All aerospace news – Page 1862
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Aero-Dienst adds to Bell customer base
Bell Helicopter Textron has announced the first sale of the Bell Boeing 609 tilt-rotor aircraft in Germany. Nuremberg-based Aero-Dienst plans to use the aircraft for charter services, and to support the German automobile association ADAC, for which Aero-Dienst provides exclusive air ambulance services. Aero-Dienst now operates four Beech King ...
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German guard will take its first EC135
Germany's border guard is to receive the first of 13 Eurocopter EC155 twin-engine medium helicopters this year. Eurocopter co-president Siegfried Sobotta says the group is putting a "tremendous effort" into getting the first of the EC155s to the border guard this year. The EC155 is a further development of ...
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Alcatel predicts space boom
Figures released by French space and telecommunications company Alcatel Alsthom predict a 25% growth in the global commercial space applications business between 1998 and 2000. By far the fastest growing segment is in the forthcoming low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations catering for mobile telephones and Internet applications. Alcatel, ...
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NASA introduces lightweight tank on next Shuttle mission
Tim Furniss/LONDON A major component change to the Space Shuttle system will be introduced on 2 June when the Discovery STS91 is launched on the ninth Shuttle Mir Mission (SMM). The Shuttle stack will incorporate the first lightweight external tank (ET) which holds the 543,300 litres of liquid ...
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Sloane delivers
Sloane Helicopters has delivered a Robinson R22 to a private customer, bringing to nine the number of Robinson helicopters delivered by the UK-based distributor this year. Sloane has orders for five R22s and two R44s to date and is due to deliver its first two Agusta A109 Powers by the ...
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Airbus seeks A3XX commitments
Max Kingsley-Jones/TOULOUSE Airbus Industrie says it is to start seeking launch commitments from airlines for the A3XX large aircraft early next year. One of the key potential customers, British Airways, has already indicated a requirement for up to 23 aircraft. Jurgen Thomas, senior vice-president of Airbus Industrie's large ...
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BAe prepares to launch upgraded Avro variant
Julian Moxon/PARIS British Aerospace Regional Aircraft is preparing to launch a re-engined, upgraded "RJX" version of the Avro RJ with 15% lower direct operating costs, reductions in weight and up to 20% less maintenance costs. The company, which is in the process of a divorce with Aero International ...
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Developing nations ask ICAO to help with CNS/ATM funding
Emma Kelly/RIO DE JANEIRO Developing nations have urged the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to establish an international aviation monetary fund to help them finance implementation of communications, navigation and surveillance/ air traffic management (CNS/ATM) system programmes. Bolivia, Pakistan and the 53 African ICAO member nations were among ...
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BA goes to FLS for maintenance deals
British Airways and its low-cost subsidiary Go have agreed major maintenance contracts with FLS Aerospace. The move comes as BA retrenches its maintenance operation after several years of attempting to turn it into a standalone profit centre. The five-year Go contract is a ground-breaking deal for both sides, with ...
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Qantas confirms plans for three more 747-400s
Paul Phelan/CAIRNS Qantas has finalised its short term fleet plans, confirming it will acquire three Boeing 747-400s from Asian carriers "in the very near future", and ruling out acquiring any new type in the next three years. Chief executive James Strong says the purchase will be additional to ...
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Workshop
-GE Engine Services has signed a 10- year contract, potentially worth as much as $1 billion, with Continental Airlines to overhaul CFM International CFM56 engines powering the carrier's Boeing 737s, and the CF6s which power its Boeing 767s and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s. -Royal Nepal Airlines has awarded Beijing-based Aircraft Maintenance ...
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Global Hawk flies second mission
THE Global Hawk reconnaissance unmanned air vehicle has flown for a second time at Edwards AFB, California, performing what the company describes as a "text book" mission lasting 2h 24min. The aircraft reached 41,000ft (12,500m) during the sortie, which also included the successful hand-off of command and control via ...
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Fast and furious
Dave Higdon/KANSAS CITY Breaking out into the sunshine and levelling off the new Mooney Bravo high-performance piston single just above the cloud at 6,000ft (1,830m) brought home graphically the speed we were making. Billowing cloud tops blurred past the windows at more than 200kt (110km/h) as we raced south ...
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Beal means business
Tim Furniss/LONDON THE world's First privately developed expandable medium-lift launch vehicle is to be offered by Beal Aerospace Technologies, of Dallas, Texas. Beal will sell launches to low Earth orbit (LEO) of multiple payloads weighing about 7,710kg - "double the capacity" of the Boeing Delta II - "at a ...
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Vantage takes voice control
VisionAire has revealed new details of its teaming arrangement with Iowa State University to develop a voice control system for its Vantage single-engined composite business jet. The work is aimed at developing a voice recognition and synthesis system for cockpit control of secondary switching functions such as navigation and ...
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Embraer studies market for larger regional jet
Graham Warwick/SAO PAULO Embraer will decide within a year whether to develop a larger member of its regional jet family. Speaking at the roll-out of the 37-seat ERJ-135 on 12 May, president Mauricio Botelho said: "We think there is a market, but we are not sure if it is ...
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France presses for space vehicle
Julian Moxon/BORDEAUX Aerospatiale is pressing the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch development of an unmanned independent European re-entry vehicle demonstrator as a follow-on to its Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD) programme. France pulled out of the NASA-led X-38 re-entry vehicle effort in 1997 when its new Government cancelled financing ...
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First A340 checks
The leading five Airbus A340s have successfully passed heavy maintenance "4C" checks, required after five years in service. The aircraft, operated by Air France, Lufthansa and Sabena, had all accumulated 3,000-3,500 cycles and around 20,000 hours flying time. Source: Flight International
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Free flight study finds pilots' workload is not increased
Ian Sheppard/LONDON A Dutch national aerospace laboratory (NLR) study has concluded that workload does not increase when a pilot is given responsibility for separation assurance in a "free flight" air traffic control environment. Ronald van Gent, NLRproject leader, says that the conclusion surprised the research team. "We anticipated a ...
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Mir may fly on after ISS crisis
Tim Furniss/LONDON Russia is considering extending the life of the Mir space station into 2000 if the International Space Station (ISS) programme is delayed significantly, according to Mir deputy flight director Yuri Blagov. The move comes as relations between Russia and the USA over delays to the ISS ...