The 787’s deadlines are being squeezed as Boeing institutes self-imposed delays on the second airplane while it struggles to get the first one out the door. The second flight test article, originally due at Boeing’s Everett, Wash., plant in late December, will likely arrive late this month. It’s unclear when the four other flight test aircraft are due. They were expected by Jan. 31.
While the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (Global Hawk and Predator) over Southern California’s forest fires has helped show the variety of uses for UAVs, it is hardly cost-effective (AW&ST Nov. 5, 2007, p. 18).
John Shannon, mission management team chairman on STS-118, and NASA engineers evaluated the threat from a gouge in the shuttle Endeavour’s thermal protection system in August 2007, and made the real-time call that it probably would be riskier to attempt untried repair techniques than to land without taking action. Their decisions combined the lessons of Columbia with world-class analytical skills to make the mission as safe as such a risky undertaking can be.
The Chinese commercial aircraft company to be formed from Avic 1 and Avic 2 will be responsible for design and assembly of the country’s proposed large airliner, which would have a takeoff weight of more than 100 tons, state media say. This means component work will be done by other companies, so the new business will not encompass the whole Chinese civil aircraft sector.
The latest results from the Corot orbital observatory are convincing scientists that the French-led planet-finding/asteroseismology mission will be able to obtain even more startling data than predicted.
Veteran public servant Guy Bujold will head the Canadian Space Agency for the next year or so as interim president after former Telesat Canada CEO Laurier Boisvert left the post nine months into an expected three-year term. Bujold, formerly an assistant deputy minister at Industry Canada, quietly assumed the job on New Year’s Day, after Boisvert stepped down Dec. 20 “for personal reasons.” Speculation in Canada centered on a link to the unexpected announcement that the Alliant Techsystems (ATK) would buy MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates.
Australia’s new defense minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, has confirmed that he will ask the U.S. to allow the country access to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, even though Canberra has made no decision that it wants to buy the aircraft as it reviews alternatives to its 2007 order for Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets.
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has cleared Lockheed Martin to start Phase Two of its generalized integrated learning architecture (GILA) under a one-year, $5.2-million contract. GILA learns the skills of veteran air controllers who handle a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft and weapons in combat, and then passes that knowledge to inexperienced personnel. The system will also help create Airspace Control Orders to manage and deconflict crowded airspace.
Delta Air Lines pilots are preparing for consolidation attempts, meeting last week in Atlanta to set union strategy. The Delta Air Lines Master Executive Council (Dalmec) opened its Strike Operations Center and mobilized its Strike Preparedness Committee, the latter being ready to organize the kind of picketing and lobbying efforts that helped stop US Airways’ recent takeover bid for Delta. “Consolidation may be at our door,” notes Dalmec Chairman Lee Moak in a Jan.
Italian general aviation manufacturer Oma Sud has started flight trials of its Skycar twin-engine aircraft. First flight took place Jan. 10 at the Capua airport in Naples. The 45 min. flight, with Alenia Aeronautica test pilot Maurizio Cheli at the controls, was used to assess basic handling and performance. The unpressurized Skycar is powered by two Lycoming 10-360-C1E6 engines in a pusher configuration, delivering 200 hp. each and driving three-blade composite propellers.
The Kazan Production Assn. has rolled out another Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bomber, completing airframe work that had been frozen since the early 1990s. The air force now has 16-18 Tu-160s operational. The Kazan site also is reported to have subassemblies for a further two Tu-160s.
John Byerly, deputy assistant U.S. secretary of State for transportation affairs, and Daniel Calleja, director of the Air Transport Directorate of the European Commission, led negotiating teams that reached a historic aviation liberalization agreement on Apr. 30, 2007. Effective in March, the agreement allows any European airline to operate between the U.S. and all points in Europe, not just in its home country. The agreement also opens up routes between the U.S. and London Heathrow Airport to any airline from the U.S. and Europe.
Neal J. Keating has been named president/CEO of the Kaman Corp. , Bloomfield, Conn. As CEO, he succeeds Paul R. Kuhn, who will continue as chairman until retiring on Feb. 29. Keating has been president/chief operating officer at Kaman and was managing director/CEO of GKN Aerospace and executive vice president/chief operating officer of Rockwell Collins Commercial Systems.
Steven Ozuna, President (New Bedford Panoramex Corp.)
In October 2006, a commerical jet flying to Newark, N.J., mistakenly landed on a taxiway. Fortunately, there were no injuries or damage. A recent Government Accountability Office report says there were 370 U.S. runway safety incidents in Fiscal 2007.
Keith Halbert has become senior vice president/chief information officer for United Airlines parent UAL Corp. He was vice president/CIO at Electronic Data Systems.
Robert Wall (Dubai, United Arab Emirates), Michael A. Taverna (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
Saudi Arabia’s Nasair, a low-fare carrier, is poised for major fleet growth this year, with an eye on international service. National Air Services (NAS), Nasair’s parent, has set an aggressive plan, not just for its low-fare airline but also for its business jet services operation. And while the flurry of recent aircraft acquisitions has satisfied demand for bizjets for the next five years, in other areas more purchases loom, says NAS CEO Edward Winter.
Boeing’s spacecraft order book is a little bigger with the new year. As 2007 drew to a close, NASA ordered two Tracking and Relay Data Satellites in a TDRS series first fielded in 2000. TDRS-K is to be ready for launch in 2012 and TDRS-L in 2013. With all options exercised, the contract will be worth $1.2 billion. It includes upgrades to NASA’s TDRS system ground terminals. The company also received an order from the U.S. Air Force for a sixth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft to fulfill a cooperative agreement the service signed Nov.
Influence is difficult to measure. Yet there can be no doubt that the individuals profiled in the next seven pages had a major impact on aviation, space and defense in 2007. The question is who had the biggest impact in shaping events—in a positive or negative way. That is what Aviation Week & Space Technology editors considered in selecting the magazine’s third annual Person of the Year.
Although Monday morning quarterbacking has a grand tradition in sports and aviation, the comments of Karl Kettler are counterproductive and misinformed. He would put himself in the captain’s seat at the time of a catastrophic event and say, “I would have done better.”
Qian Xuesen, the man who laid the foundation for China’s major achievements in space in 2007 and who is considered the father of the country’s space program, is Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Person of the Year (see p. 56). Scott Marshall of the AW&ST Art Dept. created the cover illustration, drawing from photos of Qian.
China is developing a nuclear-powered lunar lander/rover that will also raise nuclear-related launch safety issues when the mission is flown sometime between 2015-17.
Regarding the article “Not by Speed Alone” (AW&ST Oct. 8, 2007, p. 54), it is hard to believe Apr. 1 has already arrived. If range and payload are the key criteria, as described herein, these are not first-order caliber targets, and the subsonic platforms exist. They only have to be upgraded for penetration aids and survivability. If that is not good enough, building a new airframe with materials and electronic warfare suites that will allow mission success for these targets is not a technology-driven event.
Airbus has delivered its 5,000th commercial transport, a Qantas Airways A330-200. Although there are obviously more important milestones for an aircraft manufacturer than celebrating an “nth” aircraft delivery, the brief ceremony held at Toulouse Airport was highly symbolic. This is especially true for those who recall the late 1960s and 1970s, when the European industry was struggling to devise a realistic strategy to regain a significant share in the airliner market.
Gerald Grinstein was the right man at the right time for Delta Air Lines, taking over as CEO when the carrier was foundering and leading it through a painful—but ultimately successful—recovery.
