The Australian government is combining helicopter aircraft training programs for the army and navy. Under the restructured Helicopter Aircrew Training System project, the service plans to spend $390-700 million to replace Kiowa and Squirrel helos with a common type. The Australian Defense Ministry says joint training should make it easier for army and navy troops to fight better side by side. A final procurement decision is slated for 2009.
There are small aerospace electronics companies and then there are tiny ones like Kinetic Avionics Products Ltd., which started up two years ago and has already sold 4,000 units of the first system it invented. Not bad for a company run by two owners with two full-time employees who together design equipment but outsource almost everything else, from production to product support. "We outsource, but we ensure quality," says David Goodman, managing director and co-founder of Kinetic, headquartered in London.
Bell Helicopter Textron has completed a landmark, nine-year fatigue test program for the V-22 Osprey, demonstrating the airframe has sufficient structural integrity to fly for at least 20,000 hr. or 20 years.
Prof. Tina Anderson has become assistant chair for academics for the Aviation Dept. in the University of North Dakota's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.
The American Civil Liberties Union calls it a "virtual strip search," but the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) thinks it has a solution to the revealing images provided by new backscatter X-ray passenger screening technology. Using the SmartCheck screening system manufactured by American Science and Engineering (AS&E), TSA is testing the controversial technology at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport.
There are least 30 Chinese anti-satellite concepts and tactics that could be a factor in any future U.S.-Chinese military space face-off. This is in spite of Chinese assertions that it is only working on civilian space projects now that its Jan. 11 anti-satellite (Asat) test was a success, says the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission (see p. 24). This political stance does not necessarily pass for reality, however, the report indicates.
NASA spending cuts in Fiscal 2007 will add four to six months to the four-year gap after the space shuttle retires before the U.S. can launch humans into space again. Administrator Michael Griffin tells the Senate Commerce space subcommittee his agency has been struggling to meet the 2014 deadline President Bush set to get the Orion crew exploration vehicle flying atop its Ares I launch vehicle.
Veteran Rep. Ike Skelton, 75, (D-Mo.) became chairman of the House Armed Services Committee when Democrats won control of Congress after the last election. Skelton, who's been a House member since 1977, sat down with AVIATION WEEK editors John M. Doyle and Michael Bruno in his Capitol Hill office to discuss the war in Iraq, technology transfer and the committee's priorities. Excerpts follow:
Brad Lawrence has been appointed corporate group vice president of the Esterline Corp., Bellevue, Wash. He was president of Esterline's Coeur d'Alene, Idaho-based Advanced Input Systems subsidiary and general manager of Esterline's Interface Technologies Group.
JSA Research expects Boeing to overtake Airbus in delivered aircraft in 2009 and hold the lead at least into the middle of the next decade. Analyst Peter J. Arment expects Boeing to produce 444 aircraft this year, up from 398 in 2006. At that new rate, its current backlog of 2,457 will take 5.5 years to burn off. JSA evaluates the 2006 backlog at $250 billion and expects Boeing to add another $64.2 billion worth in 2007. Of that, $100 billion is in the company's best-seller, the 737. Arment's look at Boeing's numbers brings up an interesting point.
The first airline passenger rights legislation arising from the Feb. 14 Eastern U.S. icestorm that caused massive flight cancellations and delays has been introduced in Congress. The measure, introduced by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), gives passengers the right to deplane after ground delays of 3 hr. or more, with some exceptions. It also calls on the FAA to work out a plan with airlines to allow passenger offloading from long-delayed flights, without losing positions in the departure sequence.
Four more Harrier GR9s are being deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, as part of a U.K. force buildup. Other additional assets include four Sea King helicopters and a C-130 Hercules. An additional 1,400 troops are being sent, bringing the number of U.K. personnel deployed in the country to 7,700.
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It's become a cliche to note that the word for "crisis" in Chinese calligraphy contains the characters for "danger" and "opportunity." But top Air Force officials seem willing to seize the opportunity when discussing the military buildup in China, which is estimated to have increased defense spending 14.7% to $35.3 billion in 2006. "The Chinese are becoming awesome investors," Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne tells a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the service's $110.77-billion Fiscal 2008 budget request.
A proposed merger of government-run Indian Airlines and Air India is awaiting Cabinet approval, expected by Mar. 31, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The new carrier will have 112 aircraft in its fleet and have the opportunity to regain market share the former carriers lost to Jet Airways and other private carriers. Meanwhile, Air India says it expects to save $150 million over 15 years by ordering General Electric GE90-115B engines for its 27 new Boeing 777-300ERs.
Air France-KLM are expanding ties with KLM's long-time partner Malaysia Airlines (MAS). The two have been code-sharing on flights from their hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam since 1998, and will now expand that to many routes within Malaysia. In return, MAS customers will be given code-share benefits on European routes operated by Air France-KLM.
Spain's infrastructure ministry in the summer will start operating the first of three EADS CASA CN-235-300 maritime surveillance aircraft to patrol its economic exclusion zone, perform search and rescue support and monitor pollution.
Italian engine maker Avio has signed a memorandum of understanding with General Electric to become a 12% risk-sharing partner in development of the GEnx-2B. That version of the GE turbofan is to equip the Boeing 747-8. Avio is already involved in development of the GEnx-1B to power the 787 twin-widebody. Avio is expected to spend up to €250 million ($327 million) on the program and hopes to see revenue of at least €2.5 billion. Avio will develop and produce several components, including the stator of the low-pressure turbine and the gearbox drive system.
Saudi Arabia is planning a large upgrade to its Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) system for its air force. The overhaul is slated to provide the kingdom's military a better control of surveillance systems and aid the move to an open-systems architecture that can be upgraded with greater ease. Plans include building a primary air operations center (AOC) with backup AOCs available. The program also calls for deploying an advanced tactical data-link network for ground and airborne assets.
USAF Reserve Col. Frank E. Anderson is among nine of his rank to be nominated for promotion to brigadier general. He is mobilization assistant to the director of operations and training at USAF Headquarters. The other eight are: Patrick A. Cord, commander, 442nd Fighter Wing, Air Force Reserve Command, Whiteman AFB, Mo.; Craig N. Gourley, mobilization assistant to the director of operational plans and joint matters, USAF Headquarters; Donald C. Ralph, mobilization assistant to the director of global operations, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.; Wil- liam F.
Latest financial results suggest a turnaround plan is fixing Malaysia Airlines. The company reports a loss of 134 million ringgit ($38.1 million) for 2006, but that's a vast improvement on the 1.3 billion ringgit that the company lost in 2005. More tellingly, the fourth quarter delivered a second straight quarterly profit. One of the carrier's biggest problems is the extreme efficiency of budget competitor AirAsia, which reported a 150-million-ringgit profit (37% of revenue) for October to December, itself up 61%.
Iberia, in ongoing restructuring, is seeing strong financial growth, with pre-tax earnings up 13% to 790.5 million euros ($1.043 billion). The net-earnings came in short of 2005 results, but mainly because that year saw the divestiture of two businesses that bolstered accounts. Perhaps most importantly, the carrier saw a 6.2% unit passenger revenue increase. The 2006 results mean Iberia has turned a profit for 11 straight years, despite some challenging periods recently with high oil prices. Fuel last year was up 36%, representing 22.4% of expenses, versus 14.2% in 2004.
Joseph A. Muklevicz has been named vice president-sales for the Americas for the Pacific Scientific Aerospace Group, Duarte, Calif. He was president of its Miami-based Aviation Services Cos.
Later this year planetary scientists will begin planning history's first spacecraft encounter with Pluto, now that NASA's New Horizons probe has passed through a risky gravity boost from Jupiter with flying colors. Lessons from last week's encounter are already being applied as the 1,000-lb. nuclear-powered spacecraft hurtles down Jupiter's magnetotail, the leeward stream of charged solar-wind particles escaping the planet's magnetic field.
