USAF Brig. Gen. Balan R. Ayyar has been assigned to become rule-of-law deputy for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, under U.S. Central Command in Kabul. He has been commander of the Air Force Recruiting Service and director of recruiting at Headquarters Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph AFB, Texas. Honors and Elections
Airbus Military is once again investigating the loss of a boom from one of its A330-based Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTTs). On the eve of the ILA Berlin Air Show, the company encountered an embarrassing problem with its A330-based tanker program. During a post-production checkout flight, the refueling boom of a tanker bound for the United Arab Emirates fell off the aircraft in flight. This is the second such incident for Airbus Military.
Nongluck Phinainitisart, chief commercial officer of Thaicom, and Jean-Paul Hoffmann, VP-corporate communications for SES, have been named to the New York-based Society of Satellite Professionals International's Awards Committee.
It is probably a myth that exit-row passengers actually read the briefing cards on commercial aircraft, but there is another latent hazard that has gone largely unaddressed. A recent flight I was on was nearly filled—except for the extra-price exit-row seats. In an emergency evacuation event, there could have been pandemonium with panicked passengers trying to figure out how to open the exits. It is a safe bet that this condition was not taken into consideration when the aircraft underwent its certification trials.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. has finished assembling the first Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet intended for Mexican carrier Interjet. This green aircraft is undergoing flight trials and should be delivered to SuperJet International, the joint venture between Sukhoi and Alenia Aermacchi, by the end of September.
If circumstances dictate outcomes, Ethiopian Airlines should be a small carrier. It is based in one of the world's poorest countries that has an economy still largely dependent on agriculture. And yet, the airline's management is building a regional powerhouse.
General Electric will inspect a GEnx-2B engine that failed at high thrust during the takeoff run of an Air Bridge Cargo Boeing 747-8F in Shanghai on Sept 11. Although GE says it is too early to connect this event with the failure in July of a GEnx-1B engine on a 787 at Charleston, S.C., the initial evidence indicates several similarities. The crew rejected the takeoff and returned to the ramp where visual inspection revealed contained damage to the low-pressure turbine, though just as with the Charleston event, parts of the turbine assembly exited from the tailpipe.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is negotiating with the FAA to allow the Grasshopper reusable launch test vehicle to fly at higher altitudes as part of a planned series of launch and landing evaluations. The Grasshopper is a prototype testbed for a reusable first-stage booster concept that SpaceX hopes will lower launch costs. Following initial static fire tests of the 106-ft.-tall vehicle, SpaceX aims to execute several mini-hops with flights expected to reach 200-240 ft.
A high-profile ATM blunder in Washington underscores the growing demand for high-fidelity surveillance data of aircraft on the ground. On July 31, miscommunication between remotely located approach controllers in Virginia and tower controllers at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) led to a loss of separation as the tower cleared aircraft to depart northbound while terminal area controllers were lining up arrivals for landing in the opposite direction.
Can industry really police itself? That's the question the Transportation Department's Inspector General will pose the second time starting Sept. 19, in an audit of the FAA's voluntary disclosure reporting program. The IG's review of the program comes as lawmakers continue to be concerned about the findings of a 2008 Inspector General's audit that found an FAA inspector and Southwest Airlines ducked the system.
Bernhard Gerwert (see photo) has been appointed CEO of EADS's Cassidian division and a member of the EADS Group Executive Committee. He was the division's chief operating officer. Other new committee members are: John Leahy, chief operating officer-customers, and Guenther Butschek, chief operating officer, both of Airbus.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 lofted NROL-36, a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Sept. 13. The launcher included a 4-meter fairing and a single Centaur upper stage, but no solid rocket boosters. As is typical of classified missions, there was little comment about the status of the ascent. The only confirmation was success through the payload-fairing separation.
Last week, a fresh set of calls urged Congress to address the nation's financial situation. Executives from Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and EADS North America are proceeding with pre-election plans to warn thousands of workers that they might be laid off early next year. Two former Treasury secretaries, one Republican and one Democrat, said failing to address America's debt problem has dire economic and foreign policy implications. And Moody's rating agency now says the nation's long-held AAA rating hinges on congressional budget negotiations. Sen.
India is awaiting assurances from its troubled partner Russia that it will be prepared for India's second mission to the Moon, the Chandrayaan-2, in 2014, the country's top scientist says. Russia, which is reviewing its space mission program after the recent failure of an interplanetary mission with China, will provide the lander while India builds the lunar orbiter and rover for Chandrayaan-2. The Indo-Russian lunar venture, will be launched by India's heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. Separately, the Indian Space Research Organization on Sept.
Competition in business aviation's ultra-long-range and super-midsize segments heated up as Gulfstream Aerospace earned FAA type certification for its 7,000-nm-range G650 on Sept. 7, just days after receiving FAA and CAA Israel certification for the 3,600-nm-range G280. Both aircraft are positioned at the top of their respective classes, but the market potential for each appears to be markedly different.
