Beech launched the King Air series of 8-12-seat, twin-turboprop aircraft in 1963. Since then, numerous variants have appeared. Total deliveries amounted to 6,225 aircraft through 2011. Hawker Beechcraft currently markets the King Air C90GTx, King Air 250 and King Air 350i. The C90GTx is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135s producing 550 shp each. The more powerful 250 operates with two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-52s, rated at 850 shp each. The most powerful current King Air, the 350i, is equipped with two 1,050-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60As.
A twin-turbofan, short/medium-range, narrowbody commercial transport aircraft, the Tu-204-100 is powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90As, while the Tu-204-120 has two Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engines. The Tu-214 has a higher maximum takeoff weight (244,162 lb.) than the Tu-204-100. It retains the PS-90A powerplants of the -100 but carries additional fuel. The Tu-204's first flight occurred in January 1989. Through 2011, 85 Tu-204s and Tu-214s were produced and 52 aircraft, including the new Tu-204SM variant, are forecast to be produced in the 2012-21 period.
No one ever accused South Korea's Agency for Defense Development of lacking ambition. But as it pushes ahead with its effort to indigenously develop a stealth fighter, the agency faces renewed accusations of a lack of realism, and it is simply being overlooked when it comes to funding.
Oct. 1-5—63rd Annual International Astronautical Congress. Mostra Oltremare Exhibit Center, Naples, Italy. See www.iac2012.org Oct. 2—RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton addresses the Royal Aeronautical Society's Washington Branch. British Embassy. See http://www.raeswashington.org/ Oct. 2-4—Worldwide Business Research's Conference on Future Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. Hotel Le Plaza, Brussels. See www.futureisr.com
NASA will spend $2.7 million on eight peer-reviewed research projects designed to advance the interagency National Robotics Initiative, set up by the Obama administration to promote U.S. robotics capabilities for the global marketplace. The projects will receive from $150,000 to $1 million for their work, which NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist is sponsoring as a way to push applications for “co-robotics” that can work with future human explorers on deep-space missions.
When Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11 in 1969, 3.5 billion people were alive. It is estimated that more than 100 billion humans had lived and died prior to 1969. The odds of being born and being the first human to set foot on the surface of a body beyond Earth were about 1 in 105 billion when Armstrong took his small step. The odds of finding another “First Man” with his grace, humility, dignity and common decency—virtually zero. May his spirit soar forever.
Conrad Theisen has been promoted to avionics sales manager from senior project manager and Mike Warren to maintenance sales manager from completions parts buyer at Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill.
James B. Armor (see photo) has been selected by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics to receive the 2012 AIAA von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program management. He is being honored for his leadership as a U.S. Air Force officer, GPS program manager, leader of signals intelligence systems and National Security Space architect.
Australian leaders are trying to finally resolve a politically charged question that has vexed their predecessors for decades—where and when should Sydney's second airport be built? While it is making some headway, the government is faced with a tangle of conflicting interests that could stall the effort again.
Air Canada has started recruiting 50 pilots and 150 flight attendants for a wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary scheduled to launch next year. While Air Canada is withholding many of the details on its new subsidiary until it releases its third-quarter results on Nov. 8, the carrier has told its unions the division will launch with six Airbus A319s and six Boeing 767s, and grow to 30 A319s and 20 767s in 2015.
Dirk Erat (see photo) is the new head of communications at EADS Cassidian, Unterschleissheim, Germany. He was head of company communications at Porsche and has held several roles at Siemens.
The French company GECI International and its Sky Aircraft subsidiary are developing a 19-passenger twin-turboprop called the Skylander SK-105. The Skylander was formally launched in September 2008. The aircraft is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B engines. First flight is planned for September 2013, followed by certification and service entry in 2014.
On the Ares blog, DTI Editor Bill Sweetman notes that short takeoff and vertical landing (Stovl) has been one of two driving requirements behind Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter design, the other being stealth. He lists several constraints dictated by the design and says: “If you ever wondered what a JSF might look without those constraints, we now have an example . . . Unfortunately, it's Chinese,” apparently designated J-31.
The 787 series is a family of twin-engine, widebody airliners. Two versions are marketed. The 787-8 carries 210-250 passengers and has a range of 7,650-8,200 nm. The 787-9, lengthened by 20 ft., carries 250-290 passengers and has a range of 8,000-8,500 nm. Both versions are offered with either two General Electric GEnx-1B or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 turbofans producing 62,800-69,800 lb. thrust each. A third possible version, the 787-10, would be stretched another 20 ft. beyond the 787-9 and is being studied for launch later this year.
Mitsubishi launched the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) family in March 2008. Initially, two basic models are planned: the 78-passenger MRJ70 and 92-passenger MRJ90. Both will be powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1200G geared turbofans. Extended-range and long-range versions of each basic model are envisioned, while a 100-seater dubbed the MRJ100X is also being considered. First flight of the MRJ is planned for late 2013. Service entry is planned for the 2015-16 timeframe. Some 182 MRJs are forecast for production in the 2012-21 period.
Veteran astronaut Chris Hadfield is training to become the first representative of the Canadian Space Agency to command the ISS, with a two-month stint at the helm of the six-person orbiting science laboratory set to begin in March 2013. Hadfield, 53, has trained for two years with cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, 41, and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, 52, for a Dec. 5 liftoff aboard the 33 Soyuz mission to the station for a six-month tour of orbital duty.
The Il-96 is a four-engine, medium-/long-range, widebody commercial passenger and cargo transport aircraft. The Il-96-300 first flew in 1988 and was certificated in December 1992. It is powered by Aviadvigatel PS-90A engines. The stretched Il-96-400 exists only as a freighter and is powered by uprated PS-90A1 engines. Two Il-96-300s for government/VIP transport and 12 Il-96-400Ts are forecast for production in the 2012-21 period.
NASA's space shuttle Endeavour landed atop its Boeing 747 carrier aircraft at Edwards AFB, Calif., just before 1 p.m. local time, marking the penultimate stop of its final journey into retirement. The shuttle, which was the last to be built, completed 25 missions and spent 299 days in orbit.
This single-turboprop-powered utility/passenger aircraft first flew in December 1982. Designed with the small-package delivery segment in mind, the two models currently in production are the Caravan 675 and the 208B Grand Caravan. Power for both aircraft is provided by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A turboprop engine rated at 675 shp. Through 2011, Cessna produced 2,107 Caravans of all types and is forecast to deliver 1,015 during the 2012-21 period.
The An-28 and -38 are twin-turboprop utility/transport aircraft. First flight of the An-28 occurred in 1969, with temporary Soviet certification following in 1978 and full certification in 1986. Production was transferred to Poland's PZL-Mielec, now a Sikorsky company. A Westernized version of the An-28, the PZL M28, made its first flight in 1993 and received FAA certification in 2004. A stretched An-28 version, the -38, made its first flight in 1994 and received Russian certification in 1997.
A frequent critic of the FAA's progress on the $40 billion NextGen air traffic management (ATM) modernization program, Government Accountability Office (GAO) infrastructure guru Gerald Dillingham tells an industry gathering in Atlantic City, N.J., that the FAA needs to show some “little victories,” if it ever hopes to get airlines off the dime to invest in avionics to make NextGen work. As in response, the FAA came through with a bit more just two days later. It signed, sealed and delivered a $331 million contract to Florida's Harris Corp.
