Comac will announce its first customers for the C919 narrowbody next year and says it is talking to both foreign and Chinese airlines. Work has been allocated among the Chinese factories that competed to build the structure of the aircraft, which will seat 156 in two classes in its standard version. First flight is planned for 2014 and first delivery for 2016.
Sukhoi has begun work on airframes for the additional 12 Su-27SM Flanker aircraft ordered by the air force in August. These aircraft are being re-manufactured from unfinished Su-27SK aircraft that were intended for export. They will be delivered in 2010-11. A total of 60 aircraft have been ordered. The Su-27SM is an improved version of the Flanker with upgraded avionics and the ability to use air-to-ground weapons.
The A350XWB is a newly designed twin-engine, extra-wide-body jetliner intended to compete with Boeing’s 787 and 777. The XWB will be powered by new Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines rated in the 74,000-92,000-lb.-thrust range. The aircraft has a cruise speed of Mach 0.85. Three basic versions are being marketed: the -800, -900, and -1000. Depending on version, the XWB seats 270-350 passengers, and has a range of 8,000-8,300 naut. mi. An ultra-long-range version, the A350-900R, will also be available, as will an A350-900F freighter.
USAF Col. Michael Panarisi (see photo) has assumed command of the Arnold Engineering Development Center at Arnold AFB, Tenn. He was commander of the 412th Operations Group at Edwards AFB, Calif. Honors and Elections
EchoStar, Intelsat, SES and Telesat have banded together for a U.S. commercial satellite services lobbying group—Coalition for Competitive Launches—led by former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), once chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We call on the Defense Department, the State Department and other national security arms of our executive branch to take a new look at our country’s launch vehicle capabilities and relevant export control policies,” said Warner. “Current U.S.
Transatlantic liberalization took a giant step forward when the U.S. and European Union negotiated a new aviation accord last year, but since then progress toward a crucial second-stage agreement has slowed to a crawl. While the first-phase deal allowed a range of new opportunities for transatlantic flights, the second stage could potentially sweep away the remaining obstacles to a true open aviation market. And if no such agreement is reached, the gains from the first phase could be unwound.
Through 2008, Boeing produced 969 of these twin-engine, wide-body commercial transport aircraft. A 767 prototype was rolled out in August 1981, with first flight occurring the following month. Current models include the 767-200ER, -300ER, -400ER and -300F freighter. Typical two-class seating layouts are 224 seats for the -200ER, 269 for the -300ER and 304 for the -400ER. All three models are sold with a choice of GE CF6-80C2 or Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. The future of the 767 depends on the outcome of the U.S.
Canada’s Viking Air Ltd. owns the production rights to a number of out-of-production de Havilland aircraft, including the DHC-6 Twin Otter. It launched a program to restart production of the 19-passenger Twin Otter “Series 400” in April 2007 and by March 2008, the company lists more than 40 orders. First customer delivery is scheduled for late 2009.
Alison J. Hartley (see photo) has been promoted to president of the ComCept Div. of New York-based L-3 Communications from senior vice president-business development for L-3’s Integrated Systems Group. Nick Farah (see photo) has been appointed that group’s senior vice president-strategic development/chief operating officer. He was senior vice president/chief operating officer. David M. Reilly has been promoted to vice president/deputy general counsel from vice president/assistant general counsel/assistant secretary of L-3 Communications.
R. Bradley Lawrence, who has been president/chief operating officer of the Esterline Corp. , Bellevue, Wash., also will be CEO, effective Nov. 1. He will succeed Robert W. Cremin, who will be non-executive chairman.
A seasoned crew of spaceflight veterans will take the space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station (ISS) on the final scheduled shuttle mission on the NASA flight manifest. Steve Lindsay, the head of the astronaut office at Johnson Space Center, will command Discovery on the STS-133 mission, an eight-day logistics and resupply flight now scheduled to lift off on Sept. 16, 2010. Joining him will be pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Alvin Drew, Michael Barratt, Tim Kopra and Nicole Stott.
Bristow is expanding its helicopter fleet with the first purchase of AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. The helicopter operator has placed three firm orders and three options. The first of the AW139s is to be delivered this year, with the rest early next year.
The 737 series is a family of twin-engine narrow-body commercial transports. Seating capacity varies on the model. Typical two-class configurations include 126 passengers for the 737-700, 162 for the -800 and 180 for the -900ER. All three models, which are the current production versions, are powered by two CFM International CFM56-7B turbofans. The first 737 flew in April 1967. In December of that year, the 737 received FAA certification and deliveries began.
In developing the 525-passenger A380, Airbus chose to leap past Boeing’s 747 in capacity class. First flight occurred in 2005. The A380 is powered by four turbofan engines rated 70,000-76,500-lb. thrust each: the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or GE/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200. Airbus currently produces only a passenger version of the A380, delaying development of a freighter version until at least 2014. Boeing is marketing the 747-8 to indirectly compete with the A380, but no direct competition exists in the 500-plus-seat market.
These are twin-engine turboprop aircraft initially known as Dash 8s. The Q100 was the original model. It made its first flight in June 1983; first deliveries followed in October 1984. The Q100 carried 37-39 passengers and was equipped with 2,150-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120/121 engines. Current models in the series include the 37-39-passenger Q200 (with 2,150-shp. PW123C/D engines), 50-56-seat Q300 (with 2,500-shp. PW123Bs) and 68-78-seat Q400 (with 6,000-shp. PW150As). Production of the Q200 and Q300 will end in 2009.
The Assn. of European Airlines predicts its members will have an operating loss of €2.9 billion ($4.3 billion) in 2009, compared to an operating profit of €500 million last year, according to Vincent de Vroey, general manager of technical and operations.
Separately, Gourgeon says he expects measures being undertaken to cut costs and rein in capacity at Air France to begin having an impact as early as next year. In an interview in Paris-based Les Echos, he said the airline’s cash-flow position should stabilize by next spring and the carrier should return to break-even—discounting the effect of older long-term exchange rate hedges--by the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Iraq’s air force will be the beneficiary of a $6.9-million U.S. Army contract for three Bell 407 commercial helicopters to be used as trainers for the Iraqi Armed 407 program. Work is to be completed by the end of 2010.
The airline industry finds itself increasingly isolated in its opposition to regulations that would limit the time passengers spend on the ground after push back from the gate. Former American Chairman and CEO Robert Crandall got a lot of ink last week with a proposal for a 4-hr. limit, transitioning to 3 hr. on Jan. 1, 2011, to provide time for carriers to adjust their operations and flight schedules; airports to acquire more deplaning equipment; and airlines, airports and federal agencies to sort out issues such as prioritization for takeoffs.
Two French navy Rafale fighters crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Sept. 24 during flight trials off the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. One pilot was recovered near the crash site, about 30 km. (18.5 mi.) from Perpignan, and the other was missing. The de Gaulle is preparing to return to service with a new complement of multirole Rafale F3 fighters after a more than 18-month shutdown for major overhaul. It is thought to be the first crash involving the Rafale, which was introduced into service in 2000. The aircraft were unarmed.
David A. Fulghum (China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center)
One look at a map of China Lake—and the areas of military-controlled airspace around it—explains why the U.S. Navy focuses its weapons development here. “There are 1.1 million acres and we’ve touched less than 4% of it,” says Dave Janiec, head of the Weapons and Energetics Dept. “We’ve detonated up to 500,000 lb. of ordnance [in a single explosion].”
All but two of the 57 major U.S. defense contractors—those receiving more than $500 million in 2006 Defense Dept. contract awards—have ethics programs that include many of the practices consistent with standards now required by federal acquisition regulations, according to congressional auditors. But opportunities still exist to improve Defense Dept. oversight in two key areas, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.
The Australian Defense Ministry has canceled plans to install the BAE Systems ALR-2002 radar warning receiver on its helicopters, reducing the scope of Project Echidna. The ministry says it made the decision to avoid the helicopters being taken out of service for the upgrade at a time they are needed operationally. The move also should yield A$50 million ($43 million) in savings. Australia previously canceled plans to install the receiver on F/A-18s.
U.S. plans to deploy an unmanned surveillance airship to Afghanistan are moving forward, with a contract for the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) demonstration expected to be awarded by year-end. Designed to stay aloft for three weeks carrying a heavy payload of wide-area sensors, the airship is becoming a flagship for Defense Dept. efforts to provide unblinking airborne surveillance to defeat the threat from roadside bombs.
