All Helicopters articles – Page 242
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Singapore applies to join Asian AE-100 programme
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE SINGAPORE Technologies is negotiating with China to take at least a 10% stake in the proposed new AE-100 passenger-aircraft programme. According to industry sources in Beijing, Singapore Technologies has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Aviation Industries of China (AVIC) to join ...
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IPTN restarts NBell output
INDUSTRI PESAWAT Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) has restarted licence production of the NBell 412 helicopter, after resolving procedural discrepancies highlighted by a recent regulatory audit. Work on the 412 production line resumed in December 1995 after "a refinement of procedures" by Bell and IPTN at the Indonesian company's Bandung ...
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Comanche has Florida debut
SIKORSKY TEST PILOT Rus Stiles and Boeing test pilot Bob Gradle, were at the controls for the maiden flight of the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche next-generation attack and reconnaissance helicopter. The flight took place on 4 January from Sikorsky's flight test centre in West Palm Beach, Florida. A second prototype - ...
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China and S Korea wrangle over AE-100 assembly
Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE CHINA AND SOUTH Korea, have again pushed back their selection of a Western partner, to develop the AE-100 passenger aircraft, until the two countries agree on the location of a final assembly line. Nearly 15 months after the Chinese and South Korean Governments agreed ...
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Indian helicopter operator plans for expansion
PAWAN HANS is planning to acquire ten additional helicopters this year as part of a plan to start operations in the remote north east of India and to extend commercial services in support of tourism. The Indian state-owned helicopter operator has set aside a $31 million investment to ...
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Eurocopter France rewarded for design
The French civil-aviation authority's Aeronautical Training and Technical Control department has awarded its design-approval certificate to Eurocopter France. The certificate is in recognition of the fact that the company's organisation and design standards meet the technical requirements of the European Joint Airworthiness Authorities (JAA) JAR 21 standard, and ...
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Comanche flies
The Boeing Helicopter/Sikorsky Aircraft RAH-66 Comanche next-generation attack helicopter was flown for the first time on 4 January, when it took off from Sikorsky's Development Flight Test Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The first RAH-66 was rolled out in May 1995. A second prototype, fitted with a reconnaissance mission-equipment ...
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Bell helicopter
Webb Joiner has become chairman of Bell Helicopter Textron, of Fort Worth, Texas. Lloyd Shoppa succeeds Joiner as president. With Bell since 1960, Joiner is chairman of the American Helicopter Society. Shoppa, with Bell since 1964, was most recently senior executive vice-president. ...
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Belgian police pick Explorer
BELGIUM'S Gendarmerie has selected the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) MD Explorer for its air component, which operates from Melsbroek air base, near Brussels. Two aircraft will be delivered in 1996, with a third on option for 1998 delivery. They will be used for police work throughout Belgium. ...
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Kaman prepares Japan's first K-MAX
KAMAN AEROSPACE plans to ship the first K-MAX external-lift helicopter for Japan by the end of this month. The aircraft has been sold by Japanese K-MAX distributor KBK to Japan Royal Helicopters and is expected to enter service on power-line projects following Japanese certification. Bloomfield, Connecticut-based Kaman, meanwhile, ...
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Production MD 600N lifts off
THE FIRST production model of the MD 600N helicopter had its maiden flight at the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems (MDHS) Mesa plant in Arizona on 15 December. MDHS experimental test pilot Chan Morse flew the MD 600N for 30min, reaching a top speed of around 100kt (185km/h) in ...
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Light ambitions
POLAND'S WARSAW-BASED Aviation Institute has embarked on a three-year project with helicopter manufacturer WSK-PZL Swidnik, to develop a new light helicopter. The IS-2, shown in mock-up form, is a two-seat helicopter powered by a single Textron Lycoming piston engine. The project is being funded, by the Government Committee for Scientific ...
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Five operators compete for 1996 Atlanta Olympics service
Karen Walker/ATLANTA FIVE US HELICOPTER operators have submitted bids to provide a short-haul transport service in the Atlanta, Georgia, area when the city hosts the 1996 Olympic Games. Organisers are not revealing the names of bidders for the project, known as the Atlanta Short-Haul Transportation ...
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Osprey progresses
Boeing Helicopters has delivered the first "production-representative" V-22 Osprey fuselage to partner Bell Helicopter Textron which is building the tilt-rotor aircraft's wing sections. The aircraft is scheduled to have its first flight in a year. Four V-22s are now in test flight and two ground-test articles were built ...
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Little room
Thailand has ordered three Eurocopter AS.332L2 Super Pumas for use by the country's royal family. The first two VIP-configured aircraft are scheduled for delivery in October 1996. The Super Puma was selected over the Sikorsky S-70 after it was determined that the US helicopter offered the King insufficient headroom in ...
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Price freeze
Bell Helicopter Textron will not increase spare-part prices in 1996, but will hold them at 1994 levels for a second year, citing the cost of operating a helicopter as "the biggest single threat to our industry". Source: Flight International
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Textron revamps Bell/Cessna structure
TEXTRON HAS announced management changes at its Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft units. David Assard has been promoted to the newly created post of president at Cessna, reporting to chairman and chief executive Russ Meyer. Other changes at Cessna include the promotion of executive vice-president Gary Hay to ...
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Board approves DASA cuts
Julian Moxon/PARIS GERMAN UNIONS have reacted angrily as Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) received approval from its parent company to press ahead with plans to cut almost 9,000 jobs under the Dolores (dollar-low rescue) plan. DASA says that it remains "open to negotiations", but that the target of ...
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Olympic air system tested
Karen Walker/ATLANTA A REQUEST FOR proposals (RFP) has been issued to US helicopter operators interested in bidding for a contract to provide a premium short-haul transportation service in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1996 Olympic Games. The RFP follows the successful initial trial of the planned ...
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Certification delay
Bell Helicopter Textron says that certification of the Model 430 intermediate twin-turbine helicopter has been pushed back by a month, to mid-January, to allow on-schedule certification of the light single-turbine Model 407 in mid-December. Both aircraft will have their public debuts at the Asian Aerospace show in Singapore on 6-11 ...