DIAMOND AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO FLY ITS D-JET prototype Very Light Jet (VLJ) late this year, with initial customer deliveries set for 2007, according to the company. The twin-engine D-Jet is projected to cost about $1 million. Performance estimates include a maximum cruise speed of 315 kt., takeoff distance less than 2,400 ft. and a maximum certified altitude of 25,000 ft. IFR range would be 1,320 naut. mi. at a maximum takeoff weight of 4,750 lb. The airplane would have a wingspan of 39.4 ft. and a cabin width of 4.8 ft.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. HAS DELIVERED the first G350 business jet to a customer. The airplane, which has the same size cabin and baggage compartment as the G450, can accommodate up to 16 passengers. The jet is powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay 611-8C engines, cruises at speeds up to Mach 0.88 and has a range of 3,800 naut. mi. at an altitude of 45,000 ft. FAA certification occurred on Nov. 1, 2004, followed by European Aviation Safety Agency approval on Mar. 30, 2005.
Michael A. Taverna and Douglas Barrie (Le Bourget)
As Russia's government dithers over the fate of its aerospace sector, manufacturers are struggling to put their own houses in order in anticipation of the eventual shake-out. Revision of the initial draft for the creation of a unified Russian aerospace manufacturer, known as OAK, is still in the political sphere--an end-of-April target for the draft was missed--and is not now expected to be ready until later this summer.
The European Commission's ambition to play a larger role in negotiating international aviation agreements is gaining strength, although upcoming talks with the U.S. and China could provide the first test of its power. The European Council of Ministers last week expanded the commission's negotiating role and empowered it to handle open skies agreements with countries such as Russia and China. The plan was put forward earlier this year by European Union Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.
Major New York area airports are expected to handle about 100 million passengers this year--more than a 6% increase over 2004, when 94 million used JFK International, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says the three airports will handle more than 35.5 million passengers during June 1-Sept. 30, compared with 33.9 million last year.
Germany has secured a first export order for the Taurus KEPD-350 land-attack cruise missile, with a Spanish government decision to approve the purchase for its F/A-18 Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. Spain will place an initial order for 43 of the 500-km.-plus-range (270-naut.-mi.) missile. Contract details will be negotiated with the Spanish air force in the coming weeks. The German air force has already ordered 600 of the Taurus.
Singapore Airlines is showing little interest in a merger proposal with Qantas proposed by the Australian government as it worries over the future of its flag carrier. The government's anxiety is rising as the low-cost carrier that Qantas backed in Singapore, Jetstar Asia, appears to be an early casualty in what promises to be a brutal, multinational war to define an Asian model for discount operations.
A Ukrainian military court has handed down lengthy prison sentences for an incident in which a Sukhoi Su-27UB fighter/trainer crashed into a crowd at an air show in 2002, killing 77 spectators. The pilot received a 14-year sentence and the copilot eight years. The investigation commission accused the pilots of violating safety rules during the aerobatic presentation. The flight operations officer and show organizer were sentenced to six years each.
The military is clamoring for UAV access to national airspace for border patrol and other new applications. Nick Sabatini, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, suggested at a pre-Paris air show UAV conclave that it is time to harmonize airspace integration for unmanned craft on a global basis. Citing command, control and communications and collision avoidance as the main problems, he proposes an initiative starting in the U.S.--with international participation--through a special federal advisory committee.
Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 crews have used a recently acquired ability to transmit imagery during combat operations in Afghanistan, including a mission to protect an ambushed convoy. RNLAF F-16s are being fitted with the Symetrics Industries photo reconnaissance intel strike module (Prism) package for the improved data modem. This allows video frames to be transmitted over the combat net radio. The Prism images show a bomb-damaged vehicle, part of a convoy ambushed in northern Afghanistan in May.
The chronic problem of ground troops being unable to communicate with aircraft overhead or support ships offshore due to incompatible radios, data links and computer systems is being resolved. Now, even military forces and civilian "first-responders" are able to share data during emergencies, thanks to new hardware and software translators and interfaces.
Mission managers on the upcoming space shuttle flight will have the best view ever of any debris damage to the orbiter's thermal protection system (TPS), but they won't be able to order repairs with real confidence if they spot damage serious enough to trigger a repeat of the 2003 Columbia disaster.
Bernie Yonkovitz, who is a fleet metallurgical engineer, and Tom Ernst, manager of line maintenance planning, both for US Airways, have received the FAA Flight Standards Service Commitment to Safety Award. They were cited for research and development of an enhanced treatment program to improve the safety and efficiency of the fuel systems of US Airways' fleet. Also recognized were their FAA colleagues, Doyal Miller and Ray Dougherty.
US Airways was talking merger with America West well in advance of its second bankruptcy filing, but the pay, pension and retiree-benefit cutbacks of its current stint in Chapter 11 are what made the deal feasible, according to a regulatory filing by America West.
BOEING AEROSPACE SUPPORT AND FOKKER SERVICES B.V., part of the Stork Aerospace Group in the Netherlands, will upgrade the cockpits of three (K)DC-10 aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Air Force under a $36-million contract.
Germany's Telair International, a Teleflex subsidiary, will design and manufacture the cargo-handling system for Boeing's 747 Large Cargo Freighters (LCFs) that will deliver major assemblies for the 787 program. Telair's system features "intelligent" power drive units that are network controlled to allow them to communicate with each other to improve the system's safety and reduce labor costs.
Fulfilling a long-term prediction, the U.S. Army has decided that Embraer's ERJ 145 regional jet won't be a big enough platform to meet the Army and Navy's needs for an Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) intelligence-gathering aircraft. Weight growth appears to be the main problem. The new short list of candidates includes Boeing's 717 and 737, Airbus' A318 and A319, Embraer's 190, the Gulfstream 550 and Bombardier's Global Express.
Sometimes too many choices can get you in trouble. The U.S. Coast Guard found that out recently when it offered four long-term funding scenarios for its Deepwater fleet modernization program. The House Appropriations panel that funds the Coast Guard has given the agency until July 14 to submit a single detailed plan of how it will recapitalize its aging fleet of 90 ships and 200 aircraft. A hearing on the plan is slated for July 21.
Michael McMillan (see photo), president of Meggitt/S-TEC, Mineral Wells, Tex., has been appointed to the board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.
Boeing, don't close the order book--Air Canada's pilot union and the Canada Industrial Relations Board may help revive the airline's 32-aircraft order. Air Canada on Apr. 25 reached a tentative agreement with Boeing for 18 firm orders and 18 options for new-model 777s, plus 14 firm orders and 46 options for 787s--with the aim of replenishing its aging wide-body fleet of about 65 aircraft over the next 10 years (AW&ST May 2, p. 36).
Robert Vacek has become president/general manager of the Starsys Research Corp., Boulder, Colo. He has been vice president-programs. Company founder Scott Tibbitts will remain as CEO.
Joe Davis has been named chief of strategic communications for NASA and David R. Mould assistant administrator for public affairs. Davis was principal deputy director of public affairs for the U.S. Energy Dept., while Mould was special assistant to the Energy secretary, focusing on strategic communications policies.
The Pentagon, beset recently by a host of widely publicized scandals--Abu Ghraib, Iraq intelligence, acquisition mishaps and scuffles with top lawmakers--seems to be trying to tighten up on message control. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Lawrence Di Rita--the face of the Pentagon on those televised press conferences--has sent out a reminder to the military services that he is the node through which information passes to the public.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin drew a laugh on Capitol Hill last week when he declared "I hope never again to let the words spiral development cross my lips." It was a reference to the procurement approach favored by former exploration systems chief Craig Steidle, the first casualty in the incoming administrator's management housecleaning (AW&ST June 20, p. 48). "I have preferred a much more direct approach," Griffin says. That includes talks with Gen.
