The identity of what appears to be a blended wing-body aircraft type photographed over Amarillo, Texas, on March 10 remains uncertain, with the U.S. Air Force declining any comment on the aircraft.
Closing half the runways at one of the busiest West Coast airports for four months could be a recipe for chaos, but San Francisco International Airport is hoping that a new traffic-flow system will prevent taxiway bottlenecks and keep flight delays to a minimum.
Delta Air Lines Capt. (ret.) Tom Carey (Freeland, Wash. )
In “Back Again” (AW&ST March 17, p. 36), Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson makes some remarks about his future fleet strategy efforts for the airline that seem to align with the rag-tag strategy the carrier has held practically throughout its history. Along with myriad mergers and acquisitions, the airline has kept older inefficient aircraft that would not be competitive in a marginally profitable environment. Present profits are gleaned from low fuel prices and employee contracts held hostage to the specter of bankruptcy.
In 1966, shortly after the death of his wife's father, Laurent Beaudoin became president of the family business, a Canadian snowmobile company. Just 28 years old, he had to fill the big shoes left by the visionary Joseph-Armand Bombardier. Beaudoin would prove up to the task—and then some.
As Textron stitches together Cessna and Beechcraft under the newly created Textron Aviation, company executives still have numerous decisions to make—from which facilities to merge to potential employee layoffs. Textron closed on its $1.4 billion purchase of Beechcraft March 14, a few months ahead of the anticipated mid-year closing schedule. As originally envisioned, Textron would form one entity from a financial reporting standpoint although early indications were that the brands would be maintained, and the management of the operations would remain somewhat intact.
“USAF Prepares Industry for Cutbacks,” warned an Aviation Week & Space Technology headline, followed by a story that discussed the death of aircraft companies, shuttering of facilities, a Pentagon briefing to industry leaders with “a blunt warning of things to come” and a diminished role for manned aircraft in national defense. That article didn't appear recently, however. It was written in 1957—the first time the Laureate awards were presented.
Even as the Obama administration pushes to have the FAA fund itself with the traveler-paid Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the White House predicts the fund's balance will grow steadily over the next decade. White House budget documents lay out a road map to wean FAA from general-fund contributions. As of 2015, the FAA budget request would have the trust fund cover 93% of FAA's operations, as well as its Airport Improvement Program, facilities and equipment, and research, engineering and development accounts.
The new P-8, a linchpin of the U.S. Navy's low-profile maritime patrol force, has been pushed into the limelight from its traditional mission of submarine-hunting to join the massive search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared March 8.
I must take issue with Bill Sweetman's “A Shrinking Army” (AW&ST March 10, p. 16). It is not good that we are reducing the size of our Army, nor should we reduce the size of any of our other military services, especially at a time of heightened world tensions.
SpaceX delayed its third commercial cargo flight to the international space station (ISS) because of “payload contamination” problems in the unpressurized “trunk” of its Dragon spacecraft, but don't try to find out what those problems are. “We've had some issues with payload contamination that we will be addressing,” says Sam Scimemi, ISS program director at NASA headquarters, during a March 14 Space Transportation Association presentation. “We're going to have to assess that and replace some parts and get the rocket ready for launch again.
As part of the U.S.-German Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) program—a 2.5-meter telescope designed to fly on a modified Boeing 747-SP—Berlin is seeking a reprieve. NASA, which has grown weary of paying the bulk of annual maintenance costs for the $3 billion observatory, has proposed shelving the project in its 2015 budget request to Congress, citing costs of around $85 million per year as being second only to those for the Hubble Space Telescope.
Robert A. Hoover, former air show pilot and USAF test pilot, has been named to receive the fifth annual Outstanding Aviator Award of the New York-based Wings Club and the International Aviation Women's Association. The award recognizes contributions to aviation and/or security and aviators who serve as role models. Hoover is considered one of the founders of modern aerobatics, having performed his flying maneuvers over millions of people during the past five decades.
The U.S. decision to extend operational funding for the International Space Station (ISS) until 2024 is increasing the odds there will be some significant return on the $100 billion orbiting investment. So is a growing awareness of its unique utility for industrial and academic research, and some long-delayed traction for the commercial-space incubator NASA set up to promote U.S. National Laboratory assets on the station.
AleniaAermacchi has rolled out the first of 30 M-346 jet trainers destined for the Israeli air force (IAF). The aircraft, which made its first flight on March 15, was presented in IAF colors at the company's facility in Venegono, Italy, on March 20. AleniaAermacchi will deliver nine M-346Is to Israel this year, with the first pair due on July 10. Another 18 will be delivered in 2015, with the remainder in 2016. The M-346s are destined to replace Israel's aging TA-4 Skyhawks.
Michael Hotze has been appointed vice president-customer support and training for AgustaWestland's Philadelphia facility. He succeeds Giovanni Cecchelli, who has been promoted to vice president-capability development and governance, customer support and training. Hotze was director field operations and director customer support for Bell Helicopter.
Robert A. Hoover, former air show pilot and USAF test pilot, has been named to receive the fifth annual Outstanding Aviator Award of the New York-based Wings Club and the International Aviation Women's Association. The award recognizes contributions to aviation and/or security and aviators who serve as role models. Hoover is considered one of the founders of modern aerobatics, having performed his flying maneuvers over millions of people during the past five decades.
NASA will pay $172.7 million to United Launch Services, the contracting arm of United Launch Alliance, for preparation and launch of the U.S.-European Solar Orbiter Collaboration mission in 2017 on an Atlas V. The company will handle spacecraft processing, payload integration, launch and related launch services for the mission, which is expected to study the Sun and its outer atmosphere with high-resolution imagery and in-situ measurements from solar orbit. It will use an Atlas V 411 flying from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral. Launch is set for July 2017.
