U.K. forces deployed in Iraq lack adequate helicopter support, according to the British Parliament's Defense Committee. In a report released Aug. 10, the committee says it is "deeply concerned at the shortage of helicopters in theater." It goes on to warn that "unless measures are taken to increase the number of helicopters and to reduce pressure on crews, the effectiveness and coherence of U.K.
CFM International's CFM56-7B Tech Insertion performance upgrade package will begin a two-month flight testing this week for the Boeing 737 Next Generation family. The engine program received European Aviation Safety Agency and FAA certification in June and is expected to gain aircraft certification in January.
As programmatic and financial weaknesses begin to show in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, aerospace company officials are beginning to look at alternatives. One emerging plan is to update new or used F-16s with scaled-down versions of the F-22 and advanced F-15 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars and an advanced radar warning receiver. The mix would provide the buyer with a cheap ticket to network-centric operations, detection of small, stealthy targets and standoff attack capabilities at a bargain price.
Drastically tighter airline screening in the future now seems all but inevitable, thanks to the discovery last Thursday of an alleged terrorist plot in the U.K. that triggered unprecedented steps to screen passengers attempting to fly from Britain to the U.S. British authorities' announcement that they had thwarted plans to destroy as many as 10 passenger aircraft over the North Atlantic also sparked security alerts and delayed flights on both sides of the ocean.
Russ Lawton has been named director of safety and security for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn.'s Safety First Program. He was director of operations at Wyvern Consulting.
Embraer hopes its decision to elect Frederico Fleury Curado as its new president and CEO will ensure continuity and stability at the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Curado, 45, will replace long-time CEO Mauricio Botelho at the helm of Embraer in April 2007. Curado is currently executive vice president for the airline market and has been with the company more than 20 years. Botelho will continue as chairman for three more years before retiring in 2010. Embraer has not decided yet who will succeed Curado in his current position.
Airport operators and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are turning to new technologies and old-fashioned strategies in an effort to thwart future terrorist attacks on airliners. One strategy, begun last December by Edmund (Kip) Hawley, assistant secretary of the TSA, seeks unpredictability to keep terrorists off-balance and uncertain about whether any given airport on any given day will require travelers to remove their coats and shoes or open their laptop computers when they pass through security checkpoints.
Bell Helicopter Textron plans to deliver the first ARH-70A armed reconnaissance helicopter to the U.S. Army in September 2008, and has begun exploring the aircraft's flight envelope using Bell and Army pilots. Bill Leonard, executive program director, says the pre-production aircraft has flown more than 12 hr. since first flight July 20 at Bell's XworX facility here. As of late last week, the aircraft had reached a speed of more than 130 kt. and an altitude of about 5,000 ft.
Cessna Aircraft Co.'s Citation Mustang business/personal jet has entered FAA function and reliability (F&R) testing. The Mustang is on schedule for certification late this year. Although the FAA plans to grant full type certification to the Mustang, flight into known icing may be restricted unless Cessna is able to complete a 45-min. encounter in natural icing, according to a company official. Pratt & Whitney Canada has received Transport Canada certification of the PW615F engines that power the Mustang, and FAA approval is expected soon, according to Cessna.
President Bush has won notoriety for signing legislation while simultaneously issuing messages in which he promises to ignore parts of it. Not to be outdone, the Senate may reconsider terms of the pension relief bill, which it passed Aug. 3 and Bush is expected to sign this week. The bill gives airlines 17 years to fund pension-plan shortages if they freeze the plans, as Delta and Northwest intend to do. But American and Continental, trying to preserve their plans, get only 10 years (see p. 58).
Northwest Airlines Capt. Lindsay Fenwick is one of four pilots to be honored by the Washington-based Air Line Pilots Assn. for their contributions to safety. Fenwick received ALPA's top safety honor, the Air Safety Award, which is bestowed each year for contributions to safety through volunteer service in ALPA's air safety structure. Fenwick has been chief investigator for the Northwest Airlines chapter of ALPA and U.S. representative to the Accident Analysis Committee of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Assns. United Airlines Capt. Richard W.
Boeing's C-17 production program hits the point of no return Aug. 18, having received no response or even an encouraging hint from Congress about adding funds to the Fiscal 2008 budget. Boeing wants to complete the last 10 aircraft for which long-lead items have been purchased. Officials say the company has already spent $100 million to keep the line moving, and they now will have to make a decision to break the line with 22 aircraft still in production. A dozen are slated for Canada, Australia, Britain and the U.S., but the rest lack a customer.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China. Oct. 24-26--MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition, Amsterdam. Nov. 13-15--Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Sept. 24-27--Industry Outlooks and Growth Strategies 2006, San Antonio.
An industry team test-fired a new second-stage booster motor on Aug. 3, demonstrating the feasibility of solid-propellant rocket technologies that could be applied to a proposed conventional missile (see photo). Flying at supersonic speeds, the submarine-launched missile could reach intermediate-range targets in 15 min., giving Ohio-class guided-missile subs an "extremely accurate, no-notice, prompt global-strike capability," according to team officials. The 40-sec.
Raytheon and the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command have signed a $95.4-million contract modification for light- and heavy-weight torpedo hardware, engineering and support services. The modification adds fiscal year 2006 procurement quantities to the consolidated torpedo contract, awarded to Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in 2004.
Very soon, Orlando International Airport won't be the only place in the U.S. offering frequent fliers a way to speed past long lines at security checkpoints. After years of delay to solve security, privacy and economic issues, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is announcing up to 20 airports selected to take the Registered Traveler program to the next level before a national rollout.
Michael A. Taverna (Farnborough, Paris), Alexey Komarov (Moscow)
With its national helicopter and advanced metals sectors now in Russia's grip, state-owned arms export trading company Rosoboronexport is aiming at the country's engine makers as the government continues to consolidate control of the national aerospace and defense industry.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
The Iranian government has a cadre of "hundreds" of technical advisers in Lebanon that trained, and continue to support, Hezbollah forces in the use of sophisticated anti-ship and anti-tank missiles and unmanned aircraft. No evidence has yet emerged, however, that the Iranians are actually operating any weaponry in the fighting, say U.S. officials.
Cargo operations are exposed to more safety risks than passenger ops--the fatal accident rate is 2-5 times higher--and is driving pilots to aggressively seek government mandates aimed at closing the safety gap. Cargo rules are generally less restrictive. The carriage of primary (nonrechargeable) lithium batteries, for example, is prohibited as passenger aircraft belly cargo but allowed on all-cargo flights. Fire suppression capability is required on passenger aircraft, not so with cargo.
Eurocopter has delivered an EC145 to India's Jindal Steel and Power, for use as executive transport. "A VIP segment is emerging, due to the economic growth in India which necessitates safe and, most notably, fast long-distance travel for executives," says Norbert Ducrot, vice president for Asia-Pacific at Eurocopter. Powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 1E2s, the single-pilot-IFR-certified EC145 features a night-vision goggle-compatible, digital glass cockpit with multi-function displays, facilitating day-and-night operations.
The U.S. Navy is anxiously awaiting funding for its Harpoon Block III development--a trigger that will also see the service move quickly to attract additional partners.
Now that Iran is known to have abetted--or instigated--Hezbollah's attack on Israel with advisers, not just weapons (see p. 20), it's possible to see the fighting in southern Lebanon for what it is. Until now it has seemed to be a relatively contained conflict in which a nation is defending itself from a terrorist group, albeit with a risk of escalation and disturbing civilian casualties on both sides. Now, it's clear that far more is involved, and far more is at stake.
