The AS550 utility helicopter is a military version of the AS350 powered, depending upon its generation, by a single Turbomeca Arriel 1B, 1D1 or 2B turboshaft engine (Generations 1, 2 and 3, respectively). Some 3,828 AS350/550s were produced through 2009, including civil and military variants, as well as those assembled under license by Helicopteros do Brasil SA (Helibras). Another 46 military units are forecast to be produced in 2010 19.
The PC-9 tandem-seat military flight trainer is produced by Pilatus and has also been assembled under license by Hawker de Havilland Ltd. A PC-9 prototype first flew in May 1984, followed by initial production deliveries in 1986. The current production model is the PC-9M, introduced in 1997. The PC-9M is powered by a single 1,150-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-62 turboprop engine. Through 2006, when the last PC-9 was produced, 276 aircraft were built. Pilatus continues to market the PC-9, though it seems that there will be no future production of the aircraft.
Members of the L39 family include two-seat trainers and single-seat light-attack aircraft; all are single-engine-powered. The current version in the family is the L159, and, although the plane is still available for order, no new aircraft have been produced since 2003. Power for the L159 is provided by a 6,300-lb.-thrust ITEC (a partnership of Honeywell and AIDC) F124-GA-100 turbofan engine. The maiden flight of the L39 occurred in 1968, with the L159 following in 1997 and first delivery in 1999. Nearly 3,000 aircraft in the series have been produced.
Lockheed Martin’s X-35 (F-35 in production) was selected as the winner of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program in 2001. Lockheed Martin’s bid included numerous partners in the F-35, including Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The JSF program called for the F-35 to be available in three versions: the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (Stovl) and F-35C carrier-based attack version. All versions of the F-35 are powered by a single, afterburning turbofan engine rated at 40,000 lb.
Joseph E. Radosky (see photo) has been appointed Orlando, Fla.-based sales manager for government and military programs for the Signature Flight Support Corp. He was director of business development for SimiGon and a marketing manager for FlightSafety International.
A three-engine, medium-lift, multirole helicopter, the AW101 (formerly the EH101) has been produced in naval, military utility and civil versions. The helicopter’s various versions have had a wide range of engines: the General Electric CT7-6A, CT7-8E and T700-GE-T6A1; as well as the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322. Team US101, a partnership comprising AgustaWestland, Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter Textron, developed the US101 version of the AW101 for the U.S. Navy’s VH-71 presidential helicopter program.
The P-8A, a maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare aircraft, is a variant of Boeing’s 737-800, and is powered by two CFM56-7B turbofans rated at 27,300 lb. thrust each. The aircraft will succeed the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion in U.S. Navy maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare service. Boeing and the Navy formally unveiled the P-8A in July 2009, after flight-testing began in April of that year. In all, seven P-8As will take part in flight-testing, while the Navy plans to purchase 117 aircraft. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.
General Electric and Rolls-Royce are focusing on manufacturing records as they investigate the causes of an incident which forced the shutdown of an F136 development engine on Sept. 23. The shutdown was triggered when the F136 endurance engine, 008, “experienced an anomaly at near maximum fan speed,” says the GE-Rolls Fighter Engine Team. “Initial inspection revealed damage to airfoils in the front fan and compressor area.” Shutdown occurred 3 hr.
The Eurocopter Tiger is a tandem-seat, anti-tank/fire-support helicopter designed for all-weather, day/night, anti-tank, ground support, anti-helicopter and armed escort missions. Power is supplied by two MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce MTR390 turboshaft engines rated at 1,285 shp. each at takeoff. Variants include: the HAC Tiger—basic anti-tank version for the French army that can carry anti-armor missiles and Mistral air-to-air missiles; HAP Gerfaut—escort and fire-support version for the French army that can carry a chin-turret-mounted 30-mm.
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.
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter customers are hoping they can finally resolve some of the nagging uncertainties that have hung over the program, including the issue of pricing and how much operational sovereignty buyers can expect. Price has been a key issue for both the U.S. and the international JSF community. Discussions between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin over the fourth lot of low-rate-initial-production aircraft have dragged on for months.
The An-70 transport is a developmental, high-wing aircraft design powered by four novel 14,000-shp. ZMKB Progress D-27 propfan engines with six-blade counter-rotating propellers; it is intended to compete with the Airbus A400M. Two An-70 prototypes have flown—one in 1994 and a second in 1997; both suffered accidents. In 2006, the An-70 effort took a further hit when Russia pulled out of a deal to buy 164 aircraft, leaving Ukraine as the sole client.
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.
