The historic legal case over the 1991 cancellation of the U.S. Navy’s A-12 stealthy attack aircraft will get its day in the U.S. Supreme Court. Last week, the court agreed to review the case but indicated the justices will focus on whether and how state secrets can be used in court, rather than the larger issue of whether the controversial cancellation was justified or merely done for the government’s “convenience.” If the companies win, it could allow them to reargue parts of their case in lower courts.
The near-term fate of military aircraft programs will look a lot like most overall defense budgets as countries reel from the recession: Not that bad in the end, but when compared with historic growth of recent years, not that good either.
After a prolonged period of increasing spending driven by wartime requirements, few would disagree that current U.S. defense spending is unsustainable. The Pentagon’s desire to instill fiscal discipline is a signal for the industrial base, and if Secretary Robert Gates’s advice is any incentive—“start delivering cost savings, or the government will do it for you”—industry should pay attention.
Europe’s regional airline sector looks set for more consolidation, but time may be running out for some carriers as they await financial assistance to overcome the fallout from April’s volcanic eruption in southern Iceland. Following the news that the U.K.’s second largest regional, Eastern Airways, was taking over its local operator Air Southwest came noises from Exeter—the base of Europe’s largest regional, Flybe—that it was on the prowl.
European Union emissions allowance (EUA) prices drifted through most of September but recaptured the losses later in the month as U.K. natural gas prices rallied. EUAs for delivery in December 2010 closed at €15.66 ($21.28)per metric ton on Sept. 28, up from €15.28 on Aug. 31. Prices were robust at the start of September, rising to €15.80 on Sept. 2, but fell to an intra-month low of €14.88 on Sept. 23.
Ralph Blanchard has become interim airport chief administrative officer of the Sacramento County (Calif.) Airport System . He succeeds Lisa Stanton, who is now acting chief operating officer.
The M-346 is a two-seat, twin-engine advanced jet trainer/light attack aircraft derived from the Yakovlev Yak-130 and powered by two 6,250-lb.-thrust ITEC F124-GA-200 turbofan engines. First flight occurred in July 2004, and three prototypes were produced through 2009. In February 2009, the United Arab Emirates announced it had begun negotiations for the acquisition of 48 M-346 trainers. Two aircraft were slated for delivery by the end of 2010, while a total of 92 aircraft are expected to be built in 2010-19.
The Tucano family of trainer and light attack aircraft first flew in 1980. The standard EMB-312 Tucano is powered by a single 750-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop engine, while the Shorts-built S312 (T1) variant is powered by an uprated 1,100-shp. AlliedSignal TPE331-12B-701A turboprop. These original Tucano models are no longer in production; the current production model, the EMB-314 Super Tucano, has an extended fuselage, pressurized cockpit and a strengthened airframe powered by a 1,600-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68C turboprop.
After struggling for several months to cure stubborn outboard wing flutter issues on the 747-8 Freighter, Boeing has conceded that first deliveries will not begin until mid-2011. Until recently, Boeing still hoped to deliver initial aircraft to launch customer Cargolux in December, but says vibration issues uncovered in flight tests have forced another delay. Boeing originally planned to deliver as early as the third quarter of 2009.
Russia will use the leased facilities at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to test the proposed Rus M replacement for the venerable Soyuz rocket that will be launched from a new facility on Russian soil, but it has no plans to abandon Baikonur before the lease expires in 2050.
Astronomers studying the tiny fluctuations in stellar movements measured over 11 years have concluded a planet circling a star only 20 light-years from Earth may have a zone on its surface capable of supporting life. The planet, Gliese 581g, has an estimated gravity between 1.1 and 1.7 Earth g, and circles the star Gliese 581 every 36.6 days. Based on the radial velocity analysis, astronomers participating in the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey determined that there could be places on the surface where water would remain in its liquid state.
This twin-engine, multirole military and commercial helicopter has been produced in a variety of models for anti-submarine warfare, training, utility and transport roles. The Super Lynx 300, currently in production, is powered by a pair of LHTEC CTS800 turboshaft engines rated at 1,384 shp. each. The upgraded AW159 Lynx Wildcat, designed for the U.K. Defense Ministry, features a new airframe, digital communications, CTS800-4N engines rated at 1,361 shp.
Nicholas E. Grynkewich, Jr. (St. Simons Island, Ga.)
My observation about glass cockpits (AW&ST Sept. 13, p. 8.) is that after extensive experience with them I only once had the “Magic” trick me—when an MD-88 entered holding on the wrong side of the fix. I resolved then and there to “make sure the airplane is doing what you think it is doing!” It takes constant vigilance to be sure, but I don’t really see this situation as any different than any other type of aviating, vigilance reigns supreme.
South Korea is backing studies for a 90-seat turboprop airliner, identified as a strategic program for its aerospace industry, while China’s Avic Aircraft separately negotiates with engine makers for its proposed 76-seat propliner. The two Asian aircraft would become competitors, and perhaps successors, to the Bombardier Q400 and ATR 72.
Airline interest in re-engined transports is gathering momentum as expectations rise that Airbus will confirm plans to launch an upgraded A320 family powered by advanced turbofans this month.
Daewoo began design studies of the two-seat KTX-1 turboprop trainer in 1988, with the first prototype flying in 1991. The first two prototypes were powered by the 550-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25A turboprop; subsequent aircraft have been fitted with 950-shp. PT6A-62 turboprops. Through 2009, 124 units were produced, while another 53 aircraft are expected to be built in 2010-19. In 1999, the aerospace businesses of Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung were consolidated into Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Simon Roads has become director of completion sales for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan. He was a completions sales executive at Gulfstream Aerospace in Dallas.
The Schweizer S-300C (previously 300C) is a piston-powered, 2-3-seat light utility and training helicopter. An S-300 made its first flight in 1969, while the S-300C variant flew in 1984. Specially configured models of the S-300C are offered for a variety of dedicated military missions, including introductory pilot training and scout/observation. Through 2009, 1,223 civil and military Model 300 helicopters were produced by Schweizer, and another 511 are expected in 2010-19.
The Eurocopter EC120 is a single-turbine helicopter primarily used in the military arena for flight training. Power is supplied by a Turbomeca Arrius 2F turboshaft engine rated at 504 shp. Through 2009, 657 EC120s were produced, with another 42 expected to be built in 2010-19 solely for the military market.
The current military model of this twin-engine, eight-seat, single-main-rotor multipurpose helicopter is the AW109 LUH, which is powered by two Turbomeca Arrius 2K2 turboshaft engines, rated at 670 shp. Armament capability for the AW109 LUH is as follows: 7.62-mm. and 12.7-mm. machine guns, rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles (TOW, HOT or Hellfire) and/or air-to-air missiles (Stinger or Mistral). Through 2009, 1,285 AW/A109s of all variants were produced, including 68 AW/A109 LUHs. In 2010-19, 87 AW109 LUHs and 670 of all other -109 types are expected to be produced.
Marketing of the 767 AWACS, also known as the E-767, began in 1991 as a follow-on to the 707 AWACS. The E-767 is powered by two GE CF6-80C2 turbofan engines rated at 61,500 lb. thrust and has a crew of two plus 19 AWACS mission specialists. System suppliers include Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. The 767 AWACS competes with Boeing’s 737 AEW&C aircraft and the Northrop Grumman E-2D. Only four E-767s have been produced; all are in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The Typhoon is a delta-wing, single- and two-seat, supersonic, air superiority combat fighter produced by Eurofighter—a consortium that includes Alenia, BAE Systems and EADS—and sponsored by the governments of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. The aircraft is powered by two Eurojet EJ200 axial-flow, low-bypass, augmented turbofans rated at approximately 20,250 lb. thrust each with reheat. The initial prototype flew in 1994, with deliveries commencing in 2002.
Now in the definition stage, the Mako is envisioned as a family of single- and two-seat, supersonic advanced trainer and light combat aircraft. There has been little movement by EADS regarding future development and no firm customers. The planned engine is a single, 16,860-lb.-thrust General Electric F414MT turbofan. The Mako program began in 1989 (as the AT-2000 program) as a collaboration between Dornier (since merged into EADS) and Aermacchi (which left the program in 1994).
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) Dhruv/ALH is a twin-turboshaft-engine, single-main-rotor, multirole helicopter powered by Turbomeca TM333-2B2 turboshaft engines rated at 1,000 shp. each. Development for a variant equipped with a new engine is ongoing, and first flight for a Dhruv powered by Turbomeca/HAL Ardiden 1H turboshaft engines took place in August 2007. The Ardiden 1H, produced and marketed in India under the name Shakti, was certified in December 2007 by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Preliminary design studies for the B-52 heavy bomber began in 1946 and a prototype made its maiden flight in 1952. Production ran until 1962 and reached a total of 744 aircraft, plus two prototypes. Eighty-five H models remain in U.S. Air Force active service (nine in the Reserve) and are the subject of several modernization programs. B-52H bombers are powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-33 turbofans rated at 17,000 lb. thrust each.
