NASA might ease its “delicate position” by following the cost-cutting approaches used by Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) in developing the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, a key member of the panel that reviewed U.S. human spaceflight plans for President Barack Obama is telling Congress. Administrator Charles Bolden apparently agrees, saying that the SpaceX approach to management is “disruptive technology” that can bring “great gains” to the space program.
A week after returning its X-3 hybrid helicopter to flight, Eurocopter says it has topped the program speed target of 220 kt. by achieving 232 kt. in sustained forward flight at France's Istres flight test center. The prototype received a gearbox upgrade to achieve the performance target. Eurocopter argues its hybrid concept will yield a more cost-effective high-speed rotorcraft than, for instance, the Sikorsky X-2, which aims for higher speed.
General Electric hopes better-than-predicted test performance of the upgraded engine for the Boeing 787 on its flying testbed will result in meeting—or exceeding—initial fuel-burn goals when flights on the twinjet begin, possibly by early July.
Elias Habayeb (see photo) has been named chief financial officer of Los Angeles-based International Lease Finance Corp. He was senior vice president of investments and financial services for ILFC's parent company, AIG.
In 2007, when the Canadian dollar reached parity with the U.S. dollar after years of being worth less, Canadian aerospace and defense companies were broadsided. With the majority of their products sold in U.S. currency but their employees paid in Canadian dollars, the industry's competitiveness suddenly lagged.
A steady flow of jetliners destined for VIP service, plus a critical aging juncture for such aircraft now approaching their teen years, is attracting new entrants to the completions business. While that competitive development should please customers, it gives some veterans pause.
Mahmood Albalooshi (see photo) has been named chief operating officer of the Gulf Aviation Academy in Bahrain. He is the former manager of manpower development for Gulf Air.
For the past three years, Aviation Week has hosted an Executive Summit in which participants hear from senior engineering executives, Wall Street analysts and CEOs in an off-the-record roundtable atmosphere that encourages a sleeves-rolled-up discussion of concerns common throughout the aerospace and defense industrial sector.
Bridging gaps between commercially available defensive tools is a key driver in the growing market for cybersecurity solutions in the aerospace and defense industry. This search to provide traditional customers with better protection is intense and relentless. Gap-filling tools are being forged and tested in sophisticated security operations centers established by industry to monitor and protect their own networks, which are under daily cyberattack from the same advanced persistent threat as their customers.
Rob Tomenendal has joined King Aerospace Commercial Corp., Arlington, Texas, as vice president-sales and marketing. He was director of business development for Gore Design Completions in San Antonio.
Cynthia Schultz has been named vice president-airports ,with a focus on improving airport safety, by Bethesda, Md.-based JDA Aviation Technology Solutions. She was director of Great Falls (Mont.) International Airport.
It is a bit like waiting for a pot to boil. There is a lot of noise coming from the Chinese industry as it announces an extraordinary range of programs covering almost the whole field of civil aviation manufacturing, but so far not much is bubbling to the surface in the form of complete new aircraft. This pot will probably boil over with products in the 2020s. The fire under it is state funding, fueled by the techno-nationalism that pervades the thinking of the Chinese government.
Elizabeth K. Walker (see photo) has joined the Lee County Port Authority, Fort Myers, Fla., as director of general services. Walker has been with the county government for 18 years, most recently as public resources director.
Andrew Compart (Nashville, Tenn.), Jennifer Michels (Nashville, Tenn.)
Given the competition and consolidation within the regional airline industry and volatile fuel costs, regional carriers are seeking ever more efficient flying, leading aircraft manufacturers and engine makers to rethink options for regionals in the near future. While it seems operators want larger regional jets and turboprops, there are still differing opinions about the need for the mid-market 50-seat jet and continued interest in the much smaller end of the spectrum, such as a 19-seater.
The tri-nation Medium Extended-Air Defense System (Meads) will bear some technological fruit, the top civilian in charge of the U.S. Army told lawmakers May 18, but what that is remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Pentagon leaders have found that despite their efforts to persuade them, Italian and German officials will not support terminating the program early, Army Secretary John McHugh told Senate appropriators.
Even as European governments slash defense spending, the cyberdomain is widely recognized as an area that needs to buck the trend if countries want to stand any chance of keeping up with the rising threat.
Boeing is in a difficult position. It has no good short-term options to counter the Airbus A320NEO now that the 737 re-engining is all but ruled out and a clean sheet design with sufficient performance improvements is still years away.
Future airborne cyberwarfare would have to include carrier-launched unmanned aircraft with non-kinetic payloads. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.'s (GA-ASI) Sea Avenger (Predator-C) is designed for fully autonomous launch and recovery from both USS Nimitz and USS Ford-class carriers. It also is to provide unmanned, autonomous and long-endurance intelligence-gathering capabilities that are responsive to the multi-mission requirements of carrier-based aircraft.
Sikorsky has secured a contract from Sweden for 15 UH-60M Black Hawks, beating out an offer from Eurocopter for EC725s. For Sweden, key to the program was being able to rapidly field the helicopters to fill an urgent operational need in Afghanistan stemming from delays in the NH Industries NH90 program. This is the first order in Europe for the UH-60M.
Juergen Funke is scheduled to become Essen, Germany-based president of ThyssenKrupp Aerospace on June 1, succeeding Stuart Wilkins, who has left the company. Jeff Luckasavage will succeed Funke as president of the company's North American unit.
Boeing would be wise to consider the McDonnell Douglas DC-9/MD-80/90 design formula for its next-generation narrowbody. Placing engines behind the wing with a “T” tail provides advantages such as high elevator authority at low speeds, and it de-couples the fan diameter from landing gear length, as currently constrained by the Boeing 737. Elbridge, N.Y.
LAN Airlines' order of five 767-300ERs doubles Boeing's count for the civilian version of the twin-engine jet this year and helps boost the company's total net orders to 127 through May 17. Boeing has now taken 13 767 orders in 2011, 10 more than last year.
As F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development regains stride, program managers are beginning to be more upbeat about the flight-test effort. But questions regarding per-unit cost are likely to continue casting a shadow over the $380 billion project for some time to come.
