Continental Airlines plans to appeal a French court decision that charges the U.S. carrier with being responsible for the July 2000 crash of Air France Flight 4590, the first and only fatal accident for the Concorde supersonic jet.
The An-28 and An-38 are twin-turboprop utility/transport aircraft. First flight of the An-28 occurred in 1969, with temporary Soviet certification following in 1978 and full certification in 1986. The Westernized version of the An-28, the An-28PT (marketed as the M28 Skytruck), made its first flight in 1993 and received FAA certification in 2004, while the stretched version of the An-28, the An-38, made its first flight in 1994 and received Russian certification in 1997.
The twin-engine, widebody commercial transport first flew in June 1994, and FAA/JAA certification followed in April 1995 (Pratt & Whitney-powered version). Deliveries began in June 1995. The 777-200, seating 305-440 passengers, is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4077, Rolls-Royce Trent 877 or General Electric GE90-77B turbofans rated at 76,000-77,000 lb. thrust each. The 777-200ER extended-range version seats 301-440 and is powered by two PW4090, Trent 895 or GE90-94B turbofans rated at 90,000-93,700 lb. thrust each.
This pressurized, single-turboprop-powered, corporate/utility transport aircraft first flew in May 1991, and received Swiss and U.S. certification in 1994. It has seating for nine passengers in its standard layout. Assembly of green aircraft, as well as the manufacture of certain components, is performed by OGMA of Portugal. The current PC-12 production version, the PC-12NG (Next Generation), is powered by the 1,200-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67P. Through 2009, 962 PC-12s were built. Production of 1,010 units is expected during the 2010-19 period.
Boeing CEO James McNerney, the head of Obama’s Export Council, and others are quick to tout limited-but-real progress in the administration’s export licensing reform and growth initiatives. But already, some are suggesting far more must be done to meet the goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015. The council met last week—and later McNerney addressed an American Enterprise Institute audience—to discuss an ongoing process to clean up and synchronize the U.S.
Feb. 1-2—MRO Middle East Conference & Exhibition. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Feb. 16-17—A&D Technology & Requirements Conference. Washington. March 8—Laureates Awards. Washington. April 12-13—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition. Miami. April 12-13—MRO Latin America Conference & Exhibition. Miami. April 12-14—MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition. Miami. May 24-25—A&D Cybersecurity Conference. Washington. You can now register ONLINEfor Aviation Week Events.
The A330 twin-engine, widebody commercial passenger transport was developed to replace aircraft such as the A300, the DC-10-10 and the L-1011. An A330 prototype first flew in November 1992, and deliveries began in December 1993. Customers have a choice of turbofan engines in the 64,000-72,000-lb.-thrust class: the General Electric CF6-80E1, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 or Rolls-Royce Trent 700. Three A330 models are available. The A330-300 seats 335 passengers in two classes or 295 in three classes. The A330-200 seats 293 in two classes or 253 in three.
BAE Systems is warning of another 1,307 job losses as a result of U.K. government defense cutbacks made as part of the Strategic Defense and Security Review. The reductions, mostly at Warton, where 668 positions would be eliminated, are linked to retirement of the Harrier force and the decision to cancel the Nimrod MRA4.
I would like to comment on your article “Hard Learning: Largest U.S. defense contractor sees affordability, education as critical challenges” (AW&ST Nov. 1/8, p. 84). More specifically, I reference the portion that mentions a dwindling pipeline for new engineers. The pipeline may be drying up, but there seems to be little if any realization that this is at least partly due to industry actions.
Susan Sloan (see photo) has been tapped by Northrop Grumman Corp. to become vice president-space systems within the Navigation Systems Division. She has been a program manager for Intelsat in Cannes, France.
While the exact appropriations Congress passes for Fiscal 2011 still remains to be seen, one thing is becoming clear: Some people are going to have really bad holidays, even if nobody knows who. As lame-duck lawmakers rush to get out of town by Dec. 18, Congress must settle on whether to continue 2010 funding levels and programs, potentially with major tweaks, or to pass an omnibus spending bill, which would be more like the normal appropriations process. Depending on the outcome, the executive branch could have more or less leeway in running the government through Sept.
As investors weigh the implications of Airbus’s decision to develop a re-engined A320 narrowbody family, they are beginning to map out how competitors will respond. The next moves in this game of chess will have huge implications for the industry’s competitive landscape, from Boeing Co., Embraer, Comac and Bombardier Inc. to engine and systems suppliers. Airbus’s “A320NEO”—designed to offer a 15% improvement in fuel burn—is the starting gun in a single-aisle revolution, observes Morgan Stanley analyst Heidi Wood, and starts the dominos falling.
The MA60 twin-turboprop transport is a stretched version of the Xi’an Y7-200A. It can accommodate 52-60 passengers and is powered by two 2,750-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127J engines. Initial flight and deliveries of the MA60 took place in 2000. In addition to the passenger model, the MA60-500 freighter version is marketed. In May 2010, the MA600 variant was awarded certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. As deliveries begin in 2010, it is likely that the improved and more advanced MA600 will supplant the MA60.
Jan. 4-7—49th Annual American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aerospace Sciences Meeting. Orlando (Fla.) World Center Marriott. Also, Feb. 9-10—14th Annual FAA Commercial Space Transportation Conference. Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington. Call +1 (703) 264-7500, fax +1 (703) 264-7551 or see www.aiaa.org Jan. 17-19—Civil Air Navigation Services Organization’s Middle East Conference. Park Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. See www.canso.org
When the husband-and-wife engineering team of Philip and Rebecca Ufkes decided to trade the snow of the U.S. Northeast for Charleston’s charms, they had no way of knowing that Boeing would locate the biggest aviation opportunity in South Carolina’s history in their new backyard.
This single-turboprop-powered utility/passenger aircraft first flew in December 1982 and, through 2009, Cessna produced 1,919 Caravans of all types. Designed with the small-package-delivery segment in mind, the two models currently in production—the Caravan 675 and 208B Grand Caravan—have maximum useful loads of 1,898 kg. (4,175 lb.) and 2,041 kg. (4,490 lb.), respectively. Power for both aircraft is provided by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A turboprop engine rated at 675 shp. Cessna is forecast to deliver 841 Caravans during the 2010-19 period.
North and South Carolina see the major airframe manufacturers that have established bases within their borders as anchors for an expanding network of aerospace and defense suppliers that can provide a steady stream of jobs for skilled workers.
Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300 climbs after taking off from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. Turkish Technic and parent Turkish Airlines are both embarking on independent, aggressive expansion plans that will see Technic expand into interior cabin design and manufacturing, increase its landing gear repair business, attempt to attract more third-party work and double its workforce by 2015. Turkish Airlines, meanwhile, has its eye on increasing services to North America, Central Africa and Asia, and recently updated its brand image.
The Airbus A320 flying testbed, MFS001, will begin testing a CFM International CFM56-5B this month that will bring fuel efficiency ratings for that narrowbody family to parity with the improvements Boeing is set to achieve from its version of the same engine now in test on a Continental Airlines 737-800. CFM and Airbus expect a 0.5% enhancement in fuel burn from the -5B performance improvement package (PIP), says Sam Gilkey, general manager for Airbus programs.
A report in the French newspaper Les Echos claims that first deliveries of the delayed Boeing 787 may be pushed back until June or July 2011 as a result of last month’s electrical fire on ZA002. The report says Boeing engineers have identified “possible solutions” to the flawed response of the electrical system and control software following a short circuit or arc caused by a suspected loose washer or some other small foreign object inside the P100 main power distribution panel.
The defense committees of the upper and lower houses of parliament in the U.K. and France have created a working group to track progress in implementing a treaty signed on Nov. 2 intended to expand defense cooperation between the two countries. The group has decided to meet twice a year, starting in London in mid-2011.
The new 787 series is a family of twin-engine, widebody airliners. Three versions are currently envisioned. The 787-8 will carry 210-250 passengers and have a range of 7,650-8,200 nm. The 787-3, optimized for shorter flights, will carry 290-330 passengers and have a range of 2,500-3,050 nm. The 787-9, a longer-range version, will carry 250-290 passengers and have a range of 8,000-8,500 nm. A fourth possible version, the 787-10, would be a stretched version of the 787-9.
Skyterra-1, earmarked for the Lightsquared hybrid mobile satellite system, has encountered a deployment issue with the spacecraft’s L-band antenna that could threaten startup of the high-speed, coast-to-coast satellite/terrestrial wireless service. However, both Lightsquared and satellite manufacturer Boeing Satellite Systems are downplaying the importance of the event for the time being. Boeing says Skyterra-1, which was launched on Nov. 14, is “stable and healthy” and a team of experts is continuing attempts to deploy the antenna, which was supplied by Harris Corp.
I was fascinated to learn in “Cargo Clampdown” (AW&ST Nov. 15, p. 32) that European ministers, like their U.S. counterparts, consider inspection of all cargo shipments “too expensive and impracticable.” How comforting to know that it is not too expensive or impracticable to hire legions of government agents to fondle every passenger, but it is too expensive and impracticable to inspect inanimate cargo!
