U.S. piston aero-engine manufacturer Teledyne Continental Motors is to enter the diesel market, aiming at powering small unmanned aircraft as well as general aviation aircraft sold in parts of the world where avgas is scarce and expensive. The company is expected to announce this month that it has acquired the rights to diesel engine technology from an outside source. In the late-1990s, TCM developed a diesel aero-engine under NASA’s General Aviation Propulsion program, but the powerplant was heavy and the U.S. market was not ready.
At year-end, Boeing garnered several orders. All Nippon Airways plans to add five 777-200ERS and five 767-300ERs to its fleet under a contract valued at about $2 billion, according to Boeing. The airline says the 767-300ERS will be delivered in the April 2010–March 2012 period, and the 777-300ERs from April 2012 to March 2014, to meet anticipated traffic growth at Tokyo Haneda airport. Indonesian private carrier Lion Air added four 737-900ERs to its fleet in December.
Rainer Hiltebrand has been named chief operating officer of Swiss International Air Lines , effective in May. He will succeed Gaudenz Ambuhl, who will be retiring. Hiltebrand has been operations director at Zurich Airport.
Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (D), a former Navy secretary and Marine combat veteran, is fighting the Navy’s proposal to home-port a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Fla. Webb, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), opposes the move because it would drain prestige and economic power from Norfolk, home of the Navy’s Atlantic operations. In a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn, he questions the cost, noting that the Navy already is $3 billion short of the money needed for upgrades at its four shipyards.
Michael A. Taverna (Kourou, French Guiana, and Paris)
A new optical imaging satellite will provide Europe with an integrated, optical/radar very-high-resolution imagery capacity to meet the growing demands of overseas military theaters.
Michael S. Lipscomb has been named interim CEO of Sifco Industries Inc. of Cleveland. He succeeds Jeffrey P. Gotschall, who has retired but will remain as non-executive chairman. Lipscomb is a former Sifco director and was chairman/CEO of the Argo-Tech Corp.
Members of Congress wasted no time using the attempted bombing on Northwest Flight 253 to lambast the Transportation Security Administration. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, charges the TSA is “ineptly led” by a “top heavy” bureaucracy. Mica notes that TSA has not had an administrator for nearly a year, and the next one will be the fifth in eight years. But the absence of an administrator has a lot to do with one of Mica’s fellow Republicans.
Frances Fiorino (Washington), Andrew Compart (Washington), Robert Wall (Paris)
The failed attempt to bomb a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25 is leading to increased pressure to deploy advanced imaging technology to screen passengers for explosives. But decisions about where and how to employ high-tech means to improve aviation security worldwide cannot be made without addressing a myriad of divergent political, technical and financial issues.
I have read with interest the lion’s share of every issue of AW&ST for decades. I commend Aaron Shenhar for clearly and concisely identifying a problem that exists in most business and government management structures (AW&ST Nov. 16, 2009, p. 66). His comments are timely and deserving of managerial action now. This is one of the 10 best Viewpoints you have published
International Launch Services orbited the DirecTV 12 broadcasting satellite on Dec. 29 onboard a Proton M booster, marking its seventh mission of the year and confirming the operator’s successful rebound from a 2008 launch failure. ILS also signed 10 firm launch contracts in 2009, including several picked up from Sea Launch, which is struggling to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On Dec.
The French government has exercised an option with Eurocopter to upgrade five more Cougar transport helicopters to keep them in service another 20 years. The deal is part of a 27-helicopter upgrade package the government signed in 2008. It will receive four of the helos in the latest batch, with the air force to upgrade all 27. With this deal, modernizations of 10 of the total are now financed. The French army is to receive the fifth. Under the program, enhancements are being made to the avionics, self-protection suite and command-and-control system.
The Indian air force has resumed flight operations using its Su-30 fighters. Operations were suspended following a November crash. It was the second Su-30 loss for the air force last year.
Donald M. Harlan, Jr., has become executive vice president/chief operating officer of the Breeze-Eastern Corp. , Union, N.J. He was CEO of Nomad Innovations.
SES has emerged as the successful bidder for ProtoStar 2, a telecom satellite put on the block by ProtoStar, an Asia-Pacific region satcom startup currently in Chapter 11. The Luxembourg operator paid $185 million in cash for the Boeing-built spacecraft, which carries 22 Ku- and 10 S-band transponders. SES plans to integrate the satellite, launched in May, into the fleet of its World Skies unit. Initially, it will provide incremental capacity for Asia, but World Skies President/CEO Rob Bednarek notes the company has other slots where ProtoStar 2 could be used.
Engine certification for the Sukhoi Superjet 100’s SaM146 turbofans is now planned for May or June. If that schedule holds, the milestone will come approximately four years behind schedule. Sukhoi is still hoping to start customer deliveries of the regional jets this year.
Space Systems/Loral last week notched its sixth and seventh sales for 2009. Telesat has ordered a Ku-band telecom satellite to augment the Canadian operator’s broadcasting capacity. The 24-transponder Nimiq 6 will be entirely leased to Bell Canada. It was the second telecom satellite award of the year from Telesat, which like SS/L, is controlled by Loral Space & Communications. SS/L has also been selected to provide another direct-broadcast satellite for U.S.-based Echostar, to be launched in 2012. Echostar XVI will be based on the SS/L 1300 spacecraft bus.
Boeing’s acquisition of a South Carolina fuselage integration facility gives the company control of a crucial link in the troubled 787 supply chain as it moves to ramp up production of the new jet and aims for a first delivery by year-end. But analysts believe the move does not signal a reversal of the company’s strategy to outsource major aircraft assemblies to Tier 1 suppliers that can do the work more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Japan Airlines may enter formal bankruptcy, raising the risk of running out of cash, instead of privately negotiating its capital reorganization with creditors. The state agency that is overseeing the restructuring of the heavily indebted and loss-making airline, the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., will decide this month whether it will help recapitalize the company. The prospect of formal bankruptcy raises pressure on the company’s 8,800 retirees to accept a 30% cut in their benefits.
Roger Tanner has been named business development manager for hangar operations for WestWind Technologies Inc. , Huntsville, Ala. He was hangar operations manager.
A recent editorial (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 66) makes the case for committing yet more billions to hypersonic research, lest the Russians or Chinese somehow catch up. Yet two things that you failed to mention I happened to have learned from this exact same magazine: Russia has far more hypersonic scramjet experience than the U.S.; and the existence of the astounding Aurora pulse-jet hypersonic craft.
When it comes to pilot training (AW&ST Nov. 30, 2009, p. 52), traditionally the correct answer as to whether to apply quality or quantity has been “both.” But we undermine quality when we ignore proper terminology. Dick Leland is absolutely correct when he states: “. . . people are terrible monitors—we get bored and stop paying attention.” As pilots train for the futures of their dreams, how often do instructors or journalists refer to “pilot licenses” in the U.S.? The FAA issues only pilot certificates.
Two new U.S. and Canadian financing agreements underscore the growing willingness of export credit agencies to match the system of guarantees put in place by France and other satellite and launch suppliers. Late last month, U.K.-based Avanti Communications said the U.S. Export-Import Bank had helped it put together a £194-million ($310-million) debt facility earmarked for purchase of a follow-on Ka-band satellite from Orbital Sciences Corp. This will be complemented by an £86-million placement with institutional investors set for Jan. 7.
Testing of Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower engine core is underway at its Longueuil, Quebec, site. The core, comprising a highly efficient, high-pressure compressor, low-emissions combustor and high-pressure turbine, was jointly designed by Pratt and MTU Aero Engines. More than 1,200 individual measurements and advanced testing technologies are being applied to allow engineers to perform a range of tests beyond what is normally possible at this stage, the companies state.
