The U.S. Forest Service, the FAA and NASA are making the first concerted use of an unmanned aircraft to map wildfires as firefighters battle their way through an unusually dry summer. Last week, the Forest Service flew its third long-duration, long-distance regional mapping mission with a NASA General Atomics Predator B. Firefighters are likely to benefit from one or two more Predator tests before the season ends.
A move by the European Commission to centralize licensing for mobile satellite systems moves the spotlight to Europe and highlights the generally rosy outlook for mobile applications. There are, however, still doubts about financing and regulatory approvals.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology research team led by Prof. Duane Boning is working on techniques to characterize tiny variations in computer chips now that transistors on them measure just 65 nanometers (or billionths of a meter). The model developed by the team could be used to optimize chip design and reduce costs. “It is becoming much more difficult to reduce variation in the manufacturing process, so we need to be able to deal with variation and compensate for it or correct it in the design,” Boning says.
While the FAA’s selection of a contractor to build what may become a nationwide ground-based ADS-B system by 2013 is viewed as a major step forward for air traffic control, technical experts note that the greatest benefits could take more than a decade to arrive.
Starling Advanced Communications has tested a new antenna mounted on the fuselage of a Boeing 737. The 75-cm. antenna was connected to the Internet at 20 megabits per sec.—more than twice the speed of a typical cable connection, according to the company. Engineers were able to conduct typical business activities as well as participate in video conference calls, place phone calls with Skype and download large files.
Douglas Crowther has become vice president-operations for Galaxy Aviation at West Palm Beach, Fla. He was vice president-operations for Signature Flight Support.
The design of the ARJ21 wrings out extra efficiency by using flow into the engines to accelerate air over the top of the wing, boosting lift without additional drag. Chief designer Wu Guanghui tells Aviation Week & Space Technology that careful placement of the engines relative to the wing may add more than 1% to the aircraft’s lift/drag ratio, although it’s a new concept and so he’s waiting for flight testing next year to confirm the theoretical prediction.
The Australian economy is booming while the U.S. dollar is shrinking, and that’s making sophisticated American strike and reconnaissance aircraft look more attractive.
Capt. Fernando Rockert de Magalhaes has been appointed executive vice president-technical for Sao Paulo-based GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes. He has been director of operations.
Manhattan-based Luggage Free, which forwards passenger baggage in a door-to-door service, continues to expand and this year is likely to exceed the two million lb. of luggage shipped in 2006, says President Jeff Boyd. The service “really caught on” after Homeland Security banned carriage of liquids and gels except in bagged, limited amounts. Differing airline requirements related to luggage size and weight also added to passenger confusion. Boyd says that helped to generate interest in the business. The company ships bags through the existing freight-forwarding network.
The letter from Howard Jordan of Hawker Beechcraft Corp. of Wichita, Kan., (HBW), describing 100% successful experience in testing and operation of composite fuselage designs, did not mention any provisions to handle lightning strikes (AW&ST Aug. 20/27, p. 10).
Startup space-transportation companies could get another crack at almost $200 million in federal seed money to develop cargo and crew vehicles for International Space Station resupply, if Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) can’t pull itself out of a steep dive.
General Electric has signed a framework agreement with China’s Shenyang Liming Aero-Engine Group for local assembly of the CF34-10A engines that will power the ARJ21 regional jet. Shenyang Liming is part of the Avic I conglomerate, which is also building the aircraft (see p. 76).
USN Rear Adm. Bruce W. Clingan has been appointed director of the Warfare Integration and Assessment Div. in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington. He has been director of the office’s Air Warfare Div. Rear Adm. (lower half) Walter M. Skinner has been named program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been commander of the Weapons Div. of the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif.
China Southern, the country’s largest airline, says it will join the Skyteam alliance in November. Second-ranked Air China is a member of Star Alliance. Oneworld has expected China Eastern to become a member, but the No. 3 Chinese carrier is now part-owned by Star member Singapore Airlines.
At least one novel technique being demonstrated by the U.S. military—the autonomous operation of multiple unmanned air vehicles in a surveillance gaggle—may never be allowed in civil airspace, according to industry experts working on regulatory questions.
Lawrence Popp has become a project manager and David Ruiz cabinet shop supervisor for the King Aerospace Commercial Corp., Ardmore, Okla. Jeff Frink has become planning supervisor and Monnie Weems avionics manager.
ESA says it has invited Hispasat to make a full proposal to operate Small Geo, a telecom technology mission designed to ride on a new bus being built under the leadership of OHB System. The proposal will be based on an unsolicited offer that was retained after a subsequent announcement of opportunity yielded no better tender, ESA says.
For the first time since 1998, the U.S. and Japan have expanded their air services agreement, particularly benefiting UPS and Polar Air Cargo. UPS will be able to operate six daily flights from the U.S. to Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) in Nagoya, besides its existing services to Tokyo’s Narita and Osaka’s Kansai airports. It also will have beyond rights from Centrair to Shanghai. Polar gains six flights, split between Centrair and Kansai. The accord expands code-sharing operations for Delta and U.S. Skyteam members to Narita.
The Royal Australian Air Force has declared its C-17 squadron operational after eight months of trial flights, some of which were operational missions. Boeing has delivered the second of four C-17s that Australia has ordered, with the other two due by April 2008. There is no public plan to buy more C-17s, but the government is weighing options for replacing 12 C-130H Hercules.
India’s main airports are threatening to cap regional airline operations despite the government’s drive to use them to boost service for small cities. The government is exempting regional operators from landing and parking fees, but implementation of its plan is raising tempers. The issue is so contentious that most officials sought anonymity when commenting as they try to set aside the policy.
National Business Aviation Assn. President Ed Bolen recently took issue with Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, over proposed user fees to help pay for modernizing the U.S. air transportation system. Bolen wrote a letter to Kelly objecting to an article in Southwest’s Spirit magazine that implied general aviation was responsible for this summer’s scheduling delays at major airports. Bolen wrote that the article contained “many of the same disingenuous arguments” made by other airline executives attempting to lay blame on the GA community.
Who is flying those two RNAV (RNP) approaches at Gary, Ind. (AW&ST Sept. 10, p. 58)? It is not the BBJs/Challengers since neither of those types of aircraft nor their crews are authorized to fly RNP SAAAR under FAA Advisory Circular 90-101, “Approval Guidance for RNP Procedures with SAAAR.” Other than FAA aircraft that flight-checked the procedures, the answer is zero.
The Chinese aircraft industry may still be in the early stages of developing its own range of commercial jets, but Western executives say it already ranks with the world’s best aviation parts suppliers. The businesses grouped into conglomerates Avic I and Avic II still have challenges to overcome, but they no longer need to rely on favoritism from Western manufacturers in seeking work—even if they still enjoy that advantage from time to time.
