The District of Columbia National Guard’s 121st Medical Company (Air Ambulance) is the first Guard unit to receive the U.S. Army’s new light utility helicopter, the UH-72A Lakota, in medevac configuration. An Aviation Week pilot flew this UH-72A, a militarized version of the Eurocopter EC145 light twin, to see how it compares with the long-serving UH-1 Hueys it is replacing (see p. 54). U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy.
China’s specialist builder of large military and civil airplanes, Avic Aircraft, will become a publicly traded company by 2011, the company says, confirming that its restructuring as a more commercially viable enterprise is proceeding well. The company will acquire public shareholders by means of a backdoor stock market listing—that is, by injecting its assets into a subsidiary that is already listed.
Former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak drew a year’s probation in a plea bargain on charges growing out of a bizarre incident in which she was arrested at Orlando (Fla.) International Airport after threatening a rival for the affections of fellow astronaut William Oefelein. The 46-year-old U.S. Navy officer pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary of a vehicle and misdemeanor battery, escaping more serious charges that including attempted kidnapping and burglary with assault. The judge sentenced her to two days in jail, with credit for time served.
British Airways and Iberia reached agreement Nov. 12 on a proposed all-share merger of the two airlines that would be completed in late 2010, assuming regulatory and shareholder approval and an economically satisfactory BA agreement with its pension trustees (see p. 47). Under the memorandum of understanding, a new holding company would own both carriers but maintain separate brands and operating companies. BA shareholders would own 55% and Iberia shareholders 45%.
The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is beginning the process of defining airspace out to 2030, with industry-wide dialogue to begin in 2010. The CAA submitted its “Airspace for Tomorrow” guidance document to the National Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee late last month.
With the future of the U.S. human spaceflight program in limbo at a cash-strapped NASA and the space shuttle scheduled to retire next year, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) faces an uncertain future. At a roundtable discussion with Aviation Week editors in Washington, PWR President Jim Maser shared his ideas and frustrations about the nation’s space program and outlined a plan to reduce the company’s reliance on rocket engine sales by expanding into ancillary markets such as coal gasification, oil extraction and solar power.
Formal selection of a replacement for the Royal Air Force’s Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft continues to slip, with a decision not now expected until early 2010. BAE Systems’ offer of an MRA4-based development, however, has not received Defense Ministry support. A decision had initially been due in mid-2009, though this was moved back until closer to the end of the year. Ministry officials now say that a decision on Project Helix—as the R1 replacement program is known—will be taken in “early 2010.”
The U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center’s (AEDC) J-2 Test Team has completed an extended test run of Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The run, which continued uninterrupted for 52.5 hr., was primarily for altitude performance and qualification checks, according to John Kelly, Air Force manager for the project. The tests were in support of Initial Service Release (ISR) qualification of the Air Force F135 conventional takeoff and landing and the Navy carrier variants.
Prospects appear to be brightening a bit for some of Europe’s aerospace suppliers, but others worry about the sustainability of Airbus and Boeing production rates. And there are omens that defense may be softening. Several companies have moved to improve earnings guidance in recent days. For instance, Saab, which had been predicting flat growth, now says it expects sales for the year to be up 5%.
Britain’s military will be limited to handling only additional small-scale contingency operations in the near term as a result of the effect of prolonged operations in Afghanistan. The Defense Ministry is presently circulating internal guidance—some of which is classified—intended to provide planning and procurement support through the period until a Strategic Defense Review is completed in around 12-18 months.
If today was the day President John F. Kennedy issued his unprecedented call to send an American to the Moon within a decade, could the U.S. aerospace and defense industry still do it? Perhaps, but there is enough doubt to warrant apprehension, according to an informal poll recently of high-ranking industry members. The question does not come down to one of technology or even money, but of the ability by industry and its government customer to lead and deliver on their promise.
German air force Tornados deployed in Afghanistan are now operational with the RecceLite intelligence collection pod. The German government bought two of the systems to improve airborne intelligence-gathering and augment film-based pods that the Mazar-e-Sharif-based Tornados had been using. The air force says it should be able to use RecceLite for change detection and thereby scout for bombs placed by insurgents.
A deep crisis related to aviation safety is souring relations between Air France’s 4,100 pilots and their managers. Mistrust and suspicions are rampant. And if the discord is not defused quickly, it could seriously disrupt the airline’s business strategy, which is already being pummeled by a negative economic environment.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and 34 senators sent a letter late last week to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging passage of full FAA reauthorization by the end of this year. The last FAA funding authorization expired in September 2007 and since then, the agency has limped along under a series of short-term resolutions, hampering its ability to plan and execute long-term programs, not the least of which is NextGen. The letter notes FAA reauthorization would fund rural and metropolitan airport work.
The NASA administrator will skip a space shuttle launch for a visit to Japan this week to continue a round of discussions with the agency’s international partners about possible future joint ventures in space. Charles Bolden, who has met with senior Russian and European space officials, plans talks with Keiji Tachikawa, president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Tachikawa also will join Bolden at Tokyo University on Nov. 17, when the NASA chief is scheduled to give a presentation on “U.S.
Pratt & Whitney is poised to start test runs of the first full-size geared turbofan (GTF) core for Bombardier and Mitsubishi’s new airliner projects, amid signs of growing interest in reengining studies for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
Airbus Executive Vice President for Programs Tom Williams says the pressure on airlines to maximize performance has changed the rules on shake-down flights for new aircraft. Airline engineering teams are no longer taking several days or even weeks to check out a new airplane before approving it for revenue service. “Customers want very high reliability from day one,” he told Aviation Week’s A&D Programs Conference in Phoenix. Or even “minute one,” he added.
Nov. 21—FltOps.com Pilot Safety Symposium and Job Fair. New York LaGuardia Airport Marriott. Call +1 (800) 538-5627 or see www.fltops.com/jobs. Nov. 25—NAV09 Conference and Exhibition. Imperial College, London. Call +44 (207) 591-3130, fax +44 (207) 591-3131 or see www.rin.org.uk/ Nov. 25-27—University of Westminster Aviation Seminar: Air Transport Economics and Planning. London. Call +44 (207) 911-5000 ext. 3344, fax +44 (207) 911-5057 or see www.westminster.ac.uk/transport
Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg says the Ottawa-based operator has decided not to exercise an option to fund a Canadian payload on ViaSat-1, a high-speed Internet satellite to be orbited in early 2011, although it will continue studying other potential contributions, such as gateways. Telesat already is committed to providing the orbital slot for ViaSat-1 and operating the spacecraft, and its Anik F2 spacecraft provides Ka-band broadband capacity for WildBlue, which was acquired by ViaSat last month.
The U.K.’s Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator has completed a series of test flights using the range at Woomera in Australia. The first flight was made Oct. 21, but was only revealed Nov. 13. Several mission-representative trials have since been carried out, marking the culmination of Phase 1 of the Mantis program, which has now been concluded.
An F-22 program engineer fired by Lockheed Martin in 1999 has filed a whistle-blower suit claiming that the company covered up problems with the Raptor’s stealth coatings by adding hundreds of pounds of additional material to reach the U.S. Air Force’s signature standards. The suit asks for government reimbursement of $50 million for each of the 187 aircraft built. Darrol Olsen claims the company falsely certified the coatings from September 1995 to June 1999, says the Associated Press.
The new Star Alliance addition, Continental Airlines, is relocating operations at Paris Charles De Gaulle and Barcelona El Prat airport terminals to improve connections with other alliance members. Last week, Continental—which offers a daily Boeing 767-200ER service between Barcelona and Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport—moved to El Prat’s new Terminal 1. This week, the carrier plans to move to Paris CDG’s renovated Terminal 1.
A state bank will tide Japan Airlines over with bridge loans to keep it running until it is permanently restructured financially and operationally. The government says it will arrange for the loan, although it does not say how much money will be extended. The short-term financing has been expected, since the government has previously said JAL is too big to fail. Legislation to force a cut in JAL pension payments also will be considered.
The International Astronautical Federation and the Mineseeker Foundation have teamed up to study standoff landmine-detection techniques with space and airborne systems, in the hope of launching a commercial service by mid-2013 that can detect individual mines. Set to begin in January, the study will look for ways to meld remote-sensing, telecommunication and geo-localization technology to help war-torn regions clear contaminated areas to speed redevelopment.
