Air Force Research Laboratory engineers at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, have set up a five-year schedule for designing an adaptive engine that will let pilots easily shift from high-speed combat maneuvering to fuel-efficient, long-range persistence flight. A broad agency announcement has challenged industry to come up with a demonstrator. The Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (Advent) goals are to develop inlet, engine and exhaust technologies that optimize performance over a broad range of altitudes and speeds.
Italy and Turkey are trying to clear a path to sign the agreement for the €1.2-billion ($1.6-billion) Atak 2 attack helicopter program before the end of May, following the selection of the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta.
Crews at Kennedy Space Center will pull all three engines on the space shuttle Atlantis to ensure a putty-like silicone used to gauge changes in fuel-pipe liners hasn't contaminated the propulsion system. Post-flight inspections of engines flying in the No. 3 position on the shuttle Discovery found traces of the "RepliSet" material in the preburners. It apparently had been left behind, upstream of the engine, when crews used the material to make before-and-after molds to see if there were changes in the fuel flow liners during flight.
FlightSafety International has launched its pilot training program for the Cessna Citation Mustang lightweight jet, following FAA and EASA qualification of a full-flight simulator at its Wichita (Kan.) Learning Center. In the fourth quarter, FlightSafety plans to inaugurate European pilot training for the Mustang.
More satellite data reveal dwindling sea ice coverage surrounding the North Pole, suggesting that an Arctic warming trend traced back at least to 1958 is continuing at a faster pace. With data from NASA's QuikScat, which uses radar to discriminate between seasonal ice and older perennial ice, and other sources, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory find wintertime replenishment of ice that melts over the summer continues to decline.
If AirTran Airways acquires Midwest Airlines, the merger will meld a fast-growing, well-managed carrier in AirTran with a unique product of the post-deregulation era. The combination would produce an airline with more than 2% of the U.S. market share, building on AirTran's solid Northeast and Southern U.S. bases and on Milwaukee-sited Midwest's strong coverage of the mid-section, and comparatively new strengths to the west. Each airline is a Boeing customer.
Mark V. Rosenker, Chairman (National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, D.C.)
The coverage on "UAVs in Civil Airspace" (AW&ST Feb. 12, pp. 46-51) was an excellent introduction to the many systemic issues confronting this aviation sector.
A joint federal task force charged with transforming the U.S. ATC system so it can handle three times more air traffic by 2025 has been mainly talking and publishing plans. But now the group's director wants to create a team geared to tackling technical challenges and implementing solutions.
The French government is expected to decide this month whether to buy a used U.S. Navy E-2C Hawkeye to fill its long-standing requirement for a fourth carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft. France has wanted a fourth E-2 to provide adequate capacity to maintain 24-hr. surveillance around its aircraft carrier and still meet training and depot maintenance needs. But funding has always been an issue, and prior talks between Paris and E-2 prime contractor Northrop Grumman failed to produce a sale.
Clark Freise (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager of BAE Systems' Defense Avionics business, Johnson City, N.Y. He was deputy general manager of Information Dominance Systems for BAE Systems and site executive at Hudson, N.H.
Assuring a successful ramp-up of regional jet production this year is Embraer's priority, but it is not ignoring the potential for new projects, including a C-130-sized jet transport aircraft. The military transport would be a high-wing derivative of the Embraer 190 regional jet, with an aft ramp. Although little more than a study, Mauricio Botelho, Embraer chairman and CEO, says, "There is value in the idea."
The U.K. plans to add a sensor suite to an unmanned combat air vehicle testbed following the successful conclusion of the first phase of the program. During the tests, a fast jet controlled a number of simulated UCAV flights as part of the Defense Ministry's 30-month Surrogate project.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed agreements with NASA and Russia's Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) for joint operational work and studies, respectively, that can lead to greater cooperation in future human space-exploration endeavors. The European agency has signed on with IBMP as a "full partner" on the Mars 500 project, a long-term study primarily funded by the Russian space agency Roscosmos that will lock a crew of six volunteers in a Mars ship mockup for a simulated trip that could take as long as 700 days.
Regarding the letter from AVIATION WEEK President Tom Henricks (AW&ST Mar. 19/26, p. 7), I fear the U.S. manned space program is going nowhere. No human has walked on the Moon since 1972. What has happened to NASA's technological mastery of human spaceflight? The space shuttle is flawed, and the International Space Station was a mistake. If President Bush were a true space enthusiast, he would follow through on his commitment to space exploration with priority funding. Space exploration is an investment and will move humanity past war and aggression on Earth.
Michael Thompson (see photo) has become vice president-market development for SkyWest Airlines. He succeeds Steven Hart, who is retiring. Thompson was the executive operational analyst. Michael J. Kraupp has become vice president-finance/treasurer of SkyWest Inc. He was assistant treasurer.
The German aerospace research agency DLR is unveiling technology concepts for futuristic air and space transport systems, ranging from fuel-cell-powered aircraft to reusable launch vehicles.
Airbus booked 37 orders last month, mostly in the narrow-aisle segment. Finnair's order for seven A340-300s and two A350-900s represented the only widebody sales. In its first quarter report, Airbus shows it remains the delivery champ, especially among narrowbodies. It pushed a total of 115 aircraft out the door, including 91 narrowbodies: 46 A320s, 31 A319s, 11 A321s and three A318s. Also delivered were 11 A330-200s, six A330-300s, five A340-600s and two A300-600Rs.
ATR delivered six turboprop aircraft in the first quarter. Pakistan Interna-tional Airlines took an ATR 42-500, while Finncomm Airlines, CCM and Kingfisher Airlines received ATR 72-500s. A total of 44 ATRs are to be delivered this year.
France, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway are hustling to assess the impact of a revised production schedule for NH90 naval frigate helicopters. The latest delays mean the militaries will not receive their first NFH90s until well into 2009. This setback is not sitting well with customers, who say they urgently need the new helicopters and are unhappy with the prime contractor. The revised schedule was presented last month by NH90 prime contractor NH Industries (NHI) at the NH90 Steering Committee meeting, which was chaired by the Netherlands.
A bit ahead of plan, Finmeccanica has completed the acquisition of the 25% stake in Selex SAS capital that BAE Systems still held. The transaction involves a €400-million cash ($532-million) payment--agreed to back in 2005 when Finmecanica took an initial 75%. A further payment by Finmeccanica to BAE Systems on the order of €12 million is still pending to settle some final adjustments, such as undistributed Selex SAS profits.
A week after Australia's Qantas Airways moved to increase domestic capacity, rival Virgin Blue has ordered three Embraer 170s and three 190s, with deliveries to begin later this year.
BAA plans to spend another $78.6 million under its "Putting Passengers First" plan to reduce queues at security checkpoints in the seven U.K. airports from which it operates. BAA will hire another 1,400 security guards and open 22 new security lanes at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports. Once the hiring is completed, the company has pledged to keep security line wait times to 5 min. or less for 95% of the day.
Los Angeles International Airport's newly reconstructed Runway 25L/7R is open for business. Its 11,095-ft. length is the same as the former 25L/7R, which was demolished and relocated 55 ft. south in a $250-million reconstruction. The project is part of the airport's $333-million South Airfield Improve- ment Program aimed at reducing runway incursions. LAX in 2000-03 had the highest number of incursions among U.S. major airports; in 2006, it had eight, two of which had the serious potential to lead to accidents.
Alenia Aeronautica and Russia's TsAGI aerohydrodynamics institute will cooperate on future commercial aerostructures research and development, beginning later this year.
Randy Znamenak (see photo) has been appointed vice president-service sales and marketing for the Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Wichita, Kan., the former Raytheon Aircraft. He was vice president-sales and marketing for Stevens Aviation. George Sellew has been named vice president/treasurer. He was director of international sales finance in Raytheon's Corporate Treasury Dept. Ted Farid has become vice president-new business development.
