Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center have test-fired a gas generator built from parts originally manufactured for the F-1 first-stage engine that sent men to the Moon on the Saturn V. One reason for the tests is to learn if the old technology can help the planned Space Launch System (SLS) heavy lifter get off the pad for missions beyond low Earth orbit. Some of the engineers on the test series had not been born when the 40-year-old hardware was machined by North American Aviation's Rocketdyne Div.
For owners of Hawker Beechcraft jets, the company's bankruptcy and its decision to abandon jet manufacturing altogether is surely unsettling. After all, where will they get parts to keep flying? But that very question also has a lot of others calculating. It's estimated that there are 1,600-1,800 Hawker 125 series jets in operation. Also, there are approximately 300 Premier/Hawker 200s, 600 or so Beechjet/Hawker 400s and a handful of Hawker 400s. That's quite a fleet in continuing need of parts and service.
Stephen Young has been appointed CEO of U.K.–based aerospace company Meggitt, succeeding Terry Twigger, who plans to retire. Young has been finance director since 2004.
While the active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar offers improvements for F/A-18 aircraft operations, the DOT&E is questioning the degree of improvement over the legacy system. “The APG-79 AESA radar demonstrated marginal improvements since the previous DOT&E (follow-on operational test and evaluation) period and provides improved performance relative to the legacy APG-73 radar,” DOT&E notes in its latest annual review.
U.K. officials are calling for a review of helicopter operations over London following the fatal crash of an Agusta A109 on Jan. 16. Two people, including the pilot, died when the aircraft struck a crane in poor weather. Kate Hoey, member of Parliament for the area of London where the helicopter crashed, called for an examination of “where and how and why helicopters fly through our city,” particularly with London's rising skyline.
AERONAUTICS AND PROPULSION Working in secret, the Eurocopter X3 Hybrid Helicopter team designed, built and flew the high-speed compound helicopter demonstrator in under two years, using company funds. The hybrid has exceeded its design goal, reaching 232 kt.—50% faster than a conventional helicopter.
As Barack Obama starts his second term and a new Congress begins, our fervent wish is that the U.S. president and congressional Republicans will put aside the extreme partisan infighting of the last two years. Their zero-sum-game approach has led to legislative gridlock and uncertainty. The nation's economic and budget challenges are large, but they are solvable with smart long-term planning and compromise.
Bell Helicopter has delivered its 100th of 349 H-1s to the U.S. Marine Corps —80 ahead of schedule—after earlier challenges in producing the upgraded UH-1Ys and AH-1Zs, says Maj. Gen. John Croley, assistant deputy Marine commandant for aviation. The service and Bell have negotiated the terms of a second multiyear procurement, worth roughly $1 billion, he adds. And, the Corps is expected to save roughly that much in cost avoidance by signing up to a five-year deal.
Steve MacLean, president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), will step down Feb. 1 to take a private position in research physics. Selected in 1983 as one of the first eight Canadian astronauts, MacLean was program manager on the Advanced Space Vision System used to guide Canadian-built robotic arms on the space shuttle and International Space Station. He tested the system in space as a payload specialist on STS-52 in 1992, and later used it to operate the station's Canadarm2 on the STS-115 assembly mission in 2006.
The temporary grounding of the Boeing 787 fleet is causing major disruptions particularly for the aircraft's largest operator, All Nippon Airways (ANA). Others flying smaller 787 fleets are likely able to mitigate the impact better.
One occurrence of an event is interesting, two is a trend. So the FAA had no choice but to ground the six 787-8s under its authority following battery overheating incidents on two of the innovative Boeing transports flown by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (see p. 22). That a battery can catch fire—and could catch fire in flight—is a grave matter that needs urgent attention. Grounding was the only responsible action.
A sweetened pay proposal from Boeing was met with a counterproposal from the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (Speea) as the two resume talks—halted in December—on a contract through 2016, which takes the manufacturer past all of the production rate increases it currently plans.
Jeff Fegan (see photo), CEO of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, plans to retire Sept. 1. He has worked at DFW for 28 years, the last 19 years as its CEO.
Are you up on production and manufacturing innovations, acquisition lore and 2012's budget and policy debates? How about early innovation? Score 8 and you pass, get 11 or better and you're management material. (No fair outsourcing your answers to the Web. Answers are on page 34.)
Alenia North America and General Dynamics are teaming to vie for a U.S. Air Force contract to build 350 T-38 fast-jet trainer replacements, rounding out the likely field of would-be competitors for T-X work. Alenia North America will provide the Alenia Aermacchi M-346—dubbed the T-100 for the U.S. sales campaign—while General Dynamics C4 Systems will handle prime contractor responsibilities, including subcontractor management and systems integration, based on a letter signed by both companies.
Reuters reports that Russia will resume a long-dormant quest to explore the Moon by sending an unmanned probe there in 2015. The craft, called Luna-Glob, or Moon-Globe, will be carried by the first rocket to launch from a new facility that Russia is building in its far eastern Amur region. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a plan in December to spend the equivalent of $70 billion on space industry development through 2020.
Congestion in major Asia-Pacific cities is reaching the point where passengers now find there is a lot of time wasted, in both road and air traffic delays. Anyone who has tried to reach Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport from the city centers will tell you that getting there can be cumbersome. The airports are many miles from downtown, and often the roads are clogged with traffic.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, will renew an old fight with cargo behemoths FedEx and UPS. Expect Boxer to bring back legislation that would require uniform fatigue standards for all pilots. Reps. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) and Timothy Bishop (D-N.Y.) have already introduced companion legislation, the Safe Skies Act, on the House side.
Gareth Hall (see photo) has been promoted to president and managing director of Chatsworth, Calif.-based BBA Aviation's Ontic subsidiary. He was managing director of Ontic U.K.
NASA will pay Bigelow Aerospace $17.8 million to test this subscale inflatable habitat module at the International Space Station, using instruments and station crewmembers to study whether the technology will allow the housing of astronauts and their gear on their way to Mars.
Middle East airlines have seen mixed fortunes in recent years. While the big three Persian Gulf-area carriers continue to expand their long-haul networks, operators such as Bahrain-based Gulf Air—flying short-haul routes with aircraft such as this Airbus A320—have had to cope with the fallout of political unrest. Gulf Air photo.
India plans to buy medium-range, anti-ship missiles for its navy, and is polling industry on its options. The defense ministry has issued a request for information for the missiles, which must have a range of at least 120 km (75 mi.). Once prospective vendors respond, they will have to be cleared by a technical evaluation committee. Selected systems will then undergo field trials on a no-cost/no-commitment basis. The navy already has inducted a version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile into service, along with the nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile.
