GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) is best known as one of the two biggest airplane leasing companies. But it also operates an airframe dismantling operation in Greenwood, Miss., and has become the latest member of the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association to achieve accreditation in AFRA’s Best Management Practices program. The best practices effort is independently audited, covers a three-year program and costs $8,000 to complete, says Deputy Executive Director Bill Carberry, who wears another hat as head of Boeing’s environmental performance efforts.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted EADS the supplemental type certification (STC) for its work in converting Airbus A330 aircraft into multirole tanker transports. The document comes on the back of 60 flight-test hours that were needed for the STC and 170 flight-test hours overall performed for the lead customer, the Royal Australian Air Force. The STC covers the aerial refueling boom, refueling pods, operating console in the cockpit and other military features. Airbus also has adjusted flight controls to ease handling during refueling.
Hypersonic proponents worldwide will eagerly watch two long-awaited technology demonstrations starting with the imminent first flight attempt for the X-51 Waverider, to be followed within a month by the first flight of the Falcon HTV-2 hypersonic test vehicle.
Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, commander of Expedition 23 on the International Space Station, and his crewmates Soichi Noguchi of Japan and T.J. Creamer of the U.S. will have a little extra space on the orbiting facility this week. Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and flight engineer Maxim Suraev safely touched down in Soyuz TMA-16 on the snow-covered steppe near Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, Mar. 19, wrapping up a 167-day stay in orbit and leaving their sleeping quarters empty until the rest of Expedition 23 arrives next month.
Amy Butler (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington), Alon Ben-David (Tel Aviv)
The F-35B is taking a major step forward with verticallanding test milestones, though the massive price increase for the stealthy, single-engine fighter is raising eyebrows among international customers. The first vertical landing took place Mar. 18 after a 1:09 p.m. EDT takeoff at NAS Patuxent River, Md. BF-1, the first short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing (Stovl) model, rode more than 41,000 lb. of thrust to achieve this milestone, which is key in proving the aircraft’s suitability for the Marine Corps, U.K. and Italian forces.
On a recent visit to New York, Boeing CEO James McNerney told high-end investors that an uptick in air cargo traffic has “surprised” his company’s economists and augured well for sustained growth. Not long afterward, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that cargo traffic in December 2009 was up 28% from the same period a year earlier.
When Woody Allen said 80% of success is showing up, he could have been referring to Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout. Despite the U.S. Army’s recent decision to eliminate the vertical-takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV) from its Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) program, Northrop Grumman continues to fly and test Fire Scout for and with the service.
An abundance of used aircraft for sale and a continuing trickle of order cancellations are driving expectations that business aircraft orders will not see a marked recovery for some time, although several manufacturers expect financial performance to at least bottom out, or even start improving.
Airports Council International says the peak of the 2009 traffic crisis passed in the first quarter, with passenger demand down 8% and cargo off 20%. Steady improvement allowed the world’s airlines to end the year with global passenger traffic down 2.7% and cargo off 5.5%, according to data from 900 airports. Strong performance in Asia-Pacific and Latin America-Caribbean during the second half led the rebound. North American and European airports showed they “only timidly exited negative growth territory toward the end of the year.”
Speaking of extensions, yet another three-month extension for the FAA’s operating authority is in the cards. The idea is intended to give House and Senate lawmakers time to reconcile their versions of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill—the 12th time the FAA has needed an extension since its last full authorization expired in 2007. The Senate was debating its version of FAA authorization last week, but there will not be enough time to complete a House-Senate conference process before the current measure expires on Mar. 31.
NASA is kicking off the second year of its Operation IceBridge, the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice, with a study in Greenland this week. The survey is conducted from NASA’s DC-8 flying science laboratory. It was scheduled to depart from NASA’s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., on Mar. 21 for Thule, Greenland. Scientists will conduct 10-12 missions over the Arctic during a five-week period, focused on Arctic sea ice, which reaches its maximum extent in March and early April.
Despite a cautious cash conservation policy, known drains on the roughly more than €9 billion ($12.25 billion) in cash on hand, and prior concerns by the EADS board about making a deal during a global downturn, CEO Louis Gallois believes an acquisition this year is possible. The company has kept its eye on the U.S., where it is desperate to grow its industrial footprint. Gallois says he is looking for a “medium-size” acquisition, which would be valued at several hundred million dollars, and indicates the board is supportive of the deal. Although a U.S.
British Airways has taken a step to deal with the £3.7-billion ($5.7-billion) deficit in its defined pension scheme, with the airline and unions agreeing on new contribution terms. Under the deal, which will go to the pension regulator by June 30, British Airways will continue contributing £330 million per year. Members of the New Airways Pension Scheme can opt to accept their current levels of contributions, but receive reduced benefits, or increase their contributions by 4.5% to maintain existing benefit levels.
Sustained financial difficulties faced by European airlines are ratcheting up the battle among carriers about unfair state aid, with appeals to the European Commission mounting to investigate alleged subsidies. The European Low Fare Airlines Association on Mar. 17 complained to the European Commission about state aid provided to SAS, Malev, Spanair and Czech airlines. But the complaints run both ways. Air France recently appealed to Brussels to investigate financial assistance Ryanair receives from French regional airports.
Emirates and Qatar Airways are pushing aircraft manufacturers for quicker delivery and new models to accelerate their already impressive growth. Speaking to Aviation Week at the ITB travel fair here this month, Emirates President Tim Clark pointed out that the airline would likely buy a stretched version of the Airbus A380 if it became available. Qatar CEO Akbar al-Bakr wants aircraft on order to be delivered faster and is looking at adding more narrowbodies or large regional jets.
Boeing has added a chrome-free primer to complement the chrome-free exterior decorative paint it has used for more than a decade. The primer was recently applied to a GOL Airlines 737-800 bound for revenue service. Many companies are trying to reduce or eliminate the use of chrome—technically known as hexavalent chrome—which is considered a carcinogen.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has concluded an agreement to launch an undetermined satellite for Space Systems/Loral on its new Falcon 9 booster, which it has now static tested at the company’s new launch site at Cape Canaveral AFS. The Loral deal, similar to one inked earlier with Israel’s Spacecom, provides for a launch opportunity as early as 2012 and brings the total number of missions on the Falcon 9 to 24.
With demand for global air travel facing a long climb back from its worst decline in history, it is reasonable to ask how Airbus and Boeing can continue to churn out so many jets. Defying skeptics who have long predicted that cuts in output were inevitable, the two airframers are signaling that they instead plan to raise production rates even higher in 2011, moves that would help them replenish cash spent on troublesome aircraft development programs (p. 43).
Selex Communications will upgrade 16 CH-47F Chinook helicopters for the Italian army, providing communication, navigation and self-protection equipment for the transport rotorcraft. Under a €19-million ($25.8-million) program, Selex will deliver multi-band V/UHF radio with frequency-hopping capabilities to be more resistant against jamming, as well as high-frequency radio with automatic link establishment, and national and NATO encryption capability.
Two letter writers argue against the Obama administration’s attempt to cancel the Constellation Program and the Ares vehicles developments—“U.S. Risks Loss of Space Power” and “Benefits of the Constellation Program” (AW&ST Feb. 22, p. 8). Ake Fagrell says, “The U.S. will be giving up its leadership in space.” Tom Moser says, “. . . NASA budget proposal puts the U.S. leadership in space at risk.” Cancellation of the Constellation Program was the proper thing to do.
An Antonov An-26B cargo aircraft, operated for DHL, made a successful engine-out emergency landing Mar. 18 on frozen Lake Ulemiste, south of Tallinn, Estonia. According to preliminary reports, the aircraft was en route from Helsinki Vantaa Airport to Tallinn. When the pilots executed a go-around on approach to landing at Tallinn, one of the An-26’s two engines failed—leading the crew to attempt an emergency landing on the frozen lake.
Following what has become a five-year deployment supporting operations in Afghanistan, the U.K. Royal Navy is renewing its focus on high-tempo day and night carrier operations with the Harrier GR9A. The Naval Strike Wing embarked on HMS Ark Royal this month as part of the ship’s work-up.
Boeing has completed preliminary design of a prototype free electron laser (FEL) weapon system for the U.S. Navy. An FEL passes a stream of high-energy electrons through a series of powerful magnetic fields to generate a high-power laser beam. Boeing is working on an initial $6.9-million task order under a potential $169-million contract awarded by the Office of Naval Research last April. A decision on whether to build a laboratory demonstrator is expected this summer, the company says.
Apr. 12-15—National Space Symposium. Colorado Springs. Apr. 20-22—MRO Americas/MRO Military Conference & Exhibition. Phoenix. Apr. 28-30—Phoenix Sky Harbor International Aviation Symposium. May 10-13—Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference. Amman, Jordan May 19-21—NextGen Conference & Exhibition. Washington. June 8-13—ILA-Berlin Air Show. July 19-25—Farnborough 2010. Sept. 27-Oct. 1—International Astronautical Congress. Prague. Sept. 28-30—MRO Europe. London.
A single, classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office is the only pending business here for the Delta IV Heavy launcher, but United Launch Alliance undertook a three-year, $58-million modification of the storied Space Launch Complex-6 to make it possible.
