The comments and quotes from Albert F. Myers of Northrop Grumman in William B. Scott's retrospective on the B-2 rang true from my own experience with this aircraft. Many of the Northrop flight control system design engineers were first-class. Unfortunately for Northrop, many were scattered when the program imploded to produce only 21 aircraft as part of the "peace dividend" following the Cold War.
Delta Air Lines, with an eye toward international route expansion, has launched service from Atlanta to Copenhagen with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration. Copenhagen is the third of 11 new transatlantic routes the airline intends to launch by June. It follows Atlanta-Dusseldorf service initiated in March and Atlanta-Tel Aviv service started in April. This month the airline plans to begin service from Atlanta to Nice, France, and from New York JFK to Budapest.
Airline fleet planners looking to buy new Airbus and Boeing single-aisles in the next decade are likely to have an abundance of engine options as propulsion makers, eager to be part of this promising market, prepare for the boom. Business strategies at several engine makers make clear that unless circumstances change, three engine offerings are likely to vie for Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies, which are expected to enter service by the middle of the next decade.
Also looking for a Russian partner is Bombardier's Skyjet International charter network. Skyjet agreed last week to add Global Wings of Tokyo to its network, which includes 24 charter partners in Europe and 35 worldwide. Global Wings signed up to become the Asian launch customer for Bombardier's Challenger 605, and ordered a pair of Learjet 45XRs to go with two already in its fleet. Comlux Aviation of Zurich became the European 605 launch customer. It also took a pair of 850 executive shuttles, for delivery in 2006-07.
Seven Washington-based trade associations want an immediate reversal of the Defense Security Service's decision to stop processing security-clearance applications and periodic reviews of existing clearances. DSS suspended work on industry clearances Apr. 28, saying it has exhausted its Fiscal 2006 funding. In addition to unclogging the clearance pipeline, the groups want Pentagon officials to review Fiscal 2007 funding requests to prevent another shortfall next year. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), a longtime critic of Defense Dept.
A group of regulators, pilots, air traffic controllers and airport operators participating in a Eurocontrol runway safety seminar is adopting a three-pronged approach to improving runway safety. Prong No. 1 is continued implementation of Eurocontrol's European Action Plan aimed at preventing runway incursions. "Tremendous progress has been made in [the plan's] implementation," says George Paulson, director of Eurocontrol ATM programs.
The U.S. Navy has continued to upgrade its EA-6B Prowler fleet, by awarding BAE Systems a $24.3-million contract to produce 13 more low-band transmitter-antenna groups for the Prowler. Low-band jamming is vital to the protection of stealthy aircraft and to decrease the effectiveness of enemy long-range radars that also operate at low frequencies. The Navy is now buying a total of 30 antenna sets. Navy officials also are worried about being the victims of electronic attack. Airborne Tactical Advantage Co.
Bruce A. Peterson, a NASA research pilot involved with lifting body and other flight tests, died May 1 in Laguna Niguel, Calif., after a long illness. He was 72. He made the first flight of the NASA/Northrop HL-10 lifting body in December 1966 at NASA's Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, and flew the earlier M2-F1 and M2-F2 lifting bodies. Peterson's skill brought the almost unflyable HL-10 to a safe landing. Based on his flight data, the aircraft became one of the best-handling lifting bodies and a crucial piece of space shuttle development.
Thales will provide the Integrated Electronic Standby Instrument system for Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 very light and light jets. Thales also works with Embraer on the company's regional jets.
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The U.S. Defense Dept.'s acquisition of military space systems has been notoriously dysfunctional lately. The Senate Armed Services Committee's strategic forces panel recently held a hearing to delve into the reasons and remedies. The Government Accountability Office's Cristina T. Chaplain, acting director of the acquisition and sourcing management team, appeared. This is adapted from her testimony.
TO MODERNIZE THE U.S. AVIATION SYSTEM, the federal Joint Planning and Development Office is targeting five near-term priorities: Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), System-Wide Information Management (SWIM), trajectory-based flight operations research, required total system performance (RTSP) and weather. It's important to get started on these key issues right away, says JPDO Acting Director Robert Pearce. In the Fiscal 2007 budget request for the FAA, there are two proposed new program starts: $80 million for ADS-B and $24 million for SWIM.
Space shuttle operators will have to meet their 25-year average flight rate to make the 16 flights that will be needed to finish the International Space Station before the fleet is retired in 2010. Given post-Columbia safety constraints, flying at that rate--and making a 17th flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope--will be difficult. But Boeing's shuttle program manager is optimistic it can be done, drawing on the lessons of the 1986 Challenger accident.
Washington is preparing for the possibility that Norway may drop out of the present phase of the Joint Strike Fighter, while Oslo's future choice of fighter is taking on even greater significance for Saab. Oslo will officially announce at the beginning of next month whether it will continue in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the Joint Strike Fighter. Norway is dissatisfied with its level of industrial participation. One Washington insider, however, is already cautioning that withdrawal is a real prospect, and not merely a bluff.
Engines are generally the first areas designers turn to when they want to reduce fuel burn on an aircraft. But increasingly, researchers are out to prove how the more expansive use of electrical subsystems can make the total aircraft system more efficient.
We may have an accurate figure on how much F-22s cost. Lockheed Martin has a new contract for $143.1 million for a replacement test aircraft. That, of course, does not reflect total program cost, which includes the price of research, development and testing.
EasyJet's pre-tax loss came in at 40 million pounds ($74 million), slightly better than first thought. The low-fare carrier managed to trim non-fuel-related costs by 6.2%, but an almost 50% jump in fuel costs compared with the first six months of the prior year offset those improvements.
Lockheed Martin is being awarded a $901-million advanced acquisition contract for long-lead work and materials associated with Lot 1 low-rate initial production of five conventional takeoff and landing F-35As. Work is to be completed in January 2010. Meanwhile, the company snagged a $52.4-million addition to an earlier award to certify the small-diameter bomb for use with the F-35A.
It may look like clear air ahead for the business aviation community, but industry officials are keeping a close watch on issues such as security and fuel to gauge if they need to worry about unexpected turbulence to come. Marco Tulio Pellegrini, Embraer vice president for market intelligence, says unless there is an "event" that upsets the business climate, he expects "a bright future."
Worldwide passenger traffic in March indicates a stable growth trend, according to Airports Council International. Compared to March 2005, traffic increased 3.8% to 201,573 passengers and, compared to the first quarter last year, increased 4.5% to 551,770. For the 12 months ending Mar. 31, passenger traffic increased 4.9% to 2.3 million and international traffic, 5.7% to 1.1 million. The Middle East region showed "remarkably" strong growth--a 16% increase in total passengers for March and a 12.8% increase in the one-year period.
Ever Barbero of West Virginia University is among the five people who have been named Fellows of the Society by the Covina, Calif.-based Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. The others are: Larry Drzal of Michigan State University; John Halpin, who is retired from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio; Ray Hauser of Hauser Laboratories, Boulder, Colo.; and Keith Kedward of the University of California-Santa Barbara.
Defense officials on both sides of the Atlantic will attempt in the coming weeks to provide key approvals to clear the impasse on Britain's long-running Future Strategic Tanker Transport Aircraft. The British Defense Ministry's Investment Approval Board will consider the 13-billion-pound ($23.9-billion) tanker program at either its early June or July meeting. U.S. officials will, in a similar timeframe, review a draft of the proposed Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) contract to ensure that it meets its concerns over technology release.
Just in time for a May 9 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, the Transportation Dept. tightens up its proposed loosening of rules limiting foreign ownership of U.S. airlines. Jeffrey Shane, undersecretary for policy, still will be surrounded by a hostile group of witnesses, but he will use the changes to try to deflate some of their arguments. He is navigating a challenging course, trying to allay security, competitiveness and job concerns among U.S.
