A quality-control shortcoming on the internal structure of the aft fuselage of the Boeing 787 is adding another task to the company's post-production “to-do” list as it tries to catch up with the new jet's delivery schedule.
“LASt Chance” (AW&ST Jan. 2, p. 31) states that the U.S. Air Force wants 20 light-attack/advanced training aircraft for the Afghan air force, and it seems that the Super Tucano is the choice—for $1 billion. Well, even with my CPA credentials I have a hard time wrapping my head around that staggering sum. Are we just going to stuff $1 billion in leaf bags and ship it down to Rio to the Embraer treasury? Brazil's economy is doing well, why don't they pick up a chunk of the tab?
Those looking for signs that the aircraft financing crisis in Europe is ebbing will take heart from the fact that one of China's main business-jet lessors is turning to Europe to tap the market for dollars. That is a stark turnaround from just a few weeks ago, when there were ample concerns that European lenders, particularly in France, were frozen out of easy dollar access because of counterparty risk concerns among U.S. money markets.
Marenco Swisshelicopter, a Zurich-based company, will unveil a high-visibility cockpit concept for its new multi-purpose single, the composite SKYe SH09, at Heli-Expo in Dallas this week. Configured with Sagem 10-in. displays and large transparencies above, before and below the pilot, the SKYe SH09 will have a maximum takeoff weight of 6,170 lb. and seating for up to seven passengers. Baselined with a Honeywell HTS-900 turbine, the helicopter will have a cruise speed of 140 kt. and a range in excess of 430 nm with standard tanks.
Finally, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son among a set of Americans facing Egyptian criminal charges under a crackdown there on Western nongovernmental groups, senior lawmakers are rethinking whether to continue sending more than $1 billion in annual military aid to Cairo. “We have to have every aspect of our relationship with Egypt examined until these people are removed from any indictment and allowed to leave,” McCain says. The decision doesn't come lightly; the Pentagon and industry have cultivated close ties with the Egyptian military for three decades.
French helicopter engine maker Turbomeca will increase its R&D budget by 25% this year and hire 100 more engineers as it pursues dual goals of renewing its product line by 2020 and developing hybrid powerplants. “This is an intense period of development for us,” says Chairman and CEO Olivier Andries. “R&D spending will represent 15% of revenues. [The company achieved sales of €940 million, or $1.24 billion at current exchange rates, in 2010.] This follows a 20% increase in 2011 over 2010.”
Lawmakers will get to do some cringing of their own, as well, as the top U.S. military officer is loudly proclaiming that the Defense Department must be allowed to pursue another round of base realignments and closures (BRAC) to best meet Washington's budget-cutting mandate. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, says only another BRAC process would allow leaders to properly rid the Defense Department of excess infrastructure as it downsizes. “By the way, I didn't pass the Budget Control Act,” Dempsey says of the August law.
In Senior Editor Guy Norris's “NASA's Push Toward Carbon-Neutral Airliners,” he notes, among other things, that: The program is divided into six main technical challenges to reduce drag, weight, energy consumption, emissions and noise, and to develop revolutionary tools and methods to bring it all together. The piece elicited: Alexandre saying
I would like to respond to a reference to NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver's cultural reference that was related in “Make or Break” (AW&ST Jan. 2, p. 22). Frank Morring, Jr., is too good a reporter not to have researched the background of her comment, rather than repeating a snippet out of context.
Paul Chun has become managing director of KLM UK Engineering, based in Paris and Amstelveen, Netherlands. He held the same role at Epcor, where he will be succeeded by Romain Helmer, who headed KLM Engineering & Maintenance's Boeing 737 unit. Ton Dortmans was named executive VP-engineering and maintenance of KLM E&M, succeeding Peter de Swert.
Andreas Knoepfel (see photo) has joined Swiss Aviation Consulting of Huenenberg/Zug as managing director of Swiss AeroRisk Management and a board member of Swiss AeroHoldings. He was a senior aviation manager for an insurance broker.
Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation Services is retrofitting its fleet of Bell 412EP helicopters with BLR Aerospace's FastFin tail rotor enhancement and stability system, becoming the first offshore oil operator to go for the upgrade. The package includes two tailboom strakes along the left side and a reshaped vertical fin. The modification alters the airflow around the tail boom, increasing tail rotor efficiency and yaw control. BLR says the upgrade expands the Bell 412's useful load by up to 91%.
In a sharp turn of policy, Turkey has decided to develop a 2,500-km-range (1,560 mi.) ballistic missile within the next two years. Yucel Altunbasak, head of Turkey's State Scientific Research Institute, said the missile is being developed under a request from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey will test-fire a 1,500-km-range missile this year, according to Altunbasak. Publicly, officials have not explained why Turkey needs an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has granted a type certificate to the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional jet, following last year's Russian partial certification that cleared the way for Aeroflot and Armavia to operate the aircraft. The milestone means EASA-regulated airlines may use the Russian aircraft.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Rick Lynch and Paul McDuffee have joined the board of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, Arlington, Va. Lynch commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Div. at Fort Hood, Texas. McDuffee is Insitu's principal interface with the FAA on the commercial viability of unmanned aircraft.
