Officials grounded the fleet of Royal Australian Air Force Hawk 127s after one of the trainers based at RAAF Base Pearce “experienced a technical fault while taxiing before takeoff” on Oct. 11, causing the aircraft to shut down. The BAE Systems Hawks, which are also based at RAAF Williamtown, were grounded pending further investigation.
A German team led by OHB System is seeking sponsors for a satellite constellation that would monitor worldwide carbon dioxide and methane concentrations, giving political decision-makers a tool with which to determine actions aimed at controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s service center in Savannah, Ga., bears few signs that it is in the heart of an industry in deep distress. The facility, the largest of Gulfstream’s 12 service centers, is rapidly approaching capacity, with 50-60 corporate jets being worked on each day. An aircraft that was damaged in Afghanistan and another that was crushed in a snow-induced roof collapse at Washington’s Dulles International Airport are sprinkled among dozens of others from around the globe undergoing routine maintenance.
Odd-couple Reps. Barney Frank (D), the unapologetic liberal from Massachusetts, and Ron Paul (R), the darling of libertarians from Texas, say there are now 57 legislators, including four senators, who support their call for Obama’s bipartisan deficit-reduction commission to recommend slicing defense spending. “The U.S. cannot sustain a military budget that costs nearly as much as the rest of the world’s defense budgets combined,” Paul says.
Plans by Russia to start building Israel Aerospace Industries unmanned aircraft have advanced with an industrial agreement between IAI and Oboronprom. The deal, signed on Oct. 12, has been in the works for most of the year, but was at risk over Russian arms sales to Israel’s adversaries. The core element of the deal is the Searcher Mk. III.
Panasonic Avionics says carriers in Europe and the Far East plan to introduce its eXTV onboard broadcasting service, enabling satellite TV to expand outside its North American stronghold. Turkish Airlines is expected to begin offering eXTV in the first quarter of 2011. Cathay Pacific Airways plans to include inflight TV as part of its Panasonic broadband offering, which is expected to be finalized by year-end.
A new global agreement provides an important show of unity on aviation emissions goals, but beneath the surface it has done nothing to resolve a simmering feud over the European Union’s aggressive environmental agenda.
Max Kingsley-Jones (Moscow), Alexey Komarov (Moscow)
Russia’s great hope for the revival of its civil aircraft industry, the MS-21, faces an important trial next month as designers prepare to move to the next stage of the development program. The 150-210-seat, three-model MS-21 family is being developed by Irkut under the umbrella of United Aircraft Corp. (UAC). Development is expected to cost 190 billion rubles ($6.3 billion) through 2016 when it is due to enter service; 40% is being funded by the Russian federal budget, with the remainder coming from loans and UAC’s investment.
The Moroccan air force’s initial Block 52 F-16C (see photo) made its first two flights last week at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility. It is one of 24 C- and D-model aircraft that will be delivered in 2010-11 as part of a $2.4-billion Foreign Military Sales contract. The fighters come with the Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engine and Sniper advanced targeting pod and video downlink to battlefield troops.
Supersonic business jet developer Aerion will use results from recently completed Mach 2 aerodynamic flight tests to pave the way for key evaluations of a natural laminar flow wing section. The tests are important for the long-term potential of the project, the viability of which hinges on the low drag of the natural laminar flow design. The low-swept-wing shape maximizes the amount of smoother-flowing boundary layer air over its surface, reducing total airframe drag by 20% versus similarly sized delta-wing configurations.
Oct. 25-27—Association of United States Army’s Annual Meeting 2010. Washington Convention Center. See www.ausa.org Oct. 25-27—American Astronautical Society’s Third Annual Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium: “21st Century Approaches to the Use and Development of Space.” University of Alabama, Huntsville. See www.astronautical.org Oct. 25-28—FAA Fire Safety Branch’s Sixth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference. Tropicana Hotel Casino, Atlantic City. See www.fire.tc.faa.gov
Every industry has its cycles, and ours is definitely in the midst of an exciting time when almost anything is possible. And while consolidation and environmental causes, for now, are dominating headlines around the world, an interesting concept brewing in Africa shows that innovation is not limited to the northern hemisphere.
The new director of national intelligence is pulling a page from Gates’s reform playbook and eliminating an advisory board, according to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists. In his Secrecy News, Aftergood reports that the Intelligence Science Board has been disbanded by James Clapper, Jr. in a streamlining effort. “My understanding is that the director will be disbanding all 20 of his advisory boards,” one source tells Aftergood.
Michael J. Paul has been named executive director of Stamford, Conn.-based Passur Aerospace Inc. ’s Technology Advisory Board. He was president of Predictive Business Systems and had been chief information officer and vice president-materials planning at Sikorsky Aircraft .
Daher-Socata’s ambitions to grow its business aircraft line could represent the last hope for the near-defunct SPn utility jet to make it to market. Socata has long wanted to add to its single-piston-engine TBM product offering but was hobbled by a lack of interest from its parent, EADS. The sale to privately held Daher in early 2009 and the recent return to the business of Stephane Mayer, who devised the growth plans before a three-year stint at ATR, have set the stage to realize the company’s goal.
A halt in U.K. Royal Air Force Nimrod MRA4 flight operations owing to safety concerns is expected to last at least several more weeks. The project team and type airworthiness authority of the Defense Ministry identified a “potential safety issue” with the aircraft that is expected to take at least four weeks to rectify. The issue, which the ministry will not further identify, was recognized during its assessment of the MRA4 before being released into service.
Gulfstream Aerospace’s intent from the outset of the G650 project was to produce the ultimate—the largest, fastest, longest range, most luxurious and technically advanced business jet ever. And with FAA certification targeted for next year, those goals seem well within reach. But a chief competitor is also targeting the market. Bombardier Aerospace, whose original business jet was created to challenge Gulfstream’s supremacy—and named “Challenger” accordingly—is unveiling its own ultra-jet to go head-to-head with the G650.
Boeing reports adding 30 737 orders but has not identified the customers. The unidentified column now has 101 orders The additions raise the company’s total net orders to 422 as of Oct. 12, including 382 737s.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) plans to tighten regulations governing non-revenue flights in the wake of the investigation into the 2008 fatal Airbus A320 crash during a post-maintenance test flight near Perpignan, France. The move stems from several recommendations issued by France’s BEA accident investigation office in its final report. EASA also wants stall training and warning systems improved, since the A320 pilots lost control of the aircraft when they did not realize that vital air data sensors were inoperative.
Mobile satellite service operator LightSquared is moving ahead with plans to roll out the U.S.’s first coast-to-coast hybrid wireless network, following finalization of its relationship with global MSS player Inmarsat.
In the 1990s, many Asian nations began pursuing parallel paths for establishing themselves as major contributors in aerospace manufacturing. Most efforts came with strong government backing, no matter if the programs were military or civil. Typically, they sought close ties with Western manufacturers. The initial phase, and one that endures, was as a supplier. The work usually began by building commodity items, such as access doors or panels, and moved on in complexity from there.
Cheryl Galloway (see photo) was hired by BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul subsidiary Dallas Airmotive as regional engine manager representing the Pratt & Whitney Canada product services in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic states. Mary Miller has joined BBA as vice president-industry and government affairs for the company’s U.S. operations, and Elias Hashem has become BBA’s regional engine manager for North Africa.
