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Bell's third 525 Relentless takes flight in Amarillo

Bell Helicopter has added a third flight test aircraft to its 525 Relentless helicopter fleet as the company works toward type certification and first customer delivery next year. The third example, tail number N525BN, looks different both internally and externally to its orange and blue siblings...

MRJ FTA-2 prepares for May flight

Mitsubishi Aircraft says the second prototype for its MRJ regional jet programme is undergoing engine tests, as it readies for its first flight. In a newsletter, the Japanese manufacturer says FTA-2 will move forward with taxi tests in May, followed by flight tests. This follows the completion...


Boeing Wins $851 Million Single-Aisle Jets Order From Xiamen Air

Xiamen Airlines Co., a unit of China Southern Airlines Co., ordered 10 single-aisle jets worth about $851 million from Boeing Co. as the carrier expands to meet demand. The company, based in the southern Fujian province, will buy 10 737-800 models valued at July 2014 prices, the parent said in a Shanghai exchange statement Tuesday. The prices are before discounts that are typical in the industr...

Textron Aviation records modest rise in first quarter profits and deliveries

Textron Aviation recorded a modest increase in business aircraft deliveries for the first quarter of 2016 on the back of rising output for the Citation Latitude. For the period ended 31 March, the Cessna and Beechcraft owner delivered 34 business jets and 26 King Air turboprops, up from respective totals of 33 and 25, for the same period in 2015. Speaking on a first-quarter earnings call on...

Quickstep deliveries of F-35 vertical tails components expected to start by June

Quickstep Holdings says deliveries of vertical tail components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project are expected to begin by the end of June. The Australian manufacturer says the qualification process for the vertical tail fairings components, vertical tail spars and vertical tail skins have been approved. “Following completion of qualification for vertical tail fairings component...

Pakistan orders Cessna turboprops for aeromedical evacuation

Cessna has secured an order for two Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX and four T206H Stationair turboprops from Pakistan via the US government. The aircraft will be modified to perform aeromedical evacuation missions, the US Defense Department says in a contract announcement posted last week. Worth $14 million, the aircraft package will be delivered by December. “A 24-month sustainment pack...

Bell Helicopter makes 60 further redundancies at Mirabel plant

Bell Helicopter is to axe up to 60 jobs at its manufacturing facility in Mirabel in Canada. The latest cuts are in addition to the 200 layoffs that were announced by the company in February. This latest round of cuts will mean that just under a thousand people will now be based at the plant, down from almost 2,000 employees just five years ago. Lucie Tessier, head of communications at Bell t...

Airbus to Level Playing Field with Boeing With New Financing Partner

With a production plant in the US, Airbus customers will have the added facility of financing facilities through the US Export-Import Bank. In the form of US Export-Import Bank, Airbus Group SE will take a new financing ally on board, reports Wall Street Journal. The publication highlights financing from an “unlikely source” upon delivery of the first A320 jet from the company&...

Airbus delivers first aircraft from Alabama plant

Airbus officials say the company has delivered its first aircraft to be produced in the United States. Officials say employees at the company's manufacturing plant in Mobile, Alabama, presented the Airbus A321 to JetBlue on Monday. CEO John Leahy said in a statement that delivering the first aircraft after breaking ground on the facility three years ago is an amazing accomplishment and a...

Bombardier explores new airline project in post-sanctions Iran

Bombardier Inc. discussed prospects for a new airline in Iran as companies look to get a share of the country’s largely untapped aviation market after economic sanctions were lifted three months ago. Officials from the country’s Qeshm Free Zone held talks in Tehran with Pierre Beaudoin, executive chairman of Bombardier’s board, on a project to set up an air...

Solar plane reaches California after flight across Pacific

 A solar-powered airplane on a journey around the world was preparing to land in California on Saturday night to complete a risky, three-day flight across the Pacific Ocean. The Solar Impulse 2 was flying in a holding pattern off the San Francisco coast on 70 percent of stored energy while waiting for winds to decrease for landing at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View. The aircraft perfo...

ISRO to Test Reusable Launch Vehicle for Future Space Missions

India is set to flight test, in June, a home-grown reusable launch vehicle to demonstrate its capability to re-enter atmosphere and return to earth for more space missions, a top official said on Saturday. "The winged vehicle, in the shape of an aircraft, is on way to Sriharikota for the maiden flight test in June from our spaceport there," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) ch...

No provisions in contract for compensation mount AI’s Dreamliner woes

Facing frequent technical problems in its Dreamliner fleet, the absence of contractual provisions is hindering Air India’s efforts to get financial compensation from aircraft-maker Boeing. National carrier Air India, which is working to turnaround its fortunes, has been grappling with technical glitches with the “game-changer” Dreamliner aircraft since their induction in the f...

New Airbus Patent Wants To Put Jet Engines In Your Face

After an interminable wait in three security checkpoints, you finally make it to the terminal and settle in for a little bite of pre-flight food. Flying always gives you butterflies, so you skip the Cricket Bistro and instead grab a Soylent greenshake, chugging it as you make your way to the gate. After putting your hand through the biometric scanner, and hoverboard your way down the gangway be...

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Top of the week

Half a thousand strong: Textron Aviation rolls out 500th Cessna Citation Latitude

Textron Aviation has reached a significant production milestone with the rollout of the 500th Cessna Citation Latitude from its Wichita, Kansas, facility. The achievement reflects the enduring popular...

Ten years of growth, expertise and excellence at Dassault Falcon Service Mérignac

Located alongside Dassault Aviation’s flagship manufacturing facility, Dassault Falcon Service Mérignac is celebrating a decade of dedicated support to Falcon operators around the world....

Electra demonstrates revolutionary airport operations with Ultra-Short Takeoff aircraft using helicopter-style procedures

Electra announced the successful completion of first-of-its-kind flight operations from a heliport located on the commercial airport ramp at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. The demonstration high...

Gogo and Insitu collaborate on Group 3 UAS connectivity

Gogo Special Missions and Insitu have achieved a significant milestone in unmanned aviation with the successful testing and integration of a customized high-speed satellite communications solution for...

Haffner Energy brings the cost of renewable diesel and SAF closer to that of fossil fuels with SB-HEFA

Haffner Energy is redefining the economics of renewable fuels with the launch of SB-HEFA (Solid Biomass to HEFA), an innovative technology that converts solid biomass directly into liquid feedstock th...

Japan Airlines strengthens E-Jet operations with renewed Embraer Pool Program agreement

Embraer and Japan Airlines have strengthened their long-standing collaboration through a new multi-year agreement under Embraer’s Pool Program, ensuring continued maintenance, repair, and spare-...

RECARO Aircraft Seating marks SAS’ 80th anniversary with exclusive RECARO Gaming NXT chairs

RECARO Aircraft Seating is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Scandinavian Airlines with a unique collection of 80 customized RECARO Gaming Nxt chairs created exclusively for the carrier. Repres...