Aviation Week & Space Technology August 4, 2014 is available to both Aviation Week & Space Technology and AWIN subscribers.

Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive critical analysis into emerging trends, technological advancements, operational best practices and continuous updates to policy, requirements and budgets.

Already a subscriber to AW&ST or AWIN? Log in with your existing email and password.

Subscribe    Log in    
Magazine Issue

Aviation Week & Space Technology August 4, 2014

VOL. 176 NO. 27 August 04, 2014

Global Flight-Tracking

article

Momentum Builds For Deployable, Streaming Tracking

Aug 04, 2014
MH370 disappearance increases pressure for streaming data and deployable recorders
article

Why The Oceanic Airline Data Bridge Is Not Seamless

Aug 04, 2014
A brief history of flight-tracking
article

Silver Lining For Flight-Tracking: The Cloud

Aug 05, 2014
Shared computing could provide long-term solution to global flight monitoring
article

New Satellite Network To Streamline Distress Signals

Aug 04, 2014
Meosar taking the ‘search’ out of search and rescue
article

Aireon System Offers Global Aircraft Tracking

Aug 04, 2014
Aireon venture expands potential of ADS-B for aircraft tracking
article

After MH370, Flight-Tracking Again Tops Airline Agenda

Aug 04, 2014
The notion that a $250 million, state-of-the-art Boeing 777-200ER could vanish without a trace seemed ludicrous until March 8.

Feedback

article

Refraction At Fault?

Aug 04, 2014
John Croft’s “False Promises” (AW&ST July 21, p. 38), which covers preventing autopilot false glideslope prompts, made me think of the crash of a Gulfstream G-2 into the side of a mountain in Hot Springs, Virginia, on Sept. 26, 1976. I was an air traffic controller at Trenton Mercer Airport in New Jersey, where the aircraft, owned by Johnson & Johnson, departed.
article

Twists In the Glidepath

Aug 04, 2014
The article “False Promises” states that glideslope “. . . characteristics above 3 deg. were previously not generally known.”
article

Solo Journey

Aug 04, 2014
“Out There” and related articles (AW&ST June 23, pp. 38-46) show how NASA and its partners are developing hardware to support an eventual human presence on Mars. But how can the public be inspired to fund a program when the results are so far in the future they won’t be seen by many of today’s taxpayers?
article

NAI Naysayer

Aug 04, 2014
I take exception to the commentary “A Fine Mess” by Madhu Unnikrishnan (AW&ST July 21, p. 19). It is a naked endorsement supporting Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) attempt to serve the U.S. An opposing opinion should receive equal weight.
article

Fuel for Thought

Aug 04, 2014
Regarding “Malaysian 777 Shootdown—Another Big Blow” (AW&ST July 21, p. 12), even though it is well known that surface-to-air missiles emit a white exhaust plume during launch and climb, I have read of no reports of such a plume being witnessed. Is it possible the Russians have developed a stealth combustion propulsion fuel?
article

Breached Branch

Aug 04, 2014
Unmanned aerial vehicle developers seek to dispel the public’s fear of rogue machines by insisting there will always be a human in the “kill chain.” However, in “Stealth by Routine?” (AW&ST July 21, p. 29) the work being described—enabling the Taranis UAV to operate when deprived of data links—amounts to giving it autonomous capability. The difference between asking or not asking for permission entails nothing more than a branch in the code.

Who's Where

article

Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization on the Joint Staff

Aug 04, 2014
USN Rear Adm. Jesse A. Wilson, Jr., has become director of the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization on the Joint Staff, succeeding USAF Brig. Gen. Kenneth E. Todorov. Wilson was executive assistant to the chief of naval operations and interim deputy director of the 21st Century Sailor Office.
article

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Aug 04, 2014
Mark A. Caylor (see photos) has been named corporate vice president/president of Enterprise Services/chief strategy officer and Stephen C. Movius corporate vice president/treasurer of Falls Church, Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp. Caylor adds the chief strategy officer role. Movius continues as vice president-investor relations.
article

Universal Asset Management

Aug 04, 2014
Shawn Kling has been named president of Universal Asset Management, Memphis, Tennessee. He has been chairman of Gulf Strategic; a member of the boards of directors of Global Energy & Lighting and Red Arrow Logistics; and strategic adviser to Dynamis Energy. Greg Brinkerhoff has been appointed chief financial officer.
article

American Airlines

Aug 04, 2014
Don Casey has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-revenue management for American Airlines.
article

Crane Aerospace & Electronics

Aug 04, 2014
Carl Trustee (see photo) has been appointed as vice president of Landing Systems Solutions for the Aerospace Group of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynnwood, Washington. He was head of the Central Engineering Group at Parker Aerospace.
article

General Aviation Manufacturers Association

Aug 04, 2014
Jonathan Archer has become director of engineering and airworthiness for the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He was an associate with Booz and Co., working on projects for the FAA and Joint Planning and Development Office.
article

Barfield Inc.

Aug 04, 2014
Johann Panier (see photo) has been named CEO of U.S.-based Barfield Inc., which Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance recently acquired. He was head of business development for AFI KLM E&M.

The World

article

Aero Vodochody Relaunching L-39

Aug 04, 2014
With about 3,000 built, and around 400 still in operation around the world, the L-39 Albatros jet trainer was a major success for Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody.
article

Coring and Caching

Aug 04, 2014
Planetary scientists hope the seven instruments NASA has competitively selected for its planned Mars 2020 rover will find evidence that life has existed on the red planet and maybe that it still does.
article

‘Neighborhood Watch’ in Space

Aug 04, 2014
The first two of four U.S. Air Force Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites—developed under contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. in secret—are now operating in “near geosynchronous” orbit (GEO) as a “neighborhood watch.”
article

Assembly Starts for Last C-17

Aug 04, 2014
Boeing has completed the main wing spar of the 279th and final C-17, marking the start of assembly for the last military airlifter to be made at its Long Beach, California, facility. The aircraft, which will be completed with the shutdown of the line in 2015, is one of 10 still unsold. Boeing says it is confident of placing all 10 by the end of the year with unspecified customers in the Middle East and possibly elsewhere. Other potential takers include India, which received its sixth C-17 on July 28. The Indian air force has 10 C-17s on firm order.
article

Charleston Gets 787-10

Aug 04, 2014
Boeing will assemble the 787-10, the third and longest 787 derivative, exclusively at its Charleston, South Carolina, facility, making it the first of any Boeing commercial model to be completed away from the U.S. West Coast. The decision was widely expected, since the 110-ft. midbody section of the 787-10 will be 10 ft.
article

Tunisia Wants Black Hawks

Aug 04, 2014
Tunisia wants to purchase a fleet of heavily armed Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, as the country modernizes its armed forces. The deal with the North African country could be worth $700 million, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which notified the U.S. Congress of the possible program July 23. Tunisia has requested 12 UH-60Ms along with a large quantity of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 2.75-in. Hydra unguided rockets and the integration work that could turn some of those unguided weapons into guided ones.
article

Italy Ends Corruption Probe

Aug 04, 2014
Italian prosecutors have ended their investigations into alleged corruption surrounding the sale of 12 AW101 VIP helicopters to the Indian air force in 2010. AgustaWestland has agreed with the tribunal in Busto Arsizio to pay what the company describes as a “negligible fine” to settle the case, but insists the fine is not an admission of any wrongdoing. Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland’s parent company, is keen to put the 18-month-old scandal behind it so it can continue with reorganization of the group, led by CEO Mauro Moretti.
article

First EC145 T2 Delivered

Aug 04, 2014
Airbus Helicopters handed over the first example of its new EC145 T2 light twin-engine helicopter to German air ambulance operator DRF Luftrettung in Donauworth on July 31. The T2 features new engines, new avionics and a new Fenestron shrouded tailrotor, replacing the traditional two-blade anti-torque system on the EC145. Production of the standard EC145 will continue into next year, and Airbus will still produce kits for its plant in Mississippi so it can build the UH-72 Lakota for the U.S. Army.

Up Front

article

Opinion: Defense Companies Reassess Portfolios In Light Of Global Change

Aug 07, 2014
June-quarter reports highlight international focus and waning war-related demands

Leading Edge

article

Stealth Helps BAE Hone New Aerodynamic Skills

Aug 06, 2014
Stealth rewrites the rules for the aerodynamics team behind the U.K.’s Taranis UCAV

Reality Check

article

Opinion: Airbus’s A320neo Validates Early Dreams

Aug 05, 2014
Success has trumped the severe skepticism that greeted the nascent Airbus and its offerings

Airline Intel

article

Chinese Seeing Familiar Obstacles To Budget Aviation

Aug 07, 2014
Airspace, skills shortages are obstacles to Chinese low-cost operations

In Orbit

article

Small Space Payloads Face Shortfall In Rides

Aug 04, 2014
Rides to orbit lagging smallsat development

Washington Outlook

article

Will Ex-Im Bank’s Russian Suspension Hurt Boeing?

Aug 04, 2014
The commercial aircraft industry has largely stayed on the sidelines of the political tension between Russia and the West, but that may be changing. The latest round of sanctions imposed after the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 includes the suspension of Ex-Im Bank deals with Russia—a decision that could hurt Boeing’s commercial aircraft sales there.
article

Intelligence Community May Use Hosted Payloads

Aug 04, 2014
Two government sensors that may fly in space under the new U.S. Air Force Hosted Payloads Solutions program (see page 27) are a French-built advanced data-collection system that will receive data from ocean buoys and electronic-tagged marine life, and a Franco-Canadian search-and-rescue satellite-aided tracking system. Both were developed for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and both were left without rides to orbit when the joint civil/military National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (Npoess) was cancelled in 2010.
article

Band’s Travel Woes Spotlight Gap In Baggage Rules

Aug 04, 2014
Do guitars qualify as carry-on luggage? According to Congress, they should. But as is often the case in Washington, the law hasn’t quite caught up with the rules. Though a law was passed two years ago mandating that musical instruments can be safely stowed on commercial flights, the Transportation Department hasn’t yet completed the rules to implement the law. This disconnect might have gone unnoticed, if not for an incident involving the folk-rock band Deer Tick. U.S.

Rotorcraft

article

South Korea Gives KAI A Chance In Global Rotary-Wing Market

Aug 04, 2014
Chooses KAI for LCH-LAH rotorcraft

Space

article

Smartphone Advances Drive Smallsats

Aug 06, 2014
Developments in consumer electronics are shaping fast small-satellite production
article

Space Buses Coming Faster And Cheaper

Aug 05, 2014
Lockheed Martin is testing 3-D-printed subsystems on A2100 space bus
article

Operational Hosted Payloads Clear Big Government Hurdle

Aug 04, 2014
Adoption of a catalog procurement mechanism puts hosted payloads on the horizon
article

NASA Advances Orion Module Integration

Aug 05, 2014
ATV retirement opens new chapter in U.S., European space cooperation
article

Airbus, Safran Push Launch Consolidation

Aug 05, 2014
Europe’s future ISS role complicated by next-gen launcher debate

Defense

article

U.K. Mulls Sole-Source Buy For New Sub Hunter

Aug 06, 2014
Britain could move soon to acquire ASW aircraft
article

Next-Generation Fighter, Directed Energy Weapons May Converge

Aug 05, 2014
Limited F-22, F-35 firepower magazine drives USAF investment plans
article

Raytheon Aims for Sentinel Upgrades

Aug 06, 2014
U.K.’s Sentinel in line for possible upgrades
article

Belgium Begins F-16 Replacement Process

Aug 06, 2014
Belgium considers F-35, other F-16 successors

Air Transport

article

Textron Flexes Simulation Market Muscle

Aug 06, 2014
Move into flight-simulation market rewarded with manufacturer deals for new Textron unit
article

Aviation Groups: Unified Global Air Security Elusive

Aug 06, 2014
Oversight agencies face myriad obstacles to ensuring universal air security

Airventure 2014

article

Gamut Of New Developments At AirVenture 2014

Aug 07, 2014
EAA AirVenture highlights product improvements, enduring passion

Business

article

Reprieve On Tap For U.K.'s Sentinel

Aug 04, 2014
U.K.’s Sentinel in line for possible upgrades
article

Advocates: U.S. Defense Sector Needs New Directions

Aug 04, 2014
To see where the U.S. defense base is going, some say ‘check your driveway’

Aerospace Calendar

article

Conferences & Exhibitions

Aug 04, 2014
Aug. 10-12—Executive Intelligence Summit, Middleburg, Virginia. Sept. 23-24—Brazing Symposium. Arizona. Oct. 7-9—MRO Europe, Madrid. Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore. Nov. 19-20—A&D Programs, Litchfield Park, Arizona. Jan. 13-14—MRO Latin America, Argentina. Feb. 2-3—MRO Middle East, Dubai. April 14-16—MRO Americas, Miami.
article

Upcoming Events

Aug 04, 2014
Aug. 21-22—Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide UAS Workshop. Dayton Beach, Florida. See proed.erau.edu or email [email protected] Aug. 22—54th Annual Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine Conference. Bangalore. www.isam.in/ Aug. 25—Ninth Asia-Pacific Congress of Aerospace Medicine. Beijing. www.apfama.org/2014

Viewpoint

article

Opinion: How To Counter Russia’s INF Cheating

Aug 06, 2014
The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty has served U.S. national security interests for over 25 years, and still does.