All news – Page 8072
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Bell with bite
The AH-1W SuperCobra is the basis of the Bell/ GEC-Marconi Venom Cobra, a candidate for the British Army attack helicopter Peter Gray/DALLAS My first pull-up in to the hover in the Bell AH-1W SuperCobra combat helicopter was adequate, but not completely satisfactory, so I landed ...
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Venom's vital parts
GEC and Bell have upgraded the AH-1W SuperCobra and renamed it the Venom for the British Army's attack-helicopter competition. Peter Gray/ROCHESTER I "flew" the GEC-Marconi Avionics Venom simulator at the company's plant at Rochester, in the UK. This fixed-base device has two cockpits set up ...
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FAA will clarify kitplane rules
The US Federal Aviation Administration is drawing up guidelines, which will clarify the rules governing the assembly and approval of kit-built aircraft. The move follows concern that amateur-built rules were being circumvented by some "builder-assist" shops set up to help kit buyers complete their aircraft. The FAA emphasises ...
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Bede hands over BD-10 manufacture to Peregrine
Graham Warwick/ATLANTA BEDE JET has licensed the rights to certificate, manufacture and market its BD-10 single-turbojet general-aviation aircraft to Peregrine Flight International, the Nevada-based company formed to help buyers of the BD-10 kitplane build their aircraft. Kit shipments have been halted while Peregrine studies the ...
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Mielec chooses power plants for Vector UAV
Andrzej Jeziorski/WARSAW WSK PZL-MIELEC has selected, German piston-engine manufacturer Gebler-Hirthmotoren and French gas turbine Company Microturbo, to supply the power plants for its Vector unmanned air vehicle (UAV). According to the Polish manufacturer's UAV department manager Andrzej Podsadowski, the company proposes to power the piston-prop variant ...
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Dutch defer helicopter decision
THE NETHERLANDS Government has delayed its choice of a battlefield helicopter until the middle of this month in order to "clarify" the offset deals offered by McDonnell Douglas (MDC) for its AH-64 Apache, and Eurocopter for the Tiger. At stake is an order for 32 helicopters worth up ...
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London firefighters assess helicopters
THE LONDON Fire Brigade (LFB) in the UK is considering whether to use helicopters in emergency operations. Tenders are being invited for a study contract to evaluate whether a helicopter could be useful. Depending on the results, an operational trial may follow. The Brigade says that ...
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FAA to look at cockpit design
THE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration, is beginning a yearlong study, of modern airliner cockpit-design following concerns raised by recent accidents. It says that, in the light of "several [unspecified] accidents", it is creating a team "...to evaluate current-generation transport-category airplane-cockpit design". The review is to focus ...
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SIA signs deal for new A340 fleet
SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) has signed a contract confirming its previously announced order for ten Airbus Industrie A340-300E long-haul passenger aircraft and 20 options. SIA announced in June 1994 its intention to buy up to 30 A340s, worth a total of $5.4 billion (Flight International, 29 June-5 July 1994). ...
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Heathrow hopes for 80 million passengers
LONDON HEATHROW airport is gearing up for a 60% passenger-traffic increase as its owner BAA fires the first shots in the political war for clearance to build a fifth terminal (T5). The public inquiry into the case for T5 starts in May. If BAA's case is defeated, ...
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Dornier 328s to Star in Texas
TEXAS-BASED regional carrier Lone Star Airlines has ordered four Dornier 328s and taken options on a further four of the 30-seat high-speed turboprops. The first aircraft will enter service in January, replacing the 19-seat Fairchild Metros, used on routes from Dallas/Forth Worth, to Chihuahua and cities in Mexico. ...
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Herculean support
Providing back-up for the world's Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a big and growing business Graham Warwick/ATLANTA With more than 1,800 Lockheed C-130 Hercules transports in service with 68 countries, supporting the popular transport is big business - and not just for its manufacturer. Independent companies ...
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NASA receives first new Shuttle engine
Tim Furniss/LONDON NASA HAS RECEIVED the first of Rockwell's next-generation Space Shuttle main engines (SSME). The programme is aimed at improving safety and reliability on future Shuttle missions. The SSME will now undergo testing, including a single 520s static firing at the space agency's Stennis ...
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Indonesia earmarks more cash for military build-up
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE INDONESIA is planning the procurement of over $2 billion worth of military equipment over the next five years, including more fighter and trainer aircraft, helicopters, missiles and radar. The future purchases are contained in the country's 1994-9 strategic plan, which is subject to ...
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Deutsche Airbus cuts jobs
DEUTSCHE AIRBUS has agreed with unions to lose up to 3,000 jobs by the end of 1997 and to reduce the working week by 2h, to 35h. The cuts in the operation's 16,500-strong workforce are being taken as part of the company's drive to improve the efficiency of ...
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Rafael picks Northrop for Litening partner
NORTHROP HAS been selected by Israel's Rafael as its US partner for marketing the Litening navigation and targeting pod. The US Company will market the pod to the US Air Force and other air forces, operating US-built fighters. Martin Marietta had also offered to market the ...
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Russia launches SS-25 variant
RUSSIA HAS test-launched a new, modernised variant of the 10,500km (5,700nm)-range SS-25 Sickle (Topol-M) inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk test range. The missile will form the backbone of the Russian land-based nuclear deterrent. The new variant of the SS-25 was developed after the break-up of the ...
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Air Algerie crash in UK kills five
AN AIR ALGERIE Boeing 737-200 freighter on approach to Coventry Airport in the UK on 21 December, 1994, crashed in woodland nearly 3km (1.6nm) short of runway 23, killing all five people on board. Shortly before impact with the ground at 09.50, the aircraft hit an electricity-cable pylon and clipped ...
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Russia launches Luch data-relay satellite for Mir 1 communication
A new Luch satellite data-relay network (SDRN) spacecraft was launched on a Proton booster from Baikonur on 16 December to provide real-time communications for the Mir 1 space station. From February 1992, the Mir, which also communicates via shipborne tracking stations - has been out of contact with ...
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Indian scientists arrested
SENIOR SCIENTISTS are among 30 people who have been placed under arrest in India over the past few days, following an espionage scandal, which has rocked the country's Space Research Organisation. The Indian authorities say that it is the biggest commercial-espionage ring ever to have been exposed by ...