All news – Page 7042
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Autonomous attacker
Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC Four US manufacturers have embarked on a programme to determine. by 2005, whether unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) have the potential to complement, and ultimately compete against, manned strike aircraft. If successful, UCAVs could become operational as early as 2015, in time to help offset the expected ...
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Be-103 makes first water take-off
Beriev has test flown the Be-103 from water for the first time. The flight, which took place on the 19 April, lasted 16min. The second prototype of the Western-powered multipurpose amphibian has now made six flights, lasting a total of 9h 12min. The first prototype of the six-seat aircraft crashed ...
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The Eaglet has landed (and taken off)
EuroENAER's Eaglet single-engined, all-composite trainer made its maiden flight in Europe on 8 May. The joint venture company, which was set up in January by Chile's ENAER and Dutch Piper dealer Jan Van Toorn to market the aircraft for European civil and military markets, is scheduled to receive European ...
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Pathfinder heads for Kaui
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES The newly upgraded Pathfinder Plus solar-powered remotely piloted aircraft was shipped from mainland USA to the Hawaiian island of Kaui on 6 May, where it will be tested on at least five missions over the next three months, some of which will include attempts to reach ...
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Heathrow allocation faces court hearing
The Heathrow Executive Jet Operators Association (HEJOA) has been granted leave by a UK court to challenge the slot allocation process introduced at London's Heathrow Airport on 6 May to control ad hoc charters. A three-day judicial review is due at the end of June between HEJOA and Airport ...
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Jetair relocates
JetAir and sister company European Centres has relocated to Crawley, in the UK, near London Gatwick Airport. The building will house aircraft brokerage, management, sales and leasing and training operations. Source: Flight International
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Hansa-3 trainer flies for the first time
Taneja Aerospace and Aviation's (TAAL) Rotax 914-F3-powered Hansa-3 ab initio trainer made its maiden test flight on 11 May. The programme was conceived in 1989 as a joint venture between India's TAAL and Government-owned National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). TAAL will market and manufacture the aircraft from its Hosur, Bangalore, ...
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Vantage takes voice control
VisionAire has revealed new details of its teaming arrangement with Iowa State University to develop a voice control system for its Vantage single-engined composite business jet. The work is aimed at developing a voice recognition and synthesis system for cockpit control of secondary switching functions such as navigation and ...
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Star Alliance adds Australasian net
Air New Zealand (ANZ) and Ansett Australia are to join the Star Alliance in March 1999, adding a comprehensive Australasian presence to its rapidly growing network. ANZ already has various agreements with Star members. It has an alliance with United Airlines, a "strategic partnership" with Air Canada and frequent ...
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Corsair A330 order
Corsair is poised to become a new Airbus customer, with an order for two A330-200s to boost its long haul charter fleet. The French carrier operates an all-Boeing fleet of 737s and 747s on short and long haul charters for its parent company, tour operator Nouvelles Frontiers. The airline has ...
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Aerospatiale secures big stake in Dassault Aviation
Julian Moxon/PARIS The French Government is to hand over its 46% stake in Dassault Aviation to Aerospatiale, marking the first in a series of moves by Paris to restructure its aircraft manufacturing sector in preparation for consolidation with Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa), British Aerospace and, eventually, Alenia and CASA. ...
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Embraer studies market for larger regional jet
Graham Warwick/SAO PAULO Embraer will decide within a year whether to develop a larger member of its regional jet family. Speaking at the roll-out of the 37-seat ERJ-135 on 12 May, president Mauricio Botelho said: "We think there is a market, but we are not sure if it is ...
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China starts to flight test new F-10 fighter
China has begun flight testing the new Chengdu F-10 fighter, but there is continuing uncertainty as to whether the programme will progress beyond the prototype stage. The first prototype made its long-awaited maiden flight at the end of March from Chengdu Aircraft's plant in the southern province of Sichuan. ...
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Fairchild Dornier gives the go-ahead to 428JET project
Andrzej Jeziorski/MUNICH Fairchild Dornier is to launch the 42-seat 428JET programme at the Berlin International Air Show (ILA) as the centrepiece of a series of announcements on its regional jet programmes. The company is also expected to reveal a stretch of the 90-seat 928JET and new potential customers for ...
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PW4098 snags may delay 777-300
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES Certification of the Pratt & Whitney PW4098-powered Boeing 777-300 is expected to be delayed following the last-minute discovery of problems with the engine during testbed runs at the powerplant maker's East Hartford site in Connecticut. The engine "-was performing very well on the flying testbed", ...
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Scottish ATC centre is delayed to 2004
David Learmount/LONDON A £200 million ($328 million) air traffic control centre planned to be built in Scotland has been delayed by around three years because of a reassessment of the complexity of the task in the wake of serious software problems with the associated Swanwick-based New En Route Centre ...
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France presses for space vehicle
Julian Moxon/BORDEAUX Aerospatiale is pressing the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch development of an unmanned independent European re-entry vehicle demonstrator as a follow-on to its Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD) programme. France pulled out of the NASA-led X-38 re-entry vehicle effort in 1997 when its new Government cancelled financing ...
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Ultra makes loud attack on active-noise market
Ultra Electronics is launching an aggressive marketing campaign aimed at convincing turboprop operators that active noise control could make inroads into operators' increasing preference for regional jets. Ultra produces UltraQuiet, a noise control system already standard on new Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8s and Saab 2000s. Ultra estimates there ...
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First A340 checks
The leading five Airbus A340s have successfully passed heavy maintenance "4C" checks, required after five years in service. The aircraft, operated by Air France, Lufthansa and Sabena, had all accumulated 3,000-3,500 cycles and around 20,000 hours flying time. Source: Flight International
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Free flight study finds pilots' workload is not increased
Ian Sheppard/LONDON A Dutch national aerospace laboratory (NLR) study has concluded that workload does not increase when a pilot is given responsibility for separation assurance in a "free flight" air traffic control environment. Ronald van Gent, NLRproject leader, says that the conclusion surprised the research team. "We anticipated a ...