COMMERCIAL AVIATION China’s first C919 airliner is ready for ground testing after being rolled out in Shanghai on Nov. 2, says manufacturer Comac. First flight is planned for 2016, but no date is given for entry into service of the 158-seat narrowbody. Deliveries were originally planned for 2016, but 2019-20 now appears likely (page 43).
Three interrelated events are indicative of the state of commercial aviation: Airbus ramps up its production rate—likely followed by Boeing; Bombardier announces a $1 billion equity infusion by the Quebec government into the C Series program; and Comac rolls out the first C919 test aircraft in Shanghai.
Continued technical troubles with the Silvercrest engine in development at Safran’s Snecma motors division will further delay certification of the new powerplant by 12-18 months, shelving hopes for a first test flight of Dassault Aviation’s new Falcon 5X business jet this year.
Land constraints, customs bureaucracy and an acute shortage of skilled labor afflict the maintenance, repair and overhaul industry in the Asia-Pacific region, which is forecast to become the world’s largest in terms of fleet size and MRO market value.
Conflicting reports painted two very different pictures of how Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed in the Sinai: damage from a previous tail strike, or a bomb planted by terrorists.
NASA delays its CRS-2 contract, again. Italy is in line to become the next nation with armed Reapers. The FAA scrambles to create a UAV registration system. And the Ex-Im bank bill nears final passage.
Wayne Hale, former shuttle program manager, tells deep-space exploration advocates: “There must be a revolution in how we get things done, financially and organizationally.”
France plans to compensate for A400M availability by moving up the acquisition of Airbus MRTT aerial refueling tankers. The air force is also weighing a plan to renovate part of its existing C-130H fleet and to purchase new or used C-130s to meet urgent operational needs for transport and refueling.
Dassault Aviation has asked its supplier base to increase production based on an anticipated tripling of output by late 2018—a response to sudden interest in the Rafale outside of France, somewhat of a gamble for the French manufacturer.
A330 MRTTs will be available until at least 2025 as newly built aircraft, with the A330-200 staying in production for the purpose, says Airbus. This follows studies of an MRTT adaptation of the A330-200’s successor, the A330-800.
A determination on the second set of contract awards for commercial resupply missions to ISS, expected on Nov. 5, could be influenced by an independent agency review of the Oct. 28, 2014, engine failure on Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle.
Despite some early challenges and false starts, the Japanese low-cost sector is now firmly entrenched. AirAsia is reentering, and others are branching out into new markets.
Structural failure of the fuselage or violent attitude changes could be a likely explanation of why the recordings became so extreme, and in some cases, wrong.
BAE Systems is partnering with air-breathing rocket developer Reaction Engines as part of an agreement under which BAE will acquire a 20% share of the U.K.-based company for £20.6 million.
