G. Scott Hubbard has become a consulting professor appointment in the Stanford University Aeronautics and Astronautics Dept. He has been a visiting scholar in the Electrical Engineering Dept. and was director of the nearby NASA Ames Research Center.
Air Europa is finalizing the purchase of six Embraer 195 regional jets that would bring the total backlog for the 170/190 family to 426 aircraft and the value of the backlog to $17.4 billion. Through the third quarter, the backlog already stood at $17.2 billion. Embraer says it is also on track to meet its full-year delivery target of 165-170 aircraft. One sign of progress in the recovery from manufacturing delays on the 170/190 family is that third-quarter deliveries reached 38 commercial aircraft per month.
When Airbus launched the A380—out of its A3XX design studies—on Dec. 19, 2000, it knew that hard work lay ahead, but nobody anticipated the extent of the difficulties. With lead-customer Singapore Airlines to receive the first A380 on Oct. 15, Airbus employees and its suppliers reach a critical celebratory milestone that at many points seemed out of reach. Along the way, they have faced a seemingly unrelenting string of technical and business hurdles.
Engine overhaul shop MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, already making money only four years after opening in southern China, is likely to expand within three years and handsomely boost profits. The 50-50 joint venture between Germany’s MTU Aero Engines GmbH. and China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. needs very little new equipment to lift its capacity from 200-220 engine shop visits a year to 300, and can stretch output further to 350 with more workers, says President and CEO Walter Strakosch.
I take exception to Dale Gibby’s letter concerning the complexity and vulnerability of tiltrotors (AW&ST Sept. 24, p. 12). I am biased in favor of tiltrotor technology. I have a few hundred hours in tiltrotors and tandem-rotor helicopters. Addressing the “intractable fundamental flaws” that were of such concern:
Airbus and Boeing are now firmly on track to set new order-intake records by year-end, defying expectations that after several banner years 2007, would see a return to more historic norms. A flurry of recent firm commitments virtually assures Airbus will top the 1,111-order intake it logged in 2005. Through September, the aircraft maker had booked 854 orders, and almost 200 more have been received since then.
Glenn Hipp has become vice president-supply chain and fuel for JetBlue Airways . He was director of fuel purchasing and inventory for Southwest Airlines.
The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is urging Bush administration officials to keep talking with their Russian counterparts about missile defense cooperation. Russia’s offer to link early warning systems with the U.S. as a defense against rogue-state missile attacks “provides an important strategic opening” for further discussions, says Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.). Even if technology differences make the offer impractical, sharing information and “possibly linking radar and early warning systems” would help demonstrate the U.S.
The Airbus Power8 plan to restore the aircraft maker’s global competitiveness has hit a second major hurdle that could slow the return to profitability of parent EADS. Efforts to sell or find partners for several facilities in Germany are lagging and one of the leading candidates, Voith, has now decided to pull out. When Power8 was launched, EADS officials indicated they would have named their partners by now, but that could now drag on for several more months.
The first woman to command the International Space Station (ISS), an experienced Russian cosmonaut and a Malaysian doctor lifted off for the station Oct. 10, setting up a rendezvous and docking on Oct. 12. Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson, flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko and Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor were launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:22 a.m. EDT. Their Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft reached orbit 9 min. later, and was scheduled to dock with the station Oct. 12 at about 10:52 a.m. EDT.
Taiwan displayed its Hsiung Feng III rocket/ramjet-powered anti-ship missile during a national military parade last week, but its Hsiung Feng IIE land-attack missile remains under wraps. Also shown was a mock-up of the Tien Kung III surface-to-air missile, which is listed as being capable of intercepting tactical ballistic missiles. The Hsiung Feng III is being developed by the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
The generations-old debate—about the value of two crewmen versus one in a fighter cockpit—is alive as the first Navy squadron of two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornets with advanced radars starts its workup for operational deployment.
Boeing/BAE T-45A The T-45 Goshawk is a variant of the BAE Hawk designed specifically for aircraft carrier pilot training. Production is performed by Boeing and BAE jointly. The twin-seat aircraft is powered by a single Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk 871 non-afterburning turbofan (5,845 lb. thrust), also known as the F405-RR-401. The U.S. Navy awarded exploration contracts in August 1980 and in 1981; the McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) design was selected.
RAC MiG MiG-29 The MiG-29 is a twin-engine, single- and twin-seat air superiority fighter/interceptor aircraft. A prototype first flew in October 1977. The MiG-29 uses two 18,300-lb.-thrust Klimov/Sarkisov RD-33 turbofan engines. A number of Russian air force MiG-29s are slated for modification to the MiG-29SMT/UBT configurations. The SMT has new avionics and greater range, while the UBT incorporates many of the same features as the SMT. Some 1,430 MiG-29s were built through 2006, with 101 forecast for production through 2016.
Enstrom TH-28 The TH-28 is a single-main-rotor, turbine-powered militarized IFR training derivative of the commercial 480 with the interior configured for two student pilots and instructor. The model was the unsuccessful Enstrom candidate for the U.S. Army’s New Training Helicopter (NTH) program. Eight are expected to be built between 2007-16.
Regarding your editorial, “Stop Finding Excuses, Ban Passenger Bumping,” (AW&ST Sept. 17, p. 98), passengers expect far too much regarding flexibility of changing flights. They do not show up for their appointed times, yet expect to be accommodated on a later flight. One can’t be a no-show at a sporting event or concert and expect to catch the “next one.” The same should apply to airline seats. You pay for the seat. It goes with or without you. Banning bumping isn’t fair to the airlines unless refunds for no-shows are eliminated.
BAE has rolled out its remotely operated turreted weapon—the Remote Guardian—that provides 360-deg. suppressive fire from the belly of the U.S. Marine Corps V-22 tiltrotor transport. The gun has three-axis stability and control and is carried in a retractable turret. It is to begin installation late next year.
Kaman SH-2 Seasprite A single-main-rotor, multipurpose naval helicopter, the SH-2F was powered by two GE T58-GE-8F turboshaft engines rated at 1,350 shp. each. The SH-2G is powered by two GE T700-GE-401 turboshafts rated at 1,723 shp. each. Through 2003, 142 helicopters were produced.
AgustaWestland AW139/149 The AW139, a twin-engine, 15-passenger civil/commercial helicopter, is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engines rated at 1,679 shp. each at takeoff. The AW139 was named the AB139 when it was a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Bell. Bell has since withdrawn from the program. The AW149 is a slightly larger military variant powered by two 2,000-shp.-class engines.
Research is underway in the Advent program on a new generation of combat engine with supersonic capability and long endurance. Work is starting on two engine-core demonstration rigs that the U.S. Air Force hopes will ultimately pave the way for progress in supersonic-capable propulsion technology as dramatic as the leap from the turbojet to the turbofan.
Pilatus PC-21 The PC-21 two-seat trainer has five hardpoints for armament training. Development began in 1998, and a prototype made its first flight in July 2002. Certification was achieved in December 2004. Power is provided by a 1,600-shp. Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68B turboprop engine. The PC-21 faces competition from the Embraer Super Tucano and Hawker Beechcraft T-6.
Air Force acquisition chief Sue Payton says she’s skeptical about Lockheed Martin’s $83-million flyaway-cost proposal for the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program (RERP). “Even though it sounds good, it feels bad,” she says. Lockheed has been pushing the firm-fixed-price proposal as a low-risk deal for the Air Force, but Payton disagrees because several variables can trigger a price renegotiation. If USAF decreases its annual buy, for example, or if parts obsolescence forces a change in vendors, the fixed price will be in question.
