A report from the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) claims that a newly-built Boeing CV-22 flew into a cloud on Oct. 18, suffered stalls in both engines and had to make an unplanned landing in Prescott, Ariz. The U.S. Navy denies most of the report's claims but says the aircraft's engines were indeed damaged by ice and needed to be replaced before the tilt-rotor design could finish its ferry flight from the manufacturing site in Amarillo, Tex., to Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will be involved in a test program.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. is complaining that the FAA has added 15 new north-south air routes to alleviate congestion for flights headed to Southern Florida, but left controllers in the dark. The FAA says this isn't so and the changes, most of which went into effect in August and last week, were developed in coordination with controllers. Natca has been participating "since the very beginning" of this seven-month redesign effort, according to Doug Molin, FAA manager for tactical operations for the Southeastern U.S. in the Air Traffic Organization.
The Indian air force is to acquire six Il-78 midair refueling aircraft. It currently has six Il-78s. The procurement will strengthen the air force ability to act as an "expeditionary force" while responding to natural disasters and emergencies in the region, a senior military official said.
With the price of oil not falling appreciably, it's time to reconcile design goals with those of aircraft operators. Current aircraft are not designed for maximum fuel efficiency--they have opti- mized engines and equally perfected airframes. However, the whole is merely equal to the sum of its parts. The fuel economy and ownership cost of transport aircraft of all sizes can be improved markedly by exploiting synergistic interactions between airframe and powerplant. While there are many, I'm writing about "pressure thrust."
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
Czech Deputy Prime Minister Martin Jahn says the government will liquidate aerospace and defense contractor Aero Vodochody if a planned sell-off of the state-owned company is not completed by mid-2006.
Three USAF/Lockheed Martin F-16Cs from the 64th Aggressor Sqdn. at Nellis AFB, Nev., prepare for an attack during a recent Red Flag exercise (see p. 46). Camouflage paint schemes help blue-force aircrews identify the F-16Cs as "bad guys" during aerial engagements. Wingtip-mounted data/tracking pods carried by each of the squadron's aircraft enable detailed postflight reviews of each mission. USAF Master Sgt. Robert W. Valenca photo.
A Canadian supplier has won an expanded role in Boeing's 777 program. Heroux-Devtek last week was awarded a 10-year, $106.8-million contract from Goodrich to supply landing gear components. The Montreal-based company plans to revamp its Kitchener, Ontario, facilities to accommodate the work.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
Europe and the U.S. will launch space missions this week intended to shed light on climate change on Earth, but from two very different perspectives. Set to lift off on Oct. 26 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, atop a Starsem Soyuz/Fregat rocket, the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission is intended to refine terrestrial models of planet-warming mechanisms by studying the greenhouse effect evident on our nearest planetary neighbor.
RUSSIAN DEFENSE Minister Sergei Ivanov's three-day visit to India last week to observe joint Indian-Russian army and naval maneuvers included an agenda with some items that weren't so visible. They included signing a long-delayed agreement on intellectual property rights and promoting the sale of Mikoyan MiG-29s to fulfill India's requirement for 126 multirole combat aircraft.
Connexion by Boeing has concluded a week-long campaign to demonstrate the feasibility of inflight mobile phone use on commercial airliners. The flights on board a 737-400 testbed allowed passengers to access the Internet and four channels of live TV as well as roaming cell phone service. Connexion expects the offering to be introduced as early as 2006, regulatory approval permitting, on the 120 daily flights on which its equipment is now installed--part of an accelerating move toward cabin wireless services (AW&ST Oct. 3, p. 45).
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
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP. HAS SIGNED a 20-year deal with Rockwell Collins, with a potential value of $100 million, for avionics, simulators, training and support of the S-92 for the Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program. The equipment includes an integrated cockpit, a Rockwell Collins EyeHUD helmet-mounted display and two level D-equivalent full-flight simulators.
SN Brussels Airlines has upgraded communications systems in its 38 aircraft so pilots can obtain data from the European Aeronautical Information Services Database. They will be able to access weather reports and other information including Notices to Airmen.
LOCKHEED MARTIN IS NOW THE OFFICIAL OPERATOR of the FAA's 58 automated flight service stations (AFSSs) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Since Feb. 1, when the company won the $1.7-billion public-private outsourcing contract, more than 1,700 employees transitioned from government service to Lockheed Martin. Some AFSS employees have taken early retirement and 300 have been hired by the FAA. In the initial phase, Lockheed Martin will operate existing FAA legacy equipment and facilities.
U.S. and European efforts to overhaul their respective air traffic management systems are about to receive a push with important funding commitments that will start the long process of turning the multi-billion euro/dollar plans into reality. Nevertheless, efforts on both sides of the Atlantic still face huge budget challenges and a fair share of skepticism.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: e-mail: [email protected] Oct. 31--PBS "American Experience" film "Race to the Moon." See www.pbs.org/americanexperience Oct. 31-Nov. 1--Technology Training Corp. Military Radios Conference. Holiday Inn on-the-Bay, San Diego. Also, Nov. 7-8--Military RFID Conference. Holiday Inn Rosslyn, Arlington, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1223, fax +1 (310) 563-1220 or see www.ttcus.com
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency may be flight-testing an air-launched propane-powered rocket in 2-3 years as part of its Falcon concept to quickly and cheaply put 1,000 lb. of payload into orbit. The novel Quick Reach I rocket was designed and may be built by the AirLaunch consortium of companies. AirLaunch and Darpa were in continuing negotiations last week and a company official expects a positive outcome soon.
Italy and France finally appear poised to sign off on a deal for an initial batch of cruise missile-carrying frigates. The Italian government agreed last week to provide close to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) for the first phase of the 11-billion-euro, 27-ship Fremm/Renaissance frigate program. Funding will be provided through a series of 15-year loans to be floated in 2006-08. This will cover the purchase of two initial frigates, associated R&D activities and a basic logistics support package.
An item in News Breaks on a Japanese subscale test vehicle for a supersonic transport (AW&ST Oct. 17, p. 18) incorrectly stated the cruise Mach numbers typical of modern commercial transport aircraft. The correct numbers are Mach 0.82-0.85. Also, the wing design on the test article is different from what was used on the Anglo-French Concorde and Soviet Tu-144 supersonic transports.
Not only does the new chief intelligence officer at the Homeland Security Dept., Charles Allen, have to convince federal, state and local agencies to play nice; he also has to persuade units of his own department to share intelligence.
The V-22 is the most complex, least intrisically safe aircraft to be built by serious industry. It has been a disaster technically, financially and ethically. The V-22 is kept aloft by politics, and nothing else. It has killed more people in its engineering development phase than any other aircraft, a segment that has not been completed 40-plus years after it began.
BAE SYSTEMS WILL PROVIDE a continuous-wave Doppler radar to the U.K.'s Aberporth Test and Evaluation Range operated by QinetiQ for the Defense Ministry. The $2-million order is the first for the new radar that relies on commercial components to minimize life-cycle costs. The U.S. Defense Dept. is evaluating a pre-production unit.
