If last year's airline debate centered on the use of mobile electronics in flight, the argument in 2014 moves to regulating passenger cell phone use—not just for safety's sake but also for sanity's. In recent weeks, lawmakers have introduced legislation that, if enacted, would prohibit passengers from talking on mobile telephones on airline flights in the U.S. While the fate of those proposals remains unclear, their powerful sponsors indicate the debate will likely play out during the crafting of an FAA reauthorization bill next year.
Business aviation's most unique aircraft, both Italian, are progressing despite setbacks worthy of operatic treatment. After years of togetherness, the Bell/Agusta 609 was in 2011 spurned by its U.S. partner, whose commitment seemed to range from indifferent to obstreperous, casting further doubt on the long-delayed civil tiltrotor's future. In case you've lost track, the BA609 project began in the late 1990s with deliveries to begin in 2002. Needless to say, that deadline was missed, as has almost every one since.
Joint procurement programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter do not save money and actually cost more than the multiple single-service projects they replace, according to a report from Rand Corp. commissioned by the U.S. Air Force. The researchers compared cost-growth rates in joint programs, between the start of full-scale development and service entry, with growth in one-service programs. They found that in almost all cases, joint programs had higher cost growth than single-service projects.
Senate passage last week of a bipartisan budget deal framework has set off a scramble. First, Congress has until Jan. 15 to pass spending bills for 2014, allowing the Pentagon to “buy back” readiness for the military nearly lost by last year's budget cuts and clarify its budget blueprint for fiscal 2015-19 by February.
After reading “Return of the Penetrator” (AW&ST Dec. 9, p. 20), it seems clear that it is time to rethink the aircraft. Look where the X-47B is now. The U.S. Air Force does not need a folding wing, nor the heavy-duty naval landing gear, nor size restrictions of compatible naval ships. Go back to 2007-08 and study what stage the design was at when the program split.
Paul A. Robinson has joined Focus Investment Bank of Washington as a senior adviser on the government, aerospace and defense sectors for middle-market companies. He was founder of AeroTech Research and was an engineer with NASA.
Ralph Leach (see photos) has been named managing director of marketing and sales for the FlightSafety Academy, Vero Beach, Fla. He was vice president-business development for Jet Asia in China and a senior consultant with CMR in London. Randy Annett has been promoted to manager of FlightSafety International's Learning Center in Tucson, Ariz. He succeeds Kelly Allender, who has been promoted to manager of Dallas Learning Center. Annett was assistant manager of FSI's Cessna Learning Center in Wichita.
Jan. 21-22—MRO Latin America. Rio de Janeiro. Feb. 4-6—MRO Middle East. Dubai. Feb. 10—Air Transport World's 40th Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards. Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel. March 4-5—Defense Technology and Affordability Requirements Conference. Washington. March 6—Aviation Week's Laureate Awards. Washington. April 8-10—MRO Americas. Phoenix. Oct. 7—MRO Europe. Madrid. You can now register ONLINEfor Aviation Week Events.
China Airlines will set up a budget carrier with the brand of Singapore Airlines affiliate Tigerair. The goal is to begin operations at the end of 2014. The network will cover major destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Taiwan, says the Taiwanese carrier, which will own 90% of Tigerair Taiwan. Tigerair will own 10%.
Malcolm Venturi has been appointed sales and service manager for southern and western Australia and the Asia-Pacific region for Vector Aerospace Engine Services-Atlantic of Toronto. Honors And Elections
Problems with a cooling loop on the International Space Station prompted NASA to reschedule last week's planned launch of the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s ORB-1 resupply mission to the ISS until at least Jan. 13. The launch of the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule from the Wallops Flight Center, Va., will mark the first under an eight-flight, $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract between Orbital and NASA. The cooling system difficulties surfaced Dec. 11, when a flow-control valve in Loop A of the station's dual loop external cooling system faltered.
“Reusable Redux” (AW&ST Dec. 2, p. 20) discusses reusable launchers. An image of the X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) is featured, which the article states never flew because the technology was not available.
Charlton C. Walker (see photos) has become vice president/associate general counsel/Information Systems sector counsel for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He was the sector's assistant general counsel. Harry Q.H. Lee, 2nd, has been appointed vice president-corporate contracts, pricing and supply chain. He was vice president-contracts, pricing and program business operations for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has completed all of its milestones under NASA's Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) program, which culminated in the first free-flight test and runway landing of its Dream Chaser spacecraft at Edwards AFB, Calif. While the company says all of the goals of the flight were achieved, the Oct. 26 test was marred by a landing gear deployment failure that caused the vehicle to veer off the runway after touchdown and sustain damage.
It is becoming evident that the crew piloting the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crash-landed on approach to San Francisco International Airport last July were not qualified to fly that aircraft. Aviation is a field of scientific absolutes. V speeds are not guidelines. The ability of a qualified pilot is just as absolute. Airplanes have become increasingly complex, with the addition of flaps, retractable gear, autopilot, flight management systems, etc. These systems must work correctly. Thus, a qualified pilot must operate these systems correctly.
Jan. 13-17—22nd AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 52nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Conference and AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference. All at National Harbor, Md. See www.aiaa.org/EventDetail.aspx?id=18410, 18405, 18406 Jan. 14-17—National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference. New Orleans. See www.nbaa.org/events/sdc/2014/ Jan. 22-24—Fifth Decennial AHS Aero-mechanics Specialists' Conference. Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
