While airline capacity growth has generally been keeping pace with traffic this year, a few signs are emerging that supply of seats may be starting to climb too fast. Through the first half of 2010, passenger capacity on international routes returned “at a rate more or less matching the expansion in demand,” according to a financial report from the International Air Transport Association. But in June, capacity rose at a faster rate than demand—increasing 10% year-on-year versus a 6% hike in traffic.
Singapore low-cost carrier Tiger Airways and Thai Airways International have sealed a partnership to launch a joint-venture budget airline in Bangkok. Thai Tiger Airways, with registered capital of 200 million baht ($6.2 million), expects to begin flying in first-quarter 2011, serving domestic and regional markets. It will be 51% owned by the Thai flag carrier and its affiliates, with the remaining 49% stake held by the Singaporean airline.
Franklin Cardenas has been promoted to vice president-global engine aftermarket from managing director for Latin America for Donaldson Co. of Minneapolis. He succeeds Joseph Lehman, who is now vice president-global operations. Michael Trevino has been appointed director of global commercial aerospace sales for Donaldson Aerospace and Defense . He was director of sales for Donaldson Valencia.
Don Stockton (see photo) has become CEO of Hampson Industries plc ’s tooling operations, and based at the company’s Odyssey Industries Inc. in Lake Orion, Mich. He was an executive with the Precision Cast Parts Corp.
Vadim Radunsky has become president and James Demers international sales director of Smiths Connectors North America . Radunsky was president of London-based Hypertronics, a Smiths Interconnect Business, while Demers was military and aerospace business development director of Smiths Connectors North America.
Charles Koontz has been named executive vice president-strategic projects for the Science Applications International Corp. , McLean, Va. He was head of the then-Information Technology and Network Solutions Group. Larry Cox, who is senior vice president/general manager of the Intelligence and Information Solutions Business Unit, will lead the company’s cyber-security program.
Gilles Genete has become general manager of the Paris-based Circor Aerospace France Group . He was CEO of Calorstat SAS, Dourdan, France. Genete succeeds Jacques Bodet, who will remain an adviser to Circor.
The U.S. Air Force is reintroducing its stealthy RQ-170 to operations in Afghanistan, and Israel is using its strategic-range UAVs to observe, target and strike smugglers in the Red Sea—two more indications that technologically advanced militaries are relying increasingly on missions flown by unmanned aircraft.
One of the new German air force Heron 1s—assigned to the first UAV squadron at Jagel Air Base, Germany, and operated from Masar-e Sharif AB in Afghanistan—shows off its cockpit-like satellite communications dome and the multi-sensor electro-optic and infrared turret, located under the nose. Communications from the UAV can be linked directly to Germany. The German version of the aircraft also carries an electronically scanned array radar for all-weather operations. The vehicles are fielded via a lease with Rheinmetall Defense.
Sikorsky is going toe-to-toe with the Russians again over helicopters, this time protesting a request for proposals (RFP) issued by the Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) for Mi-17 helicopters for Afghanistan. In April, Sikorsky won a State Department contract for a fleet of S-61 helicopters, purchased instead of the Mi-17 because of State Department concerns about buying and supporting a Russian aircraft.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and Orbital Sciences Corp. are seeking ways to continue developing technology to “fractionate” satellites—or create distributed satellite architectures—despite an abrupt termination of the flagship contract for this work.
China expects to have as many as 15 timing and navigation spacecraft in orbit by 2012 for regional coverage, and a constellation of “more than 30 satellites” by 2022 for worldwide coverage, according to Sun Jiadong, head of the Beidou (Compass) satnav program. China Daily cited a television interview by Sun in reporting launch of another Beidou on a Long March 3A lifting off from the Xichang space center in southwest China on Aug. 1. Use of the Long March 3A suggests that the satellite is one of the 30 that will operate in low Earth orbit.
Compania Mexicana de Aviacion’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection last week is more of an indication that aircraft lessors are emboldened by the rebound of airline fortunes rather than a warning about Mexican aviation.
Without naming the customer(s) involved, Boeing says it has lost 10 777 and 15 787 orders in its Aug. 5 web updating of its total order count. Industry officials are speculating that those orders were held by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise. In late 2007, DAE placed a $10.9-billion order for 100 aircraft that included 10 777-300ERs and 15 787s. Boeing is no longer carrying the 777-300ERs or 787 orders on its website, seemingly confirming the speculation. Boeing also is dropping one unidentified 737 order but adding two 737-based business jet orders.
Wall Street Journal reporters Andy Pasztor and Susan Carey received the National Press Club’s 2010 Michael A. Dornheim Award for a series of articles highlighting safety lapses and poor pilot training at commuter airlines in the U.S. in the wake of last year’s crash of a Colgan Air turboprop near Buffalo, N.Y. The Dornheim Award, now in its third year, is named in honor of Aviation Week & Space Technology’s late senior engineering editor and Los Angeles bureau chief. The two reporters were honored at a ceremony Aug. 2 at the club in Washington.
Mexican transportation officials are vowing to hire more aviation inspectors to reverse the U.S. FAA’s recent decision to downgrade Mexico’s aviation safety rating. The FAA on July 30 dropped Mexico from category one to category two, restricting code-sharing operations between U.S. and Mexican carriers. This mainly affects American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which partner with Mexicana and Aeromexico, respectively.
While NASA deliberates over its heavy-lift launch options, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is revealing ambitious concepts for a family of Falcon X and XX super-heavy-lift vehicles that it says could provide the foundation for the first commercially based road map to Mars.
To ease the way for the Iraqi air force to field F-16 fighters, the U.S. and Iraqi governments have signed an agreement to provide training for the first batch of Iraqi AF F-16 pilots starting in the fall. A deal for the purchase of 18 F-16 Block 52s has not yet been finalized, but the two sides nevertheless have decided to ensure that Iraqi personnel will be trained and ready to operate the fighter.
The third and final attempt to flight-test the Boeing HyFly hypersonic missile demonstrator failed when its booster did not ignite and the missile fell into the Pacific after release from an F-15E on July 29. HyFly is a U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to demonstrate technology for a tactical missile with a cruise speed exceeding Mach 6 and a range of 400 nm. from an air launch and 600 nm. from a surface launch.
Eric D. Strafel has been named senior vice president-operations for Dallas-based Aviall Inc. He was vice president-supply chain management for L-3 Communications.
Vince Jimenez and Mark White have been named component repair and overhaul regional product support sales managers for General Dynamics Aviation Services ’ Lincoln, Calif., facility.
U.S. analysts are debunking claims that Iran has received four S-300 advanced air defense missiles from Belarus and another unidentified source. “It is possible Iran could have managed to acquire a couple of missiles—but not complete systems—for reverse-engineering purposes,” says a senior U.S. analyst. However, he adds, “we have no evidence of that at this time.” The S-300 family includes the SA-10, SA-20 and SA-22 surface-to-air systems.
Whether Israel buys the Lockheed Martin F-35 in substantial numbers is still a “very delicate subject,” according to senior officials in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Advocates stress its deterrent effect and the demands of conventional warfare. Detractors point to high cost, a tight defense budget and the likelihood that foreseeable conflicts will be fights against guerrillas and terrorists.
Powered aircraft wheels for taxiing efficiency, proposed by several correspondents, overlook the braking requirements for current airline equipment. Engineers have exhausted pad material and rotor technologies to squeeze enough brake capacity in all the wheel hubs to meet Refused Takeoff stopping specifications. Any taxiing motive method substituted for the brake assembly must provide equivalent braking torque and energy (heat) dissipation. No electric motor/generator system would accomplish that in the same space.
