French manufacturer Thales is to supply avionics and navigation equipment for the cockpit of the Airbus A350 XWB following an award by the European airframer. Thales has been competing against Honeywell and Rockwell Collins for the flight deck supply contract. A Thales spokeswoman confirms the award. The company values the agreement at around €2 billion ($2.9 billion) over a 20-year period. Graphic of proposed A350 XWB cockpit Airbus’ cockpit for the A350 XWB is based on an all-new design featuring six display screens: two mounted in front of each pilot, and two mounted vertically on the console between them. Several major systems suppliers have already been selected to provide equipment for the A350 XWB.

As the A320 family order backlog passes 2,500 aircraft, Airbus has pushed back the window for when it expects the next-generation single-aisle aircraft to enter service to the latter part of the next decade. The revelation comes as American Airlines vents its frustration at the slow progress in the development of new-generation narrowbodies as it seeks a replacement for its huge, ageing Boeing MD-80 fleet. Airbus's chief operating officer customers, John Leahy, says the development of new engine technology is dictating the pace of new narrowbodies from Airbus and Boeing. "The engine-makers say the technology won't be around until 2015, so we're looking at 2017-20 for the next-generation single-aisle," he says. This is later than Airbus previously indicated, having until now maintained that it expected the next-genera

Listen to Lewis Hamilton as he explains how his role with Bombardier has transformed his life, as well as his thoughts on the prospects for some more close racing in the 2008 F1 season.

Lessor International Lease Finance (ILFC) expects some if not all of its initial Boeing 787 deliveries to be impacted by the twinjet's latest delay. The aircraft leasing giant is scheduled to take delivery of its first 787s in 2010; it is slated to accept a total ten for the year. “But we don’t know now,” revealed ILFC president John Plueger in an interview with ATI, flightglobal.com's premium sister news site. “Those [787s] that are coming the first half of the year [2010], I would not be surprised if they were impacted,” he says, adding, however, that it is possible that the entire batch of 10 aircraft could be affected. Boeing in October 2007 opted to delay initial 787 deliveries by six months. At that time, about 15 airlines were affected by the shift in

Alliant Techsystems has released information about its proposed Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration programme launcher for space services company PlanetSpace's bid, after PlanetSpace was selected as a finalist by NASA

Parker Aerospace has been selected to supply the fuel and hydraulic systems for the Airbus A350 XWB. The US company estimates the contracts will generate more than $2 billion in revenues over the life of the programme. Several Parker divisions will collaborate to provide the complete fuel package, including the inerting system, fuel measurement and management systems, mechanical equipment and fuel pumps. The company will also provide the hydraulic power generation and distribution system. The fuel tank inerting system will use air-separation modules provided by Parker's Filtration and Separation division in the Netherlands. The modules will generate nitrogen-enriched air that will be used to reduce the flammability of fuel vapour in the tanks. The US company says the control valves provided by its

US Airways has reached a deal with Airbus to convert some of the narrowbodies it has on order with the manufacturer to larger members of the A320 family. The amended deal allows US Airways to convert thirteen Airbus A319s to A320s, a single A319 to an A321 and eleven A320s to A321s. Deliveries are scheduled for 2009 and 2010. Flight’s ACAS database shows US Airways has 19 A319s, 42 A320-200s and 25 A321-200s on order. US Airways is also looking for long-haul aircraft for its Philadelphia-Beijing flight that’s scheduled to debut in 2009, and has noted its intent to fly

Airbus remains concerned about the progress of development of the A400M transport's TP400 turboprop engine and warns that several critical elements must be completed in the coming months if the tentative late-July target for the much-delayed first flight is to be achieved. "The engine is the critical path - it's my number one concern," says Airbus executive vice-president programmes Tom Williams. The TP400 should have had accrued 1,500h of ground testing by beginning of last year, says Williams, but to date has completed just 600h. The engine slip was cited by EADS as a key reason behind the one-year delay in the start of A400M deliveries to launch customer the French air force announced last October. "We originally wanted a certificated eng

Australian general aviation aircraft manufacturer Seabird Aviation Australia is probing the feasibility...

Thai Airways International has revised a fleet modernisation plan approved by its board last year and will seek government...

Warning lights placed at runway ends and at the intersections between taxiways and runways are "a viable technology for preventing runway incursions", says...

Similar Incident Occurred In December The FAA is investigating an alleged air traffic control error that put two planes landing at Newark Liberty International Airport closer than federal guidelines allow. The incident occurred at 2:10pm last Wednesday, and involved Continental Flight 536, a Boeing 737 arriving from Phoenix, and Continental Express Flight 2614, an Embraer 145 arriving from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Associated Press reports.

Hillary Clinton was having a little fun the other day fresh off her victory in New Hampshire.  This was the first time that Clinton was able to use her new campaign plane which will carry herself, journalists and staff. 

Clinton parodied the speech that flight attendants give . 

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome aboard the maiden flight of Hil Force One,” Clinton continued.  "FAA regulations prohibit the use of any cell phones, BlackBerrys, or wireless devices that may be used to transmit a negative story about me.”

"And in the event of an unexpected drop in poll numbers, this plane will be diverted to New Hampshire,” said H. Clinton. 

ABC News 

"Initial indications from the interviews and Flight Recorder analyses show the flight and approach to have progressed normally until the aircraft was established on late finals for Runway 27L. At approximately 600 ft and 2 miles from touch down, the Autothrottle demanded an increase in thrust from the two engines but the engines did not respond. Following further demands for increased thrust from the Autothrottle, and subsequently the flight crew moving the throttle levers, the engines similarly failed to respond. The aircraft speed reduced and the aircraft descended onto the grass short of the paved runway surface." Source: From the British Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) initial report on the January 17 landing accident of a British Airways Boeing 777-200 at London's Heathrow Airport.

Says Engines Did Not Respond To Throttle-Up Commands Below is the unedited, initial textual report on the January 17 accident involving a British Airways Boeing 777-200. As ANN reported, the aircraft, inbound from Beijing, touched down short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport, skidding to a violent stop that, fortunately, only resulted in some minor injuries to those onboard.

Bad Weather Hampered Landing Effort Angolan rescue crews have finished retrieving the bodies of the 13 victims from a Beech King Air B200 that crashed into the mountains of southern Angola, Africa, on Saturday.

It's been an interesting weather week at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo ... but certainly nothing as challenging as the weather our EAA coworkers are experiencing back home in Oshkosh (they reported an air temperature of -11 at noon on Saturday!)

When You Wish Upon The Regulations... Once every three years, the FAA asks for public comments on its existing regulations... and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association always jumps at the opportunity to advance general aviation initiatives. This time around, the association says it is prodding the FAA to catch up with the times.

EU Governments Could Provide Funding... And Fuel New US Complaints European airplane maker Airbus must decide where to seek additional financing to develop its $17 billion A350XWB, and is considering government assistance as an option.

Vibration Problem Plagues SRB Design NASA experts are wrestling with a propulsion vibration problem in its new moon rocket design. Engineers are working to develop options to address a "thrust oscillation" issue in the Ares I rocket, The Associated Press reports.