Latest News

Zodiac Aerospace Exhibits New Cabin Interior For Narrowbodies
June 17, 2013, 4:20 AM
2013
Zodiac Aerospace’s Isis cabin features new seats and 60-percent larger baggage bins.

Zodiac Aerospace (Hall 2a Stand A254) is here exhibiting its Isis cabin for single-aisle airliners, with new seats, sidewalls and luggage bins that accommodate a claimed 60 percent more bags. Although cabin equipment accounts for two thirds of its $4.4 billion revenues, the France-based company is also active in a number of aircraft systems. It has consistently taken over smaller businesses and may be considering a new, undisclosed target acquisition in the industry, CEO Olivier Zarrouati hinted early this month.

AgustaWestland Sets New 'Run Dry' Standard for Helicopters
June 17, 2013, 4:15 AM
2013
AgustaWestland’s AW189 medium twin can run for 50 minutes after loss of gearbox lubrication, a condition that has caused several incidents among large transport category helicopters recently.

Loss of lubrication to the main gearbox (MGB) has been responsible for several crashes, ditchings and precautionary landings in large transport category helicopters in recent years. These accidents set off broad debate as to exactly what is required of main gearboxes under Part 29 certification of the U.S.

Malaysia Invests In Sukhoi Fighter Readiness
June 17, 2013, 4:10 AM
2013
Malaysia has allocated RM300 million to increase the combat readiness of the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKMs.

The events in Sabah, Malaysia, this past March, when local forces conducted Operation Daulat used combat jets to quell the resistance of the Filipino gunmen on the island of Borneo, may have prompted a spate of arms sales to that country and her closest neighbors. The armed forces do have a big wish list for weapons, but procurement processes for the most expensive and longest-lead items are likely to be launched properly only after the general elections in Malaysia later this year.

Thales Introduces Eye And Hand-gesture Video Controls
June 17, 2013, 3:55 AM
2013

Cabin technology appears to be moving at the speed of light, and more evidence of that rapid advance can be found here at the Panasonic and Thales exhibits in the form of eye-tracking and hand-gesture video controls.

Single European Sky Still Fragmented
June 17, 2013, 3:50 AM
2013
Eurocontrol’s network manager operations center in Brussels is based on the concept of a central flow management unit. It has the responsibilty to coordinate and manage flight planning and airspace data, as well as air traffic in the 39 ECAC member states.

This year is a crucial one for the modernization of Europe’s complex air traffic management (ATM) system, as it transitions from years of definition and development to initial deployment of Single European Sky (SES) systems designed to improve efficiency, save fuel and cut costs.

Combat Jets Drive Russian Arms Sales; India Tops Export List
June 17, 2013, 3:45 AM
2013
China reportedly has signed a deal for 24 single-seat multi-role Sukoi Su-35s. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2015.

Russia won export orders for weapons exceeding $15 billion and delivered weapons worth $14 billion in 2012, compared with $13.2 billion of weapons in 2011. “Surely, Russia will continue cooperation with her traditional partners in the sphere of military-technical cooperation,” Russian president Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the government’s committee for military-technical cooperation with foreign countries in December. “But it is of not less importance to us to enter new markets, expand the nomenclature of deliveries and services.”

Rheinmetall Brings UAV Expertise To EADS
June 17, 2013, 3:40 AM
2013
Rheinmetall Airborne Systems operates a small fleet of IAI Heron 1 UAVs over Afghanistan for the German air force.

Although German UAV specialists Rheinmetall Airborne Systems (RAS) is now 51-percent owned by EADS, the Bremen-based outfit is retaining its own identity and continues to build upon expertise gained in operating two UAV systems for the German armed forces. It has developed a lightweight, low-cost tactical UAV and is proposing an innovative larger design that is hybrid in both airframe and power.

MBDA Looks Outside Europe For Growth
June 17, 2013, 3:35 AM
2013
An RAF Tornado carries a pair of Dual-Mode Brimstone weapons on a rear fuselage station during operations over Libya. The performance of the weapon in that campaign has generated interest from the U.S.

Speaking prior to the Paris Air Show, Antoine Bouvier, CEO of European missile house MBDA, said, “2012 was an excellent year in terms of performance but it was a year of contrast for order intake. It was our best ever year for export, but the domestic market fell short, especially in France.” Leading those good export figures was a sizeable sale of MICA air-to-air missiles to India to support a Mirage 2000 upgrade program.

New ProVision 2 Security Scanner Wins European Approval
June 17, 2013, 3:30 AM
2013

L-3 Security & Detection Systems is demonstrating its new ProVision 2 passenger scanner here in the group’s Paris Air Show pavilion (Static E17). The equipment has just completed approval under the European Civil Aviation Conference’s Common Evaluation Process.

Automation Key To Boeing 777 Production Rate Increase
June 17, 2013, 3:25 AM
2013
The FlexTrack device drills holes in 777 fuselage panels nearly perfectly.

To automobile mass-producers, automation in the aerospace manufacturing probably looks fundamentally immature. However, Boeing’s efforts in introducing robotics into 777 production at its widebody plant in Everett, Washington, have translated into some considerable efficiency gains following the company’s transition some eight years ago to a moving, U-shaped assembly line and simultaneous implementation of lean production processes.

Pages