Boeing is taking a small step in vertical integration with an agreement to acquire Summit Aeronautics Group of Helena, Mont., a key supplier of machined titanium and other hard-metal parts for its 747-8 and 787 programs and some military aircraft. The deal is expected to close by year-end and bring the 135-person company into Boeing Fabrications. The acquisition “provides additional flexibility to support increased production rates,” says Vice President and Fabrications General Manager Ross Bogue.
One of the vexing questions concerning unmanned aircraft is whether they will behave predictably and safely when not in contact with human controllers. UAVs are preprogrammed with maneuvers to execute if the communications link to the ground control station is lost, perhaps by circling in an attempt to reacquire the signal or flying to a safe and empty area to crash. But if a failure on board the aircraft causes the link to break, the operator has no way of knowing if that same event will prevent the UAV from following its preplanned instructions.
Aurora Flight Sciences unveiled the Orion long-endurance unmanned aircraft demonstrator at its Columbus, Miss., plant on Nov. 22. With a wingspan slightly longer than a Northrop Grumman Global Hawk’s, at 132 ft., the Orion is designed to stay aloft for 120 hr. at 20,000 ft.—five times longer than a General Atomics Predator—carrying a 1,000-lb. payload of sensors and dramatically reducing the on-station cost of providing persistent surveillance. Aurora Flight Sciences photo by Greg E. Mathieson, Sr.
Could bad luck be coming in threes for the U.S. Air Force? This month, officials were sacked from the tanker-replacement program, concern grew about another slip in the F-35’s initial operating date, and South Korea is enduring the worst attack by North Korea in more than 50 years. So far, two heads have rolled in the tanker program after two documents involved in the competition were sent to the wrong company. The unidentified employees—who were members of the program office, but not the program manager—have been replaced.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is about to find out if its big bet on using simulators for even basic training of new helicopter pilots will pay off or will insteadpose unanticipated problems.
The Transportation Department is asking Delta Air Lines and Australia’s Virgin Blue Group for more information on their proposed joint venture—a sign that regulators may be taking the possible, albeit unusual step of reconsidering their initial rejection of the deal. The department says its request is due to a revised application submitted by the two carriers after the tentative rejection of antitrust immunity. But it also follows a strongly worded letter in support of the transpacific joint venture from the Australian government.
NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) will make its first scientific flight Nov. 30 into the Whiskey Operating Area south and west of San Diego, to observe Orion. The converted Boeing 747SP is the world’s largest flying observatory with a 2.5-meter-dia. (8.2-ft.) German-developed infrared telescope. It will operate from its base at NASA Ames Research Center.
Sukhoi could receive Russian certification for its Superjet 100 (SSJ) regional jet in December, which would allow deliveries to start before year-end. “We’ve already gone through the most challenging testing certification programs. Our team has already covered 90% of the overall certification testing scope,” says Igor Vinogradov, senior vice president for certification for Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC). “Now we are finalizing avionics safety failure testing, with emergency evacuation testing to follow.”
Challenged by an unprecedented series of “firsts” for its upcoming initial flight of Falcon 9 with a Dragon spacecraft, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) stresses that even if the vehicle is not recovered intact as planned, the mission should be judged an overall success.
Graham Warwick wrote about the Boeing DiscRotor concept in “Spin Cycle” (AW&ST Oct. 25, p. 15). As for any powered-lift concept, weight will be critical for achieving a practical, useful VTOL or Stovl disc rotor vehicle. The concept has a large number of components, and several are quite complex.
William Niedzwiecki has been appointed president and general manager of NSF International Strategic Registrations . He was president of Assurance Services at SAI Global and also served as president and CEO of CRS Registrars.
SpaceX will respond to NASA’s heavy-lift launch vehicle study with concepts that can carry 150 tons to orbit and cost no more than $300 million per launch. Outlining SpaceX’s approach to the contract—one of 13 trade-study awards made by NASA in early November to look at innovative launch vehicle concepts and propulsion technologies—CEO Elon Musk says only plans that embrace economic, political and technical solutions will work.
USAF Maj. Gen. Charles R. Davis has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commander of the Electronic Systems Center of Air Force Materiel Command, Hanscom AFB, Mass. He has been commander of the Air Armament CenterAir Force program executive officer for weapons at Air Force Materiel Command, Eglin AFB, Fla. Maj. Gen. Susan J.
The continuing debate regarding the merits of an extra engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter surrounds a prime example of the waste that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is trying to eliminate. Support for an extra engine is another case of parochial interests trying to trump efficiency and military readiness.
A year after signing a contract to supply the United Arab Emirates air force with 25 PC-21 trainers, Pilatus has completed the first flight of the model. Deliveries to the UAE are due to start in the first quarter of 2011.
Garuda Indonesia and its SkyTeam Alliance partners will be working to capture more of Indonesia’s international traffic, but it will be hard competing against Singapore Airlines (SIA). SkyTeam signed an agreement Nov. 23 under which Garuda will work to become a SkyTeam member in 2012. The agreement comes just 16 months after the European Commission took Garuda off its blacklist.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (London)
The proposed deep cuts to the U.K. defense budget have an emerging benefit—improved intelligence-gathering and analysis for both U.K. and U.S. forces. In a merger that has so far been little-noticed involving the “black” world of advanced intelligence, directed-energy weaponry and sensors operating in unusual parts of the electro-magnetic spectrum, Whitehall plans to institutionalize improved linkages to key Washington intelligence-gathering and analysis agencies, say U.S. officials.
Boeing is developing what it says are “minor design changes” to the power distribution panels on the 787 and adding updates to the systems software that manages and protects power distribution, as a result of lessons learned from the Nov. 9 fire onboard test aircraft ZA002 in Laredo, Texas. “We have simulated key aspects of the onboard event in our laboratory and are moving forward with developing design fixes,” says 787 Vice President and General Manager Scott Fancher.
A chart on p. 46 of the Nov. 22 issue included inaccurate information. Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) declined to run for reelection and will be replaced by Republican Tim Griffin. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) is the chair of the U.S. House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee and was reelected.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) this week will issue a preliminary report that is likely to confirm investigators’ suspicions that oil pipe leaks led to the uncontained failure of a Trent 900 engine during a Qantas Airbus A380 flight Nov. 4. Meanwhile, the carrier plans to resume limited operations of some A380s, although the investigation will remain open.
Hezbollah’s efforts to field an effective, multi-faceted military force are evolving with upgrades emerging in its air defense and aerial attack capabilities.
As the familiar philosophical question goes, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” But I am proposing a Washington variation: “If a federal advisory committee uses a lot of fallen trees to create a report, do the results have any consequences?” I raise the question because the Future of Aviation Advisory Committee, appointed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, will be completing its six months of work on Dec. 15.
Oneworld’s members appear set to benefit greatly from links with their new partner, S7 Airlines, but Russia’s biggest domestic airline is facing some major hurdles of its own before it can take full advantage of its new status.
