One example of Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) push toward new international joint ventures is Custodio, a Singapore-based cybersecurity research and development company being established in collaboration with the nation's Economic Development Board and announced in February at the Singapore Airshow.
Airbus Defense and Space has completed the first phase of its airdrop trials of its A400M Atlas airlifter. The aircraft dropped a range of different loads by parachute during the trials at the Fonsorbes range near Toulouse in 11 flights during a two week period. Crews dropped 26 platforms and containers weighing from 255 kg (560 lb.) to four metric tons using the ramp aerial-delivery system (RAS-wedge), and 11 bundles weighing 15-320 kg using the paratrooper doors.
Eddie Johnson's Viewpoint “NASA's Plan Shorts Safety” (AW&ST Feb. 3/10, p. 82) is on target in being concerned about the safety of the commercial crew vehicles now under development. The Orion procurement (in 2006) emphasized safety and required that responding contractors demonstrate compliance with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB).
At capacity-constrained airports around the world, high winds are a major cause of flight delays and cancellations, often as a result of the knock-on effects of reduced airport flow rates. Landing aircraft currently have to maintain set distances apart due to the wake vortices occurring from the wingtip, but research has shown that in strong headwinds, ground speeds on approach are reduced and the effect of the vortices is quickly dissipated, potentially allowing the distances separating the aircraft to be reduced.
Brian Clegg has been appointed vice president-global aerial operations for Erickson Air-Crane Inc., Portland, Ore. He succeeds H.E. “Mac” McClaren, who has become Washington-based vice president-government, defense and security programs. Clegg was vice president-flight operations for the CHC Helicopter Corp.
For offshore helicopter pilots, the approach to oil and gas platforms is one of the most work-intensive periods of the flight. During bad weather, pilots can struggle with high winds, while low visibility and clouds sometimes obscure heli-decks that often sit hundreds of feet above the sea level, and obstacles such as cranes and gas flares create challenges in the final moments before touchdown.
Matthijs de Haan (see photo) has become general manager of Terma the Netherlands in Leiden. He succeeds Richard Jones, who is retiring; de Haan was director of the Holland Space Cluster in Noordwijk.
New green propulsion technology developed by Swedish Space Corp. is expected to help Skybox Imaging sell black-and-white images at resolutions well below 1-meter ground-sample distance, positioning the Mountain View, Calif.-based startup to compete with established remote-sensing service providers in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Skybox Chief Executive Tom Ingersoll says the first two of a planned 24-satellite constellation of small, optical imaging spacecraft can already offer panchromatic products at 90-cm ground-sample distance.
Diana L. Sands has been named senior vice president of Chicago-based Boeing's Office of Internal Governance, effective April 1. She has been vice president-finance/corporate controller and is succeeding Wanda Denson-Low, who is retiring. Robert E. Verbeck, who has been vice president/chief financial officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security in St. Louis, has been appointed to succeed Sands. And he will be followed by Leanne Caret, who has been vice president/general manager for vertical lift in Philadelphia.
Temperatures soar to beyond 1,000C in the turbine sections of helicopter engines. This is hardly a hospitable environment for a condenser microphone. But Berlin-based German Aerospace Center (DLR) researchers, because they needed to take sound measurements in just such inhospitable places for experiments useful in the decades-long pursuit of quieter helicopters, have designed a special housing and coiled sound canal probe for the job.
Rafi Maor returned to Israel Aerospace Industries as chairman in November 2013. He had worked on the Lavi fighter program and led IAI's unmanned aircraft systems division before leaving the company for the information and telecom industries. Maor gave his first media interview to Senior International Defense Editor Bill Sweetman at last month's Singapore Airshow. AW&ST: What is your view of how big the civil unmanned air system market will be, and how soon it will start to take off?
Art Lofton, Robyn De Wees, Calvin Pennamon, Gerard Spivey and Gregory West (see photos), all Northrop Grumman Corp. employees, received top awards at the annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Global Competitiveness Conference. An additional 15 Northrop Grumman employees were recognized as BEYA Modern-Day Technology Leaders. They were cited for dedication to community service, educational leadership, and technical and professional contributions.
The caption with a graphic depicting satellites and debris in Earth orbit accompanying an article in the March 3 edition (page 22) on a new U.S. satellite system to monitor other spacecraft incorrectly described a dense ring of objects. The region described was low Earth orbit, not geosynchronous orbit.
As Boeing explores interest in a 757 replacement (AW&ST Feb. 24, p. 28), an obvious solution presents itself—a 757 MAX. The 757 is known for its range, payload and hot-and-high takeoff capabilities. This rugged and reliable airframe is beloved by flight crews and maintenance personnel alike. Restarting production of the 757 with new-generation engines and some modest aerodynamic and systems refinements would produce an economical solution to the 757 replacement issue.
India has put on hold all defense contracts with Rolls-Royce following allegations that the company paid bribes to win lucrative contracts to supply Hawk advanced trainer jet engines to state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), a defense ministry official says. Not only is the decision a serious blow to the aircraft engine-maker, but it also threatens to delay upcoming Indian air force purchases and impact other existing programs.
Billy Martin has been appointed senior research scientist and director of the Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Lab at the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University. He was principal engineer and EME group supervisor at the Cessna Aircraft Co.
Following its recent decision to pursue large geared-turbofan designs for next-generation engines in the 2020s and beyond, Rolls-Royce has announced plans to expand its aerospace research and technology capabilities in Dahlewitz, Germany, with construction of a new testbed for power gearboxes.
The Singapore government has chosen the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to replace its aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. Details of the decision emerged in a speech by Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen on March 6. Ng did not say when or how many aircraft would be delivered, but when Airbus tabled its offer last summer, the requirement was for six aircraft to replace four KC-135s. Two more Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters are also due to be purchased to support ship-borne operations.
When Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab announced last December that Air India had been accepted as a future member of the group, some in the country thought this could signal the turning point that the beleaguered airline had been waiting for. However, the U.S. downgrade of India's aviation safety rating in January underscored just how bumpy the road to normalcy remains.
