All aerospace news – Page 1831
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Ariane 5 cleared for commerce
Tim Furniss/PARIS The successful third European Space Agency-funded demonstration flight of the Ariane 5 on 21 October has cleared the way for Arianespace to start commercial operations of the booster around next March, with two communications satellites. Arianespace also revealed that it may order further Ariane 4 vehicles to extend ...
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New players open up jet ownership to untapped market
The US fractional ownership industry has added three new players to the line-up, each with the aim of filling a niche within this highly lucrative market. HeliFlight Shares of Fort Worth, Dallas, is the first US-based helicopter programme. The company has ordered two Bell 430 twin turbine helicopters which ...
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Galaxy keeps performance but puts on weight
The Galaxy will meet, and even exceed, its performance specification, despite growing in weight and encountering several handling problems, says Galaxy Aerospace. The aircraft, which had its US premiere at the show, has gained more than 320kg (700lb) as a result of greater allowance for the interior and "more ...
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FSI agreement
FlightSafety International and Executive Jet have agreed to build a new maintenance and crew training centre at the latter's operational headquarters at Port Columbus International in New Jersey. The $25 million centre will house up to three simulators, including a Cessna Citation V Ultra training system. The centre is scheduled ...
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Endeavour Space Station Shuttle flight faces delay
The Space Shuttle Endeavour STS88 mission to attach the Unity 1 node to the Russian Zarya control module of the International Space Station has been threatened with being delayed from 3 December to later in the month because of potential computer problems. Zarya is due to be launched on a ...
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Mitsubishi becomes Optus C-1 prime
Mitsubishi has become the first Japanese company to win a prime contract to build a communications satellite for an international customer, beating Hughes and France's Alcatel in the final bid. An official announcement is expected soon, confirming the Japanese firm has secured the $312 million contract from Australia's Cable ...
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Russian parliament makes plea for Mir reprieve
The Russian parliament has appealed to President Boris Yeltsin to prevent the premature de-orbiting of the Mir space station next June, until construction of the International Space Station (ISS) has been completed. The termination of the Mir may result in the loss of 100,000 jobs, parliament says. Yuri Baturin, ...
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Astrophysics delay
The Space Shuttle Columbia mission to deploy the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility has been delayed two months from January 1999, to allow more time for payload testing. The delay, and International Space Station snags have jolted the NASA 1999 Shuttle schedule. Source: Flight International
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Bell fits NeoAV
Bell is to fit Rogerson Kratos' NeoAV flat-turbine integrated instrument display system as standard in its Model 427 light twin-turbine helicopter, deliveries of which are scheduled to begin in January. A NeoAV flat-panel electronic flight instrument system is available optionally. Source: Flight International
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Sikorsky picks Enovia
Sikorsky has selected IBM/ Dassault Systems' Enovia Product Manager as its company-wide system for bill-of-material and document management, using CATIA design tools. The first programme to use Enovia is the S-92 Helibus helicopter. Source: Flight International
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P@ssport to success
Air Canada will install Sony Trans Com's P@ssport interactive in-flight entertainment system on its new Airbus A330/A340 fleet, due for delivery from May 1999, it was confirmed at the World Airline Entertainment Association show in Durban, South Africa on 13-16 October. P@ssport will be installed initially in the Executive First ...
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Pilots' share deal paves way for the privatisation of Air France
Julian Moxon/PARIS Air France's management and pilot unions have finally struck a deal which should end years of dispute and allow the airline to proceed to partial privatisation next year. The agreement, a refined version of the one that ended the crippling pilots' strike in June, is regarded ...
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JARs could scupper 'virtual airlines' in Europe
British Airways' "virtual airline" arm Airline Management (AML) has been advised by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to make its management structure more accountable. If it cannot do this it will fail to meet European Joint Aviation Requirements-Operations (JARs) Rules when they take effect on 1 April, 1999. The ...
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Government forces KAL to cut routes and start safety overhaul
Korean Air (KAL) has launched a rolling full-scale inspection of its 112-strong fleet. The action is part of a wider $114 million package of safety improvements announced in response to a punitive 15% cut in domestic services ordered by the government. The South Korean national carrier has been forced ...
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US Airways selects 'hybrid' PW4000 for A330
US Airways has become the first airline to select Pratt & Whitney's "hybrid" PW4000 turbofan. The US airline has ordered the 73,000lb-thrust (324kN) PW4173 to power some of the 30 Airbus A330-300s it has on order and option. The airline, which has firm orders for seven A330s and options ...
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South Korean trio start single-entity talks
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Three of South Korea's leading aerospace manufacturers have established a joint working committee and appointed teams of consultants to produce a business plan for the proposed new single corporate entity, which is tentatively named Korea Aerospace Industries. The three corporations concerned, Daewoo Heavy Industries, Hyundai Space ...
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Aiming for the stars
Tim Furniss/LONDON South Africa's first satellite, the Sunsat, will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II on 8 January, 1999. The 50kg spacecraft will be placed into a 400-800km polar orbit, and could be a precursor to a fleet providing remote sensing services for natural disaster and environmental monitoring. ...
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'Growing demand' for Colibri prompts production increase
Julian Moxon/PARIS Eurocopter is to step up production of its EC120 Colibri light helicopter from four to six aircraft a month by late December, reflecting a "growing worldwide demand" for the five-seat machine. The smallest and most recent helicopter in the Eurocopter range, the Colibri has won more than 100 ...
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Mooney Eagle programme advances towards its target
Mooney Aircraft's worst fears for development of its new M20S Eagle piston single have failed to materialise, and it is on schedule to begin delivering the entry-level aircraft in January, after US approval around 1 December. Soon after Mooney launched the Eagle early this year, company sources confided that ...
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FAA examines insulation rules after MD-11 crash
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Within six months, the US Federal Aviation Administration is to produce a tougher burn test specification for aircraft internal insulation blankets. The action results partly from investigations into the 2 September crash of a Swissair Boeing MD-11 off Nova Scotia. Although the cause of the fatal ...