General Electric and Boeing are flight testing a new round of GE90 upgrades as the powerplant manufacturer celebrates the delivery of the 1,000th engine for the 777 program this week. The ramp-up in deliveries is directly linked to GE’s exclusive status as engine supplier for the 777-200LR/300ER and 777 freighter programs, which now make up the bulk of all 777 deliveries.
Dick Morris apparently mentioned “anti-gravity” in jest (AW&ST Sept. 28, p. 8) but as traditional propulsion systems reach the limits of development, radical alternatives should not be overlooked, including those analyzed by the late Paul R. Hill of the NASA Langley Research Center. Hill concluded that artificial gravity fields are already used in “unconventional flying objects.” The field used for propulsion is repelling, of variable strength and frequency (around 150-1,500 Hz.) and can be tightly focused.
The aviation industry finds itself in a rare position of strength as it prepares for a new round of global climate change debate, with governments supporting the industry’s approach and the top U.N. official praising aviation as a role model for other sectors. This is a welcome change for an industry more accustomed to being an environmental whipping-boy. Commercial aviation should escape close scrutiny during the U.N.’s climate change summit in Copenhagen in December, thanks to new-found unity among aviation groups and governments.
As expected, Eurocopter has unveiled a streamlining plan, including a 15% cut in support costs but no layoffs, to compensate for an anticipated decline in helicopter deliveries starting next year. The company expects to finish 2009 with a sharp drop in new business--only 114 orders had been received by Aug. 31, compared to 715 in 2008--but revenues are likely to remain stable, thanks to strong demand for large helicopters and military models.
They are energy efficient and can scale to provide extreme persistenc e or carry heavy loads. They have also been around since the dawn of aviation, but airships are attracting renewed attention for missions ranging from surveillance to logistics.
London and Riyadh have agreed on an initial three-year support package for the Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoons, as part of the government-to-government Salam military program. The RSAF has—with the delivery of four of its 72 Tranche 2 aircraft—begun Typhoon operations. Support will be provided by BAE Systems under a full-availability service contract. The arrangement includes training for RSAF Typhoon crews in the U.K.
The VW-6000 Series motion analysis microscope offers high-speed magnified video capture capabilities, the company says. Recording of up to 24,000 fps. enables accurate filming of failures in moving targets that cannot be captured by conventional microscopes. The portable design allows for recording on the factory floor or on a production line. The built-in light source and LCD monitor means setup is quick, and the macro zoom unit with built-in lighting allows flexibility of observation at any angle.
As of 2010, airlines flying in or out of European Union airports must report emissions and ton-kilometer data on aviation activities. Airlines will be mandated to submit a monitoring plan prior to the start of the trading period beginning in 2013. AMT is the first electronic flight bag software supplier to enable airlines to conform to the EU requirements and to provide a complete reporting and compliance solution, according to the company. The carbon emission monitoring application, part of the Flightman offerings, will collect, record and analyze in near real time.
Swedish Space Corp. (SSC) and French space agency CNES have agreed to jointly acquire and own two new 13-meter (43-ft.) full-motion antennas to track satellite operations. The antennas, part of the PrioraNet worldwide network of ground stations operated by SSC, will be placed at two sites fully or partly owned or operated by SSC—Esrange in northern Sweden and Inuvik in Canada. The agreement will give CNES access to parts of PriorNet and provide SSC with extra capacity to sell to other users.
Two CAE 5000 series full-flight simulators have received FAA/EASA certification for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 aircraft. The first Phenom 100 will be installed in Dallas and the second in the UK.
Boeing will shift Senior Vice President Mike Cave from his role as head of business development and strategy to president of Boeing Capital Corp. as of Jan. 1. He will succeed Walt Skowronski, who is retiring. BCC arranges, structures and provides financing for Boeing commercial airplane, defense and satellite products. Cave, long seen as a possible future CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, will immediately become Skowronski’s deputy for the transition period. Cave will be succeeded by Shep Hill, who will also continue as president of Boeing International.
USAF Col. (ret.) Rick Searfoss Former Astronaut/Shuttle Commander (Tehachapi, Calif.)
In response to Jeremiah Farmer’s letter (AW&ST Sept. 28, p. 8), having been both a pilot astronaut and fighter pilot, I take issue with the tone, content and premise of his apples-to-oranges comparison between NASA and military funding.
Air Vanuatu, the national flag carrier of the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, plans to put its new ATR 72-500 into service on regional routes that are seeing increased traffic growth. The -500, delivered this month, is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127Ms, has 120-min. ETOPS (extended operations) capability and is configured to seat 68. The airline, founded in December 1987, now operates an ATR 42-300 on short-haul routes and a Boeing 737-800 to cities in Australia and New Zealand.
Decisions on bankruptcy proceedings involving two U.S. commercial satellite operators could determine the course of action Solaris Mobile will pursue to meet European Commission requirements for establishing S-band mobile satellite service in Europe. Solaris Mobile, a joint venture of Eutelsat and SES Astra, was selected in May, along with Inmarsat, to supply the service. Initially, this was to be done using an S-band payload on Eutelsat’s W2A spacecraft, but this payload suffered an antenna anomaly following its Apr. 3 launch.
Pilots caught in the time warp of the age-65 rule are considering what their next move might be now that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has turned down their appeal of a lower-court dismissal of their class-action suit. Attorney Anthony P.X. Bothwell of San Francisco was seeking relief for Southwest Airlines pilot Michael L. Oksner and 225 others who were shut out of continued flight status by a 2007 law that extended the mandatory retirement age to 65 for commercial airline pilots.
Fixes built into new U.S. Air Force Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (Jassm) rolling off Lockheed Martin’s production line proved successful in a recent round of flight trials, but retrofitting these changes onto existing weapons remains a challenge, according to a top officer overseeing Jassm.
Custom connecting devices manufacturer Sabritec has released a catalogue featuring high-performance quadrax, twinax and fiber-optic interconnects. New products include the dura speed quadrax/twinax, micro-D twinax, as well as quick disconnect connectors. Sabritec’s full line of standard products for Mil-Dtl-38999, Arinc 404/600, Mil-Dtl-83527, rugged D-Sub, backplane and panel mount connectors are also included.
Oct. 25-27—2009 Airline Dispatcher Federation’s Symposium: “Human Factors and Technology Within the Dispatch Environment.” Lake Buena Vista Embassy Suites, Orlando, Fla. Call +1 (800) 676-2268 or see www.dispatcher.org Oct. 25-29—28th Annual Digital Avionics Systems Conference. Florida Hotel and Conference Center, Orlando. See http://dasconline.org
Rodger Doxsey, head of the Hubble Mission Office at the Space Telescope Science Institute, died Oct. 13 in Baltimore of cancer. The New York native was 62.
A campaign by business, civic and labor leaders is underway to convince President Barack Obama to visit Wichita, the “Air Capital of the World,” to see the disproportionate toll the global economic slump has taken on the business jet industry—and thousands of middle-class jobs. As the epicenter of the industry, the Kansas city of 364,000 has seen demand for its chief product plummet after corporate profits tumbled and credit for aircraft buyers evaporated.
As a career Navy A-7 pilot, the thought of flying without an angle-of-attack indicator seems barbaric. Why would today’s pilots forgo the use of the most accurate indicator of aircraft performance? Use of AOA virtually ameliorates the need to cross-reference weight and altitude charts, providing simple, dependable instrumentation. Commercial and civil aviation should be ashamed for not installing AOA indicators and teaching their use as the primary means to measure optimal flight performance.
The U.K. will deploy the first Royal Air Force Merlin medium-lift helicopters to Afghanistan within the next week or two, as London plans a further increase of forces in theater. In a statement to Parliament last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that along with the Merlin deployment, there would be additional troops—subject to conditions—and an increase in the number of flying hours for unmanned air vehicles. There will be a 30% increase in hours for the Hermes 450, with an 80% increase for the Predator B Reaper from 2010.
Vapormatt’s water-assisted stripping process is being adopted by some airlines to streamline the degreasing and cleaning or even the complete de-painting of aircraft wheels during regular maintenance operations, according to the company. The process, based on the wet-blasting principle, is a solvent- and dust-free procedure that uses an operator-safe cleaning solution of a proprietary mix of water, detergent and “soft” plastic media projected at the wheel through a special blast nozzle.
