Qantas has selected CFM's Leap-1A engine to power 78 Airbus A320NEO aircraft currently on order for its JetStar subsidiary. The contract takes overall Leap orders and commitments to more than 3,500 engines. The first aircraft are scheduled for delivery to the Australian carrier in 2016.
Problems found during inspection of RTM322 engines on AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin helicopters have forced the Danish armed forces to ground part of the helicopter fleet used for search-and-rescue and transport missions. Eleven RTM322 engines were affected, forcing the military to stop flying four of 14 EH101s, the defense ministry says. The Danish military has been in talks with the engine supplier—the consortium of Rolls-Royce, Turbomeca and MTU—since April 13 to lay out a recovery plan. The Danish military says a root cause analysis is still underway.
Internal debate is raging over whether NASA has the right flight-research assets in place to test the array of technologies emerging in coming years from its Subsonic Fixed Wing and Environmentally Responsible Aviation programs. The only X-plane on the near horizon is the X-56A Multi-Use Technology Testbed, an unmanned aircraft built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and expected to be handed over to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center by year-end.
After reading “Ready to Lift” (AW&ST April 2, p. 62), I have to ask why, in the era of ever-decreasing defense budgets, does the U.S. Army need to reinvent the wheel? Is there any reason an existing airframe such as the Black Hawk helicopter cannot meet the service's requirements for reduced vibration, increased efficiency and acoustic detection? Certainly the black-operations Black Hawks on the Bin Laden raid had many advanced systems that could be used in an existing airframe without starting from scratch.
USAF Col. John D. Bansemer, one of six of his rank selected for promotion to brigadier general, has been appointed director of intelligence at Headquarters U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. He has been assistant vice commander of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Agency/deputy chief of staff for ISR at Joint Base San Antonio. Col. Blaine D. Holt has been appointed director of logistics at Headquarters U.S. European Command.
Declan Collier has been named CEO of London City Airport, succeeding Richard Gooding, who will join the airport's board as a non-executive director. Collier has been CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority.
I believe it is incorrect to call vehicles that can operate as airplanes “flying cars,” as has been done a few times in your publication. They are primarily aircraft, meant to be used for flying. Who would pay up to $300,000 for a flying car and then use it mostly for driving? To ride fast, one can purchase a Lamborghini for about same amount. “Roadable airplanes” better reflects the purpose of this particular mode of transportation: flying, with the possibility to ride.
Brazil is commonly listed with Russia, India and China as one of the “BRIC” emerging economies, but South America's largest country is far different from them in demographics, costs and manufacturing base. In aviation, Embraer is not only Brazil's largest manufacturing exporter but also one of the industry's most advanced producers.
The first flight of the U.K.'s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sets in motion a process that should see the first two international buyers begin to take possession of their aircraft. Lockheed Martin on April 15 completed a 45-min. mission of BK-1. It is the first of two F-35Bs the U.K. is to due receive this year, with delivery expected during the summer. The test aircraft will be used eventually by the U.K. at Eglin AFB, Fla., as part of the training and operational test program there. The U.K. is buying three test aircraft. BK-1 and BK-2 have been built.
Lisa Troxell (see photos) is a new regional sales manager for component repair, modification and overhaul at Savannah, Ga.-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. She was a spare-parts sales manager. Thomas Huff was named aviation safety officer. He was commander of the Naval Test Wing-Atlantic at NAS Patuxent River, Md.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) plans to load “late cargo” into its Dragon capsule around April 20 after passing NASA's final flight-readiness review for the first private space mission to dock with the International Space Station. A final static firing on the pad is scheduled within the next two weeks before the planned mission on April 30. “If we don't do April 30, we have another opportunity on May 3,” says company President Gwynne Shotwell.
Even though Russia bet heavily on Western turbofans to revive its commercial aerospace fortunes, the country has also continued to focus on bolstering its domestic aircraft engine industry. That effort is now a step closer with the Perm-based Aviadvigatel design bureau moving forward with development of the PD-14 turbofan to power Russia's new Irkut MS-21 narrowbody airliner. The aircraft also is being offered with the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G.
Speaking of Senate appropriators, the FAA continues to fare well in relation to the cuts suffered by other agencies. But it remains an open question as to whether the civil aviation agency will actually receive all of these funds. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $956 million for the NextGen air traffic modernization program in fiscal 2013, a 2% increase above last year.
In Japan, it was last year's earthquake and tsunami; manufacturers worldwide are still recovering. In the U.S., a swarm of tornadoes ripping across Kansas—and striking Spirit AeroSystems—brought another reminder of just how vulnerable and vastly inter-connected the aviation's supply chain is to natural disasters.
India's long struggle for strategic parity with China passed a milestone last week, with ramifications for India's self-confidence and China's rise, after India's indigenously developed Agni-V missile hit a pre-designated target in the Indian Ocean with a high degree of accuracy during its first test-flight.
Investors seem to believe that Textron Inc.'s darkest days are behind it. The share price of the 89-year-old parent company of Cessna Aircraft, Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems rose more than 50% during the first quarter of 2012. And while the stock has declined a bit in April, it has recovered from a slump that began a year ago, when it became apparent that a rebound in the lower end of the business jet market was further off than anticipated.
The Obama administration has delivered a long-awaited report asking Congress to return authority it yanked away from the executive branch in the late 1990s to approve exports of commercial satellites and components. But prospects for passage this year are bleak. While the satellite industry and other advocates for the change want it added to the defense authorization bill, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of a key subcommittee writing that bill, has raised objections. The House is not likely to move independent legislation on satellite exports before September.
After 13 years of steady and often sharp increases in defense spending, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says last year's 0.3% increase to $1.74 trillion in global expenditure suggests the growth period is at an end. Although the global average is leveling off, it mainly reflects a change in spending in the U.S. and Western and Central Europe, where spending was down 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Latin America spending also was down, 3.3%.
The “Up Front” commentary “In Space to Stay, But in a Different Way” (AW&ST April 2, p. 15) makes me wonder whether “space business” was ever really meant to be a place for us to stay in? In the halcyon days of the aerospace industry, we were raised on the “Promise of Tomorrow” as portrayed in the newly constructed Disneyland, and on Sputnik-induced fear as spoofed in the movie “The Russian's Are Coming.”
When it comes to ideal locations for engine icing tests, manufacturers seek out an environment that many others try to avoid—with long winters and prolonged cold temperatures.
If Air Canada and American Airlines outsource their airframe maintenance, where will it go? Which MROs have capacity? This subject, as well as what really happened at Aveos Fleet Performance, was the focus of many conversations during the MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition in Dallas in early April. Both carriers appear to be in the initial stages of exploring third-party MRO market capabilities and capacity.
Defense Technology International Contributing Editor Nicholas Fiorenza, on the Ares defense blog, reports on the Danish military borrowing Dutch Raven UAVs to augment systems in Afghanistan. Marcase notes: These small UAVs are here to stay. Although the larger MALEs are nice to have, hand-launched UAVs are simple and cheap enough to be deployed in sufficient numbers to make an impact. Ravens have seen 'action' over the Netherlands in support of fire/crime fighting and dike/waterway inspections.
