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Magazine Issue

Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 7, 2016

VOL. 178 NO. 45 November 07, 2016

Defense

J-20 At Zhuhai Shows Unstealthy Features

Nov 04, 2016

A J-20 that performed at Zhuhai may have been a production aircraft, but it also had ill-fitting panels and other features that did not look very stealthy.

Three Significant Unmanned Aircraft Types Appear At Zhuhai

Nov 04, 2016

The newly revealed Avic Cloud Shadow appears to have a span of around 20 m (66 ft.), like the General Atomics Avenger used by the U.S. Air Force, though the Chinese aircraft is less bulky and probably lighter.

U.S. Air Force May Expand J-Stars Fleet Safety Inspections

Oct 31, 2016

Air Force Materiel Command still has concerns about the quality of Northrop’s maintenance work on the aging J-Stars jets and may need to expand safety inspections to the entire fleet.

Sole U.S. Air Force Nuclear Cruise Missile Showing Its Age

Nov 07, 2016

U.S. Air Force aims to save its only nuclear-armed cruise missile from threatened obsolescence.

Brazil’s Economic Problems Challenge Helibras

Nov 01, 2016

With Brazilian upgrades under its belt, Helibras looks for more work in Latin America.

Bristow Group, UK Coastguard Prepare For New Helicopter Fleet

Nov 04, 2016

Faster, higher-performing helicopters are transforming the UK’s search-and-rescue capabilities.

The Week In Defense, Nov. 3-10, 2016

Nov 03, 2016

In this week’s roundup: Turkey adds to F-35 fighter request; U.S. black budget ticks up; IAI wins key Asian cyber security contract; and UK extends its Sentinel ISTAR aircraft life.

First Take

First Take (Nov. 7, 2016)

Nov 04, 2016

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

Commercial Aviation

777X Production Investments Bolster Boeing

Oct 31, 2016

Wholesale changes put in place by Boeing for 777X production have strategic implications for the company’s future effectiveness.

Robotic Boeing 777 Fuselage Line Achieves ‘Stability’

Oct 31, 2016

Boeing’s first 777X full-size composite wing skin test panel is being built as its robotic fuselage line picks up speed.

Double-locked Latch Pins Secure Boeing 777X Folding Wingtip

Oct 31, 2016

The Boeing 777X folding wingtip is designed for reliability and simplicity, with no moving parts or even wingtip lights beyond the hinge line.

Boeing-Comac Facility To Free Up Space Around Seattle

Nov 04, 2016

Probably the biggest industrial advantage in setting up 737 completion and delivery centers in China will be freeing up space at Renton and Boeing Field. These sites face a rise in production rates to 57 a month by 2019, compared with 42 now.

Could Russo-Chinese Widebody Beat Competition On Operating Costs?

Nov 04, 2016

UAC will build the wing of a widebody aircraft for the 2020s while Comac makes the fuselage. Final assembly will be in Shanghai, Comac’s home.

Survey Says: MRO Is In Good Shape But Widebody Demand Is Weak

Nov 04, 2016

There is little sign that weak demand will improve soon for older widebody aircraft such as the Boeing 777, 747-8 and Airbus A380.

NTSB Is Still Searching For Cause Of CF6 Engine Problem

Nov 04, 2016

Accident investigators are puzzling over the causes of the first-ever failure of a second-stage high-pressure turbine stage on a General Electric CF6-80C2 engine that suffered an uncontained release of debris during the Oct. 28 takeoff run of an American Airlines Boeing 767-300ER from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Technology

FlexSys And Aviation Partners Display Morphing Wing

Nov 04, 2016

The new approach to variable-camber wings builds on a FlexSys-developed compliant composite structure.

Rolls-Royce Gearbox And Ceramics Work Aim At Next-Gen Engines

Nov 01, 2016

Rolls-Royce’s power gearbox and ceramic matrix composites work are part of a plan that will culminate in the UltraFan, an engine aimed at future airliners for 2025 onward.

GE Reveals Full Extent Of Printed Engine Plan

Nov 04, 2016

GE’s Advanced Turboprop will feature more additively manufactured parts than any previous engine, reducing 855 conventionally made components to just 12 3-D-printed parts.

Honeywell Inertial Sensor To Guide Weapons When GPS Is Denied

Nov 04, 2016

DARPA program plans to field navigation-grade MEMS IMU by 2020 as a drop-in replacement for today’s tactical-grade sensors to extend the time for which precision weapons can fly without GPS.

The Week In Technology, Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 2016

Oct 31, 2016

Zee’s electric VTOL aircraft is spotted; Boeing’s commercial tiltrotor is patented; Japan’s Fquroh is quieter; NASA’s NEAT is tested.

Space

Making The Shift From Expendable To Reusable Launchers

Nov 02, 2016

Using rockets over and over like airplanes can hold down launch costs, but it will take a lot of launches to overcome the cost and weight penalties.

Virgin Feeling Good About Coming SpaceShipTwo Rocket Motor Tests

Nov 02, 2016

Two years after a fatal SpaceShipTwo crash, Virgin Galactic looks to move forward, confident about upcoming glide tests with an improved rocket motor.

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo Receives Performance Boost

Nov 02, 2016

Virgin Galactic test pilots have developed procedures that greatly improve takeoff and balanced field length performance of the WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.

Connected Aerospace: Manufacturing

Internet Of Things To Change Aircraft Design And Manufacture

Nov 04, 2016

From design tools to flexible electronics, advances that proliferate sensing and communications throughout aircraft, engines and the factories where they are made will result in profound design and engineering changes.

Up Front

Opinion: Plunging Twin-Aisle Orders Spell Future Trouble

Nov 03, 2016

The world has a sudden twin-aisle overcapacity problem: Orders have fallen precipitously, and the number of parked twin-aisles is rising.

Opinion: Why The Rockwell Collins-B/E Aerospace Merger Could Work

Nov 01, 2016

The combined company will be a super supplier of buyer-furnished equipment poised to ride the wave of aircraft interior retrofits.

Going Concerns

After U.S. Election, Look For Tax, Infrastructure Debate

Nov 03, 2016

After the U.S. presidential election, almost everyone will want to repatriate overseas money for use in rebuilding America’s infrastructure, including aviation.

Airline Intel

Opinion: Airline Ownership And Control Rules Need An Overhaul

Nov 02, 2016

Too many airlines have a vested interest in keeping current ownership and control regulations in place. If they succeed, it will mark a major missed opportunity.

In Orbit

NASA Works To Maximize Space Launch System Operations

Nov 02, 2016

New NASA facility will simulate SLS launch loads, while planners study flight tests for secondary payloads.

Washington Outlook

What Drove Pentagon Cost Growth Down?

Nov 04, 2016

In this week’s Washington Outlook, the Pentagon acquisition chief defends procurement reforms; the FAA maintains a ban on flights over Ukraine; and insiders speculate who will lead Senate space policies.

Editorial

Editorial: What The Next U.S. President Should Do In Space

Nov 03, 2016

Keep NASA pointed toward Mars, bring China into the fold and don’t let climate-change deniers kill Earth science.

Feedback

Letters From Our Readers (Nov. 7, 2016)

Nov 04, 2016

Readers weigh merits of Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation and Aviation Week's coverage; some decry Lockheed Martin's timing of new tanker offering.

Who's Where

New Positions, Promotions, Honors And Elections (November 7, 2016)

Nov 04, 2016

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. has named Paul R. Lundstrom (see photo) vice president-finance/chief financial officer, based in El Segundo, California. He was vice president-investor relations for United Technologies Corp. Passur Aerospace Inc. has appointed Matthew A. DeLellischief growth officer and Louis J. Petrucelly senior vice president/chief financial officer. David M. Henderson has been promoted to chief product officer.

Aerospace Calendar

Aerospace Calendar And Aviation Week Events (November 7, 2016)

Nov 04, 2016

Upcoming aviation and aerospace industry events in September and October, and Aviation Week Network events

Market Sector

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Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 7, 2016

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Defense

First Take

Commercial Aviation

Technology

Space

Connected Aerospace: Manufacturing

Up Front

Going Concerns

Airline Intel

In Orbit

Washington Outlook

Editorial

Feedback

Who's Where

Aerospace Calendar