All aerospace news – Page 1899
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Temporary solutions
THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH Aerospace Companies (SBAC) recently launched an initiative to attract more young people into the aerospace industry, citing as one of the reasons for doing so a widespread concern that the industry could be facing skills shortages in the future. One of the most obvious manifestations of ...
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Passengers on the rack
If airlines and aircraft manufacturers were to characterise just one physical property of aeroplanes as the ultimate enemy, it would be weight. Weight increases drag and fuel consumption and reduces payload, so carriers and builders fight all the time to reduce it without sacrificing friendly properties such as strength, durability ...
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Eurofar renews work on tilt-rotor
The success of the US civil tilt-rotor programme has prompted renewed activity on Eurofar, the European programme involving Agusta, Eurocopter and GKN-Westland. Eurocopter projects manager Jean Renaud says that the companies are "worried" that the US Bell-Boeing 609 civil tilt-rotor "threat" could steal 20% of the helicopter market ...
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Bombardier finalises pilot-training deal
Bombardier has signed a 20-year, C$2.8 billion ($2 billion) contract to provide pilot training for the Canadian Forces, under its privately financed NATO Flying Training in Canada programme. Negotiations continue with Denmark, Norway and the UK to join the programme. The Canadian company will arrange capital financing to ...
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Brazil fails with first attempt to launch satellite
Brazil's first attempt to launch a nationally built satellite on an indigenous launcher ended in failure on 2 November. The South American nation was seeking to become the ninth country in the world to have succeeded in the dual task. The $6.5 million, Veiculo Lancador de Satelites (VLS), ...
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Regional-aircraft risks
November 3 should have been a defining date for regional-jet manufacturers. Most feared that Boeing would announce plans to develop an 80-seat derivative of the MD-95 as part of a wider declaration on the future of the aircraft it had acquired with the purchase of McDonnell Douglas. In the event, ...
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Success of Ariane 5 buoys Europe despite low orbit
The long-awaited launch of the Ariane 502 test-flight, from the Guiana Space Centre, Kourou, French Guiana, on 30 October - 16 months after the failure of the first launch - has boosted the morale of the European space industry, despite the slightly premature shutdown of the first-stage engine, which resulted ...
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S-92 Hoist
Lucas Aerospace is to supply the rescue hoist for Sikorsky's S-92 helicopter. The design will allow a rescue mission to continue (should the cable need to be cut) by retrieving the cable end from inside the hoist housing and attaching a quick-splice hook. Source: Flight International
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FAA orders skin-panel inspection for old 737s
As part of its continuing ageing-aircraft initiative, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered new inspections or modifications of fuselage skin-panel lap joints on 33 US-registered Boeing 737-100/200s with more than 60,000 flights. A further 34 737s owned by foreign airlines are affected by the airworthiness directive (AD), ...
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AB Airlines takes AIM for expansion funds
AB Airlines is planning a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) early in 1998 to fund an expansion of its network and fleet renewal. The Stansted, UK-based airline is negotiating the acquisition of four new Boeing 737-300s, configured with two-class cabins, in January 1998 to replace its ...
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BA nears low-fares decision and re-equips regional unit
British Airways is expected to finalise plans before the end of the year to launch a European low-fare operation at London Stansted, using Boeing 737-300s. At the same time, the airline has begun an interim replacement of its BA Regional 737-200s. Earlier this year, BA commissioned the UK-based ...
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Europe considers new cabin-crew standards
Cabin-crew basic training standards may be unified across Europe, with staff issued with certificates of "professional competence", if a proposed new directive is approved within the European Union (EU). The new concept, being mooted within the European Parliament, would require states to approve training organisations, their courses and ...
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Thailand's PB Air is ready for 1998 launch date
Thai start-up operator PB Air is planning to launch its first charter/scheduled domestic service in 1998, initially using a recently acquired Fairchild Dornier 328 30-seat turboprop. The 12-month-old carrier hopes to fly daily from Bangkok to Hattyai via Chumporn Airport in southern Thailand, says PB Air chief pilot ...
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Boeing offers Sabena 737 maintenance venture
Boeing demonstrated the 737-700 to Sabena at Brussels in October and is discussing a maintenance joint venture with the Belgian airline as it seeks to beat Airbus Industrie to an order from the Belgian airline. Workers at Sabena Technics are concerned about their future should Airbus succeed with ...
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Discount airlines gain access to congested US airports
Five US low-fare airlines have been given permission to begin serving slot-controlled Chicago O'Hare International Airport and New York's La Guardia Airport, marking a first victory for the sector in its battle against the major network carriers. The permissions, granted by the US Department of Transportation (DoT), are ...
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Workshop
++ Aeronavali has been selected by Ten Forty to convert 20 ex-Japan Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40s to cargo, for delivery between 1998 to 2005. ++ Amarillo, Texas-based Leading Edge Aviation Services has opened its fifth paint hangar, becoming the first independent commercial-aircraft painting centre in the USA able to ...
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Sabena springs surprise by taking City Bird stake
Sabena has taken a stake in Belgium start-up City Bird, adding a surprise twist to the low-cost carrier's flotation, and the airlines have unveiled a co-operation deal to cover new long-haul services. The listing had been delayed as news of the deal was released, but went ahead on 30 October, ...
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Too big a crowd
The withdrawal of first British Aerospace and then Saab from regional-turboprop manufacture does not signal the collapse of the sub-40-seater market so much as confirm that this market is changing rapidly into one for small jet airliners. It is also a market in which, no matter how buoyant the passenger ...
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Boeing pushes ultra-long range 747 derivative
Boeing could obtain board approval to offer airlines a new ultra-long-range - more than 14,800km (8,000nm) - derivative of the 747 as early as May 1998, if it can attract sufficient market interest, particularly from key Asia-Pacific airlines including Cathay Pacific Airways, EVA Airways of Taiwan and Qantas. ...
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Ariane 5 is launched
The Ariane 5 was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana on 30 October, boosting the morale of the European space industry after the failure of the first attempt 16 months ago. The latest launch, however, was marred by a premature shutdown of the Vulcain first-stage engine, which resulted ...