All news – Page 8009
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News
Intelsat may drop Long March
INTELSAT MAY PULL an Intelsat 7 satellite from its launch on a Chinese Long March 3B (LM3B) booster, originally planned for October. The LM3B, a version of the LM2E with a cryogenic upper stage from the LM3A, has not yet been flown. Two controversial launches have been undertaken ...
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Born-again Blackbird
The supersonic Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is no longer a museum piece: no more is it a relic of the Cold War, gathering dust. The renaissance of the US Air Force spy plane, which flies at altitudes above 85,000ft (26,000m), is a result of Congressional concern about the Pentagon's ability to ...
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APIC presses ahead with APU proposed for MD-95
AUXILIARY POWER International (APIC) has begun the risk-reduction demonstration phase of the APS 2100 auxiliary power unit (APU) selected by McDonnell Douglas (MDC) for the yet-to-be-launched MD-95. Initial risk-reduction activity is concentrated on noise tests of the Labinal/Sundstrand engine. The trials are taking place at Turbomeca's acoustic ...
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Rivals capitalise on Air Inter strike woe
AIRLINES, WHICH have been taking advantage of liberalisation, to compete with French domestic carrier Air Inter at Paris Orly Airport, are reaping the benefits of continuing strikes at the Air France subsidiary. Since January, AOM and Air Liberte have been operating flights to Marseilles and Toulouse respectively - ...
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Strato 2C takes flight but funds stay low
BURKHART GROB has flown its Strato 2C high-altitude research aircraft successfully for the first time, in an hour-long test flight on 31 March. The Strato 2C, the largest all-composite aircraft in the world, took off from Grob's Mindelheim site in Bavaria with former NASA test pilot Einar Enevoldson ...
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Snecma's losses treble as restructuring continues
SNECMA'S LOSSES MORE than trebled in 1994 as the French engine manufacturer bore the brunt of heavy restructuring costs and new programme costs. Sales are also expected to plummet. The group finally revealed that it had lost nearly Fr2.2 billion ($440 million) in 1994, confirming earlier projections of ...
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Israel defers El Al sell-off
THE ISRAELI Government has postponed the planned flotation of El Al for six months because of the crisis facing the Tel Aviv stock market. Valuations being put on the national carrier have failed to meet Government expectations. If the market fails to improve, the Government is expected to ...
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Workshare on FLA will be partners' choice
INDUSTRY, NOT government, will be responsible for allocating work-share on the Future Large Aircraft (FLA) military transport project. According to a senior programme manager, the move marks a keynote change in the way collaborative European programmes are run. Aerospatiale military vice-president Philippe Picq says that the industrial partners ...
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Thai fighter purchase tied to AMRAAM
THAILAND HAS LINKED the purchase of any new US-built fighter aircraft to the supply of the Hughes AIM-120 AMRAAM active-radar-guided air-to-air missile, and is threatening to turn to other foreign manufacturers if necessary. The Thai air force has a requirement for a third squadron of front-line fighters to ...
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Boeing drives 777 ahead but loses Gulf Air orders
BOEING IS continuing its intensive effort to push the 777 into service on time after confirming that it has lost Gulf Air's order for six aircraft, with six options. The Bahrain-based carrier dropped its commitment to the General Electric GE90-powered aircraft after deciding that it would end ...
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All sides reach agreement on latest offer for Piper
THE LONG-RUNNING saga, over the sale of bankrupt Piper Aircraft, appears to be drawing to a close, with a deal now in place, which would see the light-aircraft manufacturer acquired for $95 million. Teledyne Industries, along with Investment Company Dimeling, Schreiber & Park (DS&P) have formed a new ...
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Laminar-flow testing begins on Airbus A320
DAIMLER-BENZ Aerospace (DASA) Airbus has begun flight tests of an Airbus A320 fitted with a hybrid laminar flow (HLF) fin. The tests are taking place in Toulouse, in co-operation with the German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR) and the other Airbus partners. The programme aims to fly an aircraft ...
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SIA and Tata want revised bids in aircraft contest
SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) and its Indian joint-venture partner Tata Industries have told airframe and engine manufactures to resubmit tenders for a 150-seat aircraft order. The contract is for up to 16 aircraft to equip a proposed start-up domestic airline. A decision had been expected by the end of ...
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Lockheed Martin promises to reduce price of F-16s
LOCKHEED MARTIN is guaranteeing a cost saving of 15% on the F-16 if the US Government allows the manufacturer to switch from military-procurement practices to commercial standards. Commercialisation of production would reduce the price of an F-16 fighter sold to, or through the US Government to below the ...
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Vietnam Airlines to use Region Air A320
REGION AIR OF Singapore is near to finalising a deal to lease its first Airbus Industrie A320 to Vietnam Airlines, as negotiations continue for the lease of a further eight narrow body aircraft. Vietnam Airlines is expected to take delivery of the aircraft - its eighth A320 - ...
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FAA breaks new ground with Y-12 approval
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration has issued its first type-certificate for an aircraft designed and produced in China - the Harbin Y-12 IV. Its Part 23 approval of the twin-turboprop airliner forms part of a larger programme to bring the Civil Aviation Administration of China's (CAAC) airworthiness regulations ...
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Phoenix gets a reprieve
THE MUCH-DELAYED GEC-Marconi Phoenix reconnaissance and targeting unmanned air vehicle has been given a one-year stay of execution by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The MoD was forced to review the GEC-led £227 million programme because it was six years late, with several technical problems still ...
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Russian air force faces deep crisis
Aircraft obsolescence, spares shortages and procurement problems are leading to a serious downgrading of the Russian air force's combat capability, according to a senior air force official. The air force's plight was detailed by deputy commander-in-chief Col. Gen. Mikhail Soroka at a Russian parliamentary hearing. Soroka ...
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DHC-6 probe fails to satisfy pilots' fears over Twin Otter
NORWEGIAN PILOTS are to vote on whether to reject formally the findings of the investigation into the fatal loss of a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter. A second report, this time by Dutch investigators, has failed to persuade UK metallurgical specialists whose earlier evidence caused the Norwegian ...
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Investigators say bomb theory is unproven in Romanian A310 crash accident
THE ROMANIAN accident-investigation commission is backtracking on early statements by some of its individual members that the crash of a TAROM Romanian Airlines Airbus Industrie A310 on 31 March was likely to have been caused by an onboard explosion. An official statement now says that the commission "...is ...