Shock, disbelief, dismay, distrust. Stages of grief? No, these adjectives sum up the reaction to the news that Hawker Beechcraft has agreed to sell itself to a Chinese manufacturer for about $1.8 billion (see p. 40). It remains to be seen whether the property will actually change hands, although there is no reason at this point to doubt it will. Nonetheless, the announcement stunned aerospace professionals.
Now that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has secured the tactical and strategic airlift that it wanted, its next procurement is of VIP air transportation.
No fewer than five new intermediate- and medium-size helicopters were on show on the ground or in the air at Farnborough as manufacturers reported a healthy recovery in civil orders anchored by global sales to offshore-support operators.
FARNBOROUGH — Piaggio is teaming with Saab to develop a new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) based on a highly modified version of its P.180 Avanti II business aircraft. At the Farnborough air show on July 10, Piaggio Aero announced that it signed a contract with Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments, a subsidiary of Tawazun, covering the development of the aircraft and the construction of two prototypes. The first is to fly in 2014.
Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) is putting its AT-6 light attack/armed reconnaissance aircraft into low rate initial production (LRIP) in Wichita.
Brazil’s civil aviation agency recommends that Embraer 170- and 190-series operators closely monitor aircraft brake wear to prevent debris-shedding brake failures. The problem, revealed in a safety bulletin issued in August 2011 and updated last month, is being caused by cracks in disc grooves designed to minimize vibration, Brazil’s ANAC reports. In the most severe cases, brake assembly lugs are detaching and damaging aircraft or ending up as foreign object debris on airfields.
SINGAPORE — Now that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has secured the tactical and strategic airlift that it wanted, the service airlift group’s next procurement is for VIP air transportation.
FARNBOROUGH — Boeing is pitching in to strengthen Embraer’s bid in the U.S. Air Force’s protracted Light Air Support (LAS) competition by lending its weapons integration expertise, addressing a perceived weakness of Embraer’s A-29 Super Tucano offering. The U.S. manufacturer will work on integration and testing of its Joint Direct Attack Munition and Small-Diameter Bomb onto the Super Tucano. U.S. weapons have never been integrated onto the aircraft before.
Hawker Beechcraft intends to sell off its business and general aviation and customer support businesses to China’s Superior Aviation Beijing under a potential $1.79 billion deal. The Wichita, Kan.-based manufacturer entered an exclusivity agreement with Superior as part of an ongoing review of strategic options, and says it “decided to proceed with Superior after determining that its proposal would create the greatest value for the company and position it for long-term growth.”
TEL AVIV — The new chief at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) plans to push the company to spend more on R&D and increase investments in technologies including advanced cyber, stealth, radar, communications, air defenses, gallium nitride microchips and unmanned aircraft. On the commercial side, the emphasis will be on producing longer-range executive jets.
Royal Jet has launched a price war on the region's FBO services with a new series of pricing packages for its Abu Dhabi FBO at the emirate's main international airport, claiming that the new prices make it one of the most competitive in the region.
Abu Dhabi Autonomous System Investments (ADASI) - a subsidiary of Tawazun – has signed a deal with Piaggio Aero for the development of a new special missions surveillance aircraft, the Piaggio Aero MPA – Multirole Patrol Aircraft.
The FAA is mandating an offshore noise-abating route for helicopter traffic near Long Island, N.Y.—with exceptions for safety and weather—in an action that opponents contend will unjustifiably expand the agency’s authority to intervene in aircraft noise disputes.
DAHER-SOCATA TBM 700 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0250; Directorate Identifier 2011-CE-043-AD; Amendment 39-17063; AD 2012-10-14] – adopts a new AD that requires repetitive checks of the nose landing gear and replacement of the existing bolt attaching the actuator hinge axle. This action is designed to prevent partial disengagement of the actuator hinge axle, which could lead to collapse of the nose landing gear. FAA estimates that this AD will affect 448 aircraft on the U.S. Registry and cost U.S. operators a total of $53,760, or $120 per airplane.
BOMBARDIER CL-600-2C10 (Regional Jet Series 700, 701, & 702), CL-600-2D15 (Regional Jet Series 705) and CL-600-2D24 (Regional Jet Series 900) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0293; Directorate Identifier 2012-NM-034-AD; Amendment 39-17081; AD 2012-12-02] – adopts a new AD that requires installation of new sensing elements in the main landing gear wheel well and the overwing area, protective blankets on the upper surface of the wing box and fuel tubes, and protective shields on the rudder quadrant support-beam in the aft equipment compartment.
