Higher-profit widebodies continue to shine in Boeing’s order book. The manufacturer added four unidentified orders for 777s through its March 22 listing and two 747-8 Freighters for Korean Air. Four 777s previously listed as unidentified have been named as freighters belonging to FedEx. Meanwhile, El Al signed for four 737s. Of 76 net orders, 33 are for 777s and 46 for 737s (including six for the U.S. Navy P-8A program).
An article on commercial satellite procurement (March 7/14, p. 85) incorrectly identified the frequency band of an Australian hosted payload on the Intelsat 22 spacecraft. It is a UHF payload.
The military powers that began air strikes in Libya last week were right to act. Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces were poised to overrun Benghazi, promising retribution against the eastern city that is the stronghold of Libyans who seek to rid the country of the erratic despot.
Safety is the highest priority in aviation. The benefits are obvious and the call to reduce accident rates is self-evident. So why is it such a challenge to create common goals and standards? The latest aviation safety statistics show that while there are some improvements, the disparities in safety standards worldwide and within the Latin American and Caribbean region are still quite significant.
The European Aviation Safety Agency expects new icing certification standards for turbofan-powered aircraft to be implemented in the second quarter of 2012, after publishing a proposal to update existing rules. EASA says “the proposed . . . update aims at better protecting large aeroplanes and turbine engines when flying in atmospheric icing conditions.
As a leading supplier of hydraulic, fuel, motion control and propulsion/air management systems on a wide range of commercial and military aircraft, Eaton Corp. Chairman/CEO Sandy Cutler has a broad view of the aerospace and defense industry. Eaton also is a leading Western supplier in China, where it has won roles on Comac’s new ARJ21 and C919 jets. In a meeting with AW&ST Senior Business Editor Joseph C.
Gregory J. Sahr is Moline, Ill.-based Elliott Aviation ’s new vice president of sales, marketing and business development. He joins the company from StandardAero, where he was sales director for the Western U.S.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
Establishing a no-fly zone over Libya may not be a massive challenge for the coalition trying to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1793, but the operation has nevertheless exposed serious military and political pitfalls.
Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell has been appointed chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force , succeeding Air Vice Marshal Graham Lintott. Stockwell, currently commander of joint forces New Zealand at Trentham, will begin his three-year term on May 1.
I feel I must take issue with comments made in “Training Turnaround” by Boeing safety pilot Michael Coker, regarding pilot stall recovery training (AW&ST March 7/14, p. 42). Coker states, “But most pilots pull back [on the control column] when actually they should push forward even if that means a high rate of descent.”
Elizabeth Lund (see photo) has been promoted to vice president and general manager of the 747 program for Boeing from vice president/deputy program manager. She is the third woman heading an aircraft program at Boeing, joining Kim Pastega, vice president and 767 general manager; and Beverly Wyse, vice president and 737 general manager.
Kathi Argiropoulos, ARC vice president and general counsel, has been named by Virginia Lawyers Media , Arlington, Va., to its List of 2011 Influential Women of Virginia. The list, compiled from peer nominations, honors women who are “making a notable contribution to their chosen professions, their communities and society as a whole.”
It is an aviation odyssey whose years of wanderings have already taken it from Texas, to Taiwan, to Dubai. But the SJ30’s longest journey may still be ahead. The project began in the early 1980s with a belief by Ed Swearingen—father of the Twin Comanche, and Merlin and Metro turboprops, among other designs—that there was a large, untapped market for a highly efficient, long-range light business jet. None existed then, so he designed one, distinctive for its small, moderately swept, low-drag wing and compact fuselage.
Simon Ramo has been chosen to receive the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, given by the National Space Club , Redondo Beach, Calif. The award recognizes Ramo for his “lifetime of engineering and scientific leadership and achievement” that has enabled the U.S. to become a world leader in space technology. His accomplishments include work on the Thor, Atlas and Titan rockets, Project Mercury and the Lunar Excursion Model Descent Engine.
The U.S. Army is once again having problems acquiring a new intelligence-collection aircraft, and this latest snag is likely to squelch its plan to field the new system by mid-2012. The service agreed this month to reassess proposals that were submitted last year from bidders for the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (Emarss) after an acquisition mishap came to light during a government audit.
Joe Gibney, Alicia Rodites and John “Cy” Farmer (see photos) have been promoted to executive positions at Signature Flight Support , Orlando, Fla. Gibney, formerly vice president of sales, is now vice president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Rodites is the new vice president of revenue management, following a stint as director of financial reporting and accounting at BBA Aviation. Farmer, who was Southeast U.S. vice president, has become vice president of network development-Americas.
Facing declining budgets in its home markets, EADS is once again overhauling its defense and security activities to find a more sustainable business model. Now called Cassidian, the defense and security unit has undergone several iterations, in part because its early financial performance was lagging. Although several years of efforts managed to reverse that trend, concerns are rising that bleak spending plans from the German and French defense ministries could have a negative impact.
An aerodynamic improvement kit designed to reduce the drag of MD-80 family twinjets by at least 3.5% is about to be certificated and offered for retrofit for both passenger and converted freighter models. Developed by Long Beach, Calif.-based design company Super98, the kit is the first of a potential two-phase improvement plan that could ultimately see MD-80 drag reduced by as much as 7.5%. Elements of the package are also being evaluated for a potential follow-on MD-90 improvement kit for 2012, as well as for the Boeing 717.
Approval of biofuels for use in aircraft is now expected by August, a glitch in fuel testing having pushed back a final vote on the new specification by the aviation fuels subcommittee of standards developer ASTM International. Approval was delayed after unexpected results from fuel testing led to several negative votes in December. The tests are being repeated by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, using fuel supplied by Honeywell company UOP.
United Airlines will upgrade its 52 777-200/200ERs with a Boeing-developed aerodynamic performance improvement package (PIP), taking total orders for the fuel-saving upgrade to 352, or more than 70% of the early 777 fleet.
Do recent calls to reform security at U.S. ports of entry with “novel” approaches—such as having passengers provide personal information in advance of travel so they can be labeled “low risk” and pass through more quickly—seem like something we’ve seen before?
Advocates for airships are not all enthusiasts for lighter-than-air flight. Some strongly believe there is unmet demand for the services airships can provide, including carrying extremely heavy or bulky cargo over long distances to remote or inaccessible regions.
Boeing is extendingthe GoldCare maintenance support system it developed for the 787 to the 737, its largest airplane program. As with the 787, GoldCare’s service offerings will be tailored to individual airline needs. At its fullest, GoldCare offers airlines blanket protection of maintenance issues throughout an aircraft’s life cycle.
: Embraer’s diligent support of its Super Tucano is emblematic of the growth of Latin America’s aviation and aerospace sectors over the past decade. In a special report on the region beginning on page 46, AW&ST analyses the replacement of government-supported airlines by a new generation of commercial carriers, the rise of business aviation manufacturing and operations, and the potential of a fledgling defense industry. Embraer photo.
