Simon Abel (see photo) has become director of sales for the Standard Power Solutions Div. of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Redmond, Wash. He was head of the division’s international sales.
Aer Lingus, looking to preserve cash as it struggles financially, is deferring delivery of Airbus A330s and its initial batch of A350s following a fleet plan review. In an effort to control capacity, the carrier is also reducing its leased wide-body fleet. Predelivery payment requirements have been scaled back with the new plan for introducing widebodies. All-in-all, Aer Lingus will reduce its fleet of nine wide-body aircraft to eight by year-end and maintain that level through 2012.
Boeing says the eight 737-800 orders it recently attributed to an unidentified customer will go to EgyptAir and represent a decision by the carrier to convert two orders from wide-body 777s so it can continue to expand its regional flight services. EgyptAir is taking delivery of five 737-800s later this year and has another seven on order. It also operates five 777s and is scheduled to receive six 777-300ERs beginning next year.
Kelley Dobbs (see photo) has been promoted to vice president-human resources and labor relations from vice president-human resources, strategy and culture for Alaska Airlines . Honors and Elections
Forced to effectively abandon the wide-body commercial aircraft sector, Moscow is attempting to secure and build a position in the narrow-body market using two programs—the Superjet 100 regional jetliner and the MS-21 150-210-seat aircraft.
Goodrich has expanded its maintenance, repair and overhaul capability at Dubai. With the addition of engine control accessories to its overhaul portfolio, it will now provide services for Rolls-Royce Trent 500-, 700- and 800-powered aircraft such as the Airbus A330 and A340, and Boeing 777. The operation, set up in 2007, offers services for components and systems for commercial and military aerospace customers from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Alexey Komarov (Moscow), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Though the Superjet 100 certification test program is still some way from completion, prime contractor Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. and PowerJet, the joint venture developing the aircraft’s powerplant, are already concentrating on ramping up production and bringing the new model into service.
Senators continue to question the pay and sleeping habits of regional pilots, with some citing a Washington Post report about boardinghouses that some pilots use to get rest when making cross-country commutes to work. But at a hearing last week, regional carrier executives said they do not believe pilot commuting patterns are a big problem or need monitoring. Fatigue from long commutes to hubs and its relationship to pilot performance were among many issues that emerged in the investigation of the Feb. 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407 accident near Buffalo, N.Y.
The country’s air force commander, Gen. Col. Alexander Zelin, says that in addition to buying the Sukhoi Su-35S, the service will also field the MiG-35S—as the new aircraft are now designated in Russia. This is the first official confirmation of interest in the MiG-35, an updated version of the MiG-29 with extended range, increased combat payload and a radar with active electronically scanned array. It’s a boost for the aircraft as Russia tries to win India’s 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft program against stiff competition.
Another UAV, the Thunderstorm Fury (which looks like a miniature B-2) demonstrated an electronic attack capability during two flights at an undisclosed site in California on July 27. The design is a product of Chesapeake Technology International and AeroMech Engineering. CTI, which is headquartered near NAS Patuxent River, Md., is a veteran software and systems developer for airborne communications surveillance and attack, counterterrorism C4ISR, UAVs, EA-6B electronic attack aircraft simulators and Tactile Situational Awareness Systems for aircraft and helicopters.
The first G.222 airlifter for the Afghan Army Air Corps has completed its first flight after undergoing refurbishment by Alenia North America. The aircraft, a used Italian air force G.222, was flown at Alenia Aeronautica’s Naples plant. It will be transferred to the company’s Turin Caselle facility for installation of a new communication suite, before returning to Naples for final preparations before delivery. The U.S. Air Force in September awarded a $287-million contract for 18 G.222s for Afghanistan.
Israel’s BlueBird Aero Systems is expected to unveil a long-endurance commercial unmanned aircraft powered by a hydrogen fuel cell at this week’s Assn. on Unmanned Vehicle Systems International show in Washington. With an endurance of more than 9 hr. on a 2-kg. (4.4-lb.) power system supplied by Singapore’s Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies, the 9-kg. Boomerang is an advanced version of a battery-powered tactical UAV with 3-hr. endurance. The canard-configuration vehicle is already licensed for flights in Israel, says BlueBird.
The FAA has certified TAP Maintenance and Engineering Brazil to perform heavy maintenance work on U.S.-registered Airbus A330s and A340s. The FAA has also certified TAP M&E for the A300B4/-600 and A320. The company has already been certified by Brazil’s ANAC civil aviation agency and Transport Canada Civil Aviation to perform maintenance on the same aircraft. The Rio de Janeiro-based company is an affiliate of TAP Maintenance and Engineering and has been authorized by Airbus since December to perform maintenance on its aircraft.
A new industry advocacy group will try to boost the case for a formalized high-speed development road map as the U.S. air-breathing hypersonics enterprise enters what researchers believe is the most pivotal period in its checkered 50-year history.
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.
