Airframers – Page 1572
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GE is first to agree MoU for 777-200X/300X powerplant
General Electric has become the first engine company to sign a formal agreement with Boeing to offer a high-thrust engine for the airframe company's heavyweight long-range 777-200X and -300X twins. The move comes as Boeing applies continuing pressure on the big-three engine makers to commit to develop the 445kN (100,000lb)-thrust ...
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737-700 reaches new heights
The Next-generation Boeing 737-700 has reached an altitude of 41,000ft (12,500m) during flight testing, beating previous 737 altitudes by 4,000ft and attaining the target height which was planned for type certification. The record height was achieved by the crew of the second 737-700 flight-test aircraft on a test ...
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Emirates studies New York route
Emirates Airlines is studying the possibility of launching a transatlantic service via the UK to New York as it looks to the next phase of expansion with an incoming fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus A330-200s. Managing director Maurice Flanagan says that the airline is already in a ...
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Daewoo dumps Dornier 328 contract
Daewoo is to quit production of Fairchild Dornier 328 turboprop fuselage-panels within two months, and will have to pay compensation for its early pull-out from the programme. According to Fairchild Dornier vice-president for programmes and aircraft development, Earl Robinson, Daewoo is bringing its contract with the US-German company ...
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Japan calls for Northwest maintenance probe
The US Federal Aviation Administration has been asked by the Japanese ministry of transport to investigate maintenance practices at Northwest Airlines, following a series of incidents reported at capital Tokyo's Narita Airport. The ministry's Japan civil-aviation bureau says that it is increasingly concerned by the number of incidents ...
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Lufthansa signs partnership with Uzbekistan
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has signed a new contract to turn its co-operation with Uzbekistan Airways into a strategic partnership. According to LHT regional sales director Peter Kamenz, the German company will now provide a total technical support package for two Boeing 767-300ERs and one VIP Boeing 757-200 ...
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PW 150A flown
Pratt & Whitney Canada has flown the PW150A turboprop which will power Bombardier's de Havilland Dash 8-400 70-seat regional aircraft. The engine, with its six-blade Dowty propeller, is being flight-tested on P&WC's Boeing 720B flying testbed. Source: Flight International
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Brazilian loss
A Pantanal Linhas Aereas Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia (PT-MFC) inbound from Campo Grande landed off-runway at Vilhena, Brazil on 3 March, destroying the aircraft, says Airclaims. The three crew and 13 passengers were reported uninjured. Source: Flight International
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UPS passengers
UPS began passenger services on 7 March, using Boeing 727-100QF freighters recently modified by Pemco to allow them to be operated in the passenger/ cargo quick-change role. The aircraft can now be equipped with 113-seat interiors for weekend charter services, increasing utilisation. Passenger services were inaugurated with a flight from ...
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A question of engine quality?
Sir - After months of rigorous testing to obtain certification, and subsequently testing clearance, for extended-range twinjet operations, you report in the article "Compressor damage grounds two of BA's 777 fleet" that the General Electric GE90 has had to be removed from British Airways 777s, having suffered compressor damage following ...
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FLS completes first 727 cargo conversion
FLS Aerospace has completed its first freighter conversion of a Boeing 727, and the aircraft has now entered service with TNT Express Worldwide on its European network. The aircraft, a -200 Adv, was modified at FLS' Stansted, UK, centre, using the Aircraft Engineering & Installation Services (AEI), Miami, supplemental type ...
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777 airframe undergoes longest-ever fatigue test
Boeing's 777 full-scale fatigue-test airframe had undergone 120,000 simulated flights between January 1995 and 13 March this year, representing double the aircraft's 30-year design service objective, and making this the most extensive fatigue test to be carried out by the company. Boeing structural engineers are "very pleased" with ...
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Canadian charter carriers expand their long-haul fleets
Canadian charter airlines are boosting their long-haul fleets for their 1997 summer season as the Canada-Europe holiday market continues to grow. SkyService, which began holiday-charter flights in 1994 with leased Airbus Industrie A320s, will become the first North American operator of the Airbus A330 when it receives a ...
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Snecma is 'positive' about R-R's plans for A340-600
French engine manufacturer Snecma is in "very positive" negotiations with Rolls- Royce on taking a stake in the UK company's proposed engine for the Airbus Industrie A340-600. The move follows the failure of talks between Airbus and General Electric on a suitable engine for the stretched, ultra-long-range, 375-seat ...
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SAA closes in on long-awaited 777 purchase
South African Airways (SAA)is working to finalise its delayed order for Boeing 777s by the end of March, following the US manufacturer's offer of revised delivery positions. The move comes as SAA is undergoing a major management restructuring to prepare it for privatisation. The carrier and Boeing announced ...
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BA suspends 777IGW ETOPS operations
British Airways has suspended extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) flights using its three Boeing 777-200 increased-gross-weight aircraft after metal was found in the chip detectors of two engines. The problem was discovered during a routine inspection on 21 February, and three days later a Boston-bound 777-200IGWreturned to London after a cockpit ...
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Boeing completes first 737-800 fuselage assembly
Boeing is close to completing assembly of the first Boeing 737-800 fuselage at its Wichita, Kansas plant. Following the application of final protective finishes, the 39.5m-long body will be shipped by rail to the company's Renton, Washington, factory for final assembly. The first 737-800, the largest member of the next-generation ...
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France spells out the details of Thomson-CSF's flotation
The French Government has published the timetable and conditions for the privatisation of defence-electronics giant Thomson-CSF, including a surprise ban on Aerospatiale from joining the bidding. Under the timetable, all candidates must present initial propositions for their interest in Thomson by 28 March, with the deadline for depositing ...
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US watchdog wants to delay production of F-18E/F
THE US GENERAL Accounting Office (GAO) is urging US defence chief William Cohen to postpone the low-rate initial production (LRIP) decision on the McDonnell Douglas F-18E/F programme until Congressionally ordered studies on the multi-billion-dollar weapons programme are completed in the next several months. The Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) ...
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Rocketplane aims for 'smallsat' boom
PIONEER ROCKETPLANE is planning to fly its Pathfinder transatmospheric launch vehicle in three years time, to be available for initial deployment of the proposed Teledesic constellation of some 840 small communications satellites. Denver, Colorado-based Pioneer is seeking $6 million in funding for detail design of the Pathfinder and will need ...