Robert Gulcher’s letter “Defense Situation Analyzed” (AW&ST May 26, p. 13) details disturbing statistics concerning aerospace programs over budget and behind schedule, and suggests several causes. From the vantage point of three decades as an aerospace engineer, here are my thoughts on two more phenomena that may be contributors to this malaise: the devaluation or trivialization of specialized engineering expertise and the concurrent rise to a position of preeminence of system engineering.
Dubai-based Emirates Investment & Development (Emivest) is to purchase 80% of San Antonio-based business jet manufacturer Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co. (SSAC) from its Taiwanese owners for an undisclosed sum. SSAC has delivered only two SJ30 light jets since certification at the end of 2005, and a takeover deal announced last year by U.K.-based distributor Action Aviation and private U.S. investors fell through.
The U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is conducting weapons stores separation tests for the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F multirole fighter. The tests, conducted in AEDC’s 16-ft. transonic wind tunnel, are focusing on the AIM-120C advanced medium-range, air-to-air missile (Amraam) and 11 other stores, says Frank Taverna, Naval Air Systems Command lead for the multirole fighter.
The British Defense Ministry’s muddled handling of a Chinook procurement is coming under fire, at the same time as the U.K. and Boeing are close to finalizing a cockpit standardization program across the country’s entire Chinook heavy-lift helicopter fleet. The National Audit Office (NAO), Parliament’s financial watchdog, is critical of the ministry’s “protracted” effort to rectify problems with the Chinook Mk. 3, which has meant that the aircraft will be introduced 11 years later than anticipated.
Peter Liese, a member of the European Parliament and the chief architect of emissions trading legislation that would cost the airline industry billions, doesn’t much care who wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Flight tests of Boeing’s X-48B blended-wing body (BWB) technology demonstrator are under way with leading-edge slats retracted. Block 2 testing began in April at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. The 21-ft.-wingspan, remotely piloted X-48B, dubbed “Skyray,” flew 11 times during Block 1 tests with bolt-on leading-edge slats extended to improve low-speed performance. “Retracting” the slats raises stall speed, but will allow the aircraft to achieve its 118-kt. maximum cruise speed.
Engineers working on the first spacecraft in NASA’s next generation of human spaceflight vehicles are just wrapping up their preliminary designs, but agency and industry planners already are considering how to operate them. NASA’s Constellation program wants to hold down life-cycle costs on its next-generation launchers, crew exploration vehicles and other advanced human spacecraft under development so it will have enough money to continue pushing human exploration out of low Earth orbit to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.’s proposal for flight caps and slot auctions at the three major New York area airports—and the secondary market that might result—constitutes a double-edged sword for airlines. Yes, airlines could make money by selling slot pairs, but they would only be allowed to sell a slot once.
It is the time for Boeing to strike again. Technology has been the key factor for Boeing’s successes with the 707, 747, 777 and 787. Being a technology leader is the only way for the Seattle-based aircraft manufacturer to counter Airbus’s subsidies. Boeing badly hurts its European competitor with the very efficient and comfortable 777, and took back a big chunk of the market from the A330 with the yet-to-fly all-composite and all-electric 787.
Two U.S. Homeland Security Dept. agencies’ officials are meeting in Miami next month to determine the department’s unmanned aerial system needs as it moves to expand their use to encompass maritime surveillance.
Hamilton Sundstrand, developer of the 787’s electrical power systems, has delivered the software that will allow Boeing to put power on the aircraft—a critical step toward a first flight in the fourth quarter. The final “power-on” build for the power systems software was delivered on May 28, says Geoff Hunt, Sundstrand’s vice president for the 787 program. The first build of the “safety of flight” software needed for flight testing was delivered on the same day, Hamilton Sundstrand says.
Emirates Airlines is successfully harvesting a U.S. pilot population facing grim hiring prospects in the last several months, according to Lou Smith, president of FLTops.com, a career service for professional pilots. In April, the rapidly expanding Dubai-based carrier first conducted recruitment information sessions in the U.S. The airline visited major hubs on the East Coast, including Atlanta. In May, Emirates returned for a second recruitment tour that included Houston and Chicago. Now, Emirates is said to be planning a third round later this month.
Douglas Barrie (London), Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Amy Butler (Washington)
A congressional move to shut down the use of Chinese launch services by overseas satellite manufacturers threatens to heighten latent tensions between the U.S. and Europe.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has awarded Smiths Detection follow-on contracts worth $25.2 million to deploy Smiths’ Advanced Threat Identification X-Ray systems at additional U.S. airports. TSA, which plans to deploy the system across the U.S., awarded initial contracts of $21 million in October 2007 and has completed checkpoint installations at Albuquerque, N.M., and Denver.
Rob Cowan has been appointed managing director of Dublin-based Aviareto . He was head of operations and succeeds Niall Greene, who remains on the board of directors.
Samuel Moultrie (see photo) has become vice president-common services in the Information Services Div. of United Airlines . He was vice president/chief technology officer for Electronic Data Systems.
French-based Zodiac has agreed to acquire Driessen Aerospace, a Dutch company specializing in galleys, trolleys and other cabin equipment, subject to regulatory approval. Driessen, which also makes cargo containers, employs 2,500 people in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, U.K., U.S. and Thailand, and generated €136 million ($210 million) in sales last year. The purchase will allow Zodiac to diversify its portfolio of cabin equipment and reinforce its presence in dollar-zone countries and those with lower operating costs.
The defense market for unmanned systems—aerial, ground and maritime—has grown to an estimated $2.9 billion in revenues for 2007, says an analysis by Frost & Sullivan, but that is expected to become flat by 2016 at $3.5 billion. Despite the U.S. Defense Dept.’s high deployment of remotely-operated systems during the past five years, “growth of unmanned systems in the mid to long term is expected to be slow,” says analyst Lindsay Voss.
Delta Air Lines is offering the first transatlantic service out of Salt Lake City. Travelers bound for Paris-Charles de Gaulle may now book a daily, nonstop flight on a Boeing 767-300ER. Delta, which along with SkyTeam partner Air France launched the route June 2, says it is the only nonstop operated by a U.S. carrier from the western U.S. to Paris. Delta expects the new route to offer “significant” cargo lift. Paris exports include cosmetics and wine; Salt Lake City’s exports include IT equipment.
B-2 aircrews and maintenance teams had learned about the sensitivity of the stealth bomber’s air pressure sensors to moisture during a Guam deployment in 2006. They also discovered that turning on 500F pitot heat would quickly evaporate the water and the flight computer would receive normal readings. But the information was not formally “captured” in maintenance or lessons-learned publications, says Maj. Gen. Floyd Carpenter, president of the accident investigation board and vice commander of 8th Air Force.
Winners in the Middle Career Category (ages 36-50) are: Michael P. Gordon of Boeing, for leadership of the orbiter leading-edge structural subsystem technical community; Derek J. Hassmann of NASA Johnson Space Center, for leadership and technical expertise in the preparation and execution of International Space Station assembly mission operations; Mark E. Mulqueen of Boeing, for technical development of the ISS external truss elements and successful and sustained operation of the station; Dale B.
The Cessna Citation XLS+, following almost 600 hr. of flight testing, earned type certification from the FAA on June 3. This newest Citation Excel model has a 1,858-naut.-mi. range and at maximum takeoff weight, can depart from runways as short as 3,560 ft.
Reorganization of Thales Aerospace is aimed at boosting growth, reinforcing its position as a Tier 1 supplier and helping to broaden and deepen its product portfolio. The June 1 revamping will support efforts to make Thales a leading integrator of cockpit and cabin systems across commercial, business and military aviation on a par with archrivals Honeywell and Rockwell Collins. The reorganization splits the Aerospace Div. into three segments—aircraft, government and services/support.
USAFR Brig. Gen. (ret.) Robert O. Tarter has been appointed vice president-safety services for the FAA ’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO). He was mobilization assistant to the commander of the First Air Force of Air Combat Command, at Tyndall AFB, Fla., and has been a pilot for Delta Air Lines.
