All aerospace news – Page 1741
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NASA test flies X-38 parafoil for CRVs
The world's largest parafoil parachute was test-flown last month as part of NASA's X-38 lifting body prototype project, . The project could lead to the development of four operational crew return vehicles (CRVs) for the International Space Station. They are designed to return crews in an emergency. The ...
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Globalstar is ready to go
A Boeing Delta II booster placed four more Globalstar satellites into orbit on 8 February after lift-off from Cape Canaveral. One will become the 48th and final craft in the operating constellation for the Space Systems/ Loral-led worldwide global mobile communications system. The other three will be in-orbit spares. ...
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Internet drives satellite growth
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Demand for Internet services is becoming a driving force behind the creation and expansion of satellite communications networks. While new entrants iSKY and NetSat28 have announced plans to launch broadband satellites dedicated to providing high-speed Internet access, established operators - including Eutelsat and Loral - are ...
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Bad company
Asia's poor safety performers tarnish airlines in the region with good records David Learmount/LONDON By the end of the 1990s, South Asia and Asia Pacific had earned a poor reputation for airline safety, although not all of the region's airlines deserved it, but they suffer for the sins of others, ...
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AEW on the attack
After solving a sensitive technology transfer issue to clinch Australia's Wedgetail programme, Boeing/Northrop Grumman has Asia in sight Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC On Northrop Grumman's map of prospective customers for airborne warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, only one country is marked as conquered - Australia. Next to fall, the company ...
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Lengthy service
The world's longest airliner, the 777-300, has been working for 18 months. Some of its key operators assess its progress Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Although Airbus Industrie pioneered the widebody twinjet concept in the early 1970s, its rival Boeing has developed the configuration to its ultimate size and weight, with ...
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Boeing's 777-300 reliability figures are the best for a widebody introduction
Boeing's 777-300 reliability figures are the best for a widebody introduction Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Boeing says its experience with the introduction of the 777-300 has been a case of "no news is good news". Mike Fleming, Boeing's 777 fleet support chief, says: "In terms of performance ...
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Bell 427 certification
Bell received US certification for the light twin-turbine Model 427 late last month, clearing the way for delivery of 80 helicopters the company has on order. In the meantime, Bell "is still looking at the 412, trying to decide what to upgrade and modernise", says Bell president John Murphy. Source: ...
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Sikorsky picks new avionics suite
Sikorsky has selected Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 equipment as the baseline avionics suite for its new S-92 medium helicopter. Sikorsky selected the avionics after dropping plans to develop a Honeywell-based cockpit. Late last month Canada's Cougar Helicopters signed a letter of intent to be the first launch customer for ...
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BA and KLM post third-quarter losses
Chris Jasper/LONDON Frits Njio/AMSTERDAM British Airways has announced third quarter results which suggest it is on the way to a big full year loss, although a rise in yields suggests its new premium passenger strategy is paying off. European rival KLM has posted even poorer figures, but unlike BA ...
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Japan suffers another launch failure
Japan's space programme has suffered another severe blow with the failure of an M-5 rocket launch and the loss of the Astro-E astronomical observation satellite on 10 January. The failure is being attributed to a first-stage nozzle malfunction, and comes three months after the ¥34.3 billion ($320 million) in-flight ...
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WAAS delayed as safety tests run into difficulties
Raytheon and US Federal Aviation Administration officials have held the first of a series of meetings to determine the impact of problems uncovered during acceptance testing of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). A 60-day stability test of the key satellite-based navigation system, intended to improve the accuracy, availability ...
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SAS studies candidates for 70-seat regional jet order
Andrew Doyle/COPENHAGEN SAS expects to launch a competition early next year to select a 70-90-seat regional jet family. The carrier requires around 20 aircraft for use on long thin routes, mainly from Stockholm and Oslo. The Scandinavian carrier, which does not operate regional jets, plans to complete a ...
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Workshop
Britannia Airways has contracted Lufthansa Technik to provide component support for its planned five Boeing 737-800s, the first of which was delivered in mid-January. The contract runs for an initial five years. The new CASA-AISA Maintenance Centre has opened at Madrid Barajas Airport. Operators at the airport, such as Aeronova, ...
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Air Canada tackles part of Canadian's debts
Air Canada has restructured part of the C$3.5 billion ($2.4 billion) debt owed by Canadian Airlines, with which it is merging, after reaching agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services. The deal, worth "tens of millions of dollars" according to Air Canada chief executive Robert Milton, covers the lease of a ...
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Mergers
The board of American Airlines' parent AMR has approved the spin-off of its 83% stake in Sabre Holdings to AMR shareholders on 1 March, making the computer reservations system specialist fully independent. The European Commission has approved Saab's acquisition of fellow Swedish company Celsius, while Saab has sold its Combitech ...
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Soloy reclaims STC
Soloy has re-acquired from Rocky Mountain Helicopters the supplemental type certificate (STC) to re-engine LTS101-powered Eurocopter AS350s with Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C30Ms. The Olympia, Washington-based company developed the conversion in the mid-1980s. Source: Flight International
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Engine upgrade
The US Coast Guard is to spend $40 million upgrading Honeywell (formerly Allied-Signal) LTS101 engines powering its 93 Eurocopter HH-65 Dolphins. Phased improvements to the full-authority digital engine control and other components will increase power by 23%. Source: Flight International
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Schweizer boost
Schweizer Aircraft hopes that the delivery in April of its first three/four-seat Model 333 will help boost deliveries, which slumped to 40 330s, 300Cs and 300CBs last year. The Rolls-Royce Allison 250-C20W-powered helicopter offers a 90kg (200lb) increase in useful payload over the 330. Source: Flight International
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Alliance takes the fast track in race to launch new regional jet family
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Alliance Aircraft has unveiled a fast-track programme launch and development schedule for the 70- and 90-seat baseline members of a planned new family of regional jets. It claims to have letters of intent for up to 30 aircraft from two unidentified European and Asian carriers (Flight International, ...