“If you build it we will come” often seems to describe the Lufthansa fleet model. The carrier is seldom shy about purchasing an aircraft, regardless of what the rest of the market is doing. This approach has made Lufthansa the only carrier to purchase both the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747-8I. In fact, it is the first and only airline customer for the passenger version of the new Boeing product. Lufthansa was also early to sign for the Bombardier CSeries—to be assigned to Swiss when it gets the aircraft, nominally in 2014.
This tandem-seat, twin-engine armed scout helicopter is powered by a pair of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries TS1-10 turboshaft engines rated at approximately 885 shp. each. An AH-2 attack helicopter derivative was once proposed that would have featured uprated engines and unspecified armament capabilities. Twenty-six aircraft were produced through 2008, and another 19 are expected to be built in 2009-18.
Thales Alenia Space is preparing to ship Eutelsat’s W7, a 70-transponder Ku-band satellite to be launched by an International Launch Services Proton M in mid-November. Intended to replace Seasat 1, W7 will double Eutelsat capacity at 36 deg. E. Long., a neighborhood the operator is developing to serve fast-growing TV and data markets in Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East and southern Africa.
The Su-27 series comprises a series of twin-engine, single- and two-seat fighter/interceptor aircraft. Besides the Su-27 itself, other versions include the Su-30M multirole combat aircraft, the Su-32 fighter/bomber, the Su-33 carrier-based naval aircraft and the Su-35 fighter. An Su-27 prototype made its initial flight in 1977. The Su-27 is powered by two Saturn/Lyulka AL-31F turbofan engines rated at 27,557 lb. thrust each with afterburning. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is building the Su-30MKI under license in India.
The Fuji T-7, also known as the T-3 Kai or the KM-2F, is a two-seat basic/primary trainer derived from Fuji’s earlier T-5. The T-7 is powered by a 450-shp. Rolls-Royce 250-B17F turboprop engine. First flight of a prototype, converted from a T-3, occurred in 1998. In 2000, the T-7 was selected over the Pilatus PC-7 as the new primary trainer for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. T-7 deliveries began in 2002, with 38 produced through 2008. Production of at least 13 additional T-7s is forecast through 2009.
Increasingly conscious of the “Green Lobby,” British commercial aerospace operators and industry groups last week unveiled an interim Departures Code of Practice intended to cut emissions at airports. The interim code considers only “taxi-in operations with less than all engines operating as a method of reducing fuel-burn, carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen emissions as well as noise levels on the ground.” Initial discussions about a code began in late 2007, and included representatives from airlines, airport operator BAA and air traffic service provider NATS.
The U.S. Air Force took delivery of its first virtual avionics procedure trainer from Rockwell Collins. The device will be used to train Iraqi Coalition Forces flying King Air aircraft on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. A team of USAF and Navy combat air advisers believes the system will help transition the Iraqi pilots, who are accustomed to older MiG jet technology, to the state-of-the-art systems.
Final preparations are underway for the Oct. 18 launch of F-18, the third of five latest-generation Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Shown at Lockheed Martin Space Systems (LMSS), F-18 is part of the DMSP 5D-3-series and will be lifted into orbit by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V.
White House and NASA officials will get their first crack at the final report of the human-spaceflight review panel headed by Norman Augustine as early as this week, after panel members compromised on the tricky issue of launch-vehicle safety in scoring exploration-architecture options.
Raytheon has captured a $13-million Army contract to develop more sensor prototypes for the Advanced Distributed Aperture System (ADAS) that provides 360-deg. situational awareness to helicopter pilots. This is the first extension of a joint capability technology demonstration contract from last year. ADAS is designed to assist pilots in low-level flight by using the information from six infrared sensors and a helmet display that shows the cockpit, engines and tail rotor.
Michael Rosin has been appointed New York-based Northeast U.S. sales manager and Liora Avrahami West Coast manager, based in Los Angeles, for El Al Israel Airlines . Rosin was head of sales for the New York borough of Manhattan and succeeds Avrahami.
Maintenance of the U.S. Air Force’s KC-10 aerial refueling aircraft will be switching to Northrop Grumman from Boeing in 2010, based on the Air Force’s award of a $3.8-billion contractor logistics support (CLS) package on Oct. 2.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned rotorcraft was deployed on board the USS McInerney last week in preparation for counternarcotics missions in and around the Caribbean this year. This operational evaluation period will allow Navy operators to develop tactics, techniques and procedures for using the rotorcraft and its intelligence-collecting payload. Introduction of the Fire Scout into the Navy fleet marks the first time an automated unmanned aerial system has been delivered for shipboard operation by sailors. The aircraft has executed 600 hr.
China’s new batch of astronauts will spend a lot of time at a gleaming new facility in this capital’s northwestern suburbs, learning how to fly the Shenzhou spacecraft from the men and women who developed its life-support systems and simulators.
The piston-powered CL-215 amphibian aircraft first flew in 1967. It was powered by two 2,100-hp. Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA3 engines. Production has ended, with a total of 125 produced. Seventeen aircraft were converted to the CL-215T configuration, which incorporates 2,380-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PW123AF turboprop engines and other modifications. A new-production, PW123AF-powered version is called the 415, with 71 built through 2008. An additional 23 are forecast for production in 2009-18.
These are special-purpose military aircraft based on the Boeing 707. The E-3 made its first flight in February 1972, but the E-3 AWACS and the E-6 are now out of production. Boeing is promoting 767-based AWACS aircraft instead of the E-3. The aircraft is powered by four turbofan engines, either Pratt & Whitney TF33s or CFM International CFM56-2s. The E-6A uses four F108-CF-100 (CFM56-2A-2) turbofans. A total of 76 E-3s and 17 E-6s were built. Another 707-based special-purpose military aircraft is the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint-Stars.
Samsung began developingf the KTX-2 advanced trainer in 1992. Lockheed Martin is a participant in the program and is responsible for avionics, flight control systems and wings. The project was formally launched in 1997, and the first prototype flew in August 2002. Two versions are being developed: the T-50 trainer and the A-50 lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT). Both are weapons-capable. The T/A-50 is powered by a General Electric F404-GE-102 turbofan engine rated at 17,700 lb. thrust. Through 2008, 32 aircraft were built.
MBDA has successfully demonstrated a Zuni semi-active laser-guided rocket using its WGU-58 guidance and control system. The rocket was fired from a fighter-mounted LAU-10 launch pod at the U.S. Navy’s test facilities in China Lake, Calif. Zuni scored a direct hit against a moving target. Previous tests had involved static targets.
Seven European nations that are currently participating in the A400M transport program—Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the U.K.—are contracted to acquire a total of 192 A400Ms. South Africa became the first non-European participant, followed by Malaysia. Those two countries are expected to take delivery of eight and four A400Ms, respectively. The A400M is being developed by Airbus Military, a consortium of Airbus, EADS CASA, Flabel and TAI. It is powered by four EuroProp International TP400-D6 turboprop engines rated at 11,000 shp. each.
These are 3-4-seat, single-turbine-powered military training/utility helicopters. The 330 and the 330SP were both powered by a 420-shp. Rolls-Royce Model 250-C20W turboshaft engine derated to 235 shp. The new 333 uses a 420-shp. Model 250-C20W derated to 232 shp. Through 2008, Schweizer produced 32 Model 330s and 60 Model 333s. During 2009-18, an estimated 217 aircraft are forecast to be produced.
The decision to tear down an F136 test engine for closer inspection following discovery of turbine damage has halted development testing on the alternate powerplant for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, at least temporarily. The second development F136 is being torn down and checked after “dings and nicks” were found on turbine blades during inspection following an extended maximum-thrust test run, says the General Electric/Rolls-Royce (GE/RR) Fighter Engine Team. The incident occurred Oct. 2, but was only acknowledged publicly Oct. 7.
Hopes are fading among senior Pentagon officials for a quick expansion of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) into a major Air Force command.
First flight of the Rafale occurred in 1986, and initial deliveries began in 1999. The Rafale is available in single- or two-seat configurations, and serves as a land- or sea-based air superiority, air combat and ground attack aircraft. The prototype was powered by two GE F404-GE-400 augmented turbofans (16,860 lb. thrust each); production aircraft use two Snecma M88-2 augmented turbofans rated at 16,400 lb. thrust each. A total of 62 Rafales were produced through 2008. Production of approximately 163 Rafale aircraft is forecast in 2009-18.
U.S. regional airline owner Trans States Holdings has broken the sales drought for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, signing a letter of intent for 50 of the aircraft with options on 50 more. Deliveries will run for five or six years, beginning in 2014, when Mitsubishi Aircraft expects to deliver the first MRJ to All Nippon Airways, the only other customer.
