Systems & interiors – Page 760
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Boeing secures deal for Skybridge launch
The Alcatel-led Skybridge consortium has selected Boeing Delta III and IV vehicles to launch half of its planned 80-satellite constellation from 2002, in a deal which is a major blow to Arianespace. Boeing will also take a "significant" financial stake in Skybridge, which will operate a high-speed broadband multimedia ...
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Europe to define GalileoSat
The European Space Agency and the European Commission (EC) have signed a contract to launch the €20 million ($20.2 million) GalileoSat definition phase for the proposed Galileo satellite navigation system. By mid-December, the EC was also expected to sign four major contracts with industry on Galileo system definition. The ...
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Quality regulations push back Eaglet certification schedule
Euro-ENAER has pushed back certification of its Eaglet single-engined utility aircraft until the first quarter of 2000 because of the unforeseen demands of new European quality assurance regulations for general aviation aircraft. The fully composite two-seat Eaglet, originally set for approval in March, may become the first aircraft to ...
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Canada wants to fly MD-11 in crash investigation
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) wants to conduct test flights with a Swissair Boeing MD-11 with its inflight entertainment system activated as part of the continuing probe into the 2 September, 1998, crash of the same craft, off Nova Scotia, the TSB confirms. Tests are intended to ...
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Virgin fires starting gun for Australian no-frills market
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Virgin Group owner Richard Branson unveiled plans in Sydney at the end of November for a low-cost Australian domestic airline in the style of Europe's Virgin Express. Branson says he hopes to have his new no-frills airline, provisionally titled Virgin Australia, fully operational well before the ...
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Eagle Aircraft picks Kansas distributor
Eagle Aircraft has delivered six Eagle 150B trainers to its recently appointed US partner, GLH Aviation of Augusta, Kansas. GLH is responsible for final assembly, quality-assurance flights, and sales and marketing for the US market. GLH is negotiating with Eagle to expand the deal to include installing key components ...
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NASA plans the first of Mars mission series
NASA will launch a navigation and communication microsatellite into orbit around Mars in 2003 as the first of a series of micromissions there. NASA plans to launch the 485kg (1,100lb), $50 million, microsatellites, built by Ball Aerospace, with an Aerojet propulsion unit, to form the Mars Network. The network ...
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Clinton and Sukhoi in RNZAF F-16 debate
US President Bill Clinton has moved to shore up a lease deal for 28 Lockheed Martin F-16s by New Zealand, following the announcement of a review of the deal by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Clark says Clinton raised the lease's future during a telephone conference on 3 ...
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$100m Virgin deal launches System 3000
Emma Kelly/LONDON Virgin Atlantic has signed a $100 million letter of intent with Matsushita for the interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier's new System 3000 hardware. The airline, expected to announce the deal later this month, is the first carrier to confirm a commitment to the fully interactive IFE ...
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A320 wet lease boosts Libyan
Andrew Chuter/TRIPOLI Libyan Arab Airlines is taking a significant step towards rebuilding its route structure with the scheduled arrival on 10 December of two Airbus A320s at its base in Tripoli. The wet-leased aircraft being provided by Irish airline TransAer are due to be pressed into service almost immediately. Libyan ...
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Midway starts to boost its Eastern US network
Midway Airlines plans to bolster frequencies, capacity and reduce seat kilometre costs on its eastern US network with the delivery this month of the first of 17 Boeing 737-700s. It will also receive further smaller, 50-seat, Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) next year. The carrier, based in Raleigh/ Durham, ...
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That's entertainment
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry is experiencing a mini order bonanza this month if the deals by Virgin, United Airlines and an unnamed carrier are anything to go by. But a closer look at the deals and the airlines' reason for them say more about the recent troubled history ...
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The inside story
Improved software has added a new dimension to Dassault's Falcon Jet Completion Center Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCODassault has completed the installation of the latest version of a state-of-the-art digital design system at its Falcon Jet Completion Center at the Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas. The system, CATIA R, was originally ...
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Fan finale
Turbofan engines for the Millennium are bigger and better than ever Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Flight International's final turbofan directory of the 20th century reveals the broadest power range and most capable set of engines in the industry's history. Topping the list are the mighty Boeing ...
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Airbus hunts MAS with A320 offer
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is being offered an attractive financial package deal by Airbus Industrie to roll over its narrowbody fleet and replace it with new A320 family aircraft. The move comes as Airbus seeks to bolster an earlier A340-500/600 proposal and undermine support for the yet-to-be launched ...
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Troubleshooting team probes 737-400 wiring
A team from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has been inspecting the wiring on 737-400s. The checks were ordered after an Alaska Airlines aircraft was forced to return to Portland, Oregon, when chafed wires triggered false low fuel pressure readings. As Flight ...
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BA tests wireless gatelink at Heathrow
British Airways plans to launch a six-month trial of wireless gatelink communication technology at London Heathrow Airport, starting in March or April. Initially, a Boeing 747-400 will be equipped with a gatelink antenna, radio modem unit and an airborne server in a project also involving SITA, Rockwell Collins and Penny ...
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Avionics upgrade for Challenger 604
Bombardier Challenger 604 business aircraft will feature upgraded Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics from early 2001. The upgraded avionics will be installed as standard on new Challenger 604s and are retrofittable for aircraft in service. The standard upgrades include automatic display of take-off and approach and landing speeds, ...
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Satcom approval
Universal Avionics Systems has won US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification for the Thrane and Thrane Aero-I and Aero-M satcom telephone systems. Aero-I provides a three-channel system, two for voice, fax or modem data, using Inmarsat's spot beam coverage, and a third for packet data, using the Inmarsat global ...
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Tu-134 re-engining offered
Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW A Tupolev-led consortium is proposing a cost-effective re-engining and refurbishment programme for the Tupolev Tu-134 twinjet, dubbed the "Tu-134M", to improve performance, efficiency and environmental compliance. Interavia, formed by a group of Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian companies, hopes to secure contracts to refurbish around half the ...