James Larwood, who was president of the Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Aerospace Group ’s Precision Products Div. has become president of Kaman Composites. He has been succeeded by John Kornegay, who was president of the Specialty Bearings Div. Following Kornegay is Robert Paterson, who was the division’s vice president-marketing and sales. Richard Thorley, former chief executive of subsidiary Brookhouse Holdings, has been appointed strategy and development director of the Kaman Aerospace Group. Guy Thomas has been named group managing director of Brookhouse.
A one-time rotary wing reject keeps setting popularity records. Bell Helicopter slated June 15 for delivery of its 1,000th Model 407 light, single-engine helicopter. Launched in 1995, the 407, according to Bell, became the fastest-selling helicopter worldwide and remains among the most popular, employed on missions ranging from law enforcement and medevac to executive transport. Last year the 407 was selected as Iraqi air force’s armed scout helicopter. The four-blade machine is a descendant of the 1960s-vintage OH-4A, which lost the U.S.
EADS hopes biofuel derived from algae will get a boost in the next few years, driven in part by the first flight of a Diamond Aircraft DA42 using 100% of such a fuel. Jean Botti, EADS chief technology officer, wants to generate enough interest so airlines run small trials with 100% biofuel-powered aircraft on routes such as Paris-Toulouse and Hamburg-Frankfurt.
Cathay Pacific Airways will sell its 15% stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. to parent Swire Pacific and use the proceeds to develop its core aviation business. The transaction is valued at HK$2.62 billion ($335 million) and Cathay Pacific will earn a profit of HK$1.83 billion. The money will be used to support investments in aircraft, products and services, as well as a new HK$5.5-billion cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport.
The Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry is expanding rapidly to meet the demands of its home airlines, raising the question of when it will begin moving seriously into the international market. And the question is when, not if.
The European Commission has initiated negotiations for 108 space and security research projects. The projects, worth €324 million ($389 million), include two space efforts—African deforestation monitoring and spacecraft landing system accuracy and robustness for exploration missions—and a maritime border security initiative. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be involved in the space projects.
Europe’s key military aerospace manufacturers are calling on their respective governments to begin to consider their long-term aerospace defense requirements as a basis for collaboration.
The first of three C-130J Super Hercules for India are in final positions on Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga.-based assembly line. India is due to receive six aircraft plus support, with the first C-130J set to arrive in February 2011. The aircraft will provide India’s army and air force with special ops capabilities.
The FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, located near Atlantic City, N.J., has begun operating its NextGen (Next Generation) Integration and Evaluation Capability (NIEC) research platform. NIEC will facilitate exploration, simulation, integration and evaluation of concepts for NextGen, which is intended to transform the existing air traffic control network into a satellite-based system for the future.
Lockheed Martin has won a $50-million U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory contract to develop an infrared surveillance sensor capable of providing at least 65 steerable video streams from an unmanned aircraft. The Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance-Infrared (Argus-IR) system is a follow-on to the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Argus-IS program under which BAE Systems has built and flown a 1.8-gigapixel electro-optical sensor pod able to downlink up to 65 “Predator-like” video streams.
June 28-July 1—American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics 40th Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit; 27th AIAA Aerodynamic Measurement and Ground Testing Conference; 28th AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference; 41st Plasmadynamics and Lasers Conference. Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Chicago. Call +1 (703) 264-7500 or see www.aiaa.org
German transport and economics/technology ministry heads met during ILA to try and iron out differences that are holding up approval of the Meteosat Third-Generation weather satellite system. Transport ministry dissatisfaction with selection of a Thales Alenia Space-led team to negotiate a contract for the space segment of the €3.3-billion ($4-billion) system threatens to delay the start of development. The transport ministry represents Germany at Eumetsat, which will own and operate MTG.
The German aerospace and airline industries face a major headwind as Berlin slashes its spending plan and introduces new fees to reduce the country’s budget deficit.
What worries me about retiring the space shuttle is that it is the only vehicle capable of maintaining the International Space Station (ISS). We have many vehicles capable of resupplying the station, but only the shuttle can lift large parts.
In the fight against roadside bombs, a “hover-and-stare” unmanned aircraft that has proved valuable in Iraq is being fielded in Afghanistan as manufacturer Honeywell works quickly to expand capabilities, overcome limitations and avoid exposing operators to insurgent attacks. Deliveries of the latest Block 3 version of the RQ-16 T-Hawk vertical-takeoff-and-landing micro air vehicle (MAV) begin in July. One hundred earlier systems have been delivered to Iraq and 50 to Afghanistan, for explosive ordnance disposal missions.
Space Exploration Technologies, the poster child of commercial space advocates and the whipping boy of its foes, is girding for a second major hurdle this summer in its quest to deliver cargo and crew to the International Space Station, following a successful debut flight of the Falcon 9 rocket on June 4.
Kazak Composites’s PADD (precision aerial delivery of dropsondes) is a means of delivering sensors that can improve the placement accuracy of the U.S. Navy’s Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW). The service’s system “delivers unguided sensors that follow a ballistic trajectory, resulting in errors in actual placement point of the sensors,” says Kazak President Jerry Fanucci. PADD is an air vehicle delivery device coupled with a dropsonde launcher to provide a precision, standoff delivery capability using existing ASW.
A decline of more than 20% in the value of the euro against the U.S. dollar is bolstering the competitiveness of Airbus and other European aerospace manufacturers while eroding a pricing advantage that a weak dollar has provided to Boeing Co. and U.S. suppliers for several years. Concerns about the financial health of Greece and other members of the 16-country euro zone pushed the currency below $1.20 last week—its lowest level in more than four years—down from $1.50 in late 2009. The stronger U.S.
NASA’s unmanned Global Hawk logged four science flights over the Pacific in April as part of the Global Hawk Pacific (GloPac) mission. The aircraft, fitted with 11 science instruments, acquired and transmitted previously inaccessible data. Flights reached up to 65,000 ft. Data, downloaded in real time to NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, were reviewed by scientists who were able to request that the Global Hawk pilot adjust the flight path to concentrate on specific areas. From the Arctic Circle to Hawaii, the mission logged 82.5 flight hours, including one 28.6-hr.
German space leaders are looking to reinforce their strong position in space radar and boost budding satellite communications and robotics know-how while forging new capabilities in optical imaging, environmental monitoring and space exploration.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Bengaluru), Neelam Mathews (Bengaluru)
India’s human spaceflight effort has been set back at least a year by the April 15 test-flight failure of a new indigenous cryogenic upper-stage rocket engine, but so far all indications are the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will continue working on its three-seat capsule and a way to launch it.
Italy’s Microtecnica is being tapped to develop the environmental control system for Turkey Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) Hurkus turboprop primary and basic trainer. Delivery of the first Hurkus is expected in 2011. The Microtecnica design will use bleed air from the engine for cabin pressurization, heating and ventilation. A vapor cycle compressor will be used for aircraft cooling. The Hurkus is being designed by TAI to meet a Turkish air force requirement.
Paul K. Russell (see photo) has been appointed vice president-space within the Northrop Grumman Corp. ’s Navigation Systems Div., Woodland Hills, Calif. He was director of the company’s Azusa, Calif., site and had been director of systems engineering for Space Systems/Loral.
Loral Space & Communications says its wholly owned affiliate Space Systems/Loral has filed for an initial public offering for up to 19.9% of SS/L’s common stock. Funds will be used to finance further growth and expansion, as well as to cover working capital and other general expenses.
