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Magazine Issue

Aviation Week & Space Technology, December 21, 2015

VOL. 177 NO. 50 December 21, 2015

2015 Photo Contest

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Winners of Aviation Week's 23rd Annual Photo Contest

Dec 18, 2015
BEST OF THE BEST FIFI’s Fireworks FIFI is the center of attention on Boeing Plaza during Saturday night’s fireworks at EAA AirVenture 2015 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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Editors' Picks 2015 Photo Contest Editor's Picks

Dec 18, 2015
EDITORS Picks
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Meet The Winners Of Aviation Week's 2015 Photo Contest

Dec 18, 2015
Best of the Best
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Meet The 2015 Aviation Week Photo Contest Judges

Dec 18, 2015
A former Smithsonian Air & Space Museum staffer, Reuters photo editor and Aviation Week's executive editor, art director and data analyst/planespotter collaborate to select the year's best aviation and aerospace photos.

Person of the Year

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Person Of The Year: Delta Air Lines’ Richard Anderson

Dec 18, 2015
From his war on Gulf carriers and the Ex-Im Bank to engineering a merger that began consolidation, the CEO has had impact.
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Bezos Moves Beyond Amazon To Challenge Space Industry

Dec 18, 2015
The outcomes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space-industry ambitions may lie in the future, but he definitely moved the needle in 2015.
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Response To UAV Challenge Defining FAA Under Huerta

Dec 18, 2015
It is late, and lagging developments in technology and the market, but the FAA under Administrator Michael Huerta is tackling the challenges created by the proliferation of small unmanned aircraft.

First Take

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First Take (Dec. 21, 2015)

Dec 18, 2015
COMMERCIAL AVIATION Boeing plans to fly the 737 MAX at the end of January following the Dec. 7 rollout of the first aircraft, a 737-8 designated 1A001. Airbus will deliver the first A320neo to Lufthansa on Dec. 22—rather than Qatar Airways as planned—because of operational restrictions on the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofan.

Defense

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Northrop Unveils Next-Generation Fighter Concept

Dec 17, 2015
Directed-energy weapons and thermal management will be key, Northrop Grumman executives say.
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France To Extend Neuron Trials In 2016

Dec 17, 2015
The six-nation UCAV demonstrator completed an initial phase in November 2015, but will continue flight trials in 2016 and potentially beyond. In a parallel effort, Britain has just completed a third round of flight tests of its Taranis UCAV demonstrator. And a four-nation effort, led by Germany, is to begin designing an unmanned ISR platform in the spring of 2016.
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The Week In Defense, Dec. 17-24, 2015

Dec 17, 2015
From Aegis Ashore to Pakistani nuclear-capable missiles—a look at some of the latest developments on the missile technology and missile defense front.

Business

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Stakeholders Jump Ship As Rolls-Royce Struggles To Restructure

Dec 17, 2015
Shareholders bail over future of aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce, despite restructuring efforts.

Commercial Aviation

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China Will Let Markets Play Role In Airline Slot Allocation

Dec 15, 2015
China has always preferred administrative allocation of runway access. Now the national drive against corruption has evidently prompted a trial period of auctioning and trading slots.
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Virgin Atlantic Uses Heathrow Slots As Bond Collateral

Dec 15, 2015
Virgin Atlantic is using proceeds from collateralizing Heathrow slots for the purchase of new aircraft, including Boeing 787s.
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Airlines Head For Record Profitability, But Earnings Are 'Fragile'

Dec 15, 2015
“So we are finally—after years of destroying capital—delivering the minimum level of profitability that an investor would expect,” says IATA CEO Tony Tyler.
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Virgin America Will Take 10 Airbus A321neos In 2017-18

Dec 18, 2015
Virgin America is acquiring new aircraft, but instead of adding many new markets, the airline is expected to shore up existing ones.
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Airbus And Boeing Enter Game-Changing Territory

Dec 18, 2015
With the A320neo delivery and 737 MAX rollout under their belts, Airbus and Boeing, respectively, mark a new era in aircraft manufacturing.

Technology

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Europe Advances Flow-Control Technologies for Fuel Savings

Dec 14, 2015
Maturing hybrid laminar flow control, active flow control, noise reduction and vibration prediction and mitigation technologies are the focuses of Europe’s AFloNext research program.
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Cubesat Launcher Builds On Sounding Rockets

Dec 14, 2015
UP Aerospace takes its experience building and operating low-cost suborbital sounding rockets and applies it to a dedicated launch vehicle for tiny cubesats.
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The Week in Technology, Dec. 14-18, 2015

Dec 14, 2015
Jails fear UAV smuggling; France leads UAV smallsat launcher; Darpa aims for ubiquitous lidar; Roke takes cellular to high altitude; Airbus Perlan glider moves to new test phase.

Space

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French Spending On Military Space Programs Rising In 2016

Dec 16, 2015
France’s defense ministry will begin work on three new major space-system developments in the coming year, including an international collaboration with Germany in the area of remote sensing and an operational follow-on to the Elisa signals-intelligence demo.

Up Front

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Opinion: Risk And Failure Drive Innovation

Dec 18, 2015
Talent and technology innovation have shaped society’s past, and they will surely shape its future. But all stakeholders must understand what spawns innovation.

Going Concerns

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Partnerships And Investments Vie With Mergers and Acquisitions

Dec 17, 2015
Through partnerships and investments, defense primes and OEMs are increasingly turning the page away from the old playbook of acquiring and subsuming new technology.

Airline Intel

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Opinion: European Aviation Strategy Focuses On Wrong Issues

Dec 15, 2015
The EC should focus on defending consumer interests rather than protecting Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group from competition.

Commander's Intent

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Opinion: Why Does U.S. Air Force Want New F-15s Or F-16s?

Dec 17, 2015
Fighter operators and Pentagon acquisition troops are talking past each other. That can’t end well.

In Orbit

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2015 Marked A Spaceflight Renaissance

Dec 16, 2015
2015 could well turn up in the history books as the year humankind finally realized it could be a spacefairing species, and started reaping the benefits.

Washington Outlook

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F-35s, Human Spaceflight Win In Fiscal 2016 Spending Bill

Dec 18, 2015
Shelby vs. McCain continues. NASA gains $1 billion. And international travelers to U.S. face new restrictions.

Feedback

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Letters From Our Readers (Dec. 21, 2015)

Dec 18, 2015
FAA "drone" regulations decried; additional notes on propulsion history; merits of amassing aircraft-transmission data weighed; assessing "true" bomber costs.

Who's Where

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New Positions, Promotions, Honors And Elections (Dec. 21, 2015)

Dec 18, 2015
The Air France-KLM Group has appointed Nathalie Stubler (see photos) CEO of Transavia France; Antoine Pussiau Air France-KLM senior vice president-Asia Pacific; and Patrick Roux Air France-KLM senior vice president-Alliances. Air France has appointed Eric Schramm executive vice president-operations/accountable manager, overseeing flight and ground operations and maintenance.

Aerospace Calendar

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Aerospace Calendar (Dec. 21, 2015)

Dec 18, 2015
Jan. 4-8—AAIA/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference. Manchester Grand Hyatt. San Diego. See aiaa-scitech.org/SDM Feb. 2-4—The Unmanned Systems Conference and Exposition. World Forum. The Hague, Netherlands. See tusexpo.com