The giants of the aircraft leasing business have traditionally shunned aircraft with fewer than 100 seats, but the market will shift in the coming months as the giants change direction. BOC Aviation, CIT Aerospace, GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) and International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) are looking to break with convention and place orders for smaller aircraft.
The Swedish government and opposition have formalized a compromise to keep JAS-39 Gripens operational as part of the NATO-led operation against Libya. As part of the deal between the Social Democrats, who wanted to end the deployment, the government has authorized five Gripens to continue to operate from Sigonella, Sicily. The prior commitment included eight aircraft.
A Raytheon SM-3 Block IA missile views an inert warhead target in space using its infrared (IR) seeker just before its longest-range intercept to date, on April 15. The box is a function of a “coning” technique used by the seeker to constantly rotate the scene on its focal-plane array. In the event of a “dead” pixel, which cannot pick up the IR data, coning allows the seeker to keep a constant look at the target. Raytheon photo.
Brian Meyer has joined PAS Technologies as general manager of its Miramar, Fla., facility. He was vice president of engineering at AAR Landing Gear Systems.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is eyeing late 2012 for the next try at intercepting a ballistic missile target with the troubled and multibillion-dollar Boeing-led Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) system.
Boeing's bet to self-fund development of the Phantom Ray unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator may be about to pay dividends, with the company in discussions with several customers about government-financed demonstration activities. It embarked on the Phantom Ray to remain in the unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) game after losing the U.S. Navy demonstration program to rival Northrop Grumman's X-47. The goal is to be in a strong position to compete for the Navy's Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike Systems program.
A ceremonial opening of Boeing's 787 final assembly building in North Charleston, S.C., on June 10 heralded the expectation that manufacturing will begin there on July 12. The 642,720-sq.-ft. facility will begin operations building the standard-sized 787-8 using a U-shaped assembly process that is likely to be more efficient than Boeing's main line in Everett, Wash. The North Charleston factory is wider than Everett's and allows easier access for suppliers. The first airplane is expected to roll out late this year.
Airbus and Rolls-Royce, addressing customers' concerns about performance of the Trent XWB engine, are working on a potential thrust-margin increase of roughly 5,000 lb. that is needed for the A350-1000. The measures involve a substantial design change that could force the planned service-entry target for the larger model to slide one year to at least 2016. The plans come as key customers such as Air Lease Corp. (ALC) and Emirates have publicly voiced doubts that the engine as now defined may not be powerful enough.
Scaled Composites says flight tests of the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) modified with nose strakes indicate the devices produce “much improved longitudinal dynamics in the feather.” The forebody strakes were tested on the 10th glide flight of SS2 following release from the White Knight Two mothership over the Mojave Desert, Calif., on May 25. The test is only the second time the feathering re-entry mechanism has been activated in flight since the first feathering flight on May 4.
Tero Taskila has been appointed president of Estonian Air, succeeding Andrus Aljas. Taskila was commercial officer at Latvian national carrier AirBaltic.
Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co., Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. and Cathay Pacific Airways own Taikoo Engine Services Ltd. (Xiamen). It is no longer a joint venture with GE Engine Services (April 25/May 2, p. 43).
Major airline alliance moves are shaking up the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region as carriers look for new partners to help fulfill international aspirations.
And reactions to the AF447 accident investigation continue to elicit comments via website and e-mail. Zausner62's take on the subject:I think there is a need for an “anti-stall-computer,” which puts the nose down if the pilot is confused.
The global airline industry is clamoring over the planned European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS), with China saying it does not accept what it considers an extraterritorial, illegal tax and threatening to block European airlines from flying to the country.
China's Tiangong 1 orbital module and Shenzhou 8 spacecraft have entered the prelaunch preparation phase ahead of their mission this year to demonstrate docking technology needed for future manned missions. The two are set to be launched separately in the second half of this year. To eliminate human risk in the docking test, they will be unmanned. If the demonstration is a success, the Shenzhou 9 mission will repeat the procedure with a crew onboard.
LoValerie Mullins has been named mediator of alternative dispute resolutions in the Office of Mediation Services at the National Mediation Board in Washington. She was a mediation coach at the Center for Dispute Resolution at the University of Missouri School of Law.
Rolls-Royce hopes better-than-expected early test results from its newest and largest engine, the Trent XWB, will bolster its market position as it recovers from a difficult year. Although flight trials of the latest Trent variant are yet to begin, bench tests of the engine for the Airbus A350 have yielded “very positive results,” says program director Chris Cholerton. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) “is better than expected.” Flight tests on the first A380, now an Airbus testbed, are due in the late summer or early fall.
James Chambers has been named VP-engineering at Rockville, Md.-based XTAR. He comes from DRS Technical Services, where he led projects involving satellite, terrestrial and hybrid communication networks for the military.
Washington is in the middle of the most complicated federal budget-building exercise in decades. Budget planners at the Pentagon are grappling with how to construct budgets starting with fiscal 2013 with many of the factors shaping those plans in far more flux than at any time since perhaps the last world war. “This budget may be typical, but what's not typical is what's going on around it,” says Al Tucker, of the American Society of Military Comptrollers.
Andy Best has been named head of commercial for SR Technics in Zurich. He was commercial general manager at Thomas Cook Airlines and an engineer at Flying Colours Airlines.
With the Earth's axial tilt near its maximum incline toward the Sun of 23 deg., 26 min., the fun season has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. Summertime, yes, but more importantly for the aviation-inclined, it's that time when blue weekend skies fill with snap-rolling Extras, thunderous F-18s, smoky tailslides, Cuban 8s, inverted ribbon cuts and waves of vintage warbirds powered by full-throated radials. It's air show time.
Mark Carreau (Houston), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
The International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour orbit over the Pacific Ocean May 23 in this historic image taken by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli as he departed the station in the Soyuz TMA 20/25S capsule. Nespoli's photos and a high-definition video captured in the first stage of a three-person ISS crew swap-out that concluded June 9 are the only images showing a shuttle orbiter docked to the ISS. Visible at the other end of the station's pressurized volume is the ESA's second Automated Transfer Vehicle, Johannes Kepler.
Gordon Wilson (see photo) has been promoted to president and CEO of Travelport Ltd. from deputy CEO, succeeding Jeff Clarke, who will become executive chairman.
Cliff Van Leuven has been named VP-customer service for Frontier Airlines-branded operations at Republic Airways Holdings, Indianapolis. He held similar positions at Frontier and Midwest Airlines, and previously worked at Northwest Airlines.
