Goodrich has been selected by Cessna Aircraft Co. to supply the landing gear system for the Citation Columbus business jet. Goodrich will provide the main and nose gear, wheels, carbon brakes and electronic control and steering equipment. Goodrich is slated to provide hardware for landing gear testing by mid-2009.
It’s not uncommon for large aerospace and defense companies to spend several million dollars on an international air show. There’s an army of staff, the requisite air-conditioned “chalet” of offices, aircraft exhibits and marketing booths, not to mention pricey tabs for catering, hotels, transportation and communications.
Qantas’s outgoing chief executive, Geoff Dixon, thinks his airline—the 10th largest in the world—will merge with another major carrier “sooner rather than later.” A merger with or takeover by a foreign carrier would present the usual nationalist problems for Qantas, which was Australia’s flag carrier in the days when each country had a monopoly international airline. Although Australia is open to foreign competition in its airline sector, selling what has been referred to as the “Flying Kangaroo” would be a sensitive issue.
The defense of South Korea is evolving following an agreement to pull U.S. troops 50 mi. away from the demilitarized zone. This is an advantage for U.S. military officials because of the additional warning time in case of an attack. But the change also means that more reliance will be placed on airborne and space intelligence-gathering to ensure adequate knowledge of what’s going on to the north. The U.S. Air Force’s small U-2S force is expected to be bolstered soon with Global Hawk, Predator and Reaper unmanned surveillance aircraft.
Sikorsky is on track to demonstrate the X2 Technology’s 250-kt. maximum speed late in the third quarter of 2009 after flying the coaxial-rotor helicopter prototype for the first time Aug. 27 at its rapid-prototyping facility at Horseheads, N.Y. Handling of the sidestick-controlled fly-by-wire helicopter was as predicted by simulation, says chief test pilot Kevin Bredenbeck, and both noise and vibration were lower than for Sikorsky’s previous coaxial-rotor high-speed helicopter, the 1970s’ XH-59.
Robert F. Mehmel has been named president/chief operating officer of DRS Technologies Inc. , Parsippany, N.J. He was executive vice president/chief operating officer and succeeds Mark S. Newman, who will remain as chairman/CEO.
Time is running out for two export licensing reform treaties languishing in Congress. The pacts with the U.K. and Australia face a tight schedule in the Senate, which has yet to pass any appropriations bills for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Complicating matters: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s choice of Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden (D-Del.) as his running mate could slow the treaties even more since they must first clear Biden’s committee. Still, advocates remain confident.
Sept. 8-10—International Quality and Productivity Center Conference: “Cockpit System Innovative Modules and Integration Challenges.” Le Meridien Park Hotel, Frankfurt. Call +49 (30) 2091- 3330 or see www.iqpc.com Sept. 10-11—Technology Training Corp.’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Conference. Holiday Inn, Arlington, Va. Also, Sept. 29-30—Airborne Networks Conference. Holiday Inn, Alexandria, Va. And, Oct. 1-2—Unmanned Aircraft Systems Conference. Sheraton Hotel & Marina, San Diego. Call +1 (310) 563-1223, fax +1 (310) 563-1220 or see www.ttcus.com
This year marks the 50th anniversary of a federal agency that has had an undeniably profound impact on modern U.S. society. The FAA helped usher in the commercial jet era, and played a key role in turning aviation into one of the world’s essential industries. What was then known as the Federal Aviation Agency was established by Congress in 1958, in the same year that Pan American World Airways launched the first U.S. scheduled jet service between New York and Paris. This was also the first year that more people crossed the Atlantic by air than by sea.
Incheon City has suspended plans to apply for an application for a government license to operate a local Tiger Airways franchisee after four South Korean airlines objected to the 49% Singaporean ownership of the proposed budget carrier. Tiger group holding company Tiger Aviation says it still expects the South Korean affiliate to begin operations within a year. Airlines in the Philippines and Vietnam have similarly tried to prevent Tiger and Malaysian rival AirAsia from starting up local competitors.
Qinetiq, a British defense technology company, is developing an upgraded version of its Zephyr high-altitude, long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle. The aircraft, which features a new airfoil section and slightly different wing planform, is designed to remain airborne for up to three months. First flight is tentatively scheduled for 2009. Chris Kelleher, technical director of the Zephyr program, says the UAV will reach its maximum performance in the next 12-24 months.
I applaud reader Ted Hayduk (AW&ST Aug. 18/25, p. 12) on his USAF Tanker gapfiller approach (offering C-17 and 777 options). But, the Pentagon has allowed only 45 days to submit revisions once the final RFP is released.
Ill-advised optimism on the part of military and intelligence space management officials has led them into a series of misguided competitive procurements. One lesson from a decade of procurement foul-ups is prompting at least one senior intel official to consider sole-sourcing more work to mainstay contractors that have a niche-capability advantage in the marketplace.
Rigorous trajectory requirements for a pair of NASA aeronautics experiments probably contributed to a loss of control that forced range-safety destruction of their Alliant Techsystems ALV-X1 launcher last week. Kent Rominger, vice president of advanced programs at ATK, says the “very unique and demanding” trajectory imposed by the Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition (HyBolt) experiment and the Sub-Orbital Aerodynamic Re-entry Experiment (Soarex) may have overtaxed vehicle control systems on the experimental vehicle.
Mike Turner stepped down as CEO of BAE Systems at the end of last week, after what can at least be described as an eventful six years in the job. Turner is replaced by Ian King, the company’s former chief operating officer. Turner had a robust relationship with the British Defense Ministry—he inherited a number of problematic programs which needed to be sorted out with the ministry. He also steered BAE Systems growth in the U.S., and latterly saw the company help secure an initial 72-aircraft order for the Eurofighter Typhoon from Saudi Arabia.
John McCain and Barack Obama pounced on last week’s extensive airport delays, stemming from problems at an FAA flight plan processing facility. The Republican and Democratic candidates issued separate calls for an overhaul of the U.S. air traffic control system. The communications failure at FAA’s flight plan processing facility in Georgia—combined with weather problems—caused delays of up to 90 min. at airports across the country. An FAA facility in Salt Lake City picked up the slack, but the increased volume led to a flight plan processing back-up.
Aer Lingus projects a full-year operating loss, given second half performance is at best expected to reach break-even. But perhaps more importantly, CEO Dermot Mannion says, “We are signaling very difficult conditions for 2009,” which mean a “significant operating loss” in that period. Meanwhile, Aer Lingus in November expects its code-share agreement with United Airlines to take effect, while it will expand its partnership with JetBlue from New York to Boston starting Sept. 8.
Planned flight testing of a British hypersonic ramjet design is being called off by the U.K. Defense Ministry, amid a broader recasting of its long-term deep strike aspirations. The ministry had been planning two test launches of its Sustained Hypersonic Flight Experiment (Shyfe): the first in August 2009, with a second to follow in 2010. The aim of the program was to “design and fly a prototype ramjet capable of (maintaining) hypersonic flight.”
International Launch Services is preparing to launch Canada’s Nimiq 4 commercial communications satellite, following the return to flight of ILS’s Proton Breeze M on Aug. 19 with the Inmarsat-4 F3 on board (see page 26). Nimiq 4, built for Telesat by EADS Astrium, is set for launch in September. Launch of this 40-channel Ku/Ka-band satellite would mark a rapid return to normal operations for ILS after an anomaly on Mar. 15 left SES Americom’s AMC-14 spacecraft stranded in the wrong orbit (AW&ST July 7, p. 31).
With luck and skillful diplomacy, the U.S. and its NATO allies will work their way through the crisis that began with Russia’s invasion of Georgia, which had made no secret of its desire to join NATO. Meanwhile, in the U.S., gasoline prices and two presidential candidates in a dead heat almost certainly will be the primary focus for most people in coming months, blithely ignorant of or largely indifferent to the larger implications of what recently happened in the tiny former Soviet republic.
The U.K. Competition Commission’s call for a breakup of BAA’s monopolistic control of major London-area airports has shifted the debate to what the British government needs to do to ease problems within the highly-regulated sector.
Your report “A&D Workforce in Depth” (AW&ST Aug. 18/25, p. 72) struck home on many fronts, particularly regarding attempts to rejuvenate the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce of the future. But you missed one extremely successful endeavor to gain the interest and participation of our youth. FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) is a robotics competition that was founded on the vision of Dean Kamen.
Spain’s CIAIAC accident investigation bureau has released additional details surrounding the Aug. 20 crash of Spanair Flight 5022 shortly after takeoff from Madrid-Barajas airport. At an Aug. 26 press conference, CIAIAC Secretary Francisco Javier Soto noted that the MD-82 (EC-HFP) bounced three times, hit its tail on the first strike with the ground and traversed 1,200 meters (3,900 ft.) of rough terrain before stopping near a stream. The crash and resulting fire killed 154 of the 172 people on board and destroyed the aircraft.
Celebrating the first anniversary of its return to San Francisco International Airport, Southwest Airlines says it jumped from 18 daily nonstops serving three cities to 37 going to five cities in the first quarter. After serving SFO for 19 years, Southwest left the airport in 2001. The move back brought it an 11% market share and a ranking as SFO’s third-largest carrier. Across San Francisco Bay at Oakland International, Southwest is the largest carrier with a 66.5% market share, using first-quarter returns.
