Boeing has obtained type inspection authorization (TIA) for the stretched 787-9 from the FAA, officially clearing the way for the start of certification flight testing. The award of TIA marks a key transition in the test program, which now moves from establishing the basic airworthiness of the 787-9 to the comprehensive task of certifying it for airline use. The milestone, which covered approval for the two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000-powered variants, comes as the overall flight test program passed 100 flights on Dec. 10.
When EADS CEO Tom Enders announced a major strategic review of the group's defense and space business earlier this year, he inadvertently raised expectations for a plan to overcome the structural limitations of operating in Europe. As it turns out, the grand plan has a lot more to do with cutting jobs and finding internal efficiencies than with a new approach to markets.
USN Vice Adm. (ret.) Mark Skinner (see photo) has become vice president/deputy of business and advanced systems development for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Aerospace Systems sector. He was principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition and had been program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs.
In simulator centers worldwide, training providers are coming up with clever and creative ways to boost the relevance of virtual flight-training scenarios, where pilots experience and respond to unusual circumstances like upsets. The trick will be to keep the pilots from trumpeting their experiences on social media and alerting pilot colleagues of what awaits them in the simulator.
The global airline industry is notorious for losing money. But for various reasons, 2014 looks set to be the most profitable year ever. That is the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) upbeat forecast and it applies to profits in absolute numbers. While the figure may look impressive, it only corresponds to a margin of 2.6%; the industry has had some better profit margins, most recently in 2010.
H. Christopher Goodrich has been appointed chief operating officer/executive vice president of the Mission, Cyber and Intelligence Solutions Group of the ManTech International Corp., Fairfax, Va. He was senior vice president of the Cyber Solutions business unit.
Beth McClurg (see photo) has been named director of real estate for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. She was vice president-corporate real estate for Capital One. Kevin Valik has been appointed sales director for Delaware, New Jersey and New York City. He succeeds Howard Modjeski, who is expected to retire at year-end. Valik was a sales manager at Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. for the Eastern U.S. and Eastern Canada.
David Schneeman has become CFO of Dynamic Aviation, Bridgewater, Va. He was CFO/treasurer/secretary of Decision Sciences International Corp. and had been an executive with SRA International Inc.
Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 flies over the island of Kauai. Photo by Dennis Mahaffay for Hawaiian Airlines. The carrier will eventually have 22 of these aircraft once all its orders have been delivered. Hawaiian is using A330s for expansion of its Asia-Pacific network, which is a key part of its business strategy. Along with Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian is among the niche players that have found business models that allow for disciplined growth (page 38). Elsewhere in this issue, senior editors interview Bombardier chief Guy Hachey (page 46).
Meantime, the Ryan-Murray framework is splitting the commercial aviation sector, with airline proponents lambasting doubled passenger security fees and airport boosters lauding the compromise and looking forward to more money for runway and other improvements. One revenue generator doubles the post-9/11 security fee charged to airline passengers for flights from $2.50 now to $5 per one-way trip this fiscal year, then to $5.60 in 2015. Critics say it steals more than $1 billion from travelers without improving their experience or security.
By the logic of “bigger is better,” Alaska Airlines should be in real trouble. It operates a modestly sized fleet from a relatively small home market with a business model somewhere between a low-fare carrier and legacy airline. Seattle-based Alaska, however, proves that logic does not always apply.
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The FAA finalized a new pilot training rule on Nov. 5 giving the airlines five years to begin exposing pilots to full stalls in flight simulators. But how much exposure should they get? The rule came primarily as the result of the 2009 Colgan Air Q400 crash near Buffalo, N.Y., the product of an improper control input that put the aircraft into a deep stall. To support the rule, hundreds of full-motion simulators will have to be upgraded with expanded envelopes that include performance in a stalled state for more than 50 aircraft models and configurations.
Christopher E. Kubasik has been appointed to the board of directors of Spirit AeroSystems Inc. of Wichita. He is an adviser on merger and acquisition opportunities through Ackuity Advisors and was president/chief operating officer of the Lockheed Martin Corp.
The U.S. Navy is to begin making biofuels part of its regular operational fuel purchases, citing preliminary indications from its first production-scale procurements that drop-in biofuels will be competitive in price with petroleum-based fuels by 2016. Under the Farm-to-Fleet program, the Navy will seek to purchase drop-in biofuel equivalents to JP-5 jet fuel and F-76 marine diesel in blends with conventional fuel from 10-50%, beginning with a bulk fuels solicitation in 2014. Deliveries would be expected in mid-2015.
SpaceX will stay in the running to use Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center after the Government Accountability Office ruled against Blue Origin in its protest of the way NASA was handling the bidding for commercial use of the historic pad. In a Dec. 12 ruling, the GAO rejected Blue Origin's contention that remarks by Administrator Charles Bolden indicated NASA would prefer that Complex 39B—a near-twin to 39A—be made available for multiple users. Blue Origin had proposed modifying 39A for multiple users, while SpaceX proposed to modify 39A for its exclusive use.
Brian Tripplehorn, director of business development for the Private Jet Services Group, Seabrook, N.H., has been named to the Aviation Committee of the Global Business Travel Association.
