All air transport news – Page 2609
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JAST RFP released as MDC revises design
Guy Norris/ST LOUIS THE REQUEST FOR proposals for the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) concept-demonstration phase was released on 22 March, after Lockheed Martin withdrew a protest which threatened to delay the programme (Flight International, 27 March-2 April). The protest was withdrawn after the return ...
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UPS picks Flight Dynamics head-up system
UPS Airlines is to equip its 59-strong Boeing 727 fleet with the Flight Dynamics head-up guidance system (HGS). The move will allow UPS 727 crews to fly manual Category IIIA approaches in visibility as low as 210m (700ft) and take off in visibility down to 90m. ...
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Heavier Tu-204-200 has maiden flight at Kazan
THE FIRST TUPOLEV Tu-204-200 to be produced at the Kazan Aircraft Production Factory had its maiden flight on 21 March. The Perm PS-90A-engined aircraft, to be redesignated by Kazan as the Tu-214, has an increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 110t, up from the 98t of the Tu-204-100. ...
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Taiwan Lease
China Airlines (CAL) is to lease six new Boeing 737-400s, as part of its previously announced order for six 737-800s. The 737-400s will serve as an interim replacement for three 737-200s and two leased Airbus Industrie A320s, until the new -800s are delivered in 1998. The first three -400s will ...
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USA gains more time in bilateral disputes
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS THE USA HAS temporarily headed off the threat of serious confrontations in Asia and Europe over airline traffic rights. In the last week of March, US Department of Transportation officials have secured a cargo deal with Japan and agreed with France to ...
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MD-90 orders
Japan Air Systems (JAS) HAS ordered six McDonnell Douglas MD-90, taking its total firm orders to 16. The Japanese carrier also took an additional option. JAS received its first MD-90 in December 1995 and plans to begin services with three of the type later this month. The airline will take ...
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China set to snub USA with big Airbus deal
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE CHINA IS POISED to place a major order with Airbus Industrie for around 50 A320/321s, in a clear signal of Beijing's displeasure with US Government and Congress over political and trade issues. The China Aviation Supplies (CASC) order is expected, to be announced during ...
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Cracked glass
Designers of future flight decks have to correct the mistakes made in today's "glass cockpits". David Learmount/LONDON TODAY'S "GLASS COCKPITS" are designed, using a flawed concept and are causing pilots to make mistakes, which they have never made before, according to recent research. Yet flight decks of ...
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Through the looking glass
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL and Airbus Industrie have developed a "glass-cockpit CRM" [cockpit-resource management] course which is part of the A320 type-conversion training provided by Airbus for customers. In designing the specialist training, the two companies have identified factors, or training needs, which are unique to cockpits with sophisticated flight-management systems (FMS). ...
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SJ30-2 wind tunnel testing completed
SINO SWEARINGEN Aircraft has completed wind tunnel testing of the SJ30-2 business jet at the University of Washington, Seattle. Model tests were intended to fine-tune the revised design. The SJ30 prototype, meanwhile, is being modified to the stretched SJ30-2 and re-engined with up-rated Williams Rolls-Royce FJ44-2 turbofans for configuration-verification flight-testing. ...
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Polish I-23 to fly by year-end
Andrzej Jeziorski/WARSAW THE WARSAW-BASED Aviation Institute (IL) is planning a year-end debut for its I-23 all-composite light aircraft. The Institute completed wind tunnel testing on the aircraft in 1995, and is now carrying out structural tests on aircraft components in preparation for the first flight at ...
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Gemini leases converted DC-10s
TWO OF SIX ex-Lufthansa McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s acquired by Gemini Air Cargo from Potomac Financial Group have been converted to freighters by Aeronavali of Italy and leased to Swissair and British Airways. The newly established US cargo carrier, based in Reston, Virginia, says that it will place a ...
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Spreading out
Newly formed maintenance company Malaysia Airlines Aero-Technologies is already looking at diversification. Paul Lewis/KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA AIRLINES (MAS) IS NOW undergoing one of the biggest structural shake-ups since the country broke off its union with Singapore 25 years ago. From 1 April (the start of the next ...
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Lufthansa completes cargo formalities
LUFTHANSA CARGO and the Hinduja Group have completed the formation of a joint-venture airline, Lufthansa Cargo India. The airline will begin operations by mid-year. Lufthansa Cargo holds 40% of the venture, with Hinduja owning the rest. The operation, based at Delhi, will operate two Boeing 727-200F freighters to ...
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Confusion over terminology
Sir - Capt Jim Passmore, head of safety at British Airways, appears to have confused "minimum descent altitude" (MDA) with "decision altitude" (Letters, Flight International, 20-26 March, P100). There is a significant difference between the two, and to confuse them is hardly conducive to flight safety. If he is using ...
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Mission impossible?
Agusta president Amadeo Caporaletti has put the company on a firmer footing. Julian Moxon/MILAN The man responsible for reviving Italian helicopter-manufacturer Agusta says: "Someone told me this was an impossible rescue. That's when I knew I was interested." Amadeo Caporaletti had hardly settled into his office, ...
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FSI takes control of Embraer US centre
FLIGHTSAFETY International (FSI) is to take over the operation of Embraer's US training centre at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. FSI is already building a Level D flight simulator for the Embraer EMB-145 regional jet, which will be installed at Fort Lauderdale, alongside an EMB-120 simulator, by the end of 1996. ...
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Chinese Training
FlightSafety International's Vero Beach, Florida, Academy is to provide ab initio training for China Eastern Airlines, including airline-transition training, using Raytheon Beech King Air simulators and aircraft, and Fokker 100 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 simulators. Source: Flight International
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Hexcel aims to reduce composite costs
HEXCEL, THE NEWLY revitalised composite-manufacturer, is fighting to cut costs by up to 50%, to ensure a place on the Airbus A3XX, Boeing's proposed 747-500X/600X programme and other future aerospace projects. Hexcel president Juergen Habermeier, speaking about future plans for the first time since the California-based composite specialist ...
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Dow-UT delivers F-22 RTM spars
DOW-UNITED Technologies Composite Products (Dow-UT) has delivered the first ship-set of 44 sine-wave spars for the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 wing. The spars were produced using an advanced resin-transfer moulding (RTM) process developed by Dow-UT (Flight International, 24-30 January). Boeing, which is responsible for the F-22 wing, calculates that ...