Boris Johnson is not the “former mayor of London” as stated in “Crunch Time,” an article about runway expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick airports (AW&ST Dec. 23, 2013, p. 49). He was reelected to the four-year post of mayor on May 3, 2012, and his comments are extremely important to the ongoing debate about airport enhancements. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
China has begun flight testing a high-bypass-ratio turbofan that is expected to greatly improve the performance of the Y-20 heavy airlifter and potentially power the C919 commercial aircraft. The engine is the 28,700-lb.-thrust WS-20, according to local media that have published photographs of it in the left inboard position of an inflight Ilyushin Il-76 testbed. WS-20 is apparently the military name of the powerplant that has also been called SF-A for civil purposes.
USAF Col. (ret.) Michael R. Gallagher (Hillsboro, Ore. )
The C-27J fiasco is a prime example of doctrine over common sense (AW&ST Dec. 2, 2013, p. 23). The U.S. Air Force fought a turf battle with the Army to protect its single manager for fixed-wing airlift mission role resulting in the Army losing a needed capability and taxpayers enduring more waste. Even worse, this was a case of deja vu all over again. During the Vietnam War, the Air Force wrestled the twin-engine light short-takeoff-and-landing C-7 Caribou away from the Army, believing centralized management would be more efficient.
“How to Catch An Asteroid” (AW&ST Dec. 9, 2013, p. 48), concerning various NASA scenarios for capturing and controlling one, seems to involve nets, which would make it hard to control the motion of the asteroid.
Analysis of temperature and other data from more than 1,000 meteorological stations worldwide has found 2013 was the seventh warmest year since 1880, adding more evidence to the long-term rise in global warming, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. Nine of the 10 warmest years in the 134 covered by the analysis have occurred since 2000, and the 10th was 1998. The latest GISS analysis finds 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 in global temperature averages.”
Science, technology and exploration managers at NASA will review 58 proposals for instruments to mount on the Curiosity-class rover it plans to send to Mars in 2020, about twice the number received for instrument competitions in recent years, an “overwhelming response” compared to the trend in recent years, according to Associate Administrator John Grunsfeld.
Deserts could become sources of biofuel based on research conducted by Boeing and partners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The research has shown that saltwater-tolerant plants called halophytes, grown in coastal desert and fed by seawater, can produce biofuel “more efficiently than other well-known feedstocks,” says Boeing. The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium plans to test the findings this year by planting two crops of different halophytes in Abu Dhabi's sandy soil.
The “Big Three” Persian Gulf carriers—Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways—are increasingly heading in different directions and distinguishing their strategies. Etihad has created the first part of its “Etihad Regional” system; Qatar is venturing into Saudi Arabia with a new affiliate airline, while Emirates remains a purely widebody hub-and-spoke carrier.
The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), a top lobbying group for the U.S. aerospace and defense sector, says it is spearheading its own review of the industrial base, led by recently retired Pentagon industrial base czar Brett Lambert. Last fall Lambert left office after a roughly four-year stint marked by improving relations between top defense officials and industry executives, compared with the preceding Bush administration.
Bill Sweetman's suggestion of transferring the A-10 Warthog to the U.S. Marine Corps (AW&ST Dec. 9, 2013, p. 15) is interesting, but flawed. He points out that the number of F-35Bs that will actually use the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing capability operationally will be significantly fewer than those actually purchased. Keep in mind that most—if not all—Marine Corps combat aircraft are carrier-capable in one form or another.
Boeing and General Dynamics have finally reached an agreement in the long-standing dispute over the cancellation of the U.S. Navy's A-12 Avenger stealth aircraft program. The nearly $400 million agreement would bring the case to an end in exchange for in-kind payments from the companies. Under the agreement, General Dynamics will provide $198 million in credits to the Navy toward the design, construction and delivery portions of the DDG-1000 program, according to spokesman Rob Dolittle. The agreement was contingent upon Congress providing authorization for the deal.
Alternative fuel research by the federal government will continue to have a bright future under the fiscal 2014 omnibus appropriations deal that became law Jan. 17, despite Republican objections. Tucked inside the 1,582-page bill—passed within days of being unveiled on Capitol Hill to avoid another shutdown—is language supporting ongoing development of alternative fuels, according to aides for Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), a leading Democrat in the upper chamber.
A new ruling by those on the Hill who referee federal contractor bid protests could serve as a warning to government contracting officers and A&D businesses alike as industry heads for a new wave of spinoffs, mergers and acquisitions. In a Dec. 27, 2013, decision published Jan. 13, the Government Accountability Office sided with Wyle Laboratories against Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) and its spinoff Leidos over a potential $1.76 billion deal NASA awarded the latter for medical, biomedical and health services supporting human spaceflight programs.
When I read “Sikorsky, Lockheed Design Tailsitter for VTOL X-Plane” (AW&ST Dec. 23, 2013, p. 11), I wondered whether Lockheed remembers its history. In the early 1950s, both Lockheed (XFV Salmon) and Convair (XFY Pogo) built vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) turboprop prototypes for the U.S. Navy. Only the Pogo had enough spare horsepower (and a very brave pilot) to attempt VTOL flight-testing. Taking off vertically was the easy part. Landing vertically (backward) with a foward-facing pilot was where things got tricky.
As they reach cruise altitude, the crew of the high-wing Boeing airliner throttle back its twin turbofans to idle. Verifying that battery levels are adequate, they then do something that would be unthinkable in today's aircraft: They shut down the gas turbine core of each engine.
