The World of Aviation

Hawker Beechcraft has delivered the 500th Beechcraft T-6 military trainer to the US military, a T-6B for the US Navy which will be based at NAS Whiting Field in Florida. The T-6 is based on the Pilatus PC-9 and was selected for the US Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) role in 1996, with deliveries commencing

A report by the Rand Corporation says if an order for 75 new build F-22s were placed by the USAF after the current production run winds down, the aircraft would cost US$227m (A$248m) each after taking into account production re-start costs. The report, entitled Ending F-22A Production: Costs and Industrial Base Implications of Alternative Options

The USAF has awarded Boeing a US$69.7m (A$76m) contract for the initial engineering, manufacturing and development of QF-16 full scale aerial targets. The USAF requirement calls for up to 126 F-16s to be converted to QF-16 drones, with the aircraft being drawn from retired F-16A stocks. The first QF-16 is due to enter service from

Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) says it has responded to the Australian Army’s tender for deeper maintenance of its six CH-47D Chinook helicopters. The six year contract will commence in September at Townsville, and requires the delivery of deeper maintenance support services to the Chinook fleet. For the Australian contract, BDA has teamed with Vector Aerospace

According to statistics released by the Airports Council International, passenger and freight traffic rebounded strongly during January. ACI says that total passenger traffic for the month was up by 5.4 per cent. This was aided by strong growth in international passenger numbers, which increased by 5.8 per cent, driven by double digit increases in the

The Department of Finance and Deregulation has sent out an advisory to all federal government departments about new requirements for official travel, ahead of the announcement of the winner of a travel management tender later this year. Under the new policies, public servants will have to ensure that other alternatives to travel, such as phone