Raytheon Aircraft Co. has delivered the 300th T-6A primary trainer. The single-engine turboprop-powered primary trainer is flown by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy under the Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems program. In addition, the T-6A is operated by the Hellenic Air Force and the NATO Flying Training in Canada program. Since 1996, when the JPATS program began, the Air Force and Navy have ordered 364 airplanes and 231 have been delivered--187 to the Air Force and 44 to the Navy. The JPATS plan calls for delivery of 800 airplanes through 2017.
EADS Military Aircraft is working on a still-classified unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator that could be flown by year-end, heralding a multifaceted research and development effort extending beyond 2010. The program--possibly known as Barrakuda--is being funded by the German government and EADS. A first airframe for the unmanned combat/reconnaissance air vehicle (UCAV/URAV) demonstrator program is likely already in assembly, since the company intends to fly the aircraft late in 2005.
Each Thunderbirds pilot, escorted by trim, blue-suited crew chiefs, climbs into his F-16C, closes the canopy and flips an engine-start switch. One aircraft's engine refuses to catch. Ground abort.
Airbus is ordering a detailed visual inspection of the rudders of A310 and older-model A300-600s--aircraft which share the same composite tail and rudder system. The move follows the Mar. 6 inflight separation of the rudder on an A310 operated by Canadian charter carrier Air Transat. According to Airbus, the recommendation to operators accelerates a normal five-year interval detailed inspection and requires operators conduct a tap test. About 400 aircraft, mostly A310s, will be affected.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and Silicon Graphics Inc. were set to announce an agreement Mar. 21 to pool their skills to create cutting-edge visualization technology for applications in intelligence, homeland security and missile defense. The five-year deal will combine Northrop Grumman's expertise in systems integration with SGI's computing and visualization skills.
The size--or lack thereof--of the future Royal Air Force is further becoming apparent, even though the Defense Ministry is extending the overhaul of its basing structure, and as it implements job cuts following a logistics review. The British Labor government is trying to manage conflicting presentational and political issues with military requirements as it begins to drip-feed elements of its Defense Airfield Review base study-work into circulation. Initially due to be completed by the end of March, the work is now spilling over into third-quarter 2005.
A letter from Capt. (ret.) Hugh Schoelzel refers to the outstanding achievements of TWA. No one would doubt the achieve- ment of inflight freshly brewed coffee, but he goes too far when he claims that TWA was the first airline to offer an all-jet international service. Has he not heard of BOAC and the Comet II service between Johannesburg and London? Albeit with major technological problems, it was the first by a country mile.
Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. plans to resume flight tests of its BA609 commercial tiltrotor next month as the company launches an aggressive program aimed at achieving FAA and Italian certification early in 2008.
The article "Cellularmageddon" (AW&ST Feb. 28, p. 62) creates a sobering view of the near future for airline passengers. At present, the best feature of the Airfone sets in each row is that I never have seen anyone use them. Airplane cabins remain one of the last cell phone-free zones around, and I welcome the closing of the main cabin door for the blissful cessation of phone chatter it creates.
Air France has begun operating a new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility near Paris Orly Airport. The center will have a 340-million-euro ($455-million) turnover, of which about 140 million euros will be generated by customers other than Air France, says the airline's CEO, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, who spoke at the formal inauguration site that has 41,000 sq. meters of space and employs 850 people. The facility will become a player in the looming merger of Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik to support the Airbus A380, company officials say.
Ivett Leyva, a senior aerodynamacist at Microcosm Inc., El Segundo, Calif., has been named to a National Research Council committee to assess U.S. Air Force and Defense Dept. aerospace propulsion programs.
The European Commission's bid to expand its "open skies" mandate to negotiating deals with China and Russia has some European airlines worried that talks with the U.S. may be put on the back burner. The new outreach agenda is part of a wider external aviation policy put forward by EC Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot. The European Court of Justice in 2002 basically put Brussels in the driver's seat within Europe, when it ruled bilateral agreements between European Union members and outside parties are no longer acceptable.
Spanish carrier Iberia is offering daily service to Moscow Domodedovo Airport from Madrid. The airline, which is the 12th international carrier to operate to the airport, is using a 120-seat Airbus A319 on the route. Iberia is also in discussion about possible code-sharing with Siberia Airlines and Pulkovo.
As if a $600-million cut last year wasn't enough to ground hopes for the E-10A intelligence and battle management aircraft program, the Government Accountability Office is questioning the Air Force's acquisition approach. Citing concurrent testing and procurement, auditors warn that the program is exposed to significant risk. The E-10A will incorporate sophisticated radar and battle management equipment on a Boeing 767 to find and track moving targets like enemy convoys or cruise missiles.
Considering his preference for one-armed economists--the kind who can't say, "On the one hand this, but on the other hand that"--Harry Truman wouldn't think much of this year's FAA aviation forecast. The agency sees steady growth, as both domestic and international passenger volume make it back to 2000 levels this year, and it projects an oil-price decline in 2006-08 to $37 per barrel, with gradual increases after that.
Cargo carriers continue to extend a hiring hand to pilot job candidates. A case in point is United Parcel Service, which revised its 2005 hiring forecast to 300 from about 100, according to AIR Inc. The Atlanta-based airline consultant says UPS also plans fleet additions--13 Airbus A300s by July 2006 and 10 A380s in 2009-12. Hiring is already looking up at all types of carriers, according to AIR Inc. In January and February, 1,420 pilots found jobs, a 6% increase compared with the same months last year, when airlines hired 1,335.
Jim Maucere has been named vice president-maintenance operations for Delta Air Lines' Technical Operations. David Garrison has been promoted to director of engineering and training from general manager of propulsion engineering and John Laughter to director of materials and planning from general manager for planning. Gary Swanson has been named managing director of technical sales. He was managing director of air logistics sales and marketing. Walt Klein, who has been director of engine maintenance, now also will oversee components maintenance.
Succeeding Bhalla at Lockheed Martin is Martin T. Stanislav, who was appointed controller/chief accounting officer. He has been vice president/controller of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth.
Russia has a growing interest in aviation security equipment, including products developed in the West, following the downing of two Tupolev commercial transports by suicide bombers last year (AW&ST Sept. 6, 2004, p. 43). They also have consulted Western nations for advice. Top U.S. aviation security officials have visited Moscow during the past six months to advise on security needs. Recently, Smiths Detection shipped its first mobile security checkpoint to Moscow. The modular unit can house a variety of explosives and weapons detection equipment.
Italy's Vulcanair expects to receive certification for its P68C general aviation airplane in the second quarter after logging its first flight last month near Naples. The prototype airplane is powered by two SMA SR305-230 piston engines, each rated at 227 hp. The flight was limited to an altitude of 4,000 ft. due to weather. The P68C is the first twin-engine application for the SMA 305-series engine, which is deigned to burn jet fuel instead of aviation gasoline.
Next month, the two-man ISS crew will begin testing the command-and-control system designed to permit Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) to dock at their orbiting facility. The redundant S-band system, delivered this month by the latest Progress cargo mission, will control the ATV freighter during the final 30 km. of its approach by means of spread-spectrum transponders, protocol management software and microwave equipment installed in the Russian Zvezda module.
Boeing has unveiled its F-15K fighter. The Republic of Korea air force is expected to buy 40 of the multi-role fighters, and deliveries should be complete by 2008. The Republic of Korea air force invested $4.2 billion in the project. The F-15K completed its first flight Mar. 3.
Andreas Meisel has been appointed head of aircraft overhaul and VIP jet services for Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg, Germany. He was vice president-marketing and sales. Meisel succeeds Wolfgang Gohde, who has become managing director of Lufthansa Systems. Succeeding Meisel will be Johannes Bussmann, who has been Singapore-based director of sales for Southeast Asia and Australia.
The question of who bombed an Air-India Boeing 747, killing all 329 persons on board a flight to Ireland, and who exploded a piece of luggage being transferred to an Air-India flight in Tokyo, killing two baggage handlers, on June 23, 1995, remains unanswered after a Canadian judge acquitted two Canadian Sikhs of engineering the plan. The bags carrying the bombs were loaded on flights out of Canada.
In the latest advance in controller-pilot data link communications in Europe, the Maastricht Upper Area Control Center has begun automatically issuing secondary surveillance radar code changes to CPDLC-equipped aircraft.
