Sukhoi is developing the single-seat, twin-engine T-50 to meet the Russian air force's PAK FA requirement for a new fighter aircraft. The initial T-50 prototype made its first flight in January 2010. A second prototype joined the flight-test program in March 2011. A third prototype took to the air in November 2011, followed by a fourth in December 2012. These aircraft are fitted with the Saturn 117 turbofan engine, which is to be used on initial production T-50s. Later production T-50s are to be powered by a new engine being developed by United Engine Corp.
The A400M is a four-engine, turboprop-powered military transport aircraft whose first flight occurred in December 2009. The aircraft is powered by four Europrop International TP400-D6 turboprop engines rated at 11,000 shp each, and has a maximum payload capacity of 81,600 lb. Seven European nations are participating in the A400M program: Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey and the U.K. The seven nations intend to acquire a total of 170 A400Ms. Malaysia joined its European counterparts in the development effort in 2005, and will acquire four A400Ms.
The A330 MRTT is a military tanker/transport version of the Airbus A330-200 commercial airliner. The twin-engine A330 MRTT is powered by either Rolls-Royce Trent 700 or General Electric CF6-80E1 turbofan engines. Eighteen green airframes were produced for conversion through August 2012. An additional 12 are forecast to be built in the 2013-22 period.
The piston-powered CL-215 amphibian aircraft first flew in 1967, finding primary use as a firefighting platform, though the aircraft could also be used in other applications such as transport, maritime surveillance and search-and-rescue. Production of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA3-powered aircraft ended in 1989, with 125 produced. A new variant, the Bombardier 415, is currently in production and is powered by PW123AF turboprop engines. Eighty-three 415s were built through 2012. An additional 31 are forecast for production in 2013-22.
International Space Station occupancy temporarily surged to nine people on Nov. 7, with the launch and docking of the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft. Onboard was a crew of three, including veteran aerospace engineer Koichi Wakata, who is slated to become the first Japanese commander of the orbiting science lab in March.
The AMX is a counter-air and close air support aircraft powered by a single 11,030-lb-thrust Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 807 non-afterburning turbofan. Alenia and Aermacchi (then independent companies) initially pursued separate designs for Italy's required attack/support aircraft, but began collaborating in 1978. Embraer joined the team in 1980. The resulting single-seat aircraft made its maiden flight in 1984, with deliveries beginning in 1989. A two-seat trainer variant, the AMX-T, flew in 1990.
The Sikorsky CH-53 and MH-53 are three-engine, heavy-lift transport and special-purpose helicopters. They were initially developed out of twin-turboshaft models. Power for the CH-53E and MH-53E models is provided by three GE T64-GE-416 or -419 turboshaft engines rated at 4,380 shp and 4,750 shp, respectively. Sikorsky produced 177 CH-53Es, 48 MH-53Es and 11 S-80s (export version) through the end of production in 1999. In January 2006, the U.S. Navy selected Sikorsky to begin preliminary design work on the CH-53K, a new model for the U.S. Marine Corps.
Robert A. Kromer has been appointed senior vice president-sales and marketing for Blackhawk Modifications, Waco, Texas. He has held executive positions with Cessna Aircraft, Sino-Swearingen, Mooney Aircraft and Piper Aircraft. Honors And Elections
The race is on for airlines to secure FAA approval to allow passengers to use personal electronics devices (PED) gate-to-gate. JetBlue, Delta and American are said to be among the first carriers to submit plans to gain the FAA's approval, on the same day the agency announced that it had “streamlined” the process for allowing PED use at all altitudes. Previously, airlines required all electronic devices to be turned off below 10,000 ft., a safety measure designed to avoid the potential for interference between the devices and aircraft avionics.
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.
