Matt Andersson, President (Chicago, Ill. ), Indigo Aerospace Inc. (Chicago, Ill. )
In the Viewpoint “How to Run With a Tiger” (AW&ST Nov. 1/8, p. 106), PwC’s Scott Thompson may be advancing an unbalanced strategy concerning Chinese aerospace. He asserts China must be accommodated in varying stages of cooperation (“defensively,” “halfway” or “all-in”) by Western counterparts. But he omits a critical choice: attack.
With the survival of the F136 program hanging in the balance, General Electric and Rolls-Royce will reach unprecedented levels of testing on the embattled alternate Joint Strike Fighter engine in coming days. Facing the continuous threat of being axed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates amid continuing budgetary uncertainty, four F136s are now running as the program accelerates its attempt to rack up 1,000 test hours by year-end.
Rolls-Royce’s decision not to participate in the A320NEO, either through its International Aero Engines partnership or in its own right, will effectively eliminate the U.K. engine maker from the single-aisle marketplace for at least a decade.
As part of its military modernization strategy, Indonesia is set to place an order for jet trainers and also wants to expand its fleet of fighters, helicopters and fixed-wing transports.
USAF Brig. Gen. Teresa A. H. Djuric has been appointed deputy director of the Space and Intelligence Office within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the Pentagon. She has been commander of the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at the University of Air Education and Training Command, Maxwell AFB, Ala. Col. Christopher J. Bence has been nominated for promotion to brigadier general. He is deputy director of operations and plans at Headquarters U.S.
“Designs for Success” (AW&ST Nov. 1, p. 72) is another example of the striving for a “better process.” No mention is made of the people whose skill, experience, talent and dedication are required to build the desired systems. This perpetuates the persistent belief that process alone can cure all ills.
Did anyone notice that the majority of the cockpits depicted in the “Future Cockpits” articles all had side sticks? (AW&ST Oct. 25, pp. 44-56). It appears that the control yoke is truly past its “use by” date, and having an unobstructed view of the instrument panel has come of age. This, along with a mission planning table, is a great tool for pilots.
The National Research Council will spend 2011 evaluating 14 different technology road maps drafted by NASA experts as the agency works toward a long-range technology-investment plan. A panel headed by Ray Colladay, chairman of the NRC’s aeronautics and space board, will gather public comments on the draft plans, available on line, and make recommendations by January 2012, with an interim report by late summer. Topics include launch and in-space propulsion, robotics, human health and life support, and thermal management.
The space shuttle Discovery waits on Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center for its final mission, delayed for more than six weeks by a series of technical problems. Now set for launch no earlier than Dec. 17, the workhorse of the fleet will be making its 39th trip to orbit. That it was built to fly 100 times is a demonstration of the hard-won experience NASA has gained as it realized the most capable human spacecraft ever to fly is still a long way from providing “routine” access to space.
Alexey Komarov (Moscow), Max Kingsley-Jones (London)
Growth prospects in Russia’s low-fare airline sector aren’t what they used to be. The sector suffered a blow after one of the key players, Avianova, was forced to reduce the seating capacity of its aircraft by more than 10% due to a loophole in the country’s new import regulations. Meanwhile, rival Sky Express is changing its business model after a year of problems.
Tony Smeraglinolo is the new executive vice president of L-3 Services Group . He was president of L-3’s Intelligence Solutions division and had been president of the Global Stabilization and Development Solutions Division of DynCorp International.
Inmarsat is evaluating air-interface technologies and ground-segment suppliers for its Ka-band Global Xpress broadband network, launched last summer to complement the mobile satellite operator’s slower-speed L-band system (AW&ST Aug. 16, p. 27).
Colleen Hargis (see photo) has been named director-administration/information technology for the Springfield (Mo.) Convention and Visitors Bureau . She was a per course instructor at Missouri State University, where she taught computer applications. Melissa Evans joined the bureau as convention sales manager.
Sikorsky is in talks with the Canadian government over whether it will be penalized for a “short delay” in delivery of the first CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter. Delivery was expected in late November, two years later than originally planned.
Late last month, a couple of F-16s pounced on a student pilot who wandered into the restricted airspace ringing Washington and escorted him to a general aviation field where he was met by men with badges. It would be perfectly understandable if that unsettling experience should end up being the last entry in the hapless airman’s thin logbook. But the violation is likely to be repeated by others.
As Europe gears up to define the aerospace research plans for the coming decades, there is a growing concern within the industry that the Continent’s momentum in this area could stall owing to competing budget demands throughout the European Union.
Boeing’s A160T and the Lockheed Martin/Kaman K-Max have won contracts for unmanned helicopters to perform cargo resupply missions in support of U.S. Marine Corps forces in Afghanistan. The contracts each cover two aircraft, three ground control stations and a quick-reaction assessment next summer.
Kazan Helicopters has flown the second prototype of the Mi-38, almost seven years after the twin-turbine medium helicopter first flew. OP-2 has fuel and hydraulic system and rotor blade upgrades as well as handling and stability improvements resulting from tests of the first prototype. The helicopter has Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127/TS engines and Tranzas IBKV-38 glass-cockpit avionics. OP-2 is to be handed over to Moscow Mil Helicopter Plant for certification flight testing. A third prototype is in assembly at Kazan, which is part of Russian Helicopters.
With the U.S. economy stuck in a high-unemployment, low-growth pattern, a newly resurgent Republican Party is preparing to take over the House vowing serious deficit reduction, and Americans as a whole display almost no interest in the current U.S. manned space program. Under these circumstances, the effort to return humans to the Moon or take them to Mars is doomed, given likely NASA budgets.
John Chapman (left), the former space shuttle external tank project manager, and Otto Goetz (center) who was the space shuttle main engine chief engineer, take part in a roundtable discussion at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center with Senior Editor Frank Morring, Jr. A dozen former and current shuttle engineers at the field center shared their experiences on the program dating back to the 1960s, and gave their views on what the future may hold.
U.K.-based Avanti Communications has launched the first European spacecraft dedicated to providing high-speed Internet access. The 2.5-metric-ton Ku-/Ka-band satellite, called Hylas-1, uses a bus supplied by the Indian Space Research Organization and employs adaptable payload technology, developed by Astrium with the assistance of the European Space Agency, that allows data output to be tailored to meet demand.
EADS Astrium has been awarded a €795-million ($1.04-billion) contract to build two very-high-resolution CSO optical imaging intelligence (imint) satellites to replace France’s Helios 2 system. The first of the spacecraft, part of Europe’s planned Multinational Space-based System (Musis) optical/radar imint network, is to be launched in December 2016.
Karl Ulrich Garnadt has been named Lufthansa Cargo chairman and chief executive officer, succeeding Carston Spohr, who has been promoted to chief executive officer of Lufthansa German Airlines. Both appointments become effective Jan. 1. Garnadt currently heads Hub Management and Passenger Services on the Lufthansa board.
Europe’s large, mid-size and regional carriers are pursuing further structural changes as they look to bolster their finances in a turbulent market. Although traffic is rebounding, and earnings prospects are on the upswing for most, considerable headwind remains. Unions are one source of tension, as is the general economic malaise throughout Europe. Both threaten to depress air traffic recovery, thus setting the stage for further efforts to revamp businesses continent-wide.
