Columbus, Ohio-based low-cost operator Skybus began A319 service July 16 to San Diego and Chicopee, Mass., and on July 18 to St. Augustine, Fla. The new destinations bring the total served from Port Columbus International Airport to 11. Skybus is taking reservations for flights Dec. 16-Mar. 6. Fares for the first 10 seats sold on any flight are $10. Reservations are made only on the web site, www.Skybus.com
The U.S. Air Force is accelerating by a year the Pentagon’s goal of flying 21 Predator UAV patrols a day by 2009. That means a rapid increase of three additional MQ-1 combat air patrol orbits using full-motion video and rapid strike capability. The first two are to be active this year. Currently, the service maintains 12 Predator orbits.
Lockheed Martin has won a 10-year, $1.1-billion U.S. Air Force contract for Aircrew Training and Rehearsal Support II, which is to provide training for Special Operations Command crews of the C-130 Talon, Spectre and Shadow; MH-53 Pave Low; MH-60 Pave Hawk, and CV-22 Osprey.
Eurojet handed over the first EJ200 turbojet engine intended for the Tranche 2 Eurofighter. The powerplant was accepted on July 13 by the Italian air force, which will install and fly it on IPA 2, the second instrumented production aircraft. The Tranche 2 engine features a combined digital control and monitoring unit that promises significant cost, weight and functionality benefits. In all, 519 engines are to be delivered for the Tranche 2 program over the next five years. Eurojet comprises Rolls-Royce, MTU, Avio and ITP of Spain.
Boeing’s George Muellner is quoted in the article “Speed Kills” as saying: “The technology is not there right now to support a high-speed penetration platform” (AW&ST May 28, p. 50).
For the first time in perhaps years, British Royal Air Force fighters were launched last week to intercept two Russian Tu-95s bearing down on British airspace, a move that analysts on both sides of the Atlantic and both ends of the Baltic suggest was retribution for the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from the U.K. That, in turn, resulted from the controversy between Britain and Russia over the poisoning murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a vocal critic of the Moscow government.
Canada will supply the fine guidance sensor for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope under an agreement signed July 16. The instrument will help the big infrared telescope stay focused on some of the most distant objects in the Solar System from its position at the second Sun-Earth Lagrangian point by locating and staying fixed on a guide star. As part of the agreement, the Canadian Space Agency will help operate the telescope after its planned 2013 launch and arrange for Canadian astronomers to use it.
The tone of the recent letter “The Great Pilot Giveaway” by Capt. (ret.) John A. Crocker (AW&ST July 2, p. 6) illustrates an aviation cultural issue that has been traditionally ignored by top airline management, but angrily acknowledged by individual pilot groups. Basic principles in crew resource management (CRM) recognize communication as a fundamental process in aircrew coordination. The barriers built from the seniority issues that arise from merging pilot groups create basic human factors that can degrade aircrew performance.
Charles Brown has become CEO of the Flow International Corp.,Kent, Wash. He will succeed Stephen Light, who will be retiring. Brown was president/chief operating officer of the Pump, Pool and Spa Divs. at Pentair Inc.
Bell Helicopter Textron has appointed Jet Transfer as its new sales representative in Russia. Jet Transfer, which recently placed orders for Bell helicopters worth $10 million, is a subsidiary of Jet Group and is a major player in business jet charters and sales in Russia, says Alexander Yevdokimov, general director of Jet Transfer. In other news, Bell Helicopter Training Academy is offering the First Responder Helicopter Safety Program.
Chinese aerospace conglomerate Avic I plans to set up a regional airline in its home country and might buy a small one in North America. General Manager Lin Zuoming didn’t say whether the moves were related to the search for buyers for the ARJ21 large regional jet, which is set for rollout this year. The company says it has lined up financing for its bid to buy six Airbus plants in Europe, even though a sale to China is unlikely for political reasons and Airbus hasn’t invited Avic I to bid.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. faces a logjam of airline applications for the handful of China routes it will award this year, proving that despite a new air services agreement between the two nations, demand for flights still far outweighs supply.
India and Israel are expected to sign a $2.5-billion additional development agreement for Barak surface-to-air missiles to replace the Indian air force’s Russian-made Pechora fleet. The new missiles will more than double the range of the vertically launched Barak-8s now under development for the Indian navy. The draft agreement, which has been approved by India’s cabinet, is expected to be completed by next March, and follows an initial pact signed by the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization and Israel Aerospace Industries.
The FAA’s light-sport aircraft rule has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of learning to fly and buying a new aircraft by breaking down barriers that block access to entry-level aviation.
Malaysia has reacted to the fatal crash of one of its Sikorsky S-61s on July 13 by deciding to replace its fleet of 30 of the military helicopters. The government says it will call for tenders within a few months.
New, advanced APG-79 active electronically scanned array radars—capable of detecting small, stealth targets—that will equip Block 2 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft are on the way. The U.S. Navy has approved full-rate production of 437 radar systems that will include wide-band communications and electronic attack. Moreover, engineers have routed the products of the electronic effects generator through the radar to produce a long-range jamming and false-target capability.
Intelsat’s Thales Alenia/Galaxy 17 spacecraft has become operational following its May 4 launch by Arianespace. The satellite is now located at 74.05 deg. W. but eventually will be moved to 91 deg. W. It serves North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Loel Fenwick, Vice President (Grumman Mallard Owners Assn. )
National Transportation Safety Board findings in the Chalk’s Ocean Airways Grumman Mallard crash (AW&ST June 4, p. 35) fail to mention the severe corrosion that investigators found in the accident aircraft. The findings also do not address the lack of operational specifications (e.g., a requirement to report impacts with waves and boat wakes greater than the airplane flight manual limits for the aircraft) or the effects of decades of operation in an ocean environment for which the aircraft may not have been designed or certified.
Red circles mark three of the galaxies astronomers at the California Institute of Technology believe are the most ancient ever observed, dating from just 500 million years after the Big Bang. Drawing on the thesis work of graduate student Dan Stark, the Caltech team spent three years surveying areas where gravitational lensing from nearer galaxy clusters—which bend light arriving from more distant sources—is predicted to be particularly strong. Those “critical lines” are shown as black curves in this Hubble Space Telescope image.
Karen Holbrook, who recently retired as president of Ohio State University, and John Wing, founder/chairman of Wing Aviation, have been named to the board of trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,Daytona Beach, Fla.
Air France-KLM said in a statement last week that it “confirms its intention to take an active part in the consolidation process in the air transport industry.” The statement goes on to say that “Iberia is an important player in air transport” and, “taken in the perspective of much-needed consolidation for the efficiency and profitability of the air transport sector, it is therefore quite normal for it to be examined amongst others.”
Eaton Corp.'s strategy of using aerospace to help diversify from an industrial conglomerate into a less cyclical corporation is starting to show results, and investors are taking notice. Shares in the Cleveland-based company topped $100 last week, up from about $65 a year ago, after Eaton reported second-quarter financial results that bested Wall Street's expectations.
WorldSpace Italia and Fiat have agreed to install and distribute digital audio radio systems (DARS) on Fiat automobiles. It is the first auto agreement signed by the WorldSpace affiliate, which wants to introduce DARS service in Europe by late 2008, using WorldSpace’s Afristar satellite. The radios will be factory installed and offered on the aftermarket.
Honda Aero Inc. is scheduled to begin production of the HF120 jet engine (see photo) in 2010 following construction of a new headquarters and production facility in Burlington, N.C. Company officials say the $27-million facility will be on 90 acres adjacent to Burlington-Alamance Regional Airport and feature 58,400 sq. ft. of manufacturing space, an 8,000-sq.-ft. test cell and 36,000 sq. ft. for administrative offices. The factory will be the primary production site for engines developed and marketed by joint venture company GE Honda Aero Engines.
Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. will develop the Operational Land Imager (OLI) instrument for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) under a $127.9-million contract awarded by NASA. Ball will develop and build one flightworthy version of the visible and near-infrared instrument. The company also will test, deliver and support the instrument for five years after its estimated July 2011 launch, with five one-year options for extensions.
