All aerospace news – Page 1950
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Embraer seeks Paris show launchfor new 37-seat regional turbofan
Embraer has confirmed its intentions to develop a family of small regional jets which would include new 37- and 70-seat aircraft on either side of its EMB-145 50-seater. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer hopes to be able officially to launch the 37-seater, which will be known as the EMB-135, ...
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MDC reveals FedEx MD-10 freighter-conversion sites
McDonnell Douglas (MDC) has chosen US and European sites to convert up to 60 ex-United Airlines and American Airlines DC-10-10s to phase 1 of the MD-10 freighter specification. The aircraft are destined for FedEx. Phoenix, Arizona-based Dimension Aviation, a division of Sabreliner (previously SabreTech/ DynAir Tech), has been ...
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Airbus outlines business case for launching its large airliner
Airbus Industrie is building a business case for launching the A3XX based on prospects of winning around 650 orders for the programme over the next 20 years, says John Leahy senior vice-president Commercial. The comments came as Airbus and Boeing used the release of long-range forecasts to justify ...
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SASCO completes 30th 747 overhaul for Japan Air Lines
Singapore Technologies Aviation Services (SASCO) has completed its 30th airframe overhaul and modification of a Boeing 747 for Japan Airlines (JAL). Work to date has included 24 section 41 and 10 pylon modifications. JAL, in the meantime, has announced that it is to send a further seven 747-100/200s to SASCO ...
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Boeing finalises 767-400ERX
Boeing expects to begin the second phase of windtunnel testing of the 767-400ERX "within the next couple of months" as it works towards a planned May 2000 service-entry for the aircraft, according to programme manager John Quinlivan. Quinlivan also confirms that the company "-has held discussions "with airlines ...
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Mesa consolidates regional operations
US REGIONAL MESA Air Group has re-organised into four operating divisions, aligned with its codesharing partners. The move comes as Mesa consolidates flight and maintenance operations to comply with regulations upgrading US regionals from Part 135 to Part 121 certification. Four operating divisions and two subsidiaries have been ...
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US Army prepares for ASAT testing
THE US ARMY has awarded Boeing North American additional funding to build subsystems for a weapon able to knock out enemy reconnaissance and communications satellites. The $35 million, added to a $44 million deal won by Boeing's newly acquired Rocketdyne division, covers development of an operational weapons-control subsystem ...
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Chicken or egg?
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE MAKES A compelling case for a developing market for a very large airliner - not least that its rival, Boeing, obviously thought it worthwhile spending so long trying to convince the airlines to launch its own big airliner, the 747-500/ 600. No matter how compelling the manufacturer's case, ...
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Nine projects entered in chase for X-Prize funds
The Pathfinder Rocketplane is among nine projects which are in competition for a $10 million prize from the St Louis, Missouri-based X-Prize Foundation, which proposes to award the money to the team which kick-starts development of a privately operated, low-cost, passenger-carrying space vehicle. The prize will be awarded ...
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ISS is placed under new pressure
The decision to delay the first launches to assemble the International Space Station (ISS), because of Russian problems over funding, is putting NASA under renewed pressure from the US Congress to remove Moscow from the programme. Following the eight-month launch delay, to June 1998, NASA is being told ...
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First satellite leaves Svobodny launch pad
The Zeya spacecraft was placed into orbit on 4 March by a Start 1 Rocket after the first lift-off from Russia's new Svobodny commercial-launch centre in the eastern Amur region. The 87kg military-research satellite was placed into a Sun-synchronous, 98¹-inclination, 426km-466km orbit by the five-stage modified SS-25 Topol ...
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Safety seeds
In October 1996, when Capt Tore Granaas heard the news of a third Boeing 757 crash in Latin America in less than a year, he felt that something had to be done. The Latin American/Caribbean area as a whole does not have a good safety reputation. There are ...
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Remote control - Deep Space 1's computer is the nearest thing yet to HAL, the computer star of the famous movie 2001.
NASA is preparing, it says, the "most advanced spacecraft advanced-intelligence software yet developed", for launch aboard its Deep Space 1 (DS1) spacecraft. The computer is the nearest thing yet to HAL 9000, the computer featured in the landmark science-fiction story, 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in 1968 by Arthur C ...
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Rich International retrieves FAA certificate
RICH INTERNATIONAL Airways has been re-awarded its air-carrier certificate from the US Federal Aviation Administration, but the carrier still awaits authorisation from the US Department of Transportation (DoT) to restart charter flights. The Miami-based operator was grounded by the FAA in September 1996 after a safety audit uncovered ...
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TNT looks at large freighters
TNT Express Worldwide is aiming to introduce its first large freighter aircraft in 1998, if a strategic analysis of the market which it is now undertaking concludes that such a move is required. The express-parcel company, acquired by Dutch postal company KPN late in 1995, is timing the ...
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Kiwi Airlines
Jack Warren has been named system director of maintenance and engineering for Kiwi International Airlines, of Newark, New Jersey, which restarted scheduled domestic services in January. He was formerly director of maintenance for Polar Air Cargo and, before that, spent most of his career with Pan Am World Airways. ...
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US Air Force launches its first Titan 4B from Cape Canaveral
The first uprated Titan 4 booster was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 22 February, carrying a US Air Force Defense Space programme missile early-warning satellite into geostationary orbit (GEO). The $200 million, TRW-built DSP was boosted into its final orbit by the Boeing IUS upper stage. The ...
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Asia-Pacific safety infrastructure is scheduled for overhaul in June
Asia-Pacific's commercial air-transport safety infrastructure needs a major overhaul, according to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) group's air-safety experts. Poor safety oversight by some civil-aviation authorities (CAAs) and a growing potential for air-traffic conflicts were identified as two of the vital issues. A plan for regional action to improve safety ...
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Puel revamps Aerospatiale's loss-making maintenance arm
Henri-Paul Puel, the new president of Sogerma has set about a major re-organisation of the loss-making maintenance arm of Aerospatiale, partly blaming poor recent performance on a series of misjudged deals struck before his arrival. The action follows a disappointing year for Sogerma, which saw its net losses ...
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Cyprus Police acquires another Bell 412
The National Police Force of Cyprus has ordered a second Bell 412EP for delivery in May. The first 412 has been in service in Cyprus for eight years, and the police force will use the new machine for search-and-rescue and other law-enforcement activities. The helicopter will be customised with a ...