All air transport news – Page 2533
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PATS replaces VIP 737 generating canisters
PATS has received US Federal Aviation Administration certification for a central, high-pressure oxygen system to replace oxygen-generating canisters in Boeing 737s. The first system has been installed in a 737 operated by ITT as a 50-passenger transport for two sports teams. Columbia, Maryland-based PATS says the system is ...
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Thai's R-R Trent woes continue on 777
Thai Airways International has removed a second Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engine from one of its Boeing 777 aircraft in two months, after metal debris was again found on the magnetic chip-detector (MCD). The second unscheduled removal by Thai of a Trent 800 occurred on 25 December, 1996, following ...
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Aerospatiale jumps back into profit
Aerospatiale has posted a dramatic turnaround in its financial fortunes during 1996, which president Yves Michot says will strengthen the group's hand as it prepares for major structural changes including the forthcoming merger with Dassault Aviation and the restructuring of Airbus. The manufacturer also reveals that it is involved in ...
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KC-135 Re-engineing
The first of ten re-engined Boeing KC-135 tankers will be delivered to an unidentified non-US customer in February under a $10 million deal announced on 7 January. The original Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojets are being replaced with CFM International CFM-56 turbofans. Source: Flight International
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FAA demands total 737 rudder-retrofit programme
The US Federal Aviation Administration is to order airlines to retrofit four newly developed rudder-system components in 2,800 Boeing 737s. US Vice President Al Gore revealed the move in a speech on commercial aviation security and safety. The updated components will be incorporated in new-build 737-300, -400 and -500 series ...
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Special Osprey
Bell Boeing has been awarded a $490 million contract to begin engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) of the CV-22 special-operations variant of the Osprey military tilt-rotor. The contract calls for the joint venture to design, integrate and install special-operations-unique systems, including terrain-following/terrain-avoidance radar, and additional fuel tanks, in the baseline ...
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M88-2 delivered
French engine manufacturer Snecma has delivered the first series-production M88-2 engine destined to power the multi-role Dassault Rafale. The company says that it has orders for a further four engines during 1997, which will be supplied as part of the current 42-engine orderbook. Testing of the M88 continues, with the ...
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737 rudder procedures
An emergency airworthiness directive requires US Boeing 737 operators to adopt new procedures to improve pilots' control following sudden uncommanded rudder movements. The new procedures, to be included in the 737 flight manual, also outline actions to deal with a jammed or restricted rudder. Pilots are advised to lower the ...
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Safety defeated
THE YEAR 1996 SAW the largest number both of airline fatal accidents and of fatalities on record. Other serious worries for the air-transport community highlighted by 1996 include the number of deaths on the ground caused by crashes - also the worst ever - and some compelling trends indicating that ...
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Freight fright
THE AIRLINE-ACCIDENT statistics for 1996 (P31) suggest that there is a serious safety problem in the air-freight market. Over one-third of all fatal airliner accidents last year were to non-passenger aircraft: they caused the deaths of 158 aircrew and other occupants, and more than 350 further deaths of innocent third ...
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Kawasaki in the Trent
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rolls-Royce to take a 6% stake in its Trent 900 programme. The 356kN (80,000lb)-thrust engine is aimed at the yet-to-be-launched Boeing 747X and Airbus A3XX projects. The Japanese company is the first risk-sharing partner to join Rolls-Royce on the project, ...
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European research group will study new blade-tip coatings
A consortium of nine European companies and research centres has launched a four-year project to develop advanced coatings for aero-engine turbine blade-tips. The work is aimed at achieving reduced tip-clearances, to improve engine performance without causing excessive wear in the blades. "When the blade tip rubs against the ...
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Hercules 2 line gets new tooling
Lockheed Martin has introduced a "flow-line" assembly process for the mid-fuselage section of the C-130J Hercules 2. Designed by Hyde Group of Cheshire, UK, the multi-stage jig allows mid-fuselage production to be integrated with the final assembly line. This replaces a 40-year-old practice of assembling the piece in a separate ...
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Tu-224: different class of aircraft
Sir - In the article "Kato launches Sirocco to lead R-R-powered Tu-204 effort", Dr Ibrahim Kamel, president of the newly formed Sirocco, is quoted as saying that the Tupolev Tu-224 (Western-powered Tu-204) will cost about $36 million. You then say that comparative "sticker" prices for the similarly sized Airbus A321-100 ...
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Delaying JAR-FCL is not feasible
Sir - In his letter "Why make changes to UK licensing?" (Flight International, 20-26 November, 1996, P74), M M Jenkins makes points about the European Joint Aviation Requirements for flightcrew licensing (JAR-FCL). JAR-FCL for pilots was formally adopted by the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on 8 October, 1996, ...
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Europe seeks reversal of Air Pacific Boeing order
European governments are putting pressure on Fiji to reverse an Air Pacific order for three Boeing 737-700s with an option on a fourth, and order Airbus aircraft instead. The Fijian flag carrier ordered the aircraft in 1996 to add to its all-Boeing fleet of 737s, a 747 and one 767. ...
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Aviazur modernises Islander fleet
Aviazur has replaced its ageing Pilatus Britten-Norman BN2A piston-engined Islander with a new BN2T turboprop Islander. The New Caledonia-based air-taxi operator required the new aircraft to enable it to operate 460km (250nm) missions with a full payload of nine passengers in a "hot-and-high" environment from short runways. The Islander, one ...
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Delta ends intra Europe flights
DELTA AIR LINES is to discontinue the intra-European operations which it acquired from Pan American World Airways in 1991, and instead increase transatlantic flights, principally from New York's J F Kennedy Airport. The restructuring will result in a one-time charge against earnings of up to $60 million, mainly ...
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Fokker will make selection of F28 retrofit engine in February
Plans to launch a re-engineing programme for the Fokker F28 Fellowship are gathering momentum, with a final engine selection expected in February. Programme partners Fokker Services and Perry Group plan a launch decision in April, depending on market response. Lion Boenders, product marketing manager at Woensdrecht, Holland-based Fokker ...
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Ansett sells 727s
Ansett Australia has sold its last six Boeing 727s (five -200 Advs and one -200 Adv Freighter) to Intrepid Aviation Partners of Memphis, for A$20 million ($16 million). Three will be delivered in January, and three in April, and the non-cargo aircraft converted to freighters. The 727 capacity has been ...