Systems & interiors – Page 918
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Precise positioning
Boeing plans to evaluate GPS-based landing systems in parallel with the FAA. Graham Warwick/ATLANTA Boeing is leading an industry programme to validate use of the global-positioning system (GPS) for Category III automatic landings. While the US Federal Aviation Administration intends to demonstrate Cat III GPS, Boeing's ...
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Team launches DC-10 upgrade
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) has teamed with Alenia subsidiary Aeronavali to launch a DC-10 product-improvement programme ranging in scope from a completely new, two-crew, digital flightdeck to a full conversion from passenger to freighter. The plan is aimed mainly at the expected growth in ...
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FAA applies to join Boeing GPS trials
Boeing says that the US Federal Aviation Administration is negotiating to join the manufacturer's global-positioning-system (GPS) landing-system evaluation programme, scheduled to start in June with delivery of four rival systems for installation on NASA's Boeing 757. The Boeing programme would follow the FAA's GPS automatic-landing technology demonstration, conducted ...
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Assertive cabin crew save lives
David Learmount/COPENHAGEN ASSERTIVE ACTION, by cabin crew, could greatly increase passengers' chances of survival after a crash-landing, new research has shown. Assertively applied emergency-evacuation drills can accelerate airline-passenger emergency-evacuation markedly, the study demonstrates, whereas, non-assertive cabin crew make little difference to egress rates. ...
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The dangers of in-house training
Sir - Authorised Examiner (AE) courses conducted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority are due to end soon, because of the requirement to harmonise with European Joint Aviation Authorities Regulations. The AE course is to be replaced with a new concept, aimed more at the instructional element of ...
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Pro Line number 200,000 appears
ROCKWELL-COLLINS has produced its 200,000th Pro Line general-aviation radio and unveiled the next stage in development of its Pro Line integrated avionics for business and regional aircraft. Collins Commercial Avionics' General Aviation division says that it already has an application, yet to be announced, for the new Pro ...
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JetRanger replacement helps drive 407 market
PRODUCTION OF Bell Helicopter Textron's Model 407 light helicopter, launched in February, is sold out until mid-1997. The company has firm orders for 105 aircraft, with company demonstrators and other commitments taking the number of delivery positions accounted for to 140. Production at Bell's Canadian plant will ...
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Saab sounds off on noise
SAAB AIRCRAFT IS tackling sound at source to try to achieve the 76dB average cabin-noise level promised for the Saab 2000 high-speed regional turboprop. Launch customer Crossair criticised Saab earlier this year for failing to meet cabin-noise guarantees. The Swedish manufacturer says that the present average noise-level of ...
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New Fokker in New Mexico
FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO-BASED Mesa Air has taken delivery of the first of two 78-seat Fokker 70s to be operated in the colours of America West Express. The Mesa Air Group, the USA's largest independent regional-airline group, will fly the aircraft in a single-class cabin layout from America West's Phoenix hub ...
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Boeing acts to solve 757/767 pylon cracks
Guy Noris/SEATTLE BOEING IS notifying operators of a fleet-wide structural strengthening programme for 757 and 767 engine mounts, following reports of cracking in strut boxes and fuse pins. The programme, which will affect more than 1,200 aircraft in service, will be explained to operators on ...
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Japan and Boeing back off from contest
JAPAN'S PROPOSED YS-X aircraft will not be offered in competition with the new Boeing 737-600, and an initial agreement on co-operation with Boeing is still expected to be signed in the next few months, say Japanese aerospace officials. The YS-X is the subject of a joint feasibility ...
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Low-cost measures
Agreeing to new training regulations is one thing - being able to afford them is another. Graham Warwick/ATLANTA Regional airlines have long hoped for advances in technology, which would make flight simulation more affordable. Now US regulatory changes are planned which will make simulator training ...
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ADS Europe wins EU contract
ADS EUROPE, a consortium of French, Netherlands and UK companies, has received a £1.5 million ($2.4 million) European Union contract to demonstrate satellite-based automatic dependent-surveillance (ADS). Consortium member Racal Avionics is to supply ADS equipment for installation in five British Airways' and Netherlands national carrier KLM's Boeing 747-400s. ...
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Purso Tools updates MD-80 cabin trainer
THE RECENTLY established Aviation Engineering unit of Purso Tools, based in Pori, Finland, has completed its first cabin-trainer project by updating an existing McDonnell Douglas MD-80 cabin-procedures simulator. Purso says that it is in negotiations with potential customers and that it is attempting to establish a foothold in ...
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Airbus cracks down on manufacturers of IFE
Kieran Daly/TOULOUSE AIRBUS INDUSTRIE is launching a two-pronged campaign to improve in-flight entertainment (IFE) equipment-performance. The move comes amid growing concern on the part of airframers that poor IFE reliability is adversely affecting overall aircraft reliability. Airbus is stressing that it will give ...
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Boeing floats short 777 with longest range yet
Paul Lewis and Guy Norris/ SEATTLE BOEING IS considering launching a short-bodied ultra-long-range variant of the 777, which would be capable of carrying around 250 passengers on routes up to 16,650km (9,000nm). Airlines are already being briefed on the aircraft The 777-100X or "Shrink" as ...
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Volga-Dnepr pushes An-124 co-operation
Kieran Daly/LONDON VOLGA-DNEPR Airlines is leading a renewed effort to co-ordinate the investment by operators of the Antonov An-124 Ruslan outsized freighter in technical improvements to the aircraft. The carrier hosted an April meeting of An-124 operators and suppliers in Ulyanovsk, where it proposed a ...
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Lufthansa and SAS form strategic alliance
Andrzej Jeziorski/COPENHAGEN LUFTHANSA AND Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) have forged an alliance linking their traffic systems and putting an end to SAS's role in the European Quality Alliance. No equity exchange is involved. The agreement, signed on 11 May in Copenhagen, will combine the partners' ...
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MDHS speeds up 600N programme programme
McDONNELL DOUGLAS Helicopter Systems (MDHS) has accelerated development of the MD600N (formerly the MD630N) to bring forward US certification to the third quarter of 1996. Several design changes have been announced by the Mesa, Arizona-based company,, including a switch to a more powerful, digitally controlled, version of the Allison 250 ...
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Coping with technology
Kieran Daly/TOULOUSE The almost universal use of cockpit-resource-management (CRM) techniques will be one of the major features of training as airline pilot-recruitment reaches its next peak. Even though the concept is today far from new, its practice is still very much in development and is having to evolve ...