All news – Page 6821
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717 beats performance targets as production version flies
Guy Norris/Los Angeles MaxKingsley-Jones/London Boeing has revealed that its 717 twinjet is bettering its performance targets by up to 5%, as the first production example, "P-1", made its maiden flight from Long Beach, California on 24 February. Boeing's just-released performance details of the baseline 717 reveal it is ...
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Garvey: USA must look at GPS cost
US Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey says an independent risk assessment which said the global position system (GPS) can be the sole means for navigation services, was "a very good first step regarding specific technical questions." The report was compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She ...
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BBJ winglet tests begin
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Flight tests of the first Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) equipped with winglets began on 20 February at Mesa, Arizona. The tests are aimed at evaluating the structural loads created by the original 2.4m (8ft)-tall blended winglet and a shorter version which will be tested at ...
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Mooney's Eagle spreads its wings
Mooney Aircraft has delivered the first M20S Eagle, less than six months after the single-engined aircraft was unveiled. The four-seat Teledyne Continental IO-550-powered Eagle, which won US Federal Aviation Authority certification in early February, is a derivative of the popular M20R Ovation, offering the same extended-length fuselage and powerplant - ...
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Import Tax Review
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is reducing the additional requirements for import (ARIs) on a number of business jets weighing over 5,700kg, following pressure from the UK General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMTA). The trade body has been battling to make UK-registered aircraft competitively priced by removing the ARI levy. "Air-craft ...
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Night Vision
The first civil helicopter night flight using night vision goggles (NVGs) was flown on 5 February by Rocky Mountain Helicopters. The Eurocopter BO105 flew from Asheville, South Carolina, to evacuate a patient in Yancy County, North Carolina. The operator recently won a supplemental type certificate from the US Federal Aviation ...
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Safire proposes new aircraft
Kate Sarsfield/LONDON Safire Aircraft is to develop two jet-powered aircraft aimed at business and private owners. Both aircraft are in the conceptual design stage. The first machine, the Safire S-26, is a six-seat, composite, entry-level business jet, powered by two Williams FJX-2 turbofans, and being developed as part ...
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Air France and Lufthansa poised for A318 launch commitments
Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON Airbus Industrie is aiming to launch its A318 twinjet by the end of the month, with European flag carriers Air France and Lufthansa being prime targets to boost the new 100-seater's commitments beyond the 100 mark. Subject to a commercial launch at Farnborough last September, Airbus ...
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Airbus focuses A3XX efforts on alliance groups
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Airbus Industrie predicts that the world's four main airline alliance groupings will absorb almost three quarters of all A3XX-sized aircraft delivered by 2020, with most going to just two - oneworld and Star Alliance. Moves by the major alliances to combine their networks and improve asset ...
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Germany in talks to re-enter EuroDASS
Germany's Euofighters look set to have the same defensive aids sub-systems as other production models Germany is negotiating to rejoin the Marconi Electronic Systems-led consortium developing the defensive aids sub-system (DASS) for the Eurofighter. It raises a question mark over plans to build a lower-cost equivalent for the German ...
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BA to reorganise with new divisions
British Airways (BA) is splitting its business into shorthaul and longhaul divisions and scrapping its geography-based structure in a move aimed at achieving greater regional focus, improving customer service and boosting revenues. Industry sources say the split will allow BA to pinpoint and tackle problems with its shorthaul services, ...
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Bell to decide on major facelift for 412
Bell expects to decide soon whether to launch an improved Model 412Plus helicopter in partnership with Agusta, while at the same time committing to a North American final assembly line for the all new Italian-led AB139 development. The Fort Worth-based company is considering a major design revamp of ...
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Ka-32 Certificated
Kamov has won Canadian type approval for the Ka-32A heavylift helicopter. Certification to the equivalent of USFAR 29 regulations allows Vancouver Island Helicopters to place its two aircraft on the Canadian register. They had been restricted to logging operations in British Columbia under a temporary permit. The Ka-32A-11BC includes modifications ...
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Heli-Flite plans for shared ownership launch in Texas
Heli-Flite is in discussions to link its planned helicopter fractional ownership programme with one of the major US-based business jet shared ownership schemes. The company plans to start operations in April in Texas, with two Bell 430s serving the area within a 450km (250nm) radius of Dallas/ Fort Worth. ...
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Manufacturers are on a high over sales prospects
Helicopter manufacturers are projecting increased deliveries this year, based on their order backlogs. Eurocopter has benefited from a strong US market, says president Patrick Gavin. The company delivered 216 commercial helicopters last year, up from 211 in 1997, and booked orders for 272. These include 32 upgraded versions of ...
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Boeing business move claims refuted
Dutch-owned MD Helicopters has reaffirmed its intention to keep the newly-acquired former Boeing commercial helicopter business based in the USA, despite claims to the contrary made by rival Bell. MD Helicopters chief executive Hank Schaeken says: "We will maintain the technical and industrial base in the USA. We decided ...
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Boeing to axe 'value-destroying' products
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing plans to weed out, sell or cancel "value-destroying" programmes by the end of the year, under a new strategy aimed at increasing the company's profitability. The policy is based on the findings of a study which, for the first time, used the same metrics ...
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Fokker parts deal hit by legal action
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Fokker Services has launched legal action against the estate of bankrupt Fokker Aircraft in a row over new costs it claims have been imposed on its purchase of technical data and production equipment for JetLine wing parts. A subsidiary of Stork, Fokker Services agreed to buy ...
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Iberia will scrap Aviaco brand when pilots agree to merger
Max Kingsley-Jones/MADRID Iberia is planning to absorb its Aviaco domestic subsidiary at the earliest opportunity, but will not take any action until pilots at the two airlines resolve union issues. Details of the move emerged as the Spanish flag carrier revealed a 117.5% increase in net profit last ...
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Mergers
* Lufthansa subsidiary GlobeGround has agreed to buy US-based Hudson General in a move that should end a take-over battle for the airport services provider. The GlobeGround offer tops earlier bids from Ranger Aerospace, Ogden and a group of Hudson managers. GlobeGround - which already owns 49% of Hudson affiliate ...