The Royal Air Force is undergoing a sweeping overhaul of its fleet, with a raft of aircraft being phased out and new ones, such as the Air Seeker signals intelligence aircraft, F-35 fighter and Airbus Military A400M transport, coming into service through 2020.
Chris Maupin has become director of Zurich-based Jet Aviation's Houston Hobby Airport fixed-base operation. He was a fuel market analyst at Universal Weather and Aviation.
All eyes are on Airbus as it prepares the A350 for first flight, but the aircraft maker is putting at least as much attention on ensuring it can handle the steep production ramp-up due shortly afterward.
David Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington)
The future of large aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is undergoing a major change, with many older, tested designs shuffling toward retirement. Replacing them are penetrating manned and unmanned combat aircraft—including F-22, F-35 and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAV) with enhanced, non-traditional ISR integrated with their attack capabilities. In addition, these designs will be linked with other stealth platforms on and under the sea and in space.
GKN Aerospace has sought for years to join forces with Volvo Aero. With the contract finally signed, GKN is emerging as a stronger supplier for engine manufacturers.
Don't tell Hawaiian Airlines that a sputtering global economy will slow demand for air travel. While other U.S. carriers are putting the brakes on expansion, Hawaiian is expanding capacity at double-digit rates and adding to its fleet of widebody jets—primarily with Airbus A330s, and A350s to follow starting in 2017. Hawaiian estimated capacity would grow 15.5-17.5% in the quarter that just ended, compared with a year earlier. The consistently profitable Honolulu-based carrier expects an average load factor of 84% for the quarter and has no plans to slow its growth.
Kevin Nolan (see photo) has been named European managing director for Wall Colmonoy, Pontardawe, Wales, succeeding Norman Allnatt, who has retired. Nolan was managing director of the Turbine Airfoils Division of the Doncasters Group.
Airbus's interest in setting up a U.S. final assembly line for the A320 may seem like the aerospace equivalent of painting the white roses red, but there are larger business issues at stake than just trying to fool U.S. buyers into thinking they are “buying American.”
A week before the Farnborough International Airshow, Boeing officials are not saying whether they will break a 28-year-old rule and fly a 787 during the week-long biennial exhibition. The 787 debuted at the last Farnborough outing in 2010 and was at the Paris air show last year, but at both events it was in a static display.
The Pacific Northwest Aviation Association, NorCal Business Aviation Association, Teterboro (N.J.) Users Group, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Aviation Association, Kansas City Business Aviation Association and Eastern Regional Helicopter Council are among local protectors and promoters of general and business aviation operators and airports throughout the U.S. And their number is growing steadily.
The new Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares liquid-fuel rocket will have a shot at launching other NASA payloads as well as the Cygnus cargo carrier it was built to launch. The U.S. space agency added the kerosene-fueled launcher to its Launch Services II contract with Orbital, which also flies solid-fuel launch vehicles. Antares is due for a first flight this year, pending certification of its new Virginia-owned launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.
The most powerful version of Space Exploration Technologies' Merlin rocket engine has completed its first full-duration mission firing test. The Merlin 1D engine fired for 185 sec. and generated 147,000 lb. thrust during the firing, which included multiple restarts at target thrust and specific impulse. The engine is destined to make its first flight on a Falcon 9 in 2013
Maria Paz de Arana (see photos) has succeeded Gustavo Vaca as general manager-Spain for. She has worked for Sabre and Amadeus, as well as American Airlines. Attila Toth has joined the company's group management in Hungary and Erhan Sengenc is the new general manager in Turkey.
United Technologies Corp. and its subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand agreed last week to pay more than $75 million to the U.S. government to settle criminal and administrative charges related to accusations that it sold China software enabling its authorities to develop and produce their first modern military attack helicopter, the Z-10. The U.S. State Department further is imposing a partial disbarment of PWC for new export licenses, although it can request them on a case-by-case basis.
The supply chain train wreck that engulfed Boeing and others in recent years taught invaluable lessons to the rest of the aerospace industry, particularly those companies ambitiously planning to advance on the systems integration scale.
Brig. Gen. Edward A. Fienga has been appointed deputy director for programs in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs at USAF headquarters at the Pentagon. He was executive officer to the commander of Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Col. Donald E. Kirkland, who has been selected to become a brigadier general, has been named commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex of Air Force Materiel Command, Tinker AFB, Okla. He has been executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff at USAF headquarters. Brig. Gen.
Poor roads and rail infrastructure have long made Africa a poster child for promoting growth in aviation, but regulatory, safety and financial issues have overshadowed the market's development.
When it comes to extracting U.S. airlines from the EU's requirement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the House is again putting the squeeze on the Senate. Last week, the House passed another provision blocking the FAA from using taxpayer dollars to impose the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) on U.S. airlines, adding it to the fiscal 2013 transportation spending bill.
Turboshafts seem to last for generations, as many engine mechanics who have tended to just a handful of major types throughout their entire career can attest. Small wonder then that opportunities for new engine launches come along once in a blue Moon, particularly in the rarified world of heavy-lift helicopters.
With this issue, we relaunch Aviation Week & Space Technology and begin multiple editions (see Letter from the Editor, p. 3). Counterclockwise from top right, the first cover features an Airbus photo by A. Doumenjou of an AirAsia Japan A320. The cover of the Defense Technology Edition has Lockheed Martin photographer Andy Wolfe's shot of the second F-35B development aircraft carrying an inert AIM-9X missile. And our MRO Edition starts with an image of a Wizz Air A320 in C check in Budapest, captured by Lufthansa Technik's Gregor Schlager.
I enjoy reading your magazine online, but it would be very helpful if there was a pause button on the cycling headline photos. Currently, this feature cycles so quickly that sometimes even manually forcing the previous page doesn't work because it flips back and then forward faster than I can click “full story.” Clifton, N.J.
