W hat to do about Chinese airline overcapacity? As the carriers scrape along, with profits supported mainly by exchange-rate effects, they might be expected to sell surplus aircraft. But in China there is a big problem with that solution: The aircraft are generally overvalued.
Bombardier’s revolutionary, composite Airframe — Learjet 85 — completed its first flight on April, 9, 2014. The event is a critical milestone for the midsize jet development program that was launched in October 2007, signifying that the development program is getting back on track after more than a year of technical problems. Composite construction process control has been particularly challenging. When certified, the Learjet 85 will become business aviation’s first primarily composite airplane.
R ecapturing the X-plane spirit is challenging without the resources to fly experimental aircraft like the iconic North American X-15 of the 1960s. But NASA hopes to bring a culture of “learning by doing” back to its aeronautics research by staying small and moving quickly.
Denmark may be a signatory to the Joint Strike Fighter program, but that does not automatically oblige it to purchase the fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Unveiled earlier this month in Payerne, Switzerland, the Solar Impulse 2 is scheduled to quickly proceed to flight testing ahead of its solar-powered around-the-world attempt next year. First flight is planned for mid-May, and circumnavigation is required to begin in March 2015 to avoid the monsoon season.
New weather forecasting algorithms are being used to help North Sea helicopter crews avoid an infrequent phenomenon. Between 1992 and 2013, there were more than three-dozen instances of lightning strikes on helicopters in and around the North Sea; they were recorded when lightning had not been forecast but were seemingly prompted by the presence of the helicopter itself.
After a long battle to edge rival General Electric out of the F-35 engine market, Pratt & Whitney succeeded in 2011. GE announced it would shelve the F136 after the Pentagon refused to fund it for four years, leaving Pratt in the coveted position of a sole-source engine supplier for the largest international fighter program ever.
Unmanned Systems The U.S. Navy on April 17 released a long-awaited draft request for proposals for its Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) system. The document was released only to the industry due to security concerns. A downselect is slated for roughly a year from now. The first Uclass aircraft are targeted for deployment on a carrier deck in 2020. Expect bids from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Atomics (see page 28).
The first Airbus Military A400M for the Turkish air force has arrived following protracted handover negotiations that delayed its delivery from late 2013. The aircraft arrived at Kayseri AB on April 16, the first of two A400Ms to be delivered to the air arm this year. All 10 of the A400Ms ordered by Turkey should be handed over by 2018.
