Planenews Aviation News PortalYour aviation news and services.First Chechen Airline Launches Flights to Moscow.- June 17, 2008 The first Chechen airline Grozny Avia has strengthened the recently resumed air communication between Moscow and Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic of the RF. Full Storyhttp://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9549 C-27J Spartan JCA 1 Successfully Completes First Flight in Italy.- June 17, 2008 WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE): Alenia North America, a subsidiary of Alenia Aeronautica and part of the Finmeccanica Group, announced today that the first C-27J Spartan for the U.S. Army’s Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) successfully completed its maiden flight at the Alenia facility in Turin, Italy...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9548 Chinese Company Develops UFO-Like Aircraft.- June 17, 2008 HARBIN (Xinhua): A private Chinese company said on Tuesday it has developed a prototype UFO-like aircraft capable of flying at an altitude of 1,000 meters at up to 80 kilometers per hour. The disc-shaped craft is 1.2 meters in diameter and weighs 10 kilograms. It is unmanned and has only one propeller inside the disk. It can fly for up to 40 minutes...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9547 Mooney Plans to Lay Off 80 Factory Workers, Scale Back Production.- June 17, 2008 Mooney Airplane Co. has announced immediate layoffs and a reduction in production due to a slowdown in the sales of piston engine airplanes. Mooney officials say that while overall revenues for business and personal aircraft are up industrywide, sales of piston engine airplanes are down by 28 percent in the first quarter of this year, 399 total piston engine airplanes shipped industrywide compared to 554 for the same period last year...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9546 Air Canada Cuts 2,000 Jobs as Fuel Costs Soar.- June 17, 2008 Air Canada, faced with soaring fuel prices, will cut capacity growth plans for a second time this year, but this time it will result in up to 2,000 job cuts, Canada’s largest airline said on Tuesday. The airline said it would cut capacity by 7% in the final quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2009. But it warned the cuts could be deeper than that if fuel prices remain at current levels...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9545 Future Navy and RAF Fighter Flies for the First Time.- June 17, 2008 The successful first flight of a supersonic fighter jet, the next generation of Navy and RAF jump-jets, took place on 11 June at Lockheed Martin’s Texas plant. The F35B, a stealthy fighter-bomber, made a conventional take-off and landing, and climbed to 15,000 feet for a series of handling, engine and other systems checks. It landed successfully after 46 minutes in the air...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9544 Swearingen SJ30-2 Gets Another Chance.- June 17, 2008 The Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 business jet has yet another reprieve in its many-year quest to fill the skies. A Dubai-based investment firm, Emirates Investment and Development Corporation (Emivest), is purchasing 80 percent of Texas-based Sino Swearingen for $150 million. ..http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9543 Are Pilots Afraid of Heights- June 17, 2008 Comedian Steven Wright once said that he’s not afraid of heights, but he is afraid of widths. Oddly enough, many pilots also have a skewed perspective when it comes to dimensions. I have no scientific evidence to prove it, but an unusually high percentage of pilots I know are afraid of heights. They, however, draw a distinction between being on board an aircraft and, as Alfred Hitchcock would have it, dangling off Mount Rushmore...http://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9542 First Woman in Space, 45 Years Passed.- June 17, 2008 First female cosmonaut in the world Valentina Tereshkova celebrated 45th anniversary of her flight to space yesterday. Full Storyhttp://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9541 Domodedovo Turns into Reality-Show Shooting Area.- June 17, 2008 Last week the debut of a new reality-show “Hello Goodbye” took place on Russian TV. Any person at the airport may become a show participant, tell a story from their life, and gain a few seconds of fame. Full Storyhttp://planenews.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=9540 |