Scaled Composites’ Speaks I would like to take exception to the unsupported assertion by Graham Warwick in “Designer Aircraft” (AW&ST Dec. 15/22, 2014, p. 16) that since Scaled Composites was acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2007, “its priorities have shifted.”
Navy tweaks littoral combat ship, NASA environmental missions may face more scrutiny, media experiments with UAVs and Ashton Carter returns to the Pentagon.
ULA expects its first—and possibly only—Orbital Sciences Cygnus capsule to arrive in Florida late this summer for a launch targeted for the last quarter of the year. Orbital Sciences has an option for a second flight in 2016.
The three-year, $916 million SMAP mission will give weather forecasters in agricultural regions an early warning signal for drought and allow better near-term flood warnings.
Senior Avionics & Safety Editor John Croft looks at the airliner flight deck of the future, which might feature one seat in the cockpit for a captain and one on the ground, occupied by a “super dispatcher” or first officer.
Senior Avionics & Safety Editor John Croft looks at the airliner flight deck of the future, which might feature one seat in the cockpit for a captain and one on the ground, occupied by a “super dispatcher” or first officer.
Diverse customs and regulatory procedures, small fleet sizes create challenges for Latin American MRO providers, despite steady growth of local carriers.
Transaero Airlines faces an uphill battle to survive as it grapples with myriad problems that encompass everything from political unrest, plunging oil prices and management missteps.
Finally back on strong financial footing, Air Canada plans to spend the next several years regaining the international share it lost in the past decade as it battled key labor unions, dealt with high airport costs and weathered delivery delays for important new aircraft.
After canceling the Euro Hawk program in 2013 because of concerns about the UAV’s ability to fly in civil airspace, Germany may instead use a related Northrop Grumman platform, the MQ-4C Triton, as an airborne signals intelligence gatherer.
NASA is moving quickly to develop a system to enable safe and efficient operation of civil unmanned aircraft systems at low altitudes outside controlled airspace.
Same Sad Story? Most pilots and engineers I know are second-guessing what took place in those finals minutes of the doomed AirAsia Flight 8501. Apparently an experienced pilot—faced with myriad extraneous and misleading data—had only a few seconds to draw from his experience and knowledge to effect a recovery.
In an effort to address potential pilot shortages in the future, NASA is conducting research on the operating concepts and ground stations that would be needed for single-pilot airliners.
With NASA’s help, air traffic controllers in the future will “team” with their computer systems to safely and efficiently manage highly automated passenger aircraft that dynamically collaborate with the ATM system to optimize routing, capacity and fuel savings.
