This single-main-rotor, medium-lift helicopter is powered by two GE CT7-8 turboshaft engines rated at roughly 2,550 shp. each. The H-92 is the military version of the S-92. The H-92, configured for the land assault mission, offers a 200-naut.-mi. radius of action while carrying 22 troops at 3,000 ft. on a 91.5F day. In the amphibious assault role, the aircraft has a dual-sortie radius of action of 65 naut. mi. with 22 troops under 103F conditions. Through 2018, approximately 91 H-92s are forecast for production.
These three-engine heavy-lift transport and special-purpose helicopters are powered by GE T64-GE-416/419 turboshaft engines rated at 4,380 and 4,750 shp, respectively. To date, Sikorsky has delivered approximately 177 CH-53Es, 48 MH-53Es and 11 S-80s. (Twin-engine H-53 versions were produced earlier.) In January 2006, Sikorsky was awarded an $8.4-million contract to begin preliminary design work on the CH-53K, a new CH-53 model for the U.S. Marine Corps. Plans call for the company to manufacture 156 CH-53Ks for the Marines.
Boeing reduced its 737 and 787 order book by 10 aircraft each on Oct. 6, bringing total order reductions across all airplane models to 111 this year and a net of 70. The cancellations are the result of the merger of First Choice and TUI, two U.K. leisure specialists, to become Thomson Airways. First Choice held 12 787 orders and TUI an additional 11. Thomson will now hold 13 with 13 purchase rights. The 787 reduction lowers that type’s total firm order book to 840.
These are single-main-rotor, medium-lift military transport helicopters. The UH-60A is powered by two GE T700-GE-700 turboshaft engines, each with an intermediate rating of 1,622 shp. The UH-60L is fitted with two GE T700-GE-701C engines rated at 1,890 shp. each. The latest UH-60 version is the new UH-60M powered by 2,215-shp. GE T700-GE-701D engines. Sikorsky has produced more than 2,500 Black Hawks. An additional 941 units—including UH-60J and UH-60JA models built under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries—are expected to be built by 2018.
Deputy Managing Editor-Space Frank Morring, Jr. (left), interviews Cui Jijun (right), who is director general of China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, as Lu Jinrong, the center’s general engineer, looks on. Morring and Aviation Week President Tom Henricks, a former shuttle astronaut, visited the Gobi Desert facility during a tour of China’s human-spaceflight facilities arranged by the China Manned Space Engineering Office as it explores possible cooperation in space with NASA. Morring’s report begins on p. 45.
The PC-21 two-seat trainer is a new design from Pilatus. The PC-21 has five hardpoints for armament training. Development began in 1998, and an initial prototype made its first flight in July 2002. Certification was achieved in December 2004. Power is provided by a 1,600-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68B turboprop engine. The PC-21 faces competition from the Embraer Super Tucano and the Hawker Beechcraft T-6. Pilatus is projected to deliver 100 PC-21s during 2009-18..
British Airways last week announced it was cutting the equivalent of 1,700 permanent cabin crew positions as part of ongoing efforts to reduce costs. Management and unions have been discussing a revised cabin crew deal for months. However, the cut is being imposed unilaterally, risking industrial action.
Lufthansa’s growth strategy has been largely one of acquisition, aiding somewhat in consolidating Europe’s fractured airline market, but there are exceptions. In the case of Italy, rather than aggressively pursuing Alitalia when it came on the market, Lufthansa decided on a different approach—branding its own entity. “We are building an independent airline in a foreign country,” says Heike Birlenbach, head of Lufthansa Italia. The airline, based in the country’s financial center in Milan, began flying this year.
The Tucano trainer and light attack aircraft first flew in 1980. The standard EMB-312 Tucano is powered by a single 750-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C turboprop engine, while the Shorts-built S312 (T1) variant is powered by an uprated 1,100-shp. AlliedSignal TPE331-12B-701A turboprop. These Tucano models are no longer in production. The current production model is the EMB-314 Super Tucano, which has an extended fuselage, pressurized cockpit and strengthened airframe, and is powered by a 1,600-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68C turboprop.
Bombardier has begun ground preparations for its new Learjet 85 manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico. When it opens next spring, the 190,000-sq.-ft. building will house manufacturing of the aircraft’s primary composite structure and pre-assembly of various sections. Final assembly of this, the first all-composite FAR25 aircraft, will take place in Wichita, Kan. Bombardier says it holds 61 firm orders for the $17.2-million, 3,000-naut.-mi.-range aircraft (with two pilots and four passengers), which is to enter service in 2013.
Oct. 19-20—Technology Training Corp.’s Military Energy and Alternative Fuels Conference. Holiday Inn, Alexandria, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1210 or see www.ttcus.com Oct. 19-21—SAFE Assn.’s 47th Annual Symposium. Town and Country Resort and Convention Center, San Diego. Call +1 (541) 895-3012, fax +1 (541) 895-3014 or see www.safeassociation.com Oct. 19-22—Sampe’s 2009 Fall Technical Conference. Century II Convention Center, Wichita, Kan. Call +1 (626) 331-0616 or see www.sampe.org
Saab’s South Korean unit is under investigation, suspected of bribing officials at a government research institute in return for secret information about the KF-X fighter program. Investigators also suspect the institute, an advisory agency to the national assembly, may have written reports favorable to Saab in return for the bribes, South Korean media report. Saab says it is assisting the inquiry as well as it can.
A short-/medium-range short-takeoff-or-landing transport that was developed as a joint venture between Alenia and Lockheed Martin. The prototype C-27J was a modified Alenia G.222 with an upgraded cockpit and two 4,640-shp. Rolls-Royce AE 2100D2 turboprop engines. The C-27J can carry 34-46 paratroopers or 46-68 infantry. It first flew in 1999. The aircraft was selected as winner of the U.S. Army/Air Force Joint Cargo Aircraft program. Alenia produced 26 C-27Js through 2008, with a total of 126 forecast to be completed in 2009-18.
A twin-engine combat support helicopter initially developed by the South African Air Force (SAAF) through 1992; Denel Aircraft continued subsequent development with in-house funds. Two prototype/demonstrator aircraft, one pre-production aircraft and 12 production-standard aircraft (for the SAAF) were produced. Production Rooivalks are powered by two Turbomeca Makila 1A2 turboshaft engines rated at 1,843 shp. each. Armament includes a Kentron GA-1 20-mm. cannon mounted in a steerable chin turret.
Ireland’s Aer Lingus plans to cut 676 employees as part of restructuring to try to secure the carrier’s future. The aim is to garner annual savings of €97 million ($141.6 million) a year in operating costs, around two-thirds of which will be from personnel. The airline also plans to reduce the basic pay of employees who earn more than €35,000 a year, as well as make cuts in allowances. Management will undertake a six-week consultation period with union representatives over the proposed reductions.
The European Commission says the Egnos GPS augmentation system’s open service is now operational and available to all users equipped with Egnos-compatible GPS receivers. Similar to the U.S.’s Wide Area Augmentation System, Egnos permits users to determine their positions to within 2 meters, compared to 20 meters for GPS alone. It was delivered to the EC, which owns it, on Apr. 1. The open signal will be made available free of charge by European Satellite Services Provider, a consortium of air traffic management operators, which contracted on Sept.
Japan Airlines (JAL) has deferred negotiations for investment by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines until a team of government-appointed experts completes a review of Asia’s largest carrier’s ailing business. JAL officials hope to resume discussions after the panel presents its report at the end of November. Like American, JAL is a member of the Oneworld alliance, and a tie-up with Delta would imply a switch to the SkyTeam alliance.
Masten Space Systems has become the first contestant to qualify for the $150,000 second prize in Level 1 of NASA’s Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge. It flew a rocket-powered vehicle twice in 2 hr. between a pair of landing pads. According to Mojave, Calif.-based Masten, its “Xombie” vehicle “met the requirements of Level 1 of the Lunar Lander Challenge by ascending to a height of 50 meters, translating horizontally to a landing pad 50 meters away, landing safely on a concrete pad after 90 sec.
A United Launch Alliance Delta II roars aloft from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Oct. 8 with DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 commercial remote-sensing spacecraft on board, after a 13-min. delay while a battery problem in the rocket’s second stage was resolved. Liftoff came at 2:51 p.m. EDT.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will tap Vistagy’s FiberSim software for composite parts and structures development for the Dragon orbiter for the Falcon 9 launch system. NASA has named Dragon in conjunction with the Falcon 9 as a commercial launcher for the International Space Station. FiberSim is being used to develop production fiber placement diagrams and laser projection files. It is assisting Falcon’s design team with fiber placement for the spacecraft’s thermal protection system, and other components.
USAF Brig. Gen. Michael R. Moeller, who has been selected for promotion to major general, has been named director of strategy, plans and policy at U.S. Central Command Headquarters, MacDill AFB, Fla. He was commander of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of Air Combat Command (ACC), Al Udeid AB, Qatar. Brig. Gen. James O. Poss has been nominated for promotion to major general and appointment as director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for the deputy chief of staff for ISR at the Pentagon.
Two variants of the military version of the EC135 multipurpose light twin-turbine helicopter are marketed: the EC635P2, powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 engines rated at 667 shp. each for takeoff; and the EC635T2, powered by Turbomeca Arrius 2B2s rated at 606 shp. each for takeoff. Through 2008, 14 units were produced; another 53 are expected to be built in 2009-18.
The AS532 Cougar and the new EC725 are twin-engine, medium-lift military transport and special-purpose helicopters. They are the military versions of Eurocopter’s AS332 Super Puma and EC225, respectively. Current engines include the AS532 Mk 1—two Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines rated at 1,819 shp. each for takeoff; AS532 Mk 2—two Turbomeca Makila 1A2 turboshafts rated at 1,845 shp. each for takeoff; and EC725—two Turbomeca Makila 2A turboshafts rated at 2,100 shp. each for takeoff. Armament can include 20-mm. cannon, twin 7.62-mm. machine guns or two rocket pods.
