All news – Page 6804
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Lockheed Martin favours German cannon for JSF
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Lockheed Martin, which is competing against Boeing for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), has baselined Germany's Mauser 27mm cannon for its bid, but is also considering the General Dynamics GAU-12 25mm three-barrel Gatling gun, with either weapon to be mounted in the aircraft's weapons bay. ...
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First Zulu Huey assembly begins
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Marine Corps' Bell AH-1Z/UH-1Y helicopter upgrade programme is picking up momentum with assembly of the first prototype airframe beginning this month. Twelve months of drive system bench testing will follow, starting in May. To date, 85% of drawings have been released and design ...
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Spain tests thrust vectoring nozzle
Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP) of Spain has completed the ground phase of its thrust vectoring nozzle test programme, which was resumed in October after the nozzle was shown at the Farnborough air show. The nozzle has been installed on a Eurojet EJ200 engine, and has been run in ...
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US Marine Corps tests modified V-22 flight control system
The US Marine Corps plans to begin test flying a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey equipped with modified flight control software, designed to rectify lateral control problems discovered during recent sea trials. The Corps claims that a software fix is in hand for the tiltrotor's automatic jettison system. Programme engineers are ...
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US Navy is considering upgrade options for 'Future Hawkeye'
Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC The US Navy is evaluating a range of sensor and avionic enhancements to further extend the Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye's operational life, as plans for a replacement Common Support Aircraft (CSA) remain stalled. "Future Hawkeye" is a follow-on package of proposed improvements to the latest Hawkeye ...
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Austria launches night border surveillance patrols
Rene Van Woezik/UTRECHT The Austrian Air Force has begun night border surveillance missions with specially equipped Aerospatiale Alouette III and Bell OH-58B helicopters. Codenamed Owl, the missions to step up border protection, which began in February, result from the demands of the Schengen agreement on frontier controls. ...
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RAM strike
The improved Raytheon Rolling Airframe Missile Block 1 is to begin operational tests, following the recent successful intercept of a supersonic Vandal target. The Vandal was launched against a decommissioned warship fitted with a remote-controlled Mk 1 ship self-defence system. The target was engaged by the Mk 31 RAM guided-missile ...
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National Air Services to enter Middle East charter market
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON National Air Services (NAS) is launching a business aircraft charter operation in the Middle East, to complement its NetJets Middle East fractional ownership venture. The two programmes are scheduled to start up simultaneously in July. "This will offer a tremendous advantage to our [fractional ownership] customers ...
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New avionics and engines for Bonanzas
Raytheon Aircraft has introduced new engines and upgraded avionics for its three general aviation piston aircraft, following two years of development. New Beech Bonanzas and Barons will be equipped with Raytheon Special Edition engines, built by Teledyne Continental of Alabama. The powerplant features internal mass balancing of all reciprocating ...
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Airtruck threatened by order drought
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) is struggling to launch its planned Airtruck cargo turboprop project, having failed to secure any firm orders for the aircraft. IAI developed the Airtruck to a FedEx requirement for a new turboprop cargo aircraft to replace its Fokker F27 turboprop freighters (Flight International, 20-27 August, ...
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Eurocontrol to present Mode S business case
Eurocontrol will present the business case for Mode S enhanced surveillance to airlines at a workshop later this month. European Mode S requirements call for the carriage and operation of Mode S transponders for new aircraft from January 2001, with all aircraft to be equipped by 2005. Europe ...
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F28 lightning
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the Fokker F28 is vulnerable to lightning strikes and is recommending modifications to increase protection. This comes after an incident last year when a US Airways F28 suffered a dual hydraulic system failure after being struck by lightning. The NTSB urges a ...
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Protests swell over 'too high' Hong Kong Airport landing fees
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE British Airways and DHL have added their voices to a rising chorus of disapproval over landing charges at the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. According to Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways, the 60-plus airlines which operate into Chek Lap Kok are lobbying ...
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France copes with greatest air traffic levels as delays creep up
Average flight delays in France increased by a minute, to 16.1min, last year, as the country experienced the biggest jump in air traffic for 10 years, according to its civil aviation authority, the DGAC. Compared with 9.4% a year earlier, 10.1% of flights were delayed during the year by more ...
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Aerospatiale Matra faces $300m charge
Chris Jasper/LONDON The new Aerospatiale Matra will take a charge of $300 million in its 1999 accounts as a result of a failed hedging strategy designed to protect it against fluctuations in value of the US dollar. The timing of the hit nevertheless represents something of a victory for ...
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BWA is to begin fleet renewal with 737-300 operating lease
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDONBritish World Airlines expects to begin replacing its BAC One-Elevens later this year, as it moves to standardise on a two-type fleet of Boeing 737-300s and British Aerospace ATPs (above). The UK independent airline plans to introduce its first 737-300, a second-hand aircraft on operating lease, by the middle ...
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Sting in the tail
After years of economic woes, at least one of Brazil's airlines could disappear by the end of the year. For the survivors, however, long term prospects look brighter Brian Homewood/RIO DE JANEIROBrazilian airlines have survived major financial troubles over the past 15 years, but officials and analysts fear that ...
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Virtual solution
A new type of orbit could help avoid signal interference between spacecraft in low, medium and geostationary earth orbits Tim Furniss/LONDON A NEW WASHINGTON-based company is urging the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make compulsory the use of "virtual geostationary orbits" (VGSOs). This would avoid anticipated future ...
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Trainers' market
Demand for training is fuelling growth among independent simulator centres Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Training is a competency close to the core of most airlines, an expensive necessity that is not willingly outsourced. But increasingly the tools of pilot training - commercial flight simulators - are becoming commodities to which ...
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Airbus offers model mix to El Al
Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Airbus is offering El Al up to 10 A330/A340s as the Israeli national carrier finalises its long-haul fleet renewal plans. A Boeing offer of various widebody twinjets is also being studied, and the airline expects to finalise its selection within the next two months. The Airbus ...