Flight Deck Resources Inc. of Irvine, Calif., has a novel electronic flight bag (EFB) system in development that will be able to serve as either a Class 1 or Class 2 system. Class 1 systems are like portable laptops that pilots can use on the ground for flight planning, but not in flight. More capable Class 2 systems can be installed in the cockpit in a holder and used in flight. “We took a ‘tablet personal computer’ and converted it into avionics grade equipment (for use in flight),” says sales director Chris Papero.
A new analysis finds that a quarter or more of the commercial aircraft backlog at Boeing Co. and Airbus could be at risk as high oil prices continue to batter airlines. The two aircraft builders have taken comfort that the hardest-hit segment of the industry—U.S. airlines—accounts for just 12% of their backlogs. But Robert Stallard, a director at Macquarie Capital, warns that orders from undercapitalized startups in Asia and Europe and carriers with overly aggressive growth plans also are at risk.
Airbus Military Aircraft will roll out the first A400M airlifter on June 26. Airbus still hopes to fly the airlifter by September, although it admits the deadline “is getting increasingly tight.” Engineers want the aircraft’s TP400 turboprop to accumulate 50 hr. on a C-130 Hercules testbed before the first flight. The engine began a 30-hr. ground test campaign earlier this month (AW&ST June 16, p. 20).
Tom Captain (see photo) has been appointed vice chairman/global and U.S. leader of Deloitte Consulting ’s Aerospace and Defense Group. He has been a principal in the firm, and succeeds Jim Schwendinger, who is retiring.
Amy Butler (Washington), Robert Wall (Paris), Michael Mecham (San Francisco)
The likelihood of a new competition for the U.S. Air Force’s $35-billion refueler deal casts doubt about the Pentagon’s ability to fairly conduct competition and is thwarting Airbus’s plans to secure a stateside manufacturing foothold. Airbus parent EADS has now halted its push to build an assembly line in the U.S. (see p. 36). In the meantime, the Pentagon’s credibility is suffering a crippling blow after a salvo of criticism from government auditors.
The second phase of 4D trajectory arrival demonstrations is starting at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport—this time under funding from Eurocontrol’s CTA ATM System Integration Studies (Cassis) project. The first phase involved showing how SAS 737s could data link 4D trajectories (the three spatial dimensions, plus time) from the flight deck to air traffic controllers who could then sequence arrivals (AW&ST Apr. 28, p. 52). Each aircraft was given a required time of arrival (RTA) over the threshold and, on average, was able to meet this time within ±7 sec.
Bombardier Aerospace and LuxairGroup have signed a five-year agreement for the Canadian manufacturer’s Smart Services component repair and exchange program. The contract covers nearly 250 components for Luxembourg Airlines’ fleet of Q400s, which will be serviced at Bombardier’s parts distribution center in Frankfurt.
Raul Fernandez has been named to the board of directors of Valley Forge Composite Technologies Inc. , Covington, Ky. He was director of information technology operations and enterprise service management at Iron Mountain Information Management.
JoAnna Williams (see photo) has become Burbank, Calif.-based vice president-human resources for the Aerospace Group of Crane Aerospace & Electronics . She was director of human resources for the Atrium Companies Inc.
Japan Airlines cockpit crews represented by the Japan Pilots Union struck JAL domestic flights last week for a variety of reasons, including summer bonuses. Japan Air Commuter’s union also held a one-day strike affecting about 90 of 158 domestic flights originating from the southern island of Kyushu.
Michael J. Robinson has been named director of business development for network access communications products for the Emrise Corp. , Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. He was vice president/general manager of Coastcom Inc., Alameda, Calif.
Susan Parson, who is special assistant to the FAA’s General Aviation and Commercial Div., has won the Excellence In Pilot Training Award from the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. (NATA). She was cited for managing the initial writing or rewriting of several flight training reference books published by the FAA, including The TAA Flying Handbook, Aviation Instructor’s Handbook and Instrument Flying Handbook.
Andrew Cheng (see photo) has been appointed chief scientist for the Space Dept. of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , Laurel, Md. He recently completed a yearlong assignment at NASA Headquarters in Washington as deputy chief scientist for Space Science in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. At APL, Cheng has been assistant supervisor for the Science and Analysis Branch and supervisor of the Planetary Exploration Group.
A couple making numerous trips from their home in Joplin, Mo., to Las Vegas has taken delivery of the first Hawker 4000 mid-size business jet at Hawker Beechcraft’s Wichita, Kan., factory. Hawker holds 130 orders for the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308A-powered jet.
The “free market” did not create today’s airline industry, nor the railroads nor America’s transportation infrastructure. It was the U.S. government. Mail service contracts spawned the airline industry, and government-planned and financed airways systems and airports sustain it today. America’s railroads were created by massive government land grants and subsidies that provided rights of way and profitable land sales. Our government-sponsored interstate highway system makes it possible to traverse our nation safely and efficiently.
Three national laboratories are testing how well commercial airframes can survive a terrorist bombing—research that U.S. officials say could someday change what airport screeners look for and how they look for it. Preliminary test results are not expected from the labs, Lawrence Livermore in California and Sandia and Los Alamos in New Mexico, until the fall, but officials at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which commissioned the studies, say the findings could have long-range effects on security—and even on aircraft design.
A new Gallup poll commissioned by the Coalition for Space Exploration shows that more than 52% of those surveyed would support an increase in space exploration funding. NASA’s funding is less than 1% of the federal budget. Furthermore, 68% agreed that the benefits of the human exploration of space outweigh the risks.
Caution needs to be exercised in the demands to impose a “single level of safety” on air cargo versus passenger operations, as discussed in “Closing the Safety Gap” (AW&ST June 2, p. 39).
Daily service to San Francisco from Mumbai, India, has been launched by Jet Airways using new Boeing 777-300ERs. Flights will make a 2-hr. stop at Shanghai. The service will be the airline’s fourth daily departure to North America in addition to existing flights between India and New York JFK, Newark (N.J.) Liberty and Toronto Pearson international airports. Jet Airways plans to earn 50% of its revenue from international operations by 2010, says Chairman Naresh Goyal.
Continental Airlines is jumping ship from the SkyTeam and joining the Star Alliance, as well as seeking authority to link its global network with Star’s anchor United Airlines. In a framework agreement signed June 19, Continental and United said they intend to engage in domestic code-sharing and shared frequent-flier programs. They also would establish joint ventures to allow for cooperation in international markets with each other and other Star members.
t The Air Force did not take into account Boeing’s offer to satisfy more “non-mandatory” technical requirements than Northrop Grumman, though the solicitation “expressly requested offerors to satisfy as many of these technical ‘requirements’ as possible.” t The service inappropriately weighed a “key discriminator” for aerial refueling capability to a greater degree for Northrop Grumman/EADS than Boeing, violating its own provision that “no consideration will be provided for exceeding [key performance parameter] objectives.”
The U.S. military services are expected to submit their Fiscal 2010-15 budget plans to the Office of the Secretary of Defense July 18. These will include all of the proposed cuts and new program starts for the next six years.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hopes to demonstrate a low-cost way to accelerate a full-scale hypersonic vehicle from rest to beyond Mach 4 by integrating a production turbine engine with a constant volume combustion (CVC) engine. The combined turbojet/CVC is called Vulcan, and ground tests of a demonstrator engine are planned for late 2013. The unmodified turbojet—F100, F110, F119 or F414—would operate from rest to above Mach 2, where the CVC would take over and accelerate the vehicle to scramjet speed.
Boeing will be able to more efficiently build nonstandard export versions of its latest CH-47F model now that it has inaugurated a dedicated sidetrack alongside its main Chinook production line. The offshoot became active here in May when the first of six CH-47Fs ordered by the Netherlands was rolled into position, says Ken Eland, Boeing’s director for CH-47F programs. The Netherlands is the first CH-47F export customer, and its aircraft—known as CH-47F(NL)—are quite different from the U.S. Army standard model.
In a report on the German Sharp Edge Flight Experiment (Shefex II) vehicle (AW&ST May 19, p. 71), it was implied this was a European Union-led project. Shefex is a project led by DLR, Germany’s aerospace center.
