Boeing's policy of a standard gray nacelle for the 787 will not apply to the 747-8 even though they use the same engines (AW&ST July 17, p. 40). The third-generation 747, set to enter service in 2009, will be powered by General Electric GEnx-2B67s. But the four-engine 747-8 GEnxs have a smaller fan size (104 in.) than the 111-in. GEnx 1B-series for twin-engine 787s.
U.S. companies are not the only ones developing new ducted-fan, vertical takeoff-and-landing UAVs for use by dismounted infantry. Singapore Technologies Aerospace began flight tests in May 2005 of its gas engine-powered Fantail 5000, which has an 18.4-in. rotor diameter and weighs 12 lb. at takeoff. It stands about 4 ft. tall without its landing struts. Like the U.S. ducted-fan UAVs, it can lean over and fly horizontally like an airplane, up to a speed of 60 kt. (111 kph.) (68.9 mph.). It can fly to a target area 5 km. away and remain on station for 30 min.
Aviation pioneers Harold L. (Bud) Abrams, Donald C. Downie, Ralph S. Johnson and James Vercellino have been inducted into the Arizona Aerospace Foundation's Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in Tucson. Abrams, a founding member of the Pima Air and Space Museum, was a pilot during World War II who founded a company that designed and manufactured parts for the Apollo missions, space shuttles, space station Alpha and the Mars rovers. He also started Pima Aviation and the Tucson Aeroservice Center.
The Air Force wants to outsource non-combat jobs to contractors in order to spend more on technology and less on people. So it will cut its officer ranks by 8,000 by the end of Fiscal 2007 to meet requirements set by force planners. Enlisted strength will be untouched. Planners have several tools to make the cuts, ranging from extra separation pay (to induce some officers to leave voluntarily) to outright dismissals of junior officers.
Thomas Decher (see photo) and Hu Yu Liang (see photo) have been named executive directors of the Operation Div. of Ameco Beijing. Li Jian Jun, who was executive director of the Engine/Component/Facility Div., is now executive director of the Quality Management Div. He succeeds Gao Li Zhu, who is now chief quality management inspector. Decher was technical and operations director for Condor Flugdienst. Hu was executive director of Ameco's Aircraft Maintenance and Overhaul Div.
The captions on photos of Liu Gaozhuo, former president of China Aviation Industry Corp. I, and Lin Zuoming, the current president, were switched (AW&ST July 24, p. 44)
The Pentagon's satellite communications vision, in which data is fed straight to individual soldiers, is in danger thanks to the high price tag on satellite terminals. You know all those cartoons depicting the Transformational Communications Satellite System (TSAT), Mobile User Objective System and Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) all working in perfect harmony to deliver know-how to warriors so they can put ammunition on target? Apparently, the vision is getting ahead of reality.
Don't expect to see a new third-generation of forward-looking infrared (Flir) sensors installed in U.S. Army armored vehicle sights anytime soon. The service began installing second-generation Flirs produced by Raytheon and DRS on its Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles in 2000. These cooled sensors doubled target acquisition range compared with first-generation cooled Flirs. Both types use a scanning optical system and a linear array of IR detectors.
The series of articles on the relationship between aviation and the environment was excellent (AW&ST July 17, pp. 128-150). As pointed out by Alexander Ter Kuile, aviation is part of the socio-economic-political environment and cannot be regarded as purely technology driven. This means there may be substantial costs in introducing radically new aircraft designs into aviation, such as new infrastructure, and substantial risk, such as persuading passengers to fly in a windowless blended wing body.
Turns out the Canadians are as wild about data mining as the U.S. government. Privacy rights groups and critics say it's nuts to fight terrorism by searching the scribblings of random people for words like "chemical plant" and "attacks." Col. Rick Williams, a spokesman for Canada's National Defense Dept. research and development laboratory in Valcartier, Quebec, estimates the government is spending about $3 million (Canadian) over five years to develop the technology.
Air France-KLM is being investigated as part of a case examining whether the former security provider Pretory used contracts with the airline to launder money as well as drew up illegal employment contracts. Air France Chief Executive Jean-Cyril Spinetta has already been questioned. The case dates to contracts from 2001-03. Pretory, now bankrupt, is alleged to have employed personnel in France while registering them in other countries to defray cost. Also, 10 million euros in payments from the airline are unaccounted for.
ShinMaywa's firefighting version of the US-1A Kai short-takeoff/landing amphibian is replacing the 30-year-old US-1A search-and-rescue/maritime patrol aircraft in service with the Japanese navy. As is common with Japanese aircraft and spacecraft, the plane will receive a new designation--US-2--when it enters service next year. A stand model (see photo) was presented at Farnborough. The 109-ft.-long aircraft has fly-by-wire controls, a digital cockpit and is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE-2100J turboprops. It can carry 15 tons of water.
House aviation honcho John Mica (R-Fla.) has carried out his threat to introduce legislation that would block airports from spending federal money to prepare for Airbus A380 flights. The bill targets efforts to accommodate aircraft with a maximum passenger capacity of 800 or more, or a maximum take-off weight of at least 1 million lb. The bill would only apply to passenger aircraft, and it could only affect the A380--Boeing's 747-8 has a proposed max weight of 970,000 lb. Mica declared it unfair for U.S. taxpayers to fund A380 work at airports when no U.S.
Orbital Sciences Corp. has joined Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) in a "strategic relationship" that could receive an early workout on NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. In addition to providing expertise in program management, systems integration, launch operations and safety and mission assurance, Orbital plans to invest an undisclosed sum in RpK, which is using the K-1 reusable launch vehicle conceived by Kistler Aerospace Corp. as its entry in NASA's COTS effort to encourage commercial logistics support to the International Space Station.
editorial director Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. editor-in-chief Sharon Weinberger managing editor Glenn W. Goodman, Jr. assistant managing editor Michael Stearns senior technology editor Pat Toensmeier contributing editors Amy Butler Peter A. Buxbaum David Eshel Ann Finkbeiner Nicholas Fiorenza Catherine MacRae Hockmuth
Oshkosh has really come into its own. The Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s annual AirVenture show is undeniably an international showcase for new aircraft.
Quebec, hub of Canadian aerospace and home to one of the world's largest concentrations of suppliers, is rolling out an aggressive industrial strategy to attract even more players to the region and help large and small companies alike compete more effectively on the basis of both cost and capability. The broad initiative comes at a time when success in the global aerospace industry, especially for smaller suppliers, is becoming noticeably more challenging.
The new owners of Brazilian airline Varig are hoping to reestablish stable operations soon, following the carrier's suspension of most services. Volo do Brasil, a group of Brazilian and U.S. investors, bought Varig this month at an auction in Rio de Janeiro, assuming liabilities in excess of $600 million. This helped avert the carrier's imminent liquidation, but the company still faces major obstacles in its struggle to become a viable enterprise.
European contractors are preparing to study participation in a new Russian space transportation system, and could yet have a role in the planned U.S. system as well.
John M. Hairston, Jr., has been named acting assistant administrator for NASA's education office. He continues as director of the external programs directorate at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Hairston succeeds Angela Phillips Diaz, who is now director of strategic communications and development for the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Eutelsat has begun operating a spacecraft at 7 deg. W. Long. intended primarily to serve direct-to-home broadcasting markets in the Middle East and North Africa. The spacecraft, Atlantic Bird 4, was transferred from Eutelsat's Hot Bird neighborhood at 13 deg. E. Long., where it had been known as Hot Bird 4. The two Nilesat spacecraft, 101 and 102, also located at 7 deg. W., are already using the first 18 channels on Atlantic Bird 4. Additional capacity will soon be made available to Noorsat, a Bahrain-based video service provider.
Architects and engineers at this NASA human-spaceflight facility are taking some early steps toward erecting a place for men and women to live on the Moon, building plywood and plastic habitat-concept mockups to help work out the best ways to deal with life on Earth's satellite and other planetary surfaces.
