Van Horn Aviation plans to unveil a prototype composite tail rotor for the Bell 412/212 at Heli-Expo in Dallas this week. Designed to increase control authority and eliminate inspections required by the current tail rotor, the blades will be evaluated for bird strike resistance in conjunction with Bell Helicopter. Van Horn also plans to resume flight tests of a composite MD 530F main rotor blade after a redesign to address control load and manufacturing issues.
Michael Stofferahn has been appointed VP-North American sales for the Kaydon Bearings Div., Muskegon, Mich. He was VP and general manager of Rexnord Product Services.
Facing estimates of at least a 30% possibility the International Space Station will need to be abandoned prematurely, NASA isn't taking any chances that the commercial cargo and crew vehicles it is funding will worsen those odds by causing a mishap.
Deliveries from Bell Helicopter Canada's facility here crept up last year on the strength of new product offerings, but Bell is no exception to the rotorcraft industry's struggle with a soft commercial market and uncertainties in defense spending. Home to assembly of all of Bell's commercial rotorcraft, Mirabel is being asked to play an increasingly important role for the company as it becomes “more engaged in commercial operations,” says President Barry Kohler.
From diesel-powered helicopters with dramatically lower fuel consumption to composite airframes that can be recycled at the end of their lives, Europe's largest rotorcraft research program is moving from technology studies into hardware design. Part of the €1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) Clean Sky joint technology initiative, the Green Rotorcraft (GRC) program is advancing on a wide front to mature technologies for ground and flight demonstrations in 2014-16 that will enable European manufacturers to introduce cleaner and greener civil rotorcraft in 2020-25.
With 246 C-130Js delivered and another 71 in backlog, Lockheed Martin has just scratched the surface of the market to replace the 1,200 Hercules airlifters operated by 72 countries worldwide.
In comparison to the Joint Strike Fighter, the Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft program seems doomed. The Air Force is expected to announce termination of the program in its Feb. 13 budget request as a sacrifice to the budget-cutting demands of last August's deficit-reducing law. LAAR was intended to field 15 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force to train pilots of partner nations.
NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance project may finally be on the verge of contract signature after receiving another boost, from the alliance's defense ministers. Contract signature to buy five slightly modified Northrop Grumman Global Hawk Block 40s and the associated ground equipment could still come this month. The goal is to begin testing 42 months after the contract award. Fielding is to start in 2017.
Greg Diognardi has been appointed Falcon 900 technical sales manager at StandardAero Business Aviation, Tempe, Ariz. He was regional sales manager for Landmark Aviation.
European helicopter makers AgustaWestland and Eurocopter are sharpening their competitive edges with a raft of new products, the latest of which is the AW189 twin. Commanded by AgustaWestland Chief Test Pilot Giuseppe Lo Coco, the helicopter flew for the first time in late December from the company's Cascina Costa plant in Italy. Incorporating lessons from the AW139 program, the AW189 is expected to enter service in early 2014. AgustaWestland photo.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is launching a digital application of a pilot's logbook within its Boeing 777 fleet's Electronic Flight Bag, which the airline also helped develop. Called the Electronic Logbook (ELB), the application uses software from Ultramarine Systems, and means the 777 now has an option that is a standard feature on the 787. SIA will use ELB to feed flight crew information into a central repository where it can be combined with maintenance data.
China's Hainan Airlines has selected a series of Rockwell Collins avionics, including its WXR-2100 MultiScan Threat Detection System and GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver, for 47 Airbus A320s, which are currently being delivered.
Philip King (see photo) has been appointed president of San Jose, Calif.-based Vision Systems International, succeeding Drew Brugal. King has held leadership positions at McDonnell Douglas and Boeing.
Hannele Malin has been appointed VP-internal auditing at Finnair, succeeding Erkki Lehtinen, who will retire. Malin was manager for government, risk and compliance services at Deloitte & Touche.
Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros (see photo), chief of staff of the French air force, has become director of the European Air Group, based at RAF Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, for a two-year term. He succeeds Lt. Gen. Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik, commander of the German air force.
Bill Gerstenmaier (see photo), NASA associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, has received the Von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics award, given by the Washington-based American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was recognized for his leadership in human spaceflight, culminating in the space shuttle and International Space Station programs.
Innovation has become a mantra for aerospace in part because the industry is worried about losing its edge. Pressure on research spending and global competition from other industries have companies concerned about where the ideas and talent will come from.
France and Germany have faced substantial differences over the direction their largest space programs should take as economic turmoil in Europe has forced both countries to rethink a commitment to modernize the Ariane 5 launch vehicle while starting work on the rocket's successor.
Bernd Munzenmayer has become senior sales adviser for Pro Star Aviation, Londonderry, N.H., supporting new Sales Director Clark Gordon. Munzenmayer is a founder of Pro Star. Julie Weber has been promoted to VP from senior director of people for Southwest Airlines.
