Reducing fuel consumption, eliminating hazardous materials and chemicals, and recycling aircraft content activities have gained traction in the aviation industry, as it pursues ways to become more environmentally friendly.
The Microgage 2D system laser transmitter is a testing, measuring and alignment tool for commercial and military helicoptors, used for positioning and aligning engine mounts, long shaft sections and gear boxes. The laser transmitter, on an adjustable mount, connects to engine mounts on commercial helos. The laser reference beam points backward on the rotorcraft to set the position of shaft mounts and other assemblies. The mount has full adjustment capability for the laser transmitter, the company says. Pinpoint Laser Systems Inc., 56 Pulaski St., No. 5, Peabody, Mass.
J. Thomas McKinnon, professor of chemical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and Tim Feaver, president of Porous Power Technologies, have been appointed to the Business Advisory Council of Bye Energy Inc. , Highlands Ranch, Colo. Christopher Naro, former chief financial officer of Adam Aircraft Industries/AAI Acquisition Inc., has become biofuels program director.
Astrium Space Transportation CEO Alain Charmeau says his company is seeking funding within France’s new 2009-13 defense plan to demonstrate a high-altitude kill vehicle that, together with elements of France’s new M51 ballistic missile, could serve as a basis for a European ballistic missile defense system. The M51 is due to go into service in 2010 and remain in production at least through 2015-20, when a new warhead, known as the TNO, is to be introduced.
Southwest Airlines is offering buyouts to employees, implementing a hiring freeze and suspending raises for officers and senior management after the perennially profitable carrier reported its third quarterly loss in a row. The first-quarter loss was $91 million and—unlike the losses of the previous two quarters—remained a $20-million deficit even with the exclusion of special items. But it’s not so much the loss as it is the short-term outlook that has Southwest taking more actions to cut costs.
U.S. Air Force planners are kicking off studies into advanced training aircraft and simulators to help determine the type of system they will need to replace the Northrop Grumman T-38C. “We’re doing an analysis of alternatives right now that will shape that answer,” says Maj. Gen. Greg Feest, who heads the 19th Air Force at Randolph AFB, Tex., where the Air Education and Training Command is headquartered. “We need a replacement for the T-38 because it is aging and it has single-point failures in that aircraft,” he adds.
Rubicon Technology plans to offer larger sensor windows for UAVs and targeting pods after growing what the Illinois-based company believes is the world’s largest sapphire crystal. The 200-kg. “super boule” will allow production of optical windows with dimensions exceeding 12 in., Rubicon says, adding that the 85-kg. crystals currently grown in volume can produce window sizes of up to 10 in. Sapphire is a durable material that is transparent to IR, making it ideal for sensor windows.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems completed the first three flights of its new, all-jet, increased-stealth Predator C, which is named the Avenger (see p. 50). The name, also carried by the World War II-era TBF and TBM torpedo bombers, is one of several clues—including a tailhook and provisions for folding wings—that indicate a possible nautical future for the design. The swept wing allows for greater speed than previous Predator models, while the leading and trailing edges of the wings and tails are lined up to control radar reflections.
A new lawsuit is threatening to add fuel to a protracted legal battle pitting minority investors in ImageSat International, operator of Israel’s Eros imaging satellites, against ImageSat’s industrial shareholders.
An electrical failure in the right main bus caused the Feb. 26, 2007, fire on board a Boeing 777-200 at London Heathrow Airport, according to the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) final report released last week. The fire erupted during engine startup, after the aircraft pushed back from the stand. The electrical failure in the bus resulted in severe arcing and short circuits. The resultant heat caused molten metal droplets from the contactor casings to fall on insulation blankets, which ignited.
China’s Big Three state airlines have all announced large losses for 2008, as their normally weak operations struggled to cope with a collapse in international demand, a variety of factors that hit Chinese domestic traffic, high fuel prices early in the year and bad bets in fuel hedging later in the year. China Southern lost 4.8 billion yuan ($701 million), Air China 9.26 billion yuan and China Eastern 13.9 billion yuan.
Nowhere is the pinch of excess capacity being felt more than in India, where cuts of 15-20% last year are not proving sufficient. The industry is expected to slash capacity another 10% this year as losses mount to around $3 billion. High fees and congestion at airports, two long-standing complaints, are adding to carriers’ woes as they fight losses by cutting hotel and travel expenses for staff and crew, reducing salaries and scaling back business-class perquisites.
Embraer is to modernize the Brazilian navy’s fleet of 12 McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk carrier-based fighter-bombers: nine single-seat AF-1s and three two-seat AF-1As. The ex-Kuwaiti aircraft will receive new radar, avionics, power and oxygen generation systems.
Andrew Carolus, Director Aerospace and Defense Investment Banking Group BMO Capital Markets (Chicago, Ill.)
Your Market Focus column describing the likelihood of defense cuts underscores something we have been telling our investment banking clients for some time (AW&ST Mar. 16, p. 12).
Oman Air is expecting significant growth this year, but the airline’s profitability remains a challenge after it suffered a 42-million Oman rial ($109-million) loss in 2008. Last year’s poor performance, coming off a profit in 2007, was largely linked to the run-up in fuel prices, although the carrier’s expansion was also responsible for the bottom line loss. Even though fuel prices have now fallen, “The decline in top-line revenues will more than offset the resultant savings,” management warns, in announcing last year’s results.
Trade officials in Washington and Brussels are engaged in informal talks on a range of issues, including the evergreen contention between the U.S. and the European Union regarding aircraft subsidies; each side alleges the other supplies aid to its respective aircraft makers, Boeing and Airbus. European officials are trying to assess whether Ron Kirk, the new U.S. trade representative, is open to discussing the issue to put an end to the legal battle being mediated in the World Trade Organization, industry officials say.
A U.S. congressional notification on Apr. 11 has cleared the way for the direct commercial sale (DCS) of eight Boeing P-8I aircraft to India. The P-8I, a derivative of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A, is a long-range, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.
Germany’s OHB Technology expects new domestic space projects, a possible satellite navigation win, and growing satellite launcher business to generate a big upswing in sales and earnings this year, after a strong 2008.
Astrium Space Transportation has submitted a proposal to supply two additional Automated Transfer Vehicles in the event the International Space Station (ISS) partners agree to extend the life of the facility beyond 2015. The European Space Agency is currently committed to providing five or six ATVs to the ISS under a barter with partner nations in return for funding utilities on the station and space shuttle services until the orbiters retire next year.
Boeing and Raytheon have each been awarded U.S. Navy contracts worth almost $7 million for the preliminary design of a 100-kw.-class free electron laser (FEL) demonstrator, as a step toward a megawatt-class directed energy weapon. The all-electric FEL is a leading candidate for ship-based missile and air defense because it can operate over a wide range of wavelengths.
Maiden flight of the first carrier-capable F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, Aircraft CF-1, has slipped to December from October because of parts deliveries. The U.S. Navy’s F-35C is the last of the three JSF variants to fly. Despite the slip, Lockheed Martin says the schedule still supports the overall flight-test plan and initial operation capability in 2015.
The Royal Air Force is pushing ahead with development of an aircraft-protection system, with a technology demonstrator program set to get underway. Selex Galileo will direct the four-year effort leading to a Common Defensive Aids System (CDAS). The goal is to devise a common approach to protecting the air force’s transport and rotary-wing fleets. Elements of the work may also carry over to fast-jet protection. The project is intended to begin by year-end and would conclude toward the end of 2013.
As the German military looks for a new air surveillance radar system, Rheinmetall and BAE Systems have joined forces to bid. Rheinmetall would function as the prime, offering the BAE Systems Commander-SL radar system already in use with the Royal Air Force. The German defense procurement agency in February issued a request for proposals for the so-called ARED project, which is to provide radars to cover Germany’s air space. Up to six radars would be procured. Fielding is set for 2012. The program cost is estimated at €100 million.
The AirLock system can program keys to open locks by flexible time/day schedules, according to the company, and one, some or all of the locks and keys can be assigned both start and expiration dates. Access grants can be easily removed from the cylinder, if needed. When a key is placed in a lock, the event is recorded by both lock and key. The record holds time, date and authorization info.
The world’s largest orbiting camera has returned its “first light” images of a star field in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way, including this telescopic view of a star called TrES-2 with a known Jupiter-sized planet orbiting it every 2.5 days.
