The U.S. Government Accountability Office has sustained at least part of a protest against Boeing’s win in September of a $1-billion depot maintenance contract for KC-135 tankers. The protest was made by Alabama Aircraft Industries (Pemco Aviation Group). The GAO, an investigative branch of Congress that sometimes reflects regional politics, said the Air Force did not properly evaluate cost and pricing in the Boeing bid, and it calls for a new evaluation. The Air Force has two months to respond.
The 17 members of the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) are feeling frustrated as they battle cross-border aviation issues that include airline liberalization and environmental policy. Their counterparts in the U.S. have the advantage of flying under the umbrella of a superpower. The Europeans have their own political organization, the European Union. Both have strong views on such matters.
A Lockheed Martin computer simulation here shows how System Wide Information Management (SWIM) will be able to link old and new ATC systems. It will allow controllers, flow control specialists, airline dispatchers and pilots to share a common operating picture.
Brazil’s Embraer says it recently flew the third Phenom 100 very light jet fitted with a cabin interior by BMW Designworks. The Phenom 100 is scheduled to enter service in midyear, and the flight test program has accumulated more than 350 hr. in 260 sorties. Evaluation of the airplane’s flying qualities have been completed, along with engine water ingestion tests and flights using artificial ice shapes.
Boeing has installed a high-energy chemical laser in a C-130H as part of the advanced tactical laser program. The six-ton laser module was integrated and aligned with a beam control system. In 2008, plans call for the system to fire at ground targets during flight to demonstrate the military utility of lasers. The system uses a rotating turret extending through the bottom of the fuselage. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman unveiled a high-energy laser (HEL) bomber concept during a recent virtual wargaming exercise by the Defense Dept.
Hayley McGuire (see photo), a business development engineer at Boeing Satellite Systems Inc. , has received the 2007 Promise Award from the Society of Satellite Professionals International. The other recipients are: Arnie Christianson, operations manager at CNN Satellites and Transmissions; and Derek Edinger, structural analysis manager at Space Systems/Loral.
Thales is launching development of a “radically new” integrated sensor and communications system for naval anti-air and surface warfare under a €125-million ($184-million) contract signed Dec. 20. Awarded to Thales Nederland (Thales-NL) by the Netherlands Defense Materiel Organization, the contract is for development and production of four Integrated Mast systems, each containing a complete integrated sensor and communications suite. These will equip four new 3,750-ton ocean-capable patrol ships for the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) from 2010.
U.S. and Japanese engineers at the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) have concluded altitude testing of the XF7-10 engine that powers Japan’s XP-1 four-engine maritime patrol aircraft, which flew for the first time in September 2007. Jeff Dodd, AEDC’s project manager for the tests, says additional altitude checks of the engine are scheduled for mid-September following a rebuild of the test powerplant by Japan’s Technical Research and Development Institute.
John Slater has become managing director for Latin America for Continental Airlines . He was managing director of distribution planning and electronic commerce and succeeds Pete Garcia, who has retired. Slater was manager of development, design and support for continental.com
Boeing’s most recent image of the 787 final assembly line shows three airplanes in progress—the ZA001 first test aircraft in front with the static- and fatigue-test articles following (below). On closer examination, the shot also depicts the trouble Boeing is having in getting its first airplanes out the door. Note the amount of support structure for assembly workers that surrounds each airplane. It’s not supposed to be there.
I read Karl Kettler’s letter bashing the crew of the Continental Airlines DC-10 that had an uncontained engine failure at Newark (N.J.) International Airport. The runway is 11,000 ft. long. Kettler says the engine was blown with 9,000 ft. of runway remaining. If he had done any research, he would have found out that the engine blew at V1, the most dangerous point of the takeoff roll. According to Kettler, a fully loaded DC-10 reaches the takeoff safety speed (V1 ) in 2,000 ft. That is impossible.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy Airbus’s A330 derivative to meet its requirement for refueling aircraft. The deal, for three multirole tanker transports equipped with both refueling booms and under-wing pods, follows an order from Australia and selection by the United Arab Emirates, which remains to be finalized.
In his Viewpoint, former National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Francis bases a lot of his argument on cost-benefit analysis by the FAA (AW&ST Nov. 5, 2007, p. 70).
Unguided rockets have been a staple of U.S. military helicopter ordnance since the Vietnam War, but now BAE Systems is developing a laser-guidance conversion for 2.75-in.-dia. rockets that will turn them into precision weapons.
The credit crunch will push airlines into leasing more aircraft, rather than buying them, says Asian lessor BOC Aviation, which has strengthened its own financial firepower in anticipation of garnering more business. Financing aircraft with loans was fairly cheap a year ago, but is becoming increasingly difficult and costly as banks struggle to maintain cash reserves amid the credit market dysfunction caused by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage collapse.
WorldSpace Satellite Radio has secured $40 million in additional financing from Yenure Pte. Ltd. The funds, in the form of 5-year 8% subordinated convertible notes, are intended to help support launch of a European digital audio radio service and attempts to establish it in other selective markets, notably India and China. Yenure is controlled by WorldSpace Chairman/CEO Noah Samara. However, $10 million of the proceeds will go toward prepaying secured note holders.
The U.K. is poised to grow its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator UAV fleet with the Pentagon’s recent approval for a $1.1-billion purchase of 10 more of the aircraft and five ground stations. Associated sensors and satellite links are included.
Karl Kettler’s most recent letter (AW&ST Dec. 17, 2007, p. 10) is breathtaking in its lack of understanding of the decision-making processes and procedures of airline operations. The most egregious example concerns his comments on the 2001 Continental Airlines DC-10 mishap and the Air France Concorde accident. His superior judgment is that those captains should have rejected their takeoffs, since they each had “more than 9,000 ft. of runway remaining.”
Iran announced Dec. 26 that Russia will supply it with S-300 air defense missiles, and Russia’s technology export agency promptly denied any such sale, or even deliberations to sell. The missile, designated SA-10 and SA-20 by NATO depending on the variant, is considered the most potent of currently fielded, high-altitude surface-to-air missiles. Ranges of some spinoff designs extend 250 mi. or more. Sale of the expensive missile has been rumored for years.
Neel Shah has been named vice president-cargo of Delta Air Lines , effective Jan. 14. He has been vice president-sales and marketing for United Airlines Cargo. Shah will succceed Ben Darnell, who will be leaving the airline.
A review of Australian combat aircraft requirements will consider the possibility of scrapping the country’s 2007 order for 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets. Cancellation costs at this early stage of the contract would amount to only A$300 million ($264 million), less than 5% of the A$6.6 billion budgeted for the purchase and operation of the aircraft until 2020.
Amy Butler (Washington), Michael Bruno (Washington)
China’s stunning demonstration of a direct-ascent antisatellite (Asat) weapon in January 2007 has forced the U.S. government to come to terms with this capability as a realistic threat—not simply a notion of doomsday planning—and begin to organize itself accordingly.
Boeing and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) have signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding that calls for Boeing to develop work packages that can be transferred to HAL. The initial value is $10-20 million annually. Boeing is promoting a number of service and manufacturing options to meet India’s strict offset requirements as it tries to secure military contracts that include winning India’s Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition.
