All Fixed-Wing news – Page 1341
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News
No substitute for the final check
Sir - I read your comment "Just bad luck?" (Flight International, 13-19 March), which referred to a Royal Air Force British Aerospace Hawk accident. In my judgement (except for operational reasons), no amount of cost cutting destroys the case for a final check by a suitably trained individual ...
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C-130J: towards certification
Certification flight-testing of Lockheed Martin's private-venture C-130J is finally under way. Graham Warwick/ATLANTA A "FLAWLESS" FIRST flight, after frustrating delays, has boosted Lockheed Martin's confidence in its upgraded C-130J Hercules II. In fact, after the months following the October 1995 roll out spent on integrating hardware and ...
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Military pilots gain attitude
A COCKPIT-BASED indicator system which could help fighter pilots maintain the desired attitudes while flying in low-visibility conditions is being developed by the UK's Defence Research Agency (DRA). The ambient attitude indicator (AAI) consists of a canopy-arch-mounted strip of lights, which provides pilots with peripheral visual information ...
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UK MoD considers Sea King upgrade bids
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), is completing the technical evaluation of bids from GEC-Marconi Avionics (GMAv) Racal Electronics and Lockheed Martin, for the £100 million ($150 million) upgrade, of the Royal Navy's fleet of Westland Sea King airborne-early-warning AEW2 helicopters ahead of a final decision, which is expected in ...
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Daewoo tweaks KTX-1 design
DAEWOO HEAVY Industries (DHI) of South Korea is making further changes to the design of its KTX-1 turboprop basic trainer, to improve manoeuvrability and stability. A fourth prototype, scheduled to have its maiden flight in May, will incorporate structural and aerodynamic modifications. The aircraft is the final flying ...
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Snecma powers up with links to GE90/P&WC
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Gilbert Sedbon/PARIS SNECMA HAS REPAIRED its ailing relationship with GE Aircraft Engines on the GE90 by agreeing to maintain a 25% stake in the development of a 445kN (100,000lb)-thrust variant of the engine. At the same time, the French engine builder has moved into ...
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France drops out of MEADS
Graham Warwick/ATLANTAGilbert Sedbon/PARIS GERMANY, ITALY AND the USA are expected to proceed with the Medium Extended Air-Defence-System (MEADS) programme without France, which is provisionally suspending participation in the project. The three countries are expected to sign an statement of intent (SoI) to develop the MEADS, ...
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US Navy starts search for P-3 Orion replacement
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA LOCKHEED MARTIN IS hoping that a US Navy large land-based aircraft (LLBA) study, due to begin in late 1997, will lead to an order for its upgraded P-3 Orion 2000, with deliveries starting in 2002-3. The study will re-examine plans to extend the service life ...
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Polish air force revives troubled Iryda
The grounded PZL-Mielec Iryda programme has been given a new, two-year lease of life with a fresh Polish air force order, and an upgrade programme for aircraft already delivered. As part of the programme, PZL-Mielec is to sign a contract with Sextant Avionique of France, to provide ...
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Swidnik signs helicopter-partnership deals
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH SOUTH KOREA'S DAEWOO is to buy 35 Polish PZL-Swidnik W-3 Sokol helicopters, and to co-operate with Swidnik in production and marketing of the type. Swidnik is also co-operating with Italy's Agusta on production of the A109 helicopter. A memorandum of understanding was signed ...
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US DoD clears weapon-sales bottleneck
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) has cleared a logjam of nearly $2 billion in proposed weapons sales to allies, including four Boeing KC-135 refuelling tankers for Singapore and 21 extra Lockheed Martin F-16Cs for Egypt. The USA will also lease 30 Northrop T-38 Talon trainers to South ...
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Aermacchi rolls out all-digital MB339
Julian Moxon/VARESE ITALIAN JET-TRAINER manufacturer Aermacchi has rolled out the first all-digital version of its MB339 from its Varese factory, near Milan. A maiden flight is planned for later this month and delivery of the first two of a planned 15 aircraft for the Italian air force ...
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Bunch of spares
The US General Accounting Office says, that the US Air Force and US Navy, budgeted $132 million more than needed for aviation spare parts, because of questionable policies concerning requirements. It says that the USAF failed to consider $72 million in on-hand assets when it prepared its fiscal year 1996 ...
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Opinicus completes low-cost simulator
Karen Walker/TAMPA A US COMPANY HAS completed a low-cost simulator which it believes has applications for research, training and even for military mission-rehearsal, for which several such devices could be networked together. Opinicus, based in Clearwater, Florida, expects to deliver its first Reconfigurable Research and Engineering ...
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R-R and Hamilton Standard build dual-purpose FADEC
ROLLS-ROYCE and Hamilton Standard, are developing an advanced, dual-purpose, full-authority digital engine-control (FADEC) system, designed to be fitted to two engine types powering US military aircraft. R-R has carried out tests of a Hamilton Standard-built prototype system at its Bristol, UK plant. The system is fitted to an ...
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RAF aims for multiple arrays
Douglas Barrie/EDINBURGH THE ROYAL Air Force's next generation of strike aircraft is likely to be designed with multiple radar-antenna-arrays located around the airframe. This will provide a "radar picture" considerably larger than at present. The Future Offensive Aircraft (FOA), now in the conceptual-design phase, will ...
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Raytheon expands with Chrysler unit purchases
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA RAYTHEON HAS AGREED to buy Chrysler's defence and aerospace businesses for $475 million. Aircraft-modification specialist Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems (CTAS) and defence-electronics company Electrospace Systems (ESI) will become part of E-Systems, acquired by Raytheon for $2.3 billion in May 1995. Raytheon says that ...
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Lockheed Martin makes delayed C-130J first flight
LOCKHEED MARTIN flew the C-130J Hercules 2 for the first time on 5 April. This follows delays, which have pushed back certification of the transport from December to April-May 1997. The company is negotiating revised delivery schedules with its initial customers, the Royal Air Force, US Air ...
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GE improves CF34 bid for Nimrod 2000
GENERAL ELECTRIC has submitted revised formal proposals to British Aerospace to power its Nimrod 2000 contender for the Royal Air Force replacement maritime-patrol aircraft requirement. GE is offering the CF34-8N, a version of the 58kN (13,000lb)-thrust CF34-8C turbofan under development for the Bombardier Canadair CRJ-X stretched Regional ...
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Further Chinook upgrade envisioned
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC THE US Army hopes to refurbish at least 300 ageing Boeing Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to an improved-cargo- helicopter (ICH) configuration, but the $3.3 billion rotorcraft modernisation effort is competing for limited funding against other weapons programmes. The critical Operational Requirements Document (ORD) ...