The U.K. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on a new pricing structure for Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft being purchased under the Al-Salam contract. The price escalation reflects changes in the contract including production of all 72 Typhoons in the U.K. Saudi now has 34 Typhoons delivered, a further 12 will arrive during 2014. Sir Roger Carr, BAE Systems chairman, said the agreement was: “welcome, mutually acceptable, and equitable” . . . and would underpin “potential future business.”
A new “North American Trusted Traveler” program among Canada, Mexico and the U.S. is being lauded by airport lobbyists across the continent. “A North American Trusted Traveler program is an important next step in strengthening the commitment to free trade and cultural exchange among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and streamlining entry for participating passengers will help position air travel as a competitive, attractive option for tourists in all three countries,” the Airports Council International-North America and Canadian Airports Council said in a joint statement Feb.
Key capabilities fielded by Britain's Royal Air Force in Afghanistan and highly prized across the NATO-led coalition face uncertain futures once the Tornado GR4 aircraft is retired toward the end of the decade. As the RAF looks ahead to a fleet comprising Typhoons and F-35Bs, there are no plans in place to retain two systems that have become invaluable in-theater.
The Indian air force may be within months of receiving its intermediate jet trainer aircraft (IJT), which has been in development since 1999. “The much-delayed Sitara IJT is likely to be operational this year. . . . All efforts are being made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for achieving the final operational clearance by December 2014,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “Production of the aircraft will commence immediately thereafter.”
Chris Lennon has become head of development of asset management, aircraft deliveries and technical acceptance preparations in the corporate aircraft sector for the London-based International Bureau of Aviation's Asset Management Services. He was head of airworthiness for TAG Aviation. Carl Martin, Ross Armour and Malcolm Hide have been named technical managers.
The French defense ministry has taken delivery of its first upgraded E-3F Sentry airborne early warning aircraft to be modified by Boeing and Air France Industries. The aircraft is the first of four E-3F Sentrys to complete the mid-life update that is based upon the Block 40/45 upgrade developed for the U.S. Air Force's E-3 fleet. The project is part of a 2010 U.S. foreign military sale worth $324 million. All four aircraft are due to be upgraded by 2016.
Investigators probing the crash of a police helicopter in Scotland are questioning why both engines flamed out despite the aircraft still having 10-15 min. of fuel left. The Airbus—formerly Eurocopter—EC135T2 operated for Police Scotland by Bond Air Services had been on a routine police mission and was returning back to its base at Glasgow City Heliport when it crashed onto the Clutha Vaults public house late in the evening of Nov. 29, 2013. All three crew onboard the helicopter were killed as were six patrons in the bar when the aircraft crashed through the roof.
A military fly/drive vehicle inspired by miniature “multicopter” unmanned aircraft is being prepared for its first flight. Advanced Tactics Inc.'s (AT) Black Knight Transformer is the technology demonstrator for a casualty-evacuation and cargo-resupply vehicle that can drive on or off road and fly like a helicopter, manned or unmanned.
As poor countries develop, air travel expands much faster than incomes. But as people become richer, that gearing ratio tends to fall: Air travel still grows faster than incomes, but not so much faster. And then the economy itself slows, as its game of catch-up takes it closer to the leading edge of advanced countries. For Chinese commercial aviation, that may be just as well. After experiencing the most powerful episode of airline expansion in history, the country is straining to provide infrastructure for the sector.
For Sikorsky, demonstrating the S-97 Raider high-speed helicopter is even more important now that the U.S. Army has decided to retire its armed scout helicopters and not replace them, at least in the near term. The company, which is building two Raider prototypes on industry funds, believes there is still room, and time, within the Army's long-term budget to acquire a small fleet of new armed scouts before it begins the heavy expenditure of replacing its large fleets of medium-utility and attack helicopters.
Matt Bradley has been promoted to president from vice president-business development of FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. He succeeds Bill Tempany, who will remain CEO and a member of the board of directors. Derek Graham has been reassigned to chief technical officer from chief operating officer, and Jeff Brunner has been moved to vice president-certification engineering and China operations from vice president-operations.
More than six months after the end of a nine-month halt to flights over hazardous environments by the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC225, all operators of the heavy helicopters, the majority of which are used to support oil and gas platforms, have returned it to the air having implemented a series of interim fixes certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last July.
Sikorsky Aircraft is bringing oil and gas platform operations into the 21st century with a new satellite-based approach system that takes the human calculation and guesswork out of legacy rig approaches in instrument conditions and at night. The system offers operators an automated arrival tool to reduce crew loading while increasing situational awareness.
Legacy airlines in Europe and Asia have long recognized the Persian Gulf carriers as a major threat. Now the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are exploring an open-skies agreement that they hope will help defend their position and stop leakage of traffic to the three big Middle East hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Wayne Gilbert West has been appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of Delta Air Lines. He will succeed Stephen E. Gorman, who plans to retire. West will remain head of Airport Customer Service and Delta TechOps.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the last commercial operator of passenger-configured Douglas DC-10s, similar to the one shown, completed the type's last scheduled passenger service on Feb. 20, flying from Dhaka to Birmingham, England, via Kuwait. The aircraft, a DC-10-30 registered S2-ACR, then carried out a series of scenic flights around the U.K. for aviation enthusiasts. The type is being replaced in service by the Boeing 777-300ER. Biman plans to donate the DC-10 to a museum, and a final ferry flight is expected later this year.
The trouble began with the CJ610 and JT12, the kerosene guzzlers that launched business aviation's jet age. The showgirls at the Sahara and Flamingo just made things worse. The problem with the former was their ungodly racket, while the latter served as leggy magnets that got those single-spoolers howling at all hours. And too often the place of departure and return was Santa Monica Airport (SMO).
An item in the The World section, “Battery Smoke Grounds 787” (AW&ST Jan. 20, p. 12) lists one symptom that was corrected, but the matter of overloading the battery remains. Why during flight test does the auxiliary power unit (APU) work fine, but a well-used APU in service overloads the battery? As a retired TWA mechanic, I offer these factors for consideration: •Fuel temperatures aboard a recently landed aircraft after a 10-15-hr. flight will be -40F (kerosene @ 60F is hard to get on fire).
India's military procurement plans are likely to be hampered by a minimal budget increase in the next financial year. India has proposed increasing its defense spending by 10% to 2.24 trillion rupees ($36.2 billion) in its 2014-15 fiscal year starting April 1, but the amount earmarked for new weapons systems has been increased by only 3.2%. With a weakening rupee, the defense budget in dollar terms for new weapon systems has actually fallen to $14.49 billion from last year's allocation of $16 billion.
Peter A. Antonenko has been promoted to chief operating officer from executive vice president of the Jetcraft Corp., Raleigh, N.C. Honors And Elections
Petroleum Helicopters Inc. Sikorsky S-92A departs an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The company recently began using a Sikorsky-developed automated rig approach system to reduce the workload and increase the safety for S-92 pilots in night or low-visibility conditions. A special report starting on page 38 examines how trends in the oil-and-gas industry and the search-and-rescue business are impacting helicopter operations. The Petroleum Helicopters photo was altered to obscure details of the offshore rig.
