Editorial opinion – Page 7
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OpinionWhy Mitsubishi's pursuit of the CRJ makes sense
Embraer probably views the CRJ as a competitor that just will not go away.
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OpinionBoeing needs a stronger production system post-slowdown
A creaking supply chain unable to keep pace with ever-more-demanding output rates meant that even before the grounding of the 737 Max, Boeing’s narrowbody line was enduring some form of crisis.
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OpinionWhy the LM-100J is a low-risk bet
Cynics might point to the LM-100J – Lockheed Martin’s in-development civil freighter – and conclude that all the manufacturer has done is give a Super Hercules a lick of white and blue paint.
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Opinion
Why aviation should look to cars for cockpit commonality
Do you regularly drive, say, a Volkswagen car and worry about going on holiday and hiring a Ford? Of course not – you just jump in and drive away. Cars are not really quite so simple – you may need a minute to find the rear-screen wiper switch – but the basic operating and safety functions all translate near enough directly between types and makes. Automobiles benefit from an impressive degree of standardisation.
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Opinion
Rolls-Royce may rue missed NMA opportunity
The race to deliver the next step in commercial engine technology is being dictated by Boeing’s requirements for its New Mid-market Airplane project. And it looks like there can only be one winner, if Seattle decides to stick with its recent policy of a sole-source deal.
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Opinion
Electric power must spark widespread change
Most machinery improves with electrification. Compared to internal combustion, electric motors are smaller, lighter, more powerful, smoother-running and easier to cool. They start instantly, waste no fuel idling, respond fluidly and deliver full torque at any speed.
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OpinionSala tragedy should spur crackdown on illegal charter
The charter industry has been battling the scourge of illegal public transport for some time, and its attempts to raise awareness of the practice – where aircraft that have not been approved for paying passengers are used for air taxi services – had been largely fruitless until the tragic death in January of footballer Emiliano Sala.
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OpinionWhy ADS-B technology could drive air traffic revolution
There is a revolution under way in civil aviation – and it has nothing to do with new engines, supersonics, ultra-long-haul or in-flight wi-fi. What is about to save time, fuel and lives is an invisible knitting together of existing technologies into an air traffic management system fit for the 21st century.
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OpinionWho will buy Bombardier Belfast?
News that Bombardier plans to divest its Belfast aerostructures plant, along with a smaller operation in Morocco, as it consolidates its remaining aerospace activities into Bombardier Aviation, was not surprising.
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OpinionBoeing chief can find no escape from tough questions
The difficult position of Boeing’s chief executive – and the delicate balancing act he must perform – became particularly evident during the annual shareholder meeting on 29 April.
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OpinionCan US Navy maintain carrier aviation edge?
Anyone who knows the US Navy (USN) is aware that the service is very proud of its heritage. But observers also know this justifiable pride runs extremely close to worship. And, as any secular observer knows well, worship is blind.
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Opinion
737 Max airmanship needs as much scrutiny as MCAS
There is an uncomfortable aspect of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max accident that complicates an investigation whose narrative has been dictated by debate over the controversial Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System.
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Opinion
No winners if Airbus-Boeing WTO saga carries on
The current sparring between Europe and the USA over subsidies paid to airframers Airbus and Boeing drags on.
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OpinionStratolaunch hopes to avoid Spruce Goose's fate
Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose – more formally known as the H-4 Hercules – was until 13 April this year the largest aircraft ever to have flown. Conceived as a WWII transatlantic troop carrier, the fighting had, mercifully, ended before the flying boat finally flew, for just a few seconds, in 1947. Retirement followed.
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OpinionAutonomous lethal drones a legal challenge
Are they lethal autonomous weapons systems, with the tidy acronym “LAWS” – or killer robots? Either way, politicians, soldiers, society and the aerospace industry that serves them must grapple with the question: how far should we go in marrying artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned air systems – or, to use their more emotive name, drones?
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OpinionOPINION: Should Washington eject Ankara from F-35 project?
Never say never. Sound advice, but probably not words that will be well received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His refusal to cancel Ankara’s order for Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missiles creates the real possibility that his country will lose something even more valuable: participation in the Joint Strike ...
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OpinionAirbus in control of interiors with own cabin centre
The opening by Airbus – on the eve of the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg – of an expanded cabin customisation facility at its local production plant is a clear signal to airlines, suppliers and competitors that the airframer wants to be in control of the interior completion process.
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Opinion
E-7 purchase is good news for UK
Confirming one of the worst-kept secrets in UK defence procurement, late March’s £1.5 billion ($1.96 billion) order for five Boeing 737NG-based E-7 airborne early warning and control system aircraft was nevertheless a welcome development for the Royal Air Force (RAF).
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Opinion
OPINION: UTC's electric dreams are achievable
United Technologies (UTC) has become the latest major aerospace supplier to unveil its strategy for a more-electric powertrain, pursuing the goal under its Project 804 initiative.
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Opinion
OPINION: Hard work for Safran in making Zodiac's stars align
When it announced it was in talks to buy fellow French company Zodiac Aerospace back in January 2017, Safran probably did not have a complete picture of its target's woes.