All news – Page 7714
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Lessons to learn from Concorde
Sir - In "Twenty years young" (Flight International, 7-13 February, P41) you comment that "...in terms of flight cycles and hours, the aircraft [Concordes] are remarkably young, despite the physical age of the fleet". British Airways, you report, operates each Concorde for 900-1,100h a year - one-quarter (or less) of ...
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An easy job? Think again
Sir - Would W J Foden ("...but basically it's an easy job", Flight International, 13-19 March, P37) care to fly in aircraft piloted by people trained only for the aviation equivalent of a passenger-service or heavy-goods vehicle? I suspect that, if so, he would be alone in the cabin. ...
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Saf-T-Glo hopes Pathfinder lighting will shine in USA
AN EMERGENCY FLOOR-path-lighting system, which requires no electrical power and has no batteries, bulbs or wiring to install and maintain, has been certificated in the USA by Diversified Aviation Services (DAS). The Pathfinder photo-luminescent lighting system, manufactured by UK company Saf-T-Glo, has been approved and installed by airlines, in France ...
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Precision quick-start for pistons
PRECISION AIRMOTIVE has introduced a lightweight electric starter for aircraft piston engines. The Lamar permanent-magnet starter has demonstrated quicker engine starts than conventional starters under most conditions, the Everett, Washing- ton-based company says. The bulky field windings of a conventional starter motor are replaced with lightweight permanent magnets. ...
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Arianespace wins defection from Chinese Long March
Tim Furniss/LONDON US COMPANY Echostar has withdrawn its satellite from China's launch manifest, following the failure of the Long March 3B booster and the loss of the Intelsat 708 satellite on 14 February. The 3B did not undergo a pre-launch test, it has been revealed ...
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Aerospatiale gears up for manned-spaceflight plans
AEROSPATIALE OF France has begun testing its atmospheric-re-entry demonstrator (ARD) vehicle amid promises from the European Space Agency (ESA) that it intends to remain firmly committed to achieving a manned space-flight capability. The conically shaped, 2.8t ARD is intended for its first test atop the second Ariane ...
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X-33 proposals to be submitted in May
INDUSTRY PROPOSALS for the X-33 re-useable-launch-vehicle programme, a NASA effort aimed at a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) replacement for the Space Shuttle, are expected to be submitted in mid-May. With a shortlist expected at the end of July, NASA will have to make a quick choice, between wing-borne-landing SSTO options ...
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A brief history of Fokker
FOKKER'S BANKRUPTCY may seem like a thoroughly modern phenomenon, but a glance through the company's 80-year history shows that this was not the first time the Dutch manufacturer had sailed close to collapse. THE EARLY DAYS 1912 Dutchman Anthony Fokker registers a company in Germany ...
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Turkey and Israel conclude F-4 Phantom Popeye deal
TURKEY IS TO BUY the Rafael Popeye air-to-surface missile as part of its proposed McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom upgrade to be carried out by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The television-guided Popeye is understood to have been on the Turkish air force's shopping list from the outset of the ...
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Ownership advances
New ways of owning new products are putting the boom back into business aviation Karen Walker/ATLANTA COMFORT, RELIABILITY AND value for money; that is what the customer wants. It is a description long familiar to the motor industry, but it is now an equally well-rehearsed part of ...
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Latin America looms large
Burgeoning economies and international trade links boost business-aircraft prospects. Graham Warwick/Santiago MOST AEROSPACE ANALYSTS focus their efforts on understanding the US, European and Asian markets, while largely ignoring Latin American potential. When considering business-aircraft sales prospects, that could prove to be a mistake. ...
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Sukhoi starts work on building canard Su-30
Douglas Barrie/LONDON A PROTOTYPE fore-plane-equipped aircraft, based on a Sukhoi Su-30 airframe, is under construction at the Irkutsk production plant in southern Russia. The canard-configured Su-30 airframe may carry the designation of either the Su-301, or the Su-30I (Istribitel/fighter). Details of the programme ...
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MDC and NASA unveil X-36
Guy Norris/St Louis McDONNELL DOUGLAS (MDC) and NASA unveiled the once-classified X-36 tailless fighter-agility research aircraft at St Louis, Missouri, on 19 March, revealing a canard-configured design. The sub-scale remotely piloted X-36 is said to be the first fighter-type aircraft to be designed from the ...
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Mitsubishi delivers first XF-2 prototype
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE MITSUBISHI HAS delivered the first prototype, XF-2 single seat fighter, previously known as the FS-X, to the Japan Defence Agency (JDA), to begin a three-year programme of flight testing and evaluation. The XF-2, handed over on 22 March at Mitsubishi's Komaki South plant, ...
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Boeing plans to step up production during 1997
Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES BOEING PLANS to increase production of all models in 1997 in response to the recent surge in orders and strong indications of a continuing recovery in the industry. The increase will take monthly output of all types to 27 aircraft by the ...
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Gulfstream flies second GV business jet
GULFSTREAM V testing has passed the 50-flight mark, with two aircraft now being flown, and the third of four flight-test GV long-range business jets scheduled to take to the air for the first time in mid-April, says Gulfstream. The second GV was flown on 10 March and testing ...
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Falcon move
Dassault Aviation has moved completion of all Falcon business jets to Dassault Falcon Jet in Little Rock, Arkansas. The centre is expected to complete 32 aircraft this year, up from 24 in 1995, and 42 in 1997. Expansion of the centre to provide two additional hangar positions and a third ...
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Found finds new market for old design
New company Found Aircraft Canada plans to restart production of a light-utility aircraft certificated and produced in the mid-1960s. The Toronto based company says, that re-instating the Canadian and US type certificates for the Found FBA-2C, will save "several million dollars" compared to a full certification programme. Canadian ...
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US Aerobatic Team has a Super Stinker
AVIAT HAS delivered the first Pitts S-1-11B Super Stinker to the US Aerobatic Team. The aircraft is a "ground-up redesign" of the Pitts S-1 Special aerobatic biplane, with increased power and manoeuvrability. Aviat plans to build more S-1-11s, but has yet to decide whether to sell the aircraft ...
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Irish police force dispute military plans for helicopter
THE IRISH Government is about to decide whether to approve a plan for the national police force to purchase and operate its own helicopter force. Garda Siochana wants to buy two machines in a deal, which would bring the country into line with the global trend towards the ...