To reduce risk during ramp-up, Sukhoi and Alenia Aeronautica are reining in production plans for the Superjet 100 regional jet. Since Boeing, Airbus and others struggled during the early production period, managers of the Sukhoi-led program are now targeting a 70-aircraft annual rate for 2013 instead of 2011. The approach comes at a cost: With Bombardier and Mitsubishi launching new RJ products, Sukhoi is opting to sacrifice part of its first-to-market window.
Airbus is close to an agreement with Avic’s Harbin Aircraft to set up a joint composite-components plant in China, in an early test of the European company’s policy of avoiding cooperation that promotes Chinese industry as a future competitor.
Under an FAA airworthiness directive issued Nov. 25, Boeing 757 operators will be required to inspect aircraft fuel tanks. Required actions include sealing fasteners on the front and rear spars inside the main fuel tank and ensuring that Teflon sleeving covers wire bundles in equipment cooling system bays. The aim of the directive is to prevent improperly sealed fasteners from becoming a source of ignition in the event of a fault current.
On a recent Southwest Airlines flight to Phoenix, I was surprised when Ed Wheeler, the president of Honeywell International Inc.’s Defense & Space unit, squeezed into a middle seat next to me, near the back of the all-coach cabin. As he munched on his free peanuts, Wheeler told me that he and his program managers are doing a lot of flying in coach these days, given the dismal state of the economy. That encounter came to mind a few days later as I watched members of Congress dress down the leaders of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co.
Eurocopter has delivered the first helicopter produced at its Albacete plant in Spain. The EC135 light twin was handed over to the Spanish defense ministry on Nov. 26 for use by the army’s disaster response unit. One of two assembly lines for the EC135—the other is at Eurocopter Germany in Donauworth—Eurocopter Spain plans to deliver more than 12 EC135s in 2009. The Albacete plant also manufactures rear fuselages for the Tiger and forward fuselages for the NH90.
Ondas Media CEO Dave Krueger says a financing package with strategic investors should be in place by year-end to allow the Spanish startup to fund construction and launch of its planned digital audio radio service (DARS) system and to build out an accompanying terrestrial network. Ondas recently concluded an agreement with BMW Group to install radio receivers in its European vehicles, starting in 2012, after earlier nailing down pacts to install receivers on Nissan and Infiniti automobiles.
The British government’s pre-budget report spells the end of a plan to replace Air Passenger Duty (APD) with a per-plane tax. Instead, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced last week that APD is to be increased, much to the consternation of many in the commercial airline sector. Andy Harrison, EasyJet’s chief executive, said: “I am dismayed that the chancellor has failed to carry through his commitment to reform a bad tax.
Chinese airports will benefit from a government spending spree aimed at boosting the economy. Capital Airports Holding Co., a state firm that is one of the country’s main airport operators, says the government will pay it 1 billion yuan ($146 million) by year-end to fund airport upgrades. The company’s parent, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, will receive 4 billion yuan of money that the government is spending to promote economic demand.
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (Canso), composed of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) from around the world, has created two new air traffic management safety standards for its members: for safety management systems (SMS) and for safety metrics. “For the first time our members, who control 80% of world air traffic movements, will be able to measure their performance in the crucial areas of runway incursions and loss of separation.
Australian Aerospace, MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce (MTR) and Turbomeca Australasia have completed a through-life support agreement for the Australian Army’s fleet of Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters. MTR will provide technical, logistics and supply support for the fleet’s MTR390-2C turboshaft engines, while repairs will be handled in-country by Turbomeca Austalasia.
Douglas Barrie (London), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
Russia’s Phazotron is using stealth modifications for both conventional and phased array radar designs to try to reduce the overall radar cross section (RCS) of fighter aircraft. Cladding areas of the antenna structure and mechanical array in radar-absorbent material (RAM) is one technique being employed. An image of a version of Phazotron’s Zhuk radar appeared in a company publication.
Qantas will cut capacity by 4% for the first half of next year, while lowering its profit outlook. Qantas is feeling weak demand mostly on international services, says outgoing Chief Executive Geoff Dixon. The carrier has dropped a plan to lease two A330-200s. Flight schedule changes will be the equivalent of grounding 10 aircraft.
Canada has commissioned MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates to begin preliminary design of a radar satellite constellation to ensure continuity of C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging capability and maintain Canada’s sovereignty over its far-flung northern reaches. MDA previously undertook a $7-million concept study for the constellation under a $200-million funding envelope established in 2005. The network will be based on small 1,300-kg. (2,860-lb.) satellites that would be barely half the mass of the existing Radarsat 2, orbited in December 2007.
A commercial service that will use GPS to keep track of skiers at Colorado’s Steamboat and Copper Mountain resorts is the first tenant in a new aerospace business incubator. The 8th Continent Aerospace Business Incubator is using funds from the State of Colorado, the Colorado School of Mines and other sources to help startup companies find what they need to begin turning a profit.
The U.S. Air Force is asking industry to explore options for quick delivery of a space-based missile warning system, a move that is likely connected to reports that the service’s newest ballistic missile warning satellite is failing in orbit. A broad sources-sought notice was issued Nov. 24, and a more specific and classified request for information is expected Dec. 1. This flurry of activity is probably a response to concerns of a space-based missile warning gap, according to industry officials.
EADS has adopted the Dassault Systemes/IBM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system for its Phenix program, which is intended to harmonize design, production and support software in its aerospace and defense activities. PLM, which was chosen by Boeing to help manage its 787 program, includes Catia computer-aided 3D design, Delma virtual production and Enovia VPM collaborative software tools. The lack of uniform production and design software was identified as a cause of wiring errors that led to a two-year delay in the Airbus A380 program.
The U.K. Defense Ministry has submitted a £3.7-billion ($5.7-billion) request to the Treasury to cover costs of operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans for fiscal 2008-09. The funding will be provided in addition to the basic defense budget and will be considerably higher than in the previous year.
Richard A. Leach, who is president/CEO of Trans States Holdings, has been elected chairman of the Washington-based Regional Airline Assn. for the 2008-09 term. Other officers elected are: vice chairman, Russell (Chip) Childs from SkyWest; treasurer, James Rankin of Air Wisconsin; and secretary, Daniel Wolf of Cape Air. New members of the board of directors are: Jim Ream of ExpressJet, Joe Randell of Air Canada Jazz, Peter Bowler of American Eagle, Doug Voss of Great Lakes and Steve Farrow of Piedmont.
With Defense Secretary Robert Gates looking at a job extension of at least a year into the Obama administration, his opinions on the future of controversial programs may carry more weight than they did a couple of weeks ago. His minions, including acquisition chief John Young, have pushed cutting F-22 and accelerating F-35 (see pp. 30-31). Young says he advocates cutting programs in preference to slipping their schedules. “You have to pay your personnel . . . and for your operations and maintenance,” he says.
A report to the director of the National Intelligence Agency looking out to 2025 forecasts a global power shift from the West to the East, with energy and economic issues among key drivers of world events. Shrinking economic and military capabilities will force the U.S. to make tradeoffs between domestic and foreign policy priorities, states the report by the National Intelligence Council, the intelligence community’s strategic think tank.
Cirrus Design Corp. on Nov. 25 temporarily furloughed 500 of 1,100 employees at its Duluth, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D., facilities, as it ramps down to zero aircraft production in December to rationalize inventory levels. The layoffs are short-term, as all employees are expected to be able to return to work Jan. 5. The company will continue to pay medical and other benefits in the interim period. Cirrus expects to start ramping up to a “more normal” production rate—about 12 aircraft per week—in January.
Boeing and the Pentagon’s program executive office for the Joint Tactical Radio System have demonstrated that software-defined ground mobile radios can operate with one another in a tactical situation. A month-long demonstration at the Electronic Proving Grounds at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., involved a vehicle-mounted, 12-node, secure, self-healing multi-channel network that was part of a system integration test scheduled late in 2009. The team verified that 80% of the final design of the network manager’s waveform is complete.
The big move to a-la-carte pricing among U.S. airlines will face critical tests this winter and in 2009, amid several new surveys that show U.S. consumers are conflicted about their willingness to accept a fare-plus-fees model that has them paying for previously free services such as phone reservations, meals, snacks and all checked bags. The first test will come with the aftermath of fall and winter holiday travel.
Despite their complaints about Pentagon acquisition, there are programs that Gates and Young like: C-17, C-130J, C-5, EA-18G, P-8 and small-diameter bomb. And Young expects fewer flawed programs and protests in the future. He plans to overcome a “chilling of communications with industry . . . and do so within the laws and regulations.” As to programs being derailed by protests, Young contends some “are invalid . . . excessive on the part of industry.”
