New Zealand Air Force Selects Beechcraft T-6C Trainers
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| Beechcraft T-6 Trainer. Courtesy of Beechcraft. |
The Royal New Zealand Air Force has issued a new contract to Beechcraft to provide its T-6C Texan II turboprop aircraft to modernize the nation’s military pilot training capabilities.
Under the new contract, Beechcraft will provide a fleet of 11 T-6C Texan II aircraft, two CAE simulators and computer-based training courseware. The Wichita, Kan.-based manufacturer will also sign a 30-year logistics support contract to provide New Zealand with training, spare parts and maintenance.
“With more than 825 T-6 aircraft in operation around the world, and more than 2.2 million accumulated flight hours, the aircraft has a fully tested and validated airframe fatigue life, plus an advanced avionics capability to facilitate future growth,” said Russ Bartlett, president of Beechcraft Defense Co.
New Zealand will base the aircraft and simulators at its Air Force Base Ohakea.
China Eastern Adds Thales Avionics Suite to A320s
China Eastern Airlines’ new Airbus single aisle fleet will feature surveillance systems, flight management systems and Head-up Displays (HUD) from Thales.
The Chinese carrier will add Thales’ latest avionics solutions to a fleet of 60 Airbus A320s that it purchased for $5.4 billion in 2012.
Delivery of those aircraft is scheduled to begin this year.
Airbus signed a partnership in September to modernize the nation’s Air Traffic (AT) system, focusing on AT flow management and the implementation of Required Navigation Performance Authorization Required (RNP-AR) approaches at Chengdu Airport and Instrument Landing Systems (ILS)at Beijing Capital Airport.
The system features a performance based Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) and an ADS-B capable transponder in a 6 MCU package, along with a full range of ADS-B In functions, which would prepare China Eastern for ADS-B future airspace mandates in the region.
Rockwell Collins Establishes Chinese Flight Sim Joint Venture
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LeAnn Ridgeway, VP and GM, simulation and training solutions for Rockwell Collins, (right front) and Jin Dongsheng, chairman, Beijing Bluesky Aviation Technology (left front) shake hands on the ACCEL Flight Simulation joint venture.
Courtesy of Rockwell Collins. |
Rockwell Collins has a final agreement with Beijing Bluesky Aviation Technology to establish a joint venture flight simulation company.
The new joint venture, ACCEL (Tianjin) Flight Simulation Co., will create a “simulation and training center of excellence in China,” according to Rockwell Collins. ACCEL will be located at Tianjin Airport.
Andrich Takes Over Lufthansa Technik Philippines
Burkhard Andrich has been appointed president and CEO of Manila-based Lufthansa Technik Phillippines.
Currently serving as senior vice president of aircraft component services at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Andrich will succeed Gerald Frielinghaus.
Lufthansa Technik Phillippines is a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and aviation service provider MacroAsia.
Airbus Launches Aviation Fuel Partnership in Malaysia
Airbus has signed an agreement with several Malaysian and European partners to establish a Center of Excellence in the country that will assess local solutions for the future production of jet fuel in the country.
Partners that have signed onto the project include AMIC Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Center (AMIC), Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), UPM (University Putra Malaysia), CIRAD and Malaysian Biotechnology Corp.