USN Rear Adm. (lower half) Thomas L. Brown, 2nd, has been named director of military support at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Springfield, Va. He has been commander of Special Operations Command within U.S. Southern Command, Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. Honors And Elections
The 777 is a twin-engine, widebody commercial transport aircraft. First flight occurred in June 1994, followed by FAA/JAA certification in April 1995 (Pratt & Whitney-powered version). Deliveries began in June 1995. The 777-200ER version seats 301-440 passengers and is powered by two GE90, PW4000 or Trent 800 turbofans rated at 84,000-95,000 lb. thrust each. Two newer versions are the 777-200LR and 777-300ER. The -200LR, which seats 301 passengers in three classes, is powered by a pair of 110,100-lb.-thrust GE90-110B1 or 115,300-lb.-thrust GE90-115BL turbofans.
The Indian air force (IAF) aims to spend more than $30 billion over the next 10 years to modernize its forces, according to its deputy chief, Air Marshal R.K. Sharma. Force structure plans call for reaching 42 squadrons by 2022, up from 34. The government has introduced several measures to leverage capital acquisitions and develop the country's defense industry, including relaxing offset guidelines. Nevertheless, India remains plagued by corruption and poor management of some defense acquisitions, as well as complaints by Western contractors about offset requirements.
Airbus and Boeing may have sought to fortify their dominance of the narrowbody jet market by offering reengined versions of the A320 and 737, but Bombardier is proving to be a scrappy challenger. The Canadian airframer's recent move to squeeze another 11 seats into its new CSeries jet—for a total of 160—appears to have increased the aircraft's appeal.
Pity the Coast Guard. Tasked with a nearly impossible set of missions— the nation's fifth armed service is the principal agency responsible for maritime safety, security and environmental stewardship—it has never benefited from the budget largesse showered on its counterparts in the Defense Department after 9/11.
This 15-19-passenger, unpressurized, twin-turboprop-powered, regional/utility transport aircraft is powered by two General Electric M601 engines. GE is developing an improved H80 powerplant that combines the M601 design with GE-developed three-dimensional aerodynamics and new materials. The H80 features an extended service life of 3,600 flight hours or 6,600 cycles between overhauls, and improved hot-day takeoff performance and high-altitude cruise speeds. The engine requires no recurrent fuel nozzle or hot-section inspections.
Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX) is targeting Oct. 7 as the date for its first commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station with its Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon cargo carrier. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:34 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral. The first of 12 flights under SpaceX's $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, the mission will deliver about 1,000 lb. of freight to the ISS, most of it scientific equipment and supplies. The vehicle is scheduled to return in late October.
The B-N Group BN-2T Turbine Islander is a rugged, relatively simple, twin-engine turboprop aircraft with standard seating for 10. It first flew in August 1980. The BN-2T is the latest, upgraded iteration of an aircraft design that dates from the 1960s and first flew with piston engines. The BN-2T is powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce 250-B17C turboprop engines, each driving a Hartzell three-blade propeller. A military variant, the Defender 4000, has slightly larger dimensions and uses a more powerful version of the Rolls-Royce 250-B17 engine.
How would you define data harmonization and why does our industry need to strive for this? In preparation for our MRO IT Forum in Miami Sept. 19-21, I asked the industry via social media and LinkedIn groups for help with the definition.
Beech launched the King Air series of 8-12-seat, twin-turboprop aircraft in 1963. Since then, numerous variants have appeared. Total deliveries amounted to 6,225 aircraft through 2011. Hawker Beechcraft currently markets the King Air C90GTx, King Air 250 and King Air 350i. The C90GTx is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135s producing 550 shp each. The more powerful 250 operates with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52s, rated at 850 shp each. The most powerful current King Air, the 350i, is equipped with two 1,050-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60As.
A twin-turbofan, short/medium-range, narrowbody commercial transport aircraft, the Tu-204-100 is powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90As, while the Tu-204-120 has two Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engines. The Tu-214 has a higher maximum takeoff weight (244,162 lb.) than the Tu-204-100. It retains the PS-90A powerplants of the -100 but carries additional fuel. The Tu-204's first flight occurred in January 1989. Through 2011, 85 Tu-204s and Tu-214s were produced and 52 aircraft, including the new Tu-204SM variant, are forecast to be produced in the 2012-21 period.
No one ever accused South Korea's Agency for Defense Development of lacking ambition. But as it pushes ahead with its effort to indigenously develop a stealth fighter, the agency faces renewed accusations of a lack of realism, and it is simply being overlooked when it comes to funding.
Oct. 1-5—63rd Annual International Astronautical Congress. Mostra Oltremare Exhibit Center, Naples, Italy. See www.iac2012.org Oct. 2—RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton addresses the Royal Aeronautical Society's Washington Branch. British Embassy. See http://www.raeswashington.org/ Oct. 2-4—Worldwide Business Research's Conference on Future Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Hotel Le Plaza, Brussels. See www.futureisr.com
NASA will spend $2.7 million on eight peer-reviewed research projects designed to advance the interagency National Robotics Initiative, set up by the Obama administration to promote U.S. robotics capabilities for the global marketplace. The projects will receive from $150,000 to $1 million for their work, which NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist is sponsoring as a way to push applications for “co-robotics” that can work with future human explorers on deep-space missions.
When Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11 in 1969, 3.5 billion people were alive. It is estimated that more than 100 billion humans had lived and died prior to 1969. The odds of being born and being the first human to set foot on the surface of a body beyond Earth were about 1 in 105 billion when Armstrong took his small step. The odds of finding another “First Man” with his grace, humility, dignity and common decency—virtually zero. May his spirit soar forever.
Conrad Theisen has been promoted to avionics sales manager from senior project manager and Mike Warren to maintenance sales manager from completions parts buyer at Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill.
James B. Armor (see photo) has been selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to receive the 2012 AIAA von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program management. He is being honored for his leadership as a U.S. Air Force officer, GPS program manager, leader of signals intelligence systems and National Security Space architect.
Australian leaders are trying to finally resolve a politically charged question that has vexed their predecessors for decades—where and when should Sydney's second airport be built? While it is making some headway, the government is faced with a tangle of conflicting interests that could stall the effort again.
Air Canada has started recruiting 50 pilots and 150 flight attendants for a wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary scheduled to launch next year. While Air Canada is withholding many of the details on its new subsidiary until it releases its third-quarter results on Nov. 8, the carrier has told its unions the division will launch with six Airbus A319s and six Boeing 767s, and grow to 30 A319s and 20 767s in 2015.
Dirk Erat (see photo) is the new head of communications at EADS Cassidian, Unterschleissheim, Germany. He was head of company communications at Porsche and has held several roles at Siemens.
