Systems & interiors – Page 786
-
News
Fairchild Aerospace predicts business boom
Buoyed by its recent Lufthansa 728JET launch order, Fairchild Aerospace says its option and order backlog will exceed $10 billion by the end of 1999. The company predicts "substantial" new business for its 328JET/428JET family, particularly in North America, where scope clauses changes are expected. "We think it's the ...
-
News
Embraer expands ERJ designs
Embraer has revealed a surprise, 108-seat, stretch of its ERJ-190 regional jet which effectively provides the Brazilian manufacturer with a direct competitor to Bombardier's proposed BRJ-X. The move comes in response to input from Embraer's recently completed airline advisory board survey which helped freeze the smaller ERJ-170 design at ...
-
News
FAA introduces WAAS to Asia with Singapore flight trials
The US Federal Aviation Administration demonstrated the capabilities of its Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time earlier this month. The flight trials were conducted on the FAA's Boeing 727 equipped to perform navigation and landing operations using a global positioning system (GPS) ...
-
News
Smoke study reveals safety advantages of head-up display
Marconi Electronic Systems and Embry Riddle University plan to release by 21 May the results of a safety study which shows that head-up-display (HUD) systems can significantly increase safety in the event of smoke and poor visibility on the flight deck. The study, undertaken after the Swissair Boeing MD-11 accident ...
-
News
Malaysia Airlines low-fuel danger spans two years
David Learmount/LONDON The UK Civil Aviation Authority claims to be unable to find reports which British Airways says it filed on a series of incidents involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS) 747-400s that arrived critically low on fuel at London Heathrow Airport. BA is the engineering service provided at the airport ...
-
News
NTSB urges action
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recommended that Cessna develop an inspection procedure for identifying cracks in the main retractable landing gear systems of Cessna 172RGs and 182RGs, following a non-fatal incident involving an American East Airways four-seat 172RG last August. The NTSB urges the Federal Aviation Administration ...
-
News
757s face axe as BA tackles falling yields
Chris Jasper/LONDON Andrew Doyle/MUNICH British Airways plans to replace Boeing 757s operating from its London Heathrow hub with smaller Boeing 737s and possibly Airbus A320s as part of a strategy to tackle its crisis of falling yields on short-haul routes. The move represents a U-turn in BA's strategy at ...
-
News
New Greek ATC system faces summer challenge
The recently rebuilt and much delayed Greek air traffic control (ATC) centre is facing a major challenge this summer, as controllers adjust to new digital equipment, while coping with the demands of restructured airspace during the Kosovo crisis. The Greek Government has been slow to provide enough personnel to ...
-
News
Workshop
Pegasus Aviation has ordered 23 additional FedEx Aviation Services (FEASI)Boeing 727 Stage 3 hushkits, bringing its total order to 44 kits. United Airlines recently exercised options for 16 kits, bringing its orders to 75. Santa Barbara Aerospace (SBA) is to re-engine all four of its Boeing 727-200Adv freighters to BFGoodrich's ...
-
News
ANZ may block Ansett plan
Chris Jasper/AUCKLANDAir New Zealand (ANZ) has indicated that it is giving serious consideration to a possible move to block Singapore Airline's (SIA) plan to take a 50% stake in Ansett Australia. The company has rejected suggestions that it has insufficient funds to mount the operation. Ansett is jointly owned by ...
-
News
Interactive makes connection in latest IFE industry shake-up
In-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier Interactive Flight Technologies (IFT) is aiming to complete its purchase of fellow IFE hardware manufacturer, the Network Connection (TNCi) on 15 May. The move is the latest stage in the shake-up of the IFE hardware supplier industry, which has seen the departure of some players ...
-
News
Thai prepares for sale of stake
Chris Jasper/SYDNEY The sale of a stake in Thai Airways International to an airline investor is to take place next April, with a holding of around 15% to be sold off, the carrier's president, Thamnoon Wanglee, has revealed. Thai's planned privatisation has suffered a series of delays and the April ...
-
News
F-22 concerns US Congress
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC US Congressional concern over progress with development of software for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 prompted Boeing to bring its flying testbed (FTB) to Washington DC in late April. Programme officials say the757-based FTB is a key "risk reducer" in development of the sensor-fused, integrated avionics for the ...
-
News
NASA flies 'intelligent' flight control system at Dryden
NASA is refining an on-line, self learning "intelligent" flight control system (IFCS), following flight tests of a preliminary version at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, California, on the agency's Boeing F-15 Eagle testbed. The smart software is being developed to enable pilots to land safely damaged aircraft that would ...
-
News
USN eyes role change for CH-60S utility helicopter
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Sikorsky is designing an airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) version of the US Navy's new CH-60S utility helicopter and has begun modifying a prototype machine to conduct aerial towing demonstrations. The Navy's prototype YCH-60 helicopter is being fitted with a swivel-tow coupling, mounted to the aft underside ...
-
News
Putting the family to work
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Max Kingsley-Jones/STOCKHOLM Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Guy Norris/LOS ANGELESWhen Boeing began to study a replacement for its successful 737-300/400/500 "Classic" family of narrowbody twinjets in the early 1990s, it faced difficult decisions. Airbus Industrie was on the scene with its technologically advanced fly-by-wire A320 family, but many of Boeing's ...
-
News
Honeywell puts Primus Epic on the Horizon
Honeywell has integrated the first third-party module into its Primus Epic avionics system for the Raytheon Hawker Horizon business jet. The Epic system will be responsible for utilities control, requiring Honeywell to integrate modules supplied by vendors into the modular avionics unit (MAU) which forms the heart of its ...
-
News
USA takes up Sextant state support issue with EU
The USA IS to seek "consultations" with the European Union (EU) over the French Government's funding support of Sextant Avionique for development of a new flight management system (FMS) for Airbus aircraft. If the talks fail to resolve the dispute, the US Government plans to ask the World Trade ...
-
News
Star lines up recruits as Singapore delays entry into alliance
Chris Jasper/SYDNEYAir China, Mexicana, British Midland and Emirates are all being lined up for possible membership of the Star Alliance, while Singapore Airlines (SIA) has delayed signing up to the global grouping until at least October. Thai Airways International president Thamnoon Wanglee, speaking exclusively to Flight International, detailed Star's recruitment ...
-
News
Internet at work
Internet ordering has spread to aircraft parts Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCOIf current industry trends hold, the Internet will become a major factor in aircraft parts sales and inventory management. That is the consensus of parts suppliers and re-sellers, many of which have web sites on line or in the planning stage. ...