L-3 Communications is exploring whether a German concept from World War II could boost the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability of small naval vessels. During the war, the Germans developed the Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze (Wagtail), an unpowered autogyro capable of lifting a man. It was towed behind prowling U-boats and used to spot targets and possible threats. The pilot would bark sightings by telephone to the submarine.
NASA's open-ended space technology push is receiving a bureaucratic boost with the creation of a new Space Technology Mission Directorate at the agency's Washington headquarters, joining Aeronautics, Human Exploration and Operations and Science as associate-administrator-level organizations. The new Space Technology associate administrator will be Michael Gazarik (at left in this photo with Deputy Administrator Lori Garver at Aurora Flight Sciences), formerly director of the Space Technology Program in the Office of the Chief Technologist.
NASA scientists hope to study fragments of a large meteorite that detonated over Russia on Feb. 15, injuring more than 1,200 people and damaging 4,000 buildings around Chelyabinsk, close to the Ural Mountains. NASA says the meteorite is not related to asteroid 2012 DA14 that passed Earth within hours of the event at a distance of more than 17,000 mi. (27,360 km). “Early assessments of the Russia meteor indicate it was about one-third the size of 2012 DA14 and traveling in a different direction,” says the agency. The meteorite exploded at an estimated altitude of 12-15 mi.
Orbital Sciences Corp. hopes to launch its first Antares rocket next month, paving the way for a second commercial cargo service to the International Space Station (ISS) by summer. The plan assumes a successful on-pad hot-fire test of the liquid-fueled Ukrainian-built rocket, but it will not be delayed by inconclusive results from a NASA probe into the cause of a fairing-separation problem that destroyed the $388 million Glory atmospheric-research mission in 2011.
Despite the financial and legal issues that have recently afflicted its parent, Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland is pushing ahead with development and flight-testing of three new rotary-wing aircraft at the same time.
Bombardier has delayed first delivery of its Learjet 85 business jet by six months, to summer 2014, citing technical challenges with its all-composite airframe, which the company says have now been overcome. The carbon-fiber airframe is manufactured at Bombardier's Queretaro, Mexico, plant for final assembly in Wichita.
I agree with reader Myron Kayton (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 8). As a long time avid reader of Aviation Week, I too mourn the passing of technically rich papers. Please, let's see more about aircraft engineering and less about marketing. Nantes, France
As brand-new 787s continue to stack up at its Everett, Wash., facility and others remain idle around the world, Boeing's battery crisis is finally coming to a head as the FAA decides on whether to approve a company plan to return the airliner to the skies.
President Obama's crusade to increase a small sliver of taxes on the nation's wealthiest has long capitalized on a convenient symbol of privilege: the corporate jet. Those talking points are landing like stray arrows on the makers of business jets, and manufacturers are fuming.
While industry accepts that the light single-engine helicopter is very much in demand, it is often difficult for manufacturers to justify investment in such machines when medium and heavy helicopters yield greater profit margins. For companies like Eurocopter, which last year sold more than 200 examples of its Ecureuil family, the decision to spend money creating a new light helicopter is a tricky one, especially with no sign of demand for the existing aircraft abating soon.
I note with interest that recent Feedback submissions feature calls for more technical details in articles. Aviation Week is a news magazine, not a textbook. The concept of fly-by-wire, for example, is not news. How about putting such “how things work” pieces in a special section on your website. Footnotes could direct readers to the site when an article contains references to the concept in question. New York, N.Y.
The Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engine for Bombardier's CSeries has received Transport Canada type certification, marking the first time any production version of the geared turbofan has been certified, and clearing the way for flight tests of the new Canadian airliner later this year. Approval follows more than 4,000 hr. of trials, including 340 hr. of flight-testing on Pratt's Boeing 747SP flying testbed.
Robert Ball, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority, has been named 2012 Person of the Year by the Fort Myers, Fla.-based News-Press Media Group. The award is given to an individual who has had an “impact on the future of Southwest Florida.”
This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. The cover on the left shows Sikorsky's latest update of the venerable S-76, in this Sikorsky photo by Dean Sfikas. For our pilot's evaluation of the intermediate-size S-76D and a special report on the helicopter industry, see page 40. Other articles featured on the cover include pieces on Global Hawk (page 22), Washington gridlock (pages 27 and 58), Piaggio's UAV (page 25) and Beechcraft (page 32). Our Defense Technology Edition includes additional articles. Its cover features a Mirage 2000D in Mali.
I agree with Mark Albrecht's statement In “Stuck in Orbit” (AW&ST Feb.11, p. 35) that before partnering, the U.S. must determine both our strategy and China's. China plans its destiny in 5-, 10-, 50- and 100-year increments. It is not championing a race. Nor is it expending its budget on liberalist causes.
Veronica McGregor (see photo), manager of news and social media at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has been selected to receive the 2013 Space Communicator Award, given by the Houston-based Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation.
Roger Franklin, president and CEO of Crystal Solutions, has been named to the board of directors of New York-based World Teleport Association. Other new directors are: Richard Hadsall, chief technology officer of MTN Government Services; Scott Sprague, chief operating officer of Asia Broadcast Satellite; and James Trevelyan, sales director at Arqiva.
Robert Burke (see photo) has been named to lead Northrop GrummanAerospace Systems' strategy and business development organization, based in Redondo Beach, Calif. He was VP and deputy general manger for the Space Systems division. Dale Burton has become chief technology officer, leading the Research and Technology organization. He was VP and program manager for Joint Stars. Art Lofton will lead the global quality organization. He was VP-Information Technology Solutions and chief information officer.
One of my chief frustrations in advancing a broad industry coalition against indiscriminant sequestration budget cuts is that some critics say we are only out to defend the defense budget and defense industry. That could not be further from the truth. But even if it were, what would be so bad?
NASA's Kepler planet-hunting mission has located the smallest planet yet discovered, orbiting a star 210 light years from Earth that is slightly smaller and colder than the Sun. Called Kepler-37b, the planet circles its star, Kepler-37, in just 13 days. That puts it so close that its surface temperature is 800F. That's about the same as the hottest days on Mercury, the Solar System's smallest planet, which orbits the Sun in 88 days. But Mercury has an erratic orbit that causes temperature swings to as low as -280F. Kepler-37b's orbit is more regular.
