Australia’s N24 Nomad 17-seat utility twin-turboprop is set to return to production after a quarter-century gap. Gippsland Aeronautics purchased the type certificate from Boeing Australia. Gippsland makes the eight-seat GA-8 Airvan and plans to deliver the first new Nomad in late 2010. Two Australian operators have signed letters of intent, Airfreight Solutions and tour operator Grant Kelly Aviation. Gippsland is in an “advanced stage of negotiation with a partner on the project” to restart production, eyeing a projected market for more than 200 aircraft over 10 years.
The problem with being on the peak of a wave is that the only way to go is into a trough. Just how deep that could be will permeate this year’s Farnborough International air show like water through sand. Figures for this year’s show, scheduled July 14-20, could portend a bumper exhibition, but figures alone can be deceptive.
The FAA is investigating how the combination of super large-size jet transports with multiple decks, massive fuel loads and composite airframes will affect the ability of airport firefighters to extinguish flames and rescue passengers. The agency’s current procedures do not address these and other considerations, necessitating a fresh look at what will be required for airport firefighting teams in terms of technologies and strategies to respond effectively to a post-crash conflagration.
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are to compete to build a subscale stratospheric surveillance airship demonstrator in the third phase of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) program. In an operational system, the autonomous solar-powered airship would keep station in the stratosphere and operate unattended for 10 years, carrying a massive UHF/X-band active electronically scanned array radar capable of tracking air targets out to 600 km. and ground targets out to 300 km.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken delivery of the first of seven 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCFs). The former ANA passenger aircraft is equipped with a new main deck surround structure and side cargo door, new floor structures, a 9g rigid cargo barrier and cargo-handling system. Delivery took place June 16 at the Singapore hangar of ST Aviation Services Co., an ST Aerospace subsidiary, which completed the conversion in eight months. The 50-ton-capacity freighter joins ANA’s fleet of six 767Fs including two leased from ABX Air.
The rapidly expanding Chinese market is a major focus of Air New Zealand’s growth plans, with the airline looking to quickly build on the services it has already introduced. Air NZ began Shanghai flights in 2006, and an Auckland-Beijing route will launch next month in time for the Olympics. The carrier is interested in adding flights to Guangzhou as soon as it can gain new access rights, says CEO Rob Fyfe.
The insolvency administrator for Thielert Aircraft Engines is starting talks with around 50 prospective investors who have expressed interest in trying to save the aircraft engine provider. The administrator also notes that thanks to agreements with banks and suppliers, production has resumed with a potential output of 80 engines per month.
NASA Ares I project officials have not been briefed on potential impacts to their development effort from the damage to Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center during the May 31 launch of the space shuttle Discovery, but it probably won’t be a problem. The shuttle program believes it can repair the pad in time to launch its next mission—in October—without switching to 39B, which will be modified for use during Ares I launches.
Boeing booked two orders last week: Korean Air for a 777-300ER and one unidentified customer for a 737 Boeing Business Jet. The company had 455 net orders through June 17.
The United Kingdom and Ireland will begin operating a new functional airspace block (FAB) by mid-July to improve the capacity of U.K. and Irish airspace. This FAB agreement, in development for three years, does not include any changes to sovereign airspace, nor does it alter the existing safety or regulatory responsibilities of either nation. However, a new collaborative structure will make it easier for the partners to streamline routes and operations across national boundaries.
Martin Andrews has become director of maintenance for Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Silver Air . He was head of quality and safety for RAK Airways.
An Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 takes off from Los Angeles International Airport, the carrier’s main gateway to the U.S. The Asia-Pacific market is a tough one for smaller international carriers such as Air NZ. To compete more effectively, the carrier undertook a dramatic shake-up of its domestic and long-haul operations. These changes proved timely, and are helping the airline deal with the fuel pressures besetting the entire industry (see p. 60). Joseph Pries photo.
European space industry leaders are preparing a hedge scheme, to be submitted at the European Space Agency ministerial summit in November, that would protect launch provider Arianespace with a hedge against erosion of the U.S. dollar. Jacques Serre, who heads Snecma’s space engine division, says the low dollar is already complicating negotiations for a new batch of 35 Ariane 5 boosters, and a further drop could threaten the viability of Arianespace.
EADS and a team of Dassault, Thales, and Indra have opened a war of words over meeting needs in France and Spain for a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft. EADS last year won a contract (from Germany, Spain and France) for risk-reduction work on its Advanced UAVs. But the other companies believe they can do better, and have made an unsolicited offer to France and Spain for a system using the off-the-shelf Israeli Heron-TP.
Orbcomm has orbited six replenishment satellites for its 29-unit mobile satellite tracking and positioning system. The spacecraft, launched from Kasputin Yar, Russia, on a Cosmos 3M booster, include a demonstration satellite equipped with an automatic identification system that will enable the U.S. Coast Guard to monitor international shipping on a global basis. The spacecraft were integrated and launched by OHB System of Germany in collaboration with Russia’s Polyot.
Space Adventures and the Russian Federal Space Agency plan to jointly launch the first private mission to the International Space Station via the Soyuz TMA spacecraft. Scheduled to launch in 2011, two seats will be available for private space explorers, along with myriad mission services including science, education and media program options.
Steven M. Post has become senior vice president/general counsel/corporate secretary of New York-based L-3 Communications . He was senior vice president-contracts/general counsel for L-3’s Integrated Systems Div., Greenville, Tex. Post succeeds Kathleen Karelis, who has become Washington-based senior vice president-litigation and compliance.
Embraer’s efforts to leverage regional and business aviation growth to turn around its sputtering defense business are receiving a boost from the Brazilian government, which appears ready to launch the company’s first cargo transport.
Naveen Rao has become general counsel of Seattle-based Naverus . He was counselor to the assistant U.S. Transportation secretary for aviation and international affairs and had been a lawyer with the FAA.
Rockwell Collins’ Athena Technologies division has disclosed the results of a flight test this spring in which a subscale F/A-18 vehicle was recovered after the intentional separation of 60% of its right wing. The Automatic Supervisory Adaptive Control (ASAC) was not specifically programmed with the damaged airplane’s characteristics, and the command to separate the wing was not communicated to the system. The airplane remained in controlled flight throughout the event, and made a precision automatic landing in a 25-kt.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin reiterates his conviction that the U.S. will not pull out of the International Space Station in 2015, when its treaty obligations end—an endgame feared by the U.S. agency’s international partners. “It’s inconceivable that the U.S. will abandon a perfectly functioning ISS just because of some arbitrary date,” Griffin tells a gathering of European space leaders at the French National Assembly. “I believe the U.S.
Taiwainese and Chinese airlines will fly 36 round-trip charter flights each weekend under an agreement expected between the two governments that could pave the way for scheduled services. Half of the charter services will be flown by Taiwanese airlines and half by mainland carriers.
Chin Sak Hin has been appointed chief financial officer of Singapore-based Tiger Airways . He was CFO of the SIA Engineering Co. subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.
The National Business Aviation Assn. is objecting to an FAA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would mandate re-registration of aircraft every three years. The change would affect more than 239,000 aircraft in the U.S. that are already registered with the agency. The FAA, however, says about 30% of aircraft on the register are no longer eligible for registration and the registry needs to be updated regularly to maintain accuracy.
