Currently in flight testing, the A350 is a twin-engine, widebody jetliner intended to compete with Boeing's 777 and 787. The A350 is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines rated in the 75,000-97,000-lb.-thrust range, and will have a cruise speed of around Mach 0.85. Three basic versions are being marketed: the -800, -900 and -1000. Depending on the version, the A350 will seat 270-350 passengers, and will have a range of 8,100-8,500 nm. An ultra-long-range version, the A350-900R, and a freighter, the A350-900F, are also planned.
The Scottish government has announced a plan to nationalize Prestwick International Airport near Glasgow. The airport, owned by Infratil, is losing around £2 million ($3.2 million) per year. Infratil has been trying to find a buyer for the facility since March 2012. The Scottish government plans to buy the airport and let a private company run it, in a bid to safeguard jobs in an area that has high unemployment levels.
The An-28 and An-38 are twin-turboprop utility/transport aircraft. First flight of the An-28 occurred in 1969, with temporary Soviet certification following in 1978 and full certification in 1986. A westernized version of the An-28, the PZL Mielec M28, made its first flight in 1993 and received FAA certification in 2004. A stretched An-28 version, the An-38, made its first flight in 1994 and received Russian certification in 1997. The An-28 is powered by two PZL Rzeszow TWD-10B/PZL-10S engines, with the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B powering the M28.
The Pentagon is proceeding with upgrades to correct deficiencies in the original F-35 helmet made by Lockheed Martin subcontractor Vision Systems International (VSI). The F-35 Joint Program Office on Oct. 10 issued a stop-work order to BAE, the alternate helmet developer. Plans to conduct a flight demonstration of the two have been dashed, resulting in a cost avoidance of $45 million to continue maturing and testing the alternate design, according to a statement from the F-35 office.
Beechcraft Hawker 400XPR Launched in November 2011, this factory upgrade reengines the Hawker 400XP/Beechcraft 400A light jet with 3,200-lb.-thrust Williams FJ44-4A-32s, adds winglets (and optional Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 cockpit), for a 450-kt. cruise and 1,655-nm range (four passengers). First flown in May 2012, deliveries are to begin by year-end. Bombardier Learjet 70/75
The story clearly seems too good to be true. A small, privately owned business jet operator places the biggest-ever order for large corporate jets and conquers the market with its not-so-unusual business model, while others complain about the continuing crisis in European business aviation.
“Introducing ALIS” (AW&ST Sept. 16, p. 45) gave me pause. Here is a $448 million development program with a future value in the billions that will coordinate and manage the logistics and operation of the F-35, the world's most sophisticated and expensive fighter. And yet, those who created and are implementing it believe that the acronym for Autonomic Information Logistics System is ALIS. I hope this is not indicative of additional potential surprises coded into the network.
John Bendoraitis has been named senior vice president/chief operating officer of Spirit Airlines. He has been chief operating officer of Frontier Airlines and was president of Comair Airlines.
In developing the 525-passenger A380, Airbus chose to leap past Boeing's 747 in capacity class. Boeing markets the 747-8 to indirectly compete with the A380, but no direct competition to the A380 exists in the 500-plus-seat market. The A380 is powered by four turbofan engines rated 70,000-76,500 lb. thrust each, and can be outfitted with either the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 or GE/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200. Airbus currently produces only a passenger version of the A380. First flight occurred in 2005, with 101 A380s produced through 2012.
Marc Welinski has become deputy director of broadcast and broadband for Paris-based Euroconsult. He was director of marketing and commercial strategy at Eutelsat.
Jim Duffy, Director of Strategic Planning FAA Commercial Space Transportation Office (Washington, D.C. )
Regarding Orbital Sciences Corp.'s approach to Cygnus design as covered in “Skinning the Cat” (AW&ST Sept. 30, p. 20), Orbital did not “buy components wherever possible to avoid reinventing the wheel.” The late David Low, a former astronaut who was serving as senior vice president and program manager for Orbital's commercial orbital transportation services (COTS), and I (an Orbital executive at the time) established the approach for COTS in about half an hour in his office (at the start of our proposal effort).
The 15-19-passenger L-410 is an unpressurized, twin-turboprop regional/utility transport aircraft. The current production L-410UVP-E20 is powered by two GE M601 engines. Under development is an improved variant called the L-410 NG that will feature GE H80 engines, Avio AV 725 five-blade propellers, a new wing and a new glass cockpit. As a first step toward development of the NG model, Aircraft Industries is integrating the H80 engine and the AV 725 propellers into the L-410UVP-E20.
The C212 made its first flight in March 1971, and deliveries began in May 1974. It is currently built in Indonesia by Indonesian Aerospace (IAe). Some 477 C212s (of all versions) were produced in Spain and Indonesia through 2012. The C212 is an unpressurized, 21-28-passenger regional twin-turboprop. The C212-200 is powered by Honeywell TPE331-10R-511C or -512C turboprop engines rated 900 shp each. The C212-300 used TPE331-10R-513C turboprops, also rated 900 shp each. The latest production model, the C212-400, is equipped with TPE331-12JR-701C engines rated 925 shp each.
The An-148 is a twin-engine regional jet designed to serve the 70-80-seat market. First flight took place in 2004, with type certification by Russia and Ukraine in 2007. Power for the aircraft comes from two Ivchenko-Progress D436-148 turbofan engines. Two test aircraft and 15 production aircraft were produced through 2012, and an additional 60 are forecast for production through 2022. The An-158, a 99-passenger version that is also powered by D436-148s, first flew in 2010.
The An-124 is a four-engine, intercontinental-range, heavy-lift cargo transport, and the An-225 is a six-engine, heavy-lift jet that was designed to carry the Soviet shuttle orbiter Buran. Initial flight of a production An-124 prototype took place in 1982, and commercial operation began in 1986. The An-124 is powered by four Ivchenko-Progress D-18T turbofan engines, while the An-225 uses six. Fifty-five An-124s and one An-225 have been produced.
The ATRs are turboprop-powered regional transport aircraft built by a joint venture of EADS and Alenia Aermacchi. The ATR 42's first delivery occurred in 1985, followed by the ATR 72 in 1989. The latest versions are the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600. Both -600 variants are powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW127M engines, rated 2,400-2,750 shp each. Through 2012, 422 ATR 42s and 611 ATR 72s were delivered. Production of 668 ATRs is forecast for the 2013-22 period.
As of late last week, the U.S. government was in the second week of drastically curtailed operations and Washington was flirting with inaction on a technical fix needed to make good on its treasury's obligations. One major defense company chief we spoke with last week described the federal budget process as “chaos” and the impact on the industries we cover as “a destructive force” (see page 31).
Beech launched the King Air series of 8-12-seat, twin-turboprop aircraft in 1963. Since then, numerous variants have appeared. Total production 6,314 through 2012. Beechcraft currently markets the King Air C90GTx, King Air 250 and King Air 350i. The C90GTx is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-135 turboprops producing 550 shp each; the 250 by PT6A-52s rated at 850 shp each; and the 350i by 1,050-shp PT6A-60As. Some 1,286 King Airs are expected to be produced in the 2013-22 period.
George Ullrich has become senior vice president-strategy development for Applied Research Associates Inc., Albuquerque, N.M. He has been chief technology officer of the Schafer Corp. and was senior vice president-advanced technology programs at the Science Applications International Corp.
With the emergence of a new generation of large-cabin, long-range business aircraft, the industry could be witnessing a sea change in the traditional chicken-and-egg relationship between airframe and engine makers. Unlike previous generations, which use myriad bespoke engines derived from existing families, at least some of the new large business jets will be powered by purpose-designed powerplants, derived from the same all-new cores in development for the next generation of commercial airliners.
Five years after DayJet's ambitious adventure into per-seat, on-demand air taxi operations ended in financial failure, two key components are making a comeback—the Eclipse very light jet and the operations management and optimization software that was DayJet's secret weapon.
