NASA will contract with Boeing for an interim cryogenic propulsion stage to power at least the first two flights of its planned heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), based on the company's Delta Cryogenic Second Stage used on the Delta IV. After reviewing other upper stages, the U.S. space agency picked the Delta unit because it meets most of the requirements for lofting Orion multi-purpose crew vehicles in 2017 and 2021 atop a NASA-developed SLS main stage with strap-on boosters.
Capt. (ret.) Rick Bauer (Flemington Island, Fla. )
It seems that the American Airlines bankruptcy has brought out those in the media who would “sanitize” the process of dumping the pilot pension programs and making AA's management out to be “good guys” for paying the others. Since all major carriers have—or will have—filed for bankruptcy protection and no one in my generation or forward will have reaped the benefits of “rich” pension programs, I have to wonder where this will end. The European Union is apparently implementing flight-/duty-time rules considered dangerous by experienced pilots.
Etihad has acquired almost 3% of Aer Lingus in its latest move to buy into Europe's airline market after taking a 29% stake in Air Berlin. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Etihad does not appear to plan a further expansion of its holding in Aer Lingus in the short term, although the Irish government, which controls 25% of the carrier, has expressed interest in selling its share. Ryanair owns 29.8%.
The United Arab Emirates is nearing a deal with Bell-Boeing that will make it the first international customer for the V-22 tiltrotor. The UAE is eyeing the Osprey for its special operations forces, and interest was bolstered after a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 picked up downed F-15 pilots during the air war over Libya, according to industry sources. The deal could be signed by year-end, and the sources suggest the UAE's interest has sparked Israel to consider a buy sooner than previously thought.
Lufthansa formally received its first 747-8 Intercontinental passenger aircraft from Boeing, marking the initial delivery of the type to an airline. The aircraft was delivered to Frankfurt on May 2, and is the first of 20 ordered by Lufthansa. The airline's acceptance comes as Boeing announces a ramp-up in planned 747-8 deliveries for 2012. The manufacturer expects to deliver 35-43 747-8 passenger and freighter aircraft this year, compared to just six 747-8Fs in 2011.
Engineers on Boeing's CST-100 commercial crew vehicle project are turning their attention to a forward heat shield jettison test and a hot fire of the capsule's orbital maneuvering/attitude control engines, following a successful landing test May 2. An Erickson Air Crane helicopter dropped a dummy capsule from 14,000 ft. over Delamar Dry Lake Bed, Nev., to validate its system of three parachutes and six airbags.
Ramon S. Ang, president of San Miguel Corp., has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines (PAL), succeeding Jaime Bautista. Ang will remain chairman and CEO. Joining Ang as San Miguel representatives on the board of PAL Holdings are Inigo Zobel, Robert Ongpin, Aurora Calderon and Ferdinand Constantino. Daniel Ang will follow Jose Gabriel Olives as CFO; Harry Tan will replace Domingo Chua as treasurer; and Estelito Mendoza will succeed Cecilia Pesayco as corporate secretary.
Space Shuttle Enterprise flies past the Manhattan skyline while making its final voyage April 27, from Washington to New York, where it will be placed on permanent exhibit July 19 as one of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum's major attractions. En route to John F. Kennedy International Airport, tens of thousands of spectators on the New York and New Jersey sides of the Hudson River were treated to dramatic views of the prototype test vehicle and the NASA Boeing 747 that transported the orbiter.
European legacy carriers have tried hard to get costs under control, with limited success. And now an increasing number of them are reverting to the more radical option of outsourcing.
United Airlines' fierce opposition to a Southwest Airlines proposal to start “near-international” service from Houston's Hobby Airport might suggest a larger issue: the potential for a glut of services from the U.S. to the Caribbean and Latin America that could force some players to pull out or reduce their services in the lucrative markets.
Mark J. Nappi has been named senior VP and program manager of the engineering services contract at NASA's Kennedy Space Center by Qinetiq North America, McLean, Va. He was VP-aerospace services and site director with United Space Alliance. Honors and Elections
Finmeccanica is showing the first positive signs from its ongoing restructuring, as first-quarter 2012 results were generally above what the company was expecting,. In issuing results last week, Finmeccanica reiterated its plan to complete the merger of its European electronics entities by January, and is proceeding to remake U.S. unit DRS Technologies into a local powerhouse. The company also continues plans to dispose of roughly €1 billion ($1.32 billion) in assets.
Boeing and its vast international supply chain are within weeks of delivering 787s that require none of the long retrofit sessions that have added billions of dollars in costs to the program since the company hosted a splashy launch party in 2007 for a jet that turned out to be unflyable.
When intelligence-gathering matures from finding and following an individual or vehicle to monitoring entire groups to understand their intent, the narrow, “soda straw” field-of-view of conventional video sensors becomes a severe limitation.
Across composite and metallic aircraft structures, technology is being developed and deployed to minimize component lead times, reduce manufacturing costs and increase production rates. Automated processes that can take component geometry data directly from three-dimensional design databases are high on the most-desired list for aerospace manufacturers.
John Lehman has been named director of business development for JetFlite International, Long Beach, Calif. He was president of Network Sports Marketing. Damon Danneker has been promoted to director of operations from director of training and chief pilot.
Jude Bricker has been promoted to senior VP-planning from VP-finance at Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Co. Trent Porter was named VP-financial planning and analysis and Chris Allen director of investor relations. Porter was senior manager of financial planning at US Airways, and Allen was an equity research associate at UBS.
Robert “Hoot” Gibson has received the William F. Shea Award, presented by the University of Nebraska-Omaha Aviation Institute for contributions to aviation. Gibson was a NASA astronaut in the first space shuttle program and piloted the first shuttle docking with the MIR space station.
Terry Hibler (see photo), director of airline marketing for New York-based FlightSafety International, has been elected to the Regional Airline Association Associate Member Council in the area of flight training.
Esteban Tripodi (see photo) has been appointed executive VP-Americas of Dublin-based Lease Corp. International. He was a senior VP at Aircastle Advisor. Nigel Leishman was promoted to executive VP-Asia Pacific from VP.
May 23-24—MRO Regional: Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia. Vilnius, Lithuania. Sept. 19-21—MRO IT Conference & Showcase. Miami. Oct. 9—MRO IT Europe. Amsterdam. Oct. 9—Aircraft Composite Repair Management. Amsterdam. Oct. 9-11—MRO Europe. Amsterdam. Nov. 6-7—A&D Programs. Phoenix. Nov. 14-15—MRO Asia. Singapore. PARTNERSHIPS June 26-28—JEC Show Asia. Singapore. July 9-15—Farnborough air show.
Cutting and drilling of cured composite components during manufacture or repair are a growing challenge as structures become bigger, more complex and costly.
