The NTSB last week said it is investigating a turbulence incident that occurred Aug. 3 on board a Continental Airlines Boeing 767-200. Flight 128 was at 36,000 ft., en route from Rio de Janeiro to Houston Intercontinental Airport, when it encountered turbulence that resulted in minor injuries to 42 people. The crew declared an emergency and diverted the aircraft to Miami International Airport.
Among the more popular draws at AirVenture this year was Terrafugia, a company founded in 2006 by four Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained aeronautical engineers determined to produce a roadable aircraft. They displayed their prototype “Transition” two-seater, which had already flown 28 times, and by show’s end, Terrafugia CEO Carl Dietrich says total orders for the $194,000 auto/aircraft exceeded 60. Deliveries could begin by the end of 2011, says Dietrich.
The Italian government is reviewing its airlift plans and may increase the operational tempo for its C-130J fleet to reduce use of commercial transports. However, the government will continue to rely on commercial providers, in particular owing to increased commitments to Afghanistan. In that respect, the government has signed a contract with Alitalia to provide cargo services for 2010. Also under discussion is how to bolster strategic airlift capacity, with potential involvement in a European airlift transport fleet initiative by the European Defense Agency.
Greece and Italy are performing air policing duty for fellow NATO member Albania, as part of an alliance agreement to provide mutual aid. Albania is relying on NATO due to a lack of indigenous air-to-air combat capacity; NATO runs a similar operation for the Baltic states. Italy is using Eurofighter Typhoons, while Greece is using F-16s.
Russian investors purchased bankrupt Adam Aircraft for $10 million last year with the intent of certifying the A700 very light jet, but, confronted with recession and a cratering of business aviation activity, they quietly divested Adam’s assets this spring for an undisclosed sum. The buyer, Thomas Hsueh, a 75-year-old composites entrepreneur and aeronautical engineer, trucked all equipment and tooling in 120 sealed containers from Denver to property he owns near his home in Anacortes, Wash.
When the space shuttle orbiter Atlantis lifted off to repair the Hubble Space Telescope, the shuttle Endeavour supposedly was poised on the launch pad for a rescue of the astronauts if needed. Little has been discussed on how it took a month to repair the helium leak discovered during the countdown to Endeavour’s mission to the International Space Station, and how the Atlantis astronauts would have been floating around their spacecraft lifelessly by the time a rescue mission could have begun. The costs to prepare Endeavour were wasted.
The fatal midair over the Hudson River involving a sightseeing helicopter and a single-engine aircraft could lead to restricted use of VFR corridors and tighter regulation of air tour operations.
“The days of nipping and tucking are coming to an end,” says Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments’ Jim Thomas of defense budget trimming. “We’re going to have to look at mission trades.” CSBA analysts describe a Defense Dept. continuously squeezed by de facto budget limitations and growing costs, the latter through personnel—and their health care and related force size—increases.
NASA will ship the first Orion crew module for launch abort tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on Aug. 19 but confirms that the Pad Abort 1 (PA-1) flight test has slipped into early 2010. NASA originally hoped to deliver the vehicle last February, and scheduled the PA-1 for late April, having already postponed it several times from its first target date of last September.
Boeing and NASA have taken the wraps off the X-48C, a modified variant of the blended wing body sub-scale demonstrator aimed at proving ultra-low-noise targets for future aircraft, including airliners and military tanker-transports.
Flight trials of the British Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle system have concluded in Israel, clearing the way for tests in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of this year. The Watcheeper UAV, based on the Elbit Hermes 450, will likely begin trials using the Parc Aberporth range in Wales in October or November. Thales is leading the development of the Watchkeeper. The system is planned to enter service with the British toward the end of 2010.
NASA Ames Research Center is seeking information from industry on possible thermal protection system (TPS) materials for missions to Mars. “The Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) Technology Development Project is actively pursuing design, development and maturation of thermal protection system materials capable of withstanding the severe thermal heating loads associated with aerocapture and entry into the Mars environment,” NASA says in its request for information (RFI).
The German government is signaling that unmanned aviation is one of many areas likely to receive additional funding, but it also is urging structural changes throughout the country’s aerospace industry to ensure long-term competitiveness.
The Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopter is expected to finally begin trials with the Arbalet radar in place at the end of August following a redesign of the installation and the antenna. Initial government testing of the Ka-52—dubbed the Alligator—was concluded in 2008, but without the radar. The trials should be completed in 2010 if the latest timetable is kept, according to Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, chief of the Russian air force.
Inflight entertainment system developer Lumexis has received FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval for its fiber-optic based, Fiber-To-The-Screen (FTTS) seatback system. The FAA approval allows the company to make parts and equipment for installation on Airbus A320-200s under its Supplemental Type Certificate. Approval follows flight trials on a US Airways A320.
Austria’s Schiebel Industries and Boeing will team to market and support the European company’s Camcopter S-100. The autonomous helicopter is a compact unmanned aerial vehicle that provides a stabilized video system for surveillance and reconnaissance as one of its several payload possibilities.
Boeing’s second 787, ZA002, is poised to move under its own power for the first time. Taxi tests are expected to begin by Aug. 17 and will last several days before ZA002 goes into refurbishment for side-of-body structural modification. Taxi tests will complete onboard systems checks, and will likely mark the last movement of any of the 787 test fleet for several months until ZA001 re-emerges with the revised wing root changes.
Bombardier has formally canceled the orders it had on the books for regional jets from Italy-based MyAir, which has ceased operations. That includes 15 orders for the CRJ1000, for which the airline was the launch customer. Bombardier stresses that the program is going forward, with additional firm orders from other customers in hand. MyAir had taken delivery of four CRJ900s bought at the same time.
Members of the advisory committee reviewing U.S. human spaceflight goals are putting the finishing touches on seven different options for NASA’s way forward in space, working against an end-of-month deadline for presenting them to the White House for final decision.
USAF Maj. Gen. Floyd L. Carpenter has been named commander of the Eighth Air Force of Air Combat Command (ACC)/joint functional component commander of Space and Global Strike for U.S. Strategic Command, Barksdale AFB, La. He was vice commander of the Eighth Air Force. Maj. Gen. Mark T. Matthews has been appointed deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and assessment for Multi-National Force-Iraq in Baghdad. He was director of requirements at ACC Headquarters, Langley AFB, Va. Matthews will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Thomas K.
The UAV industry is pushing hard for faster integration of unmanned designs into the U.S. national airspace, and is planning a demonstration of how UAVs and manned aircraft can fly in harmony. A cooperative research and development agreement between UAV builder AAI and the FAA will set up a technical center at the FAA facility near Atlantic City, N.J.
Efforts to overhaul management of aviation safety as the mandate of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is expanded are about to touch on one of the most explosive issues on the agenda—how pilot work hours should be further regulated. But the safety agency is attempting to sort out much more than pilot flight-time limitations. As a new set of operating rules for air carriers in Europe is formalized, stakeholders will have to decide how much input EASA will have in interpreting regulations.
Russian low-fare startup Avianova, undeterred by sharp declines in passenger volumes, is pressing ahead with its plans. The airline has taken delivery of its first two Airbus A320-200s (the second was handed over last month) and intends to begin runs on domestic routes shortly.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) is proposing on-orbit propellant depots to increase the capability of NASA’s Constellation exploration architecture. The plan to use depots derived from an advanced upper stage for the Atlas V and Delta IV evolved expandable launch vehicles (EELV) has caught the attention of the Augustine panel, which has included in-space refueling in four of seven options identified (see p. 29).
The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with a program to purchase 25 aircraft for the Air Force Academy’s powered flight program. Offers for new or used aircraft will be considered as long as the latter have no more than 1,500 flight hours on them. A separate contract will be awarded to support the assets. The single-engine aircraft needs to deliver a 500-fpm. climb rate and operate in a minimum of 15-deg. crosswinds. Endurance should be 1.5 hr. with a further 60 min. of fuel reserve, all while carrying two crew (weighing about 450 lb. combined with 16.5 lb.
