Programmes – Page 14
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NewsCryogenic tank designs tested for proposed Russian 50-seat regional aircraft
Russian analysts are examining ways to reduce the aerodynamic impact of external cryogenic tanks on smaller aircraft types, as it continues work on a proposed 50-seat design. While cryogenic fuels – including liquid hydrogen and liquefied natural gas – are more environmentally-beneficial, their low-temperature characteristics prevent the use of normal ...
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NewsAirbus rounds off year with A350 freighter and A330neo orders
Airbus long-haul activity picked up slightly in the closing weeks of last year, with the airframer recording an order for four A350 freighters from an undisclosed customer. It also booked 10 A330neos from lessor Avolon and a pair of A350-900s from a client identified simply as ‘financial institutions’ during December. ...
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NewsBartini eVTOL undergoes windtunnel tests in Moscow
Russia’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute has been supporting development of a tiltrotor eVTOL through windtunnel testing. The Bartini Design proposal has four 10-bladed rotary fans – two fore and two aft – and is intended to convey two to four passengers at speeds up to 160kt, and have a range of ...
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NewsComplexity of eVTOL designs leads EASA to study modelling for certification support
Europe’s safety regulator is to explore the expanded use of modelling and simulation to support certification of future eVTOL aircraft, given that the broad variation in designs makes assessment by flight-testing alone impractical. Part of a wider programme evaluating the effects of digital transformation on aviation processes, the project aims ...
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NewsRussian regulator approves domestic wing and engines for MC-21
Russian civil aviation regulators have approved the switch to a domestically-produced composite wing and engine on the Irkut MC-21. Irkut has developed the -310 variant of the MC-21 which is powered by the Aviadvigatel PD-14 engine, while Russian industry is also supplying composite wing components to replace foreign-built equivalents on ...
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NewsAviaAM takes another pair of 737-800s for freighter conversion
Lessor AviaAM Leasing is acquiring another pair of Boeing 737-800s which will undergo passenger-to-freighter conversion. The company has identified the twinjets as MSN29769 and MSN28225 – respectively 1998 and 1999 airframes. They were formerly operated by carriers including Caribbean Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and SunExpress. AviaAM says the aircraft will take ...
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NewsA321XLR tank must ensure no serious fuel-fire risk in survivable accidents
Airbus’s rear centre tank for the A321XLR must be designed such that no fuel is released near the fuselage or engines in quantities sufficient to start a serious fire, in the event of a survivable crash, the European safety regulator has proposed. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency says current ...
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AnalysisWill Russia deliver on its ambitious domestic airliner plans?
Russia’s aerospace industry has ambitions to manufacture more than 300 aircraft over the next two years, as it grapples with the pressure that has been piled on the sector by sanctions over the Ukrainian conflict.
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NewsASL to explore remote-pilot freighter potential with US autonomy specialist
Irish-based operator ASL Aviation Holdings is to explore concepts for autonomous aircraft operation, and their initial application to freighter aircraft, under a collaboration with a US specialist. ASL has disclosed a tie-up with California’s Reliable Robotics under which the two sides will seek to implement a remotely-operated aircraft system in ...
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NewsBA sees no place in network for sub-70-seat zero-emission aircraft
British Airways is unlikely to invest in zero-emission aircraft with fewer than 70 seats in order to prove their viability, preferring to wait until a solution is found for narrowbody-sized jets, according to the carrier’s sustainability chief.
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NewsAirbus puts A321XLR to long-haul test with 13h European flight
Airbus has conducted an A321XLR test-flight with a duration of more than 13h as part of its development programme for the long-range twinjet. The airframe departed Toulouse shortly after 08:00 on 13 December. It flew a wide circuit initially heading towards the UK and Ireland, before crossing to Norway and ...
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NewsAir New Zealand reveals four partners for low-emission aircraft trials
Air New Zealand has selected four aircraft providers – Beta Technologies, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Eviation, and VoltAero – for its Mission NextGen programme, which will see the carrier perform commercial demonstration flights of low-emission aircraft from 2026.
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NewsElectronic rig explores avionics-engine interaction for Russian-powered MC-21
Analysts have embarked on ‘electronic bird’ testing of the Irkut MC-21-310’s interface with its Aviadvigatel PD-14 engines in line with import-substitution efforts. Foreign-built control panels in the cockpit are being replaced with Russian-produced equivalents, and these are undergoing integration tests, says the state aviation system research institute GosNIIAS. Substitution has ...
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NewsUS FAA requires A321XLR fire resistance in vicinity of rear fuel tank
US regulators have laid out formal requirements for the Airbus A321XLR’s lower fuselage, in the vicinity of the rear centre fuel tank, to be resistant to fire penetration.
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NewsAirbus struggles to repeat previous end-of-year delivery feats
Airbus’s admission that it will probably miss its commercial aircraft delivery target for this year is an indication of the supply-chain issues and other difficulties encountered by the airframer as it attempts to ramp-up production. The target of 700 aircraft was relatively modest, considering that it was far exceeding 800 ...
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NewsLanding-gear analysis rounds off MC-21 static testing
Russian researchers have completed static testing of the Irkut MC-21 twinjet, after reaching the end of a final series of load cycles. Over the course of the tests the airframe has been subjected to loads substantially exceeding those encountered in operation. The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow says the airframe ...
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NewsBoeing closes chapter on 747 programme with final jumbo roll-out
The final Boeing 747 has left the airframer’s Everett facility, marking the end of an era for an aircraft programme that Boeing says has “truly changed the world”.
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NewsAirbus UpNext readies Citation VII for tests of morphing wing
Airbus UpNext, the airframer’s innovations arm, will early next year begin flight tests of a Cessna Citation VII business jet that it will eventually modify with a wing that can automatically change shape in flight.
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NewsEmbraer flags undisclosed order for five E195-E2s
Embraer has secured a firm order from an undisclosed airline for five E195-E2 regional jets.
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NewsComac clinches C919 production certificate
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has awarded Comac’s C919 programme its production certificate, paving the way for mass production of the type.