Deborah A.P. Hersman was sworn in as the 12th NTSB chair on July 28. She joined the safety board on June 21, 2004, and has been a member on-scene at 16 major transportation accidents. Hersman succeeds Mark V. Rosenker, who resigned on July 22.
Having seen billions in defense procurement dollars directed to U.S. manufacturers, Canada’s aerospace industry has welcomed a gesture that could give local companies a bigger stake in Ottawa’s next major aircraft acquisition.
The U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) has completed the Propulsion Replacement Program (PRP) tests for the Minuteman III rocket motor. The PRP’s purpose is to qualify new designs and motor upgrades in support of the Minuteman II fleet of ICBMs. Testing began in 2001 using the Center’s J-6 facility, built in 1994 specifically for vetting large rocket motors at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 ft. above sea level, says James Brooks, J-6 facility program manager. The Air Force has been replacing old motors from missiles in silos with new ones.
Germany’s EMT has secured a further contract from the German defense ministry for Luna unmanned aircraft. Existing systems are supporting German forces in Afghanistan. The latest deal provides for EMT to supply four systems, including 40 air vehicles, eight ground control stations, launchers and landing systems. The system will be integrated in mine-protected vehicles. Deliveries should conclude next summer.
Israel’s Aeronautics has begun flight testing the Dominator II medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, which is based on the Diamond DA42 all-composite, twin-engine light aircraft. Aeronautics says the Dominator II is the first UAV based on a manned aircraft with full civil certification, and paves the way for unmanned aircraft to enter the civilian market. Powered by twin turbodiesel engines, the 13.5-meter (44.3-ft.) span, 2,000-kg. (4,400-lb.) gross-weight UAV has a maximum payload of 400 kg., a 75-190-kt. speed range, 30,000-ft.
Scientists plan to use the new Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC 3) on the Hubble Space Telescope at least two more times to image the ugly bruise left near Jupiter’s south pole by what probably was a passing comet July 19 (AW&ST July 27, p. 15). Installed by the crew of the space shuttle Atlantis during the STS-125 Hubble servicing mission in May, the WFC 3 is nearing the end of its commissioning period and is becoming available for scientific observation.
The European Space Agency and Eumetsat have inked a framework agreement that will enable the two agencies to work together on the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative as they currently do in Europe’s weather satellite program.
I read with some amusement the commentary by George W. Hamlin on the health of the U.S. airline industry (AW&ST July 13, p. 50). He mentions the market share mindset from the days of economic regulation, which is still held by some executives. The unfounded promises of deregulation are just not coming to fruition; except perhaps in the case of Southwest Airlines. Although more people are flying than in the days of regulation, what has been the cost? We have an unstable, low-wage industry that cannot turn a profit except in the best of times.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Air Guard is to establish its first dedicated search-and-rescue helicopter unit, following the signing of a $348-million contract with AgustaWestland for four AW139 medium twins and five years of support. A consortium involving the manufacturer, Bristow Caribbean, FB Heliservices and Helidex will be established to manage the program.
A Korean Air Boeing 747-400 flies a final approach to Runway 24R at Los Angeles International Airport, which is the airline’s major U.S. gateway. The carrier is aiming to capture a greater share of transpacific connecting traffic, such as within the U.S.-China market (see p. 42). Despite the industry downturn, Korean remains committed to a large aircraft order book, including 10 Airbus A380s. Along with Boeing 777-300ERs, the A380s will begin replacing the carrier’s 747-400s. Joseph Pries photo.
Analysts in the Pacific Air Forces are making a virtue out of planning for future defense budget cuts. Their tools are a series of war games—generated by the theater’s intelligence community—called Pacific Vision. “It’s pretty obvious that we are not going to be able to buy everything we want to buy,” says Gen. Howie Chandler, Pacaf commander who has been named the next Air Force vice chief of staff. “So the question becomes, “How do you give the combatant commander the best you can with the available resources?”
The House’s approval of $560 million to continue development of an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) sets the stage for a showdown with the Senate, which voted to kill the program, and the Obama administration, which is threatening to veto any bill that keeps it alive. Funding for the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternate engine was included in the fiscal 2010 defense appropriations bill that passed the House on July 30 by a 400-30 vote.
A fresh wave of structures, systems and weapons upgrades is being rolled into the Northrop Grumman B-2 as part of efforts to keep the stealth bomber in the front line to 2050 and beyond.
The Experimental Aircraft Assn.’s $3.8-million investment in improvements for the 2009 AirVenture fly-in event at Oshkosh-Wittman Regional Airport appears to have paid off. At midweek, attendance was up 8-10% compared with the same point during AirVenture 2008, according to Chief Financial Officer Brian Wierzbinski.
The Airbus A380, along with the Boeing 777 and 787, is a key part of Korean Air’s plans for renewal and expansion of its passenger fleet. The airline remains firmly committed to its 10 A380 orders, despite the industry downturn that is causing other Asia-Pacific carriers to defer or cancel their own orders for the superjumbo.
The market for the Australian-U.S. Nulka naval decoy may be expanding by a factor of two, thanks to a prospective easing of restrictions on exports of the hovering rocket. As the system is fitted to ever-larger ships, previously thought impossible to defend with decoys, there are signs that it will even go on board the largest of all, U.S. aircraft carriers, giving them one more defense layer to add to the several that already surround them.
India’s civil aviation personnel charged with developing one of the industry’s major growth markets will be able to enhance their skills under a memorandum of understanding signed July 28 by the civil aviation ministry and the International Air Transport Assn. Under the one-year term of the MOU, Indian ministry officials will be able to develop leadership skills and build networking opportunities at global learning centers of the IATA Training Development Institute.
The British Defense Ministry last week confirmed it had dispatched another RAF Tornado GR4 strike aircraft to Afghanistan to replace one destroyed July 20. The aircraft was lost when the crew had to abort a takeoff, but were unable to halt the aircraft before it departed the runway. Both crewmembers ejected safely. The previous day, another GR4 sustained minor damage as a result of a brake fire on landing. The Tornado GR4 replaced the Harrier GR9 in Kandahar at the beginning of this month.
Pentagon officials say the reduced buy of C-27Js to 38 from 78 will demand more crews for operations. Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt says at least 16 of the 38 tactical airlifters will be deployed abroad at any time. This means the crew ratio must increase to support a higher operations tempo. Under the arrangement to buy 78 aircraft, planners anticipated two crews per C-27J were needed. With 38, the manpower requirement per aircraft doubles. With more frequent flights, Wyatt says he expects maintenance manpower requirements to go up as well.
Aug. 9-13—American Astronautical Society/American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) Astrodynamics Specialist Conference. Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. Call +1 (703) 866-0020 or see www.space-flight.org Aug. 10-13—AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2009. Washington Convention Center. Call +1 (703) 845-9671 or see www.symposium.auvsi.org
I agree with Chris Schultz that the head of NASA needs to be a politician (AW&ST June 15, p. 16). For NASA to be effective, management at lower levels must be technically astute. Politics pervades down to NASA middle management, so center directors and below should be technical managers. Let headquarters handle the politics.
Goodrich Corp.’s landing gear final assembly facility, a satellite plant to Boeing’s wide-body factories in Everett, Wash., has delivered the first main and nosewheel gear for the 747-8 Freighter to the aircraft manufacturer’s nearby 40-22 assembly bay. The gear is displayed before shipment in the exact order it would appear on the airplane: wing, body, nose, body and wing. Now they reside under the nose of RC501, the first flight-test 747-8, which is in final body join. Gear are installed before RC501 moves into a slant position for final outfitting.
U.S. and NATO commanders in Afghanistan are looking for new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools to help secure territory in the troubled Helmand province as the political situation reaches a critical phase following the recent coalition offensive against the Taliban.
Aerostructures specialist Spirit AeroSystems has recorded a $103-million loss provision to cover development and production cost overruns on its risk-sharing contract to supply the wing for Gulfstream’s G250 super mid-size business jet, which is expected to fly this year. The overrun is blamed on “insufficient program-management discipline in a constrained resource environment.”
George W. Hamlin closes his commentary by calling for the need for the airline industry to be “viable.” Just what does “viable” mean? His recommendation to achieve “viability” is to follow the cliche route of cutting capacity, merging airlines, layoffs, cutting expenses, etc., that we have all heard ad nauseum since the 1978 deregulation experiment.
