It is an interesting time for U.S. aviation. Airbus, by unveiling plans to assemble narrowbodies in the U.S., has created the perfect opportunity for a turf war between the world's two largest airframers. Delta Air Lines' new pilot contract indicates a major shift in mainline feed, and US Airways and AMR Corp.—as has become the norm since the beginning of the year—continue to battle for the hearts and minds of workers, legislators and investors to support their respective views on what may be the last consolidation among legacy carriers for decades to come.
This Spanish-built Airbus Military C295, flying over San Pablo Airport in Seville during a test flight, is the first of nine of the airlifters that the Indonesian government has ordered for its air force. The first aircraft is due to be delivered toward the end of September. Indonesia's deputy defense minister, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, told Aviation Week earlier this year that the first three or four C295s would be made in Spain but the others would be assembled in Bandung at Indonesia's state-owned aircraft manufacturer Indonesian Aerospace (IAe).
Robert R. Fafinski and Michael J. Opat have been added to the board of directors of Minneapolis-based Sun Country Airlines. Fafinski is CEO of the Fafinski Mark & Johnson law firm, and Opat is chairman of the Hennepin County (Minn.) Board of Commissioners.
The long-running Concorde legal drama will soon return for another surreal season. In November, the Versailles Court of Appeal is slated to render its verdict after once again scrutinizing the evidence related to the July 25, 2000, crash of an Air France supersonic jet. And in January 2013, the same court is expected to question Jacques Herubel, a retired Aerospatiale engineer whose responsibilities included Concorde.
In a rerun of its 2010 elections, the Netherlands could go to the polls in September with parliament having voted to withdraw from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, and the future of its participation hinging on which party wins the most seats. The opposition Labor Party (PvDA) plans to submit a proposal to end Dutch participation in the program to the lower house before the election. PvDA has only 30 of the 150 seats in the assembly, but is aligned with other anti-F-35 parties that together control 78 seats.
With several members facing debt crises at home, the European Space Agency (ESA) is paring Earth-observation spending plans ahead of a key budget meeting in November. The initial five-year, €1.9 billion ($2.4 billion) proposal for ESA's fourth Earth Observation Envelope Program (EOEP) will instead involve €1.6 billion over four years, says Volker Liebig, ESA director of Earth-observation programs.
Irkut Corp.'s MS-21 narrowbody airliner orderbook has climbed by 35 as Aviation Capital Services (ACS) converted options. ACS, a leasing company that is a subsidiary of state-owned Russian Technology Corp., will receive 18 MS-21-200s with 150 seats and 17 MS-21-300s designed to carry 180 passengers. Irkut, part of United Aircraft Corp., is expected to deliver the aircraft in 2022-25.
The U.S. Air Force has completed the first flight of an aircraft using alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) biofuel on June 28, flying a Fairchild A-10 from Eglin AFB, Fla., “without any issues.” Fuel for the test flight was supplied by Gevo, which was awarded a potential $600,000 contract last year to provide up to 11,000 gal. of ATJ. Gevo uses a fermentation process to convert plant sugars and other biomass to isobutanol, which is further processed to produce a drop-in replacement for JP-8 jet fuel.
The most recent new aircraft programs at Airbus and Boeing have incurred years of delays and substantial additional costs. As the CSeries production has now started, Bombardier Aerospace is trying its utmost to avoid the same fate. Its priorities in the ramp-up to first flight are testing and early risk mitigation.
Scandinavian Airlines and Lufthansa Technik have signed a seven-year total component support contract for SAS's 140 aircraft. Under the contract, which will go into effect on March 15, 2013, repair and pooling of the parts will take place at Lufthansa Technik facilities. The service company will handle all aspects related to daily component supplies for SAS. Both companies will integrate information technology services by exchanging ordering information and processing data online.
Even as Airbus and Boeing worry over how to ramp up their single-aisle production rates to meet record demand, when Boeing looks ahead 20 years, it sees the single-aisle market cooling off a bit in relation to demand for the larger, long-haul twin-aisle jets. In the latest version of its annual 20-year forecast, Boeing sees demand for 34,000 new aircraft valued at $4.5 trillion through 2031. Passenger growth is expected to average 5%, while airfreight will be slightly higher, at 5.2%, even though the cargo market has been weak for the past year.
With the first phase of X-47B flight testing complete, the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman are turning their focus to preparing the Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) for the first trials of a pilotless, tailless, stealthy aircraft on an aircraft carrier deck.
As U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130s resumed attacks on wildfires in Colorado and Wyoming, the first fatal crash for the USAF in 40 years of supporting the U.S. Forest Service brought the danger inherent in the aerial firefighting mission into sharp focus.
It can be assumed that China is developing a combat drone, maybe several. The technology is so obviously part of the future that the rising power cannot ignore it. But making even tentative conclusions about China's progress in the field is not easy. The country's rapid advances in fighter technology suggest it may be little more than a decade behind the West; yet even the U.S. is still years from deploying an unmanned strike aircraft with the penetration capabilities of a modern fighter.
Robert Wall (Madrid), Amy Butler (Washington and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio)
The next two years could see a sea change in the shape of the worldwide airlift market, as new entrants try to secure their global positions while incumbents aim to keep production lines open. Despite tight defense budgets, operations in Afghanistan and increased demand for humanitarian support around the world have kept the airlift market relatively vibrant, a situation not hurt by the fact many air forces are operating aging airlifters.
Richard Hawkins (see photo) has been appointed group quality director for Pattonair, Derby, England. He was supplier development executive for Rolls-Royce's Marine Sector.
Martin Bentler has been appointed CFO of Krauss-Maffei Wegmannof Munich, succeeding Stefan Krischik, who plans to leave the company. Bentler has held management positions in the finance and information technology divisions of Siemens.
Boeing has confirmed what everyone knew: that it will put on a flight demonstration at the Farnborough International Airshow this week with a 787-8 in Qatar Airways livery (AW&ST July 2, p. 33). The decision abandons a 28-year policy of not participating in flying demonstrations for safety reasons and because they are not thought to help sales.
Few military competitions will mirror the protracted, bare-knuckle fight between Boeing and EADS over the U.S. Air Force refueling tanker program. Now the two rivals are ready to take the battle on the road as other countries look to recapitalize their fleets.
