Bell Helicopter Textron plans to resume flying the prototype BA609 civil tiltrotor in the next 60 days with the goal of eventually expanding the flight envelope to speeds as high as 300 kt.
Competition is good, one of many reasons to laud the Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory for its development of the New Horizons spacecraft that is set to rocket toward Pluto this week (AW&ST Jan. 9, p. 46). With the New Horizons mission, APL--in this case ably assisted by the Southwest Research Institute--is more solidly positioned as a strong competitor to NASA's storied Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., for robotic exploration of the Moon and planets.
European and Canadian radar satellites are providing data on side-wall stability of the largest open pit mine in Africa, which is threatened by subsidence from underground mining below the pit floor.
The NTSB is recommending that the FAA require U.S. operators of Eurocopter AS350s to comply with a May 2004 Service Bulletin. SB AS350, No. 63.00.08 Revision 1, calls for replacing the hydraulic pump flat drive belt with a Poly V belt. The move follows a May 4, 2004, crash of a Helinet Aviation Services NBC News Chopper 4 AS350BA into a Brooklyn, N.Y., residence. The NTSB had determined the hydraulic pump drive belt failed at about 160 flight hours short of its 600-hr. life limit, which led to rapid loss of hydraulic system pressure.
John S. Edwards (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Commercial satellite launch activity is expected to remain unremarkable over the next few years although modest recovery is in the wind, thanks to the need for satellite replacement. Until this movement is more pronounced, launch providers will continue to lean on the true cornerstone of the industry: the well-established, consistent and lucrative business of orbiting military and science spacecraft. Growth also will be based on increases in launch prices that will mean providers no longer have to offer their expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) at near-losses.
John S. Edwards (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The production of reusable launch vehicles (RLVs) is imminent; however, these will most likely be limited to the suborbital class rather than the orbital. Buoyed in no small part by the public's fixation on the Ansari X Prize in 2004, the most widely anticipated application for suborbital RLVs is in the space tourism sector. Interest is no longer limited to a small community of millionaire adventurers. Additionally, price points promise to fall significantly in the next decade, depending on the success of initial flights.
Engineers say a series of French projects aimed at federating advanced research for aero engines and equipment are yielding initial results, barely three years after inception. Project engineers say 177 ideas have been identified, of which 122 have received financial backing. Of the 43 million euros ($52 million) needed to complete them, 29 million euros has been secured--43% of it from Snecma. However, two-thirds of the work will be done in outside labs.
Turkey expects to decide on a new trainer aircraft this year, and will likely be one of the first to act in what is looking like a busy year for the highly contested market segment. The Turkish program is specifying a tandem-seat configuration and single turboprop propulsion system. A full glass cockpit is also being demanded. The Turkish military is looking to buy an initial 36 basic trainers, with another 19 option aircraft. Responses to the request for proposals are due in early May.
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A third and final air traffic control center developed by Thales ATM in eastern China is up and running in a region where flight volume is growing at double-digit rates. Like the Beijing center commissioned in 2004 (AW&ST June 13, 2005, p. 186) and the Shanghai facility that was commissioned in May 2005, the Guangzhou center became fully operational on schedule in late 2005. Air traffic in the region already is growing by 30% in the last year, and a spike in activity is expected in 2008 during the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 5-6--U.S. Defense Dept. Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. Apr. 25-26--MRO Military Conference, Phoenix. Apr. 25-27--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix. May 16-17--MRO Military Europe, in conjunction with ILA air show, Berlin. Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China.
EADS is sharpening its operational edge through more focused research and development spending and reinforcement of foreign beachheads as the European contractor attempts to push back competitors, particularly the strong offensive mounted by arch rival Boeing.
EADS Astrium has landed a contract to provide an electronic intelligence technology demonstrator for French armaments agency DGA. Intended to determine requirements for a future system to map radar signals and set for launch in late 2009, the demonstrator, expected to cost about $204 million, is to comprise four Astrium Myriade microsatellites that were codeveloped with French space agency CNES. The payload is to be provided by Thales.
Boeing started the new year with a second 737 moving production line in operation at its Renton, Wash., factory in anticipation of ramping up deliveries in 2006. The company expects to deliver 395 aircraft of all types this year, a 36% increase over the 290 it sent to customers in 2005, when it took a record 1,002 net orders for new aircraft. But, Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein expects this year's actual deliveries to be 405 aircraft (he predicted 292 in 2005).
The Royal Jordanian Air Force placed a firm order for four additional Eurocopter EC635 light twin-engine helicopters. This will further increase the existing fleet of EC635s already in operational service with the air force to nine. Two of the helicopters will be delivered at the end of 2006; the other two are scheduled for early 2007.
Passenger traffic at New York's three major airports--JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia--totaled a record 100 million in 2005, compared to all U.S. airport systems, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The preliminary figures reflect an overall 6% increase compared to 2004; JFK leads with 41 million, followed by Newark's 33 million and LaGuardia's 26 million passengers. The PA anticipates more than 102.5 million passengers in 2006.
Deborah Lucas has been named to the board of directors of General Dynamics, Falls Church, Va. She is Donald C. Clark/ Household International Distinguished Professor of Finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
A Jan. 2 article on the reentry of the Stardust capsule (p. 77) incorrectly identified the thermal protection system for the Mars Expeditionary Rovers. It is Silicon-Impregnated Reducible Ceramic Ablator that was developed at Ames Research Center. The story also gave an incorrect post-mission orbit for the spacecraft. It will enter a solar orbit.
Long-known as the industry's 800-lb. gorilla, United Airlines in its new form will be a slimmed-down version of its old self, with plenty of fight still in it, after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
BAE Systems has been awarded a U.K. Defense Ministry $46-million-pound ($81-million) Joint Integrated Technical Support (JITS) contract to support the Joint Force Harrier fleet that operates from both land and sea. The JITS solution, designed by the Defense Logistics Organization's Harrier integrated project team and BAE Systems, provides technical support at a reduced cost to the ministry's Joint Force Harrier until 2014.
Aviation Week & Space Technology's 11th annual Aerospace Source Book features new coverage areas and updated graphic treatment of several longtime sections. All of these modifications come against a backdrop of growth in commercial transport orders, a healthy business aircraft market and uncertainty about the direction of military aircraft procurement.
Defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is investigating the recent crash of its indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) that resulted in the grounding of the entire fleet of 46 in military service. HAL said the tail rotor developed a technical glitch and the pilot executed a safe landing without injury to anyone. India has been aggressively promoting the ALH internationally and was confident of Chile's significant order, which now could be put on hold.
Italy expects to ramp up space spending sharply over the next five years, putting it in a position to consolidate its claim as Europe's second major space power. Italian space agency ASI's director general, Sergio Vetrella, says the agency is proposing an 8-9% increase in its next three-year spending plan, which it expects to secure when budget decisions are taken in the coming weeks.
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper, Jr., will give up his post as head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which produces detailed maps and analyzes their imagery, in June instead of September, when he would have completed an initial three-year stint and two extensions. He is rumored to have clashed with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the need for more Pentagon control of NGA. Longtime associates of Clapper say he has become very independent in his thinking after retiring from the Air Force.
John L. Pipes has been appointed Atlanta-based director for the Eastern Service Area for the FAA Air Traffic Organization. He was director of service area and field transition in the Transition Office. Paul Sheridan, who was Seattle-based acting director for the Western Service Area, is now Fort Worth-based director for the Central Service Area. Sheridan will be succeeded by Steven Osterdahl, who has been acting director of en route and oceanic area operations in the Eastern Service Area.
