A rare but not unprecedented “space weather Katrina” could cost the global economy $1-2 trillion in the first year afterward as society’s dependence on space and terrestrial networks that are vulnerable to solar weather continues to grow.
The first Airbus A330-300 flight control system failure in October 2008 took Australian investigators by surprise. The second, on Dec. 7, has intensified concerns about potential risks lurking in cockpit automation designed to enhance air safety. Both events involved Qantas Airbus A330-300s flying the same Perth-Singapore route—and both are under investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB).
In an annual fuel forecast, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation predicts the combination of reduced production by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the “halo” of confidence that will flow from the new Obama administration in the U.S. will push aviation fuel prices up to beyond $60 per barrel in the short term. However, unless there is substantial economic improvement, particularly with an easing of debt limits, CAPA says a weak outlook will prompt oil prices to drop by mid-2009 to $40 per barrel.
NTSB last week began reading data from the combination voice/flight data recorder recovered from the Sikorsky-76C++ PHI Inc. helicopter that crashed Jan. 4 in Louisiana swampland. The helicopter took off from Amelia, La., under visual meteorological conditions carrying workers to an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Seven minutes after departure, PHI lost satellite tracking of the aircraft. The crew had not reported any problems with the aircraft before it crashed near Morgan City, La., about 50 mi. from New Orleans, killing eight of the nine people on board.
Lufthansa has bundled its international maintenance businesses as Lufthansa Technik Maintenance International, working from a headquarters in Frankfurt at the former Condor/Cargo Technik facility. The new organization will support airline fleets and perform line maintenance operations.
AgustaWestland has sold another two AW139 medium-duty helicopters to Cyprus, for law enforcement and search-and-rescue operations. Cyprus’s Defense Ministry bought three AW139s last month.
Betting on aviation that serves this gambling mecca near Hong Kong might seem like a “sure thing,” based on the fact that Macau grossed $10 billion-plus last year—more than Las Vegas and the rest of Nevada combined.
Back on Capitol Hill after his presidential election defeat, Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz) has introduced a bill to lift the perimeter rule at Washington’s Reagan National and New York’s LaGuardia airports. The measure, co-sponsored by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), would lift the rule that bars nonstop flights from DCA to any airport more than 1,250 mi. away. Such flights are barred by federal law, although in 2000, Congress allowed the FAA to authorize six nonstops outside the perimeter, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Jan. 19–22—Worldwide Business Research’s Fifth Annual European Geospatial Intelligence Conference. Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center, London. Call +44 (207) 368-9499 or see www.wbresearch.com/dgieurope/ Jan. 20–21—ASD Events’ Military Aerospace Test & Evaluation. Grosvenor Hotel, London. Call +31 (20) 486-7590, fax +31 (20) 486-0216 or see www.asdevents.com/event.asp?ID=307
A new report by the National Research Council of the National Academies urges President-elect Barack Obama to streamline the process for exporting high technology and admitting foreign scientists into the U.S. because it is not protecting national security or the industrial base. The controls were created to safeguard the U.S.’s scientific and technology dominance during the Cold War, says a blue-ribbon panel. But “the systems of export controls and visa applications for the U.S. are broken,” says former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, the committee’s co-chair.
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems and Space Technology units were combined to form the Aerospace Systems sector. The company’s Information Technology and Mission systems units also were merged to form an Information Systems sector as part of a reorganization that slims the company to five units from seven.
Arianespace says it finished with 13 launch contracts in 2008, including a multi-launch award for one spacecraft plus four options from Intelsat announced on Dec. 30. The Intelsat order, similar to a five-satellite deal placed in November by Intelsat with Sea Launch, will cover spacecraft from 3-6.1 metric tons over the period 2011-15. Arianespace notes that only 18 launch contracts were signed industry-wide last year, compared with 25 in 2007, showing the effect of the global financial crisis.
Korea Aerospace Industries can expect to build a combat version of its T-50 supersonic trainer until at least 2016, following the government’s issue of a development contract for the FA-50 attack variant. The government has chosen to fit the FA-50 with the EL/M-2032 radar from the Elta division of Israel Aerospace Industries. In 2007, the U.S.—exercising its right to prevent the aircraft from becoming a competitor to the Lockheed Martin F-16—blocked the first choice, the British-built Vixen 500E radar from Italy’s Selex Galileo.
MILITARY Mark T. Bottenfield, U.S. Air Force Materiel Command (Wright-Patterson AFB), has provided leadership in the use of unmanned aircraft systems in the global war on terrorism, including: •Assembling and leading a team that successfully integrated the Joint Direct Attack Munition with the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle system to produce a fully functioning weapon a year earlier than scheduled.
Safran’s Turbomeca unit has signed a deal with the Turkish ministry of defense to set up a repair and overhaul center for Maikila 1A1 turboshafts. The award, for turboshafts mounted on 50 Cougar helicopters acquired in the 1990s, covers repairs up to Level 4. The center will be located at the Eskisehir plant of Tusas Engine Industries, where all government repair work is concentrated.
An Islamic civil rights group wants a Transportation Dept. investigation and a member of Congress is calling for hearings regarding nine Muslims—eight of them U.S. citizens—who were booted from an AirTran flight at Reagan National Airport because a passenger overheard some of them talking about the safest place to sit on an aircraft. Law enforcement officials cleared the nine for a later flight, but Del.
India’s Defense Avionics Research Establishment, under the umbrella of the Defense Research and Development Organization, has completed the full avionics upgrade of a MiG-27. The project was initiated in 2002 through an memorandum of understanding between DARE, Hindustan Aeronautics and the Indian air force. India’s two squadrons of MiG-27s (comprising 20 aircraft each) will have the software uploaded within a few weeks.
The Oneworld alliance is facing a crucial hurdle this year that is likely to determine its long-term prospects, as the U.S. Transportation Dept. considers the third antitrust immunity application from British Airways and American Airlines. The two carriers are lobbying hard for their joint venture, but the U.S. regulatory process is presenting new complications.
Paris airport authority ADP is reportedly considering raising fees for domestic flights by 25% and charges by 27% for long-haul routes outside the Schengen group of European countries (that agreed to end border controls). According to Paris daily Les Echos, the rate hike—which contrasts with an average increase of 5.5%—is partially motivated by an order from the European Commission’s competition directorate last year ordering French airports to bring domestic fees in line with those at other European facilities.
Jan. 20-22—MRO Middle East Conference & Exhibitions. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mar. 3—Aviation Week Laureate Awards Dinner. Andrew Mellon Auditorium, Washington. Mar. 11-12—Defense Technology & Requirements. Washington. Apr. 21-23—Aviation Week MRO and MRO Military Conferences. Dallas. Oct. 1—Green Europe. Hamburg, Germany. Dec. 8-10—MRO Asia. Hong Kong.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced additional funding to support apprenticeships, during a visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby on Jan. 7. The engine company will take on a further 50 apprentices in addition to the 170 already planned for 2009. Another £140 million ($213 million) is being made available to support apprenticeships, with the goal of adding 35,000 industrial jobs.
DGA has contracted with EADS Defense & Security to supply a high-speed Internet communications system for French naval surface ships, aircraft and submarines. The €240-million award covers development and deployment of the Internet protocol network, modernization and digitalization of V/UHF assets and a five-year support package. The so-called Rifan 2 initiative will see the system installed on 116 vessels and 64 aircraft, including Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft, Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft and NH90 frigate helicopters.
Meanwhile, Microturbo, another Safran affiliate, ran its new e-APU small auxiliary power unit, aimed at the business aircraft and helicopter market, on the bench for the first time. The core engine, equipped with a two-stage axial turbine and high-pressure cycle and designed to deliver 15-90 kw., reached nominal speed on Dec. 31. Ground and flight tests will continue throughout 2009 to evaluate performance, including 51,000-ft. ceiling and 41,000-ft. start altitude.
A burgeoning caseload of export-control violations provides strong evidence of a heightened U.S. government campaign against illegal leakage of high technology and services. Officials of the enforcement team say more charges are forthcoming.
Long the global satellite leader, Boeing Satellite Systems International has suffered a string of recent disappointments in its bread-and-butter U.S. government satellite market and has seen its commercial business fade. European Editor Michael A. Taverna asks BSS President Stephen O’Neill how the company plans to regain its footing.
