Snecma is poised to begin tests of the next Vinci upper-stage development engine, which will bridge the gap from feasibility to final design, moving it closer to planned use in the European Space Agency’s Ariane 5ME (Midlife Evolution) program.
TAM Airlines CEO Libano Barroso talked with Aviation Week’s Darren Shannon about the current state of Brazilian and Latin American aviation, the bright future he expects for both, and potential growth for the region’s carriers. While unable to discuss TAM’s proposed merger with Chile’s LAN because of the legal status of the deal, which is still under regulatory review, Barroso does address Brazil’s infrastructure concerns and how alliances have broadened TAM’s reach without a capital-intensive expansion.
Design of the KC-390 tanker/transport has evolved significantly since Embraer in 2007 revealed its concept for a military airlifter derived from the E-190 regional jet. Deep involvement of the Brazilian air force in defining the design has resulted in a more capable—and ambitious—aircraft.
NASA-backer Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) expects Congress to soon pass fresh fiscal 2011 appropriations, but she worries that spending hawks in the House will try to upset the “balance” between human spaceflight and space science in NASA’s allocations. The issue is whether to fund the compromise Congress and President Barack Obama authorized last year in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act or cut funding below the extended 2010 levels that are financing the government through April 8.
General aviation may be coming off recession lows, but private aircraft are still a politically dicey issue. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) is pledging to give up the part of a private airplane she and her husband own after the former state auditor was reported to owe more than $300,000 in property taxes. Missouri Republicans filed an ethics complaint about McCaskill’s use of the airplane to attend a Democratic fundraiser without reimbursing taxpayers.
It will be quite a homecoming. President Barack Obama, who once equated business jets with corporate excess, now sees them as important exports and last week sent Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (below) to make amends in Wichita, home to Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet.
The increase in loss-of-control accidents is partly related to the confusing way we teach stalls. Instructors now talk about stalling as a boundary layer effect, which offers no insight into recovery. We used to teach that a stall was excess angle of attack, which also describes the recovery procedure: reduce the angle of attack. A pilot who understands stalls this way is unlikely to descend to the ground with the yoke fully aft.
I agree with reader Karl Kettler’s assessment that U.S. taxpayers are being cheated by the outcome of the tanker competition (AW&ST March 7/14, p. 8). I believe Boeing’s priority is, and will remain, putting an end to its 787-8 nightmare; only when this is resolved will Boeing devote its best people to their latest present from the Pentagon.
General Electric says microcracks discovered on a first-stage high-pressure turbine blade in a ground test GEnx-1B do not present an obstacle to achieving ETOPS certification by the end of April and will not affect entry into service of the 787. The cracks, which GE says appear to be an anomaly, were discovered in January during a scheduled borescope inspection of a GEnx-1B undergoing cyclic endurance testing as part of ETOPS certification.The engine was repaired and returned to testing.
The U.S. Air Force is rescheduling the launch attempt of the second X-51A hypersonic test vehicle after unspecified issues forced controllers to abort a planned drop test from an Air Force Flight Test Center B-52H on March 24. The aircraft took off from Edwards AFB, Calif., carrying the under-wing-mounted X-51A shortly before 9 a.m. PDT and flew as planned to the designated launch area over the U.S. Navy Point Mugu Sea Range. However, officials say that on reaching the range “. . .
Air traffic controller staffing will receive renewed attention this week as the House is expected to begin debate on an FAA reauthorization bill. The version already passed by the Senate includes language by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) to mandate a national study on controller staffing levels. A similar study was called for by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood after a March 22 incident at Washington Reagan National Airport when the lone controller disappeared for a time during his midnight-6 a.m.
Embraer has begun announcing major suppliers for the KC-390 tanker/transport, awarding DRS Defense Solutions a contract to develop the cargo handling and aerial delivery system. The Brazilian manufacturer is expected to announce suppliers for five major aircraft systems, including engines and avionics, before launching the joint definition phase in May (see p. 48).
Latin America now is the third-largest market for business aircraft behind North America and Europe. And aircraft manufacturers and trade associations believe that it will only grow stronger. Turboprop aircraft deliveries in Latin America increased by 46% and turbofan deliveries were up 36% from 2009 to 2010, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s most recent shipment report. The regional gain was in vivid contrast to the 14% overall drop in turbine business aircraft deliveries from the previous year.
Clayton Mowry, president of Arianespace, has been elected chairman of the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International and Keith Buckley, president and CEO of ASC Signal Corp. as president. Other new board members are Mike Aloisi, vice president-technology, satellite and affiliate services, MTV Networks; Robert Bednarek, president and CEO of SES World Skies; Paul Cohen, executive director of satellite engineering at Fox networks; Nongluck Phinainitisart, president of Thaicom; and Tony Rayner, vice president of business development of Eutelsat.
Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, better known as Embraer, delivered almost one in five new business jets in 2010, finishing third in total units behind Cessna and Bombardier. This was 23 more aircraft than the Brazilian manufacturer delivered in 2009 and just six years after announcing it was entering the business jet market.
While last week’s visit to Wichita by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood underscored the importance of aircraft manufacturing and export, three companies most closely identified with the city—Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet—have now established large fabrication bases in Mexico. They’re hardly alone.
Steve Wright has been appointed vice president of Blackcomb Aviation , Whistler, British Columbia. He is the pilot, founder and former owner of a Vancouver-based helicopter company and aerial film coordinator.
Michael Lederer has joined TWC Aviation of Los Angeles as director of aircraft sales and acquisition. He was a sales executive at Bombardier Aerospace. Honors and Elections
In our report on F-35 costs (March 21, p. 27) we should have said Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated the average cost of the country’s planned F-35s at $148 million each, including the engine.
While the battle between the global alliances for dominance in Latin America may have peaked last year, the region still provides enough possibilities to pique the interest of Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Activity in 2010 clearly defined how the region will be aligned in the coming years. Star, in particular, pulled off a minor coup by first convincing SkyTeam’s Avianca to shift to its merger partner’s preference and then persuading Copa Holdings to follow in the steps of former investor and close partner Continental Airlines.
Marc Allen has become president of Boeing China , based in Beijing. He was vice president of Global Law Affairs and general counsel of Boeing International.
Military sales covered a 6% drop in commercial activity in 2010, prompting the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) to predict that when all companies’ reports are completed, the industry will see a record high of $216.5 billion in sales. The situation will likely be reversed in 2011: “While signs of recovery are increasingly evident for the commercial sector, the challenges for the military side . . . may be just beginning,” AIA says in a year-end review. Total orders in 2010 were $195.7 billion, a 16.4% increase over recession-laden 2009.
There’s a no-risk way to establish a no-fly zone in Libya. We need only to do what former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Texas) did in Afghanistan to keep Russian planes from attacking the Mujahideen rebels. He got Congress to allocate funds to send Stinger missiles to the rebels, and they established their own no-fly zone. Washington, D.C.
Former astronauts Kenneth Reightler and Brian Duffy (see photos) have joined ATK ’s Aerospace Group in Minneapolis. Reightler is vice president of engineering for the Spacecraft Systems and Services Div. and Duffy is vice president of Exploration and Johnson Space Center program manager for the Space Launch Systems Div. Reightler was vice president of NASA program integration for the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.’s Human Space Flight Div. Duffy was vice president and manager of NASA’s Altair Lunar Lander program.
