Fredy Glarner has become head of manufacturing and Markus Bucher head of aircraft assembly of Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. Glarner belonged to the project management team for the PC-21, while Bucher was an executive in the customer support portion of Pilatus’s government aviation business.
Continued talks between EADS and potential buyers of several key Airbus production facilities are expected to run well into next year, and final contracts very probably won’t be signed until the summer, several industry officials suggest.
Thank you to Capt. Steve Roach who defends Concorde Captain Marty’s memory (AW&ST Nov. 12, p. 10). After the Concorde accident, you published a series of excellent articles explaining in detail the physics of flying that type of delta-wing aircraft. And you demonstrated that Marty did everything in his power to save the day.
Details about China’s new stealthy, air-launched cruise missile are coming out of the indictment of a former Northrop Grumman official. Noshir Gowadia is accused of working with a Chinese agent to supply stealth missile technology in 2003-05. In particular, the case involves the transfer of data about advanced propulsion and low observability. There is no indication that the information may involve the DH-10 missile.
One of Boeing Co.’s biggest fans on Wall Street is having second thoughts. Morgan Stanley research analyst Heidi Wood last week lowered her rating on the company’s stock to “equal-weight”—the equivalent of neutral—following a year-end briefing on the 787 aircraft’s development status (see p. 40). Pat Shanahan, the new 787 program manager, maintains that a recovery plan is on track to deliver the first aircraft by the end of 2008. But Wood thinks the hurdles ahead are too risky to advise her clients to keep buying Boeing stock.
Continental Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have begun a pilot program to test technology allowing travelers to receive their boarding passes electronically on cell phones or personal digital assistants. The passes will be scanned by TSA agents at the airport checkpoint for validation and each pass will display a two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information.
Korea Aerospace Industries will build outer wing panels for 240 U.S. Air Force A-10 attack aircraft as a subcontractor under Boeing’s wing replacement program for the aircraft.
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Boeing is investigating the cause of the Dec. 10 crash of the A160T Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft in Victorville, Calif. Test vehicle A008 was one of an unspecified number destined for trials with the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, and was the first turbine-powered version of the A160 to be lost. The accident occurred during the buildup to two imminent final performance tests required for completion of milestones set by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Short-circuiting an FAA rulemaking that likely would have stretched into 2009, Congress passed the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act, a bill to increase the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots to 65 from 60. The bill stripped Age-65 provisions out of the FAA reauthorization bill and put them in a stand-alone bill that passed both houses without opposition.
In Frances Fiorino’s article on her “glass encounter” with the Cirrus SR22 (AW&ST Nov. 26, p. 60), it was refreshing to hear an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) say that transitioning to glass-cockpit aircraft is about understanding the automation over “traditional” cockpit training.
Honeywell expects its aerospace sales to grow 5-7% in 2008 and profits, 9-13% compared to 2007. The outlook is driven by forecast strength in both the new aircraft market and the retrofit of existing aircraft, according to Honeywell. It expects airline flying hours to increase 5% next year. The forecast comes despite slowing rates of economic growth in the U.S. and Europe (expected to be 1-2% of gross domestic product in 2008). Emerging markets, however, are expected to continue expanding.
Japan and China will discuss launching charter flights between Tokyo Haneda and Beijing’s little-known secondary airport, Nanyuan. So-called charter services—scheduled services in all but name—already operate from Haneda and the secondary airports at Seoul and Shanghai. Pending completion of a current expansion project, Haneda cannot handle international flights unless they are designated as charter services.
The Australian government has begun flying an Airbus A319 to Antarctica, using a 4-km. (2.5-mi.) runway carved into the ice, in support of scientific operations on the continent. Despite the lack of friction, the aircraft needed only 1,000 meters (3,300 ft.) of runway on its first trial landing. One advantage of the aircraft is that it does not need refueling for its return flight.
The U.S. could get the backing of 20-25 countries if and when it launches a legal challenge against the European Union’s plan to include in an emissions trading system (ETS) all airlines operating within the EU, says International Air Transport Assn. Director General Giovanni Bisignani. Washington likely will start proceedings against the EU in the first half of 2008 over the yet-to-be-finalized airline/ETS plan, he adds, either through a challenge at the International Civil Aviation Organization or the World Trade Organization.
Articles and letters to the editor have reported objections to increasing costs for flight operations during high-demand times. The concept is not new. Airlines have charged lower fares for flights during low-demand periods. In the mid-1960s, I regularly flew between Seattle and Anchorage, Alaska. The fares were simple. A one-way ticket cost $99 during most of the day, but was $75 for night flights.
Canadian Space Agency officials expect at least a three-month slip in delivery of the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) and Tunable Filter Imager (TFI) for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), after design issues in the state-of-the-art instruments required the agency to seek parliamentary authorization for more money. Savi Sachdev, director general of space programs at the CSA, says the roughly $100-million project has hit a funding ceiling because detailed design has proved more difficult than anticipated.
Bruno Acklin has been appointed managing director/CEO of Lumics GmbH. of Berlin. He was director of the development of active components for JDSU, San Jose, Calif. Frank Laas has been named head of sales and marketing. He was head of worldwide sales for Limo.
Everyone likes to point fingers at the airlines and their role in airport congestion. They are easy scapegoats. Flights are late, and service is not what it used to be. However, let’s point the finger where it really belongs and that is at the FAA. The FAA has not kept pace with events in the airline industry. Did the FAA think traffic would never increase? Where are the new taxiways and runways?
ATR is boosting output to 80 turboprops per year in anticipation of continued strong demand for the aircraft type. The EADS/Finmeccanica joint venture this year is already implementing the first steps in the aggressive ramp-up, with plans to deliver 44 aircraft up from 24 in 2006. Output is to be ratcheted up further in 2009 to 75 aircraft before reaching the planned 80-turboprop level, says CEO Stephane Mayer.
Dallas Airmotive will open a new regional turbine engine facility at Washington County (Pa.) Airport, by the end of January. Initially it will provide hot-section inspections for Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop and JT15D turbofan engines as well as repairs to the fan and power section of the JT15D and PT6A, respectively. Company officials say the facility also will provide field service support for aircraft using these engines and the Pratt & Whitney PW300 and PW500 powerplants.
Officials at Clifford Development say the company’s program to reengine the Cessna Citation II and SII business jets with Williams International FJ44-3A is scheduled to receive an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate early in 2008. Slated performance improvements for the Citation II include an increase of 21% in long-range cruise speed and a 29% extension of IFR range. Plans call for initial flight tests of the Citation SII to begin early next year, following airframe modifications.
Airbus and Boeing are now clearly in record territory for annual orders. Airbus holds the lead with 1,204 gross orders as of Dec. 1; Boeing had 1,146 net orders as of Dec. 11. The two manufacturers are also neck-and-neck in deliveries through November, with Airbus at 410 and Boeing at 407. This month is expected to yield more orders. For instance, DAE, which has committed to taking a total of 100 aircraft from both manufacturers, was hoping to close those contracts before 2008.
Lufthansa plans to buy a small fleet of business jets to service its Private Jet clients in the wake of the airline’s decision to end its affiliation with NetJets Europe after February 2008. The German airline is seeing strong demand for the premium service, with two-thirds of passengers using Private Jet to connect with Lufthansa or Swiss long-haul flights.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will install VHF air-to-ground data link communication services throughout the country’s airspace system in partnership with SITA, which provides communications services for the air transport industry. GACA President Abdallah Mohammed Noor Rhaimy says the decision was made in response to recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to improve air navigation service in Saudi airspace.
