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Aviation History
1989
1989 - 0010.PDF
Court allows Trump to buy Air Shuttle Flamboyant US real-estate developer Donald Trump has won US court permission to buy Eastern Airlines' East Coast Air Shuttle. Eastern unions tried to block the sale by invoking a law preventing major restructuring of an airline engaged in labour talks. Judge Barrington Parker saw his earlier decision to block major Eastern lay-offs over turned by the Court of Appeal, and this time simply appealed to Eastern to act in the best inter est of its employees. He said that the unions had not convinced him that the sale was an illegal effort to sidestep contract nego tiations. During the hearing, Eastern president Philip Bakes said the company's losses were so severe that even the Shuttle sale might not ensure survival. He said that the sale of other assets was under consideration following "a tremendous revenue drop". Trump himself said that with out the Shuttle deal, "Eastern is finished". Meanwhile, Eastern owner Frank Lorenzo continues to meet with TWA owner Carl Icahn. But, as there are no public shareholders in either company, the details do not have to be filed with regulatory authorities and US analysts are split on who might sell to whom. Egypt reopens airspace to Libyan flights After nine years, Egypt has reopened its airspace to Libyan commercial flights, signalling a slight thaw in relations between the two Arab states. Announcing the move, Ali Ziko, president of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, said that the measure would be effective immediately. Libyan aircraft could now land in Cairo and cross Egyptian airspace, he said, and Libyan Arab Airlines could resume regular flights to Egypt. He confirmed that several Libyan aircraft carrying pilgrims had earlier been allowed to cross Egypt en route to Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Libya fought a brief border war in 1977, and have had no diplomatic ties or air links since 1979, when Tripoli, along with most other Arab states, severed all relations with Cairo in retaliation for President Sadat's peace treaty with Israel. Almost all the Arab countries have since resumed political and commercial ties with Egypt. For the past nine years the thousands of Egyptians working in Libya have had to travel via a third country. The latest move is expected to encourage more Egyptians to seek employment in Libya. Most of the £3 million spent on BAe's Concorde simulator update paid for a Rediffusion SP-X 500'/Wide full-daylight panoramic visual system BAe updates Concorde simulator British Aerospace's Filton- based Concorde simulator has a new visual system and upgraded motion system, following a £3 million update. The old visual system, which relied on a modelboard, tele vision camera, and cathode-ray- tube displays, has now been donated to a museum. Two- thirds of the upgrade cost went on a Rediffusion SP-X 500/ Wide full-daylight panoramic visual system. The remainder went on an extra computer which has increased processing speed and improved motion system response time. British Airways has 22 captains, 20 copilots, and 22 flight engineers trained to fly its seven Concordes. The simu lator handles check flights and conversions. The airline trained one new captain, five copilots, and two engineers on the simu lator in 1988. ' The simulator allows crews to be trained in dealing with various emergencies, including complete failure of the fly-by-wire flight controls, failure of the auto-trim system which shunts fuel around jhe 13 fuel tanks, or even a cockpit fire. NEWS IN BRIEF The Soviet Union has confirmed that the Tupolev Tu-204 airliner has yet to make its maiden flight, but says that it is planned for the "near future". The programme is running several months late because of delays in components supplies. Flight tests of the other new Soviet airliner, the Ilyushin 1196-300, continue. British Airways intends to restart London-Teheran ser vices on January 12, following the restoration of full diplo matic relations between Britain and Iran. Lockheed TriStars will fly twice a week between the two cities. Bromon has signed an agree ment with Toyota Tsusho of Japan, assigning the latter company sole distribution rights in Japan for the Bromon BR-2000. The US Federal Aviation Administration has developed a new bomb detection system which it expects to begin using at major international airports from mid-1989. The basis of the new device is a stream of atomic neutrons that trigger alarms when encountering explosive chemicals. Qantas will be the first airline in the Asia/South Pacific region to test an individual video screen system as part of its in flight-entertainment package. During a four-month trial, 26 first-class seats on one of the airline's 747-300s flying from Australia to London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo will be fitted with the video screens. The system, developed by California-based Airvision, will offer six channels. Czechoslovakia is considering the purchase of Airbuses to add to its existing all-Soviet fleet. The Czech Government says it is also considering other Western types. The long- range A310-300 is considered to be the favoured Airbus vari ant for use on routes such as Prague to New York, Havana, and Hanoi. State airline CSA has not specified how many aircraft it might buy. Czechoslovakia's new 40-seat commuter, the Let 610, is due to make its maiden flight at the end of January from the manufacturer's airfield at Kunovice. The aircraft is powered by a pair of new Walter turboprop engines. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 7 January 1989
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