The movement toward digital cockpits is speeding up with the adoption of Class 3 electronic flight bags (EFBs) at Boeing and Airbus and the growing installation of Class 2 EFBs on operating fleets of passenger and cargo jets and on a wide range of business aircraft. On flight decks where most real estate is claimed by existing primary flight, navigation and multifunction displays, the addition of side-cockpit-mounted or yoke-mounted EFBs is providing a rare avenue for new software applications.
The British space-science and industry community is growing increasingly alarmed over signs the level of U.K. government funding for Copernicus will be less than half of what was anticipated.
India’s goal is for its defense industry to provide 70% of its weapons production by 2010, but confusion and frustration with the government bureaucracy is making that target hard to hit.
Although French legislators agree that adhering to the budget plan will be difficult in the face of the global financial crisis, they are convinced most of its main elements will be approved, including an unconditional return to the NATO unified military command.
One of Wall Street’s longest-serving A&D analysts has been sidelined. George Shapiro was among the Citigroup Investment Research analysts who were laid off last week, victims of the global financial crisis that has battered the banking industry. He had covered the industry for the firm since 1981. Shapiro’s bearish views on Boeing emerged in 2005 when he began warning that an uptick in commercial aircraft orders was a “bubble” and urged his clients to sell.
Eight years ago, as Boeing Commercial Airplanes was initiating its research and development of the Sonic Cruiser, the effort generated a lot of cynicism because the company had so many false starts related to how it would update the venerable 747.
A Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)-led team is developing a wide-band local positioning system that will track soldiers at 1-sec. intervals during training exercises, inside or outside of buildings. Each transmitter will emit signals at 915 MHz. and 5.49 GHz. to help instructors monitor activity within structures. The 915-MHz. signal operates at a significantly higher power than the 5.49 GHz., which is limited by the FCC to only 0.1 milliwatts, and can penetrate walls, according to GTRI.
Honeywell’s IntuVue radars constantly scan the area from the surface to 60,000 ft. and out to 320 naut. mi. for weather and store all of the returns in computer memory. The radar automatically removes the ground clutter and shows pilots just the weather that is relevant to their flight path and up to 4,000 ft. above or below. The relevant weather here is shown by the bright area dead ahead. Weather too low to be a hazard is displayed with a crosshatch pattern. KLAS and DTA are airports. Honeywell Aerospace concept.
L-3 Communications issued a page-long press release on Oct. 2 announcing the appointment of two vice presidents in its legal department. But the election of Michael T. Strianese as chairman of the board five days later went unheralded from the defense and homeland security contractor. The promotion of Strianese, who will also continue to serve as president and CEO, only came to light in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nine days later. He succeeds Robert B.
The European Commission has approved a €35 million in Spanish government funding for research and development on the Boeing 787’s Trent 1000 engine to be carried out by Spain’s ITP.
Europe’s airlines and airports are slamming a decision by the governments of Belgium and Ireland to adopt air passenger departure taxes. The International Air Transport Assn. called the taxes “collective madness,” while Airports Council International-Europe accused both governments of not consulting with industry on the need for the new charges. Ireland wants to raise $201 million a year by taxing passengers departing from its airports, while Belgium’s finance ministry hopes to raise $176.9 million a year.
French lawmakers say they may ask the government to hike commitments for research and development and on-condition maintenance foreseen under the country’s new multiyear defense spending plan. Yves Fromion, a member of the National Assembly’s defense committee, told an industry gathering last week that he wants an annual R&D spending target in the plan, to be presented to parliament in early November, and that the figure should be around €1 billion per annum, €300 million more than is currently being spent.
The Xi’an Aircraft MA600 turboprop has made its first flight ahead of entry into service expected late next year. The Chinese manufacturer, part of the Avic 1 conglomerate, is planning a production capacity by 2010 of 10-15 aircraft per year, presumably including its MA60 predecessor, eventually rising to a full rate of 30 a year, depending on demand.
Morocco has ordered four Alenia Aeronautica C-27J tactical transport aircraft in a deal valued at $137 million. The North African nation is the first non-NATO customer for the twin-turboprop airlifter. Morocco also has 24 Lockheed Martin F-16s on order.
Scott R. Mowrer has been named senior vice president–Americas, Dennis Owen vice president-marketing for the Americas and Stephen Wong vice president–sales for the Americas, all based in San Francisco, for Cathay Pacific Airways . Mowrer was vice president-marketing and sales for the Americas, while Owen was passenger sales manager for the Southwest U.S. Wong was marketing and sales manager in Japan.
With enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) now approved for low-visibility approaches in the U.S. and Europe, manufacturers are seeking to broaden the range of aircraft that can be equipped. Key to wider EFVS use is the availability of compact head-up displays (HUDs) for smaller cockpits. Regulatory moves to encourage the system’s adoption are also anticipated.
Jeremy Wensinger (see photos) has become president of U.K.-based Cobham ’s Defense Electronic Systems Div. He was group president of the Harris Corp.’s Government Communication Systems and succeeds Dave Gaggin, who becomes corporate executive vice president-technology and business development.
Regarding the article “Falcon Force” (Oct. 6, p. 41), SpaceX says the Merlin 1C has better performance than the Delta and Atlas main engines, and is on a par with the Apollo F1 based on the vacuum ISP (specific impulse). Test data on the Merlin 1C qualification engine produced nominal performance at 304.5 sec. vacuum, which is 0.5 sec. longer than the list vacuum ISP for the F1 engine (for F1 performance data see www.astronautix.com/engines/f1.htm).
Despite a weak economy, leaders of maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities say they’re cautiously optimistic of continued growth in Asia. SIA Engineering CEO William Tan told AVIATION WEEK’s MRO Asia 2008 conference the industry must get used to new training demands for introduction of new-generation aircraft. Singapore’s trade minister says infrastructure work in the region will continue despite the economic slowdown because the facilities will be needed to meet long-term growth.
You have to go back to spring 2004 to find the last time that Boeing delivered more commercial aircraft than it took orders for. Every quarter since, the company has won orders for new jets faster than it can build them, amassing a gargantuan $276-billion backlog. The big question now, though, is whether some of the airlines in that backlog will be able to pay for the jets they’ve ordered.
MTU Aero engines has improved its revenue guidance by €50 million, to €2.65 billion, with operating earnings also expected to come in above projections. Earnings before interest, taxes and appreciation are expected to reach at least €400 million. The earnings boost comes, in part, from greater efficiency efforts. Currency issues continue to hobble results, with revenue from new equipment up 4% rather than 13% without currency exchange effects. On the MRO side, the effect was even greater.
The first AgustaWestland Future Lynx fuselage will be delivered in the next few weeks, but just how many more will be manufactured is the critical question. The Future Lynx program—the model is unofficially now dubbed Wildcat—is intended to provide a key capability for both the army and navy. The army is to receive 40 of the type; the navy, 30. The fate of the project, however, apparently hangs in the balance as the Defense Ministry struggles to deal with a substantial near-term mismatch between procurement aspirations and available funding.
What unfortunate timing that Mitsubishi announced it’s seeking to run a final assembly line for the Boeing 737 replacement program in Japan. Boeing’s machinists union in Washington State has shut down commercial airplane production with a strike that shows no sign of resolution. Job security is a primary issue for the machinists, while Boeing has focused on the necessity of staying flexible. Boeing makes it clear it will not guarantee employment in the face of stiff competition and a dynamic marketplace.
