Rolls-Royce's design for the Trent 1000, an engine selected as one of the two propulsion offerings for Boeing's 7E7 transport, will borrow heavily from the 81,000-lb.-thrust Trent 900, Rolls' powerplant for the Airbus A380 mega-transport. The intermediate-pressure compressor, high-pressure compressor, tiled combustor and turbines of the new powerplant all will be scaled from similar components used in the Trent 900.
FAA and Israeli officials are in talks about whether a missile countermeasures system, now being installed on Israeli commercial aircraft, will be approved for use in U.S. airspace. The Israeli government moved quickly to adapt a military system for commercial use after a Boeing 757 operated by Arkia Airlines was fired at in Mombasa, Kenya, on Nov. 28, 2002. Neither of the SA-7 shoulder-fired missiles hit the aircraft, which was carrying 260 passengers and 10 crew. The incident prompted Israel's decision to arm its national airliners.
David J. Linton has been appointed president of the Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp., Roseland, N.J. He succeeds Richard Langseder, who was interim president and will remain executive vice president. Linton was vice president-program management for Raytheon Network-Centric Systems. Douglas Wright has been named vice president of the Engineered Systems Group of Curtiss-Wright Controls Inc., Gastonia, N.C. He was director for North America of the Goodrich Power Systems Div.
The U.S. Special Operations Command is hoping to field new equipment to disseminate its "message." Socom wants the gear to be sturdy enough so it can be air dropped. It should also be lightweight, self-powered and easy to disguise and track. Receivers for AM, FM, UHF and satellite broadcasts, as well as small AM/FM transmitters, mini-loudspeakers, text-messaging systems and event game device technologies are among the tools that interest the Pentagon. Internet broadcast reception and transmission devices also are being examined.
Scaled Composites took a big leap by doubling the altitude reached by its SpaceShipOne rocket glider on May 13 (AW&ST Apr. 12, p. 16). The craft achieved an apogee of 211,400 ft., coasting after a 55-sec. rocket burn accelerated it to 150,000 ft. and Mach 2.5, the company said. The craft was dropped from its White Knight mothership at 46,000 ft. and 120 kt., and the photo shows the mated pair taxiing before takeoff, with SpaceShipOne pilot Mike Melvill giving a "thumbs up" (see arrow).
Within the U.S. air-to-surface weapons community a schism may be developing between those who want their missiles to get wherever they're going in a hurry and those who want them to hang around a long time. The crux of the issue is whether persistence or pace is more appropriate in dealing with a broad target set. This boils down to either high-speed standoff weaponry, or endurance systems capable of loitering close to or over a target area. The debate is still open, notes Capt. Dave Dunaway, program director for the U.S. Navy's strike weapons.
Britain is working to plug a funding gap on its next batch of Typhoon combat aircraft, while all four partner nations attempt to eke out a final agreement on the baseline configuration. This would clear the way for a much delayed contract signature, possibly as early as the third quarter of this year.
Former U.S. Rep. Robert Walker, who is now chairman of Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates, has won the Public Service Award of the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Other recent honorees are: Distinguished Service Award, Abe M. Zarem, distinguished visiting executive in science and technology at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Foundation Award for Excellence, U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Goddard Astronautics Award, E.C.
Details of what the FAA told the airlines before and during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. continue to trickle out. But the Transportation Dept.'s inspector general (IG) has found that an hour-long audiotape account of six air traffic controllers who were communicating with two of the hijacked aircraft that day has been destroyed. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had asked the IG to review the FAA's responsiveness to requests by the 9-11 Commission for documents and other materials.
Low-fare carrier Spirit Airlines has placed a firm order for 15 Airbus A320-family aircraft--11 A319s and four A321s--plus 50 options. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based airline also plans to lease four A321s. These are in addition to the 20 A319/A321s it previously arranged to lease from International Lease Finance Corp. International Aero Engines V2550s will power all Spirit Airbus aircraft, which will have two-class configuration. The A319s have eight business and 130 economy seats; the A321s, 16 and 182, respectively.
You wrote a great editorial in "Why We Explore" (AW&ST Mar. 8, p. 70). I suggest one small but significant correction. The ultimate scientific prize is not finding evidence that life can arise off Earth, although that is of tremendous significance. The ultimate prize is proving that civilization can not only survive, but prosper off Earth.
After years of neglect, the U.S. air-launched weapons community is optimistic it will see a revival of research and development spending. When the "Red threat" faded in the early 1990s, so did the impetus for developing and fielding a new generation of air-to-air weapons in the U.S. The collapse of defense expenditures in Russia effectively ended work on the R-73 follow-on, the Vympel K-30, along with a slew of medium- and long-range air-to-air missiles (AAMs), including enhancements to the R-77 (AA-12 Adder) and the R-37 (AA-X-13).
Chinese President Wen Jiabao concluded a state visit to the European Union with a series of agreements, including confirmation of China's participation in the Galileo satellite navigation system. However, he failed to obtain what he was most eager for--lifting of an embargo on arms sales to Beijing.
William J. (Pete) Knight, a decorated combat veteran who was the fastest fixed-wing pilot other than space shuttle astronauts, died May 7 in Duarte, Calif., of acute myelogenous leukemia. He was 74. Knight was a California state senator at the time of his death. On Oct. 3, 1967, as a U.S. Air Force captain, he flew NASA's X-15A-2 rocket plane to Mach 6.70, or 4,520 mph., and 102,100 ft. The ablative-coated aircraft suffered structural damage and never flew again. Four months earlier, Knight made a successful off-site emergency reentry and landing from 173,000 ft.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. declined May 13 to review--and thus made final--a Dec. 19, 2003, recommended decision from Administrative Law Judge Burton Kolko finding that Astar Air Cargo, formerly DHL Airways, is a U.S. citizen. UPS and FedEx, which brought the original complaint against DHL Airways, asked for the review. Kolko concluded, and the department agreed, that Astar is owned and managed by U.S. citizens and makes its own business and operational decisions, even though most of its business comes from the foreign-controlled DHL Network group.
Alan M. Title (see photo), senior fellow at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center, Palo Alto, Calif., has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his achievements in original research. His research has centered on the physics of the solar atmosphere, especially magnetic and velocity fields and their role in solar activity; on optical interferometers; on high-resolution observations using active optical systems, and on data analysis systems for image analysis.
Aermacchi's M-346 advanced jet trainer is undergoing various tests on the road to first flight this spring. On Apr. 28 the aircraft performed the first taxi test at the Varese, Italy, airfield. The aircraft steer-by-wire system, together with the rudder, allow full control of the aircraft on the runway at any speed and crosswind combination, says the manufacturer. The aircraft is fitted with brake-by-wire anti-skid systems. Ground tests and initial power-up of the Honeywell F124-GA-200 engines went well, as did tests of the hydraulic and electric systems.
EADS expects to achieve 29-30 billion euros ($35 billion) in revenues for fiscal 2004, as the company reported improved financial figures for the first quarter. Europe's largest aerospace and defense company hopes its operating profit also will hit an earlier target of 1.8 billion. The group's two CEOs, Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich, said at the Berlin air show, "We are increasingly confident in our growth prospects. We notice further improvement in the civil aviation market, which we expect to speed up further in 2005."
NASA's Genesis solar sample return mission has completed the Earth flyby that will bring it back to what planners hope will be a midair capture over Utah on Sept. 8. The probe zipped past Earth on May 1 at about 2,800 mph., just outside the orbit of the Moon, and was scheduled to return for its landing sequence beginning on Sept. 6. The program has hired Hollywood stunt pilots for the primary and backup Eurocopter Astar 350 recovery aircraft, which have already practiced snaring the parafoil that will ease the Genesis sample return capsule toward the ground after reentry.
Diehl, EADS and Thales plan to jointly develop a directional infrared countermeasures (Dircm) system for military airlifters, commercial transports and helicopters. The partners already cooperate on a Franco-German demonstration Dircm system, dubbed Flash, that began operational trials last year.
Three schoolteachers and three combat veterans are among the 11 new astronaut candidates picked for training at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Texas. Selected as mission specialist-educators to inspire pre-college students to study math and science were: Joseph Acaba, 36, of Dunnellon, Fla.; Richard Arnold, 40, of Berlin, Md., and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, 28, of Vancouver, Wash.; Pilot James Dutton, 35, a U.S. Air Force major, flew combat patrols over northern Iraq, while Mission Specialist Christopher Cassidy, 34, won the Bronze Star as a U.S.
Thermodynamics is alive and well but not living in the zero point energy community. Reader John Lynch is on the mark. Further, even if he were wrong, the Second Law of Thermodynamics excludes using conversion of random energy fluctuations into useful power. The late James Clerk Maxwell proposed the existence of "a demon" that could convert random motion of gas molecules into useful energy. He then proved such a demon could not exist. Max- well also might devise a demon to show that ZPE is not convertible into useful energy.
The Defense Science Board has given Pentagon officials plenty to think about in the coming months as they try to determine if and how to modernize the U.S. Air Force tanker fleet. A DSB study argues that existing KC-135 tankers probably should be replaced, but that there is adequate time to complete studies sidestepped by the Air Force so far. Corrosion control efforts can keep KC-135s flying, although operations and support costs would increase, the DSB found.
