Four months after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa’s) longest-serving director, Tony Tether, was given his marching orders by the Obama administration, the agency has a new leader. Regina Dugan, CEO of security systems company RedXDefense, was given the job by the Defense Dept.’s new director of research and engineering, Zachary Lemnios. This will be Dugan’s second stint at the Pentagon’s high-risk, high-payoff research agency.
The Air France Flight 447 accident is highlighting safety concerns about the Airbus A330 and its involvement in four incidents since October 2008 related to anomalies in flight-deck automation. The NTSB, which has long been concerned with automation’s role in accidents, is investigating two events that occurred this year:
Bell Helicopter has received Transport Canada certification of the Model 429 light twin (AW&ST June 29, p. 42), with deliveries scheduled to begin this month, about a year later than originally planned. The company holds more than 300 letters of intent for the 429.
Midlands Aerospace Alliance has granted research funding to a team led by Dunlop Aircraft Tires to study new ways to use modeling technology to reduce the time and cost of aircraft tire development. The company will come close to matching the £130,000 award and material support is anticipated from Airbus. The project is being run in conjunction with the University of Birmingham’s School of Mechanical Engineering.
Crews at Kennedy Space Center will start stacking the Ares I-X test vehicle this week after standing down for a few days to give engineers more time to analyze three vibration-loads issues that could threaten range safety during its suborbital test flight, which probably will slip into October.
Four years after NASA embraced Ares I as the next route to space for U.S. astronauts, the new crew launch vehicle is beginning to move from computer-aided-design workstations to the floors of various “fab labs” here that in some cases date back to the Saturn V program in the 1960s.
Turkish Aerospace Industries will upgrade 42 F-16s for the Pakistani air force after securing a $75-million contract. The work will begin in October 2010 and span 46 months.
Cirrus Design Chairman and co-founder Alan Klapmeier is seeking $120 million in new equity to “re-accelerate” his Vision SJ50 single-engine personal light jet program. A team headed by Klapmeier in June completed a five-week tour of capital investors, trying to spark interest in the program—no easy task in this bleak financial climate.
The recent overwater Air France Flight 447 accident raises the dire need for a better black box that is readily recoverable and robustly survivable in ground and water mishaps. I propose two potential solutions, one low-tech and one higher-tech.
Airbus hopes to receive certification in August for an enhanced traffic-alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS) aimed at removing ambiguities and helping pilots avoid potential conflicts. There are two main improvements Airbus is looking to achieve by coupling traffic information to the auto-flight system in the so-called TCAS autopilot/flight director (AP/FD). One is to enhance the visual display of what a pilot needs to do to avoid a conflict. The other is to allow the autopilot, if activated, to fly a resolution advisory automatically.
According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, FAA efforts to improve air cargo safety should focus more on smaller carriers. Based on a review of NTSB data, the June 24 report determined that small cargo operators were involved in 79% of all 443 accidents and 96% of the 93 fatal accidents that occurred from 1997-2008. The GAO is recommending the FAA promote the increased use of programs based on principles of safety management and voluntary self-disclosure.
The Iraqi air force has received its first upgraded Mi-17 helicopters after making improvements to their missile warning and internal communications subsystems. The new communications system is supposed to better handle multiple voices at the same time. The helos also are being fitted with the AAR-60 missile warning system and the ability to automatically dispense M206 flares.
The European Space Agency will build a deep-space antenna in Argentina, subject to the completion of negotiations with the Argentine government and approval by the ESA Council. Sites in Chile had also been considered for the 35-meter antenna, which will be located about 1,000 km. west of Buenos Aires. Together with other 35-meter facilities in New Norcia, Australia, and Cebreros, Spain, and seven 15-meter stations, the Argentine antenna will provide 360-deg. coverage needed to ensure full telecommunications for deep-space science and exploration missions.
Pressure is mounting to overhaul core elements of the air transport industry’s approach to aviation safety management in the wake of two fatal crashes of Airbus widebodies within a month.
Pakistan has begun local final assembly of the JF-17 fighter codeveloped with China. The first aircraft assembled by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex is scheduled to fly in December. The air force is already taking delivery of JF-17s built by Chengdu in China.
John Reece Roth, 72, a former University of Tennessee professor convicted last year on charges he passed military technical data on unmanned aerial vehicles to China, was sentenced to 48 months in prison on July 1 for violating the Arms Export Control Act. Roth was found to have illegally disclosed and transported restricted military information associated with a U.S.
July 13-15—LAI Lean Academy Short Course. Cambridge, Mass. Call +1 (617) 258-7628 or see http://lean.mit.edu July 13-16—Fatigue Concepts Course: “Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics and Damage Tolerance of Aging and Modern Aircraft Structures.” NASA Marshall Space Center. Huntsville, Ala. Also, Sept. 14-17—Novotel Toronto. Call +1 (916) 933-5000 or see www.fatcon.com July 14—Royal Aeronautical Society’s Air Law Summer Reception. London. Call +44 (207) 670-4300 or see www.raes.org.uk
I was amused by the statement in the article “Sortie Spoiler” that “U-2 landings require the pilot to stall the engine upon approach, effectively decreasing speed fast enough to drop the aircraft to the runway” (AW&ST June 8, p. 30). No! The U-2S pilot’s manual says something like the initial approach is flown at 90 KIAS or T-speed plus 10 KIAS, whichever is greater, using 81% N2 with 35 deg. of flap.
Rolls-Royce LibertyWorks has delivered the adaptive fan system rig for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (Advent) program. The rig was delivered to the USAF’s compressor research facility at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Rolls and General Electric are working on Advent, which aims to demonstrate an adaptive variable-cycle engine with 25% lower fuel consumption and reduced-temperature cooling air for aircraft thermal management. One company is to be selected by year-end to build an engine demonstrator for testing in 2012.
The seven-member STS-127 crew returns to the Kennedy Space Center this week for a July 11 retry of their twice-delayed shuttle Endeavour launch to the International Space Station.
Geci Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding for four SK-105 Skylanders in cargo and commuter versions with a private Malaysian operator, for initial delivery in the third quarter of 2012. The deal is the first for the French twin turboprop, which is vying with born-again Do 228, Twin Otter and Nomad models for the fast-growing low-cost utility aircraft market (AW&ST Sept. 29, 2008, p. 51). Geci also announced six preliminary sales and two options for the Reims Aviation F406, which it acquired last October.
The pace of Boeing Apache deliveries was much higher for the second quarter than a year ago. The company delivered eight new-build Apaches—and 13 for the year to date—compared to just one last year. It has delivered one new-build Chinook compared to two last year and four C-17s. Last year, Boeing delivered five. Another area of buildup was in F/A-18E/Fs: It delivered 13 in the quarter and 23 for the year, compared to 11 and 21.
Unmanned aircraft have shown their value for persistent surveillance over Baghdad’s suburbs; now Afghanistan’s harsh terrain could prove their worth in another role: resupply.
As Qantas pulled back 15 orders for 787s, Boeing reveals that launch customer All Nippon Airways has reaffirmed its interest in the airplane by buying five more despite seeing its inaugural delivery date pushed back by at least two years. Qantas cited a falloff in demand since it began ordering in March 2006. In all, it had ordered 50 of the long-range 787-9, making it Boeing’s biggest customer for that model, and 15 of the standard 787-8. The airline is delaying delivery of the -8s by four years and will now take the -9s first.
