All aerospace news – Page 1727
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Glass cockpit ready for take-off
STS 101 Atlantis will be the first Space Shuttle orbiter to fly with the new Multifunction Display Subsystem (MEDS) developed by Honeywell Space Systems when its next mission is launched on 24 April. The new Boeing 777-style glass cockpit will also be added to the Columbia, Discovery and Endeavour orbiters. ...
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Feared engine fault delays Clusters
A possible generic problem with the thrusters on the four European Space Agency (ESA) Cluster satellites due to be launched by Starsem's Soyuz Fregat boosters in June and July has delayed the spacecraft's shipment to the Baikonur launch site in Khazakhstan. The flight acceptance review discovered a problem apparently ...
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M-309 launch marks composite first
Guy Norris/MOJAVE An all-composite, six- seat twin developed in secret by Colorado-based Adam Aircraft Industries and Scaled Composites, was unveiled on 5 April at the Californian manufacturer's Mojave site. The aircraft represents a breakthrough in manufacturing techniques, according to Scaled Composites president Bert Rutan. Incorporating several design and manufacturing ...
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Honeywell software tackles knock-on effects of delays
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Honeywell is showing airlines a software suite that promises to reduce substantially the knock-on effects of delays caused by air traffic control (ATC) or weather. The company is conducting simulations with major North American carriers and hopes to launch formally the "airline resynchronisation system" later ...
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European helicopter teams link concepts
Julian Moxon/PARIS The European Commission (EC) has succeeded in bringing together the European helicopter industry to combine proposals for tiltwing/tiltrotor aircraft projects in a single programme. A decision on EC research is expected in mid-year. Eurocopter proposed its tilt-rotor solution independently of an Agusta-GKN Westland submission for a tiltwing ...
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Commander raises production
Commander Aircraft has revamped its line of high-performance piston singles and is stepping up production to meet increased demand. The new Commander 115 incorporates airframe, engine, avionics and systems refinements. It has replaced the Commander 114 on the production line at the company, which is based at Bethany, Oklahoma. Commander ...
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Sibir takes over Siberian carriers
Paul Duffy/MOSCOWSibir, Russia's fastest-growing airline, is expanding again through the effective takeover of more Siberian carriers. It aims to formalise an alliance with a major European airline by the middle of this year. Vladislav Filiov, Sibir's general director, is continuing his strategy of linking airlines into a partnership under the ...
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528JET schedule may rule Fairchild out of Eurowings order battle
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH The Fairchild 728JET family has emerged as Eurowings' favourite for its planned order for up to 30 regional jets. But the carrier says it may have to switch to another manufacturer because the 50-seat 528JET model will not be available until at least 2005. The Dortmund-based ...
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Qantas joins the chase for stake in Air New Zealand
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Qantas has entered the bidding for Air New Zealand (ANZ) in a move that has thrown the make-up of the Australasian air transport system into doubt, but which could result in Singapore Airlines (SIA) reversing the failure of its bid for Ansett Australia. Meanwhile, Ansett New Zealand ...
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KLM and UTC to expand alliance
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Netherlands flag carrier KLM and United Technologies (UTC) are discussing a major expansion of their nascent maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) alliance, likely to lead to the creation of a joint venture between the Netherlands airline and the US company's Pratt &Whitney unit. The move appears to ...
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USN to test upgraded Seahawks
Lockheed Martin Federal Systems (LMFS) is preparing to deliver the first Sikorsky SH-60R Seahawk prototypes to the US Navy and expects to be awarded a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract in May for five modernised machines. The US Navy has awarded LMFS a $37.2 million contract to upgrade a third ...
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K-Max customers
Kaman Aerospace has announced two new customers for its K-Max external lift helicopter. Heli Air Zagel Lufttransport has taken delivery of a new machine and Wucher Helicopters of Austria will take a second, previously owned, K-Max shortly. The helicopters will be used for heli-logging, as well as ski resort support. ...
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Spread of A320s leads to power struggle among maintainers
The growing influx of International Aero Engine (IAE) V2500-powered Airbus A320s is generating intense competition among powerplant maintenance companies vying for a share of the potentially lucrative after-sales support market. LanChile, TAM and Grupo Taca have collectively ordered 103 A319/A320s and hold options on another 84, all powered by ...
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Gyroscope snags lead to Compton de-orbit
NASA will de-orbit its Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite sometime after 1 June, following the failure of one of its three gyroscopes. The US space agency has decided to de-orbit the Compton, the second in NASA's Great Observatory series - which was deployed from Space Shuttle Atlantis in April 1991 ...
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Raytheon wins data system ground work
Raytheon is to provide the ground network infrastructure for the Faisat satellite-based wireless data system being developed by Final Analysis. The deal includes a "significant" equity investment to be made by Raytheon in Lanham, Maryland-based Final Analysis. Raytheon will be subcontractor to General Dynamics Information Systems, an investor in ...
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Delta II launches IMAGE satellite
NASA's $154 million Imager for Magnetosphere-to-Auroral Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite was placed into orbit by a Boeing Delta II booster after launch from Vandenberg AFB, California, on 25 March. The satellite, operating from an 987 x 45,993km, 89.9°-inclination orbit, will be the first to study how the Earth's magnetic ...
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Overload 'caused Mars failures'
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Flaws in NASA's "faster, better, cheaper" approach overloaded programme management at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and contributed directly to the failures of the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander, says the report by the Mars programme independent assessment team (MPIAT). The US space agency ...
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Baggage space limitations hit DaimlerChrysler A319CJ
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH DaimlerChrysler Aviation has had to remove four of the 48 seats installed in its recently delivered Airbus A319 Corporate Jet (CJ) because there is insufficient space in the cargo hold for passengers' baggage. The Stuttgart-based operator is looking, meanwhile, at the possibility of launching intra-European flights ...
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Air Methods' Mercy adds rescue service
US emergency medical service specialist Air Methods is to acquire the St Louis, Missouri-based Area Rescue Consortium of Hospitals (ARCH) air ambulance service. The deal expands the Denver, Colorado-based company's turnkey medical transport operations. ARCH will be acquired through Air Method's Mercy Air Service subsidiary. Air Methods operates air ...
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Air Harrods stocks twin turboshaft EC135 at Stansted
Air Harrods, subsidiary of the London department store, has taken delivery of a twin turboshaft Eurocopter EC135. The aircraft, completed by Eurocopter UK distributor McAlpine Helicopters, will join the London Stansted Airport-based operator's fleet in September, after receipt of a UK air operator's certificate. Air Harrods has two Sikorsky S-76s ...