In the coming years, the Iraqi air force (IQAF) plans to add C-130Js to its transport fleet. It’s also considering a smaller, tactical transport. While a type decision hasn’t been made, U.S. military officials working with the Iraqis say the C-27J is a candidate, although other, similarly sized transports haven’t been ruled out. What the exact system requirements should be is now being discussed. The tactical transport purchase would come along with plans to buy 10 C-130Js, which are to be fielded around 2012.
Edward Petkus, who has been vice president-new product development for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp. , Wichita, Kan., also will be acting vice president-engineering. He will succeed Randy Nelson, who will be retiring Dec. 1 as senior vice president-product development and engineering.
Airbus has completed the initial flight test phase of a Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan fitted as one engine on a four-engine A340 testbed. The first phase, which ended Oct. 31, involved nine flights and 27 flight-test hours and no major issues were identified. Modifications are now taking place to begin the acoustic test campaign, which will take place in Moron, Spain. Final results of data analysis now underway are not expected until 2009.
Machiavelli’s advice on mercenaries should be chiseled above the entrance to every graduate business school. It is: Mercenaries are a bad idea. If they are ineffectual, they will lose your country for you. If they are competent, they will take it away from you. Don’t use mercenaries. MBA grads don’t think of anything but the next quarter’s profit that determines their bonuses. And so they outsource, and give away the intangible heart of American industry: its institutional knowledge and creations, its advantages, its future (AW&ST Oct. 27, p. 10; Oct. 20, p. 43).
A drop of more than 50% in oil prices since last July has transformed assessments of the U.S. airline industry from bleak to bright. Analysts are now projecting domestic carriers will rake in billions of dollars of profit next year. Michael Derchin of FTN Midwest Securities went so far as to predict last week that the industry will return to profitability this quarter.
The shuttle Endeavour is set for liftoff this week with launch safety enhancements and a regenerative life-support system payload important for the space station and future missions to the Moon and Mars. The STS-126 launch from Pad 39A is scheduled for Nov. 14 at 7:55 p.m. in the middle of a 10-min. rendezvous window to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission marks the 27th flight of the shuttle to the ISS and occurs almost exactly 10 years since the first shuttle ISS assembly flight.
Diana Clasen (see photos) has been promoted to manager of corporate communications from product marketing manager at the Wichita (Kan.) Cessna Learning Center of FlightSafety International . Scott Galdi has become marketing manager for Part 135 customers.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is developing a reusable spacecraft called DragonLab, which will accommodate pressurized or unpressurized payloads and is designed to be boosted by the company’s upcoming Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft can provide a platform for in-orbit experiments, according to SpaceX, and will allow for payload recovery. Meanwhile, development continues on Dragon, the spacecraft co-funded by NASA that SpaceX is building to supply the International Space Station.
Paul Bourgon and Joseph M. Silvestri have been appointed to the board of directors of the Triumph Group , Wayne, Pa. Bourgon is president of the Aeroengine Div. of SKF USA and has been executive at Rolls-Royce Canada and Heroux-Devtek Inc., while Silvestri is managing partner of Court Square Capital.
Any U.S. Air Force move to buy only MQ-9 Reapers could impact a brewing battle to provide a new ground control station for Predator-family unmanned aircraft. Raytheon is pushing to oust platform prime General Atomics Aeronautical Systems as ground-station provider, and is awaiting an Air Force response to its unsolicited proposal for an open-architecture common ground control system (CGCS), initially for the MQ-1B Predator.
Last week’s Air Traffic Control Assn. conference in Washington drew more than 1,100 ATC and aviation experts trying to sniff the winds of change in tough economic times. On the day before Barack Obama became the president-elect, Civil Air Navigation Services Organization Secretary General Alexander ter Kuile said the next administration has an opportunity to move air traffic management (ATM) to a new level of performance.
China will build a small turbofan to propel itself into the business of integrating and manufacturing complete civil aeroengines, probably the hardest part of the commercial aircraft sector to break into. The 7,100-8,800-lb.-thrust powerplant is aimed at a small business jet proposed by another newly formed subsidiary of Chinese aerospace conglomerate Aviation Industry Corp. of China (Avic). It could also be used for a small airliner.
EADS is cutting back output rates for the A400M airlifter to bring production in line with the development schedule, which is running more than a year behind the original timetable. Officials at EADS’s Airbus Military Aircraft unit say the slowdown is not linked to discussions underway to waive penalties for late delivery in return for agreement on a revised delivery timetable (AW&ST Nov. 3, p. 47).
Tim Jors (see photo) has become Standard Power business unit leader for Crane Aerospace & Electronics , Redmond, Wash. He was vice president-supply chain for the Electronics Group.
Boeing is exploring adding a millimeter-wave radar seeker onto its Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) family of weapons, says Dan Jaspering, who oversees direct attack weapons for the company. The new seeker would add an all-weather capability to the JDAM and could be useful against maritime targets. Specifically, Jaspering says a radar JDAM could counter the “swarming boat problem.” Already, the company has met with success by funding the addition of a laser head to the weapon, and the Air Force and Navy are each buying 400 units of the laser JDAM.
USAF Maj. Gen. Gary T. McCoy has been appointed commander of the Air Force Global Logistics Center, Scott AFB, Ill. He has been director of logistics readiness/deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. McCoy will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Robert H. McMahon, who has been director of maintenance/deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support at USAF Headquarters. Maj. Gen. James P.
China Great Wall Industry Corp. has concluded a contract to build and launch PakSat-1R, a C-/Ku-band satellite intended for Pakistan. The 30-transponder spacecraft will be built by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. using China’s new-generation DFH-4 bus. PakSat-1R is the third Chinese telecom satellite to be supplied for an export customer under a China Great Wall in-orbit delivery contract, after Nigcomsat-1, orbited in May 2007.
As a frequent business traveler, deregulation has been a mixed blessing (AW&ST Oct. 27, p. 48). The flying experience has deteriorated but with lower prices, I am not sure the trade-off has been worth it. The calls for re-regulation will be heard seriously when travelers are stranded for days because of a weather event this winter. There is no capacity for travelers if a few flights are canceled, particularly at non-hub destinations.
Order cancellations for Airbus in October far outpaced new commitments, reducing the order intake for the first 10 months of the year to 675 aircraft from 737 the month prior. The biggest hit came on the A319 line. The entire net reduction of 62 aircraft is associated with the bankruptcy of Columbus, Ohio-based Skybus, which leaves the product line with a 28-unit negative order balance for the year so far. The A318 suffered a further drop of six aircraft; for the year, the total is a negative 13 units.
Another congressional report is questioning NASA’s ability to develop its follow-on Ares/Orion human spaceflight systems on time and on budget, given the agency’s recent history and fiscal woes. Under its Constellation program, NASA is planning initial operating capability (IOC) for the Ares I rocket and Orion spacecraft in March 2015, and has a 65% confidence level of making that target. But the five-year gap in human spaceflight capability between the space shuttle’s planned 2010 retirement and the Ares/Orion IOC could grow, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warns.
Looking ahead to onboard sensors and directed-energy weapons that will consume far more power and generate ever more heat, the U.S. Air Force has launched a program to develop hybrid electric systems technology for “energy-optimized” aircraft. Goals of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Integrated Vehicle Energy Technology (Invent) program include extending range and endurance 10-15%, increasing power and thermal capacity by 10-30%, overcoming cooling challenges in low-observable platforms, and reducing life-cycle costs.
State trading company Catic has ordered 20 Y-12F utility aircraft from Avicopter, the new Avic unit that now owns Harbin Aircraft. The Y-12F, a modern 19-seat design unrelated to earlier Y-12s, has not yet flown. The manufacturer plans to seek FAA certification, and Catic is aiming at selling the aircraft in Western markets.
The criminalization of aviation accidents continues. Cyprus plans to prosecute five people associated with the August 2005 crash of a Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 in Greece, according to Attorney General Petros Clerides, who announced the move Nov. 4. The five were not identified. According to the Greek accident investigation report, the flight crew and passengers were disabled by hypoxia, brought about by pressurization problems linked to disabled switches in the environment control system.
Nav Canada is deploying a Multistatic Dependent Surveillance (MDS) multilateration system from Sensis Corp. for surface surveillance at Montreal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. Multilateration complements radar to provide a more complete picture of aircraft moving on the airport surface. In addition, Sensis VeeLo NextGen vehicle locators will be used for tracking airport vehicles in the maneuvering area. Nav Canada President John Crichton says MDS will help airlines reduce delays and airline fuel costs while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
While reading your articles touting the airline deregulation, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The people that I know in my demographic group, senior citizens, do just about everything they can to avoid air travel. The unpleasant airport experience, the distinct possibility of being stranded as the result of missed connections and the near torture that accompanies coach seating—particularly in the 737—combine to make air travel a decidedly poor experience for older folks. Seniors represent the fastest-growing segment of the population.
