The MD Explorer is an eight-place, twin-turboshaft-powered helicopter that incorporates the patented Notar (no tail-rotor) system. In early 2001, MD Helicopters launched the Combat Explorer armed variant, specifically targeting the air forces of Latin America. The Combat Explorer is cleared to carry the GAU-19/A .50-caliber Gatling gun, the M2 .50-caliber gun pod and 70-mm Hydra rockets. Through 2010, 138 MD Explorers were produced, and 120 are forecast for production during the 2011-20 period.
The Mil Mi-8/17 series of helicopters is a family of twin-engine, multirole transports. The initial Mi-8 prototype first flew in 1961. Later models have been powered by Klimov VK-2500 turboshaft engines rated at 2,367 shp each. Through 2010, more than 11,700 Mi-8/17s of all types were built. In the 2011-20 period, production of 1,183 additional aircraft is forecast.
The Mi-24 series is a family of twin-turboshaft-powered attack helicopters. The new Mi-35M features 2,400-shp Klimov VK-2500 engines as well as improvements to the rotors and airframe. The Mi-35M is available as a new-build helicopter as well as a retrofit package. More than 2,300 helicopters in the Mi-24/25/35 series were produced through 2010. A further 46 are forecast to be produced in 2011-20.
The Mitsubishi F-2 is a single- and twin-seat air combat fighter/interceptor aircraft based on the Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 40. The first F-2 prototype flew in October 1995; production deliveries began in September 2000. Lockheed Martin supplies various F-2 components. The aircraft is powered by a single 29,500-lb.-thrust GE F110-GE-129 turbofan, license-produced by IHI. Some 94 F-2 aircraft were built through 2010, including four flying prototypes. Four more aircraft are to be produced.
The B-2 stealth bomber is a long-range nuclear and conventional strike/attack aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force. It is powered by four 17,300-lb.-thrust GE F118-GE-100 turbofan engines. The maiden flight of the B-2 occurred in 1989, with the 21st and final aircraft delivered in 1997. Only the final two B-2s were delivered in the full Block 30 configuration, though the other 19 are achieving this standard via upgrades.
The E-2 Hawkeye is a carrier-capable, airborne early warning and control aircraft. First delivery of the the E-2A occurred in 1964. The improved E-2C first flew in 1971 and was produced through 2009. The latest iteration is the E-2D, which is now in development for the U.S. Navy. The E-2D upgrades include Rolls-Royce T56-A-427A turboprops rated at 5,100 shp, a more powerful radar, and increased capabilities for surveillance of ground targets.
The Tornado is a two-seat strike and air combat aircraft that first flew in 1974. All Tornado versions are powered by two Turbo-Union RB199 afterburning turbofan engines. Production was completed in 1998 after 992 aircraft had been built.
The PC-9 tandem-seat military flight trainer is produced by Pilatus and has also been assembled under license by Hawker de Havilland Ltd. A PC-9 prototype first flew in May 1984, followed by initial deliveries in 1986. The current production model is the PC-9M, which was introduced in 1997. The PC-9M is powered by a single 1,150-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-62 turboprop. Approximately 280 aircraft were built through 2006, when the last PC-9 was produced. The U.S.
The PC-21 is a two-seat trainer powered by a 1,600-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68B turboprop. Pilatus achieved certification of the PC-21 in December 2004. Customers have included the Swiss air force, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Pilatus produced 31 PC-21s through 2010 and is projected to deliver an additional 136 in 2011-20.
Looking to break into new markets, PZL Mielec of Poland redesigned the Ukrainian Antonov An-28 twin-turboprop, utility/transport aircraft to incorporate more extensive use of Western components, including two 1,100-shp Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B engines. The new model, dubbed the M28, made its first flight in 1993. Sikorsky's purchase of PZL Mielec in 2007 brought ensured continued production of the M28. Through 2010, 40 aircraft were produced, with 34 additional examples forecast for production in 2011-20.
The SW-4 is a light, single-engine helicopter powered by the 458-shp Rolls-Royce 250-C20R/2 engine. First flight occurred in 1996, but deliveries to the Polish air force did not commence until 2004. AgustaWestland acquired PZL-Swidnik in January 2010. By the end of 2010, 32 SW-4s had been built. Production of 67 SW-4s is forecast over the next decade.
This medium, twin-engine multirole helicopter had its first flight in 1979. A wide variety of variants have been turned out, including the W-3RM search-and-rescue and W-3WA armed combat versions. The W-3 is powered by two PZL-Rzeszow PZL-10W turboshafts rated at 900 shp each for takeoff. Through 2010, 155 W-3s were produced. In 2011-20, 27 W-3s are forecast be built.
The B-1B is a four-engine strategic bomber produced by Rockwell International and operated by the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft evolved from a series of studies begun in 1962. The program was launched in 1969; the initial prototype made its first flight in 1974. The B-1B is powered by four GE F101-GE-102 turbofan engines rated at more than 30,000 lb. thrust each. In addition to four B-1A prototypes, a total of 100 B-1Bs were built by the time production ended in 1988. Upgrades to the B-1B's systems and capabilities have been ongoing since the aircraft's introduction.
A prototype of the MiG-29 twin-engine air superiority fighter/interceptor first flew in October 1977. The MiG-29 uses two 18,300-lb.-thrust Klimov/Sarkisov RD-33 augmented turbofan engines. The MiG-29 has gone through several revisions, with the modern variants being known as the MiG-29SMT and MiG-29UBT, which are single-seat and tandem-seat, respectively. The SMT has new avionics and greater range than its predecessor, while the UBT incorporates many of the same upgrades but in the tandem-seat configuration.
The MiG-AT is a twin-engine jet trainer design in development at RAC MiG. One prototype made its first flight in 1996, and a second in 2004. The aircraft uses two 3,150-lb.-thrust Turbomeca/Snecma Larzac 04-R20 turbofans, although it has also been tested with 3,750-lb.-thrust Soyuz RD-1700s for the Russian air force. There also is a single-seat light fighter/attack version designated the MiG-AS.
Oct. 23-25—Supply Chain World Europe. Dorint Hotel, Amsterdam. Call +1 (202) 962-0440 or see www.supplychainworld.org/europe Oct. 24-26—Cargo Facts' Aircraft Symposium. Encore Hotel, Las Vegas. Call +1 (800) 320-4418 or see cargofactssymposium.com Oct. 24-26—American Astronautical Society's Fourth Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium: “Launching the Future in Space Exploration.” University of Alabama, Huntsville. See www.astronautical.org
Despite a sour economy that has slowed business jet sales generally, the market for larger aircraft such as these Challenger 300s being completed at Bombardier's Montreal facility has proved firm, allowing airframers to invest in new products and services in anticipation of an eventual rebound. Bombardier photo.
As Michael Mecham's “First 787 Delivery in Tokyo This Week” makes clear (AW&ST Sept. 26., p. 53), the 787 program broke new ground in several technical areas, but perhaps especially in aerospace supplier management and relationships, by exposing the vulnerable ways complex manufacturing is still arranged in a “chain” of sub-manufacturers under contract.
In Pierre Sparaco's “Muddled Vision” (AW&ST Sept. 19, p. 21), he has evidenced the same sort of thinking process that prompted the building of the Maginot Line. Has he forgotten the Airbus A380 debacle? Sparaco begins by denigrating Boeing and its officers, and concludes that the U.S. should learn from Airbus. He should also conclude that were it not for the U.S. there would be no Airbus. This nationalistic rant highlights his journalistic bias—and that of AW&ST for printing it.
Kerry Lynch's Business Aviation post: Fight On Over Proposed $100 Obama ATC Fee elicited: RBinDC saying: As a private pilot I'm OK with user fees proposed for corporate jets or any other turbine aircraft, which almost by definition fly IFR and impose costs on the air traffic control system. The people flying/riding in these aircraft are among the most affluent [and should] pay their fair share of the ATC system.
Cedric Goubet (see photo) has been named executive VP of West Chester, Ohio-based CFM International, succeeding Olivier Savin. Goubet was deputy to the chief operating officer of Safran and before that worked for the French ministries of the interior and economy, industry and finance.
Steven Hargin has been appointed leisure sales manager-tour operations in New York for Dubai-based Emirates. He was product manager for special sales at Lufthansa in the U.S. Daniel Cadeaux has become district sales manager in Washington. He was VP in the Americas for British Midland International.
Chad N. Boudreaux (see photo) has joined Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News, Va., as VP-litigation, investigations and compliance. He comes from law firm Baker Botts.
John Spanjers has been named VP and chief operating officer of Memphis, Tenn.-based Pinnacle Airlines Corp., succeeding Douglas W. Shockey, who left the company. Spanjers was president of Pinnacle subsidiary Mesaba Aviation and will remain Mesaba's senior VP-operations.
