In Japan, it was last year's earthquake and tsunami; manufacturers worldwide are still recovering. In the U.S., a swarm of tornadoes ripping across Kansas—and striking Spirit AeroSystems—brought another reminder of just how vulnerable and vastly inter-connected the aviation's supply chain is to natural disasters.
India's long struggle for strategic parity with China passed a milestone last week, with ramifications for India's self-confidence and China's rise, after India's indigenously developed Agni-V missile hit a pre-designated target in the Indian Ocean with a high degree of accuracy during its first test-flight.
Investors seem to believe that Textron Inc.'s darkest days are behind it. The share price of the 89-year-old parent company of Cessna Aircraft, Bell Helicopter and Textron Systems rose more than 50% during the first quarter of 2012. And while the stock has declined a bit in April, it has recovered from a slump that began a year ago, when it became apparent that a rebound in the lower end of the business jet market was further off than anticipated.
The Obama administration has delivered a long-awaited report asking Congress to return authority it yanked away from the executive branch in the late 1990s to approve exports of commercial satellites and components. But prospects for passage this year are bleak. While the satellite industry and other advocates for the change want it added to the defense authorization bill, Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of a key subcommittee writing that bill, has raised objections. The House is not likely to move independent legislation on satellite exports before September.
After 13 years of steady and often sharp increases in defense spending, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says last year's 0.3% increase to $1.74 trillion in global expenditure suggests the growth period is at an end. Although the global average is leveling off, it mainly reflects a change in spending in the U.S. and Western and Central Europe, where spending was down 1.2% and 1.9%, respectively. Latin America spending also was down, 3.3%.
The “Up Front” commentary “In Space to Stay, But in a Different Way” (AW&ST April 2, p. 15) makes me wonder whether “space business” was ever really meant to be a place for us to stay in? In the halcyon days of the aerospace industry, we were raised on the “Promise of Tomorrow” as portrayed in the newly constructed Disneyland, and on Sputnik-induced fear as spoofed in the movie “The Russian's Are Coming.”
When it comes to ideal locations for engine icing tests, manufacturers seek out an environment that many others try to avoid—with long winters and prolonged cold temperatures.
If Air Canada and American Airlines outsource their airframe maintenance, where will it go? Which MROs have capacity? This subject, as well as what really happened at Aveos Fleet Performance, was the focus of many conversations during the MRO Americas Conference & Exhibition in Dallas in early April. Both carriers appear to be in the initial stages of exploring third-party MRO market capabilities and capacity.
Defense Technology International Contributing Editor Nicholas Fiorenza, on the Ares defense blog, reports on the Danish military borrowing Dutch Raven UAVs to augment systems in Afghanistan. Marcase notes: These small UAVs are here to stay. Although the larger MALEs are nice to have, hand-launched UAVs are simple and cheap enough to be deployed in sufficient numbers to make an impact. Ravens have seen 'action' over the Netherlands in support of fire/crime fighting and dike/waterway inspections.
Now it is official. Amid mounting evidence that China is serious about curing its weakness in engine technology, Avic says its highest priority in the coming years will be propulsion. The group has set a budget of 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) for aero-engine work over five years, though that figure is probably only a fraction of actual spending.
Values of older Boeing jets could decline as much as 35% after 2020 as the Boeing 737 MAX assumes a larger share of the airline industry's installed base, according to an analysis by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald J. Epstein. However, he does not see a dilution of lease rates on current-generation 737NGs when MAX enters service in 2017. Epstein studied order trends, production rates and deliveries after Boeing launched what became the Next Generation 737-600/700/800/900 series in 1993.
The Brazilian air force's requirement that KC-390 tanker/transports serve civil and military markets is underscoring prime contractor Embraer's approach to the airplane's product strategy.
Building and operating a test stand large enough for 150,000-lb.-thrust gas turbine engines for Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce can be challenging, especially when it is erected in a bog where daytime temperatures for three-fourths of the year hover near zero. It turns out that the best way to tackle the task is to create large assemblies and bolt them together on-site. With a crew of six, MDS Aero Support Corp. completed the stand in six days.
A U.S. Air Force cyber- and outer-space wargame at Nellis AFB, Nev., starting April 20 will for the first time include representatives from NATO members Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Australia, Canada and Britain already are partners of the Schriever Wargame 2012 International Game. The wargame scenario depicts NATO counter-piracy operations around the Horn of Africa.
Maintenance providers have always been forced to adapt when airline fleets and operating models go through a transition phase. The Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. (Haeco) is no exception, and is responding to the latest airline evolution by broadening its capabilities and looking for new ways to partner with customers.
The second Lockheed Martin Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite is set to launch on an Atlas V rocket May 3 with a backup window of May 5, only days after launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9—both from Cape Canaveral. Operational testing of the spacecraft is set for next year. One of the first two AEHF satellites will eventually be placed in geosynchronous orbit over Europe in order for Washington to fulfill its agreement to share some of the capacity with the U.K., Canada and the Netherlands.
AW&ST Senior Editor Frank Morring, Jr.'s “How Commercial Space Is Paying Off Now” drew a lot of give-and-take, including: Coastal Ron writing: NASA needs transportation for three crew per flight to staff the International Space Station at six, but they want to increase the ISS crew to seven as soon as soon as it can be supported. Commercial crew vehicles can also fly less than full, although NASA will end up flying one or two visitors to the ISS when they are doing crew rotations with two non-Soyuz spacecraft.
May 6—Abingdon Air and Country Show. Abingdon Airfield (Dalton Barracks), Oxford, England. See www.abingdonfayre.com May 6-9—International Air Transport Association's 25th Annual Ground Handling Conference. Hilton Hotel, Prague. See www.iata.org May 7-9—Airport Council International-North America's Airport Economics and Human Capital Conference. Sheraton Nashville (Tenn.) Downtown. Also, May 23-24—ACI-NA/Airlines for America's Airport Deicing Management Conference. Crowne Plaza Hamilton, Washington. See www.aci-na.org/conferences/2012
The prospect of uninterrupted, high-speed Internet access on commercial and business jets moved a step closer to reality April 18 when Honeywell Aerospace announced plans to furnish civil and government aircraft with new Ka-band satellite terminals. The Phoenix-based company's partnership with satellite fleet operator Inmarsat represents a $2.8 billion revenue opportunity over 20 years, says Honeywell.
