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As the first engine maker to attach a fifth-generation civil turbofan to a more-electric aircraft's all-composite primary structure wing, Rolls-Royce says its Trent 1000 experience on the Boeing 787 gives it a significant advantage in the race for ever greater levels of engine-airframe integration.
The first commercial spacecraft to reach the International Space Station approaches its berthing site at the end of the Canadarm2 (see pp. 34-37). SpaceX's Dragon cargo carrier is a true trailblazer, built with a combination of private funds from the deep pockets of dot.com entrepreneur Elon Musk and U.S. government seed money supplied by NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program.
With an eye to what it sees as a growing market for maritime surveillance aircraft, Saab has rolled out its 340 MSA (maritime security aircraft) which it plans to showcase at the Farnborough air show in July. The aircraft would feature one operator workstation, although up to four could be accommodated. Maximum endurance would be around 6.5 hr., although Saab sees an option for auxiliary fuel tanks to boost that to more than 8 hr. Patrol speed would be 140 kt with a maximum cruise speed of 265 kt and a 3-hr., 45-min. on-station time at a range of 200 nm.
For Mexico's airline maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry, this is a time of change, especially given recent developments at Aeromexico and Mexicana MRO Services, the two heavyweights in airframe third-party maintenance in the country. Aeromexico runs a joint venture with Delta TechOps, and Mexicana MRO Services is operating despite the August 2010 bankruptcy and service suspension of Mexicana Airlines, which once accounted for 60% of its business.
USAF Lt. Col. (ret.) Jim Mullin and Chief Master Sgt. (ret.) James Perdue have joined San Antonio-based Salient Federal Solutions' Responsive Mission Support Solutions. Mullin was deputy maintenance group commander at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, and commander of the 362nd Training Sqdn. at Sheppard AFB, Texas. Perdue was the squadron's chief enlisted manager.
Ultra Electronics has resumed its process of making niche acquisitions with the purchase of satellite communications terminal provider Giga Communications. The price of the deal, £12.4 million ($15.4 million), could rise by another £24.6 million depending on earnings delivered in the next two years. Ultra expects the deal to add to its bottom-line already this year. The acquisition expands both Ultra's defense and commercial market reach. Ultra is drawing on existing financial resources to fund the transaction.
The French air accident investigation office, BEA, will issue its final report into the crash of Air France Flight 447 on July 5. The report, to be issued at BEA headquarters outside Paris, comes three years after the Airbus A330 crashed on June 1, 2009, on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 onboard died. The final report was delayed in large part by the time it took to recover cockpit voice and flight data recorders after a multi-phase search of the large, deep area in the Atlantic Ocean where the aircraft was lost.
Prof. Hans Reigle (Dover, Del. ), Delaware State University (Dover, Del. )
As an educator in the aviation field, I believe that the FAA's Docket No. 2010-0100—Notice No. 12-01 concerning serving as a second-in-command (first officer) in Part 121 air carrier operations—is too restrictive and will lead to an overlooked consequence. Many prospective airline pilots will be financially unable to obtain the flight time it proposes.
USAF Maj. Gen. (ret.) Bob Steel has joined Tenax Aerospace, Ridgeland, Miss., to lead strategic business development initiatives focused on government, defense and special missions. He was commandant of the U.S. National War College.
Rupa Haria, Aviation Week's multimedia content producer and community manager, blogs on Business Aviation Now about the “Imperfect Opportunity” of London's Summer Olympics for the business aircraft sector. Rupa notes that: Swiss charter operator Perfect Aviation is just one of the operators that believes the 2012 Olympic Games will likely prove to be a disadvantage for bizav operators relying on bases located within heavily restricted airspace.
European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices drifted lower in May, reflecting nervousness in the wider financial markets as traders mulled the risk of a Greek exit from the eurozone. EUAs for December 2012 delivery under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) fell as low as €6.42 ($8.02) per metric ton on May 18, down from €7.60 on Apr. 30.
The U.K. government has awarded an industrial team of Marshall Aerospace, Rolls-Royce and Lockheed Martin a $539 million contract to support C-130K and C-130J airlifters until 2015.
The proliferation of mobile telephones on the modern battlefield is changing how electronic warfare planners think about how to confront the enemy. The ubiquity of the signals poses a massive challenge in terms of processing power and tracking potential threats. But military and industry officials point out that there are also important advantages to be gained by exploiting GSM-standard cellphone communications and other signals.
Sierra Nevada Corp. will attempt the first free flight of its Dream Chaser commercial-crew spacecraft this summer, including an autonomous approach and landing at Edwards AFB, Calif., following this captive-carry test of the flight vehicle. An Erickson Air-Crane heavy-lift helicopter carried the composite 25,000-lb. vehicle through an hour-long test May 30 designed to assess its aerodynamic performance.
Due to financial distress, the municipality of Milan is preparing to sell its majority stake in the Malpensa and Linate airports authority, SEA. The idea is to sell a 50% stake, which could fetch at least €750 million.
Indonesian authorities have recovered the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet that crashed there on May 9. The cockpit voice recorder has already been recovered and analyzed, with officials saying there are no indications of a technical fault. The FDR was recovered May 30 around 1 km (0.6 mi.) from the main crash zone in mountainous terrain. Sukhoi says the FDR, now with the Indonesian Investigation Commission of the National Committee for Transport Safety, appears undamaged.
With a freighter delivery to Atlas Air on behalf of Swiss freight operator Panalpina, Boeing has delivered its 20th 747-8. To date, Boeing has handed over 16 freighters, three VIP versions and the first version to a passenger airline, Lufthansa. Panalpina will operate another of Atlas Air's nine 747-8s.
