All news – Page 6912
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'Pilot's pal' system flies the Apache Longbow
Boeing has flight tested a talking cockpit management system, called the rotorcraft pilot's associate (RPA), in a modified AH-64 Longbow Apache attack helicopter, part of an $80 million advanced technology demonstration by the firm's Phantom Works. The system, which uses pilot-activated voice commands, includes new special cockpit controls and ...
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Cessna raises Citation stakes
Guy Norris/WITCHITA Cessna comes to the US National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) meeting this year with an unprecedented array of eight Citation models either in production, flight test or planning. Filled with ambition, and keen to bolster the competitiveness of the Citation family against a new generation of business jets, ...
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Mediterranean stand-off
Andrzej Jeziorski/ATHENS Early in September, Greece accused neighbouring Turkey of repeatedly violating its national airspace, and the Athens flight information region (FIR),with its military aircraft, in a series of incidents symptomatic of the tension between the two countries. The Greek air force claimed that a total of 26 ...
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Honeywell displays advances
Guy Norris/PHOENIX When Honeywell unveiled its Primus Epic avionics system at the 1996 National Business Aviation Association convention, it promised that advanced three-dimensional (3D) displays were just down the road. At this year's NBAA, it will be demonstrating 3D display concepts developed using its new tool for rapid ...
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Compromise and change
Paul Lewis/SEOUL and CHANGWON Two years is not generally considered a long time in the world of aerospace, but for South Korea's industry, it must have seemed like eternal purgatory. Once- bold visions of being a major international aerospace player have been shattered by the cold blast of fiscal reality ...
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Good flying ?
Christopher Yeo/SACHON, SOUTH KOREA Keen to apply aircraft development skills honed on licence manufacturing, South Korea's aerospace industry is facing a major test as it awaits an order for its first indigenously designed product - the KT-1 Woong Bee turboprop trainer. The South Korean air force has completed ...
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Aiming for the stars
Tim Furniss/LONDON South Africa's first satellite, the Sunsat, will be launched aboard a Boeing Delta II on 8 January, 1999. The 50kg spacecraft will be placed into a 400-800km polar orbit, and could be a precursor to a fleet providing remote sensing services for natural disaster and environmental monitoring. ...
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Getting ready for recession
Graham Warwick/CHICAGO United Airlines is drawing up plans to stay profitable through the next industry downturn, despite being unsure exactly when it will happen. In fact, the carrier seems to regard a recession as necessary if airline stock prices are ever to achieve their full potential again. As ...
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'Growing demand' for Colibri prompts production increase
Julian Moxon/PARIS Eurocopter is to step up production of its EC120 Colibri light helicopter from four to six aircraft a month by late December, reflecting a "growing worldwide demand" for the five-seat machine. The smallest and most recent helicopter in the Eurocopter range, the Colibri has won more than 100 ...
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Honeywell launches OneLink service
Honeywell Aviation Services has developed a new communications service for the business jet market called OneLink, which will allow calls to be made to aircraft from the ground. Unlike current limited services, the caller will be able to reach the aircraft without having to know which of the four ...
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Mooney Eagle programme advances towards its target
Mooney Aircraft's worst fears for development of its new M20S Eagle piston single have failed to materialise, and it is on schedule to begin delivering the entry-level aircraft in January, after US approval around 1 December. Soon after Mooney launched the Eagle early this year, company sources confided that ...
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Bio fuels
A pioneering bio jet fuel has been developed by independent Swedish oil Company, Hjelmco Oil, and a small renewable energy commercialisation group, Midlands Renewable Energy Technology Transfer, of the UK. The Bio Jet A1 fuel, which is still under research, could give an increase in the aircraft's range or payload, ...
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Bul Aero's all-composite Zulu ultralight enters production
Bul Aero,the Avions Robin sister company, has started production of its Zulu single-engined ultralight aircraft. The Zulu, which achieved French certification in July, has clocked up more than 100h of flight testing at the company's Darois base. The all-composite Rotax 912-powered Zulu offers a maximum take-off weight of 550kg ...
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Bombardier selects AS907 for new jet
Graham Warwick/LAS VEGAS Bombardier plans to launch the development of its Continental business jet in April next year, provided it has secured sufficient firm orders. The Canadian manufacturer unveiled its new mid-size business jet at the National Business Aviation Association convention, which opened in Las Vegas,Nevada, on 19 October. The ...
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Deutsche Bank to acquire Boullioun
Deutsche Bank has agreed to purchase US aircraft leasing company Boullioun Aviation Services from Sumitomo Trust & Banking in a deal valued at around $120 million. The acquisition should be completed by year-end, following regulatory approval and other agreements. The Bellevue, Washington-based company was set up in 1986 by ...
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FAA examines insulation rules after MD-11 crash
Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC Within six months, the US Federal Aviation Administration is to produce a tougher burn test specification for aircraft internal insulation blankets. The action results partly from investigations into the 2 September crash of a Swissair Boeing MD-11 off Nova Scotia. Although the cause of the fatal ...
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Airbus stands by safety regulations
Airbus has insisted that existing safety regulations are adequate for large aircraft such as the 480/660-seat A3XX now on the drawing board. Speaking at the Very Large Transport Aeroplane (VLTA) conference at Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, on 13-16 October, Wolfgang Didszuhn, vice-president for product integrity at Airbus, said: "There is ...
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Boeing restructuring prompts more changes
Boeing senior vice-president Larry Clarkson is to retire following the recent restructuring of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG) and the disappearance of Boeing Enterprises, of which he was president. Boeing Enterprises, which includes Boeing Business Jets, FlightSafety Boeing Training International and Boeing Modification and Engineering Services, is being ...
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European/US navigation systems tested together
David Learmount/KEFLAVIK Tests using a US Federal Aviation Administration Boeing 727 have proved for the first time that European and US satellite navigation augmentation systems can work together. The 727 carried out successful Category I precision approaches to Keflavik Airport, Iceland, on 15 October using global positioning system ...
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Mig-21 flight
Romanian manufacturer Aerostar carried out the first official test flight of the MiG-21bis Lancer III on 9 October at the company's Bacau, Romania plant, saying the 12min flight was "extremely positive". The two companies are also undertaking a $300 million upgrade of Romanian MiG-21MFs. Source: Flight International