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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 0192.PDF
MR TRANSPORT Airbus completes Russian weather trials with A310 AIRBUS INDUSTRIE has completed extra cold-weather trials on its A310-300, to meet Russian certification standards for operations at -54°C. The trials were carried out in mid-January in Yakutsk, in the Republic of Sakha, taking a stan dard aircraft fitted with on-board recording equipment. The A310 was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. Tests included three overnight soaks of up to 16h, each followed by a flight. Airbus says that the aircraft functioned "perfecdy". The tests were carried out under the supervision of the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee — Aviation Register (LAC-AR), with the support of local authorities and airline Diamond Sakha. Although the A310-300 has US Federal Aviation Administration and European Joint Aviation Authorities clearance to be operat ed down to -54°C, Russian certifi cation requirements are very strict. The A310 was the first Western aircraft to receive a Russian type certificate, in 1991, and was later cleared for operations down to - 40°C on the basis of trials carried out in Canada. Q NEWS IN BRIEF • TEA IN VIETNAM TEA Switzerland has been operating a Boeing 737-200 Advanced in Vietnam since mid-December, following the signing of a long-term co-operation agreement with Ho Chi Minh City- based Pacific Airlines. The 737 is used on charter flights and a thrice-weekly sched ule to Da Nang. A 737-300 is due to go to Vietnam in May. The reported acquisition by Sobelair of a 40% stake in TEA's parent company Air Finance (Flight International, 24-30 January 1996) has not yet been concluded, but negotiations continue. US en routed system unreliable, but safe RAMON LOPEZ/WASHINGTON DC AN INVESTIGATION by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has conclud ed that the country's en route air- traffic-control (ATC) system is safe, but that equipment breakdowns have had a detrimental effect on air- traffic-movement efficiency. The NTSB probe is one of three launched to investigate computer and equipment failures at five US Federal Aviation Administration en route ATC centres. The US avia tion agency conducted an internal review, and experts from industry and other government agencies also investigated. The problems are blamed on faulty power systems and sporadic breakdown of ageing IBM 902 0E computers. New power-condition ing systems are being installed at 15 FAA centres, with the work to be completed by February 1998. The FAAs Display Channel Complex Rehost project is replac ing the IBM computers with off- the-shelf hardware, until the Display System Replacement com puter workstation is fully developed and fielded. Meanwhile, over 400 technicians are being hired to alle viate problems caused by break downs. The NTSB says that the public should not be alarmed, because back-up systems are in place which take over in the event of any sys tems failure. "Nonetheless, any degradation of radar and communi cations capability increases the complexity of the tasks facing con trollers and flightcrews, and re duces the normal margin of safety afforded bv the primary system," says the NTSB. • More 737s will be among growing numbers of Western aircraft in India Domestic demand fuels Indian carrier expansion CONTINUING DOUBLE-digit growth in domestic air travel in India is resulting in a scramble for more aircraft and fur ther private airline authorisations. India's civil-aviation ministry has given permission for the import of between 12 and 15 new aircraft a year, which it believes will be suffi cient to meet the annual 12-15% growth in passenger traffic. Sahara India Airlines is being allowed to import two more Boeing 737s to add to the three 737-200s it now operates, while Archana Airways will be increasing its turboprop fleet by between four and eight aircraft and Dornier 328 operator VIF Airways has been given permission to add helicopters for services in outlying areas. Damania and Jet Airways, on the other hand, have missed out, having failed to act on permission to obtain two and four more Boeing 737s, respectively. Of the 13 aircraft authorised in 1995, only four have been imported. Authority for domestic passen ger services has also been granted to Indo Pacific Aviation and Orient Airways, while cargo authority has been given to the Travel Corporation of India, Elbee and Blue Dart. The latter has bought two of the five 737- 200s which have been put up for sale by Indian Airlines. • FAA reverses ban on Boeing STARS bid T HE US FEDERAL Aviation Administration has reversed its decision to block Boeing from competing for the $1 billion Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) programme as a prime contrac tor, allowing the company back into the competition. Boeing, BDM and Oracle had teamed to compete for STARS, with Boeing selected as the prime contractor. Late in 1995, howev er, the FAA informed them that Boeing could not be the lead con tractor. The aviation agency did not explain its reasons for barring Boeing from project leadership. The FAA now says that Boeing meets the qualification criteria. The STARS project will be used to modernise over 250 Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) systems. The TRACONs handle aircraft within 80km (50 miles) of US air ports. Raytheon Aircraft has teamed with Hughes, and Loral is allied with Harris in bidding for the STARS contract. • 12 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 31 January - 6 February 1996
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