Turbofan surprises testers and survives first controlled on-wing test of volcanic ash ingestion, providing data on what happens inside a jet engine flying though an ash cloud.
News from the Aerodays2015 research conference in London Oct. 20-23: MTU runs better GTF; Airbus rethinks cabins; UTRC advances model-based engineering; NASA tests low-noise flaps, gear.
Creating a testbed to prove a wing with drag-reducing natural laminar flow can be produced industrially and operated routinely has taken longer than Airbus and its European partners expected.
Aviation Week editors Senior International Editor Bill Sweetman and Naval Editor Michael Fabey break down the issue with the V-22 engine that investigators say brought down an Osprey in May.
Northrop Grumman Corp. is reducing its business sectors from four to three as of Jan. 1, 2016: Gloria Flach (see photo) has been appointed chief operations officer; she has been corporate vice president/president-electronic systems. Kathy Warden becomes vice president/president-Mission Systems, which will incorporate electronic attack; she has been vice president/president-information systems. Chris Jones will lead the Technology Services sector; he has been vice president/president-technical services.
Cause/Effect Disconnect I read with some amusement Air New Zealand Chief Pilot David Morgan’s statement in “Change Management” that “ aircraft last too long (20-25 years) . . . because of the huge investment.”
The European Union is seeking to update its aviation agreements with the Gulf states, but must weigh concerns about competition with European legacy carriers against other considerations.
Oct. 27-29—American Astronautical Society Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium. University of Alabama-Huntsville. Huntsville, Alabama. See astonautical.org Oct. 27-29—AHS International Technical Meeting on Rotorcraft Propulsion. Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center. Williamsburg, Virginia. See vtol.org/events/ahs-international-technical-meeting-on-propulsion
Foreign F-35 operators are being compelled to fund U.S. software laboratories that generate data crucial to the fighter’s ability to identify new radio-frequency threats.
DEFENSE Lockheed Martin flew the upgraded F-16V, equipped with Northrop Grumman’s APG-63 active, electronically scanned array radar, for the first time Oct. 21. The -V configuration is being developed to upgrade Taiwan’s -A/-Bs and F-16s operated by other nations.
F-35 official hints Canada’s suppliers could lose work if it opts out of the program; FCC proposes rules that could enable 5G wireless service; foreign investment in aerospace is rising.
Lockheed Martin starts building a 60-kW fiber-laser weapon for the U.S. Army, considers growth to 120 kW and sets its sights on Air Force and Navy high-energy laser opportunities.
