Bombardier is looking at two scenarios for the rest of the CSeries flight-test program and their schedule implications, but will only come to conclusions over the next few months, says President and CEO Pierre Beaudoin. Bombardier is deciding between a tight flight-test schedule, which would require using more prototypes at the same time, or using fewer, which would necessitate a longer program but limit the cash drain.
Nigel Rudd has been appointed as a nonexecutive member and vice chairman of the board of directors of BBA Aviation plc. He is expected to succeed Michael Harper as chairman in May. Rudd is nonexecutive chairman of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd., Invensys and The Business Growth Fund, and a nonexecutive director of Sappi Ltd.
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works takes the wraps off its proposed SR-72, a Mach-6 successor to its long-retired SR-71 Blackbird spy plane (page 18). The concept, detailed here for the first time, relies on a breakthrough turbine-based combined-cycle propulsion system that marries scramjet technology with today's fighter engines. Elsewhere in this issue are updates on helicopter programs and technologies (pages 25, 26 and 44) and the latest on industrial jockeying to win work to build the next U.S. bomber (page 22).
Sirius XM Radio's FM-6 satellite is performing post-launch orbit-raising maneuvers as planned following its Oct. 26 launch aboard a Proton M Breeze M from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On Oct. 27, the satellite, built by Space Systems/Loral, began the first of several thruster firings to propel itself from geostationary transfer orbit to its final geostationary orbit at 116.15 deg. W. Long.
A Senate panel on aviation led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) convenes this week to discuss how to keep aviation manufacturing in the U.S. competitive. But competition in the increasingly global airline and aerospace industries is in the eye of the beholder. U.S. unionized pilots and flight attendants are scrutinizing how Norwegian Air Shuttle proceeds with its latest round of contract negotiations. The contract talks represent a test case for the U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement in 2010, which allows more European flights into the U.S.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have won contracts under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (Darpa) classified Endurance program to develop pod-mounted lasers to protect aircraft from electro-optical/infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles. The program is expected to develop a miniaturized, low-maintenance laser and lightweight, highly agile beam control for tracking, identification and engagement of dynamic targets.
President Barack Obama entered office pledging to improve the nation's relations with key allies. But with ongoing UAV strikes, revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance of allies' leaders and continued detentions of terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay prison, even Obama's supporters concede his image campaign hasn't worked out. “The level of support for the U.S. is back to where it was in the [George W.] Bush administration,” says Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.).
Biologists tell us complex eyeballs first appeared in the Cambrian era, more than 500 million years ago, as the evolutionary value of making sense of the light waves bouncing around in the atmosphere began to manifest in the relatively primitive creatures alive then. Over time, experts say, the eye has evolved as many as 100 different times, demonstrating the persistent importance of sight as a tool for survival.
Just this week, the Aviation Week Intelligence Network is releasing its 2014 Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast, projecting slightly more than 17,000 new aircraft will be delivered during the upcoming decade. We expect the in-service fleet size to edge up 1% during the decade and utilization to rise 4%, while retirements should decline about 5%. While single-aisle aircraft dominate the delivery picture, large twins are set for strong growth as well.
Nov. 11-13—Airport Council International's (ACI) 2013 Airport Concessions Conference. Sacramento, Calif. See www.aci-na.org/event/2420 Nov. 13-15—10th ALTA Airline Leaders Forum 2013. Cancun, Mexico. See www.altaairlineleaders.com Nov. 17-21—Dubai Airshow. See www.dubaiairshow.aero Nov.21-22—Air Force Association's Global Warfare Symposium and Air Force Ball. Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles. See olereg.com/afa/LA2013RegHome.aspx
Ryan Miller (see photo) has been appointed vice president-investor relations for Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He succeeds Steve Buesing, who will become vice president/controller of the Commercial Systems business. Miller was controller for operations.
With a record undelivered backlog of more than 3,400 737s on its books, Boeing says it will increase production to 47 aircraft per month in 2017, the fastest rate ever implemented for any airliner. The move, which has been anticipated for some time, comes as Boeing prepares to ramp-up production of the existing 737 Next-Generation model to 42 per month in the first half of 2014 and begin assembly of the follow-on 737 MAX family.
Picture this scenario: An adversary nation with an in-depth air defense system and counter-low-observable capability has tested and deployed an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon, disabling a U.S. satellite in the process.
Hoping to gain entry into a potential U.S. market for nontoxic “green” satellite thrusters, the Swedish National Space Board will permit NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to ground-test environmentally friendly propulsion technology already flight-tested on a European spacecraft. Under the bilateral cooperative agreement, Sweden's Ecaps company will deliver 5N and 22N High Performance Green Propulsion thrusters to Goddard, which will oversee hot-fire testing and range-safety analysis. The Swedish technology is based on ammonium dinitride.
As the hard-won progress in hypersonic propulsion technology can attest, the road to sustained air-breathing engines that can operate above Mach 5 is littered with five decades worth of failed tests, some more dramatic than others.
Clayton Mowry, president of Arianespace Inc., has been named to receive the 2013 Mentor of the Year Award on Nov. 13 by the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), for making mentorship a priority in successful leadership.
Maureen Del Duca (see photo) has become vice president/deputy general counsel for litigation and investigations for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. She was senior vice president/deputy general counsel for litigation and chief ethics and compliance officer for AOL.
Qatar Airways is the first of the three Persian Gulf carriers to join one of the three alliances, signing up for Oneworld last week. Separately, CEO Akbar Al Baker says he would be interested in a further stretch of the Airbus A350. Such an aircraft “could meet our requirements” if it has the right payload/range characteristics even in the very hot Qatar summers, he added. He did not specify the range requirements.
