All Systems & interiors articles – Page 774
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News
Unmanned alternatives
II(AC) Sqn pilots see unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) as a viable alternative to the manned aircraft for certain missions, particularly suppression of enemy air defences, and because of the political pressure to avoid casualties. A flight commander says the difficulty with UCAVs "is the physical pushing of the button. ...
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UK approves merger of BAe and MES
The UK Government has approved the merger of British Aerospace and GEC's Marconi Electronic Systems (MES) division, imposing conditions that BAe says are acceptable. The merger will create the world's third largest aerospace player, with a turnover of over $20 billion. Concerns were raised over the merger's impact in ...
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GE Harris signs Comair CRJs for datalink trial
US regional Comair has committed two Canadair Regional Jets (CRJs) to test a high-speed wireless datalink system developed by General Electric-Harris joint venture GE Harris Aviation Information Solutions. GE Harris Aviation's automated On, Off, On, In (OOOI) datalink will be installed on the first CRJ in mid-November. The second ...
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Parachute deployment cuts short first flight of Helios
NASA and AeroVironment, makers of the huge and unconventional Helios flying wing, are investigating the inadvertent deployment of the flight termination system parachute. It brought to a premature end a successful first flight of Helios at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, California, on 8 September. The 75.3m (247ft)-span ...
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Mission possible
EW aircraft, tankers and AWACS turn the impossible into the achievable Stewart Penney/RAF Brize Norton & RAF Waddington DeeDee Doke/Aviano AB & RAF Mildenhall Missions over Iraqi and Yugoslavia would not be possible without force multipliers such as the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), electronic warfare (EW) assets ...
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MD-11 wiring to be tested for arcing
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) is devising tests to find out whether cockpit ceiling wiring from the crashed Swissair Boeing MD-11 suffered from electrical arcing before or after it was exposed to fire. "Tests are under way to assess the significance of arcing found on 14 segments ...
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Airbus flies towards FANS approval
Airbus is expecting certification of its FANS-A (future air navigation system) avionics next spring following extensive in-flight trials of the system and the first tests in an operational environment. The system, developed for the A330/A340, supports satellite communications (satcoms), datalink communications and automatic dependent surveillance (ADS). The first operational trial ...
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JAL/JAS link launches 'Big Three' entente
Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE Andrew Mollett/TOKYO Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air System (JAS) are planning to launch joint international services from late October in what is seen as a significant move towards closer co-operation among the country's three major airlines. The carriers were expected to make a formal application to ...
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USA limits chemical tank numbers
The US Department of Transportation has put into force new restrictions on the transport of chemical oxidisers and compressed oxygen aboard commercial air transports. The regulations bar carriage of chemical oxidisers in an inaccessible aircraft cargo compartment that does not have a fire or smoke detection and fire suppression ...
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Police label SilkAir investigation as 'suicide cum murder'
The Singapore Police Force has classified its investigation into the crash of the SilkAir Boeing 737-300 in Sumatra on 19 December 1997 as "suicide cum murder". The police stress that the label has been adopted "solely to assist us in our investigation. It is not an indication of our ...
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Dasa tests fly-by-wire system
A VFW 614 twinjet equipped with a newly developed fly-by-wire-system, the electronic flight control system (EFCS), has flown for the first time, from Bremen Airport in Germany. The system has been in development at DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus' (Dasa Airbus) Bremen division since 1995. Flight tests will take place for the ...
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R-R grapples with European Trent overhaul strategy
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH Rolls-Royce (R-R) has failed to reach agreement with SAirGroup maintenance unit SR Technics over the structure of their proposed Trent engine overhaul joint venture, despite a year of talks on the scheme. Lufthansa Technik, having pondered participation in the venture, is no longer involved in the discussions. ...
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FAA satellite programme investigated
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) has launched a Congressionally requested investigation into the US Federal Aviation Administration's satellite navigation programme following concerns about the agency's plans to move from a ground-based to a satellite-based navigation system. The GAO expects to report next spring. The study follows an investigation ...
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Safety first
Korean Air is making a concentrated effort to improve safety and save itself from isolation - and possible collapse Andrzej Jeziorski/SEOUL Korean Air (KAL) executives speaking to the press these days face an unusual dilemma: how can an airline confirm, and simultaneously deny, that it has a problem with its ...
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France and UK invite JOANNA proposals
The French and UK ministries of defence have issued an invitation to tender for a fourth generation electro-optical targeting pod technical demonstrator programme (TDP)that could lead to an operational system entering service late in the next decade. The Joint Airborne Navigation and Attack (JOANNA) TDP will be split equally ...
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Mergers
Thomson-CSF subsidiary Sextant has become the sole owner of in-flight entertainment provider Sextant In-Flight Systems after acquiring the 49% of shares held by B/E Aerospace. Sextant took an initial 51% stake when the joint venture was created in January. The European Commission's review of the proposed AlliedSignal-Honeywell merger has entered ...
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Hapag-Lloyd pushes reluctant Airbus on A310 replacement
Andrew Doyle/MUNICH German charter carrier Hapag-Lloyd's effort to replace its Airbus A310s is being frustrated by the reluctance of Airbus and Boeing to commit to developing new short/medium-range widebody types. The airline is one of a growing band of operators, including Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, that seek A310 ...
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Boeing adds Ilyushin engineers to design team for cargo 767
Andrew Doyle/MOSCOW Boeing has signed a contract with the Ilyushin design bureau to bring up to 35 Russian engineers into the design team working on a passenger-to-freighter conversion for the Boeing 767. The Ilyushin employees will work on the project at the Boeing Design Centre (BDC) in Moscow, ...
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Boeing-GE 777X deal sparks EC probe into exclusivity
Chris Jasper/LONDON The European Commission (EC) is poised to launch an investigation into airframe-engine exclusivity deals following the sole supplier agreement between Boeing and General Electric on the Seattle giant's planned ultra-long-range 777X. Outgoing EC competition chief Karel Van Miert ordered that a file be opened on exclusivity deals ...
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AA/BA antitrust crumbles
Karen walker WASHINGTON DC If American Airlines and British Airways gambled that their application for an antitrust immunised alliance would not be refused in the wake of other high-profile immunities, then it has proved a bad bet. Two-and-a-half years later, those alliance hopes have been dashed by the US ...