The World of Aviation

Eurocopter’s new EC175 has made its maiden flight, with the aircraft’s performance meeting and in some cases exceeding original expectations. The helicopter’s recommended cruise speed has been increased 10kt to 150kt without an impact on payload or range. During the test flight the EC175’s hover out of ground effect at maximum takeoff weight was proved

Airbus has achieved new milestones after having received 186 orders and delivered 54 aircraft during November to bring total orders to more than 12,000 – at 12,064. The manufacturer is also heading towards a delivery record in 2012, with 516 aircraft delivered to the end of November, compared with 534 for the whole of 2011.

The New Zealand government will soon issue tenders for replacements for the RNZAF’s CT-4E and King Air training aircraft. The RNZAF’s 13 CT-4Es used for basic training are scheduled to reach their service life by the end of 2018, which coincides with the conclusion of a five-year lease package from Hawker Pacific for four King

Airbus Military’s A400M is closer to civil certification after completing a 32-day, 300-hour function and reliability flight testing program. Using a production-representative aircraft – the sixth A400M – 52 flights were made to complete the functional tests in advance of the aircraft proceeding to full type-certification testing by regulatory authorities.  It is anticipated full civil

Delta Airlines has bought a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic, creating a joint venture that will eye a larger share of the lucrative travel market between the US and UK. Delta reportedly paid US$360 million to buy the stake from Singapore Airlines, which had paid $965 million for the share in 1999 but

Australia’s airline industry and leading analysts have urged the federal government to develop a new airport for Sydney within the next 10 years or risk imperilling the economy. The Australian Financial Review (AFR) has reported airlines, infrastructure analysts and aviation experts have presented a compelling case to the federal government in November for it to