Aviation Week & Space Technology

By Jens Flottau
Airbus's interest in setting up a U.S. final assembly line for the A320 may seem like the aerospace equivalent of painting the white roses red, but there are larger business issues at stake than just trying to fool U.S. buyers into thinking they are “buying American.”
Air Transport

Michael Mecham
A week before the Farnborough International Airshow, Boeing officials are not saying whether they will break a 28-year-old rule and fly a 787 during the week-long biennial exhibition. The 787 debuted at the last Farnborough outing in 2010 and was at the Paris air show last year, but at both events it was in a static display.
Air Transport

By William Garvey
The Pacific Northwest Aviation Association, NorCal Business Aviation Association, Teterboro (N.J.) Users Group, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Aviation Association, Kansas City Business Aviation Association and Eastern Regional Helicopter Council are among local protectors and promoters of general and business aviation operators and airports throughout the U.S. And their number is growing steadily.
Business Aviation

The new Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares liquid-fuel rocket will have a shot at launching other NASA payloads as well as the Cygnus cargo carrier it was built to launch. The U.S. space agency added the kerosene-fueled launcher to its Launch Services II contract with Orbital, which also flies solid-fuel launch vehicles. Antares is due for a first flight this year, pending certification of its new Virginia-owned launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.

The most powerful version of Space Exploration Technologies' Merlin rocket engine has completed its first full-duration mission firing test. The Merlin 1D engine fired for 185 sec. and generated 147,000 lb. thrust during the firing, which included multiple restarts at target thrust and specific impulse. The engine is destined to make its first flight on a Falcon 9 in 2013

Maria Paz de Arana (see photos) has succeeded Gustavo Vaca as general manager-Spain for. She has worked for Sabre and Amadeus, as well as American Airlines. Attila Toth has joined the company's group management in Hungary and Erhan Sengenc is the new general manager in Turkey.

United Technologies Corp. and its subsidiaries Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand agreed last week to pay more than $75 million to the U.S. government to settle criminal and administrative charges related to accusations that it sold China software enabling its authorities to develop and produce their first modern military attack helicopter, the Z-10. The U.S. State Department further is imposing a partial disbarment of PWC for new export licenses, although it can request them on a case-by-case basis.

By Guy Norris
The supply chain train wreck that engulfed Boeing and others in recent years taught invaluable lessons to the rest of the aerospace industry, particularly those companies ambitiously planning to advance on the systems integration scale.

Brig. Gen. Edward A. Fienga has been appointed deputy director for programs in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Programs at USAF headquarters at the Pentagon. He was executive officer to the commander of Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo. Col. Donald E. Kirkland, who has been selected to become a brigadier general, has been named commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex of Air Force Materiel Command, Tinker AFB, Okla. He has been executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff at USAF headquarters. Brig. Gen.

Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, has been elected to the board of governors of the Geneva-based .

Robert Wall (London)
Poor roads and rail infrastructure have long made Africa a poster child for promoting growth in aviation, but regulatory, safety and financial issues have overshadowed the market's development.
Air Transport

By Guy Norris
Details MQ-4C UAV plans while continuing BAMS crash investigation
Defense and Space

Steve Smith has been named manager-composite manufacturing at , Lake Forest, Calif. He was director of composites at SpaceX.

By Jen DiMascio
When it comes to extracting U.S. airlines from the EU's requirement to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the House is again putting the squeeze on the Senate. Last week, the House passed another provision blocking the FAA from using taxpayer dollars to impose the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) on U.S. airlines, adding it to the fiscal 2013 transportation spending bill.

By Guy Norris
Turboshafts seem to last for generations, as many engine mechanics who have tended to just a handful of major types throughout their entire career can attest. Small wonder then that opportunities for new engine launches come along once in a blue Moon, particularly in the rarified world of heavy-lift helicopters.

July 8—Royal Aeronautical Society's 2012 Aerospace Media Dinner. London. See http://media.aerosociety.com/news/2012/03/09/2012-aerospace-media-dinne… July 9-12—Ohio Aerospace Institute/White Eagle Aerospace Professional Development Seminar Series Event: “Aerodynamics for Engineers.” Cleveland. See http://web1.oai.org/oaiwebevents.nsf/calendar July 9-15—Farnborough International Airshow 2012. See www.farnborough.com

With this issue, we relaunch Aviation Week & Space Technology and begin multiple editions (see Letter from the Editor, p. 3). Counterclockwise from top right, the first cover features an Airbus photo by A. Doumenjou of an AirAsia Japan A320. The cover of the Defense Technology Edition has Lockheed Martin photographer Andy Wolfe's shot of the second F-35B development aircraft carrying an inert AIM-9X missile. And our MRO Edition starts with an image of a Wizz Air A320 in C check in Budapest, captured by Lufthansa Technik's Gregor Schlager.

Steve Reichert (Clifton, N.J. )
I enjoy reading your magazine online, but it would be very helpful if there was a pause button on the cycling headline photos. Currently, this feature cycles so quickly that sometimes even manually forcing the previous page doesn't work because it flips back and then forward faster than I can click “full story.” Clifton, N.J.

Nancy Potts Hitchins has been named VP-environmental, health and safety (EHS) for , Kansas City, Mo. She was chief EHS specialist at Vestas Wind Systems.

Andrew Compart
When a person can retire young, it is a good thing, but the early retirement of aircraft has consequences for the aviation industry when it occurs in larger numbers, as is the case now for commercial jets.
Air Transport

Sept. 19-21—MRO IT Conference & Showcase. Miami. Oct. 9—MRO IT Europe. Amsterdam. Oct. 9—Aircraft Composite Repair Management. Amsterdam. Oct. 9-11—MRO Europe. Amsterdam. Oct. 30-31—Engine MRO Europe. Paris Nov. 6-7—A&D Programs. Phoenix. Nov. 13—Engine MRO Asia. Singapore. Nov. 14-15—MRO Asia. Singapore. Jan. 22-23—MRO Middle East. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Apr. 16-18—MRO Americas. Atlanta.

Rodolphe Marchais has become chairman and CEO of and chairman of its Miami-based Barfield division. Frederic Denise has become CEO of Barfield. He was chief operating officer.

Thomas S. Irwin has been promoted to senior executive VP from executive VP, CFO and treasurer at the , Hollywood Fla.

Frank Watson/Platts (London)
European Union emission allowance (EUA) prices surged to their highest level in more than three months in June as utilities ramped up their purchasing, triggering stops and forcing banks to cover short positions, traders say.
Air Transport

The European Aviation Safety Agency has provided new guidance for Airbus A380 operators on how to deal with wing rib-feet cracking. The new airworthiness directive is aimed at operators whose A380s have undergone a first round of interim repairs. The first wave of aircraft to receive an interim fix now need to undergo inspection after another 560 flight cycles.