The Space Exploration Technologies CRS-2 Dragon mission to the International Space Station, currently slated for January, could slip without a major impact to activities aboard the orbiting science laboratory, in response to an ongoing joint NASA/SpaceX investigation into the Falcon 9 first-stage engine loss that accompanied the Oct. 7 CRS-1 mission launching.
Are “next-generation” low-cost carriers now inventing the long-overdue all-new business model that is expected to reconcile legacy players' aging strategy with pure players' innovative ideas? Apparently, it is slightly premature to ask the question, keeping in mind attempts that failed in the past few years or ended in tenuous compromises. Just remember Air Berlin: It was expected to devise a new strategy but, in the end, joined the crowd and a global airline alliance, namely Oneworld. Moreover, today, Air Berlin is not in very good shape.
Sherman Collins has been named field representative in Northern California for Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. He was director of aircraft maintenance for a Dallas transportation company.
Doug Shane (see photo), president of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Scaled Composites, has been named the recipient of the 2012 James H. Doolittle Award by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Lancaster, Calif. The award is given for accomplishments and engineering achievements in aerospace technology.
Dassault will begin delivery of the Falcon 2000LXS large-cabin business jet in 2014, replacing the 2000LX and providing improved airport performance and payload. The 4,000-nm-range LXS introduces inboard wing slats to reduce takeoff and landing distances. The aircraft will have a balanced field length of 4,675 ft.—1,000 ft. less than competing aircraft, the company says—and a payload of 2,190 lb. at its 42,800-lb. maximum takeoff weight.
The Royal Australian Air Force accepted its sixth Boeing C-17 at the company's final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 1. The aircraft is the 248th C-17 to be delivered and the 30th for an international customer. India has 10 C-17s on order for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
Brice Gnahore has joined Aviation Week's fleet and maintenance, repair and overhaul data content team as MRO data analyst in the Washington office. He has been an adjunct professor of mathematics at Bethany College. Honors And Elections
EU carbon dioxide allowances (EUAs) held within the previous month's range in October, as the market took stock of proposed regulatory changes and new primary supply from government auctions. However, United Nations' carbon offset credits crashed to a new all-time low as the market continued to feel the effects of a severe oversupply and signs of a possible ban on some credits in the European Union system.
A Chinese word, puji, probably best summarizes the biggest remaining challenge for business aviation in the world's second-largest economy. The word means to popularize something, or to make it well known—to circulate an idea.
“Danger Games” (AW&ST Oct. 22, p. 48) misses the important point that successful diplomacy, or even successful military action, requires empathy, a true knowledge of how and what one's opponent thinks and feels. Clearly empathy does not imply approval, it implies understanding. In diplomacy it is essential, otherwise the participants are merely talking past each other and nothing is accomplished. In military affairs it is the key ingredient to out-thinking and out-maneuvering one's opponent.
Mark Downey has joined Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Channel Technologies Group as chief financial officer. He was CFO at Ensign-Bickford Aerospace and Defense Co.
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney have been awarded contracts totaling more than $680 million to demonstrate variable-cycle, next-generation fighter engines under the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD) program. AETD is the follow-on to the lab's $524 million Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program, under which GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce Liberty Works will run adaptive-fan engine demonstrators next year.
Japanese company Mitsui has become the first strategic partner to join General Electric's GE9X engine development effort for Boeing's proposed 777X. Though technically not yet launched, the GE9X study is expected to attract additional partners as it transitions to development. The GE9X is being designed as a successor to the GE90 that powers the 777 family and will leverage technology produced for the recently introduced GEnx engines for the 747-8 and 787. Mitsui will provide financial support in exchange for an interest in the engine, says GE.
Nov. 13—Engine MRO Asia. Singapore. Nov. 14-15—MRO Asia. Singapore. Jan. 22-23—MRO Middle East. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. March 5-6—Defense Technology Requirements. Arlington, Va. March 7—Aviation Week's Laureate Awards. Washington. April 16-18—MRO Americas/MRO Military. Atlanta. May 7-8—Civil Aviation Manufacturing. Charlotte, N.C. May 14-15—MRO Eastern Europe. Vilnius, Lithuania Sept. 25-27—MRO Europe. London.
The big European legacy carriers will have to focus on replacing their widebody fleets in the next few years, and orders are in place for some, but not all, of their requirements.
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares-rocket first stage apparently will be able to undergo a hot-fire test on its seaside launch pad on Wallops Island, Va., despite the high winds and water that blasted the barrier island during Hurricane Sandy. Wallops was evacuated for the storm, leaving the Antares stage in position on the pad and its nearby horizontal processing facility locked down.
The Indian government is likely to conclude a multibillion contract with Dassault Aviation for 126 Rafale fighters in six months or less now that negotiations have reached a crucial stage and inquiries into the selection process are over. Industry and government sources are emphasizing that “all hurdles have been cleared,” following questions in the Indian parliament about how the commercial bids were interpreted.
The collapse of a proposed $1.79 billion acquisition by a Chinese suitor could quite likely result in the permanent production cessation of Hawker Beechcraft's line of jets, a severe reduction of their factory support, the closure of plants and a drastic downsizing of the company. While negative, this is indicative of the impact international players have on today's business aviation market.
The business jet industry will remain stuck in low gear in 2013 as lingering market sluggishness suppresses deliveries of small- and mid-sized aircraft. But a shift in demand toward larger jets capable of flying longer ranges should boost sales in the coming years. That is the upshot of Honeywell's annual Business Aviation Forecast, which offers no silver bullets to an industry that has been searching for signs of a recovery since demand imploded four years ago at the onset of a global economic crisis.
