A new Gallup poll commissioned by the Coalition for Space Exploration shows that more than 52% of those surveyed would support an increase in space exploration funding. NASA’s funding is less than 1% of the federal budget. Furthermore, 68% agreed that the benefits of the human exploration of space outweigh the risks.
Caution needs to be exercised in the demands to impose a “single level of safety” on air cargo versus passenger operations, as discussed in “Closing the Safety Gap” (AW&ST June 2, p. 39).
Daily service to San Francisco from Mumbai, India, has been launched by Jet Airways using new Boeing 777-300ERs. Flights will make a 2-hr. stop at Shanghai. The service will be the airline’s fourth daily departure to North America in addition to existing flights between India and New York JFK, Newark (N.J.) Liberty and Toronto Pearson international airports. Jet Airways plans to earn 50% of its revenue from international operations by 2010, says Chairman Naresh Goyal.
Continental Airlines is jumping ship from the SkyTeam and joining the Star Alliance, as well as seeking authority to link its global network with Star’s anchor United Airlines. In a framework agreement signed June 19, Continental and United said they intend to engage in domestic code-sharing and shared frequent-flier programs. They also would establish joint ventures to allow for cooperation in international markets with each other and other Star members.
t The Air Force did not take into account Boeing’s offer to satisfy more “non-mandatory” technical requirements than Northrop Grumman, though the solicitation “expressly requested offerors to satisfy as many of these technical ‘requirements’ as possible.” t The service inappropriately weighed a “key discriminator” for aerial refueling capability to a greater degree for Northrop Grumman/EADS than Boeing, violating its own provision that “no consideration will be provided for exceeding [key performance parameter] objectives.”
The U.S. military services are expected to submit their Fiscal 2010-15 budget plans to the Office of the Secretary of Defense July 18. These will include all of the proposed cuts and new program starts for the next six years.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hopes to demonstrate a low-cost way to accelerate a full-scale hypersonic vehicle from rest to beyond Mach 4 by integrating a production turbine engine with a constant volume combustion (CVC) engine. The combined turbojet/CVC is called Vulcan, and ground tests of a demonstrator engine are planned for late 2013. The unmodified turbojet—F100, F110, F119 or F414—would operate from rest to above Mach 2, where the CVC would take over and accelerate the vehicle to scramjet speed.
Boeing will be able to more efficiently build nonstandard export versions of its latest CH-47F model now that it has inaugurated a dedicated sidetrack alongside its main Chinook production line. The offshoot became active here in May when the first of six CH-47Fs ordered by the Netherlands was rolled into position, says Ken Eland, Boeing’s director for CH-47F programs. The Netherlands is the first CH-47F export customer, and its aircraft—known as CH-47F(NL)—are quite different from the U.S. Army standard model.
In a report on the German Sharp Edge Flight Experiment (Shefex II) vehicle (AW&ST May 19, p. 71), it was implied this was a European Union-led project. Shefex is a project led by DLR, Germany’s aerospace center.
Lockheed Martin plans to begin test firings of its Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) from an airborne platform this year, with the hope of qualifying the system early in 2009. Lockheed is in a race with others—including Raytheon and BAE Systems—to develop a low-cost add-on to 2.75-in. rockets to create more accuracy. Whoever gets to market first with a qualified product will have a big jump on the competition, points out Doug Terrell, director of international business development for Lockheed Martin’s tactical missile operations.
Southwest Airlines plans to invest $175 million over six years in an initial effort to equip its entire fleet of Boeing 737s for Required Navigation Performance and to pay Naverus Inc. to set up RNP procedures nationwide while working in partnership with the FAA.
The first Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft is nearing completion, incorporating several design changes that should help it meet its range requirement. The modified 737 is facing some weight-target “challenges,” concedes a program official, adding that the first aircraft won’t be weighed for several months when the mission system is installed. However, one industry official says the aircraft might be at risk of missing its key performance parameter—a 1,200-naut.-mi. range and 4-hr. on-station time.
The new U.S. Africa Command is facing some problems that its commander doesn’t want to talk about. And high on that list is China and South Africa. Army Gen. William E. Ward brushes off questions about harnessing South Africa’s network of air bases, air control, training schools and pilot pool, during an Air Force strategy seminar. He also avoided discussing China’s sale of arms to anyone in Africa with money or something to trade.
Gregory L. Steiner has been appointed president of the Kaman Corp. ’s Aerospace Group, Bloomfield, Conn., effective July 7. He has been vice president-systems for GE Aviation Systems, Santa Ana, Calif.
Airbus and Boeing should stop stalling and get on with providing customers with much needed replacements for their A320 and 737 families, respectively, urge Air France executives.
There have been years of ongoing debate over how many C-5s and C-17s are needed in the U.S. Air Force fleet. But, it appears pressure is building in the strategic airlift community—literally.
Diehl Aerospace, Liebherr, Safran, Thales and Zodiac have agreed to form a joint venture to provide through-life support for military aircraft. The venture, to be known as OEM Defense Services, will be earmarked in particular for European cooperative programs such as the A400M, Tiger attack helicopter and NH90 transport/frigate rotorcraft, and outsourcing applications.
Finnair and its pilots union have called a ceasefire in their labor dispute. The two sides have an agreement that runs through November and provides a 3.9% pay raise for pilots and increased efficiency for the airline. Talks for a long-term agreement will resume in the fall.
A U.S. government prototype of “network-enabled operations” demonstrated here in a Boeing laboratory shows how old and new ATC systems and military command centers may soon be exchanging real-time data seamlessly, something they can’t do now.
Tom Triola’s letter “Solution for Labor Shortage” (AW&ST June 9, p. 10) says performance should be a priority over demands for pay. But the need to urge local employees to take the pride in their work needed to produce the performance ignores one important element: leadership, or the lack of it. People in the aviation industry will work hard if they think they are all headed in the same direction as their leaders. There is little evidence of anything resembling leadership in the airline industry or FAA; management possibly, but not leadership.
China’s earthquake in May caused the largest one-month dip in the country’s international and domestic air travel since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic of 2003. Air China, the chief international carrier, saw passenger loads fall 0.8% below last year, and officials blame the earthquake and tighter visa restrictions on travel. Load factors were off 4.5%. One bright spot was premium-seat sales, which were up 1% including a 1.6% increase on routes to the U.S. China Southern, the largest domestic carrier, experienced a 0.1% decline in traffic.
Prof. T. Nejat Veziroglu, University of Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.)
Regarding hydrogen-fueled passenger aircraft, there are two major concerns facing the airline industry: growing amounts of CO2 emissions to the upper atmosphere and continuously increasing jet fuel prices as petroleum sources are being depleted fast. Both of these problems could permanently be resolved by converting to hydrogen.
Increased inspections of wire bundles in airliners that resulted in recent flight cancellations are an outgrowth of more than a decade’s worth of FAA research into the safe transmission of electrical power and new technology developments such as self-repairing wire.
The SAS Group has abandoned plans to sell Spanair after being unable to find a buyer for acceptable financial terms. The sale was part of SAS’s Strategy 2011 restructuring agenda. Iberia, the most likely candidate, walked away from talks several weeks ago. SAS group says it will not try to make Spanair profitable.
Boeing’s chances of ultimately winning work in a recompetition of the U.S. Air Force’s replacement refueler appear unusually strengthened by the Government Accountability Office’s recent findings.
