The Chinese maintenance industry will advance not only in size but also in its technology and management in the coming decade, top executives predict. The major challenge will remain finding skilled labor. With the industry growing so fast and competing for technicians against rapidly expanding airlines, local training is likely to be only a partial solution to the labor demand.
As the Pentagon weighs its options for adding money and time to complete flight tests for the F-35 program, Congress is feeling left out. One source familiar with the program says Congress is miffed that Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has discussed the Joint Strike Fighter’s quandary in the press. The Senate Armed Services Committee held a closed hearing on the matter Dec. 16. In a statement following the hearing, Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) said they are “deeply concerned” about the cost growth and expected delays.
Thales is counting on deep cuts in overhead costs and tighter control of bidding and program management to help it recover from its worst performance in a decade.
Aerospace Industries Assn. President and CEO Marion Blakey hopes U.S. lawmakers will take note of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposed $50-billion high-tech stimulus when they consider job-creation proposals. Sarkozy’s plan would earmark $9.3 billion for industrial initiatives, benefitting new aeronautics and space projects in Europe (see p. 31). “This makes a great deal of sense,” Blakey tells Aviation Week. “It is certainly the direction we hope the Congress will go when they come back and look at the jobs issue after the new year.” The U.S.
Boeing will aggressively ramp up the 787 flight-test program by flying the second airframe as early as Dec. 22, just days after the successful first flight of the prototype aircraft ZA001.
The British government plans to give the go-ahead for the acquisition of three RC-135V/W Rivet Joint aircraft in early January, pending finance department approval. The aircraft will replace the electronic intelligence capability now provided by the Royal Air Force’s two remaining Nimrod R1s.
Israel’s Elbit Systems flew its Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft for the first time on Dec. 9. The 15-min. flight demonstrated an autonomous takeoff and landing, with the aircraft carrying a dummy electro-optical/infrared sensor.
Robert Brevelle has been appointed vice president-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems for DRS Defense Solutions , Bethesda, Md. He was head of strategic development for the Electronic Warfare and Intelligence Solutions Div. of Rockwell Collins.
The U.K. government needs to reassess its plans for the country’s air transport infrastructure to address a growing mismatch between demand, capacity and environmental targets. That is the underlying message of two new reports issued last week, one by Parliament and the second by an advisory body to the government.
Patricia McMahon (see photo) has become vice president/deputy of the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems sector’s Battle Management and Engagement Systems Div., Bethpage, N.Y. She headed the company’s information operations/electronic attack business.
The French air accident investigation office is looking into an incident involving an Air France A330-200 to see if there may be links to the June 1 crash of AF447. On Nov. 29, AF445 flying between Rio de Janeiro and Paris (the same route AF447 was flying when it plunged into the Atlantic) encountered severe turbulence, triggering a Mayday call and causing the pilots to descend around 10,000 ft. to continue their flight.
New momentum on Capitol Hill could help find a more lasting—and effective—research and development tax credit. Nonpartisan auditors there suggest that lawmakers consider eliminating the regular credit option while adding a minimum base to the alternative simplified credit. Last June, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the panel’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley (Iowa), pitched a legislative proposal to do as much. The senators’ proposal would also make the credit permanent so businesses can plan better.
United Airlines is committing the future of its international fleet to the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, in a split-buy decision that has major ramifications for the manufacturers as much as for the airline. While a large-scale order was expected, United surprised analysts by selecting both of the competing widebodies. The airline admits there would have been operational savings in choosing just one type, but points out that the specifications of the two airplanes vary enough to provide greater choice in matching aircraft to routes.
Boeing’s stretched 747-8F freighter took major strides toward first flight next month with the start of the aircraft’s General Electric GEnx-2B engines for the first time on Dec. 8., followed two days later with the initiation of control input work in the cockpit by Boeing test pilots. Initial engine start, and the customary white smoke caused by the burn-off of residual lubrication oil (below), coincides with the approach of natural icing test flights for the GEnx-2B mounted on GE’s 747 flying test-bed.
Aviation aftermarket companies, building on their success of bundling services in support of cash-strapped airlines, will be expanding the business practice as airlines continue to grapple with reducing costs and improving their core business.
Brussels Airlines last week officially became a member of the Star Alliance. The airline was accepted by the Chief Executive Board. Brussels Airlines hopes to build its home base into the group’s hub in Western Europe. It plans to expand its already sizable African network and add transatlantic services as soon as the market improves. Brussels Airlines is 45% owned by Lufthansa. Several North American carriers—including United, Air Canada and US Airways—have recently announced new or more frequencies into Brussels.
CitationAir, the fractional aircraft ownership, charter and management operation in which Cessna Aircraft has a majority interest, thinks it has a way to assure nervous prospects that their aircraft investment will not plummet: guaranteeing value stability. The company says it will guarantee residual values on new purchases of its pre-owned Citations for up to three years. The offer is good through the end of 2009 or until the inventory is gone.
Russia’s S7 Group will house and maintain full flight simulators for Boeing Next Generation and “classic” series aircraft and a 737 flat panel trainer at its training center near Domodedovo Airport in Moscow. Boeing says this is the first step in integrating Russia into the company’s global Training and Flight Services network, as part of an agreement signed last summer that calls on Russia and Boeing to expand cooperation in flight safety.
Robert J. de Boer has been named professor of aviation engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Science . He was engineering director at Stork Fokker.
Michael Kraft (see photo) has become senior vice president/general manager of Textron Lycoming Engines , Williamsport, Pa. He succeeds Ian Walsh, who was promoted to chief innovation officer at Textron Systems. Kraft was Lycoming’s vice president-research, development and engineering.
I taught high school mathematics to many aerospace engineers reading Aviation Week & Space Technology today. Students often asked for practical applications for our math, or “what good is this stuff?” My military experience helped to suggest several applications in the analog world, but now a universe of digital applications is commonplace. All of our information and power, at some stage, is delivered over a wire. Television, radar, communications, tomography and finite element analysis are noteworthy to me.
Russia’s next fighter aircraft, the Sukhoi T-50 (also known as PAK FA) is to commence flight trials next year, Vice Premier Sergei Ivanov confirmed last week. The tentative in-service date is 2015.
Solar Impulse has completed initial tests of its prototype solar-powered aircraft, HB-SIA, after a brief first flight at Duebendorf, Switzerland, on Dec. 3. The1,600-kg. (3,527-lb.), single-pilot aircraft flew 350 meters along the runway at an altitude of about 1 meter. First tests were conducted on battery power. The 11,600-plus solar cells on the upper surfaces of HB-SIA’s 63.4-meter (208-ft.) wing, and tail will be connected after the aircraft is disassembled and relocated to Payerne Air Base for full flight testing, which is scheduled to begin early next year.
Lawmakers are calling for a review to determine how sensitive Transportation Security Administration (TSA) information came to be published on the web, and they want assurances that it will not happen again.
Investors and airlines are not the only ones crossing their fingers that Boeing Co.’s 787 jet will finally make its inaugural flight this month. A lot of small suppliers pegged their investments in facilities and materials to the 787’s original flight date of Aug. 28, 2007. More than 27 months later, they are still waiting for revenue to begin flowing in.
