At first glance, not a great deal is remarkable about the black-and-white photograph (below) in which one can see the Queen Mary, portside at Long Beach, Calif. The luxury liner is clearly visible in the large-format image, with a degree of detail showing portholes, lifeboats, balconies and balustrades. Yet the image's exceptional qualities lie in where it was taken: from an aircraft flying at 40,000 ft., 72 nm away.
In the skies over the Australian Outback, the U.K. is testing technologies it hopes will not only shape the future of the Royal Air Force but also help it retain key skills and grab a lead in defense exports. With the first flights of the £185 million ($300 million) BAE Systems Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) last August, the U.K. has become only the third sovereign state to develop the capability, after the U.S. and China. The Neuron UCAV demonstrator flown in France in 2012 is a joint international effort.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bob Marion has been appointed head of the Program Executive Office for Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. He succeeds Maj. Gen. William “Tim” Crosby, who has retired.
It is clear that preventive maintenance can bring reliability and predictability to a fleet, but can it position a diligent carrier above the mean? Delta Air Lines is testing—and perhaps proving—the hypothesis.
I have been active in the aviation maintenance sector since 1958 when I worked for Pan Am, cleaning aircraft as a summer job at the heavy maintenance base at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. My career spans hands-on in-the-trenches experience as well as high-level executive positions, and I've learned from and loved all of it.
Count me among those who would like to see your content return to a higher proportion of technical engineering, and testing-and-operations-related information. I could happily forego much of the business, government and budget material. Recent indications are that Aviation Week is returning part-way toward its “technical” roots and for that I am grateful. I enjoy the print edition because even though have access to the online material, I rarely use it because of the amount of screen time I must spend related to my work.
I would like to see more coverage and follow-up of incidents (and note I mean more than crashes). One can always search out such information on the websites of national safety regulatory agencies, but this would not provide the commentary and insight of your skilled reporters. Also, I would like to see more focus on civil aviation and aerospace, including an in-depth look at all aspects of satellites. Less emphasis on military aviation would be appreciated.
I regard Aviation Week as the publication of record for a world that I have always been an enthusiast of, but never a part of. You sit on the mother lode of the nuts-and-bolts history of every major aerospace program since at least post-WWII. I would love to read more archival coverage of some legacy programs such as the F/A-18, the X-15 and so many more. Also, complete histories of engine development could be compiled that just might affect future designs.
Please continue to emphasize technology and limit political editorializing. High-quality print editions are valuable. Digital has a useful role, but there is a place for both. Avoid sensationalizing events, for example: “Boeing's 787 program was thrown into chaos . . .” (AW&ST Dec. 30, 2013/Jan. 6, p. 34). Actually, the program was seriously disrupted.
Airbus is at a crossroads. It needs to address its major twin-aisle product line disadvantage to Boeing, while simultaneously implementing organizational reforms that could leave the company with less cash for new product development.
Airbus and Singapore Airlines are setting up a new pilot training center that will eventually be based at the Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore. Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) is a joint venture in which Airbus will hold a 55% stake and Singapore Airlines the remainder. The combined investment is S$80 million ($63.2 million). The initiative reflects a new strategy for Airbus as it introduces Airbus-branded training for the first time. The partners expect regulatory approval in time to start operations by the end of the year.
Burkhard Andrich (see photos) has become president/CEO of Manila-based Lufthansa Technik Philippines. He has been senior vice president-aircraft component services at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg. Succeeding Andrich is Harald Gloy, who has been vice president-engine overhaul. Andrich follows Gerald Frielinghaus, who will return to Germany to manage the paperless maintenance project in Frankfurt.
Three failures in a row often bode ill for a program's funding at the Pentagon. No so for missile defense. On the heels of last year's humiliating third failure of the U.S.'s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in what was billed as a fairly simple flight trial, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is doubling down. He plans to add more than $4.5 billion to the Missile Defense Agency's coffers, much of it for GMD, from fiscal 2015-19, says Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
This year, a Boeing-led industry team plans to demonstrate a multi-platform, multi-spectral sensor fusion technique that would allow F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic-attack aircraft to detect, track, identify and strike hostile aircraft from long distances, with low or zero reliance on active radar. The idea is to make the Hornets less detectable and reduce or eliminate the impact of hostile jamming. The tests build on the results of an air-to-surface targeting demonstration last summer (AW&ST Aug. 26, 2013, p.
USAF Brig. Gen. Jerry D. Harris, Jr., has been appointed director of programs in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been vice commander of the 5th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Yokota AB, Japan. Brig. Gen. Scott F. Smith has been named inspector general at Air Mobility Command Headquarters, Scott AFB, Ill. He was deputy commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa, U.S. Africa Command at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.
Operations in the last decade in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa have taught the Marine Corps that it needs more of its own “organic” electronic-warfare capability, and the service is crafting an ambitious plan to build a one-of-a-kind distributed network of systems for the future.
The Obama administration is weeks away from submitting its fiscal 2015 budget, but its choice to be the next deputy defense secretary signals a doubling down on new and advanced weaponry. The White House is proposing Bob Work to be the Pentagon's No. 2, and senators will vet him Feb. 25.
Indian regional startup Air Costa has firmed its ambitious growth plans by ordering up to 100 Embraer E2 jets at the airshow. The deal comprises 25 firm orders each for the E190-E2 and the E195-E2. It includes the same amount of options. Air Costa began flying in October 2013 and currently has a fleet of two E170s and two E190s. The airline is based in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh state in Southern India.
