July 16—Demonstrating the Value of Corporate Aircraft Management Forum. New York. Aug. 5-6—Required Navigation Performance Management Forum. Dallas. Aug. 12-13—Program Risk Management Forum. Washington. Sept. 22—Green Europe. Hamburg. Sept. 22-24—MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition. Hamburg. Oct. 6-7—Human Capital and Talent Acquisition/Labor Management Forum. Chicago. Oct. 13-14—Crew Fatigue Management Forum. Miami. Oct. 21-22—Supply Chain Management Forum. San Diego.
NuSil Technology of Carpinteria, Calif., has introduced R-3930, spray-on fluorosilicone, one-part silicone elastomer “with robust physical properties” that is designed to cure under ambient conditions. The privately held company states that R-3930 is not derived from previous silicon products that it has introduced over the past 30 years for aerospace applications, including fuel-resistant coatings.
Since it became clear that it was gaining unprecedented orders for the 787, Boeing has acknowledged that it might need a second final assembly line. But it has put off saying much more. Now CEO James McNerney says the company is “actively looking” at such a prospect. Officially, just where it will be located and when it will be opened is unclear. “Eventually, I believe we will do a second line,” McNerney said last week during the Paris air show. “The question is when.”
France has kicked off phase B detailed definition of the optical segment of Europe’s Musis next-generation satellite surveillance system. The 18-month project was initiated under a €66-million ($91-million) contract, of which €17.6 million was provided from an aerospace and defense stimulus fund created in December. Another €10 million is to be supplied by Spain, Belgium and Greece, which will also participate in development of the optical segment. The optical spacecraft, intended to replace Helios II, are to be launched in early 2015.
General Electric is putting greater emphasis on product life-cycle and one-stop-shop approaches to engine service agreements as it faces more competition from third-party rivals. The company’s strategy includes reaching across traditional organizational silos, adjusting its worldwide manufacturing capacity and emphasizing licensed service agreements.
ESA will inaugurate a new facility at Harwell, England, on July 22 that will be dedicated to science, including planetary exploration and climate change. Creation of the installation, which parallels ESA technical facilities in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Spain, was decided last November partly to help build support for space within the U.K.
The F-22 isn’t the only point of disagreement between House Armed Services and President Barack Obama’s Defense Dept. team. In revising the Fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill, the panel directed the Pentagon to continue the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and buy more carrier-based aircraft to close a fighter jet shortfall.
The incongruous sight of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 sitting by a gas station forecourt after overrunning the runway at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif., in 2000, or the more recent images of a burning Airbus A320 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, are vivid reminders of the constant danger posed by runway excursions.
In an effort to set a single safety standard for majors and regionals, the FAA is asking carriers to adopt voluntary reporting programs “without delay” and is seeking to revise flight- and duty-time rules. The moves are among the near- and long-term strategies that emerged from the FAA/Transportation Dept.’s June 15 “call to action” safety summit here. The meeting was called after the investigation of the Feb. 12 Colgan Air/Continental Connection Flight 3407 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., uncovered numerous safety concerns.
Both teams vying for a massive U.S. Air Force contract to build refueling tankers appear to be taking on a more collegial tenor as they await release of the Pentagon’s requirements next month, but this newfound spirit could be the calm before the storm in a third attempt for the service to select a new design.
Pratt & Whitney’s next-generation “GEN2” geared turbofan development for future single-aisle aircraft looks increasingly certain to drive a wedge between the International Aero Engines (IAE) partners and Rolls-Royce.
Leslie Riegle has become director of regulatory affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives . She was a legislative and public policy adviser on aviation affairs at the Washington law firm of Arnold & Porter.
Lynn Brubaker and Heinrich Loechteken have become senior advisers to New York-based Seabury Aviation and Aerospace . Brubaker was vice president/general manager for commercial aerospace at Honeywell International, while Loechteken was chief investment officer of AerCap.
The FAA has approved a flight instructor safety stand-down program designed by Cessna Aircraft Co. The program, a first for any aircraft original equipment manufacturer, according to Cessna officials, is a training seminar aimed at certified flight instructors (CFI) and commercial pilots interested in becoming CFIs. The 18-hr. program covers new technologies aimed at improving safety of flight and serves as an FAA-approved flight instructor refresher course. For more information go to www.cessna.com/training
The U.S. NTSB is seeking efficient ways to prevent birds from downing another airliner as Canada geese did to US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15—including on-aircraft technologies and revamping of engine certification standards for bird ingestion.
Two major airline alliances—Star and Oneworld—are looking at how they can best adjust to help their members through an industry downturn. The Star Alliance hopes to streamline its decision-making process even as it adds more members, after a major change in its corporate governance structure. Rival Oneworld also is expanding and looking to boost cost-saving efforts.
Sen. John Faulkner, a highly regarded figure in the Australian government, will take over as defense minister following the resignation of Joel Fitzgibbon. Unusual for a defense minister, Faulkner is from the left wing of the ruling Labor Party. He was minister for defense science in the mid-1990s and later proved an effective performer in opposition.
It’s the year 2050. Latest-technology aircraft are fueled by an endless supply of a gas substitute that does not add to CO2 emissions. Engines hardly produce any noise. Passengers travel in the highest comfort and consider flying beneficial to their health. And the best part of it is that developments in the past years have led to lower operating costs for airlines.
About ten years ago, a senior FAA executive exhorted his managers to renew their focus on safety. “Think about the things you’ll do tomorrow if an aircraft crashes due to something involving your area of responsibility,” he said. “Then go back to your office and do them today!”
German aerospace center DLR has selected EADS Astrium to study the feasibility of demonstrating a precision soft landing of a lunar spacecraft on Earth. If the nine-month study, to begin this month, is conclusive, it would be followed by landing demonstrations in Germany. The first test flight could take place in 2012.
Gary H. Lantner (see photo) has been named president, Robert C. White (see photo) vice president-airport services and Sandra C. Gonzalez director of business development of the Houston Airport System Development Corp.
Intelsat will replace five aging spacecraft serving the Asia-Pacific region. Three are satellites launched in 1998-2001 that were initially earmarked for renewal in 2010-12, but early this year were targeted for early replacement. Intelsat will acquire the other two satellites, Intelsat 17 and 18, to replace a pair of older spacecraft, Intelsat 702 and 701, which were launched in 1993-94.
America designed and built the world’s most renowned jet trainers in the 1950s: the Cessna T37 Tweety Bird and Northrop T-38 Talon. Almost 60 years later, it is time for U.S. airframers to start a U.S.-designed-and-made supersonic jet trainer to teach F-22 and F-35 pilots. Relying on a foreign-designed advanced supersonic trainer would be a mistake like relying on a foreign-designed tanker.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris and Cannes, France), Frank Morring, Jr. (Washington)
As NASA attempts to pick up the pieces of its Earth observation strategy, following the failure of its Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) A-Train mission, the European Space Agency—recovering from a crippling loss of its own—is starting to move its Earth Observer program into higher gear. Coordination of Earth observing (EO) programs among different nations, including Japan, is also increasing.
