For General Electric, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)-led push to develop a variable-cycle engine for the next generation of combat aircraft is a blast from the past. After all, the company's variable-bypass YF120 still holds the record for supersonic cruise speed without afterburner, set in 1990 at Mach 1.6 on the Northrop YF-23 Advanced Tactical Fighter prototype.
Last fall, a bill to block U.S. air carriers from participating in the EU's emissions trading system flew through the House of Representatives. Now it appears stalled there until after the Nov. 6 elections, industry and congressional sources say. The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), was approved by the Senate before the chamber adjourned for recess. Supporters had expressed hope that the House would consider the bill during its pro-forma session before the elections, but 435 members would need to say yes.
Jamail Larkins, the FAA's partner and honorary ambassador for aviation and space education since 2004, has been tapped to continue in the role. The president and CEO of Ascension Air, Larkins leads Embry-Riddle's DreamLaunch Tour, which promotes aviation career opportunities for America's youth.
The word “airmanship” reentered the common parlance when Capt. Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger, 3rd, and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles in early 2009 landed a fully booked US Airways A320 on the Hudson River after experiencing a loss of engines. Beyond discussions about the danger resulting from bird strikes and other technicalities, the two pilots demonstrated superior “airmanship.” A nice word, which says it all, although ignored by most dictionaries. It receives a mere four key words in the unabridged Webster's: skills in piloting or navigating an aircraft.
Kayce Kraft (see photo) has been selected as product line director for California of Corona-Calif.-based Circor Aerospace. He was aftermarket business team leader at Parker Hannifin Corp.
Boeing tried to get a restart of negotiations on a four-year contract proposal to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace off on the right foot last week with language clarifications, a day after 96% of Speea members eligible to vote rejected its original offer. The company clarified language pertaining to medical, dental and long-term disability benefits and acknowledged the “overwhelming rejection” of its initial proposal.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft returned Armavia's Superjet 100 on Oct. 2 after the two sides resolved their argument over delivery terms of two subsequent SSJ 100s on order. Armavia's first SSJ 100 regional aircraft had been parked in Russia for several months following a maintenance check because Armavia had threatened to cancel delivery of the second aircraft. It could not agree on a lease with Russian Vneshekonombank. Sukhoi said at that time Armavia owed $4 million for the first SSJ 100 plus maintenance costs. Armavia now leases that aircraft directly from the manufacturer.
Greg Williams has joined Newtown, Pa.-based Optellios as director of finance and accounting, and Kevin Bradley has become senior VP-sales and marketing. Williams was VP/controller at FreedomPay and VP-finance at Virgin Charter; Bradley was president for North America at IndigoVision.
Transparency International U.K. estimates the global cost of corruption in the defense sector now amounts to at least $20 billion annually, based on data from the World Bank and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The watchdog group asserts in a new study that two-thirds of the world's biggest defense companies do not provide enough public evidence about how they fight corruption, starting with publicly filed financial documents, company websites and CEO statements.
United Space Alliance (USA), NASA's Houston-based space shuttle prime contractor, laid off 157 workers on Sept. 28 as program retirement and transition activities wind down. The losses—121 personnel in the Cape Canaveral area, 35 in Houston, and one in Huntsville, Ala.—leave the space operations company with a workforce of 2,263. More layoffs are planned for December and January, though the numbers are not clear, USA representative Tracy Yates said Oct. 1.
Australia's 2009 defense white paper unveiled a great pile of proposed equipment orders and pledged a great deal of money to pay for them. It was, more than anything, Australia's long-term defense plan for coping with a rising China. Yet even then analysts doubted that the promised budget would be enough, and they wondered whether the extra money would really come through.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has raised its 3.4-ton GSAT-10 communication satellite closer to its final geostationary orbit by firing the spacecraft's liquid apogee motor on Oct. 1. “In the second orbit-raising exercise, the satellite has been placed at 31,822 km perigee [lowest point] and 35,734 km apogee [highest point ], which is closer to its designated geostationary orbit,” an ISRO official says. The first orbit-raising burn took place Sept. 30. The GSAT-10 satellite, India's 101st space mission, was lofted on Sept.
David Barger, president and CEO of JetBlue Airways, has joined the Dallas-based ISTAT Airlink Advisory Council. Barger also is chair of the FAA's NextGen Advisory Committee and a member of the board of governors and treasurer of the Flight Safety Foundation.
The suspension of commercial trade sanctions against Myanmar, coupled with a push by the country's civil aviation department for the operation of newer aircraft, is leading state-owned Myanma Airways to renew its fleet and expand internationally. Myanma Airways has signed a lease with GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) for two Embraer 190s for delivery in November and December, says Gecas.
Engineers at NASA, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne are making good progress on the initial version of the agency's planned Space Launch System (SLS) for deep-space human exploration, but it's the advanced configuration that may actually drive some innovation in the field. The first few flights will use the 70-metric-ton version (at left in illustration). But Congress wants the 130-metric-ton rocket (at right) for serious exploration, as well as mix-and-match versions in between to launch big space telescopes and other scientific hardware, and the U.S.
Oct. 8-11—2012 Bombardier Safety Standdown. Wichita Hyatt Regency Hotel. See www.safetystanddown.com/aviation-safety-seminars/united-states Oct. 9-14—Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies' Japan Aerospace 2012 International Aerospace Exhibition. Port Messe, Nagoya. See www.japanaerospace.jp/English Oct. 10-12—Technology Training Corps' Unmanned Aircraft Systems West Conference. Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina. See www.uaswest.com
