All news – Page 7623
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Untested software is blamed for failure of Ariane 5 launch
Tim Furniss/LONDON THE FAILURE of the maiden launch of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane 5 on 4 June resulted from the booster flying with an Ariane 4 dual-inertial reference system (IRS) untested for use in a new launch environment. The system also had "specification and design ...
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Bangkok Airways president aims for second carrier slot
Julian Moxon/BANGKOK THE PRESIDENT and owner of Thailand's privately owned airline Bangkok Airways wants to start a new airline to respond to the Thai Government's imminent call for offers for a second carrier to operate services on domestic and regional routes. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, who owns ...
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Latin moves
British Airways will switch its Latin American services from London Heathrow to Gatwick, along with three Boeing 747-400s, next March. The airline will serve Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela from Gatwick's North Terminal. By its 1997 summer season, BA will be operating over 1,000 flights a week from ...
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Suspect parts
The supply of "rogue" aircraft parts is back in the spotlight following New Zealand's grounding of some helicopters. Paul Phelan/NELSON A FATAL helicopter crash in New Zealand has triggered the grounding of about 5% of civil helicopters in that country, the suspension of engineers' licences ...
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The Top Fifty Airlines
The world airline industry made record profits in 1995, but will the boom last? The signs are mixed from this year's ranking of the world's top 50passenger-airline groups. Kevin O'Toole/LONDON IT HAS TAKEN a long time to arrive, but recovery in the world airline industry appears to ...
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The mission equipment
THE SENSORS, display and communications units fitted to the Dash 8 maritime-patrol aircraft (MPA) are typical of the large range of such equipment on offer. There were two choices of radar considered: the travelling-wave-tube (TWT) type, or the power-hungry, but cheaper, magnetron variety. The latter has longer ...
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Thai plans MoU for six 747-Xs
Paul Lewis/BANGKOK THAI AIRWAYS International is discussing signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for up to six new Boeing 747-500/600X aircraft, but the carrier is now waiting for Government approval for its earlier fleet modernisation before committing itself. The airline is among a group of ...
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New safety concerns voiced over Shuttle
THE AEROSPACE Safety Advisory Panel has warned NASA that its programme to cut Space Shuttle operations costs is increasing the risk of a serious accident (Flight International, 28 February-5 March). The prime concern is the reduction of safety inspections and the plan to hand over Shuttle operations to the ...
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Aerospatiale tests ARD spacecraft
AEROSPATIALE HAS completed the first descent and recovery test of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Atmospheric Re-entry Demonstrator (ARD) spacecraft in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Sicily. The ARD was dropped from a stratospheric balloon at 82,000ft (25,000m) and, after a free-fall of 33,000ft, its parachutes ...
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Galaxy 10 booked as first Delta 3 payload
HUGHES Communications' Galaxy 10 satellite will be the first payload of the new McDonnell Douglas (MDC) Delta 3 booster on its maiden flight in 1998. The HS-601HP Galaxy satellite is one of ten payloads which Hughes assigned to the Delta 3 in 1995. With Hughes exercising another Delta ...
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Chinese Radarsats
Spar Aerospace has held preliminary discussions with China, which would like to buy two Earth-observation satellites based on the Canadian Radarsat spacecraft. The potential value of a contract is $600 million. Source: Flight International
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Ilyushin plans Il-114 military derivative
Ilyushin is working on a heavily modified Il-114 derivative, the Il-114FK, as a replacement for the Antonov An-30 Clank and Ilyushin Il-20 Coot military utility aircraft. A prototype could be flown in 1997. The Russian air force operates some 30 Clanks in the aerial-cartography role, with the Coots being used ...
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MoD looks at 'marinised' Apache
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is studying a "marinised" variant of the Westland/McDonnell Douglas (MDC) WAH-64 Longbow Apache helicopter for the Royal Navy, which could provoke an ownership fight between the Army Air Corps and the Royal Navy. The Apaches would replace ...
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Darkstar UAV software bugs mean 12-month flight hiatus
THE LOCKHEED Martin/ Boeing Darkstar long-endurance unmanned air vehicle (UAV) will not be flown before May 1997, to enable the US team to conduct an in-depth audit of all hardware and software. Repairs made since the April crash will be verified in an informal critical-design review due ...
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Canadair offers enhanced Sentinel UAV with improved engine
BOMBARDIER CANADAIR Defence Systems says that its CL-227 Sentinel unmanned air vehicle (UAV) has successfully undergone a US Department of Defense UAV Joint Project Office (JPO)-funded heavy-fuel engine-improvement programme. The Williams International WTS-125 gas-turbine powerplant will power the CL-327, the improved Sentinel UAV. The UAV JPO awarded ...
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US DoD continues with Nautilus laser
THE US DEPARTMENT of Defense (DoD) has awarded TRW a $22 million contract to continue development of the Nautilus tactical high-energy laser (THEL) which could be used to counter Russian Katyusha rockets. The US defence firm can expect to earn a further $89 million in development and testing ...
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Hughes continues JASSM legal battle
HUGHES AIRCRAFT is to appeal against a US Federal District Court decision which allows Lockheed Martin and McDonnell Douglas (MDC) to continue development of the USAir Force/Navy Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM). The US defence company had won a ten-day temporary restraining order from the court after ...
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Aviastar builds the first 'Westernised' An-124
AVIASTAR IS nearing completion of the first "Westernised" Antonov An-124 at its Ulyanovsk factory, although the Russian manufacturer's claims that the aircraft is being fitted with General Electric CF6-80 engines are being disputed by GE and Antonov. "The aircraft, line number 08-03 and designated An-124-130, will be ...
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BA uses rule-change to purchase remainder of TAT shares
Julian Moxon/PARIS BRITISH AIRWAYS has acquired the remainder of the shares in its French regional subsidiary TAT, becoming the first European flag carrier to take major advantage of the changing cross-border ownership rules in Europe. BA took a 49.9% stake in TAT in 1992, with ...
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Pilatus improves PC-12 range
Julian Moxon/PARIS SWISS general-aviation manufacturer Pilatus is introducing a range of factory options to improve the payload and range performance of the PC-12 business and utility aircraft. The first option in the Pilatus Power Products range became available on new production aircraft in July, with ...