All news – Page 7017

  • News

    China prepares to sign for more Boeing widebody orders

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    China Aviation Supplies (CASC) is negotiating an order for around 10 new widebody aircraft from Boeing, despite growing signs that some domestic carriers are experiencing indigestion trying to absorb the 50 Boeing aircraft ordered last October. The latest purchase under discussion is understood to include six 747-400 passenger and ...

  • News

    MD-11 line will halt in early 2000

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Boeing has decided to terminate production of the MD-11, with the last delivery, possibly the 200th aircraft, scheduled for February 2000. The move was expected, even though the tri-jet gained a surprise seven-month reprieve last November when Boeing elected to continue marketing the freighter version ...

  • News

    Indonesian loss

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    An Indonesian army Bell 205 helicopter crashed on the island of East Timor on 4 June, killing all 11 personnel on board, including two senior military officers. The helicopter crashed into a wooded hillside in bad weather, about 200km (110nm) south east of East Timor's capital Dili. Source: Flight ...

  • News

    DARO recommends intelligence consolidation

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC The US Department of Defense should consider consolidating some of its intelligence-gathering aircraft and recon- naissance pod programmes, according to an architecture study released by the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO). Unclassified portions of the study look at development of a framework for designing an ...

  • News

    Boeing studies supersonic BBJ

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Construction of a supersonic business jet (SSBJ) is under study by Boeing. The company has opened talks with the Sukhoi Design Bureau in Russia over possible joint studies. Few details about the study have been released by Boeing, which is handling the evaluation through its ...

  • News

    Taiwan plans to add new strike capability to F-16A/B interceptors

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Taiwan intends to purchase Lockheed Martin Pathfinder/Sharpshooter navigation and targeting pods for its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16A/B interceptors. The 28 sets of navigation/targeting pods, plus related hardware and training worth an estimated $160 million, are being purchased through US Department of Defense (DoD) foreign military sale channels. The ...

  • News

    Venezuelan air force chooses SF-260

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The Venezuelan air force has chosen the Aermacchi SF-260 basic trainer to replace its 12 Beechcraft T-34 Mentors. The SF-260Es, powered by Textron Lycoming O-540s, are to be used primarily in the basic training role. The programme involves a first contract, worth around $12 million, for 12 aircraft, plus spares ...

  • News

    Dunlop ready for S-92

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Dunlop Aviation has delivered the first prototype heated intake assembly to Sikorsky for its S-92 helicopter for use in windtunnel icing testing and has delivered three further unheated examples for use in flight testing. The first production unit is scheduled to be delivered in September. The S-92 is due to ...

  • News

    Messier-Bugatti tests power by wire

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Ian Sheppard/LONDON Messier-Bugatti has installed a prototype electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA) in an Airbus Industrie "iron bird" test rig at Aerospatiale's Toulouse systems development centre, as part of an industry drive to replace cumbersome hydraulics with electric cables. The EHA is a key technology for all electric, or power ...

  • News

    Boeing flies Harrier II with commercial avionics fit

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    A BOEING AV-8B Harrier II Plus of the US Marine Corps, fitted with avionics based on a commercial processor, made a successful first flight from the Naval Air Warfare Center at China Lake, California, on 29 May. The Open Systems Core Avionics Requirements (OSCAR) programme is a US Department ...

  • News

    NASA tests turbulence detection device

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    NASA Dryden Flight Research Center says that recent flight testing of a device designed to detect clear-air turbulence may lead to its installation on commercial aircraft. This follows a spate of incidents which have resulted in injuries to passengers. The sensor relies on a laser radar (a Lidar) which ...

  • News

    Last of the line

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Guy Norris/LONG BEACH The roll-out of a new aircraft is a major event for any airframe manufacturer, but, for Boeing's Douglas Products division, the 10 June unveiling of the 717-200 is nothing less than pivotal. Coming hard on the heels of the news that the MD-11 line is ...

  • News

    mission goals

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The 3,300kg Gravity Probe will operate in a 650km circular polar orbit for about 16 months - the lifetime of the dewar container - measuring minute changes in the rotation of the four on-board gyroscopes. The reference telescope will focus on a star to calibrate results. It is hoped that ...

  • News

    Lufthansa buys TTS Orbit simulator

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Lufthansa has bought a second Boeing 737-800 full flight simulator from Thomson Simulation and Training (TTS). The simulator was originally destined for TTS' new eight-bay Orbit training centre at London Heathrow Airport. A similar TTS device entered service with Lufthansa's new Berlin training operation in February, becoming the first of ...

  • News

    Mobile simulators gather momentum

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    The first mobile commercial flight simulator could gain US Federal Aviation Administration approval by mid-June. TechniFlite's Mobile Training Facility (MTF) is a tractor-trailer housing a full flight simulator for the Raytheon Beech 1900D regional airliner. The company will base the MTF at its Englewood, Colorado, factory for Great Lakes ...

  • News

    NATCO upgrades to cut maintenance costs

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Northwest Aerospace Training (NATCO) is to upgrade and standardise up to 24 full flight simulators to reduce maintenance costs under a $28 million contract awarded to Opinicus. Clearwater, Florida-based Opinicus believes that the NATCO standardisation programme is the largest ever undertaken and could lead to ...

  • News

    CAE Chinese order

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    China Southern Airlines has ordered an Airbus A320 full flight simulator from CAE, with a CAE MaxVue visual system. It will operate at the airline's Zuhai, China, training base from February 1999. Source: Flight International

  • News

    TTS offers three-dimensional trainer

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    A three-dimensional (3-D) "spatially representative environment" has been introduced by Thomson Training & Simulation (TTS) for its flight management systems trainer (FMST). The system was initially developed for Continental Airlines Boeing 737-500 and 757-200 training. The FMST is the only such device to use the same software as that ...

  • News

    UAL expands Denver centre for Star training

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    United Airlines (UAL) is to increase growth of its Denver-based Flight Center to cope with potential pilot training work being negotiated with its Star Alliance partners. The move comes as UAL Services puts the finishing touches to its latest expansion, taking it from 26 to 36 simulator bays. ...

  • News

    ISS delay allows time bonus for ground testing

    1998-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Delays to the International Space Station (ISS) programme have provided an unexpected benefit because of the increased amount of ground testing that is now being performed at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), says NASA. The first ISS launch has been postponed to November and the Station will not be completed ...