Michael Mecham (San Francisco), Robert Wall (London)
Airbus and Boeing were near the 1,000 mark on deliveries last year and are on track to produce slightly more this year as they continue to benefit from a triple-digit, pre-recession order boom that bequeathed them a combined backlog of nearly 7,000 aircraft.
As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates puts the ailing F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing aircraft on life support and proposes another delay to the single-engine stealthy fighter’s testing, he is also pushing forward a broad savings agenda that will enhance several major aerospace programs.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. will provide a short-wave infrared spectrometer, designed to measure carbon monoxide and methane, for the Tropical Monitoring Instrument (Tropomi) on the Sentinel 5 Precursor. The Precursor, set for launch in 2014, will help define a sensor on Eumetsat’s EPS-SG polar-orbiting weather satellites that will provide operational atmospheric chemistry data necessary to monitor air quality and climate change. The first spacecraft is to be orbited in 2020 (AW&ST Dec. 20/27, 2010, p. 71).
George Trivino has become Latin America sales manager for StandardAero Business Aviation . He was a field service engineer at Honeywell for business and general aviation Dale Hawkins has been named airframe sales manager.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will make a point this year to work with foreign agencies to bolster cargo-screening standards across the globe, deploy “state-of-the-art” technologies and—with the departments of State and Defense—expand and coordinate technical assistance and training to allies in an effort to strengthen the global supply chain, Secretary Janet Napolitano says. DHS will work with groups across the U.S. where certain chemicals are common (such as hospitals, labs and beauty supply companies) to prevent their use in improvised explosives.
Greg Bartlett has been named general manager of Vulcan Flex Circuit Corp ., a division of Maine-based Vulcan Electric Co. Bartlett, who will work in the company’s Londonderry, N.H., facility, was director of engineering and quality at Teledyne Printed Circuit Technology.
The point in the “Trust But Verify” article that particularly caught my eye was the plight of the X-51 Scramjet Engine Demonstrator Program (AW&ST Nov. 22, 2010, p. 45). Of all technology development programs, the scramjet ought to be near the head of the list of “must dos.” Many more people will be traveling in coming decades, so designers will either need to pursue bigger—beyond the Airbus A380—or faster, options. If the little Waverider indeed works, it could be the forerunner of much bigger engines for a hypersonic transport.
The FAA was unusually busy in 2010 when it came to meting out proposed civil penalties, particularly for maintenance-related issues. By our calculations, FAA proposed at least $39.4 million in maintenance-related civil penalties, and what likely is a record $50 million overall. FAA usually issues press releases about penalties of at least $50,000. In 2010, there were more than 30 such announcements involving dozens of airlines and other operators, as well as a handful of maintenance, repair and overhaul operators and flight schools.
Benoit Gosset, previously deputy to Safran Group ’s executive vice president in charge of the Aerospace Propulsion branch, will take the helm of the newly created Group Management and Top Executives Department.
Michael Rogers has become vice president-customer service at JetFlite International , Long Beach, Calif. He comes to JetFlite after a 20-year career in aviation and customer service. In 2000, he founded Long Beach-based Los Angeles Helicopters, a charter operator, maintenance station, aircraft dealership and flight training company.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ new AH-1Z “Viper” flies at Camp Pendleton in California. The attack helicopter will provide a substantial performance improvement over today’s AH-1W Super Cobra, including additional weapons stations and a nose-mounted targeting sight system. The new aircraft, dubbed the Zulu, is set to deploy at sea late this year. Bell Helicopter photo by Kalee Appelton.
Arianespace appears set to gain a capital injection and a new dollop of public price support, although the exact amounts remain to be decided. The measures are badly needed to counter competition from lower-cost launch providers and to help defray the extra burden of operating two new launch vehicles—the Soyuz 2.1 medium-lifter and Vega light booster—from the company’s Kourou, French Guiana spaceport.
British Airways and Rolls-Royce will begin work on validating 10 different alternative fuel programs this year, with the hope of completing work on the initiative by early 2012. The two last year sent out a new call to fuel suppliers to provide 60,000 liters of fuel for testing. A similar initiative failed due to a lack of response, but this time 17 suppliers responded, saying they could meet the criteria, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh tells an Imperial College London green aviation forum.
David Fulghum (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
With the surprise rollout and high-speed taxi tests of China’s newest J-20 fighter, a stealth prototype, the U.S. Navy’s top intelligence official admits that the Pentagon has erred in its estimates of the speed with which Beijing is introducing new military technology.
Star Navigation Group of Toronto has developed a satellite-based cockpit data recorder (CDR) with built-in GPS tracking software that enables essential flight variables such as altitude, speed and heading, along with avionics and diagnostic information, to be transmitted automatically in real time at regular intervals during a flight, providing fool-proof access in case of an inflight event and for post-flight analysis. Definition of standards for data links that can support satellite-based CDRs and other equipment is a major focus of the U.S.
The Republican majority in the House is going to be focused on national security, new Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) asserts, but that does not mean the Pentagon is spared the budget-cutting knife. “Everybody is going to have to do more with less,” Cantor told Capitol Hill reporters who pinned him down last week over potential cuts to the defense budget. “I think most of us have said everything is going to be on the table.”
Helibras, Eurocopter’s Brazilian subsidiary, has been awarded a contract to upgrade the Brazilian army’s fleet of 36 Ecureuil multirole helicopters. The award, for an undisclosed amount, will add at least 25 years of service life to the single-engine AS350s, which were acquired two decades ago. The upgrade will include installation of a three-display glass cockpit, automatic flight control system with autopilot and improved pilot seats that afford better visibility and protection. Modernization is to begin this year and extend through 2018.
Amy Butler (Hurst, Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas)
After years of complaints that Bell Helicopter’s military division could not manage its programs, the “new Bell” is emerging with a sharpened focus on delivering on its promises.
For the second time in four years, veteran corporate pilot Ron Henriksen (see photo) is opening a brand new business airport. His own. After plying the airways for 14 years, the Houston native switched roles from business pilot to piloting a business, and at that he was an ace, becoming a telecommunications mogul. He made a pile as owner of Logix Communications and now is investing some of that gain back into business aviation.
Capt. (ret.) Syed M. Husain (Mississauga, Ontario)
Even though I was a pilot, for Pakistan International Airways, I have some reservations about your editorial, “Is Safety a Victim of Justice Awry? (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2010, p. 58). You say: “We do not argue for criminal immunity for pilots, mechanics, controllers, designers and manufacturers. But the need for justice must be carefully balanced with the broader need to be safe. If there is anything criminal about crashes, it is the damage that will be done to aviation safety in treating accidents as crimes.”
Once again, AW&ST has produced an art and photography issue collection of images that are inspiring and convey the wonder of flight and aviation. However, I must take issue with the caption accompanying the Jason Pineau photo on page 50. The text states the photo to be of an Air Tindl DH-7 starting its taxi to the terminal at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. If this description is indeed accurate the time-lapse image would seem to indicate that the airplane is backing its way in, which would be a remarkable piloting feat with no rear-view mirrors!
A reorganization plan that would give control of mobile satellite service operator TerreStar to EchoStar looks set to be approved, following a ruling by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York allowing the plan to be sent to creditors for approval. The court ruled just prior to Christmas against a final objection by Sprint Nextel, one of the claim holders, to disclosure of the plan, after the other creditors withdrew their complaints. The decision clears the way for a creditor vote, which must be completed by Feb.
The new House transportation supremo is wasting no time in diving back into the FAA reauthorization issue. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the incoming chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wants to hold two hearings on reauthorization toward the end of this month, industry and congressional sources say. Mica has vowed to make FAA reauthorization one of his top priorities. Meanwhile, on the Senate side, it is still unclear who will head the Commerce Committee’s aviation subcommittee. After the election, it appeared Sen.
Disaster managers will continue to use satellite imagery to mitigate the effects of severe flooding in eastern Australia, where the Fitzroy River peaked at 9.2 meters (30.1 ft.), more than 2 meters over its flood stage, Jan. 5. In this image of Rockhampton, Queensland, collected that day by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (Aster) on NASA’s Terra Earth Observation System spacecraft, floodwaters have isolated the city to the north and sound.
