Aviation Week & Space Technology

In Burt Rutan's Stratolaunch design detailed in “The Big Drop” (AW&ST Dec 19-26, 2011, p. 26), are there specific reasons he did not locate the cockpit in the center fuselage for more balanced control; link the two tails together following the P-38 design for rigidity; or use propjets instead of pure jet for this straight-wing design? After all, the lifter is intended only for low air speed. Saratoga, Calif.

Wind tunnel and structures tests mark next steps for NASA's advanced airliners plan.

With fortuitous timing, as the U.S. Defense Department unveils plans for budget cuts, a government/industry consortium has released an open systems standard that promises to save money by enabling reuse of avionics software across Pentagon platforms. The Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) technical standard was released on Jan. 30, after just 18 months of work by a 39-member consortium managed by open-systems standards organization The Open Group.

The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft mentioned in the Inside Business Aviation column in the Jan. 16 edition (p. 14) is outfitted with a door that can accommodate cargo up to 4 ft. square.

Johanna O'Toole has been promoted to comptroller from director of administration and financial services of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Association. She was an account manager at Degnon and Associates.

Jan. 31-Feb. 2—Aerial Refueling Systems Advisory Group's Winter Planning Meeting. Hilton Palacio del Rio, San Antonio. Call +1 (937) 431-8106 or see www.arsaginc.com Feb. 2—Business Aviation Regional Forum. Landmark Aviation, Lakefront Airport, New Orleans. See www.nbaa.org/events/forums/20120202 Feb. 7-9—Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Program Review 2012. Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington. Call +1 (703) 845-9671 or see www.auvsi.org

The fighter market is forecast to see increased growth during the next decade, primarily because of the impact of the Lockheed Martin F-35/Joint Strike Fighter program. The U.S. military is by far the world's largest potential market for fighters, and the Pentagon has centered its future fighter requirements entirely on the F-35 JSF program.

Researchers are all too familiar with the huge costs, high risks and frustratingly slow pace of high-speed flight testing, not to mention the scarcity of opportunities. Now a Colorado-based team is developing a small supersonic UAV (below) for low-risk testing at a fraction of the cost of existing systems. Dubbed the Gojett (graduate organization jet engine technology team), the ambitious project is aimed at breaking the supersonic test paradigm and filling part of the void left by retirement of reusable flying testbeds like the legendary X-15.

The photo on page 11 of last week's issue should have been credited to Joe Walker.

President Barack Obama wants to make the U.S. “the top tourist destination in the world,” he announced in a speech last week at Disney World. His plan would reverse a decline in the travel industry that insiders say is fueled by global competition, increased post-9/11 security regulations and a cumbersome visa process. The U.S. Travel Association refers to the drop-off in travel as the “lost decade,” saying the nation missed out on 78 million additional foreign visitors to the U.S., $37 billion in new tax revenues and 467,000 additional U.S. jobs.

The final investigation report on the June 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 into the Atlantic, with the loss of all 228 on board, will have far-reaching effects. Without a monumental, 22-month effort to recover the Airbus A330's flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the ocean's depths, the cause might never have been known—prompting French investigators to recommend ways to improve the chances of locating wreckage and recovering data in future accidents. These include triggering transmission of flight data via satellite the instant an emergency is detected.

Even with the business aviation market mired in recession, development of new turbine engines continues. Rolls-Royce's new 16,100-lb.-thrust BR725 powers Gulfstream's G650, which received its provisional certification in November. Gulfstream plans to begin deliveries of the $64 million flagship in the second quarter of 2012.

Last summer, Boeing announced its decision to build the 737 MAX as a response to the refresh of the A320 family that Airbus made with its New Engine Option program. Once again, the industry's two largest airplane makers are engaged in a high-stakes struggle for narrowbody sales. Only this time, they face challenges from the Bombardier CSeries, the Comac C919 and the Irkut MS-21.

Defense budgets are being cut, but global security demands remain high. Commercial aircraft order books are growing, but airline profits are coming under pressure. What's in store for aerospace in 2012 and beyond—from aircraft and engines, rotorcraft and spacecraft, to avionics and weapons? That is the theme of Aerospace 2012, and the integrated print and online product that can also be found at AviationWeek.com/aerospace2012. Cover design by AW&ST Art Department.

India's concept program for a stealth unmanned combat air vehicle (Ucav), the Aura, has received crucial support from the Indian air force (IAF) in the form of a recommendation that it be accorded “major project” status, a move that will ensure generous and regular infusions of funds.

Controllers have restarted on-orbit checkout of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite, which was suspended last year after the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor begin losing sensitivity in four of its channels. The problem appeared shortly after NPP returned this first full-Earth VIIRS image on Nov. 24. The spacecraft originally was scheduled to become fully operational in December, but its commissioning was put on hold while the VIIRS problem was analyzed.

Europe's safety agency says inspections will assess how severely a new set of wing cracks are affecting the Airbus superjumbos.

A ULA Delta IV lifted USAF's fourth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) spacecraft into space on Jan. 19 from Cape Canaveral. Based on Boeing's 702-series commercial platform, the 7,600-lb. WGS-4 is the first in the Block II series that carries a switchable radio-frequency bypass system that enables transmission of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery data three times faster than Block 1 rates.

LightSquared and the GPS industry continue their war of words over potential interference between the planned broadband wireless network and the position and timing signals from the U.S. government-owned navigation-satellite constellation.

The worldwide demand for special-mission aircraft for everything from drug interdiction to medevac is leading to a corresponding need for visual enhancement systems. The increase in drug-trafficking activity in many parts of the world has stimulated growth in the market for smaller special-purpose aircraft engaged in surveillance and targeting of illegal activity. To help meet this demand, nearly all manufacturers of regional/commuter business jets and corporate turboprops now offer variants that can serve in multiple roles.

“We're going to shrink to win.” Scott Donnelly, the chairman, president and CEO of Textron, is referring to his strategy of cutting the company's cost structure while simultaneously investing in new products and chasing new business. The question is whether he will ultimately be forced to execute that strategy on a larger scale. Textron, a 32,000-employee conglomerate and parent company of Cessna, Bell Helicopter, Textron Systems and Lycoming, has come under varying degrees of shareholder pressure for more than three years to sell off underperforming operations.

Combat Aircraft: Growing demand for stealth technology gives Lockheed Martin's F-35 a dominant position in the global fighter market, even if the U.S. cuts the number it buys. And where the F-35 leads, new trainers will follow. See pp. 49 and 54. Commercial Transports: They face new challengers this time around, but Airbus and Boeing rake in orders in a high-stakes struggle for the narrowbody market. Their airline customers warn of higher costs and lower profits in 2012. See pp. 76, 80, 86 and 88.

Andrew Krepinevich, Jr., is president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, one of Washington's most influential think tanks, and serves on the Defense Policy Board. He discussed the changes and challenges of U.S. strategy with Senior North American Editor Paul McLeary. AW&ST: The U.S. is about to make a major strategic shift away from fighting in the Middle East and Southwest Asia to a naval and air-based posture in the Western Pacific. How difficult do you envision the transition?

Boeing's 737 MAX announcement this past summer has set the stage for a titanic struggle over the narrowbody airliner market. The 737 MAX series is the company's answer to the new Airbus A320NEO family, launched in late 2010. Making things even more interesting is the appearance of other new narrowbodies such as the Bombardier CSeries, Comac C919 and Irkut MS-21.

Proponents of a new airport being built in the southeast of England to deal with a growing capacity bottleneck will get a hearing for their controversial plan. The airport, to be built on reclaimed land in the Thames estuary, is billed by some as an alternative to adding runway capacity at London airports. The idea is now poised to be put out for a formal consultation process in March. The U.K. risks running out of runway capacity around London in 2013 (see p. 124).