Centaur was conceived for scientific missions, but as the possibilities for optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) technology become more apparent, “we are actively thinking of what the next steps are,” says John Langford, president of Aurora Flight Sciences. In addition to enabling new types of missions that combine unmanned persistence with certified platforms, optional piloting could act as a bridge to the future by helping build trust in flying autonomous aircraft in the national airspace system (NAS).
European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices fell sharply in July on renewed doubts that the system's regulator, the European Commission, would reveal new details on proposals to withhold future supply to prop up prices. EUAs for December 2012 delivery under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) fell to as low as €6.65 per metric ton ($8.19) by the close on July 30, down from €8.36 on July 5, a fall of 20.5%.
Hans J. Langer, founder and CEO of technology company EOS, has been named one of the Top 20 Most Influential People by the U.K.'s TCT Magazine. The list recognizes individuals for their contributions to the additive manufacturing industry in the past 20 years.
Debate over a potential $1 trillion government-wide, decade-long budget reduction starting next year has largely focused on the U.S. defense industry. But during congressional testimony last week, the White House's top management and budget official opened what might be a new front on the effort to persuade Congress to come to agreement to avoid the so-called sequestration penalty, saying the FAA's operations could be in line for “significant” cutbacks that could send a ripple effect through the aviation industry.
A recent commentary by Pierre Sparaco discussed the case of the 2009 loss of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic (AW&ST July 23, p. 19). He ends by stating that he patiently waits “for a successor to Pitot's device.”
Wall Street is watching US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker's play for American Airlines with great interest. Fending off Parker, American chief executive Thomas Horton says the carrier is looking at all options, including a tie-up with code-share partner Alaska Airlines—to which Alaska politely says thanks, but no thanks. “We have said for many years that our preference is to remain a strong, vibrant, independent company,” says Chief Financial Officer Brandon Pedersen. And contravening its usual stance on mergers, Wall Street largely agrees.
Insitu has begun flight tests of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' RQ-21A small tactical unmanned aircraft (Stuas). Developed from the company's Integrator commercial unmanned aircraft system, the RQ-21A made the 1-hr flight late last month from an Insitu facility in Boardman, Ore. With six months left to run in its 27-month engineering and manufacturing development contract, the program is on track, says Boeing subsidiary Insitu. Development and operational testing are scheduled to begin this month at NAS China Lake, Calif.
Nathan Hodge, a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has won the Washington-based National Press Club's Michael A. Dornheim Award for his extensive reporting on aerospace, defense and aviation issues. The award is named for Aviation Week's late Los Angeles bureau chief and senior engineering editor.
Avideo of a small unmanned helicopter dropping from hover like a stone, its operator unaware control has been hijacked, threatens plans to open civil airspace to UAS (unmanned aerial systems) by exposing the vulnerability of GPS to counterfeit signals, or spoofing. Although the weaknesses of civil GPS have implications beyond aviation—threatening the energy, financial and telecommunications sectors—they have come into sharp focus since Congress directed the FAA to open national airspace to UAS by 2015 (see p. 52).
In February, when Congress directed the FAA to open national airspace to civil unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by the end of 2015, it unleashed a flurry of regulatory and industry activity—and unlocked a closet of public and political concerns over how these systems could be used domestically.
Bob Seidel has joined JFI Jets of New York, as CEO, succeeding Bill Cripe, who will take a sabbatical. Seidel was general manager and senior VP of Jet Aviation's U.S. aircraft management and charter division.
After months of sharpening their bids and building teams, a U.S.-wide competition for the FAA to designate six sites to test UAS (unmanned aerial system) technologies in civilian airspace is about to begin. Across the country, governors, lawmakers, business development organizations, airports and companies are sharpening bid proposals that the FAA expects to issue “soon,” with an eye toward choosing the winning teams by year-end. Recent legislation requires the FAA to integrate UAS into the civilian airspace by Sept. 30, 2015.
It's the survival of the fittest in a highly competitive air transportation arena. And today, with few exceptions, Europe's legacy carriers are struggling to adapt. While this is not a radically new situation, uncertainties and tensions have never been so high, especially since the economy is weak and low-cost carriers are more aggressive than ever.
Key portions of the U.S. Navy's most sophisticated electronic attack weapon are emerging from the laboratories. At least two candidate elements—a reduced-signature pod and an advanced power generating system from Northrop Grumman—are flying. The $2 billion Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program—that would allow combat aircraft to penetrate sophisticated air defenses—is expected to be awarded to a single contractor almost exactly a year from now.
No doubt the pilots onboard Air France Flight 447 suffered “a profound loss of understanding,” as Pierre Sparaco says in a recent column. But I disagree with the assertion that Pitot's invention is out-of-date.
Johannes Bussmann (see photo) has been appointed chief executive-human resources, engine and VIP services of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik and a member of Lufthansa Technik's supervisory board. He was senior VP-engine services. Christoph Franz, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa, has been elected chairman of the board.
“We need more Europe, not less.” So exclaimed Angela Merkel recently when elaborating on how tighter integration of the EU's banking could prevent future financial crises. She just as easily could have been talking about defense.
Frustrated by years of false starts, high-speed-propulsion researchers no longer find humor in the old joke that hypersonics is the future and always will be. Yet, just as shrinking budgets and moribund projects threaten the U.S. hypersonics community with that familiar feeling of deja vu, a newly announced Air Force high-speed-strike weapon offers an unexpected beacon of hope.
Brazil's TAM Airlines is set to become the first carrier to offer daily non-stop flights between Orlando, Fla., and Rio de Janeiro, beginning Nov. 12. The airline will use an Airbus A330. TAM already offers two flights each day between Orlando and Sao Paulo.
Having endured more than its fair share of test failures in the early days of the GE90, General Electric has enjoyed a relatively problem-free run with the GEnx-1B engine for the Boeing 787—until now.
India's defense research agency has developed its first submarine-launched ballistic missile and plans to develop a new range of missiles to boost the country's military. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is working toward surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles with ranges of 300 km (186 mi.) and air-to-surface missiles with ranges of 400 km, according to DRDO's chief controller of research and development. India currently has SAMs with 50-km ranges.
Sharly Ben-Chetrit (see photos) has been named corporate VP-marketing at Israel Aerospace Industries. He has acting in that capacity since 2009. Yoav Turgeman has become general manager of the MLM Div. in the Systems Missiles and Space Group. He has been head of the division's Arrow Anti-Theater Ballistic Missile Directorate. Opher Doron has been appointed general manager of IAI's Space Group. He was head of the Israeli navy's Weapons Branch.
I enjoyed reader Jonathan Gaffney's letter (AW&ST July 30, p. 8). I would like to point out, though, that the moniker “Whisper Jet” was coined by Eastern Air Lines, not United, and that it applied to the former airline's Boeing 727s and DC-9s. Eastern called their Lockheed L-1011's “Whisperliners.” And although I don't live in Del Boca Vista, Phase II, Fla., I do happen to be a retired airline captain and I flew the 727 for most of the 20 of my 30 years with United Airlines.
