling airlines to assess route risks in the wake of the loss of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
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News
Ascend retains appraiser of the year award
Flightglobal consultancy Ascend has for the fourth time in five years been named appraiser of the year at the Aviation 100 Awards.
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Opinion
OPINION: Oil's well for the airframers
When Airbus and Boeing opted to launch re-engined versions of their A320 and 737 families rather than develop all-new narrowbodies, their logic was that – while the industry was happy with the design, reliability and capacity of their current single-aisle offerings – long-term high oil prices would spur a rush ...
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News
AESA upgrade battle heats up for F/A-18 Hornets
A new competition has emerged to upgrade the radars for potentially hundreds of the original Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fighters operated by US and foreign militaries.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Looking beyond the short-term impact of low oil prices
Recent and apparently continuing falls in the oil price – with Brent trading below $50 per barrel today – provides further evidence of the difficulties associated with forecasting, writes CTAIRA analyst Chris Tarry.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Refining the MH370 search
Since Capt Simon Hardy revealed in Flightglobal/Flight International his calculations about where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 is likely to have come to rest, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau – leading the MH370 search team – has spoken at length to him.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Fleet Watch - Orders for December 2014
Commercial aircraft net orders came in at 647 for December 2014 where 673 new orders were offset by 26 cancellations.
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Opinion
OPINION: Airbus in it for the long-haul with A321
The future of the long-haul narrowbody market is now slightly clearer. Airbus has officially launched a 4,000nm (7,400km)-range version of the A321neo that can match or exceed the Boeing 757-200, including the niche role of flying from the US East Coast to secondary cities in western Europe.