Government rules restricting foreign ownership in the Indian defence sector to 49 percent are undermining New Delhi's drive to lure greater investment in manufacturing, a senior executive at European conglomerate Airbus Group said on Monday. Pierre de Bausset, president of Airbus Group India, said his company needed to own a majority share in joint ventures to justify more investment and th...
Bell Helicopter announced that Genel Havacılık A.Ş. is nearing completion of its application to become appointed as a Bell Helicopter Authorized Customer Service Facility (CSF) in Turkey. “Bringing on Genel Havacılık as an authorized CSF reinforces our commitment to enhancing the regional support customers need to continue their operations,” said Jakub Hoda, Bell Helicopte...
It was a proud moment for Darwin pilot Dean Ham as he landed the first passenger jet from the Northern Territory at Australia’s newest airport in Toowoomba, South-East Queensland, on Friday. The historic Airnorth flight preceded the start of direct services from Toowoomba to Melbourneon Monday and Toowoomba to Cairns services on Tuesday. Melbourne becomes the 25th destination for Airno...
Metro Aviation has committed to buy six EC145e e-lite helicopters. The EC145 e-lite is the utility variant developed to provide greater useful load by reducing or simplifying some of the onboard systems. Metro have now sold the first of these to Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, and will carry out the completion work including air conditioning, HeliSAS and specialty pediatric care equi...
A badger on an airport runway forced a passenger plane to abort its landing. The flight from Gatwick to Newquay was an estimated 300ft (90m) off the ground when the wild animal was spotted. Passenger Pete Atkinson said there was a tense five-minute gap between the aircraft climbing sharply away from the runway and the pilot announcing the badger's presence. The airport said it was a c...
Boeing Co. has been investing heavily in its 777-X and other transition programs, developing new facilities, and signing contracts for the plane’s different parts. The strategic decision has forced the aircraft manufacturer to lower its 2016 production guidance as well; it has revised down the outlook from 765 aircraft to a 740-745 range. The company aims to shift its focus toward its new...
New Zealand company Airwork recently ordered its 100th LTS101-850B-2 engine from Honeywell. Airwork NZ offers a Eurocopter BK117 engine upgrade program swapping out LTS101-750 engines for the higher power -850 variant, an STC which is widely seen in the Pacific Rim. New Zealand CAA approval was given in May 2010, followed by EASA approval 2012, and the upgraded aircraft is marketed as the BK117...
One of the world’s shortest commercial flights is Loganair’s Westray and Papa Westray flight, which takes anywhere from 75 to 180 seconds, depending on wind conditions. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds. The distance between Westray Airport (WRY) and Papa Westray Airport (PPW) is slightly more than a mile, and standing at one airport, you ca...
The pilot and sole occupant of a King Air 200 that crashed into a FlightSafety International (FSI) simulator building at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT) on Oct. 30, 2014 responded incorrectly to a decrease in power from the twin turboprop’s left engine on takeoff, according to the NTSB’s probable cause report. The aircraft was headed to Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport (MEZ)...
Royal Brunei Airlines has introduced its first all-female pilot crew. Captain Sharifah Czarena and senior first officers Sariana Nordin and Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem were pictured in the cockpit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner before their inaugural flight on February 23, which is Brunei's National Day. The trio made their maiden flight together from...
Key business jet market indicators, measured by a monthly UBS Business Jet Market Index survey, point to a weakening global market and have fallen back to levels tracked in 2008-2009, the latest index said. The UBS Business Jet Market Index, released March 10, tracks changes in market conditions through surveys of domestic and international brokers/dealers, manufacturers, fractional providers,...
Airbus sold two A320s in February. That's better than zero -- but it rounds down to zero. In soccer, 2-2 is a pretty exciting game. In airplane sales -- not so much. Yet it just happens to be the score that airplane-building archrivals Boeing and Airbus racked up last month. For four long weeks (up until last week), Boeing had very little to say about its airplane sales. In fact, I...
