Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle X-37B Begins 1st Flight CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla., April 22, 2010 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced the successful launch of the Boeing-built Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), also known as the X-37B, for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The OTV was launched on an Atlas V rocket into a low Earth orbit today at 7:52 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41. "The X-37B has the potential to bring to space the flexibility that unmanned systems provide warfighters and combatant... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
787 Dreamliner Undergoing Extreme-Weather Testing in Florida VALPARAISO, Fla., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner has begun a series of extreme-weather tests at Valparaiso, Fla. A special hangar at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base allows the airplane to experience heat as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 43 Celsius). After the airplane is stabilized at either the hot or cold temperatures, flight test... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
First Learjet 60 XR and Challenger 850 Jets Delivered in China Bombardier Aerospace today announced that it has delivered its first Learjet 60 XR and Challenger 850 jets to customers based in mainland China on March 5 and March 26, 2010, respectively. “The milestone deliveries mark another important step in Bombardier’s growing presence in China,” said Ray Jones, vice president, International Sales, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Bombardier’s growing fleet of Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft in the region speaks to the... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Bombardier Celebrates 300th 'Comfortably Greener' Q400 Turboprop with Porter Airlines on Earth Day 2010 Bombardier Aerospace today celebrated its 300th Q400 turboprop aircraft, a Q400 NextGen model. The milestone aircraft is the 20th Q400 turboprop to join Toronto-based Porter Airlines’ fleet. During a special ceremony on Earth Day 2010 at Bombardier’s 1.7 million square-foot facility in Toronto, where the Q400 NextGen aircraft is manufactured, the company spoke of the aircraft’s reduced environmental impact. The lower-emission, fuel-efficient, “Comfortably Greener” Q400 and Q400... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
EAA Chief Nominated To Garmin Board By Fred George fred_george@aviationweek.com Thomas Poberezny, chairman and president of the Experimental Aircraft Association, has been nominated to the Board of Directors of Garmin International, Garmin officials told Aviation Week on Wednesday. The Garmin board will vote on Poberezny’s nomination at its May 2010 meeting. The nomination raised conflict of interest concerns among EAA board members, but the association’s executive committee now has... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
NASA Actions On Constellation Questioned By Jefferson Morris Some Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee are questioning whether NASA has violated stipulations of its Fiscal 2010 appropriation language by moving to terminate elements of the Constellation program early. Their questions echo concerns raised in March by a group of House lawmakers who sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office asking for an investigation of NASA’s actions ... ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
US Airways Ends Merger Talks With United By Darren Shannon US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker has confirmed the company did talk with United Airlines about combining the two carriers, but those negotiations have been discontinued because they did not result in a concrete agreement. This admission coincides with increased speculation that United used the negotiations with US Airways to signal its desire to merge with Continental. Several sources, including one that was directly ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Boeing 787 Begins Extreme Weather Tests By Guy Norris guy_norris@aviationweek.comLOS ANGELES Boeing’s third test 787 has entered a two-week phase of extreme weather tests at McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida as part of the aircraft’s type certification effort. The testing will expose the aircraft to heat as high as 115F degrees (46C) and as low as -45F (-43C). Boeing says once the aircraft (ZA003), is stabilized at either the hot or cold temperatures, flight ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
USAF Eyes Low-Yield Munitions By Amy Butler U.S. Air Force officials are eyeing another low-yield weapon in their strategy to field a family of munitions with limited collateral damage potential. They are using a composite case for the 500-lb. MK 82 bomb with the goal of reducing the weapon’s blast fragmentation effects and shifting to an overpressure kill mechanism, says Col. Mike Fantini, Air Force headquarters division chief for combat force application requirements.... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
AMS To Get Longer Lease On Life By Irene Klotz The high-profile Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer particle physics experiment to be mounted on the International Space Station will be outfitted with a magnet flown in 1998 on the STS-91 prototype AMS. Though less powerful than the liquid helium-cooled superconducting magnet built for AMS-02, the originally flown magnet should allow the particle detector to operate in space for 10 to 18 years, rather than the three-year design life... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Delta TechOps, Global Avia Eye CIS Market By Frank Jackman frank_jackman@aviationweek.comPHOENIX Delta TechOps and Global Avia Logistics signed a long-term strategic agreement to support Russian leisure charter operator Nordwind Airlines in what the two partners describe as a first step in exploiting the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) market. The agreement calls for Delta TechOps and Global Avia to support the overhaul and repair of the Pratt Whitney PW2000 engines and the GTCP 331-200... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Spain's March Hotel Stays Rise 7.5 Percent Overnight stays in Spanish hotels jumped 7.5 percent in March year-on-year, their second consecutive rise after 10 months of falls, largely due to the Easter holidays beginning in March this year compared to April in 2009 ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Cathay Pacific To Cooperate In UK Probe Cathay Pacific Airways said on Friday that it would cooperate in full with the relevant authorities in relation to a British investigation into the pricing practices of passenger airlines ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Spain Wants Europe To Have Common Airspace Spain proposed on Friday that the European Union speed up adoption of a common airspace to improve its response to problems such as the volcanic ash cloud, which left millions of passengers stranded ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
UAL, Continental In No-Premium Merger Talks United Airlines parent UAL and Continental Airlines are considering a stock-for-stock merger with no premium, creating a company valued at roughly USD$6.6 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Iceland To Close Airports Due To Ash Iceland, able to keep its airports open while European airlines were mostly grounded due to ash from its volcanic eruption, is now closing its airspace because of a change in wind direction, authorities said on Thursday ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Continental In Red; Southwest Posts Profit Severe winter weather and higher fuel costs pinched Continental Airlines' first-quarter results on Thursday and the company posted a larger-than-expected loss despite a jump in revenue ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Air China Q1 Net Doubles As Traffic Rebounds Air China said its first-quarter earnings more than doubled as the domestic air travel market rebounded strongly with the recovering economy ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Southwest Ekes Out First-Quarter Profit US low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines eked out a first-quarter profit, helped by higher revenue and modest improvement in business traffic (photo: Into The Blue) ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Ryanair Backs Down Over Air Shutdown Costs Ireland's Ryanair backed down in a row over compensation for victims of the Icelandic ash crisis on Thursday as the European Commission warned low-cost airlines not to "discount" passengers' rights ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
US Airways Pulls Out Of United Merger Talks US Airways said on Thursday it has dropped out of merger discussions with United Airlines parent UAL, a decision that changes the dynamic of similar talks between UAL and Continental Airlines ... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
NASA's Starry-Eyed Hubble Telescope Celebrates 20 Years of Discovery WASHINGTON -- As the Hubble Space Telescope achieves the majormilestone of two decades on orbit, NASA and the Space TelescopeScience Institute, or STScI, in Baltimore are celebrating Hubble'sjourney of exploration with a stunning new picture and several onlineeducational activities. There are also opportunities for people toexplore galaxies as armchair scientists and send personal greetingsto Hubble for posterity.NASA is releasing a new Hubble photo of a small portion of one of thelargest known... Apr-23 - 2010 | More ->
Boeing F-15K41 Successfully Completes 1st Flight ST. LOUIS, April 22, 2010 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] on April 19 conducted the first flight of F-15K41, the first of 21 F-15K Slam Eagles the company is producing under the Next Fighter II contract for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). The aircraft, flown by Boeing test pilot Steve Schmidt, took off from Lambert St. Louis International Airport at 2:36 p.m. Central time and landed at 3:44 p.m. The F-15K is an advanced variant of the combat-proven F-15E. Equipped with the... Apr-22 - 2010 | More ->
U.K. Parties Diverge On Aerospace And Defense By Douglas Barrie and Robert WallLondon As Britons prepare to go to the polls in two weeks, clashing policies on defense and aerospace are emerging among the three main political parties. While all three are signed up to a strategic defense review and support operations in Afghanistan, positions vary on nuclear deterrence, defense collaboration and elements of equipment procurement. In the commercial arena, airport expansion is contentious... Apr-22 - 2010 | More ->
U.K. Investigates Airline Price Fixing By Robert Wall wall@aviationweek.comLONDON The U.K.’s Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into allegations of price fixing between Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific on the London to Hong Kong route. “The case concerns a number of alleged contacts between employees of the two airlines over a number of years which it is alleged had the object of coordinating the parties’ respective pricing strategies regarding passenger fares through... Apr-22 - 2010 | More ->
