Regarding Endeavour’s post-launch foam release (AW&ST July 20, p. 14): Are engineers considering the possibility that emptying and refilling cryogenics five and six times, respectively, caused enough repetitious thermal stress to disbond foam in a non-cryogenic area?
While JAL is trying to fill more seats, it is trying to cut back in other ways. It is switching to a screw-cap, recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic wine bottles, which weigh a mere 22 grams (0.7 ounces) each, in economy class beginning Aug. 6, a day before the annual Japanese summer holiday period begins. Passengers on a Boeing 777-300ER bound for London from Tokyo will be first to sip red French and white Spanish wines from the plastic bottles, which weigh one-seventh as much as equivalent glass bottles.
“A Wing and a Prayer” (AW&ST July 27, p. 22) reminds us that Boeing jumped into unknown territory in opting to produce the 787 with all-composite wings.
Investigators are trying to sort out what caused a Swiss AIM-9P Sidewinder to come apart after being launched. Eight Swiss air force F/A-18s and nearly 50 personnel were at German Wittmund air base to exercise air defense skills under the Squadron Live Firing 09 program. Last week, one of those aircraft was approaching its target—which was being towed by another aircraft—and launched the AIM-9P. The missile separated cleanly, but a few seconds later came apart in flight, Swiss military officials say. The debris fell into the North Sea.
John Tague has become president and Kathryn Mikells executive vice president of United Airlines . Tague will continue as executive vice president of the parent UAL Corp. Mikells had been senior vice president/chief financial officer.
South Korea has deferred the planned Aug. 11 launch of its first space rocket, KSLV-1, because of irregular performance of a secondary booster pump designed to pressurize oxidation agents. Data from project partner Russia show the pump’s output spiked during testing, behavior that could cause cavitation downstream and even explosion of the engines, says the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
“Inside Business Aviation” failed to give a balanced view of the issue of the FAA/European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (AW&ST July 13, p. 55).
L-3 Communications is about to find out if a company that makes a wide array of equipment for unmanned aircraft systems, from controls to sensors to data links, can make its mark in the crowded platforms market.
Usually criticism flows from Capitol Hill to the Pentagon, but every once in a while the Defense Dept. reverses the tide. Last week, it became clear that Georgia members of the House of Representatives were earmarking an extra $150 million for two General Dynamics Gulfstream G550 jets for the Air Force to fly around VIPs—including lawmakers. The earmarks come after a spring full of vitriol on the Hill about business execs’ extravagant ways.
The Pentagon may issue a directive superseding the Marine Corps’ ban on social networking sites. The Defense Dept. sets policy for the services and is studying the prohibition. “The deputy secretary has ordered this review by the chief information officer,” says spokesman Geoff Morrell. “It will be . . . the most exhaustive look that we’ve taken at this new phenomenon of social network [for] a better understanding of the pros and cons.” The cons include the fact that the same 18-25-year-olds that make up the insurgent and U.S.
India’s equivalent of the U.S. FAA, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, has initiated a safety oversight system to address issues raised by an audit from the FAA on behalf of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The move comes in advance of a review set for September by the U.S. agency. The audit cited weaknesses in India’s Flight Inspection Directorate, legislation, accident and incident investigations, air navigation systems, airport quality, surveillance, training and risk assessment policy.
Defense departments worldwide will spend about $11.05 billion on 25 different multimission communications development, acquisition and maintenance programs over the next decade, according to a U.S. consultancy. Forecast International (FI) says they will purchase 634,690 individual units from among 18 different multimission communications products in the decade. The U.S. Joint Tactical Radio System program, the Bowman Tactical Radio program and the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System will “significantly impact” the market, says FI.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the presentation on our new airliner. Some of you will be surprised at the improvement it offers in so many areas, compared with current in-service types, while others may believe it is about time such improvements were available to your industry. Although our plans are complete, the overall task is huge and there must be some doubt about when we will achieve all of our objectives. As our development and testing programs proceed, we shall steadily reduce this doubt toward zero.
The outside panel examining NASA’s human-spaceflight plans for President Barack Obama foresees a much bigger gap in the U.S. ability to send its astronauts into space after the space shuttle fleet retires than the space agency targets with its current plan, and has gone back to basics in its searching for alternatives.
Ethiopian Airlines has placed an order for 12 Airbus A350-900s for its long-term modernization needs, starting in 2017. The deal was made in parallel with the airline’s commitment for 777s (see p. 14).
The U.S. Navy is set to confirm a new contract with Boeing for three additional P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, which will be used for the operational test and evaluation phase of the program. The aircraft represent the first incremental addition to the baseline contract, which covered five airframes, three flying and two ground test, for the development phase. The P-8A is scheduled to achieve initial operating capability in late 2013 and full fleet deployment in late 2018.
Cambodia has a new national airline, replacing one that was forced into bankruptcy in 2001. Vietnam Airlines will hold 49% of Cambodia Angkor Air. The Cambodian government will own the rest. Cambodia Angkor Air is operating two ATR 72 turboprops and is due to receive an Airbus A321 next month.
Korean Air has plenty of aircraft on order to support its ambitious growth plans—but filling them will be a challenge. The airline knows that simply bringing more passengers to Seoul will not be enough. Instead, it is aiming to transform its hub into one of the top connecting points for transpacific traffic flows.
House and Senate aviation leaders may disagree over elements of the FAA reauthorization bill, but on one issue at least they are finding compromise. House aviation subcommittee chairman Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) is signaling he will support a Senate initiative to set aggressive deadlines for FAA to introduce satellite-based navigation procedures—known as RNAV/RNP—at airports nationwide by 2018. Costello says that while the House version of the reauthorization bill does not contain similar deadlines, he believes the Senate’s approach “has merit.”
Washington insiders are confirming the existence of a tail-less, stealthy-looking, turbojet-powered UAV that was spotted being rolled into a General Atomics hangar in Kandahar, Afghanistan, nearly two years ago. U.S. experts with insights into UAV programs acknowledge the existence of the stealthy UAV, but not much else. “It was there in the fall of 2007,” says one specialist.
Rolls-Royce has seen slower order intake in the first six months and also has been affected by Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 delays, but still was able to secure £7.9 billion in new orders and bring the order book to a record £57.5 billion. Rolls also notes that while the 787 delays have hampered sales of the Trent 1000, they have spurred interest in the Airbus A330 on which Rolls offers the Trent 700. The company took almost 100 orders for that engine type in the first six months.
The article “Shuttle Officials Investigate Post-Launch Foam Release” (AW&ST July 20, p. 14) minimizes the foam loss because it “came so late in the ascent that there wasn’t enough atmosphere to slam it into the delicate RCC [reinforced carbon-carbon] panel.”
EADS has begun the flight test program for a new iteration of the Barracuda unmanned aircraft, to follow the vehicle that first flew in April 2006 and crashed about five months later.
While Seoul’s Incheon International has a large role in Korean Air’s plans, the airport is relying on Korean—as well as mainline rival Asiana and new low-cost carriers—to achieve its own aggressive growth targets.
Cybersecurity—already a $17-billion industry in the U.S.—is likely to grow at 7-11% per year for the foreseeable future, according to a Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative led by White House cyberadviser Melissa Hathaway.
