With their Boeing 787-8 fleets building up nicely, Japan's two major airlines are looking to increase the long-haul routes where the new aircraft will be used. All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) were the first two carriers to receive the 787. Although two others have now joined the club, the Japanese carriers still account for almost all 787-8s in scheduled service.
Most Americans, and particularly those in the aerospace field, are excited about Curiosity's success thus far on Mars. Indeed, NASA and the engineers and scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratory should be extremely proud. However, such programs may be a misallocation of scarce resources better spent on more important endeavors such as assuring the survival of the human race through a methodical program designed to lead to the permanent human presence in space.
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U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John A. Davis has been named senior military adviser for cyber to the undersecretary of defense for policy at the Pentagon. He has been director of current operations for U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Md. Brig. Gen. Timothy R. Coffin has been named deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Space of U.S. Strategic Command at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. He was deputy commanding general for operations of Army Space and Missile Defense Command/U.S. Army Forces Strategic Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Honors And Elections
Russia's United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) plans for its 130-140-seat commercial narrowbody jet to enter the market in 2016-20, said its head, Mikhail Pogosyan, last week at the International Air Transport Forum in Ulyanovsk. The aircraft is intended as a link between the future stretched Sukhoi Superjet 100 version with 110-115 seats and the smallest, 150-passenger version of the MS-21.
Sept. 11-13—Defense IQ's Second Annual Defense Soldier Modernization India. Sheraton New Delhi Hotel. See www.soldiermodindia.com Sept. 11-16—ILA Berlin Air Show. Berlin ExpoCenter Airport. See www.ila-berlin.com/ila2012 Sept. 12-13—MIU Events' Business Aircraft Europe 2012. Biggin Hill Airport, England. See www.miuevents.com/bae12 Sept. 17-18—International Aerospace Symposium of South Africa. Royal Elephant Hotel and Conference Center, Bondev Park, Centurion. See www.iassa.org.za
Australia is to acquire electronic attack systems for the half of its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet that is already wired for the equipment. The upgrade is to cost an estimated A$1.5 billion ($1.56 billion). The converted aircraft are scheduled to be operational in 2018. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) operates 24 F/A-18Fs, 12 of which are wired for conversion to EA-18G Growler configuration.
With markets in Europe imploding and the U.S. economy looking shaky, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is expanding its business by focusing on Asian markets and in particular growing its short-haul narrowbody operation, SilkAir.
OEM supply chain oversight has been increasing during the past 6-7 years, a period that coincides with the well-publicized problems Boeing had with its supply chain for the 787 program. But in the broader context, OEMs have responded to a steady—and often remarkable—increase in aircraft orders since 2005 that slowed for most airframers only briefly in the 2008-09 global recession.
Mark J. Suchinski has been named vice president of finance/treasurer of Spirit AeroSystems Inc. of Wichita. He was vice president-financial planning and analysis and corporate contracts.
An Emirates Airbus A380 lands at Sydney Airport after a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The carrier is one of the leading players in the highly competitive Australia-Europe market, which includes the so-called kangaroo routes to London. Traditional powers Qantas Airways and British Airways are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with Asian and Middle Eastern carriers that have geographical advantages due to their hub locations. Sydney Airport photo.
Jeremy Prost has been named Beijing-based Asian sales manager for Piper Aircraft. He was head of the Beijing office for Diamond Aircraft and had been a sales executive with Diamond's manufacturing partner in China, BinAo Aircraft.
While avgas consumers and suppliers fret over the future of their leaded fuel, Cessna is partially weaning itself of that toxic brew by equipping its popular Model 182 Skylane with a Jet A-burning diesel engine. Others are likely to follow.
Boeing is one month into what is expected to be about an eight-month weapons flight-test program for the Indian navy's P-8I maritime patrol aircraft. Inert Harpoon missiles (shown), depth bombs and torpedoes are carried and the program includes clean release tests over the U.S. Navy test range west of Neah Bay, Wash., as well as over the joint U.S./Canadian test range in the Strait of Georgia. Boeing is building eight P-8Is; the No. 1 aircraft is the only one in flight testing. The No.
Turkish Airlines has added a tracking solution from Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen to further round out its growing crew management system. The airline, the third largest international carrier in Europe, already uses Jeppesen's crew pairing and rostering systems, and plans to add the company's upcoming Manpower Planning Solution to complete its integrated crew management system.
When it comes to managing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) programs, the Air Force is looking for pointers from all corners of the Pentagon. It ordered a recent National Research Council (NRC) report that finds lessons for Air Force ISR from across the other services. Both the Army and Navy follow procedures that foster strong ISR program management, according to the report. The Army wins high marks for the way it connects requirements analysis, force development and portfolio management, the report states, and the Navy deploys equipment successfully.
Three years after then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates scrapped Lockheed Martin's VH-71 program to replace presidential helicopters—erroneously slamming it for requiring the capability “to cook dinner while in flight under nuclear attack”—the Pentagon has finally re-initiated the procurement. Addressing concerns about the previous program's penchant for costly, leap-ahead technology, the Navy's new plan draws on mature technology to satisfy user requirements. But the current fleet of nearly 40-year-old helicopters will still be in service for quite some time.
One of the most consistent and persistent voices in Washington is that of a man who wants to shrink the place by making government smaller. Robert Poole (see photo) helped found the libertarian Reason Foundation in 1978 to promote free choice and free markets.
The big order rates for CFM International's Leap and Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G geared turbofan engines that will power this decade's new single-aisle and regional jets are pushing up production rates at key suppliers, particularly for those with flexible strategies for working in the supply chain, such as fuel-systems-maker Woodward Inc.
Del Denny has been appointed director of operations for Trenton, N.J.-based Wyvern. He was its auditor and had been a member of Bombardier's New Product Advisory Council for the Lear 60, Lear 45 and Challenger 300, and FlightSafety International's Advisory Board. Erin Salley and George Signoriello, both formerly with Merrill Lynch, have been named customer service executives.
