As the civil helicopter industry everywhere continues to expand and support economic growth, inconsistent safety methods and programs remain a stumbling block in many nations. Too often, growth in helicopter operations also means an increase in accidents.
Valery Kubasov, the flight engineer on Soyuz 19, which docked with an Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit in July 1975, died Feb. 19 in Moscow. He was 79. His death was announced on RSC Energia's website, which called him a “high-spirited instructor test cosmonaut.” No cause of death was given.
The trouble began with the CJ610 and JT12, the kerosene guzzlers that launched business aviation's jet age. The showgirls at the Sahara and Flamingo just made things worse. The problem with the former was their ungodly racket, while the latter served as leggy magnets that got those single-spoolers howling at all hours. And too often the place of departure and return was Santa Monica Airport (SMO).
USAF Maj. Gen. Bart O. Iddins has been named commander of the 59th Medical Wing of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. He has been command surgeon at Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. Iddins has been succeeded by Brig. Gen. Kory G. Cornum, who has been commander of the 81st Medical Group of Air Education and Training Command, Keesler AFB, Miss. Col. Keith M.
Melissa Hathaway, former acting senior director for cyberspace at the National Security Council, has joined the board of regents of the Arlington, Va.-based Potomac Institute. Hathaway is at the Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as senior adviser to its cybersecurity initiative, Project Minerva, a joint effort of the Defense Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
The Indian air force may be within months of receiving its intermediate jet trainer aircraft (IJT), which has been in development since 1999. “The much-delayed Sitara IJT is likely to be operational this year. . . . All efforts are being made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for achieving the final operational clearance by December 2014,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. “Production of the aircraft will commence immediately thereafter.”
Washington is pressing its Persian Gulf allies to adopt a regional missile defense architecture—and acquire U.S. systems for it. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns tells the Center for Strategic and International Studies that a multinational approach would be more cost efficient, provide a more layered defense strategy and offer better early warning of launch threats. He notes similar architectures elsewhere that work off a U.S.
The State Department is trying to draft new policy on foreign sales of UAVs, and the outcome could provide a long-sought boost to U.S. industry. But industry should not bank on it soon.
Key capabilities fielded by Britain's Royal Air Force in Afghanistan and highly prized across the NATO-led coalition face uncertain futures once the Tornado GR4 aircraft is retired toward the end of the decade. As the RAF looks ahead to a fleet comprising Typhoons and F-35Bs, there are no plans in place to retain two systems that have become invaluable in-theater.
An item in the The World section, “Battery Smoke Grounds 787” (AW&ST Jan. 20, p. 12) lists one symptom that was corrected, but the matter of overloading the battery remains. Why during flight test does the auxiliary power unit (APU) work fine, but a well-used APU in service overloads the battery? As a retired TWA mechanic, I offer these factors for consideration: •Fuel temperatures aboard a recently landed aircraft after a 10-15-hr. flight will be -40F (kerosene @ 60F is hard to get on fire).
Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled a new unmanned air system at the Singapore Airshow, inaugurating a new class that it calls the “super-tactical” UAS. The Super Heron is some 50% larger than the basic Heron or the General Atomics Predator in order to carry a high-performance multi-sensor suite on long-endurance missions. The UAS has completed its flight tests, IAI says, and is “a fully operational system.”
Sam Harris has been named as managing director of JetLease Capital, Palm Beach, Fla. He was founder of Aviation Advisors Group and worked in aircraft financing for National City Bank and PNC.
Matt Bradley has been promoted to president from vice president-business development of FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd., Calgary, Alberta. He succeeds Bill Tempany, who will remain CEO and a member of the board of directors. Derek Graham has been reassigned to chief technical officer from chief operating officer, and Jeff Brunner has been moved to vice president-certification engineering and China operations from vice president-operations.
Jon Buccola (see photo), chairman of Greenpoint Technologies, Kirkland, Wash., has been named Executive of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance. The award recognizes Buccola's “dedication to community service, company growth and developing a corporate culture which embodies the values of fun, integrity, teamwork, creativity, customer focus and giving back to the community.”
AgustaWestland, Airbus and Bell will make their mark this year with a new class of commercial helicopter. Described as the super-mediums, the light-heavies and even the intermediate-heavies, the AW189, EC175 and Bell 525 Relentless will target what is likely to become a crowded market. While all three have approached it from a different perspective, and each comes with its own unique selling points, the biggest question is, who will steal the crown?
Sikorsky Aircraft is bringing oil and gas platform operations into the 21st century with a new satellite-based approach system that takes the human calculation and guesswork out of legacy rig approaches in instrument conditions and at night. The system offers operators an automated arrival tool to reduce crew loading while increasing situational awareness.
Cessna kicked off the flight-test program of its Latitude midsize business jet, keeping the aircraft on schedule for a 2015 certification. The aircraft, which recently rolled out quietly before employees, took to the air three years after Cessna unveiled the aircraft during the National Business Aviation Association's annual convention in October 2011. The first flight, announced Feb. 18, tested flaps, landing gear, pressurization systems, anti-ice capabilities, stability and control. Flight engineers reported that systems performed as expected.
Legacy airlines in Europe and Asia have long recognized the Persian Gulf carriers as a major threat. Now the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are exploring an open-skies agreement that they hope will help defend their position and stop leakage of traffic to the three big Middle East hub airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
James R. Muhs has been appointed president/CEO FedEx Trade Networks, Memphis, Tenn. He was senior vice president of U.S. International, Global Planning, Engineering and Trade Services at FedEx Express.
Petroleum Helicopters Inc. Sikorsky S-92A departs an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The company recently began using a Sikorsky-developed automated rig approach system to reduce the workload and increase the safety for S-92 pilots in night or low-visibility conditions. A special report starting on page 38 examines how trends in the oil-and-gas industry and the search-and-rescue business are impacting helicopter operations. The Petroleum Helicopters photo was altered to obscure details of the offshore rig.
