Two moves in South Asia could provide Astrium with a launch customer for a new small communications spacecraft, while reinforcing the company’s lock on the remote-sensing satellite market. On Nov. 16, Sri Lanka signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire a small telecom satellite from U.K.-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., which Astrium acquired at the beginning of the year to bolster its small-sat know-how. SSTL CEO Matt Perkins says he hopes to conclude a contract by mid-2010.
The Jasons—highly regarded independent science advisers to the Defense Dept.—are stirring the pot with a report about whether and how to maintain or overhaul the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Word of the Jasons report comes in a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) technical review of the Lifetime Extension Programs sent to Capitol Hill.
Edward W. Stimpson, one of general aviation’s most respected advocates in Washington and founding head of the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA), died Nov. 25 at home in Boise, Idaho, from cancer. Stimpson is credited, along with former Cessna Chairman and CEO Russ Meyer, with championing the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, which helped reinvigorate an industry by capping manufacturers’ product liability to 18 years. He went on to become chairman of the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), resigning this past Nov. 2.
The Airbus Corporate Jet Center has created a quick-conversion kit that makes it possible for A320 passenger transports to be readily transformed into VIP configuration. The kit allows the forward area in the A320 to be converted for luxury use by installing two double and two club-four VIP seats, along with tables to match. Leather upholstery, woolen carpets and curtains for added ambiance and privacy are part of the deal.
The U.S. Air Force faces growing and “unacceptable” sustainment and supportability issues with its nuclear weapons even as the newly established Global Strike Command readies to assume control of the nation’s ICBM missile force this week.
The maintenance joint venture among Shanghai Airlines, Boeing and Shanghai Airport Authorities—Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services—received broader FAA maintenance approval for Boeing 737 and 767 aircraft in mid-November. This enables Boeing Shanghai to perform D checks on 737 NGs, C checks and structural C checks on 767s, as well as associated repairs and alterations. The joint venture services domestic Chinese, regional and international airlines.
Airbus and Turkish Airlines have completed negotiations for the purchase of two A330-200F cargo aircraft. The airline has selected Rolls-Royce to provide Trent 700s to power the aircraft. Turkish is the first new customer for the A330 freighter this year, bringing the total order book to 10 buyers and 69 units. Although Turkish is late to the program, it is taking an early delivery, with a handover planned for the fall of next year—an indication that other buyers have slipped their delivery positions. Etihad is the lead customer, with delivery due in August.
A former Airbus warehouse near Filton, England, is to become a high-tech manufacturing facility for advanced composite components. GKN Aerospace bought the building from Airbus in January and has since been preparing it to make composite wing spars for the A350. To date, GKN Aerospace has committed £190 million ($315 million) to the A350 program, including £60 million of repayable launch aid from the U.K. government. The company says it is investing in extra capacity to support its long-term strategy to win work from customers other than Airbus.
Australian military forces have marked the end of the Army’s fixed-wing aircraft fleet. A ceremony at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Townsville on Nov. 20 noted the handover of three King Air 350s from Army to Air Force. The King Air will be an interim solution until a new Light Tactical Fixed-Wing transport aircraft is selected under Project AIR 8000 Phase Two.
Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
After years of meeting Pentagon demand via upgrades and remanufacturing, and being rewarded with profitable production contracts, the U.S. rotorcraft industry stands accused by its customer of being stagnant, no longer able to innovate rapidly in technology or execute reliably on programs.
KLM has founded a consortium, SkyEnergy, to accelerate development of economically viable sustainable jet fuel after completing the first passenger-carrying biofuel flight. A Boeing 747 with about 40 non-paying passengers on board completed an hour-long flight from Amsterdam on Nov. 23 with one of its four engines burning a 50:50 blend of conventional jet fuel and biokerosene derived from camelina, an inedible plant.
An intense industry debate surrounds the question of whether current training is cultivating vital piloting skills. Is more legislation aimed at developing “fail-safe” flight crews the right answer, or is it time to toss the U.S.–centric model and adopt a new global standard?
StandardAero’s Government & Military sector in San Antonio will provide overhaul and Quick Engine Change assemblies for 56 Rolls-Royce T56s for 12 Lockheed Martin P-3 Orions that Taiwan is purchasing through the U.S. Navy as a foreign military sales customer. The four-year contract is for $36 million.
The business aviation community has launched a campaign to promote the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as the ultimate authority on aviation emissions policy and standards, and has promised to become carbon-neutral by 2020. The Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. and the International Business Aviation Council said Nov. 24 that they supported the emissions targets and monitoring proposals put forward by ICAO.
Engineers have switched on the Miras radiometer on Europe’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite, which will improve scientists’ understanding of the role these variables play in regulating Earth’s water cycle. The second in the European Space Agency’s Earth Explorer series, SMOS was launched on Nov. 1 and is to become operational next spring. All key subsystems on the L-band instrument, including its 69 receivers, optical fibers and the correlator unit, are reported to be working as expected, as is the active thermal control system.
When Lockheed Martin sat down to talk about building a simulator for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), it faced a multi-level challenge: build one trainer suitable for four military services and three aircraft variants. According to Joanne Puglisi, the company’s director of training, that is exactly what they did. The new JSF, or F-35 Lightning II, will be operated by the U.S. Air Force (as a conventional-takeoff-and-landing-aircraft), U.S. Navy (as a carrier variant) and U.S. Marine Corps and U.K. military (as a short-takeoff-and-landing version).
Russia’s rotary industry is revamping its helicopter plans and extending them to the end of the next decade as it pursues government subsidies and grapples with engine supply problems. Russian Helicopters, which consolidated the country’s helicopter manufacturers, is now pursuing a three-stage strategy to sustain the sector throughout the coming decade. The revised plan sits within the government’s civil aircraft and defense procurement program that is scheduled to go into effect in 2011.
In response to Ryan Rebers’ letter “Pilot Bill Could Hurt,” I agree that paying pilots more could hurt the regional airlines that “are already having a difficult time making a profit.” I suggest his mind will be changed the next time he is riding into Buffalo, N.Y., in icing conditions with inexperienced pilots being paid commensurate with their experience levels.
The Nov. 25 first flight of Gulfstream’s G650 long-range, high-speed business jet from the Savannah, Ga., airport was cut short, the aircraft making a precautionary landing after just 12 min. in the air, after the pilots were alerted to “a slight vibration in a landing gear door,” the company says. The aircraft reached an altitude of 6,000 ft. and airspeed of 170 kt. Gulfstream’s largest business jet, the Mach 0.925, 7,000 nm.-range G650 was rolled out at the end of September and is scheduled for certification in 2011 and service entry in 2012.
Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, at Kamra, handed over the first locally assembled JF-17 Thunder lightweight fighter to the Pakistani air force on Nov. 23. The first squadron is scheduled to become operational in 2010. The JF-17 has been developed jointly with Chengdu Aircraft in China, where it is designated the FC-1. The fighter first flew in China in 2003. Beginning in 2007, eight test aircraft were delivered to Pakistan, which ordered 42 production JF-17s earlier this year.
British technology company Qinetiq is aiming for a 14-day duration flight next summer using the initial production standard of its Zephyr high-altitude long-endurance solar-powered UAV. The structure for the latest version, the Zephyr 7, has now been put together. Several design refinements have been introduced to increase efficiency, with the intent of allowing the air vehicle to maintain a higher cruise altitude at night. Modifications include the move to a T‑tail configuration, as well as the introduction of greater chord on the inner wing section, and ogive wing tips.
The Australian defense department’s uphill struggle to control acquisition programs is progressing, but it is far from reaching fruition. The government’s decision to go ahead with the purchase of up to 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will test what lessons have been learned from delays on airborne early warning aircraft, tankers and helicopters.
The 3D-LZ system that allows helicopter pilots to see through brownouts is a wonderful safety enhancement, but it won’t help much if dust or smoke from a marker grenade enters the cockpit, obscuring the flight instruments and the view outside (AW&ST Nov. 9, p. 35).
In the matter of aviation safety in France, opinions run the gamut and tempers run hot. Restoring the public’s confidence in flight safety remains an uphill battle because recent initiatives are manifestly too weak to yield positive results.
AgustaWestland, Bell, EADS North America and Sikorsky are all vying for Iraq’s light- and medium military helicopter requirements with a package value of $1.2 billion. Contenders for the light helicopter buy include the AW109 (right), Bell 429 and UH-72A Lakota. The initial requirement is for 15 of the selected type. For the medium helicopter program the options are the AW139, Bell 412 and Sikorsky UH-60M. Up to 12 of the chosen model will be acquired.
