MD Helicopters (MDH) and Kaman Aerospace Corp. have signed a multi-year agreement whereby Kaman will supply MDH with rotor blades and related dynamics components for the twin-engine MD Explorer. Kaman will provide similar components for other helicopters manufactured by the Mesa, Ariz.-based company. MDH has teamed with DynCorp to compete the Explorer for the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter program.
AW&ST Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief William B. Scott thanks Vietnam War veterans for their service and sacrifices, during a "Thunderbirds Hangar Party" at Nellis AFB, Nev. The event was one of several structured to honor Vietnam vets during the Aviation Nation 2005 air show, a two-day annual gathering at Nellis. This year's theme, "Operation Welcome Home," recognized the thousands of U.S. military personnel who served in the unpopular war, but never received an "official" homecoming or expression of national gratitude.
An international treaty that aims to reduce risk for financiers and underwriters of aircraft, engines and helicopters will become binding in the coming months and is likely to induce a new wave of aviation equipment purchases in the developing world.
The FAA is seeking comments on its Nov. 22 draft Advisory Circular 25.981-21A, which outlines ways transport operators may comply with airworthiness standards in reducing the risk of fuel tank explosions. The circular is intended to complement the FAA's Nov. 18 proposed rule that would require operators of new and certain existing transport aircraft to reduce that risk through use of a flammability reduction or ignition mitigation system.
Mary D. Petryszyn (see photos), vice president-Joint Battlespace Integration in Colorado Springs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, has received the Society of Women Engineers' Upward Mobility Award. Karen P. Scott, a senior engineering specialist and optical scientist at The Aerospace Corp.'s Houston office, won the 2005 Resnik Challenger Award. Petryszyn was honored for leadership in engineering organizations, commitment to creating environments that support diversity and for contributions to higher education and local communities.
Boeing and the Air Traffic Alliance are implementing five strategies aimed at accelerating air traffic system improvements, and are hammering out a common position in a sixth area as they seek to shape new systems and procedures worldwide. Their "Mermoz" effort--named after the famous French aviator Jean Mermoz (1901-36)--was launched at the Paris air show in 2003. The Boeing and Air Traffic Alliance (EADS, Airbus and Thales) teams are working on: *Required Navigation Performance (RNP). *Air-to-ground communications.
The European Union defense ministers have agreed to a code of conduct that will make it easier for defense contractors across the union--particularly small ones--to respond to calls for proposals. The code, which will take effect on July 1, will ask member states to publish all defense contracts worth more than 1 million euros ($1.18 million) through a single online portal. Although it is voluntary, the move is considered a first step toward a common European defense market.
NASA engineers think cryogenic temperatures and pressurization may cause cracks in the space shuttle external tank's foam protuberance airload ramps when the tank is on the launch pad. But they don't yet know if the cracks have any connection with pieces of foam falling off during ascent. The recently discovered cracks are one of a number of issues NASA is addressing as it plans to return the shuttle to flight next May, though an official date has not been set.
During U.S. President Bush's Asian visit last week, Chinese civil aviation officials said they will place a 70-aircraft order with Boeing. Such announcements are common during state visits, but if this one is completed, it will be China's largest order ever. Boeing officials said the deal is still being negotiated, but is expected to include 737-700s and -800s and should close this year, with deliveries in 2006-08. Another 80 737s have been discussed, but further talks aren't slated until next year.
Canada released a request for proposals last week for 16 new airlifters and 20 years of service support worth $4-5 billion. The requirements seem to give Lockheed Martin's C-130J an advantage in the competition to replace 13 older CC-130s, but Airbus is going to push its A400M aggressively.
The U.S.-European Commission agreement that enables European airlines to hand over passenger name record (PNR) data to U.S. authorities appears to be in jeopardy under an opinion issued by Philippe Leger, advocate general of the European Court of Justice. Since the May 2004 accord, passenger record-sharing--more than 30 fields of data per person--has led to orders that flights be turned back or diverted to keep people found to be on terrorist watch lists out of the U.S.
Norman R. Augustine's apt call for reversing the "losing path" of U.S. aerospace science and technology (AW&ST Oct. 31, p. 70) will likely fall on deaf ears in a nation beset with the mounting casualties and costs of a failed war policy and the uncertain prospect of American free enterprise in the globalized geopolitics and economy.
Vacuum-Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (Vartm) could provide low-cost and high-volume readily applicable to large-scale structures, including airframes, according to the Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CCAM) at NIAR. Vartm uses an infusion process whereby a vacuum draws resin into a one-sided mold that is covered to form a seal. Experiments, however, have shown that the process does not currently provide sufficient repeatability or control of variability.
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The Predator unmanned aerial vehicle chalked another first on Nov. 12-13 when U.S. Air Force operators at Creech AFB, Nev., flew the aircraft over the flightline at nearby Nellis AFB during the Aviation Nation air show. Multiple signal relays allowed real-time Predator imagery of spectators at the event and aircraft on static display to be shown on large outdoor video screens. The UAV capped its air show debut both days by making a low-level pass and simulated missile attack, complete with explosions. Predator video clips were webcast via TVWorldwide.
Affordability could be a major problem for the U.S. Air Force's Combat Search and Rescue-X program to replace aging HH-60G helicopters, despite the program's high placement among the new chief of staff's top priorities. Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, the senior military adviser to the Air Force's acquisition secretary, acknowledges the services are not expecting to gain approval for major programs such as the roughly $10-billion CSAR-X until the Pentagon completes its massive Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which examines its roles and missions.
Boeing reports a company computer containing files of information on 161,000 current and former employees--including names and Social Security numbers--has been stolen from a non-Boeing site. In some cases, birth dates and banking data were included. The company last week said there was no evidence that the informa- tion had been accessed or misused.
The chief financial backer of ailing MD Helicopters says she has invested more than $150 million in the company since July, primarily because of the marketability of its Notar system, a safety improvement that removes the tail rotor from a helicopter. But the company is likely the dark horse in the competition concerning the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program as mainstay manufacturers adjust their bids.
Bell Helicopter Textron and AgustaWestland plan to sharply scale back long-standing collaboration plans that had been expected to lead to a merger of their civil rotorcraft operations. Bell will sell its 25% stake in the AB139 medium-lift helicopter program to Agusta, giving the Finmeccanica affiliate full control. AgustaWestland also will expand its U.S. plant in Philadelphia to accommodate American AB139 clients and eventually offer a domestic version known as the US139 for military and homeland security customers.
ESA has given up hope of recovering the SSETI-Express, a student spacecraft sent into space in October with a group of Iranian, Chinese, Russian and European microsatellites (AW&ST Oct. 31, p. 18). The spacecraft lost power shortly after deployment. However, ESA officials pointed out that the main objective of the mission--serving as an experimental testbed for future engineers--was obtained, and that three picosatellites riding piggyback on the vehicle appear to have deployed correctly.
Italy is laying out a strategic vision of its military future, although related budget details remain largely obscure. The defense ministry's 15-year plan describes a balanced and integrated military force structure geared for joint and combined operations. These capabilities are built around the introduction of improved weapons systems and the use of network-centric and effects-based operational concepts.
Jeffrey Hanley has been named manager and Mark Geyer deputy manager of NASA's Constellation Program. Hanley was chief of the Johnson Space Center flight director's office, while Geyer was manager of system engineering and integration for the Development Program Div. of the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
French aerospace industries association Gifas has reiterated a call for launch aid to be maintained for makers of engines, onboard systems and lower-tier subcontract items, even if it is abandoned for airframers (AW&ST Oct. 17, p. 26). In a report issued last week, Gifas's equipment division argued that system and engine suppliers, already under heavy pricing pressure from airframers, have witnessed a steady erosion in government support since 2001 that is forcing them to bear an ever greater share of research and development.
