Prof. Robert C. Owen (Daytona Beach, Fla. ), Aeronautical Science Dept. (Daytona Beach, Fla. ), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla. )
The reader who found the demise of the C-27 in the U.S. Air Force fleet “simply outrageous” misses the point (AW&ST March 15, p. 8). USAF moved away from the aircraft because it offered no unique capabilities to the existing fleet, and strategic and budgetary changes made buying a private-theater airlift fleet for the Army an unaffordable luxury. Numerous assessments of the Lockheed Martin/Aeritalia C-27, including a 2007 Rand Corp. study that I coauthored, questioned the need for a small-theater airlifter of such bread-and-butter operational characteristics.
Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee has released the first data retrieved from the so-called black boxes of the UTair ATR 72-200 turboprop that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tyumen’s Roschino airport on April 2 killing 31 of the 43 people onboard.
The first United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV in the Medium-plus 5.2 configuration lifts off surfside at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 7:12 p.m. EDT April 3 with a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The launch clears the way for three more intelligence satellite launches by the end of the summer for the the joint Defense Department/Intelligence Community agency.
Steve Squyres knows a thing or two about exploration, and he has a great soapbox for passing on his experience where it might do some good. A Cornell University astronomy professor, Squyres is principal investigator on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. He is also chairman of the NASA Advisory Council—a distinguished group of outside experts who do their best to guide NASA's political leadership in its decisionmaking.
Airbus has started the final assembly process of the A350 in Toulouse, kicking off a two-year period in which the aircraft maker hopes to validate the new twin-widebody in ground and flight demonstrations before it begins customer deliveries in 2014. The first aircraft assembled will serve as the static ground-test article. The second A350-900 (MSN1) will be the next aircraft down the line and the first flight aircraft. Assembly is to start in the summer and first flight is to occur in 2013.
The EU has added Venezuelan airline Conviasa to its aviation safety blacklist, owing to “to numerous safety concerns arising from accidents and the results of ramp checks at EU airports.” Two other Venezuelan airlines, Estelar and Aerotuy, are being closely watched. In Indonesia, six new carriers were automatically added to the list. Similarly in the Philippines, seven carriers were added.
The Australian government is moving forward with plans to upgrade its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet with EA-18G Growler electronic attack equipment. The military already has taken delivery of 12 of its 24 Super Hornets on order wired for the electronic attack (EA) system and now is laying the groundwork to equipping aircraft for the EA-18G role. The final decision will not come until later this year, says Defense Minister Stephen Smith. Australian officials say the U.S. Navy experience with the EA-18G in Libya underscored their interest in the EA capability.
The U.S. faces a critical engineering shortage. U.S. high school students' science and math scores are off the international pace. Competitiveness is at risk. That's the conventional wisdom, now elevated to accepted truth. But a group of academics now argues that these assumptions are flat wrong.
Rupa Haria, head of the civil aviation team's online efforts, displays the Aircraft Order graphic on her Things With Wings blog and links to the recent “Bubble Trouble?” article, which covers the debate over whether Boeing/Airbus are producing too many jets. Amiga500 notes:
Randy Sloan has been named VP and chief information officer of Southwest Airlines. He was senior VP and CIO at PepsiCo. Kathleen Wayton has been promoted to VP-technology of the commercial portfolio from VP-change leadership and business performance and Jeff Buhr to VP-technology for aircraft operations portfolio from senior director of technology.
As the Pentagon begins a 10-year reduction in its spending plans, its database of the vast network of companies that supply its prime contractors is already helping to spare companies from budget disaster.
Marco Harries has been appointed chief pilot at ExecuJet Africa, Zurich. He was a first officer for South African Airways and training captain for Anglo American.
The Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) team has a new rallying cry: 12 in 12! The slogan refers to the plan to deliver eight 747-8s, two BBJs and two BBJ 2s, all for VIP service, in 2012. Total value: $2.7 billion, or more than double the highest figure ever attained by the unit in a single year.
U.S. Army aviation is offering industry a deal: Work with us to slow our procurement as budgets decline and we can continue to invest in the clean-sheet rotorcraft we both need; work against us to protect your individual programs and we will both get nothing. As the Army wrestles with its first budget cuts in more than 10 years, the aviation branch is trying to protect its long-term investment in advanced replacement rotorcraft under the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative by slowing the near-term modernization.
Winston Leong (see photo) has been promoted to Asia-Pacific marketing manager for commercial simulation from remote assets manager at New York-based FlightSafety International. HONORS AND ELECTIONS
Matt Hafner has been named VP of Southwest Airlines' Operations Coordination Center in Dallas. He was VP-integrated operations. Nan Barry has been promoted to managing director of the executive office from senior director to the CEO. Jack Smith joins Southwest as VP-ground operations for subsidiary AirTran Airways. He was senior VP-customer service. Jim Sturgis has been named Southwest's managing director of quality programs and maintenance safety. He was president of regulatory consulting firm Cavok.
As EADS North America unveils a new concept for the U.S. Army's still-unmet Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement, executives are expressing annoyance over what they say is a slow and unclear management of efforts to replace the aging Kiowa Warrior fleet.
Following extensive preparation, Oneworld is one step closer to integration through the launch of its information technology (IT) hub, with new member Air Berlin its first user. But for the next few weeks its entire focus will be on keeping the alliance itself integrated with LAN on board and adding TAM after their merger to form the Latam Group possibly in the second quarter.
Mention superconductivity in the context of aircraft propulsion and the skeptics come out in force. But NASA is convinced this technology—still exotic to aerospace—can reduce the fuel consumption and noise of future aircraft. The agency believes turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP)—gas turbines generating electricity to power many small fans embedded in the airframe—can meet its aggressive goals for a 2035-timeframe airliner, slashing fuel burn 60% from today's Boeing 737s and 777s.
