The Marine One controversy is giving a boost to National Air Transportation Assn. (NATA) efforts to get the nation’s most important business flyer to stop using private aviation “as a political punching bag” and linking corporate aviation to corporate greed (AW&ST Mar. 2, p. 20). In a letter to Obama, NATA President James Coyne says statements and actions by the administration and Congress “since you were elected have been . . .
The next generation of small turboshafts and possibly diesel pistons will take a lead role in aircraft engine-makers’ efforts to broaden their helicopter market base when the industry reemerges from the current downturn.
Sukhoi and Alenia Aeronautica are making progress with plans to build up a maintenance base for the SuperJet 100 regional jet, though much still remains to be done. Setting up a solid customer support, customization and maintenance network is one of the key unresolved issues upon which the success of the regional jet program will depend. Responsibility for this was entrusted to SuperJet International (SJI), a joint venture between Alenia and Sukhoi Holding, with headquarters in Venice, Italy.
I would like to respond to reader George Rowley’s query about sound absorbent coatings (AW&ST Feb. 23, p. 8). Applied absorptive materials in the usual sense have finite bandwidths. In thin, lightweight applications they typically absorb energy either in a very narrow (resonant) bandwidth, in a rather high-frequency portion of the audible spectrum, or transmit much of the incident sound energy to the underlying structure.
The British Defense Ministry and BAE Systems have agreed a £450-million ($634-million) contract covering support of RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the next five years. The Typhoon Availability Services (TAS) contract reflects the RAF’s shift toward a partnering approach to aircraft maintenance, using a front-and-depth model supported by industry. The initial TAS contract is expected to be followed by a further 10-year deal.
London is considering leasing up to five Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules airlifters to help plug the capability gap left by continuing problems with the European Airbus Military A400M. The U.K. is interested in taking the additional C-130Js beginning in 2012, which likely means it will need to conclude an agreement this year if the in-service date target is to be met. All but a handful of the Royal Air Force’s aging C-130Ks are due to be retired by 2012.
Airlines are parking aircraft at an unprecedented rate, and the percentage of the global jet fleet that is grounded looks set to exceed the late-2001 peak of the last downturn. A total of almost 2,300 jet airliners are now parked, with the 1,167 aircraft grounded last year making 2008 the worst year for cutbacks since 2001, according to U.K.-based aviation consultancy Ascend.
Engineers at Boeing’s Wichita, Kan., defense facility are set to vote Mar. 5 on whether to authorize a strike rather than accept a company proposal on a contract that ended last December.
First Officer Martin Söllinger (Konigswinter, Germany)
I couldn’t disagree more with Capt. John Painter, who says the shorter the crew rest after a long double-crew flight, the better (AW&ST Jan. 19, p. 8). Good for him that he can easily sleep 7 hr. in the bunk. I can’t. After 3 hr., the air has dried me out completely. Also one has to be lucky to get the timing right and catch a rest during the body-clock nighttime. It’s only reasonable to provide for extended post-flight rest after a long duty.
It will be one of the most technically complex spacecraft NASA has ever launched, but its mission is pretty straight-forward—an unblinking look for Earth-like planets orbiting 100,000 Sun-like stars deep in the Milky Way.
L-3 Communications’ Link and Simulation Training is teaming with Textron System’s AAI Corp. to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s C-17 Training System Sustainment Program. The team would merge the two C-17 aircrew and maintenance training contracts into a single integrated support operation. Plans call for L-3 to identify areas for improvement across all C-17 integrated training operations, says Bob Birmingham, L-3’s president of link simulation and training. AAI trains C-17 aircraft technicians with a simulation-based system.
President Barack Obama is moving toward forcing all defense spending unrelated to war-fighting to undergo the regular congressional authorization process in coming years—increasing the potential for inter-service rivalries.
Dassault Aviation has received approval for its Falcon 7X business jet flagship to operate out of London City Airport. Dassault began the process of certifying the Falcon 7X for LCY operations last April. The airfield requires a steep approach of 5.5 deg. Approval flights at the facility took place Oct. 10. The Falcon 7X operates at London City with dedicated noise abatement departure procedures, approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
A buckle that automatically releases after being submerged in water for 3-7 sec., has been unveiled by BAE Systems. The water-activated buckle, developed for pilots and passengers, incorporates small pyrotechnics which fire on prolonged exposure to water. The charges release latch pins and the harness. Developed by BAE’s Phoenix-based Occupant Protection business, the device operates as a normal rotary buckle in regular conditions, but can be activated in either fresh or saltwater and is resistant to humidity, salt spray, fungus and rain, says the manufacturer.
The helicopter industry will see three or more years of declining deliveries according to Honeywell’s latest market forecast, while Rolls-Royce predicts a less severe “softening” with the recession characterized as more of a bump in the road.
Kit-built helicopter manufacturer RotorWay International, producer of the two-seat A600 Talon piston-powered machine, is planning to develop a production, two-seat turboshaft-powered trainer to replace the Robinson R-22. Provisionally planned with the Rolls-Royce RR300, the FAA-certificated helicopter will also be offered as a low-cost option for private pilots, aerial photography, law enforcement and news production. The A600 will still be produced.
Boeing has named three men with long government experience to senior positions that should boost its Washington presence. David H. Morrison, former staff director of House Appropriations’ defense subcommittee, will become vice president of government operations. He recently worked at one of the city’s powerful lobbying and public relations firms, the Podesta Group. Sean I. McCormack, a former assistant secretary of state for public affairs, is now vice president of communications. And Army Brig. Gen. (ret.) Leo A.
The United Arab Emirates will acquire 48 Alenia Aermacchi M-346 aircraft to meet its air force’s advanced jet trainer and light strike fighter requirements. Final assembly of the aircraft in country remains a strong option.
Current certification standards for engine bird strike ingestion and aircraft flotation will come under intense scrutiny by the NTSB in its ongoing probe of US Airways Flight 1549. Pilot training and experience will also be on the safety board’s agenda at a hearing it plans for late spring, NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt testified Feb. 24 before the House Aviation subcommittee hearing on the unprecedented water landing of the Airbus A320 Jan. 15.
New White House skepticism over the U.S. military’s VH‑71 presidential helicopter has thrust the multinationally sourced, Lockheed Martin-led program under new scrutiny, as analysts and officials debate everything from cancellation to sticking to the recently revised plan.
Telesat’s Telstar 11N communications platform is en route to its operational position over the Atlantic following launch Feb. 26 on a Zenit-3SLB rocket organized by Sea Launch Co., as part of the Land Launch service the California-based company offers in collaboration with Space International Services of Moscow. The Zenit lifted the 8,845-lb. spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 1:30 p.m. EST on a 6-hr. mission to geostationary transfer orbit. From its final position at 37.5 deg. W.
Thales management this year expects to see a slowdown in organic revenue growth from last year’s 8%, but still believes that despite the economic troubles it can achieve a 3-5% increase through December. The goal is to maintain an order book worth around two years of production, management said late last week in announcing full-year financial results. The company also hopes to improve its earnings margin in 2009. Thales closed 2008 with a 10% increase in orders and a 1% hike in revenue.
President Barack Obama pledged Feb. 25, in his address to Congress, to “reform our defense budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use.” In doing so he quickened the pulse rate, increased the blood pressure and aggravated the ulcer of many a defense-industry executive—none more than the executives at Lockheed Martin Corp. responsible for the F-22 Raptor.
Late last week, NASA slipped the Kepler launch from Cape Canaveral by one day to Mar. 6, giving it two possible launch windows. 10:49-10:52 p.m. and 11:13 to 11:16 p.m. EST “to accommodate the additional time for analysis,” the space agency said (see p. 53).
