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GE Aviation and its Joint Ventures Receive More than $3 Billion in Orders/Commitments at 2016 Zhuhai Airshow

GE Aviation and CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, announced more than $3 billion (USD) in orders and commitments at last week’s Zhuhai Air Show. The orders and commitments included more than 200 GE and CFM engines as well as agreements for TrueChoiceTM suite of engine maintenance offerings.  Orders/commitments include (...

First CFM56-5C engine flies more than 100,000 flight hours on Lufthansa Airbus A340

There’s every reason to celebrate at CFM International and Lufthansa Technik AG, with the first CFM56-5C engine having passed the 100,000 flight hour threshold. The engine drives the Airbus A340 and has reliably been in continuous use since 1993 at Lufthansa Passage. The engine with the serial number ESN 740146 began its career on November 16, 1993...

Oman Air opens its training centre with new sims from TRU

Oman Air has opened its new training centre in Muscat following the delivery and qualification of two new full flight simulators from Textron subsidiary, TRU Simulation + Training . The two full flight simulators (FFS) are for the B737 and A330 aircraft operated by Oman Air along with a flight training device and virtual cockpit classroom for the B737NG aircraft.  The suite of training p...

Polish President Says Exhumation of Smolensk Plane Crash Victims Necessary

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Sunday it is necessary to exhume the bodies of victims of the 2010 plane crash near the Russian city of Smolensk. In October, Poland's prosecutors announced exhumation of the bodies of victims, who had not been exhumed before. The procedure is scheduled for November 14 while relatives of the victims are opposing exhumation. He als...

India to buy rescue aircraft from Japan for $1.5-$1.6 billion

India's Defence Ministry will agree on Monday to purchase 12 amphibious rescue aircraft from Japanese manufacturer ShinMaywa Industries worth $1.5 billion-$1.6 billion, the Nikkei news paper reported on Sunday. Japan and India have been holding talks on the purchase for more than two years. It would one of Japan's first sales of military equipment since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe li...

Dubai adds $3billion to airport expansion funding

Dubai is looking to raise US $3 billion to fund expansion of its two international airports and has hired HSBC to advise on raising the finance. The Department of Finance, Government of Dubai, says HSBC will advise it, the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Aviation City Corporation on raising funds through various sources, including Islamic financing. The emirate wants to boost annu...

Russia’s Workhorse An-2 Gets New Lease on Life With New Engine

In an interview with Sputnik, Vladimir Barsuk, director of the Siberian Aircraft Research Institute in Novosibirsk SibNIIA), spoke about the modernized Antonov An-2 planes Vietnam wants to buy. “We recently had a delegation of specialists from an aircraft repair plant in Vietnam visiting our institute. We showed them an An-2 plane with a new engine and offered supply s...

Deutsche Telekom to launch drone defense system: report

Germany's Deutsche Telekom plans to launch a drone defense system this year designed to guard airports, stadiums, car test tracks and critical infrastructure, German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday. The increasing use of drones for commercial and leisure purposes has led to a rise in the number of near-misses with aircraft and infringements into no-fly zones, prompting companies a...

FIRST-EVER BALLET AND MUSICAL PERFORMANCE IN THE SKY

Dancers from the internationally renowned Bolshoi Ballet and classical superstar Katherine Jenkins staged the world’s first ballet and musical performance in the air, to celebrate the launch of British Airways’ Dreamliner flights from London Heathrow to Moscow, Russia. Lucky passengers on the inaugural flight of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner were taken to new heights with an incredib...

Transaero management prepared new airline launch plan

The management of Transaero prepared a new airline launch plan, press service of the Russian air carrier said on Wednesday. "The management prepared a feasible and functional plan to launch a new airline on Transaero base in cooperation with leading consultants. According to operating regulations, the company management shall present the developed plan to the board of directors for endorse...

GE Aviation fires up engine made from 35 percent printed parts

3D printing has come a long way since the certification of a single printed part for aircraft was big news. General Electric Aviation has gone considerably further in the development of its Advanced Turboprop (ATP) for the Cessna Denali single-engine aircraft. The company has completed testing of a demonstrator engine on which the ATP will be based that is made from more than 35 percent 3D-pr...

The most heroic airline pilots of all time

A China Eastern Airlines pilot has been labelled a hero, and presented with a cash reward, after his quick thinking avoided a runway collision that could have killed up to 439 people. According to Chinese media, the pilot, named He Chao, was at the helm of an Airbus A320-200, preparing to take off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. As his aircraft was accelerating down the runway, ho...

If your Gulfstream’s just too slow, fear not – the supersonic private jet is coming

For the ultra-wealthy, a Gulfstream 650 or a Bombardier 6000 is fine but, given the choice, most would jump at the chance of their own supersonic luxury jet that could whisk them from Abu Dhabi to London in under four hours, or cut the flight time from Dubai to Singapore by about 2 hours. And that is exactly what they will be offered once the plane maker Aerion, backed by the Texas billionaire...

Bombardier Global 7000 Aircraft Successfully Completes First Flight

Bombardier Business Aircraft announced that its segment-defining Global 7000 aircraft program completed the successful maiden flight of its first flight test vehicle (FTV1). This first flight marks the start of a flight test program for the newest member of Bombardier’s flagship Global aircraft family, which is scheduled to enter into service in the second half of 2018....

Ryanair has Lufthansa in a flap as Irish budget carrier plans routes from Frankfurt

Ryanair’s plans for its first-ever flights from Frankfurt sparked a bitter response from Lufthansa, which has vowed to fight back against the surprise incursion at Germany’s biggest hub. While Ryanair will begin Frankfurt services with just two jets and four routes, Europe’s top discount airline sees potential for a bigger operation there, said David O’Brien, its chief c...

It's over: The airline that never flew a single passenger in 27 years

A US airline, which was founded in 1989 with the aim of offering a "high quality three-class passenger service" has just taken its only aircraft out of service – despite having never operated a single commercial flight in its 27-year history. Baltia Airlines started with great promise. It aimed to offer the only non-stop flight from New York to St Petersburg, as well as holiday...

China's New Fleet Of Drones: Zhuhai 2016 Airshow Displays The Future Of Chinese Warbots And Swarms

China's military drone industry, already one of the world's largest, is on full display at the Zhuhai 2016 Airshow. The airshow has featured some of China's high tech attack and surveillance drones for the first time, as well as provided glimpses of the future, with stealthy UAVs, 'marsupial drones', supersonic robot planes, and drone swarms. One of the most prominent on...

Finnair and CFM celebrate 3 million flight hourswith airline’s CFM56-5B fleet

Finnair and CFM International are celebrating the achievement of three million flight hours by the airline’s CFM56-5B engine fleet. The Helsinki-based Finnish flag-carrier first became a CFM customer in 1998 with an order for CFM56-5B engines to power 12 Airbus A319/A320/A321 aircraft. The airline took delivery of its first aircraft in 1999 and is currently operating a...

Bell and Mecaer unveil new 505 luxury interior

Bell Helicopter and Mecaer Aviation Group (MAG), an acclaimed designer and manufacturer of high-end cabin comfort systems, today announced the collaboration for the MAGnificent interior for the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X . “Bell Helicopter continues to raise the bar for our customers in bringing innovative and well-designed offerings to our product line,” said Patrick Moulay, B...

Russia & China reveal their alternative to Airbus & Boeing

A mock-up of a wide-body passenger aircraft jointly being developed by Moscow and Beijing has been presented at Airshow China. The new plane is expected to challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly. Manufacturers Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) have announced the start of the search for suppliers. They didn’t provide any details on...

Russia to Create Prototype of Advanced Shipborne Helicopter After 2020

The main tactical and technical, economic and operational parameters of the Lamprey helicopter have been determined. Russia will create after 2020 the first experimental prototype of an advanced shipborne anti-submarine helicopter, which is designed to replace the Ka-27s, Igor Chechikov, the deputy CEO of the Russian Helicopters holding for Aftersales Service, said....