For every 30 or so Airbus A320s or Boeing 737s there is one full-flight simulator, but for all the thousands of civil helicopters worldwide there are fewer than 50 such machines in use for training pilots. This gap could narrow as the civil rotorcraft community works to improve its safety record. Simulation-based training has significantly increased the safety of fixed-wing aviation, but its use in rotary-wing training has lagged for reasons including cost, technology and regulation.
United Airlines Holdings is dismissing claims by its two pilots unions that it is breaching scope agreements by placing United-tailed 70-seat regional jets into hubs once served by 50-seaters operated for Continental Airlines before it merged with United The introduction of the 70-seaters has resulted in picketing by the company’s two Air Line Pilots Association chapters, and calls for an end to all regional contracts, a key part of United Continental’s domestic strategy.
Most NASA-watchers expect the lame-duck Congress to fund NASA with a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would push pending changes in U.S. space policy into next year. But the outgoing chairman of the House subcommittee that handles the space agency says an omnibus bill reflecting more of the compromise policy hammered out between Congress and the White House is also a possibility. “I don’t know, and I don’t think anybody else does,” says Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W. Va.).
Leaders of 30 of the world’s space agencies want across-the-board cooperation in human and robotic exploration, and terrestrial sharing of the benefits of space technology, in the face of a “flattening” world and increasingly complex global challenges. A Nov.
Thailand is moving forward with its long-anticipated plan to add a further six Saab Gripens to its fighter modernization plan and also expanding its inventory of airborne early warning aircraft.
The U.S. airline industry is blasting many of the FAA’s proposed new rules to prevent pilot fatigue, declaring the cost for airlines would be much greater than the FAA estimates and complaining many of the proposals are not based on scientific research on sleep, fatigue and performance. The FAA calculates a 10-year cost of $1.25 billion for its proposal; the Air Transport Association (ATA) says its analysis shows a $19.6-billion cost without a commensurate increase in safety beyond the “core elements” of the rule the ATA supports.
USAF Maj. Gen. Harry D. Polumbo, Jr., has been appointed director of plans and programs at Headquarters U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany. He has been director of plans and programs at Headquarters Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va. Polumbo will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Michael R. Boera, who has been commanding general of the Combined Air Power Transition Force, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan and commander of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul AB. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey B.
Thales Alenia Space is poised to ship the cargo carrier for a demonstration flight intended to prepare for the International Space Station’s commercial resupply, despite a slip in the scheduled launch.
Boeing is taking a small step in vertical integration with an agreement to acquire Summit Aeronautics Group of Helena, Mont., a key supplier of machined titanium and other hard-metal parts for its 747-8 and 787 programs and some military aircraft. The deal is expected to close by year-end and bring the 135-person company into Boeing Fabrications. The acquisition “provides additional flexibility to support increased production rates,” says Vice President and Fabrications General Manager Ross Bogue.
One of the vexing questions concerning unmanned aircraft is whether they will behave predictably and safely when not in contact with human controllers. UAVs are preprogrammed with maneuvers to execute if the communications link to the ground control station is lost, perhaps by circling in an attempt to reacquire the signal or flying to a safe and empty area to crash. But if a failure on board the aircraft causes the link to break, the operator has no way of knowing if that same event will prevent the UAV from following its preplanned instructions.
Aurora Flight Sciences unveiled the Orion long-endurance unmanned aircraft demonstrator at its Columbus, Miss., plant on Nov. 22. With a wingspan slightly longer than a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk’s, at 132 ft., the Orion is designed to stay aloft for 120 hr. at 20,000 ft.—five times longer than a General Atomics Predator—carrying a 1,000-lb. payload of sensors and dramatically reducing the on-station cost of providing persistent surveillance. Aurora Flight Sciences photo by Greg E. Mathieson, Sr.
Could bad luck be coming in threes for the U.S. Air Force? This month, officials were sacked from the tanker-replacement program, concern grew about another slip in the F-35’s initial operating date, and South Korea is enduring the worst attack by North Korea in more than 50 years. So far, two heads have rolled in the tanker program after two documents involved in the competition were sent to the wrong company. The unidentified employees—who were members of the program office, but not the program manager—have been replaced.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is about to find out if its big bet on using simulators for even basic training of new helicopter pilots will pay off or will insteadpose unanticipated problems.
The Transportation Department is asking Delta Air Lines and Australia’s Virgin Blue Group for more information on their proposed joint venture—a sign that regulators may be taking the possible, albeit unusual step of reconsidering their initial rejection of the deal. The department says its request is due to a revised application submitted by the two carriers after the tentative rejection of antitrust immunity. But it also follows a strongly worded letter in support of the transpacific joint venture from the Australian government.
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) will make its first scientific flight Nov. 30 into the Whiskey Operating Area south and west of San Diego, to observe Orion. The converted Boeing 747SP is the world’s largest flying observatory with a 2.5-meter-dia. (8.2-ft.) German-developed infrared telescope. It will operate from its base at NASA Ames Research Center.
Sukhoi could receive Russian certification for its Superjet 100 (SSJ) regional jet in December, which would allow deliveries to start before year-end. “We’ve already gone through the most challenging testing certification programs. Our team has already covered 90% of the overall certification testing scope,” says Igor Vinogradov, senior vice president for certification for Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC). “Now we are finalizing avionics safety failure testing, with emergency evacuation testing to follow.”
Challenged by an unprecedented series of “firsts” for its upcoming initial flight of Falcon 9 with a Dragon spacecraft, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) stresses that even if the vehicle is not recovered intact as planned, the mission should be judged an overall success.
Graham Warwick wrote about the Boeing DiscRotor concept in “Spin Cycle” (AW&ST Oct. 25, p. 15). As for any powered-lift concept, weight will be critical for achieving a practical, useful VTOL or Stovl disc rotor vehicle. The concept has a large number of components, and several are quite complex.
William Niedzwiecki has been appointed president and general manager of NSF International Strategic Registrations . He was president of Assurance Services at SAI Global and also served as president and CEO of CRS Registrars.
SpaceX will respond to NASA’s heavy-lift launch vehicle study with concepts that can carry 150 tons to orbit and cost no more than $300 million per launch. Outlining SpaceX’s approach to the contract—one of 13 trade-study awards made by NASA in early November to look at innovative launch vehicle concepts and propulsion technologies—CEO Elon Musk says only plans that embrace economic, political and technical solutions will work.
USAF Maj. Gen. Charles R. Davis has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commander of the Electronic Systems Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Hanscom AFB, Mass. He has been commander of the Air Armament CenterAir Force program executive officer for weapons at Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin AFB, Fla. Maj. Gen. Susan J.
The continuing debate regarding the merits of an extra engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter surrounds a prime example of the waste that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is trying to eliminate. Support for an extra engine is another case of parochial interests trying to trump efficiency and military readiness.
A year after signing a contract to supply the United Arab Emirates air force with 25 PC-21 trainers, Pilatus has completed the first flight of the model. Deliveries to the UAE are due to start in the first quarter of 2011.
Garuda Indonesia and its SkyTeam Alliance partners will be working to capture more of Indonesia’s international traffic, but it will be hard competing against Singapore Airlines (SIA). SkyTeam signed an agreement Nov. 23 under which Garuda will work to become a SkyTeam member in 2012. The agreement comes just 16 months after the European Commission took Garuda off its blacklist.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
The proposed deep cuts to the U.K. defense budget have an emerging benefit—improved intelligence-gathering and analysis for both U.K. and U.S. forces. In a merger that has so far been little-noticed involving the “black” world of advanced intelligence, directed-energy weaponry and sensors operating in unusual parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum, Whitehall plans to institutionalize improved linkages to key Washington intelligence-gathering and analysis agencies, say U.S. officials.
