All eyes are on Bell Helicopter as it strives to reinvent itself after a fateful phase that almost culminated in the company’s sale by struggling parent Textron.
Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has resigned after it was revealed that the major general in charge of defense health services was ordered to discuss possible health insurance savings with Fitzgibbon’s brother, who is the head of an Australian insurance company, and with a U.S. insurer that the brother represented.
Declaring that trials last August proved successful, Japan Airlines began using preferential routing flights from Tokyo to the Australian cities of Brisbane and Sydney as of June 4. JAL estimates it will save 1 million lb. of fuel worth about 24 million yen ($250,000) annually on its daily round-trip flights to Australia by basing routes on best weather patterns rather than predetermined flight paths. JAL began using continuous descent arrivals for late night/early morning arrivals at Kansai International Airport as another fuel-savings effort.
Thomas L. Carter (see photo) has been appointed Washington-based vice president-government relations for Elbit Systems of America . He is a former deputy assistant Defense secretary for legislative affairs and was president of Commonwealth Consulting Corp.
Last week marked a grim milestone in defense procurement—the U.S. Navy canceled the VH-71 presidential helicopter. It was the first big formal step in a series that Defense Secretary Robert Gates proffered two months ago to shake up a military-industrial culture that has become too slow and too costly. The breadth of programs affected is wide, cutting across air, land, sea and space (see p. 22).
Now restored, Cessna’s sole remaining SkyCatcher 162 resumes flight-testing this month in Kansas. The aircraft was heavily damaged Mar. 19 after the test pilot was unable to recover from a spin and deployed the aircraft’s ballistic parachute. The plane set down safely in a field, but the pilot could not then release the chute before the wind caught hold and dragged the airplane some distance, causing considerable damage.
Norman Augustine again demonstrates his deep knowledge and understanding of the aerospace and defense acquisition process. Time and again during my 60 years in the field, attempts have been made to reconfigure the acquisition process to be more efficient, but have come to naught. I can only hope Defense Secretary Robert Gates can pull it off and is smart enough to use the background of people like Augustine and Jacques Gansler to support him.
Almost all Japanese airports are in the red, according to a report by an independent research group. Among 41 airports that the Aviation Policy Research Assn. examined, only three made money in 2005, the focus year of the study: Kobe, Itami (at Osaka) and New Chitose. Even if depreciation charges were discounted, only 10—not quite a quarter—were in the black. The study included Tokyo Haneda but not Narita, Kansai or Central Japan International; their figures are separately reported to public shareholders.
Technological progress demonstrated by the fielding of high-altitude, large-payload UAVs is revitalizing the concept of Boost Phase Intercept (BPI) —the tactic of striking enemy ballistic missiles within the first minute or so after launch.
As businesses look for signs of when the global economy will stop sinking, investors already have called the bottom for commercial aerospace stocks. It occurred at the beginning of March, when the price of a share of Boeing Co. was as little as $29.05. Since then, aerospace stocks have staged a strong rally, though they remain far below their peak prices of the fall of 2007.
RAF ambitions to bring the General Atomics Reaper UAV into the core equipment program went unfilled during funding Planning Round 09. So far at least five Reapers are believed to have been purchased by the U.K. through the urgent operational requirement route, though not all remain operational.
Gary Hebb has become vice president-innovation and strategy of EMS Satcom of Atlanta. He was general manager and will be succeeded by Joanne Walker. She was Ottawa-based corporate vice president-business operations.
Indonesia is looking at withdrawing international status from some of its 27 airports. The transport ministry plans to restrict some of the facilities to domestic operations, especially if there is no international air service agreement that covers them.
Boeing has proposed the A160T Hummingbird long-endurance unmanned helicopter for the U.S. Marine Corps’ immediate cargo unmanned aircraft system demonstration program, which could lead to a deployment in Afghanistan. Lockheed Martin and Kaman have proposed the Unmanned K-Max with increased system redundancy for operation in austere and extreme environments. A contract is scheduled to be awarded in July. The goal is to demonstrate delivery of 2,500 lb. of cargo per day between two forward operating bases in less than 6 hr. per day, for three consecutive days.
June 15-19Simtech 2009: “Simulation, Concepts, Capability and Technology.” Adelaide (Australia) Convention Center. See www.siaa.asn.au/simtect/2009/2009.htm June 15-21—Paris air show. Le Bourget. See www.paris-air-show.com June 23-24Technology Training Corp.’s Unmanned Aircraft System Payloads Conference. “Needs, Capabilities & Opportunities.” Also, June 25-26—Defense Export Controls Conference. Both at Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, Alexandria, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1223 or see www.ttcus.com
The Fiscal 2010 NASA spending bill that the House Appropriations Committee will consider June 9 includes a $212.3-million cut for the post-shuttle exploration program. Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, which made the cut in its markup, says it reflects the Obama administration’s appointment of a panel headed by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine that will review U.S. human-spaceflight plans and recommend options by the end of August (AW&ST June 1, p. 31).
Michael E. France has been named manager of regulatory affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. He was quality control and training coordinator for Volo Aviation in Manassas, Va.
Now that North Korean leader Kim Jung Il is throwing another of his tantrums, the talking heads are wondering what to do. One suggestion is: Let Japan “go nuclear.” However, that would go against U.S. President Barack Obama’s goal of a “nuke- free world.”
Boeing is preparing to flight test a development of the ScanEagle small unmanned aircraft designed for air launch and surface recovery, carrying a surveillance sensor or lethal payload. First flight of the ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC) is planned for late July or early August at Boardman Range, Ore. The UAV will be launched from the top of a car and fly for about an hour, says Dave Langness, Boeing Phantom Works deputy program manager for unmanned systems.
With armed forces taking unmanned aircraft more seriously, is the aerospace industrial base ready to meet the emerging requirements? The answer is yes, and no. While most operational systems evolved from technology demonstrators, much of the innovative work on unmanned aircraft is being fostered by service laboratories working with small businesses. That leaves traditional aircraft manufacturers scrambling to catch up.
Air New Zealand will cut capacity by 3% in its financial year that ends June 30, 2010, in response to continuing weak demand. The carrier will reduce service between Hong Kong and London to five from seven days a week, and on domestic routes.
Mike McBain (see photo) has been promoted to external-tank deputy program manager from manager of materials science at the NASA-Lockheed Martin Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
Holly Nelson has become chief financial officer of Virgin America . She was senior vice president-finance/controller of Xojet Inc. and had been vice president/controller/chief accounting officer of JetBlue Airways.
