The silhouette of one of the British Army’s Apache attack helicopters in the skies over Afghanistan is a reassuring sight for coalition forces on the battlefield. Its ungainly shape projects a menacing power that foes are unlikely to stand up to – if they haven’t already fled at the sound of its approaching rotors. But this symbol of British military power won’t be quite...
Airbus Helicopters has acted to allay concerns over the safety of its Super Puma aircraft after Norwegian investigators declined to rule out a repetition of past gearbox problems being the cause of a crash that killed 11 oil workers and two pilots. Norway's accident investigation authority AIBN said in a preliminary report on Friday that it was examining three possible causes for the April...
Hardly anybody goes to Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI) because they have a flight. No, the air transport hub is currently a daily flight or two away from being completely defunct, and the people who do go there tend to be tourists making a side trip from the nearby wildlife parks to see the stunning, fully modern airport in the middle of the jungle for the...
The US Air Force’s Chief of Staff, General Mark Welsh, announced the possibility of adding Lockheed Martin Corporation’s F-22 aircraft to its fleet at an event hosted by the Air Force Association. The announcement comes at a time when the defense contractor is already focused on the F-35 program. When Lockheed Martin discontinued the program five years ago it was subjected to s...
The second world war plane that crashed into the Hudson river on Friday night has been raised, after the body of its pilot was recovered, authorities said. Rescue divers removed the body of 56-year-old William Gordon, of Key West, Florida, from the river late on Friday. The single-seat P-47 Thunderbolt crashed near the George Washington bridge between New York and New Jersey, according to...
The private jet Janine Iannarelli is selling for a Russian client has leather seats, wood paneling, a satellite phone and can fly non-stop from Tokyo to Los Angeles. The price has dropped US$3 million since September and is still falling. Ms Iannarelli is hawking the 10-year-old Bombardier Global 5000 for $14.5m but recommends that her client cut the price further as the market for lar...
Bell Helicoptera announced a signed letter of intent (LOI) with Professional Helicopter Services (PHS) for three Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters while at the Australian Helicopter Industry Association’s Rotortech 2016. PHS will be the first helicopter training school in the region to operate the Bell 505. While at the show, Hawker Pacific, the Independent Representative of Be...
In the next few weeks, customers will be able to experience – first hand – the performance improvements of the Cessna Citation equipped with Tamarack's Active Winglets, on a tour of four Textron service centers in Europe. The modified CJ1 will be visiting Dusseldorf on 31st May; Paris on 1st June; Valencia on 2nd June; and Doncaster on 3rd June...
The first operator ever to receive the prestigious award Award is for surpassing 100,000 hours, or 50 years, of flying without an accident Highlights company`s commitment to safety and security VistaJet, the global leader in business aviation, is pleased to announce it has been honoured at the European Business Aviation Association`s (EBAA) Safety of Flight Awards, where it...
While a helicopter serves many purposes, one of the most common is aerial surveillance and/or video and photography. How many times have you turned on your local news and watched a slow pan across rush hour traffic, or looked on in horror as the national news presents you with a birds-eye view of the latest natural or man-made disaster? Of course, now there are drones moving in to the aerial...
Union activists disrupted the Marseille airport Friday and halted activity at half of the country's oil refineries in protests over changes to France's labor system, but nationwide gasoline shortages eased slightly after government intervention. Tensions let up slightly Friday after one-day strikes and protests Thursday pitting unions against the Socialist government and leaving many dr...
Hawaiian Airlines will soon introduce lie-flat seats for the first time in the airline’s Airbus A330s, deployed in the U.S. West Coast destinations next month as a “surprise and delight” offering for the passengers before the new cabin is marketed and offered for sale this Fall. The first aircraft with the new cabin arrived on property earlier in the week. The business cl...
The aerospace industry is struggling to make the most of the chances offered by Big Data to reduce production costs, optimise flight routes, and improve monitoring and maintenance of aircraft equipment, executives said. Sensors placed on aircraft equipment and systems could provide a wealth of data that could help to speed up production and ensure better performance of parts, but planemak...
It was 1994, and Airbus was already becoming more than a mere nuisance to Boeing. Tensions spiked at the Farnborough air show, when then-Boeing president Ron Woodard accused his opposite number at Airbus of lying: “I’ve watched him and his nose does grow when he talks.” Airbus repaid the Pinocchio-themed insult almost 18 years later, publishing an advert ahead of the 2012 Farnbor...
Airports are expensive things to build. And they require vast amounts of space, enough for all the runways and hangars, terminals and luggage depots, parking and other services needed to keep us in the air. They create an enormous amount of noise too – this was even more of an issue during the great civil aviation boom of the 1950s and 60s, when travelling by plane suddenly became within...
Fuel efficiency is good for the environment, but it also saves airlines money. That doesn't mean the price of travel is falling. But it does mean a lot energy goes into advancing jet engine technology. Rolls-Royce says its Trent XWB is one of the most fuel-efficient jet engines in the world. The "XWB" stands for "extra wide body," and you can see why. Up close, this thin...
A drone was flown just 30 metres from a Boeing 757 jet near Manchester airport, according to an official near-miss report. The pilot of the airliner “expressed his surprise” after spotting the object shortly after take-off, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) said. He was turning right at an altitude of 450 metres (1,500ft) – a “critical phase of flight” – wh...
The Russian Defense Ministry will receive five Mil Mi-8AMTSh-VA (Terminator) helicopters in 2016-2017 for operation in the Arctic, Russian Helicopters Group told TASS on Wednesday. "Under a state defense contract placed with Russian Helicopters, the rotocraft group will deliver another five Mi-8AMTSh-Va helicopters to Russia’s Defense Ministry in 2016-2017," the company said....
Bell Helicopter announced the sale of a Bell 407GXP to Sichuan Xiangyun General Aviation Co.,Ltd. The aircraft will be outfitted for VIP transportation and helicopter tours. Sichuan Xiangyun joined Bell Helicopter in their chalet at the Asian Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (ABACE) to sign for the aircraft: Pictured Left to Right: Mr. Yi Yang, general manager o...
Pilatus presented its latest PC-12 NG, the 2016 model, at this year's European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva. Already an extremely versatile machine, the PC-12 NG has been improved even further for 2016. The best-selling single-engine turboprop new boasts a fiveblade composite propeller and a variety of aerodynamic enhancements resulting in a hig...
Air New Zealand is working with Christchurch-based robotics company Invert Robotics to trial wall climbing, camera mounted robots to carry out remote inspections on its aircraft. The technology, originally designed for use in the dairy industry, uses remote-controlled inspection equipment to detect damage inside milk tanks beaming back high resolution footage in real time. Air New Zealand Ch...
