I have the greatest enthusiasm and support for innovations in aviation and pushing the boundaries by establishing new flight records, but I find the recent GlobalFlyer record unrefueled airplane flight by Steve Fossett to have been an event without a true purpose (AW&ST Feb. 20, p. 41).
Kimberly Gavaletz (see photo) has become vice president/deputy for global sustainment for the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth. She was vice president-internal audit at Lockheed Martin's headquarters in Bethesda, Md.
The U.K. Defense Ministry and AgustaWestland have signed a $787-million contract covering the first five years of a planned 25-year support package for the Army and Navy's EH101 Merlin helicopter fleet. Previously, the two versions were supported separately. The Royal Naval Air Station at Culdrose, England, will serve as the primary base for both versions. The contract is designed to keep the helicopters operational until 2029 for the Navy's Mk. 1 and 2030 for the Air Force's Mk. 3, although both versions may remain in service well beyond these dates.
Inmarsat says it is actively studying the introduction of cell phone-size voice/data handsets to ensure the success of its new Broadband Global Area Network.
Wind tunnel tests have begun on scale models of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) and the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), which NASA has under design to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, and eventually start them on their way to the Moon. The tests give a first look at the aerodynamic characteristics of both vehicles--the CEV, and the CLV and the CEV as a single vehicle. They are required to help define the criteria for the design of the two vehicles prior to a contract award, which is expected later this year.
European scientists are preparing to take an active part in the support and analysis of data from Japan's Astro-F/Akari infrared astronomy mission, launched from Uchinoura Space Center on Feb. 18 (AW&ST Feb. 27, p. 40). Scientists from a group of British universities are participating in the mission, backed by funding from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, along with Groningen University and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research.
It's sad to see a once-proud airline like United brought to its knees, but listening to the employees whine about it could be worse. The vast majority of the airlines that have liquidated, are in bankruptcy, or are consistently losing money have AFL-CIO unions including the Air Line Pilots Assn. Post-deregulation, these unions have bargained with no regard for their companies' ability to sustain those contracts.
After more than two years of researching and re-researching, the Pentagon has finalized an analysis of alternatives for replacing its 50-year-old fleet of 490 KC-135 tankers. The results are broad, recommending that the Air Force select from among the Airbus A330 and A340 and Boeing 767, 787, 777 and 747 models. Those include both medium and large aircraft with similar cost-effectiveness ratings. The study rejected mixed fleets of small and medium/large tankers, as well as used aircraft and all-new, unmanned or stealthy designs.
A British defense minister's "hit list" spells out key targets for an overhaul of the country's defense industry, acquisition strategy, and research and technology imperatives this year. Paul Drayson, minister for defense procurement and the engineer of the U.K.'s Defense Industrial Strategy (DIS), identifies 21 critical "action" steps to be completed during 2006.
Bombardier officials expect continued strong demand for turboprops, after a banner year in which those aircraft outsold regional jets. The focus in the next five years probably will shift to replacement aircraft. There are about 3,000 turboprops that are nearing the end of their economic lives, and most of them will be replaced by turboprops, says Vice President Neville Taylor.
Scientists have known that Saturn's ice moon Enceladus sprays out plumes of water vapor and ice particles, but now, after a period of studying observations by the Cassini spacecraft, they have a better sense of where it might originate.
Despite signals that Saudi Arabia is poised to make a large purchase of Eurofighter Typhoons, France continues to push the rival Rafale. Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie was in Riyadh last week to tout its merits. Also on the agenda, the French defense ministry said, were transport and light military helicopters, tankers and naval hardware, plus training and support.
The U.S. military's unfunded priority lists rivals War and Peace for length. The Air Force's wish list includes seven C-17s, four C-130Js, eight MQ-1 Predator UAVs, weapons and armored vehicles for expeditionary troops, small-diameter bombs with focused blast warheads and B-2 fan blade repairs. The shortfall adds up to $5.6 billion. The Navy's total is $4.6 billion and includes acceleration of the LPD 17, six T-45Cs, five T-6As and 12 F/A-18E/Fs.
The Kremlin is moving quickly to try to assuage concerns over its plan for majority ownership of merged elements in its aerospace industry, while further consolidation of state-owned airlines is also pending.
Major milestones loom for the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ), which should strengthen the industrial underpinning for the project and could lead to an expansion of the aircraft family before even the first prototype flies.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is protesting the claim that Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk AV3 has the most combat hours of any UAV. The veteran aircraft logged 200 combat missions and 4,200 combat hours before recently returning to the U.S. GA says it has three Predator As with more than 4,300 combat hours. Predators have accumulated a total of 130,000 hr. in combat and are flying about 5,000 hr. per month.
Airbus's decision on opening a single-aisle final assembly line in China could slip past mid-year. Top EADS officials hope to wrap up discussions on site location and intellectual property protection between June and September. Airbus would assemble four A320-family aircraft per month on the line.
A new FAA airworthiness directive for certain Boeing 777-200s calls for installation of a new washer between the lower wing surface and the jam nut of the sump drain valve assembly. The directive stems from results of the manufacturer's fuel system reviews and is aimed at preventing energy from a lightning strike on the bushing for the sump drain valve from arcing to the inside of the center fuel tank wall. This could lead to an explosion in the tank. The AD takes effect Apr. 13.
The European Commission has approved the Italian government's provision of 25 million euros ($29.75 million) in state aid to help Volare Airlines avoid bankruptcy.
THE TWIRLY BIRDS INDUCTED JIM AND JON KETTLES, both former U.S. Army helicopter pilots, during the Heli-Expo show in Dallas last month. They are sons of long-time member Joe Kettles, who made his first solo helicopter flight at the Army's Camp Wolters in 1958. The elder Kettles is the first general member to have two sons join the organization. Early in the 1970s, Joe Kettles developed an IFR-based, all-weather flight operations program at Petroleum Helicopters that is still used by the company in its support of Gulf Coast offshore oil operations.
There was a Pentagon-inspired detour during a Global Hawk's week-long stay in Australia last month. Usually the long-range UAV only pauses overnight for refueling and maintenance. But this time the high-altitude reconnaissance platform flew over Japan's southwestern Nansei archipelago, which includes the U.S. base on Okinawa, about 1,000 mi. south of Tokyo. Japan is looking at buying the Northrop Grumman product, as is Australia, to expand surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities.
Joan Bauerlein, the FAA's director of aviation research and development, has been named to receive the National Public Service Award from the National Academy of Public Administration and American Society for Public Administration. Bauerlein's organization has focused on fire safety and firefighting technology, crashworthiness, airport and runway safety, and weather research. She was cited for steering international collaboration in human factors research that led to the creation and testing of techniques to analyze aviation incidents and runway incursions.
Question: When does diligence in protecting national security actually harm national security? Answer: When a rule grounded in good intentions is applied to ridiculous extremes and thus threatens to disrupt the delivery of weapons needed to protect the nation.
Singapore Airlines' regional arm SilkAir is considering operating smaller aircraft to serve secondary destinations in India, China and Indonesia. SilkAir is said to be analyzing if the savings in purchasing 90-120-seat aircraft will offset the cost of pilot training, maintenance and reduced operating costs. Its fleet comprises seven Airbus A320s and five A319s, which seat 140-150 passengers.
The continued growth of commercial aviation markets in the Asia-Pacific region, led by China and India, is expected to push revenues for flight and technical training simulators to $844 million by year's end. "Companies that find new ways to develop next-generation systems or new methods of pricing aftermarket and training services should experience increases in market share," says a study by consultants Frost and Sullivan, which tracked the market growth.
