All aerospace news – Page 1768
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SIA gets set to join Star Alliance
Jens Flottau/TOKYO Singapore Airlines (SIA) is to join the Star Alliance by the start of the second quarter of next year after an on-off saga in which the Asian giant seemed to distance itself from the group after clashing with Star member Air New Zealand over ownership of Ansett Australia. ...
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Levitation kick-start could cut costs
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and PRT Advanced Maglev System have built a track to test whether a rocket-powered spacecraft could be given a low-cost, high speed kick-start into the atmosphere before the craft's engines are ignited. The 15m (50ft)-long development is an electrically powered advanced linear induction motor-powered magnetic ...
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NASA denies Mars Polar science loss
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Mars Polar Lander (MPL) will not lose its science-gathering capability as a result of the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter on 23 September, says NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The MPL is set to land on the edge of the Martian south pole on 6 December. ...
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Saab 2000 hits hangar
A two-year-old SAS Commuter Saab 2000 ploughed into a hangar at Stockholm Arlanda Airport on 8 October while being taxied by two mechanics. The Saab-owned aircraft came to rest halfway through the hangar door, suffering extensive damage to its nose, wing leading edge and engine nacelles, and may be beyond ...
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Falcon 50 engine retrofit firms up
AlliedSignal has signed an agreement with Dassault covering the retrofit of TFE731-40 turbofans to Falcon 50s, as Garrett Aviation Services nears completion of the first re-engining at its Springfield, Illinois site. The -40s replace the original TFE731-3 engines, and produce 24% more cruise thrust, as well as a reducing ...
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AlliedSignal launches new safety avionics
AlliedSignal has unveiled a line of safety avionics for business and general aviation aircraft. The Integrated Hazard Avoidance Systems (IHAS) combine position, weather, traffic and terrain information on a multi-function display. "We are bringing air transport safety technologies to business and general aviation-perhaps the market segment that needs it the ...
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BA snubs 717 and stays with Airbus for short-haul fleet strategy revamp
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON British Airways' decision to order more Airbus narrowbodies rather than the Boeing 717 for its 100-seat needs is part of a major short-haul fleet strategy revamp. According to sources within the carrier, the three-year-plan, which comes as part of the airline's strategy of reducing capacity and ...
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Liberate ATC operations, urges CANSO
David Learmount/LONDON All air traffic control services must be liberated from direct governmental control, says the Geneva-based Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), which represents the world's 20 autonomous air traffic services (ATS) providers. CANSO believes the alternative is that the world's air navigation services will die through ...
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Airports
Caracas Maiquetia Airport is undergoing the first phase of a $100 million upgrade project, dubbed "Maiquetia 2000". This will see the airport's main passenger terminal reconstructed within a two-level departure/arrival layout, due to open in 2001. The airport's runway is also undergoing major repairs. Work has begun at Knoxville's McGhee ...
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Revamped AVICs aim to update regional turboprop programmes
Andrzej Jeziorski/BEIJING The recently formed aerospace groups China Aviation Industry I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry II (AVIC II) are each developing upgraded versions of their dated turboprop transports to boost civil sales. AVIC I manufacturing plant Xian Aircraft (XAC) is developing the latest improvement to its ...
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Workshop
Avborne Heavy Maintenance has signed a co-operative agreement with British Aerospace Aviation Services to give heavy maintenance support to North and South American operators of BAe-converted Airbus A300B4 freighters. Avborne is expanding its presence at Miami International airport, where it has two hangars, with a newly purchased facility. Aeroflot and ...
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MRO merger talks fade amid legal suits
Chris Jasper/LONDON BFGoodrich and US aircraft maintenance specialist Aviation Sales have held talks about a possible merger, say industry sources, adding that negotiations have petered out as Aviation Sales faces a possible court action over claims that it issued misleading statements on demand for its services and likely earnings. ...
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Atlantic Excellence ends after leaders split
Chris Jasper/LONDON Hilka Birns/CAPE TOWN The Atlantic Excellence Alliance has been wound up, formalising the split between the group's leaders, Delta Air Lines and Swissair, which emerged following the US giant's bilateral agreement with Air France. The alliance was formed in June 1996, bringing together Swissair, Austrian Airlines, Belgium's ...
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Wiring snags delay ISS module
Tim Furniss/LONDON The Proton launch of the Russian Zvezda service module to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for 12 November, has been put back to between 26 December and 16 January, with more delays possible. Although Russian launch site testing of the module has been slower than intended, the ...
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Lockheed Martin poised for VentureStar review
A critical design review of the proposed VentureStar reusable launch vehicle, based on the Lockheed Martin X-33 advanced technology demonstrator, will take place this month. Work on the X-33 has convinced Lockheed Martin that the VentureStar will use an external payload bay, says Jerry Rising, Lockheed Martin's X-33 and ...
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NASA panels to probe loss of Mars Orbiter
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA has established three investigation panels to look into the failure of the Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) on 23 September. NASA's $125 million craft was lost 5min after the firing of its orbital-insertion engine burn. The Orbiter was flying at up to 80-90km too low because the ...
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Telescope launch
Integral, the European Space Agency's (ESA) International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory will be launched on a Russian Proton booster in 2001. The spacecraft will be placed into a highly elliptical Earth orbit. Meanwhile, the ESA's X-Ray Multi Mirror telescope has arrived at Kourou in preparation for its launch aboard the ...
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MD Helicopters will cut link with Boeing
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON MD Helicopters plans to sever its manufacturing ties with Boeing when the contract to build parts for the five-strong civil helicopter line is fulfilled in early 2001. "As part of the deal to buy Boeing civil helicopters, we signed a binding manufacturing agreement," says MD Helicopters chief executive ...
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WAAS appeal
The US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has called on the US Federal Aviation Administration to "move forward aggressively" to implement its Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) satellite navigation system. "It is time for the FAA to eliminate the paralysis of analysis," says AOPA. WAAS is due to go ...
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Samsung gets more SB427 orders from Chinese companies
South Korea's Samsung Aerospace has racked up five new Chinese orders for the Samsung Bell SB427 helicopter during the Aviation Expo China show in Beijing. The new orders bring total Chinese sales of the helicopter to six, while the worldwide orderbook stands at "about 90" aircraft, says Samsung. ...