All aerospace news – Page 1757
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Ariane 5 faces critical lift-off
The Ariane 5 launcher will conduct its first operational and commercial flight from Kourou, French Guiana, on 10 December. It will carry the $1 billion X-Ray Multi Mirror (XMM) telescope - Europe's largest-ever science satellite. The first full commercial Arianespace-operated mission - Ariane 504 - will place the 10m ...
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NASA plans the first of Mars mission series
NASA will launch a navigation and communication microsatellite into orbit around Mars in 2003 as the first of a series of micromissions there. NASA plans to launch the 485kg (1,100lb), $50 million, microsatellites, built by Ball Aerospace, with an Aerojet propulsion unit, to form the Mars Network. The network ...
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Clinton and Sukhoi in RNZAF F-16 debate
US President Bill Clinton has moved to shore up a lease deal for 28 Lockheed Martin F-16s by New Zealand, following the announcement of a review of the deal by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Clark says Clinton raised the lease's future during a telephone conference on 3 ...
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$100m Virgin deal launches System 3000
Emma Kelly/LONDON Virgin Atlantic has signed a $100 million letter of intent with Matsushita for the interactive in-flight entertainment (IFE) system supplier's new System 3000 hardware. The airline, expected to announce the deal later this month, is the first carrier to confirm a commitment to the fully interactive IFE ...
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A320 wet lease boosts Libyan
Andrew Chuter/TRIPOLI Libyan Arab Airlines is taking a significant step towards rebuilding its route structure with the scheduled arrival on 10 December of two Airbus A320s at its base in Tripoli. The wet-leased aircraft being provided by Irish airline TransAer are due to be pressed into service almost immediately. Libyan ...
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Midway starts to boost its Eastern US network
Midway Airlines plans to bolster frequencies, capacity and reduce seat kilometre costs on its eastern US network with the delivery this month of the first of 17 Boeing 737-700s. It will also receive further smaller, 50-seat, Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) next year. The carrier, based in Raleigh/ Durham, ...
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That's entertainment
The in-flight entertainment (IFE) industry is experiencing a mini order bonanza this month if the deals by Virgin, United Airlines and an unnamed carrier are anything to go by. But a closer look at the deals and the airlines' reason for them say more about the recent troubled history ...
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The inside story
Improved software has added a new dimension to Dassault's Falcon Jet Completion Center Paul Seidenman/SAN FRANCISCODassault has completed the installation of the latest version of a state-of-the-art digital design system at its Falcon Jet Completion Center at the Little Rock National Airport in Arkansas. The system, CATIA R, was originally ...
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Fan finale
Turbofan engines for the Millennium are bigger and better than ever Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Flight International's final turbofan directory of the 20th century reveals the broadest power range and most capable set of engines in the industry's history. Topping the list are the mighty Boeing ...
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Close shave
Just 4min before the Galileo's 300km fly-by of one of Jupiter's moons, Io, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers restored power to its cameras. They had been decommissioned by the craft going into "safe mode" as it flew through the intense radiation of the gaseous planet on 25 November. Source: Flight ...
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NASA prepares to launch Earth-observing Terra
The first International Launch Services Atlas booster to fly from Vandenberg AFB, California, is due to lift off on 16 December. The Atlas IIAS will carry NASA's flagship Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite, Terra, into a 705km circular Sun-synchronous polar orbit. Terra, originally called EOS AM, is the first ...
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Airbus hunts MAS with A320 offer
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is being offered an attractive financial package deal by Airbus Industrie to roll over its narrowbody fleet and replace it with new A320 family aircraft. The move comes as Airbus seeks to bolster an earlier A340-500/600 proposal and undermine support for the yet-to-be launched ...
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Troubleshooting team probes 737-400 wiring
A team from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board has been inspecting the wiring on 737-400s. The checks were ordered after an Alaska Airlines aircraft was forced to return to Portland, Oregon, when chafed wires triggered false low fuel pressure readings. As Flight ...
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Study reveals steady safety improvement
David Learmount/LONDON Airline safety is improving more quickly than traditional statistics indicate, says a study by Airclaims in association with the European Union. The annual number of aircraft totally destroyed in airline accidents has been steady since 1970, despite a 350% expansion of the world fleet and an increase ...
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BA tests wireless gatelink at Heathrow
British Airways plans to launch a six-month trial of wireless gatelink communication technology at London Heathrow Airport, starting in March or April. Initially, a Boeing 747-400 will be equipped with a gatelink antenna, radio modem unit and an airborne server in a project also involving SITA, Rockwell Collins and Penny ...
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Avionics upgrade for Challenger 604
Bombardier Challenger 604 business aircraft will feature upgraded Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics from early 2001. The upgraded avionics will be installed as standard on new Challenger 604s and are retrofittable for aircraft in service. The standard upgrades include automatic display of take-off and approach and landing speeds, ...
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Sikorsky completion
Sikorsky has reversed an earlier decision to close its West Palm Beach development flight test centre. The company will continue flight testing the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 and Sikorsky S-92 helicopter in Florida, but is seeking a new location for its S-76 completion centre. Source: Flight International
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Flexible gearbox rig will cut testing costs
GKN Westland Aerospace Transmissions has opened a flexible transmission test rig (FTTR) for testing the gearboxes and engine transmissions of helicopters. The £9 million ($14.6 million) facility at Yeovil features a closed-loop regenerative system capable of simulating output loads of 5,600kW (7,500hp). Gearboxes are mounted on a pallet system ...
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JEA ready to take over CityJet
Chris Jasper/LONDON UK cargo and wet-lease specialist Air Foyle is planning to pull out of Irish carrier CityJet, with regional operator Jersey European Airways (JEA) favourite to step into the breach. Air Foyle took control of CityJet earlier this year, but industry sources say the Dublin-based airline "has proved to ...
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Satcom approval
Universal Avionics Systems has won US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification for the Thrane and Thrane Aero-I and Aero-M satcom telephone systems. Aero-I provides a three-channel system, two for voice, fax or modem data, using Inmarsat's spot beam coverage, and a third for packet data, using the Inmarsat global ...