An experimental fly/drive vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) roadable aircraft has made its first Pentagon-supported hover flights. Advanced Tactics’ (AT) Black Knight Transformer is a demonstrator for a cargo-resupply or casualty-evacuation aircraft that can also be driven on and off roads.
It is remarkable how airline avionics lag not only those used by the military but also the experimental and general aviation markets. “Exit Excursions” ( AW&ST March 24, p. 42) describes a flightpath vector as a “technological upgrade” for the Boeing 737NG.
Boeing performed the first test flight of the Raytheon APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS) on a P-8A Poseidon at Boeing Field, Seattle, on April 13, launching a new stage in a shadowy but important intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance program that has been underway for more than a decade. The AAS milestone coincides with delivery of the first P-8A to be produced for the U.S. Navy under the third Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP-3) batch, marking the start of a new expansion phase which will see the operational fleet increase to 21 by the end of 2014.
Two years ago, Rolls-Royce opened a $700 million engine assembly facility in Singapore and with the operational experience it has gained, the engine manufacturer believes the move is paying off.
When it came to the A320neo, Airbus deliberately focused on key propulsion and aerodynamic improvements to gain maximum performance advantage in the shortest possible development time. Now, with the A320neo set to start flight tests in October, industry sources claim that Airbus is shifting its focus to avionics, cabin and other system improvements that could sustain the A320 well into the 2020s.
NATO member-nations face difficult choices when it comes to maintaining the alliance’s airborne warning and control system system (AWACS) capability into the middle of the century.
William Lynn Title: CEO, Finmeccanica North America, DRS Technologies Age: 60 Education: Undergraduate degree, Dartmouth College; Graduate degrees, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; Cornell Law School
Google has acquired Titan Aerospace, a developer of solar-powered, high-altitude unmanned-aircraft, just weeks after Facebook revealed it is working on using stratospheric long-endurance UAVs to provide Internet connectivity to remote regions. The Moriarty, N.M.-based Titan is building the Solara series of “atmospheric satellites,” which are designed to stay aloft for 1-5 years.
Even as Secretary of State John Kerry was touting a U.S.-Russian agreement to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, the Polish defense minister was in the U.S. thanking the U.S. military for an agreement to keep 12 F-16s and support personnel in Poland through year-end. The minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, adds that Poland is also discussing a deeper partnership with the U.S. including the permanent presence of its aircraft in the region and deepening cooperation with U.S. special operations forces, cyberdefense and the acquisition of long-range precision missiles.
Air New Zealand and Boeing have unveiled the completed 787-9 that will be the first of this variant to be delivered, in July. The distinctive new livery with an all-black fuselage will be used on a handful of the carrier’s aircraft, while the bulk will have a mainly white version. The 787-9 was rolled out of a Boeing paint hangar in Everett, Wash., on April 5. A fourth aircraft was recently added to the certification effort, and a fifth will follow soon. Boeing says 787-9s in the test and certification program have exceeded 1,200 hr. on more than 500 flights.
In the “New Directions” story in the March 3 edition (page 29), details of the new Airbus Helicopters EC225e’s maximum takeoff weight were incorrect. MTOW will be 11,160 kg (24,500 lb.) and the capability to take off in ISA+20° in a Category A heliport will be increased by 550 kg.
To fully modernize its fleet of ships and aircraft, the Coast Guard would need about $2.5 billion per year, says Adm. Robert Papp. Yet during the last three fiscal years, the Coast Guard has received only about $1.4 billion—in part thanks to additional infusions of cash by lawmakers. This year’s budget request seeks slightly more than $1 billion, Papp says. The cutbacks have primarily been felt in operations, where the Coast Guard has tightened its belt by 30%.
Maintenance execs frequently worry about the supply of well-trained technicians, yet somehow skilled technicians always seem to be forthcoming as long as wages are sufficient. But will there always be enough well-trained maintenance managers? Here, the challenge is quality, not quantity. How can managers up their game as the demands of aircraft maintenance change? New models, new systems and new materials are always coming into fleets, and OEMs generally supply the training to handle the new technologies. But maintenance is changing in more fundamental ways, too.
The Aero Gulf Group is confident it will make money overhauling engines in Norway, even though Pratt & Whitney incurred losses there. At first glance, it might seem curious that the Bahrain-based helicopter operator purchased the CFM56 propulsion shop in Stavanger from Pratt & Whitney in August 2013—especially because the Middle Eastern company is not an engine expert. Pratt & Whitney had purchased the facility from Braathens ASA in 2000 to add CFM56-3 and -7 capabilities and expand its international network.
At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, researchers are working with one major manufacturer to develop a completely different approach to forecasting intermittent demand: They are combining the behavior of commercial airlines and large fleet operators with predictive analytics.
I n the public’s view, there are only two choices facing the airlines following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Act now to ensure aircraft can always be tracked, everywhere; or cave in to the airlines’ moan that it is too costly and face the consequences the next time an aircraft vanishes.
T he Web has done more than any medium to pin the pejorative label “drones” on unmanned aircraft. But now, two giants of the Internet are taking a new look at the old idea of using unmanned platforms as “atmospheric satellites” to bring affordable, accessible connectivity to all parts of the world (see page 28).
