Finmeccanica Helicopters (formerly AgustaWestland) is studying ways to enhance main gearbox performance in case of loss of lubrication. At the EASA rotorcraft symposium in December, Marco Tamborini, one of the company's experts in transmission system design and development, gave details on Finmeccanica's strategy in gearbox durability. Unless the possibility of such a failure is extreme...
NBAA is holding its annual Business Aircraft Finance, Registration & Legal Conference next month in Boca Raton, Fla. The agenda for the conference, which will be held from February 10 to 12, features speakers who are experts in aviation finance, aircraft utilization options, regulatory topics, tax planning and risk management. Among the new topics this year are an analysis of emerging busin...
Air Culinaire Worldwide acquired SkyTop Aircraft Catering at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., the business aircraft caterer announced yesterday. The move brings the number of Air Culinaire kitchens to 21—all but four located in the U.S.—and increases its capacity and coverage in the New York/New Jersey area. As part of the acquisition, Air Culinaire Worldwide h...
Embraer has delivered the first European registered Legacy 450 private jet. Registered in Belgium as OO-NEY / MSN 55010003, the aircraft was delivered to its new owner over the Christmas period. Although the final customer is unconfirmed, the aircraft will be managed by Brussels based Smart Air, and operated by Air Service Liege. “Being driven by innovation for more than 25 years helps...
Chinese drone maker Ehang Inc. on Wednesday unveiled what it calls the world's first drone capable of carrying a human passenger. The Guangzhou, China-based company pulled the cloth off the Ehang 184 at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the CES gadget show. In a company video showing it flying, it looks like a small helicopter but with four doubled propellers spinning parallel to the g...
For every cheap flying robot, there is an elaborate, expensive system to counter it. The latest anti-drone tool comes from European aerospace and defense giant Airbus, and promises a high-tech solution to small flying robots. They’re showing off the system at the Consumer Electronics Exposition in Las Vegas, though no word yet on if they’ve caused any nearby drones to crash. From Ai...
Two families whose Air Canada flight declared an emergency on the way to Arizona say they are frustrated in trying to deal with the airline afterwards. Lisa Zayac and her husband thought they were going to die, and said good-bye through oxygen masks. George Papp wondered whether the Airbus 319 would break up. And while the aircraft landed smoothly and safely in Albuquerque in the D...
André Turcat, who has died aged 94, was the chief test pilot for the Concorde programme and was at the controls of the supersonic airliner on its first flight; a few weeks later he took the jet through the sound barrier for the first time. The idea of a supersonic transport (SST) was first conceived in the late 1950s and led to an Anglo-French agreement to develop an airliner – Con...
He allegedly pointed a green laser at least four times -- three cases from outside, plus once through an apartment window -- at a TV news helicopter racing to the scene of a New Jersey fire. And because of that, Stiven Lopez-Bender now faces the prospect of five years in federal prison. Authorities arrested the 26-year-old on Thursday, a day after a criminal complaint was filed accusing him...
You've probably never thought too much about how to quickly transport a 10-tonne plane engine, but Qantas has the answer. Just strap it to the wing of a Boeing 747. Qantas Flight 63 took off from Sydney with an extra Rolls Royce turbofan attached to the left wing between an inner engine and the plane's body. The engine was not powered; it just came along for the ride to Johannesburg,...
Malaysia Airlines will retire and sell B777-200 planes from its fleet after axing loss-making Amsterdam and Paris routes and partnering Emirates for European destinations, Malaysia Airlines says in e-mail to Bloomberg News. * Some of these planes are 20 years old * Mutual separation scheme offered to pilots of this aircraft on case-by-case basis; 40% of B777 pilots requested for separat...
Associated Air Center , through its in-house Organization Designation Authorization delegation, has obtained a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the installation of a Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC) System — as part of the requirements for Future Air Navigation System (FANS) — on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) VIP ...
Boeing delivered 762 commercial airplanes in 2015, 39 more than the previous year and most ever for the company as it enters its centennial year. “The Boeing team has worked hard to achieve strong performance,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner. “Our team did a fantastic job achieving higher deliveries and getting our products to our custo...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $417,500 civil penalty against FedEx of Memphis, Tenn., for allegedly operating an aircraft that was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The FAA alleges that FedEx failed to rebalance a horizontal stabilizer tab control surface on the Boeing 727 after repainting the pa...
Boeing and Air China announced an order for six additional 777-300ER (Extended Range) jetliners. The order is valued at more than $2 billion at current list prices and bolsters Air China’s long-haul widebody fleet as it looks to expand its international network. “The 777-300ER has consistently proved its value as a long-haul flagship for our customers around the world, making it the...
The Royal Australian Air Force is spending more than $90 million to convert luxury corporate jets into state-of-the-art spy planes. PM can reveal the high-tech surveillance aircraft are due to come into service at the end of next year. Here's defence reporter Andrew Greene. ANDREW GREENE: The Gulfstream G550 is a luxury corporate jet boasting the ability to fly more than 12 hours nons...
The capacity squeeze at Britain's overcrowded airports and need for a new runway in the South East has been highlighted by data revealing punctuality in the airline industry. At Heathrow - the UK's busiest airport and the most likely site of a new runway - more than a quarter of all take-offs and and landings in 2015 took place more than 15 minutes outside their scheduled slot. Gatwi...
BOC Aviation has announced an additional order for 18 A320neo and 12 A320ceo family aircraft. The lessor says in a statement that the order was placed in late December 2015, and will help it to fulfil customer demand. “This order underscores our continued confidence in the reliability and operational efficiency of the A320 family aircraft, and reflects its popularity among our customer...
Sharjah Aviation Services has announced it will introduce new automated baggage management and communication systems at Sharjah International Airport. The new systems, provided by global air transport technology specialist SITA, are aimed at further improving the reliability, security and speed of baggage delivery at the airport. More than 4.5 million departing bags are handled at the...
Indonesian national carrier Garuda Indonesia has taken a huge step forward in business class with the selection of B/E Super Diamond outward-facing herringbone seats, which will set a new standard in regional ASEAN business. Many of the airline’s competitors — including more highly regarded carriers like Singapore Airlines — offer less impressive products, like SQ’s Webe...
Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based ExcelAire has become the latest operator to receive FAA authorization to fly charter service to Cuba. ExcelAire, which is authorized to fly directly to the island nation from 19 gateway U.S. cities, completed its first trip late last month from New York JFK International Airport to Havana. ExcelAire joins a small but growing number of operators that have obtained FAA appr...
