The World of Aviation

A mockup of the newly-launched Bell 505 Jet Ranger X will be a star exhibit at the forthcoming Rotor Tech 2014 conference and trade show, organisers have announced. Bell launched the 505 at the Heli-Expo convention in Anaheim, California, in February, and a mockup of the new light single helicopter is due to go on

Final assembly of the first A320neo is underway at Airbus’s Toulouse facility with the joining of the forward and aft fuselage sections. The forward fuselage is built at Airbus’s Saint Nazaire, France plant, with the rear fuselage built in Hamburg, Germany. Final assembly will take approximately one month, Airbus says, with first flight planned for

CAE has begun training at its new Perth training centre, the Canadian-based simulation and training company announced last week. The new Perth facility features Fokker 50, Fokker 100 and Embraer Phenom 100 full flight simulators plusbriefing rooms, a multi-use classroom, offices and workshops facilities, and can train “approximately 2,000 crew members and cadets per year at

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority – AMSA – which is now coordinating search efforts for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, said on Tuesday it is now focused on an area 1,500nm southwest of Perth “based on information made available to AMSA on Monday”. “AMSA has defined a possible search area

The Defence Material Organisation has signed a contract extension with Boeing Defence Australia for the support of the RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) fleet. The $901 millionsustainment contract covers engineering and maintenance support, repairs, spare parts, and aircrew and maintenance training through until 2019, with the potential for annual contract extensions thereafter

Malaysian authorities have re-tasked one of two Australian maritime patrol aircraft that are supporting the search for Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370, Defence has confirmed. “[On Sunday] one RAAF AP-3C Orion commenced searching the Indian Ocean to the north and west of the Cocos Islands,” stated Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley on Sunday