Avicopter's next step in filling out a product range will be a 3-metric-ton helicopter, provisionally named AC3X2. This follows the indigenously developed 1-ton AC310 piston-engine type and the AC311, a 2.2-ton turbine-engine aircraft apparently derived from the Eurocopter Squirrel, with considerable local changes. Avicopter officials are giving no details of the AC3X2 except for its gross weight, but displayed a model of the aircraft at the China Helicopter Exposition on Sept. 5.
Tony Tyler, the International Air Transport Association's chief executive, said recently that “too often governments see aviation as a luxury and milk it as a cash cow.” Giovanni Bisignani, Tyler's provocative predecessor, has also in the past several years repeatedly accused governments of implementing a narrow-minded cash-cow policy toward airlines.
USMC Gen. (ret.) James N. Mattis has become a member of the board of directors of General Dynamics, Falls Church, Va. He was commander of U.S. Central Command and had been commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command.
CFM International started up the first version of its new-generation Leap engine at General Electric's test site in Peebles, Ohio, on Sept 4. The test came two days ahead of schedule, says CFM, a GE-Snecma joint-venture company. The Leap-1A is in development for the Airbus A320neo, and is the first all-new CFM engine to enter testing since the original CFM56 of the 1970s. The Leap-1A is set to begin flight tests on GE's Boeing 747 testbed in September 2014, with FAR33 engine certification expected the following summer.
YouTube videos make it look easy, and for pilots, it is easier than in a Harrier. But landing vertically at night, in crosswind, on the moving deck of a ship relies on the highly integrated and automated flight and propulsion controls of the Lockheed Martin F-35B.
Aiming to continue the city's spaceflight legacy, officials in Houston are poised to seek a commercial spaceport license from the FAA to establish a runway-based complex supporting reusable launch vehicles, spacecraft assembly and flight training, as well as aerospace research and education. The proposed spaceport would occupy 439 acres of Ellington Airport property close to NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Supporters of federal financing for the commercial space industry, as well as backers of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, are gearing up for a public relations campaign to renew the U.S. export credit agency (ECA) before its current congressional mandate runs out in a year. The bank has been bombarded with unrelenting criticism in Washington from some politically conservative and free-market critics who believe any ECA distorts free enterprise and should be eliminated—and next year's charter debate will happen weeks ahead of congressional elections.
In direct response to Colgan Air's 2009 accident near Buffalo, N.Y., Congress passed the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010, requiring all crewmembers to have an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license as of July 15, 2013. The rationale: The lack of flight time among pilots at smaller air carriers, also known as regional airlines, was leading to an unacceptable decrease in airline safety. While the FAA has proposed alternative minimums for ATPs, its stance is to keep the new mandate for such a license in place.
Nagakazu Sagara (see photo) has been named vice president-Japan and South Korea for AirBridgeCargo Airlines as vice president-Japan and Korea. He succeeds Katsuhiko Sagami, who will continue as mentor and coach for the region until year-end. Sagara was deputy general manager of Mitsui-Soko Express and had been senior vice president-export for Japan Airlines.
Robert S. Span (see photo) is now chairman of the American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law. Span, a partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Steinbrecher and Span, succeeds Steven H. Taylor of FedEx Express.
The business-aircraft fractional ownership industry is continuing to reshape with the decision by Bombardier to sell its Flexjet operations to Flight Options parent Directional Aviation Capital in a deal that includes a new order for up to 245 Bombardier aircraft valued at $5.2 billion. The sale is expected to close by year-end. Directional is paying just $185 million for the Flexjet assets, but is agreeing to place firm orders for 85 Learjet and Challenger aircraft valued at $1.8 billion and options for another 160.
Michael D. New has been named vice president-safety, security and compliance for Erickson Air-Crane Inc., Portland, Ore. He was senior vice president, corporate safety, security and compliance for Korean Air. HONORS AND ELECTIONS
Phil Anderson has been appointed senior vice president-defense and contracts of Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems Inc. He was senior vice president/CFO and has been succeeded by Sanjay Kapoor, who was vice president of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Div. of Raytheon and had been CFO of divisions of Raytheon and United Technologies Corp.
A lot of Pentagon programs are about to take a major hit to their bottom lines, and some smaller projects seem destined to be delayed or canceled, the Defense Department's acquisition chief warned loudly here last week. But a few futuristic aviation efforts might be shielded as Washington passes through the coming nadir of budgets, according to Frank Kendall, and they include future rotorcraft and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's multiyear air-dominance study toward a post-Joint Strike Fighter aircraft (AW&ST May 20, p. 52).
Several years ago, something jarring and potentially dangerous was happening to airliners on the way into Oakland, Calif. Pilots letting down through the mountains en route to Oakland International Airport were receiving terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) alerts in an area where there were no actual terrain hazards. The FAA learned of the “nuisance alerts” at an InfoShare meeting, a twice-annual closed-door gathering of more than 600 pilots, airline executives, government and industry officials.
The quality of the occurrence data is inconsistent, its integration is not harmonized or structured, member states are allowed to file reports in their own languages and there is too much information.
Recently, I have been finding inaccuracies in your magazine. A photo caption with “Terrain Aware” (AW&ST Aug. 5/12, p. 51) states: “AFDD's JUH-60A Rascal flies . . . through canyon country west of San Jose, Calif.” The mountains west of San Jose are the Santa Cruz Mountains and they are covered with green vegetation, the Diablo Range, as shown, is east of San Jose. I am neither an engineer nor a scientist, so I wonder what I haven't caught. Pleasanton, Calif.
Chelle L. Gentemann (see photo), senior principal scientist at Remote Sensing System (RSS), has been named to receive this year's Falkenberg Award from the American Geophysical Union on Dec. 11. The award is given to a scientist under age 45 who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information. Gentemann's current research at RSS focuses on the extraction of accurate geophysical variables from measurements of imaging microwave radiometers on Earth observation satellites.
Airbus and VSMPO-Avisma, its major Russian titanium supplier, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop new alloys and manufacturing processes. The deal was signed at the Moscow air show. VSMPO-Avisma has become one of Airbus's most important suppliers of raw materials and semi-finished products since the 1990s. It currently provides 60% of the titanium needed by Airbus and its parent EADS. VSMPO-Avisma builds titanium forgings for all Airbus programs and is delivering the pieces for the A350.
