The French government has exercised an option with Eurocopter to upgrade five more Cougar transport helicopters to keep them in service another 20 years. The deal is part of a 27-helicopter upgrade package the government signed in 2008. It will receive four of the helos in the latest batch, with the air force to upgrade all 27. With this deal, modernizations of 10 of the total are now financed. The French army is to receive the fifth. Under the program, enhancements are being made to the avionics, self-protection suite and command-and-control system.
The Indian air force has resumed flight operations using its Su-30 fighters. Operations were suspended following a November crash. It was the second Su-30 loss for the air force last year.
Donald M. Harlan, Jr., has become executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Breeze-Eastern Corp. , Union, N.J. He was CEO of Nomad Innovations.
SES has emerged as the successful bidder for ProtoStar 2, a telecom satellite put on the block by ProtoStar, an Asia-Pacific region satcom startup currently in Chapter 11. The Luxembourg operator paid $185 million in cash for the Boeing-built spacecraft, which carries 22 Ku- and 10 S-band transponders. SES plans to integrate the satellite, launched in May, into the fleet of its World Skies unit. Initially, it will provide incremental capacity for Asia, but World Skies President/CEO Rob Bednarek notes the company has other slots where ProtoStar 2 could be used.
Engine certification for the Sukhoi Superjet 100’s SaM146 turbofans is now planned for May or June. If that schedule holds, the milestone will come approximately four years behind schedule. Sukhoi is still hoping to start customer deliveries of the regional jets this year.
Space Systems/Loral last week notched its sixth and seventh sales for 2009. Telesat has ordered a Ku-band telecom satellite to augment the Canadian operator’s broadcasting capacity. The 24-transponder Nimiq 6 will be entirely leased to Bell Canada. It was the second telecom satellite award of the year from Telesat, which like SS/L, is controlled by Loral Space & Communications. SS/L has also been selected to provide another direct-broadcast satellite for U.S.-based Echostar, to be launched in 2012. Echostar XVI will be based on the SS/L 1300 spacecraft bus.
Boeing’s acquisition of a South Carolina fuselage integration facility gives the company control of a crucial link in the troubled 787 supply chain as it moves to ramp up production of the new jet and aims for a first delivery by year-end. But analysts believe the move does not signal a reversal of the company’s strategy to outsource major aircraft assemblies to Tier 1 suppliers that can do the work more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Japan Airlines may enter formal bankruptcy, raising the risk of running out of cash, instead of privately negotiating its capital reorganization with creditors. The state agency that is overseeing the restructuring of the heavily indebted and loss-making airline, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., will decide this month whether it will help recapitalize the company. The prospect of formal bankruptcy raises pressure on the company’s 8,800 retirees to accept a 30% cut in their benefits.
Roger Tanner has been named business development manager for hangar operations for WestWind Technologies Inc. , Huntsville, Ala. He was hangar operations manager.
A recent editorial (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 66) makes the case for committing yet more billions to hypersonic research, lest the Russians or Chinese somehow catch up. Yet two things that you failed to mention I happened to have learned from this exact same magazine: Russia has far more hypersonic scramjet experience than the U.S.; and the existence of the astounding Aurora pulse-jet hypersonic craft.
When it comes to pilot training (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 52), traditionally the correct answer as to whether to apply quality or quantity has been “both.” But we undermine quality when we ignore proper terminology. Dick Leland is absolutely correct when he states: “. . . people are terrible monitors—we get bored and stop paying attention.” As pilots train for the futures of their dreams, how often do instructors or journalists refer to “pilot licenses” in the U.S.? The FAA issues only pilot certificates.
Two new U.S. and Canadian financing agreements underscore the growing willingness of export credit agencies to match the system of guarantees put in place by France and other satellite and launch suppliers. Late last month, U.K.-based Avanti Communications said the U.S. Export-Import Bank had helped it put together a £194-million ($310-million) debt facility earmarked for purchase of a follow-on Ka-band satellite from Orbital Sciences Corp. This will be complemented by an £86-million placement with institutional investors set for Jan. 7.
Testing of Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower engine core is underway at its Longueuil, Quebec, site. The core, comprising a highly efficient, high-pressure compressor, low-emissions combustor and high-pressure turbine, was jointly designed by Pratt and MTU Aero Engines. More than 1,200 individual measurements and advanced testing technologies are being applied to allow engineers to perform a range of tests beyond what is normally possible at this stage, the companies state.
Working quietly in the background since the days of viewgraphs, a group of space entrepreneurs has long been pitching far-fetched ideas to skeptical moneymen with the fervor of evangelists. Now their viewgraphs—updated to Powerpoint and CAD/CAM—are becoming reality, and metal and fire are streaking through the upper atmosphere into low Earth orbit.
The Swiss government is seeking closer cooperation with the European Defense Agency. Talks for Switzerland to become an EDA adjunct member are to commence in the first half of this year. The Swiss government notes there are no direct costs associated with the move. However, it hopes to gain efficiencies by collaborating on research efforts.
The FAA has certified Rolls-Royce’s BR725 engine, which powers the Gulfstream G650 business jet. The G650 flight-test program began in late November 2009, and the ultra-long-range business jet’s entry into service is planned for 2012. The G650 is designed to have a range of 7,000 nm. at Mach 0.85, with a Mach 0.925 maximum operating speed and capability to reach 51,000 ft. The 16,100-lb.-thrust BR725 features a 50-in. fan and 24 titanium blades. The engine received European Aviation Safety Agency certification in June 2009.
Vahid Motevalli has been appointed professor and head of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Dept. at Purdue University , West Lafayette, Ind. He was director of the George Washington University Aviation Institute and its Aviation Safety and Security Program. Honors and Elections
The Indian navy has issued a request for information (RFI) for multi-role, new-generation carrier-based fighter aircraft to four aerospace companies: Saab for the Sea Gripen, a navalized version of the JAS 39 Gripen; EADS, for the Eurofighter Typhoon; Boeing, for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; and Dassault, for the Rafale. The new aircraft likely will be deployed on board the navy’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, which is expected to be commissioned around 2018.
U.S. Air Force officials are drafting plans for a 2011 demonstration of a GPS-tracking system for ascending rockets as part of a slow but comprehensive transformation of the Pentagon’s launch ranges. More than 50 years into the U.S. launch program, the infrastructure designed to support rocket programs requires updating in some cases. In other situations, the government needs to off-load excess infrastructure and focus efforts on more efficient satellite launch processing, says Lt. Gen. Larry James, 14th Air Force commander.
Congress has extended government indemnification of commercial launches for three more years. The unanimous vote by senators as they worked toward passage of the health-care-reform measure on Christmas Eve makes government help available for U.S. commercial launch service providers hit by third-party liability claims growing out of mishaps on missions licensed by the FAA. The program was set to expire on Dec. 31. The measure requires no funding unless there is an accident triggering claims, and then only with additional congressional authorization.
Terry Jones has been appointed engineering manager at Twin Commander Aircraft , Creedmoor, N.C. He has been Materials Review Board liaison engineer for Vought Aircraft, Northrop Grumman Corp. and Pemco World Air Services.
Robert Wilson, president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation, has been elected chairman for 2010 of the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. He was vice chairman and head of the Technical Policy Committee. Wilson will be succeeded by John Rosanvallon, president/CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet, who will continue as chairman of the Security Issues Committee.
The Alabama Army National Guard this week is scheduled to take delivery of a new Light Utility Helicopter to support its counterdrug operations and law-enforcement support missions. A UH-72A Lakota will replace the unit’s OH-58 Kiowa, and is the first new aircraft that the Alabama Guard has received in years.
Jazeera Airways is suspending several money-losing routes and delaying introduction of others to improve its financial situation. Service between Kuwait and Mumbai will cease on Jan. 4. The day before, service between Kuwait and Tehran and the Dubai-Bahrain connection will be suspended. Also, flights to Latakia, Syria, were due to commence in mid-December, but that move has been halted with no new date to begin the route from Kuwait yet announced. Flights between Kuwait and Hurghada, Egypt, also have been put on ice, with a resumption planned for June 2.
Kudos to Pierre Sparaco for stating the profound truth: “Flight safety could be significantly improved by strictly enforcing existing rules and regulations” (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 51). ICAO, take note, especially with respect to safety management systems (SMS). Arbitrary, nebulous layers of rules and regulations serve only to obfuscate the basic requirements for safety of flight. Fortunately for civil aviation, SMS is finally receiving some pushback. Safety management systems should be rescinded.
