Aviation Week & Space Technology

Politics could yet derail French industry aspirations to upgrade Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter aircraft, even as the two sides near conclusion of a deal for the program.

If one is more interested in fixing the problem rather than the blame regarding the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, either of these suggestions could have prevented this accident.

As a Part 121 airline pilot, I have been closely following the issue of crew fatigue and the Aviation Rulemaking Committee process in your magazine. Perhaps recounting a real-world experience earlier this month would be enlightening ( in local domicile time): •I made sure I went to sleep before entering my wake maintenance zone the night prior to my flight. Awoke at 6:30 a.m., after 8-plus hr. of uninterrupted sleep, for a 8:30 a.m. departure from a field location back to base.

As key European players ponder procurement strategies for medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV requirements, French lawmakers are urging greater effort from their government while offering support for Anglo-French collaboration.

Israel’s Spacecom says it has begun service to Africa with Amos-5i, an interim spacecraft acquired last year from Asia Satellite Telecommunications, where it had been known as AsiaSat-2. Launched in 1995 and built by Lockheed Martin, Amos-5i was transferred to a slot at 17 deg. E. Long. that Spacecom is developing to interconnect Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The spacecraft carries 20 36-MHz. and four 72-MHz. C-band transponders along with nine Ku-band units.

By Apr. 30, Airbus A330 and A340 operators will be required to make a detailed visual inspection of aircraft equipped with a Thales Avionics AOA (angle of attack) probe with Part No. C16291AA to identify and replace parts suspected of causing inaccurate AOA indications—a check ordered by a Feb. 9 European Aviation Safety Agency airworthiness directive. When final assembly line testing revealed that AOA data from two aircraft were incorrect, Thales investigated and discovered oil residue between the stator and rotor parts of the AOA van position resolvers.

Ken McKenzie (see photos) has been named chief operating officer and Chris Grazel vice president-flight operations of Spirit Airlines . McKenzie was executive vice president-operations for WestJest, while Grazel was vice president-operations/chief pilot at Skybus Airlines.

A small corner of southeast Poland has become an unlikely battleground for rotorcraft industry giants AgustaWestland and Sikorsky as the companies seek a toehold in the international market.

John Mohn (see photo) has been promoted to president from executive vice president of Ideal Aerosmith , East Grand Forks, Minn. He succeeds Lonnie C. Rogers, who is co-chairman with President Greg D. Owens.

An FAA-proposed airworthiness directive issued last week aims at preventing fatigue cracking on about 975 Boeing 767 aircraft. The AD expands the area for repetitive, detailed inspection—Station 1809.5 bulkhead—mandated in a previous AD, to include the vertical inner chord. Fatigue cracking in the bulkhead and vertical inner chord could result in failure of the bulkhead structure for carrying the flight loads of the horizontal stabilizer and lead to loss of control of the aircraft, according to the FAA.

Despite a slowdown in business and regional aircraft engine activity, Rolls-Royce was able to boost its order backlog and profit in 2009. However, the engine maker expects performance in 2010 to be merely flat on the military side and decline for the commercial segment. In releasing preliminary results for 2009, Rolls-Royce says its underlying pre-tax profit reached £915 million ($1.43 billion), up 4% from the prior year, bringing the company’s year-end order backlog to £58.3 billion. Revenue topped £10.4 billion, up from around £9 billion in 2009.

The Oneworld airline alliance has staved off the potentially disastrous loss of leading Asian member Japan Airlines, allowing it to refocus on major headaches the alliance is dealing with in other parts of the world.

So now the Coalition of Air Line Pilots wants crew training in behavioral recognition (AW&ST Jan. 11, p. 31). Why? So they can sit behind their locked doors, look out the peepholes and speculate as to what the passengers are thinking? Learning behavioral recognition techniques would be a great exercise for the cabin crew , who actually make eye contact with passengers. But for pilots, use of these skills would be one more thing to cram into a hectic preflight schedule .

Taking the reins of a business in one of the most severe economic downturns of modern times is hard enough, but add to that cancellation of a major government contract , trouble with another and a six-week labor strike, and you get an appreciation of what John Garrison faced when he became president and CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron in August. Garrison sat down with Aviation Week & Space Technology International Editor Robert Wall on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow to discuss Bell’s recovery efforts. AW&ST: How did business hold up last year?

I read the letters from Capts. David M. Phipps and Tom Olsen on pilot training and Frances Fiorino’s article “Safety Under Scrutiny” (AW&ST Feb. 1, pp. 11 and 50) with interest as I too have seen a reduction in basic fly ing skills and airmanship of pilots, myself included.

Boeing, the FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency have reached a compromise over cooling times for carbon brakes on 737s, which will enable the U.S. manufacturer to fulfill orders from European operators starting later this year. Although Boeing won FAA certification for the Messier-Bugatti system as far back as August 2008, EASA required a longer turnaround period between landing and takeoff to allow the brakes to cool before granting clearance. After discussions between the FAA and EASA, Boeing says it has accepted the added time of about 5 min.

The Andean Community of Nations will work with SES World Skies to develop the orbital slot at 67 deg. W. Long. as “a prime orbital neighborhood for the region.” The agreement between SES World Skies and the economic-development organization of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru covers long-term use of the Andean slot, which provides “excellent viewing angles” for the Americas and Caribbean, says SES.

Virgin Blue and its Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue affiliates will use a quick-turnaround approach developed by Lufthansa Technik to avoid inflight service issues with variable stator vanes (VSV) on the CFM56-7B engines powering 60 Boeing 737NGs in the airlines’ fleets. VSV bushings typically show signs of wear at 16,000-20,000 operating hours, but standard inspections of the engines do not happen until 24,000 flight hours. Lufthansa airline service teams, based at LTQ Engineering in Melbourne, Australia, provide in-country service of the vanes/bushings.

Boeing has begun the 787’s wing test series that will lead to a so-called ultimate load , which puts the wing at stress levels 150% above normal. That test is always a key part of FAA certification but will be especially so for the787 because it is carrying commercial aviation’s first composite wing. The test also will help verify how well Boeing overcame earlier concerns about the strength of the wing’s side-of-body join (see p. 24). The 787’s 197-ft. composite wing span is notable because its tips are high even in 1g. During flight, they rise 10 ft.

The U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch has formally confirmed what led to the Jan. 17, 2008, belly landing of a British Airways Boeing 777-200 at London Heathrow Airport: Ice in the fuel system impeded fuel flow to both Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines. According to the AAIB’s final report released last week, the aircraft was at 720 ft. AGL (above ground level) on final approach to Heathrow from Beijing when an uncommanded power reduction occurred first in the right engine, and 7 sec. later in the left Trent 800.

UPS says it may be forced to make a “painful decision” to furlough about 300 of its 2,800 pilots starting in May—unless the carrier and the Independent Pilots Assn. (IPA) find joint solutions to averting flight crew layoffs. UPS and the pilots union have been seeking ways to cuts costs to avoid layoffs for more than a year, according to the carrier, based in Louisville, Ky.

Despite increased pressure on European governments and companies to curtail spending , neither show signs of backing away from ambitious rotorcraft research-and-development agendas. Much of this advancing technology is being driven by the expansive Clean Sky research program, the co-funded government/industrial initiative to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint. But other research activities continue in tandem, as well.

Eurocopter Southeast Asia (ESEA) is selling four helicopters to Vinacopter, which will be the launch fleet for the Vietnam-based company’s recently formed subsidiary, Helivietnam, a new commercial charter outlet. The fleet will consist of one AS355NP, a new-generation light twin-engine craft; two high-performance single-engine AS350B3s (above); and one twin-engine EC135. All are to be used for tourism and VIP transport. The AS355NP is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of the year; the balance in the second half of 2011.

Airbus appears to be running head-on into another major development program problem, with its A350 twin-widebody already at risk of significant schedule delays and cost overruns, even before the first aircraft has come together.

NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour lights up pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on the last night launch of the shuttle era. The 130th space shuttle mission delivered the Italian-built Tranquility node and its seven-window cupola to the International Space Station, after a one-day weather delay to a Feb. 8 liftoff at 4:14 a.m. EST.