Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
France and Britain are signaling a readiness to help kick-start consolidation of European naval systems, with separate actions on both the supply and demand side of the equation. Last week, French armaments agency DGA signed a 20-million-euro ($24-million) "relay contract" with defense electronics contractor Thales and naval shipyard DCN to refine definition of a design for France's new aircraft carrier, designated PA2, based on the U.K.'s CVF.
C-130 from the 139th Air Wing flies out of storm clouds over northwestern Missouri. Jim Haseltine, Omaha, Neb. Contractor crew chief cleans the canopy of an F-4F Phantom II after a shower at Holloman AFB, N.M. Tony Chong, Burbank, Calif. CH-47 makes its approach to the Quad City Air Show in Davenport, Iowa. Paul Kilen, Sioux Falls, S.D. U.S. Marine Corps VMX-22 MV-22B Osprey maneuvers off the coast of North Carolina. Ted Carlson, Mission Viejo, Calif.
With a 45-aircraft order for 787s worth a theoretical $7.6 billion, Boeing has added to an already enviable lead in this year's wide-body sales, sweeping past rival Airbus in every product category. The purchase decision came from Qantas and is the second largest recorded for the 787, after the 50 aircraft All Nippon Airways purchased last year as launch customer. But Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said neither Boeing nor Airbus have satisfied the airline's needs to fly nonstop from Sydney to London.
The U.S. Defense Dept. has been boosting investment in unmanned aerial vehicles, but interoperability and weather problems, as well as bandwidth congestion, are still affecting some missions, according to a GAO report. The department has not developed detailed interoperability standards for the unmanned aircraft, payloads and ground controls that make up unmanned aircraft systems, the GAO says.
The American Society of Aviation Artists is pleased to join Aviation Week & Space Technology for the sixth year in presenting the art in this annual special issue as selected from ASAA's 2005 Exhibition. In addition to the "Best of the Best" award winner selected by Aviation Week Art Director Robert P. McAuley--along with his top choices for honors in the categories of Military, Commercial, General Aviation and Space--this year's selections include ASAA's annual prize winners selected by its judges.
The Australian government has unveiled a national security update that supplants its 2003 issue White Paper. New initiatives recommended in the plan include studying additional heavy-lift options beyond the C-130J, which could result in Canberra buying Boeing C-17s or Airbus Military A400Ms.
Boeing has named Evergreen International Airlines to operate the three-aircraft fleet of 747 Large Cargo Freighters it will use to transport assemblies for the 787 to final assembly in Everett, Wash. Evergreen has named Cargolux as a subcontractor to fly routes from Europe. Sojitz Corp. will coordinate logistics and other services for Boeing suppliers in Japan.
COMMERCIAL 2nd PLACE Paul Burrows "A Clearing Sky" Paul Burrows is a retired U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard pilot who flies his homebuilt aircraft and paints aviation subjects. He has belonged to ASAA since 1987. While Burrows does portray historic events in some of his paintings and at all times strives for technical accuracy, he most often sets out simply to capture the feeling of flight--to tell non-fliers what it's about and in other fliers, evoke a spark of recognition. COMMERCIAL 3rd PLACE
Uncertainty about who can fly unmanned aircraft and where they can be flown in U.S. airspace has reached a critical point. The Air Force wants to equip a number of Air National Guard units with Predators and Global Hawks for the war on terrorism, and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency wants to buy Predators to begin high-resolution mapping of most of the nation. Each faces two big problems: a shortage of UAV pilots and too little restricted airspace where they can fly.
The FAA projects an $8.2-billion shortfall through Fiscal 2009 as it faces the double whammy of rising costs and declining revenues, according to the Government Accountability Office. In fact, the money allocated will fall 17% short of what is needed on average each year. The FAA's current revenue structure relies heavily on the number of passengers using the National Airspace System (NAS) while the agency's workload is driven by the number of aircraft operating in the system.
Air Canada has taken delivery of the first of its ordered 45 Embraer 190 regional jets, which received its type certification from Canadian authorities this month.
Tahoe Special SeaBee touches down at Lake Winnebago, Oshkosh, Wis. Bonnie Bartel, Oshkosh, Wis. A calm Lake Hood reflects images of Cessna floatplanes moored at their docks at Anchorage, Alaska. Mark Naumann, Lafayette, N.J. Bob Lutz flies his Piper PA-18 Super Cub east of Palmer, Alaska, while approaching the Knik Glacier. Rich Hulina, Sioux Lookout, Ontario Ford Bushmaster Tri-Motor on display at EAA AirVenture 2005 in Oshkosh, Wis. Paul Kilen, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Israel's long-range, Green Pine radar--used to find targets for the Arrow 2 air defense missile--is being upgraded and doubled in power, possibly making it a candidate for conversion into a directed-energy weapon for use against Iranian and Syrian threats.
EADS Socata is reengining its turboprop business aircraft in a bid to combat increasingly stiff competition from the emerging very light jet (VLJ) market. The newly unveiled TBM 850 is powered by the 850-shp. Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66D, replacing the -64 to boost maximum cruise speed to 315 KTAS at 31,000 ft. The aircraft, which supplants production of the TBM 700, was conceived to counteract one of the main benefits offered by higher-speed VLJs. "We don't take that competition lightly," says Socata Vice President for Marketing Stephane Bernard.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will supply four S-92 helicopters to CHC Helicopter Corp. for use in commercial search-and-rescue missions for the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Deliveries are slated to begin in July 2007. The sale marks the first time the S-92 has been chosen specifically for SAR missions.
UNITED STATES Editor-In-Chief: Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. [email protected] Managing Editor: James R. Asker [email protected] Assistant Managing Editor: Michael Stearns [email protected] Senior Editors: Craig Covault [email protected], David Hughes [email protected] NEW YORK 2 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10121 Phone: +1 (212) 904-2000, Fax: +1 (212) 904-6068 Senior News Editor: Nora Titterington
Missile manufacturer MBDA is pursuing a range of parallel development activities on its Meteor rocket/ramjet active radar-guided air-to-air missile, even though initial air-launched test firings have slipped into 2006. All three aircraft types on which the missile will initially be integrated were due to fly with test rounds of the weapon last week, the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen. The Gripen was flown with an avionics test version of the Meteor on the port outboard pylon.
Virgin Galactic plans to build a $200-million spaceport in southern New Mexico for its planned suborbital space tourism flights. The company, which bought rights to Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne technology after it won the Ansari X Prize, plans to break ground near Las Cruces in 2007, and begin tourist flights in 2009-10.
Russia is courting India as a development partner for a light fighter program, as Moscow continues to vacillate on its own combat aircraft procurement plans. Russian fighter manufacturer MiG briefed Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Russia last month. Mukherjee confirmed to the Russian press that amongst subjects discussed was MiG study work on a fifth-generation light fighter aircraft.
Peggy Ferris and husband Keith have worked together as a team in support of his artistic and photographic efforts for more than 50 years. She is responsible for the organization of Keith's reference files, library and collection of more than 50,000 35mm slides. Peggy has traveled extensively with Keith in support of his work for the aerospace industry and U.S. Air Force. Keith Ferris created the 25 X 75-ft. B-17 and Jet Aviation murals in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
London Heathrow Airport faces reduced fuel availability as a result of a fire last week that destroyed a fuel depot in central England. Heathrow-based airlines' long-haul flights will be provided with 84% of their normal intake, with flights under 5-hr. duration receiving 64%. The restrictions will likely stay in place until year-end.
Delivery of two Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles is expected by the end of the month in Central Command to support operations in and around Iraq, a program official says.
In the article "Pavement Paradox" (AW&ST Oct. 24, p. 46), the cost reported just to add a new runway to an airport in order to add capacity is a jaw-dropper. The $1.35-billion cost for adding one runway at Atlanta is probably more than the cost of constructing the entire airport in the first place. If it costs more than $1 billion just to add a runway at St. Louis, Atlanta or Seattle, it seems obvious that we will not be building any new airports in the U.S. soon, despite the badly needed capacity.
ROCKET ENGINEERING OF SPOKANE, WASH., says it plans to obtain FAA certification of the Turbine P/Baron in December 2006. The airplane is a pressurized Beechcraft Model 58P Baron powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-series turboprop engines flat-rated to 500-550 shp. in place of the original Teledyne Continental reciprocating powerplants. Performance projections include a maximum speed of nearly 305 kt. and a climb rate of 4,500 fpm. The conversion is priced at $750,000-800,000. First flight is scheduled for mid-2006.
