All Ops & safety articles – Page 1355
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News
FLS completes first 727 cargo conversion
FLS Aerospace has completed its first freighter conversion of a Boeing 727, and the aircraft has now entered service with TNT Express Worldwide on its European network. The aircraft, a -200 Adv, was modified at FLS' Stansted, UK, centre, using the Aircraft Engineering & Installation Services (AEI), Miami, supplemental type ...
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777 airframe undergoes longest-ever fatigue test
Boeing's 777 full-scale fatigue-test airframe had undergone 120,000 simulated flights between January 1995 and 13 March this year, representing double the aircraft's 30-year design service objective, and making this the most extensive fatigue test to be carried out by the company. Boeing structural engineers are "very pleased" with ...
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BA suspends 777IGW ETOPS operations
British Airways has suspended extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) flights using its three Boeing 777-200 increased-gross-weight aircraft after metal was found in the chip detectors of two engines. The problem was discovered during a routine inspection on 21 February, and three days later a Boston-bound 777-200IGWreturned to London after a cockpit ...
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Gulf Air accident
The pilots of a Cairo-bound Gulf Air Airbus A320-212 (A4O-EM) were injured when they aborted take-off some 600-900m (2,000-3,000ft) from brakes-off at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. In strong winds, the aircraft veered right, hit a bank and came to rest having lost its nose-gear and suffered serious ...
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Ultra-led team to study advanced control systems
A research project aimed at developing advanced control systems for large-aircraft landing gear has been launched by Ultra Electronics, in conjunction with Messier-Dowty and British Aerospace Airbus. The 30-month UK Government-sponsored research programme will cover areas such as active bogie trimming, damping control, steering control and intelligent gear-sequencing. ...
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Alcatel asks for US SkyBridge approval
Alcatel Espace has applied to the US Federal Communications Commission to launch and operate a 64-satellite, low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation to provide high-speed, broadband, interactive services to business and private users worldwide, at a data rate of up to 60 million bits/s. The $3.5 billion system, called the ...
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Bad Promises
A EUROPEAN UNION guarantee seems to be a bit like Sam Goldwyn's famed verbal contract - not worth the paper it's written on. Certainly, that seems to be the case with the guarantees that the EU gave operators of Chapter 2 aircraft in 1992 that they could continue to operate ...
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No barriers to foreign training, says CAA
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that additional foreign flying schools will be able to apply for approval to offer UK private and commercial pilot-licence training until 1 July, 1999. After that, however, European Joint Aviation Regulation for flightcrew licensing (JAR FCL) will be in place, stating that approved ...
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The big question
Given the highly public differences between Airbus Industrie and Boeing over the existence, or otherwise, of a multi-billion-dollar market for a new large airliner, you could be forgiven for thinking that a yawning gulf exists between long-term forecasts from the two manufacturers. In fact, this is not so. ...
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Sabreliner moves cargo conversions to boost capacity
Dimension Aviation, the new modification centre set up recently by Sabreliner, has taken over all McDonnell Douglas (MDC) US widebody cargo-conversion work from sister company SabreTech, and could eventually have the capability to convert up to 12 aircraft simultaneously. Sabreliner established Dimension in February as part of a ...
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Pilots can expect harder tests, CAA warns
European pilots will have to meet higher written-examination standards than those of existing UK ones, reveals UK Civil Aviation Authority head of flightcrew licensing (FCL), Des Payton. Payton describes the ground-examination standards set by the new European pilot-licensing Joint Aviation Regulations (JAR FCL) as "-a bit of a ...
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Cathay maintains steady course
Cathay Pacific Airways has turned in a steady set of 1996 financial results, despite struggling with a falling Japanese yen and soaring fuel costs, while the airline's net profits also received a hefty boost from the sale of part of its share in sister carrier Dragonair. Overall, the ...
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Safety in Colombia
Colombian commercial air transport has a poor safety record by average world standards. This has been spotlighted by the US Federal Aviation Administration's International Air Safety Assessment Programme (IASAP), which gave Colombia's civil-aviation authority (Aeronautica Civil) only a Category 2 "conditional" rating for safety-oversight standards. Keen to earn its IASAP ...
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Single Euro-safetyagency finds favour
Implementation of the third and final part of the European Union's (EU) single-aviation market, or "open-skies" policy, due on 1 April, has brought into focus the need to establish a European-wide safety authority, with many GAMTA members supporting such a move. Now, each member country of the European ...
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Sabena is rocked by record losses
Sabena president Paul Reutlinger has revealed the heaviest losses in the Belgian airline's history and admits that its performance remains under review by main shareholder Swissair. The group's total net loss climbed to BFr8.8 billion ($248 million) in 1996, although close to half of the figure came from ...
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MTU tests transonic LP turbine
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa)engine subsidiary MTU has successfully completed the first round of altitude tests on its transonic low-pressure (LP) turbine for an advanced ducted-propulsor (ADP) engine. The tests were performed in Stuttgart University's high-altitude testing centre, as part of the Engine 3E (environment, efficiency and economy) research programme ...
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Struggle for success
There have been recent airline casualties in the South American commercial air-transport industry's struggle to find its feet - a scrap which continues today. Although traffic is growing fast in this market, there is a clear need for restructuring what has traditionally been a fragmented and unprofitable airline sector. According ...
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MDC reveals FedEx MD-10 freighter-conversion sites
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has chosen US and European sites to convert up to 60 ex-United Airlines and American Airlines DC-10-10s to phase 1 of the MD-10 freighter specification. The aircraft are destined for FedEx. Phoenix, Arizona-based Dimension Aviation, a division of Sabreliner (previously SabreTech/ DynAir Tech), has been ...
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Embraer seeks Paris show launchfor new 37-seat regional turbofan
Embraer has confirmed its intentions to develop a family of small regional jets which would include new 37- and 70-seat aircraft on either side of its EMB-145 50-seater. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer hopes to be able officially to launch the 37-seater, which will be known as the EMB-135, ...
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Boeing finalises 767-400ERX
Boeing expects to begin the second phase of windtunnel testing of the 767-400ERX "within the next couple of months" as it works towards a planned May 2000 service-entry for the aircraft, according to programme manager John Quinlivan. Quinlivan also confirms that the company "-has held discussions "with airlines ...