Systems & interiors – Page 781
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NASA orders hybrid Delta for SIRTF launch
NASA has contracted Boeing to supply a hybrid Delta booster to launch its Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF). The booster is a Delta II with the nine large strap-on boosters from the Delta III. This booster is also available to commercial customers for launches of 2,030kg (4,400lb) payloads ...
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Science still the 'pillar' of ESA: Rodota
Tim Furniss Science is still "the pillar" of the European Space Agency (ESA), director general Antonio Rodota said at a press breakfast yesterday. In the "shaping and sharing of the future of European space," science hasn't always received such bullish support but Rodota emphasised its importance when he ...
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Socata spots niche in freight market
Mark Hannant Socata is to check the viability of the single turboprop TBM 700 as a freight carrier through a partnership agreement with French airline Air Open Sky, it announced at the show. The TBM 700 has previously only been used as a pressurized, six or seven-seat business ...
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Cocooned in your own little piece of heaven
Tamzin Hindmarch The Cocoon is not just a seat, it's a business traveller's dream. But will it catch on with the airlines? That is the $64,000 question. At a price a little above that, Avio Interiors' new super seat, which reclines to become a bed at the press ...
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Passenger comfort from the bottom up
Mark Hannant The way to a man's heart may traditionally be through his stomach, but when it comes to the hearts and minds of business travellers it seems it's their bottoms that hold the key. The battle to hold position in the business- and first-class travel markets has ...
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Logging on to English language
The Internet is playing a vital role in helping pilots and navigators whose first language is not English get to grips with the universal language of aviation. Virtual Languages, an American company based in Boca Raton, Florida, has launched an Internet site where students can learn aviation English ...
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FAA prepares for millennium countdown with confidence
Tamzin Hindmarch Mission impossible or mission accomplished? Just how confident is the US Federal Aviation Administration about beating the Millennium Bug? In this year's Aviation System Capital Investment Plan, prepared for the US Congress in January, the FAA committed itself to ensuring all its systems would be certified ...
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Merger partners eager to walk down the aisle
Karen Walker "Less of a merger and more of a marriage," is how AlliedSignal Aerospace president Bob Johnson views the proposed deal with Honeywell. And, in his opinion the sooner the wedding ceremony, the better. Speaking in Paris on the eve of the required "quiet time", during ...
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Honeywell unveils Primus Epic avionics system
Steve Nichols You would think that Mike Smith, president of Honeywell's Commercial Aviation Systems, would be too preoccupied with the AlliedSignal Aerospace merger to talk about business. But he's philosophical. "We've had a lot excitement over the last two weeks, but one constant in any business nowadays is ...
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Keeping HOPE alive
Japan's HOPE X could be a technology springboard for future RLV programmesAndrzej Jeziorski/TOKYO Japan's efforts to develop future space transportation systems are three pronged. Alongside work to upgrade the nation's expendable launch vehicles and the development of reuseable launcher concepts, the National Space Development Agency (NASDA)and the National Aerospace Laboratory ...
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Armour coated
Comtas is targeting the aviation industry with its armour parts, designed to protect electronic equipment, pilot seats and other sensitive areas of the aircraft. The composition of the material used by the company is a closely guarded secret but has already proved successful in the automotive field. More ...
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Volvo Aero strikes spares deal
Volvo Aero has signed a five-year deal with Boeing allowing it to sell surplus spare parts for the Boeing fleet worldwide. Boeing will continue to sell its own spare parts primarily through the Internet. The deal covers components which are no longer used in aircraft production. Volvo Aero, through ...
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Ipeco keeps watch on bottom line
Crew on the new Boeing 717 have the full support of Ipeco - quite literally . Ipeco has designed and manufactured the flight deck and cabin attendant seating on the aircraft, making its European debut at Paris '99. Ipeco's portfolio currently contains more than 50 models, used by ...
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FAA hotline for counterfeit product reports
Tamzin Hindmarch The US Federal Aviation Administration has set up a free hotline for people wishing to report suspected unapproved aircraft parts. Such products may look the same, but if they do not comply with FAA standards they may not be of the same high quality or be ...
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No smoke problems with CSE Engineering
Steve Nichols Smoke in the cockpit is a pilot's nightmare and one of the biggest causes of air crashes according to official data. Recent incidents involving a Swissair Flight 111 and ValuJet Flight 592 prove just how difficult it is for pilots to see what they are doing ...
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IAE lets the market do the talking for new variant engine
Geoff Thomas International Aero Engines (IAE) has announced that it has begun to evaluate a new variant of its V2500 engine, which powers Airbus A320 family aircraft. The formal launch of the -A7 version could happen by the end of this year, says IAE president and chief executive ...
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Air transport
Smiths Industries Aerospace and Alaska Airlines won the Air Transport award for using Smiths' flight management system (FMS) and GPS to eliminate non-precision approaches. The team pioneered required navigation performance 0.15 approach and departures at Juneau Airport in Alaska. Terrain at the airport rises from sea level to ...
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Horizon Air launches QUIET Q400 in North America
Alan Peaford Horizon Air has become the North American launch customer of Bombardier's Q400 in a $321-million deal announced at the show yesterday. The Seattle-based airline placed a firm order for 15 of the super quiet 70-passenger aircraft with options on an additional 15. Bombardier announced a ...
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Catering deal
Aviation services firm Alpha Airports has bought a British Airways in-flight catering operation at Gatwick for $22.4 million. It has also struck a new 10-year deal with BA to supply in-flight catering at Gatwick and other regional airports. It expects turnover to be around $96 million in the first ...
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Crew collapse traced to cargo door crack
New details of a depressurisation incident on the world's highest time Boeing 737-200 now revealed by investigators tell how the captain and senior flight attendant spent several minutes unconscious when a crack that had gone undetected for 17 years let cabin air escape. The aircraft, of UK charter ...