All Nippon Airways is expanding its airfreight holdings by taking a 34% stake in Overseas Courier Service, making the Tokyo-based carrier the largest shareholder in the international parcel delivery company.
What is the optimum and most affordable mix of manned and unmanned platforms to meet a broad spectrum of threats over the long term? That is one of the fundamental questions at the heart of a strategic study now nearing conclusion by the British Royal Air Force, a study that has resonance across the first tier of air forces around the world.
Turbomeca has concluded an agreement with the Kamov unit of Russian Helicopters and the Helicopter Service Co. to develop, build and support a version of the Ka-226T helicopter equipped with the Arrius 2G1 turboshaft. The reengined twin-rotor model will be targeted at surveillance, transport, emergency medical service, utility and other light helicopter applications, for which no Russian-built helicopter is currently available. The deal is part of a strategy aimed at reinforcing Turbomeca’s position in emerging aerospace nations.
Northrop Grumman is planning to cut up to 750 jobs as part of an announced consolidation of its Space Technology and Integrated Systems units. But the consolidated operation, renamed Aerospace Systems, has 850 openings for engineering and technical positions.
The Transportation Security Administration is extending until June 1 compliance with a controversial security directive involving badging and background checks for people with access to aircraft operating areas at commercial airports. The deadline had been Mar. 1 for large airports and Apr. 30 for small airports. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. complains that the directive will require a security threat assessment on tens of thousands of general aviation pilots.
Lockheed Martin is planning to increase its annual output of C-130Js beginning this year, says Jim Grant, a senior company executive. In recent years, 12 Hercules rolled off the Marietta, Ga., line annually. This year, it will increase to 16, and to 27 in 2010. The ultimate goal is an annual production of more than 30 aircraft, Grant says. The boost comes after strong support from the U.S. Air Force and from foreign orders, including a recently announced contract from the United Arab Emirates. The 86-aircraft order backlog would carry the line to 2012.
Mar. 15-18—Airports Council International-North America’s Operations & Technical Affairs Conference. Westin San Diego Hotel. See www.aci-na.org/conferences Mar. 20-22Society of Experimental Test Pilots’ 39th San Diego Symposium. Lodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla, Calif. Call +1 (661) 942-9574, fax +1 (661) 940-0398 or see www.setp.org Mar. 23-26The Aerospace Corp.’s 13th Ground System Architectures Workshop: “Focusing on the User.” Marriott South Bay Hotel, Torrance, Calif. Call +1 (310) 336-6805 or see www.aero.org/conferences/gsaw/index.html
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) has contracted with EADS Astrium’s German unit to supply a Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) EarthCARE mission. The contract is worth €30 million ($37.8 million) to SSTL, acquired by Astrium earlier this year. Operating from an orbit of 400 km., the MSI will image the Earth at a 500-meter (1,640-ft.) ground sample distance (GSD) over a swath width of 150 km. (93 mi.).
The Marine One controversy is giving a boost to National Air Transportation Assn. (NATA) efforts to get the nation’s most important business flyer to stop using private aviation “as a political punching bag” and linking corporate aviation to corporate greed (AW&ST Mar. 2, p. 20). In a letter to Obama, NATA President James Coyne says statements and actions by the administration and Congress “since you were elected have been . . .
The next generation of small turboshafts and possibly diesel pistons will take a lead role in aircraft engine-makers’ efforts to broaden their helicopter market base when the industry reemerges from the current downturn.
Sukhoi and Alenia Aeronautica are making progress with plans to build up a maintenance base for the SuperJet 100 regional jet, though much still remains to be done. Setting up a solid customer support, customization and maintenance network is one of the key unresolved issues upon which the success of the regional jet program will depend. Responsibility for this was entrusted to SuperJet International (SJI), a joint venture between Alenia and Sukhoi Holding, with headquarters in Venice, Italy.
I would like to respond to reader George Rowley’s query about sound absorbent coatings (AW&ST Feb. 23, p. 8). Applied absorptive materials in the usual sense have finite bandwidths. In thin, lightweight applications they typically absorb energy either in a very narrow (resonant) bandwidth, in a rather high-frequency portion of the audible spectrum, or transmit much of the incident sound energy to the underlying structure.
The British Defense Ministry and BAE Systems have agreed a £450-million ($634-million) contract covering support of RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft for the next five years. The Typhoon Availability Services (TAS) contract reflects the RAF’s shift toward a partnering approach to aircraft maintenance, using a front-and-depth model supported by industry. The initial TAS contract is expected to be followed by a further 10-year deal.
London is considering leasing up to five Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules airlifters to help plug the capability gap left by continuing problems with the European Airbus Military A400M. The U.K. is interested in taking the additional C-130Js beginning in 2012, which likely means it will need to conclude an agreement this year if the in-service date target is to be met. All but a handful of the Royal Air Force’s aging C-130Ks are due to be retired by 2012.
Airlines are parking aircraft at an unprecedented rate, and the percentage of the global jet fleet that is grounded looks set to exceed the late-2001 peak of the last downturn. A total of almost 2,300 jet airliners are now parked, with the 1,167 aircraft grounded last year making 2008 the worst year for cutbacks since 2001, according to U.K.-based aviation consultancy Ascend.
Engineers at Boeing’s Wichita, Kan., defense facility are set to vote Mar. 5 on whether to authorize a strike rather than accept a company proposal on a contract that ended last December.
First Officer Martin Söllinger (Konigswinter, Germany)
I couldn’t disagree more with Capt. John Painter, who says the shorter the crew rest after a long double-crew flight, the better (AW&ST Jan. 19, p. 8). Good for him that he can easily sleep 7 hr. in the bunk. I can’t. After 3 hr., the air has dried me out completely. Also one has to be lucky to get the timing right and catch a rest during the body-clock nighttime. It’s only reasonable to provide for extended post-flight rest after a long duty.
It will be one of the most technically complex spacecraft NASA has ever launched, but its mission is pretty straight-forward—an unblinking look for Earth-like planets orbiting 100,000 Sun-like stars deep in the Milky Way.
L-3 Communications’ Link and Simulation Training is teaming with Textron System’s AAI Corp. to compete for the U.S. Air Force’s C-17 Training System Sustainment Program. The team would merge the two C-17 aircrew and maintenance training contracts into a single integrated support operation. Plans call for L-3 to identify areas for improvement across all C-17 integrated training operations, says Bob Birmingham, L-3’s president of link simulation and training. AAI trains C-17 aircraft technicians with a simulation-based system.
President Barack Obama is moving toward forcing all defense spending unrelated to war-fighting to undergo the regular congressional authorization process in coming years—increasing the potential for inter-service rivalries.
Dassault Aviation has received approval for its Falcon 7X business jet flagship to operate out of London City Airport. Dassault began the process of certifying the Falcon 7X for LCY operations last April. The airfield requires a steep approach of 5.5 deg. Approval flights at the facility took place Oct. 10. The Falcon 7X operates at London City with dedicated noise abatement departure procedures, approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
A buckle that automatically releases after being submerged in water for 3-7 sec., has been unveiled by BAE Systems. The water-activated buckle, developed for pilots and passengers, incorporates small pyrotechnics which fire on prolonged exposure to water. The charges release latch pins and the harness. Developed by BAE’s Phoenix-based Occupant Protection business, the device operates as a normal rotary buckle in regular conditions, but can be activated in either fresh or saltwater and is resistant to humidity, salt spray, fungus and rain, says the manufacturer.
The helicopter industry will see three or more years of declining deliveries according to Honeywell’s latest market forecast, while Rolls-Royce predicts a less severe “softening” with the recession characterized as more of a bump in the road.
