Heavy demand from government customers helped generate solid growth at Intelsat and Inmarsat last year—a trend that can be expected to accelerate in future years. The strong showing underscored continued growth across the satellite telecom sector (see p. 48).
The NTSB is determined to improve human-machine interface in modern general aviation (GA) cockpits after a study determined that advanced avionics in light aircraft are not yielding a better safety record than in aircraft with conventional instruments. The safety board last week released the findings of a study it launched more than a year ago with help from the FAA, General Aviation Manufacturers Assn., and aircraft manufacturers Cessna Aircraft and Cirrus Design Corp.
Northrop Grumman’s decision not to bid for the U.S. Air Force’s KC-X aerial refueling tanker contract is being met with a private sigh of relief from Pentagon officials. Another round of contentious competition has been averted. But the officials’ sigh is likely being followed by an uneasy gasp at the tough challenge of negotiating a sole-source deal with Boeing that could endure to 2027.
The average per-unit cost of the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter has jumped from $50 million to as much as $95 million in Fiscal 2002 dollars, says Ashton Carter, the Pentagon acquisition chief, in Senate testimony last week. In today’s dollars, that makes the per-unit cost an estimated $112 million. Senate Armed Services Chair Carl Levin wonders if Lockheed Martin knowingly “bought into” the program by proposing an unrealistically low price during the competition with Boeing, and later recouping the money through repeated cost overruns.
The parent company of U.S. low-cost carrier Allegiant Air has signed an agreement with an unidentified European operator to acquire six used Boeing 757-200 aircraft, after Allegiant’s leadership decided the financial reward from offering service to Hawaii offsets the complexity of adding a second aircraft type to its MD-80 fleet. Allegiant Travel President and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Levy says limiting the 757s to Hawaii service would also simplify mixed-fleet operations.
Somon Air has ordered two Boeing 737-900ERs to add to two 737-800s it flies on routes to Russia, Germany, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The -900ERs are its first direct purchase from Boeing.
United Airlines formally ordered 25 Airbus A350-900s last week, completing a pledge it made in December to draw from both Boeing and Airbus for updates of its mid-size, long-distance fleet. Deliveries are to begin in 2016 and run through 2019. The move pushes Airbus’s order book for the 270-350-seat family to 530 aircraft. United says the A350s will replace 24 Boeing 747-400s, while 787-8s succeed 35 767-300s.
If $25,000 and a commitment for two or more months in space is too steep a price for a student experiment on the International Space Station, how about a ride for less than $10,000 for two weeks on the space shuttle? That is the approach taken by American Aerospace Advisers, which agreed Mar. 5 to rent a “2U”—the equivalent of half a NanoRack—on STS-133, the last scheduled shuttle mission.
Capt (ret.) William M. Delaney states that the stick shaker is outdated and the air data computer should instead give the oral warning “Airspeed, Airspeed” when it sees a dangerous trend (AW&ST Feb. 15, p. 8). Perhaps that should be refined to “Airspeed too low, Airspeed too low” or “Airspeed too high, Airspeed too high.”
Finmeccanica is looking to further increase its business activity in the U.S., capitalizing on its acquisition of DRS Technologies. The company has long eyed the U.S. and, through a growing industrial footprint, has tried to make it a “home market” in addition to Italy and the U.K. A round of upcoming helicopter competitions will prove a crucial test case for that business plan.
Air China appears likely to take full control of Shenzhen Airlines, building up its position against rival China Southern Airlines in the country’s south, after gaining a foothold in Shenzhen management. The arrest of a second senior figure at Shenzhen Airlines has left an Air China executive running the company—one week after Air China said it had begun an audit of Shenzhen in preparation for a takeover. Air China already owns 25% of Shenzhen, whose consistent profitability has marked it as one of the country’s better-run carriers.
The RAF plans to more than double the number of its two-person General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper crews to support the additional five systems the service is planning to purchase. The Reaper unit, 39 Sqdn., has 17 crews available, but the aim is to grow to more than 40 to support the increasing number of these unmanned aerial vehicles. The government last December announced it was to double the size of the Reaper fleet. The RAF operates the type in support of combat operations in Afghanistan, with 39 Sqdn. based at Creech AFB, Nev. The RAF squadron operates alongside U.S.
The attempts at tanker procurement have blundered along long enough that there are now real tankers available as opposed to the requirements writers’ paper airplanes. Why not break the logjam by calling for bids for the Japanese or Italian Boeing 767 and Australian Airbus A330 derivatives, treating them as commercial off-the-shelf items. The U.S. Air Force should evaluate the price and performance of each, and buy 15 of the winner and 10 of the loser. The result should be almost as good, and offer a far cheaper and quicker solution than will continuing the broken process.
The next 12-month period is likely to be a time of reckoning for the mobile satellite service sector, with a spate of new high-speed satphone services set to enter service and some consolidation seemingly inevitable.
Germany’s RapidEye says it has completed a 7.8-million-sq.-km. imaging campaign of China under a contract with the ministry of land and resources. The campaign, which involves covering about 80% of China’s land area, was performed during a six-month period with a 10% allowance for cloud cover. Chinese officials say it was the first time so much of the country has been imaged in a single year. One use of the data will be for change detection, including how agricultural land is being lost to urban development.
Top U.S. Air Force generals in charge of space and cyber-operations tell senators that the country will have to consider how to attract and retain highly skilled cyber-warriors, and probably in unusual ways. Gen C. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee last week that the service is pushing National Guard and reserve service in front of active-duty personnel who are considering leaving. If they accept, USAF still gets to call upon the airmen as needed, even as they seek other opportunities.
Embraer has delivered Gulf Air’s first two E-170 regional jets, as the carrier tries to right-size its network after years of losses. The commitment to the Brazilian regional aircraft was presaged with the arrival of Gulf Air’s new CEO, Samer Majali, last year. Majali previously ran Royal Jordanian, where he used the Embraer regional jets to adjust the airline’s business and post several years of profits.
Virtually all market indicators suggest the telecom satellite industry will continue to resist the lingering economic malaise, but how much that will benefit satellite manufacturers and launch providers remains to be seen.
After several years of promising growth, broadband appears ready to take off, and ViaSat plans to be a key driver (see p. 48). Its 125-Gbps. ViaSat-1, which is under construction at Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, Calif., promises to lower prices to terrestrial levels when it is launched in early 2011. ViaSat is also supplying ground equipment for Eutelsat’s 70-Gbps. KA-Sat, which will precede ViaSat into orbit in late 2010. ViaSat photo.
Thomas Fagan has been appointed director of business development for Chi Systems Inc. , Fort Washington, Pa. He was executive vice president of Stellar Services of New York.
Bahrain has opted for the Rockwell Collins transportable Black Hawk operations simulator (T-BOS) to train its UH-60M helicopter pilots. The T-BOS will be delivered under a Foreign Military Sales contract administered by the U.S. Army’s Utility Project Office.
Dean Tim Brady, College of Aviation Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla. )
Jim Wolper’s letter criticizes a statement that was attributed to me (AW&ST Feb. 8, p. 10; Nov. 30, 2009, p. 54). The printed statement was: “Candidates would be forced to take the easy route to the ATP [air transport pilot certificate] by instructing in a single-engine aircraft for 1,000 hr. ‘and repeating that same hour 1,000 times.’” The portion in single quotes is correct but the preceding part is not.
The Transportation Security Administration has added Smiths Detection’s Hi-Scan 130130T-2is X-ray inspection system to its Air Cargo Screening Qualified Technology List. The system provides two views of scanned items for fast threat detection, according to Smiths. The mid-sized screener features a low conveyor that enables forklift operations, and its large tunnel opening accommodates a variety of shipment sizes.
