Although Airbus is projecting a roughly flat book-to-bill ratio for 2012, it began the year with 91 new orders last month, more than doubling the number of aircraft built during the period. Airbus delivered 37 aircraft in January, ahead of last year's 33 and reflecting its objective to boost output across its product range. Airbus ended the month trailing Boeing in net orders and deliveries.
As sure as the cherry blossoms are set to bloom around the Tidal Basin, so too are statements from lawmakers that President Barack Obama's fiscal 2013 budget request this week is “dead on arrival.” Forget the fact that the vast majority of any president's request in almost any year makes it into law eventually, since the executive branch does the heavy lifting when it comes to planning and budgeting. But admitting as much would be tough for lawmakers even in a good year.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the management of Dassault are elated, as Rafale is the apparent winner of the $10.4 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft order for India's air force. France also has an order backlog with India that includes the Scorpene submarine and $2.4 billion in retrofits to the Mirage 2000 fleet.
The U.S. Army is not expected to issue final requirements for its planned Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) helicopter until after evaluation flights scheduled for the second quarter. Essentially, these flights are intended to allow the competing manufacturers to show what they have, what it will cost, and to help the Army decide what it can get for what it can afford.
The move is largely an administrative step after Airbus determined the entire fleet would likely suffer component cracking due to a manufacturing process flaw.
Boeing and CFM have completed definition of the configuration for the Leap-1B on the 737 MAX, which is due to enter service in 2017. GE Aviation President David Joyce says “We've finished all the installation studies, and for all practical purposes, it's done.” Boeing selected a 68-in.-dia. fan for the Leap-1B in November 2011
David Russell has joined Gogo, Itaska, Ill., as senior VP and general manager of Europe and the Middle East for commercial aviation. He was VP-strategic programs for SITA Group.
The true meaning of Dassault Aviation's highly publicized victory in India extends well beyond a major combat aircraft commitment. In the third quarter, the Indian air force is expected to sign an order for 126 Rafale multirole fighters and could buy 40 additional aircraft at a later date. Eighteen will be manufactured in France, and the remaining 108 are scheduled to be assembled by Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
It's amazing how much can be packed into a single, seemingly throwaway line when the context is a president's State of the Union address. President Barack Obama didn't even devote a full sentence to rural broadband service in his Jan. 24 speech, but his few words covered a lot of ground.
United Launch Alliance engineers have taken the company's Atlas V launcher through two more milestones on the way to human-rating the Russian-powered rocket for human spaceflight. Working with NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the company completed a Tailored System Requirements Review intended to demonstrate how the vehicle meets the intent of NASA's requirements for human-rating certification, and a Probabilistic Safety Analysis Review of potential failure modes.
The spacecraft, which imaged its shadow against the type-S asteroid as it approached in the fall of 2005 (see photo), returned more than 1,000 asteroid particles.
Leithen Francis (Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Philippines)
The South China Sea dispute has suddenly led the Philippines to move to strengthen its military and try to do it quickly. Discussing the upgrade program on Jan. 27, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the Philippines is in a race against time to improve its military air capability. “Without a deterrent force, we can be easily pushed around, our territories will be violated,” he declared.
Congratulations on another great photo/art issue! The cover is superb, as is the brilliant first-place commercial photo (AW&ST Dec. 19/26, 2011, p. 40). But I do have a complaint about the “From the Web” portion of the Feedback page. I find that the brief, shoot-from-the-hip barbs included in this sidebar add no value to the information content of the magazine. The space would be better utilized by running well-thought-out, well-written traditional letters.
An article on 747-8 certification in the Jan. 23/30 issue (p. 12) misidentifies the Boeing 747-8 variant with range of 4,390 nm. That aircraft is the 747-8 Freighter.
Alcoa is counter-attacking the rising use of composites in aircraft structures. The global aluminum giant will invest more than $90 million to build a new plant in Lafayette, Ind., capable of churning out 20,000 metric tons a year of advanced alloys that it says will allow airframers to build lighter and lower-weight aircraft. Production is slated to begin in 2014. The company also will expand output of the patented third-generation aluminum-lithium alloys at facilities in western Pennsylvania and the U.K.
Jennifer Michels (see photo) has become communications director of the Transportation Trades Department of the Washington-based AFL-CIO. She was editor of Aviation Week group's Aviation Daily.
Abdoulaye N'Diaye (see photo) has been named secretary general of the European Organization for Civil Aviation, based in Malakoff, France, succeeding Gilbert Amato, who will act as adviser until his retirement. N'Diaye has held senior management positions at the Thales Group and Rockwell Collins Co.
The NextGen air traffic modernization system and the makers of unmanned aircraft for the civilian market were two big winners in the deal reached last week on a version of a bill to authorize $63.6 billion over the next four years. Although negotiations to pass a reauthorization of long-term spending for the FAA—which endured an astounding 23 short-term extensions—bogged down chiefly on matters rife with political ramifications, lawmakers had quietly agreed to modernization policies.
Greg Setter has joined BDN Aerospace Marketing, Mesa, Ariz., as account manager. He comes from Honeywell Aerospace, where he was marketing communications strategy manager for the commercial aviation business.
EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois recently was asked to reflect on his legacy as he prepares to step down, but the self-effacing aerospace chief took a pass. It is too early, he said, to render a verdict on his impact on the sprawling enterprise he has led since 2007.
It may seem a stretch to look for similarities between a C-17 or 737 assembly line and a satellite factory. The atmosphere in the two places is so different—literally. Airplane hangar doors are opened when it gets hot and machinists wear T-shirts and jeans. A satellite factory's temperatures are carefully controlled and particulate contamination is a big deal, so assemblers wear hair nets and “bunny suits” over their street clothes.
The strategy employed by Boeing to win $3.5 billion worth of missile defense work late last year reveals a willingness on the part of the aerospace giant to embrace highly aggressive pricing and low margins to hedge against the uncertainty ahead with waning Pentagon spending. And, the company's rivals are taking notice.
