The Assn. of European Airlines predicts its members will have an operating loss of €2.9 billion ($4.3 billion) in 2009, compared to an operating profit of €500 million last year, according to Vincent de Vroey, general manager of technical and operations.
Separately, Gourgeon says he expects measures being undertaken to cut costs and rein in capacity at Air France to begin having an impact as early as next year. In an interview in Paris-based Les Echos, he said the airline’s cash-flow position should stabilize by next spring and the carrier should return to break-even—discounting the effect of older long-term exchange rate hedges--by the beginning of the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Iraq’s air force will be the beneficiary of a $6.9-million U.S. Army contract for three Bell 407 commercial helicopters to be used as trainers for the Iraqi Armed 407 program. Work is to be completed by the end of 2010.
The airline industry finds itself increasingly isolated in its opposition to regulations that would limit the time passengers spend on the ground after push back from the gate. Former American Chairman and CEO Robert Crandall got a lot of ink last week with a proposal for a 4-hr. limit, transitioning to 3 hr. on Jan. 1, 2011, to provide time for carriers to adjust their operations and flight schedules; airports to acquire more deplaning equipment; and airlines, airports and federal agencies to sort out issues such as prioritization for takeoffs.
Two French navy Rafale fighters crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on Sept. 24 during flight trials off the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. One pilot was recovered near the crash site, about 30 km. (18.5 mi.) from Perpignan, and the other was missing. The de Gaulle is preparing to return to service with a new complement of multirole Rafale F3 fighters after a more than 18-month shutdown for major overhaul. It is thought to be the first crash involving the Rafale, which was introduced into service in 2000. The aircraft were unarmed.
David A. Fulghum (China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center)
One look at a map of China Lake—and the areas of military-controlled airspace around it—explains why the U.S. Navy focuses its weapons development here. “There are 1.1 million acres and we’ve touched less than 4% of it,” says Dave Janiec, head of the Weapons and Energetics Dept. “We’ve detonated up to 500,000 lb. of ordnance [in a single explosion].”
All but two of the 57 major U.S. defense contractors—those receiving more than $500 million in 2006 Defense Dept. contract awards—have ethics programs that include many of the practices consistent with standards now required by federal acquisition regulations, according to congressional auditors. But opportunities still exist to improve Defense Dept. oversight in two key areas, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.
The Australian Defense Ministry has canceled plans to install the BAE Systems ALR-2002 radar warning receiver on its helicopters, reducing the scope of Project Echidna. The ministry says it made the decision to avoid the helicopters being taken out of service for the upgrade at a time they are needed operationally. The move also should yield A$50 million ($43 million) in savings. Australia previously canceled plans to install the receiver on F/A-18s.
U.S. plans to deploy an unmanned surveillance airship to Afghanistan are moving forward, with a contract for the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) demonstration expected to be awarded by year-end. Designed to stay aloft for three weeks carrying a heavy payload of wide-area sensors, the airship is becoming a flagship for Defense Dept. efforts to provide unblinking airborne surveillance to defeat the threat from roadside bombs.
Ladislav Simek has been appointed president of Aero Vodochody , Odolena Voda, Czech Republic. He succeeds Igor Hulak, who has resigned. Simek was vice president-strategic programs.
The global economic downturn is having a significant affect on the aviation liberalization movement, but the news is not all bad. While efforts to open new markets are being put on the back burner, the slump is adding urgency to airline calls to ease restrictions on foreign investment and ownership. Meanwhile, some Latin American and Asia-Pacific airlines are making the most progress in breaking down cross-border market barriers (see p. 48). Cover design by Greg Lewis and the AW&ST Art Dept.
Launch of the U.S. Air Force’s secretive Orbital Test Vehicle Flight 1 (OTV-1) spaceplane has been rescheduled for Apr. 10, 2010, on an Atlas V 501 rocket following several shifts in the busy Cape Canaveral launch manifest. The OTV is the Air Force-led X-37B, a Boeing Phantom Works-built derivative of the X-37 technology demonstrator originally developed for NASA’s “Future X” project of the late 1990s, which the agency hoped to fly as early as 2006 as a precursor to a spaceplane for ferrying space station crews (see image).
Launch customers appear to be ready to restructure the contract for the Airbus A400M military transport, which would finally put the troubled program on a firm footing. “We have agreed to a new program baseline and have an agreement in principle on a revised technical schedule,” Rafael Tentor, the A400M program head at Airbus Military, said here last week. “We are now working on the details,” he added, with the aim of signing an addendum to the existing contract by year-end.
The European Space Agency is testing a miniature solid-state gyro sensor that it says will be the smallest ever flown in space. The sugar cube-size gyro uses micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)—a technology already widely employed in the automobile industry that allows moving parts or sensors to be incorporated on a single silicon chip, saving space and weight and improving reliability.
David A. Fulghum (China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center)
It’s Crazy Al’s missile sale. China Lake can put you behind the launch toggle of a Spike—a 2-ft.-long, high-speed, guided missile capable of hitting relatively fast-moving targets—for an estimated $5,000. No word yet on available colors or cash-for-clunkers options.
Airbus is increasing the structural payload capability of the A330-200 freighter thanks to being able to deliver a low manufacturer’s empty weight. The first aircraft still has to be weighed, but Airbus believes it is 500 kg. (1,100 lb.) lighter than thought, which adds to the freighter’s payload capacity. First flight of the A330-200F is due in a few weeks, with certification planned for next spring and initial deliveries next summer.
The FAA has terminated a temporary suspension of amateur-built aircraft kit evaluations that had been in effect since February 2008. The decision allows manufacturers of kit aircraft to resume submitting their kits for FAA evaluation to determine compliance with the long-standing “51% rule.” It requires the purchaser to fabricate a major portion of all tasks associated with construction of an aircraft in order for it to qualify as amateur-built.
Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon has offered to help fund a further search for the voice and data recorders on flight AF447, which crashed into the south Atlantic on June 1. The first phase of the search was terminated by French accident investigation office BEA in late August, but the BEA continues to study how the effort could be resumed (AW&ST Aug. 24/31, p. 20).
Meteorites that excavated fresh craters have revealed evidence of frozen water hiding just below the surface in the mid latitudes of Mars, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., report. Using instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, they found bright ice exposed in five Martian sites that range from 1.5-8 ft. deep. The craters did not exist in earlier images of the same sites. The findings indicate water ice exists at lower latitudes than previously expected.
More than a year after scathing accusations rocked the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), key senators, government investigators and Obama administration officials appear skeptical about the pace of reform. DCAA Director April Stephenson asserts that the agency has made substantial progress since news broke in mid-2008 that lower-level DCAA auditors were hindered or subverted in some investigations of defense contracts, and that auditors or their reports had become subservient to contractors.
China Great Wall Industry Corp. and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission will jointly develop a communications satellite, Paksat-1R, under an agreement signed Sept. 18 in Islamabad. China is backing the project with a soft loan of roughly $200 million, according to China Daily. The new satellite, intended to support the goal of improved satellite communications for Pakistan under its medium-term development plan, will carry 12 C-band and 18 Ku-band transponders, and be ready in about three years.
The ERJ 135/140/145 family is a series of twin-engine, 37-50-seat regional jets. The initial model was the 50-seat ERJ 145, which first flew in August 1995. Deliveries began in late 1996. The next model was the 37-seat ERJ 135, which made its initial flight in July 1998. Deliveries began in July 1999. The 44-passenger ERJ 140 first flew in June 2000, with initial deliveries in July 2001. A longer-range version of the ERJ 145, called the ERJ 145XR, has also been developed. The Rolls-Royce AE 3007A is the engine used on these aircraft.
ATR is a joint venture of EADS and Alenia Aeronautica that builds turboprop-powered regional transport aircraft. The first ATR 42 was delivered in 1985, to Air Littoral. The ATR 72 entered service in 1989. Current production versions are the ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500. The ATR 42-500 seats 46-50 passengers, and is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127E engines (2,160-shp. each). The ATR 72-500 seats 66-74 passengers, and is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127F engines (2,475 shp. each).
Ruag Space and AAC Microtec of Sweden are preparing to fly a package of miniaturized control, computer and mass memory components intended to show the feasibility of carrying advanced subsystems on nanosat-class spacecraft. The package, weighing just 120 grams (4.23 oz.), will be the first in space based entirely on 3D wafer-level packaged (3D-WLP) microsystem technology. It features a plug-and-play 3D-WLP architecture, dubbed Inovator, built for OHB System with funding from the Swedish National Space Board.
Avic General Aircraft hopes to begin production next year of two new models—one a jet and one piston engine—as part of a broad push by Chinese manufacturers into the business aviation market. Separately, the Chinese company has launched a four-engine amphibious aircraft, evidently an extensive update of the SH-5 flying boat developed and built in small quantities from the 1960s to 1980s.
