All news – Page 8047
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Arizona's Airstar confirms order for first MD 630Ns
AIRSTAR HELICOPTER, a Grand Canyon, Arizona-based tour operator, will be the launch customer for the newly unveiled MD 630N if McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) decides to go ahead (Flight International, 1-7 February). AirStar has placed a $20,000 deposit on each of the first two MD 630Ns ...
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Hiller acquires Soloy STC
HILLER AIRCRAFT has acquired the supplemental type certificate (STC) from Soloy to retrofit turbine engines into the Hiller UH-12E and Bell 47. The STC will be a "perfect complement" to Hiller's planned re-introduction of the UH-12E, says Jeffrey Hiller, leader of the investment consortium, which bought back the ...
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US schools drop R22s as Robinson turns on FAA and NTSB
FRANK ROBINSON, owner and founder of Robinson Helicopter, says that inadequate training is the cause of the recent spate of rotor-strike accidents, affecting the company's R22 and R44 helicopters. "It's not a helicopter problem, it's a training problem," he says. The US Federal Aviation Administration and National ...
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AlliedSignal works on new versions of LT101 turboshaft
ALLIEDSIGNAL ENGINES is working on growth plans for the LT101 turbo-shaft as a possible future engine option for the Bell 430, the US Coast Guard (USCG) HH-60 Dolphin and a heavier BK117 under study at Eurocopter. The two-stage growth option would increase engine rating over the LTS101 750B1 ...
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Allison unveils details of new turboshaft for Bell 407
Allison Engines has revealed details of a new variant of the 250 turbo-shaft for the Bell 407. The C47M is based largely on the C40, launched recently on the new Bell 430. The C47M's compressor incorporates a new high-flow impeller, which increases airflow by 7%, and a brush ...
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Hueys destined for US drug work
THE US BORDER Patrol is expected to begin using five LHTEC T800-powered Bell UH-1H Hueys in April 1995 for drug interdiction and patrols. The last of the five UH-1Hs is being fitted with its T800 engine at the US Army's Fort Rucker Aviation Technical Test Center in Alabama. ...
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Wreckage from Long March kills six people
Tim Furniss/LONDON FALLING DEBRIS FROM the explosion of the Long March 2E after its launch from Xichang, in Sichuan province, south-west China on 26 January (Flight International, 1-7 February), killed six people and injured 23 inhabitants of a hilly area 7km (4 miles) downrange. These ...
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Ariane 5 tests completed
Julian Moxon/PARIS THE LAST OF A SERIES of seven tests of the Ariane 5 cryogenic stage was carried out successfully at Kourou, French Guiana, on 27 January. On the same day there were a further two tests of the Vulcain main engine in France and Germany. ...
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Russia launches first US satellite
THE 400TH successful launch of a Cosmos booster from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 24 January carried the US data-relay satellite, Faisat 1, into orbit, together with Sweden's 26kg Astrid science spacecraft and a national 810kg Tsikada navigation satellite. The first commercial launch of a US satellite by Russia ...
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Engine family enters market
MICHAEL ZOCHE Antriebstechnik of Munich is preparing to begin production of its family of radial aero-diesel engines, with the first flight on an aircraft due to take place within six months. Launch customer is Westinghouse Airships (WAI), which will fly the eight-cylinder, 220kW (300hp) ZO 02A engine on ...
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Falcon sales boost Dassault
DASSAULT AVIATION, has clocked up ten orders for its Falcon 900EX business jet, since its launch in October 1994. The company hopes to fly the aircraft at the Paris air show in June. Delivery to first customer Sony is due in April 1996. "It's started well, and we ...
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Preparing for combat
Much of the Russian air force's tactical doctrine is developed at a base near Moscow. Alexander Velovich/MOSCOW The Combat Training and Flight Crew Conversion Centre (CTFCCC) at Lipetsk is one of the most important institutions of the Russian air force. Located some 400km (250 miles) ...
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US Army mothballs idea of surplus helicopter sell-off
THE US ARMY, conscious of the storm it has created by releasing surplus helicopters on to the civil market, is to put all this year's expected surplus into long-term storage at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona. Industry leaders, who are already involved with the US Federal Aviation Administration ...
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Sabena rejects baggage system at Brussels' new terminal
THE COMPUTERISED baggage-handling system at Brussels Zaventem Airport's new terminal is generating almost as much difficulty as experienced with that at Denver International Airport in Colorado. Belgian flag carrier Sabena, the main user of what was promoted as the "20-minute airport", has transferred all its baggage handling back ...
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EH101 technology is destined for fixed-wing aircraft
THE ACTIVE VIBRATION-control system of the EH Industries EH101 helicopter could soon be applied to a fixed-wing aircraft. Brian Main, chief engineer on the programme at EHI partner Westland, will not identify the potential airframe application, apart from hinting that it is twin-engine, and for a military application. ...
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Cambodian ex-minister attacks creation of RAC
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE CAMBODIA'S RECENTLY concluded joint-venture agreement with Malaysian Helicopter Services (MHS) to relaunch Royal Air Cambodge (RAC), has been attacked as unconstitutional by the country's former finance minister Sam Rainsy. He claims that the deal, giving MHS a 40% stake and virtual operational control ...
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UK must renegotiate ASTOVL MoU
Douglas Barrie/LONDON THE UK IS BEING forced to renegotiate a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering its involvement in the US Advanced Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) programme as a result of the programme being merged with the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) project. ...
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Russia and Ukraine talk over return of Blackjack
A HIGH-LEVEL delegation from the Russian air force has visited Ukraine to negotiate the return of Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack and Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear long-range bombers. The aircraft were retained by Ukraine following, the break-up of the Soviet Union. The team was led by Lt. Gen. Anatoly Proskurin, the ...
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Pilot worries force FAA action over runway aid
Kieran Daly/LONDON A KEY ELEMENT of the USA's airport-capacity enhancement programme is being held up following unexpected difficulties in using it operationally. The precision runway monitor (PRM), has an electronically scanned (E-scan) radar, with a high update rate, to permit independent approaches to closely spaced, ...
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Pitot icing suspected in X-31 crash
THE INTERIM REPORT into the crash of a Rockwell/Daimler Benz Aerospace X-31 has identified a malfunction in the pilot-static system as the major contributory factor to the loss of the high angle-of-attack research aircraft (Flight International, 1-7 February). Project accident investigations, are now believed to be centred on ...