Your Letter from the Editor (AW&ST Jan. 21, p. 3) addresses the issues of greenhouse gases emitted by commercial aircraft and the uses of allowances. As a major fan of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels, your letter further fueled my concern that the green movement could spell doom for both American military air demonstration teams’ continued operations.
Investigations into the original third-stage low-pressure turbine failure of the Pratt & Whitney F135 engine on Aug. 30, 2007, revealed a blade fatigue issue caused by the flow field from the stator ring immediately upstream. The uniform spacing of the stator vanes set up a wave pattern, the amplitude of which caused uneven stress on the LP blades, which vibrated as a result.
The decision to shift the role of program integrator from the military to industry is now irreversible because of Pentagon manpower cuts. But giving the job to contractors isn’t working very well either. Some critics say the fundamental problem is that major airframers like Boeing and Lockheed Martin build a platform and then ask the electronics houses like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman to stuff them with payloads.
I have to take issue with the letter from Scott Hubbard and Louis Friedman on their upcoming conference about alternatives to the Vision for Space Exploration (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 386). Both have made it clear in other remarks that they believe a manned lunar return is a waste of NASA’s money. Therefore, I find it incredibly doubtful that an “invitation-only” event sponsored by these two will take a balanced approach toward the VSE.
Bolstered by a strong market for helicopters, French engine maker Turbomeca is launching a broad push to update its product line and develop technologies for new turboshaft engines.
First flight of the prototype Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for India is tentatively scheduled for March 2009. The aircraft is being designed and developed by government-owned defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. The LCH will perform anti-tank, counterinsurgency, and support for combat search-and-rescue operations.
In March, Lockheed Martin will begin extensive laboratory tests of voice-recognition software (VRS) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in preparation for flight evaluations scheduled for the third quarter of 2009.
Amy Butler (Washington), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
President Bush is in office for another year but his Fiscal 2009 Pentagon request indicates that political officials there already have a foot out the door given their willingness to let key military programs languish until the next administration arrives. The Defense Dept.’s $515.4-billion request for Fiscal 2009, the largest ever, will leave Bush’s successor with a host of unpaid bills and unanswered questions about the fate of some major acquisition programs.
The Bush administration is proposing to slash airport funding in its Fiscal 2009 budget, and—as they have done in years past when the White House has cut airport funding—congressional leaders have already signaled that they intend to restore the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds threatened by the budget request.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. and government officials are proposing to relocate all of Moscow’s main aerospace companies to Zhukovsky in an audacious move to create a national aviation center. The plan is to be presented to President Vladimir Putin before the end of this month. Zhukovsky, 12 mi. southeast of Moscow, is already home to the Gromov Flight Research Insitute and the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI).
Japan Airlines will phase out its last 747 Classics in its coming financial year as it implements its strategy of reducing the average size of its aircraft in preparation for greater capacity at Tokyo’s airports. Ten classic 747s will be withdrawn beginning Apr. 1, along with two 767-300s and six MD-81s. New widebodies entering the fleet will not fully replace the 747s either in number or seat count.
USAF Brig. Gen. Cecil R. Richardson has been nominated for promotion to major general. He is deputy chief of chaplains at USAF Headquarters, Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Brooks L. Bash has been appointed commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, Multi-National Security Transition Command for Iraq of Air Combat Command. He has been director of combat and information operations at Strategic Command Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Neb.
With a decision imminent on the Air Force KC-X tanker competition, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) has advice for the Pentagon: Don’t punt to lawmakers decisions you should make. Boeing’s 767-based design and a Northrop Grumman/EADS North America A330-based option are vying for the deal, worth an estimated $40 billion. Abercrombie, who chairs the House Armed Services’ air and land forces subcommittee, has grown increasingly frustrated with Defense Dept. indecisiveness.
Air One hopes to hear from an Italian administrative tribunal on Feb. 20 concerning its legal challenge to stop Air France-KLM talks to take over Alitalia. Air One wants to be allowed to put forward its own bid, even though it lost out to Air France-KLM to be named preferred bidder last month. The fate of state-owned Alitalia also is awaiting the outcome of general elections in April; Alitalia will run out of cash in June. Alitalia says that starting Mar. 30, it will reduce destinations to 51 from 86, with daily flights decreasing 12%.
Congressional phones will be ringing off the hook this week. The general aviation sector isn’t exactly thrilled with the Bush administration’s proposed FAA budget for Fiscal 2009 (see p. 32). “What part of ‘NO!’ doesn’t the White House understand?” asks Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. “It’s essentially the same as last year’s,” he notes, which was soundly rejected by the GA community, the House and the Senate.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Amy Butler (Washington), Michael Bruno (Washington)
Military aviators with insight into the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter program say the Pentagon chose the right company and the right helicopter. But they contend the program is stalled until the White House and the Pentagon’s senior civilians agree on a reasonable set of requirements and identify the additional resources needed to complete the project. It could cost as much as $4 billion to fully fund the helicopter.
Here we go again. The airline industry is buzzing with speculation about mergers as marriage talks heat up between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, and UAL Corp. (United Airlines) considers a combination with Continental Airlines. Skeptics can be forgiven for doubting that anything will come of the discussions. It was only a few weeks ago that hedge fund Paradus Capital Management was publicly pushing for a merger of Delta with United (AW&ST Dec. 3, 2007, p. 12).
Keith S. Vasey has been appointed team representative for the Upper Midwest U.S. for the Mooney Airplane Co. , Kerrville, Tex. He was North Central U.S. sales manager for Columbia Aircraft.
Yannick d’Escatha, director of the French space agency CNES, says NASA has agreed to benchmark launch operations at Europe’s French Guiana spaceport and the Kennedy Space Center in order to compare operational and technical experience. Michel Eymard, the French launcher director, says NASA wants to benefit from certain technical similarities between its new Ares launch vehicles and Europe’s Ariane 5 heavy lifter.
Martin Zelman (see photo) has been appointed vice president-internal audit of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He succeeds Carolyn Pitman, who now leads the company’s Enterprise Shared Services organization. Zelman was vice president/controller of the Mission Systems Sector.
The British government has finally decided to proceed with the sale of the rotary-wing element of its Defense Aviation and Repair Agency to Canadian third-party maintenance company Vector. The £17-million-pound deal will see the transfer of DARA’s Fleetlands and Almonbank sites to the Canadian company. The acquisition will double the staff count at Vector, and boost its revenue by a third. The two sites provide support for British Chinook, Lynx and Sea King helicopters.
Aer Lingus and JetBlue Airways have signed a deal giving passengers for the Irish carrier single-booking access to the U.S. low-fare carrier. JetBlue has a big presence at Boston Logan International Airport, which is a key destination for Aer Lingus. However, the duration of the deal is uncertain with Lufthansa taking a 19% stake in JetBlue and looking to link its long-haul flights with JetBlue’s U.S. domestic operations. Aer Lingus could begin talks with several other U.S. carriers by year-end to extend the online booking model that will go live with JetBlue in April.
Japan’s ATD-X Shinshin stealth demonstrator could potentially be developed as a combat aircraft, should Tokyo so choose, thanks to an airframe that appears to have been designed with a production version in mind. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the country’s fighter specialist, is now confirmed as a key player in developing the aircraft. One of the latest official photographs shows a radar cross-section model of the ATD-X being wheeled out of a Mitsubishi plant.
