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I helgen holdt Elon Musks romfartsbedrift SpaceX en konkurranse som har som mål å fremme utviklingen av Hyperloop. I konkurransen deltok 27 lag, som ble bedømt av SpaceX-ingeniører. Målet var å sende kapslene gjennom et rør med nær vakuum.
Kapslene var designet av ingeniørstudenter fra hele verden, og under konkurransen ble de forskjellige løsningene vurdert.
Tanken er at kapslene skal sveve på en luftpute, som dannes når en vifte suger opp luften foran kapselen, og sender den ut på undersiden. Noen har imidlertid også utstyrt kapsler med magneter som bidrar til at de svever.
Målet med Hyperloop er å bygge en ny transportmetode hvor kapsler sendes gjennom et rør i rundt 1200 kilometer i timen.
De kom ikke akkurat opp i slike hastigheter i helgen, da den høyeste hastigheten som ble oppnådd var 94 kilometer i timen gjennom et 1,6 kilometer (1 mile) langt vakuumrør i et testanlegg ved SpaceX' hovedkvarter i California.
Denne kapselen var designet av et lag fra studentorganisasjonen WARR ved det tekniske universitetet i München.
Deres prototype, som ble presentert i sommer, er sponset av blant andre Airbus, og vant for høyeste oppnådde hastighet. TU Delft hadde den beste designen, ifølge juryen.Foto: Delft HyperloopKapselen som vant konkurransen samlet sett var designet og bygget av et lag fra det tekniske universitetet i Delft i Nederland (TU Delft). Denne var utformet i karbonfiber, og var utstyrt med et egenutviklet bremse- og stabilitetssystem. Den veier 149 kg. Laget fikk høyeste poengsum totalt, og vant for beste design og konstruksjon. Et egenutviklet stabilisatorsystem skal sørge for at turen oppleves behagelig.Foto: Delft HyperloopAlle lagene deltar i en pågående konkurranse, som ble lansert i 2015. Dette var imidlertid første gang lagene fikk anledning til å teste ut forskjellige løsninger mot hverandre på samme testbane.
Av de 27 lagene som deltok, var det bare tre lag som til slutt fikk anledning til å teste ut sin design. Dette fordi de først måtte gjennom flere tester, inkludert strukturelle tester som viste at kapslene fungerte under vakuum. Transportkapselprototype utviklet av MIT Hyperloop.Foto: MIT HyperloopI tillegg til de tyske og nederlandske lagene, fikk laget fra Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) gjennomført testen. MIT-laget har fra før av vunnet pris for beste design i en tidligere fase.
Under konkurransen i helgen, vant de prisen for sikkerhet og pålitelighet. Den siste delen av konkurransen går av stabelen senere i år. Datoen er ikke satt, men de lagene som ikke fikk testet sine kapsler i helgen, får en ny mulighet under siste del. Den raskeste kapselen i konkurransen var prototypen utviklet av studenter ved det tekniske universitetet i München.Foto: Uli Benz/TU MuenchenMed unntak av ett lag, er alle tilknyttet en utdanningsinstitusjon. Altså stiller ikke de kommersielle aktørene som utvikler Hyperloop i disse konkurransene direkte.
Hyperloop-selskap sponser
Hyperloop One, som holder på å utvikle et system med tanke på kommersialisering, sponser imidlertid flere av lagene, blant annet MITs lag og Virginia Tech-laget. Det er altså ikke utenkelig at erfaringer fra disse lagene vil kunne brukes under utviklingen av et kommersielt Hyperloop-system.
Men det er langt frem til man kan avgjøre om noen av disse systemene, eller de kommersielle aktørenes systemer, er levedyktige.
SpaceX er i seg selv ikke deltakende i kommersiell utvikling av Hyperloop, og de sponser heller ingen lag. Bakgrunnen for konkurransen er at de håper den skal bidra til å sette fart på utviklingen av en funksjonell Hyperloop-prototype. Elon Musk sa under en tale i forbindelse med konkurransen at noe av hensikten er å vekke folks interesse for transportmetoden, og å skape innovasjoner som utforsker fysikkens grenser for å se hva som er mulig.
Testbanen i seg selv er ifølge Musk det nest største vakummkammer etter Large Hadron Collider.
Waypoint Sees Near-term Lift for Offshore Helo Market
Waypoint Leasing is forecasting a near-term recovery for the offshore helicopter market based on fourth-quarter developments in the global energy outlook. Ian Gurekin, Waypoint's chief risk officer, said yesterday that the near-term outlook is now “optimistic, buoyed by OPEC’s announcement to cut production followed by non-OPEC producers vowing to do the same. Several of the major oil companies have taken advantage of the current environment by securing investment deals, committing to new offshore blocks and increasing exploration and drilling activity.”
The helicopter lessor noted that it added 23 new aircraft and 10 new customers in last year’s down market and moved stronger into the light-twin helicopter market based on stronger demand there. It also announced that of the 10 Leonardo AW139s and Sikorsky S-92s it took back from operator CHC as part of that company's reorganization, seven have already been placed and two are likely to be soon. Overall, Waypoint completed 30 re-leases last year.
Waypoint’s portfolio includes more than 140 aircraft for 26 customers in 31 countries worth more than $1.6 billion. It also has firm orders and options with OEMs over the next five years for more than 120 helicopters valued at more than $1.5 billion.
Volcanic Ash Detector for Jets Passes Ground Tests
An in-aircraft volcanic ash-detection system developed by Norway-based Nicarnica Aviation, and paired with Elbit System’s ClearVision enhanced-vision system, has successfully completed ground trials, the companies announced today. Nicarnica’s Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector (Avoid) is an awareness device intended to provide real-time imagery of volcanic ash, which can damage turbine engines.
Information is supplied to the cockpit from two fast-sampling, imaging infrared cameras that can detect hazardous volcanic ash particles up to 54 nm/100 km ahead. At typical jet cruise speeds, this provides pilots with a seven- to 10-minute warning to safely evade the ash clouds.
During the recent ground trials, the Avoid system demonstrated “unprecedented” volcanic ash-detection capability. According to Elbit, “The trial findings verify that the final product will achieve a successful detection at a range of 100 kilometers in sufficient time to allow pilots to avoid the no-fly zone affected by the presence of volcanic ash.”
We recently visited Embraer’s impressive and much expanded campus in Melbourne, Florida. While there, we strapped into the left seat of Legacy 500 Serial Number 52 for a demonstration of its Rockwell Collins HGS-3500 compact head-up display, EVS-3000 multi-spectral enhanced vision system and synthetic vision capability.
This is Embraer’s first aircraft to have the certified version of E2VS, short for Embraer Enhanced Vision System. It was FAA-approved in September 2016 as an enhanced flight vision system in accordance with Advisory Circular 90-106A. Accordingly, it can be used for credit to fly down as low as 100 ft. above the touchdown zone elevation before the flight crew must see the runway environment with unaided vision in accordance with FAR Part 91.175. However, when the HGS-3500 is displaying synthetic vision background imagery, the system cannot be used to fly down to lower than published approach procedure minimums.
Accompanied by Sydney V. de M. Rodrigues, senior demonstration, instructor and Legacy 450/500 standards pilot, in the right seat and Peter Kruger, senior demonstration and safety pilot, on the jump seat, we taxied out from Embraer’s ramp at Melbourne International Airport (MLB). Even though the weather was too clear to show off all of the system’s capabilities during low visibility approaches, its value became apparent as soon as we started rolling down Taxiways G and K toward the approach end of Runway 9L. We could see the thermal image of Embraer’s taxi director on the ramp, the pavement edges, along with the taxiway and runway paint stripes. The thermal image is slightly offset to the left from the actual pavement and paint stripes due to parallax between the left-side-mounted HUD and center-mounted EVS-3000 camera array.
The long-wave infrared (IR) sensor of the EVS camera array enabled us to see down the taxiway two or three times farther than we could using our own eyes and the aircraft taxi lights. The shortwave IR and electro-optical visible light sensor enabled us to see both incandescent and LED/sodium vapor/mercury vapor light sources. We also could see the infrared exhaust signatures or proximate turbine aircraft, but not the four-cylinder Piper Cherokee in the left traffic pattern.
Rodrigues used the FMS to compute takeoff V speeds and takeoff field length. We noted that s.n. 52 is 329 lb. heavier than what Embraer quoted for BCA’s May 2016 Purchase Planning Handbook. With 5,990 lb. of fuel and one passenger, our computed takeoff weight was 30,260 lb. At Melbourne’s 33-ft. field elevation, at 25C and using Flaps 1 for takeoff, V1 and Vr were 112 KIAS, V2 was 120 KIAS and en route climb speed was 140 KIAS. Takeoff field length was 3,379 ft. with 6,000 ft. of pavement available.
Cleared for takeoff, we advanced the thrust levers until the autothrottles engaged. The lightly loaded aircraft had a 1:2.15 thrust-to-weight ratio, so acceleration was brisk. When Rodrigues called “Rotate,” we immediately were reminded why the Legacy 500 is such a pleasure to fly. Pitch response to the sidestick input was crisp but well damped. It was easy to follow the flight director cue in the HUD.
We settled into a comfortable 180 KIAS climb. Tower asked us to maintain the 094-deg. runway heading until 1,500 ft. for noise abatement. After switching over to Orlando Departure, we were cleared to climb southeasterly through broken cumulus to 5,000 ft. MSL. We could see the shapes, sizes and tops of the clouds both in the HUD and on the head-down displays with the help of the EVS IR sensors. Rodrigues showed us how to use the background imagery on/off button on the left sidestick to check visibility with unaided vision. That check is essential when flying approaches down to minimums.
OK, we admit it. We’re HUD junkies. It’s so much easier to fly an aircraft with smoothness and precision when using the HUD’s flight-path vector and 1:1 conformal symbology than it is with a compressed imagery head-down display, in our opinion. And it keeps the pilot head-up and with eyes looking outside the cockpit. It could be the biggest safety breakthrough since the invention of the windshield.
For the first approach back at Melbourne, though, Rodrigues elected to switch to synthetic vision for the background imagery so that we could see how it works in comparison with enhanced vision.
SVS, as it uses the aircraft’s own TAWS terrain database, will provide situational awareness even if the clouds are so dense that they obscure the view of the enhanced vision camera array. SVS provides dome images over nearby airports, high-resolution terrain contours, lead-in lines to runway centerlines and runway outline imagery. In addition, in clear weather it can help the pilot visually acquire airports and runways in urban areas, which often can disappear in a sea of lights from buildings, roads and housing developments.
But switching between SVS and EVS for background HUD imagery requires use of the cursor control device and a series of drop-down menus. We’d prefer a vertically mounted, two-way, momentary contact rocker switch in place of the background imagery on/off button on the sidestick. One side of the rocker could be used to turn on/off the EVS and the other could be used to turn on/off the SVS.
As we approached Runway 9R using the RNAV (GPS) LPV procedure, SVS showed us the extended runway centerline. The closer we got to MLB, the runway outline image became ever larger. At the published 232 ft. MSL (200 ft. AGL) decision altitude, we executed a go-around and set up for the ILS Runway 9R.
This time, we switched from SVS to EVS imagery. As we peered through the HUD, it was quite apparent that improvements have been made by Rockwell Collins and Embraer to the multi-spectral EVS camera since we first flew the system in Brazil. The gains between the two IR sensors and low-light camera have been harmonized to provide a more realistic image of lights, terrain and pavement. We could see Interstate 95 and Ellis Road, for instance, east of the airport. We also could see the thermal signatures of the high-intensity runway edge lights on Runways 9L and 9R, plus the MALSR array leading us to Runway 9R.
Rodrigues also could see everything detected by the EVS camera in an upper left window of the right-side display screen. He also had SVS imagery displayed on the right-half PFD so that he could compare the two.
Rodrigues called “minimums’ at the ILS 232-ft. decision height and we replied “Continuing.” We flew down to 132 ft. MSL, switched off the EVS to take a brief look at the runway and executed a second go-around.
For our final approach, we again flew the ILS Runway 9R using EVS. This time, we switched off the EVS at 132 ft. MSL (100 ft. AGL) and continued for landing using the HUD with unaided vision.
We again switched on the EVS for the taxi back to Embraer’s Melbourne campus, providing a much-enhanced view of the pavement, paint stripes, lights and drainage ditches along the sides of the taxiways.
Conclusions? The combination of the HGS-3500 and EVS-3000 provides tangible cost benefits in the form of being able to fly down to lower-than-published minimums. Its intangibles include flying with VFR precision and smoothness in IMC and much improved situational awareness.
Embraer is pricing the HGS-3500 at $275,000 and the EVS-3000 at $275,000, if they are purchased separately. Together, the package will be available for just over $500,000. That’s roughly half the cost of conventional stand-alone HUD/EVS packages. Apparently, many Legacy 500 buyers see the value of the system. Before it was certified, more than half of the customers were ordering their aircraft with provisions for both systems. Now with the system’s FAA and EASA approvals, 80% of operators with HGS/EVS provisions are installing it.
Boeing’s F/A-18E/F
Super Hornet could steal orders away from the Lockheed Martin F-35 if the Trump
Administration adjusts defence priorities, military acquisition analyst Andrew
Hunter told an audience 23 January at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies.
An
"advanced Super Hornet" still can’t compete with the stealthy F-35 in
airspace monitored by radar surveillance, but a semi-low-observable F/A-18E/F
with more carriage capacity could emerge as an attractive option against less
sophisticated threats, according to Hunter.
“But if your strategy requires
to operate continuously in denied access air environments, there is no such
thing as a comparable Super Hornet,” he adds. “It simply doesn’t exist.”
In 2015, US Gen Joseph Dunford,
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Russia the greatest
existential threat to the US followed by China, North Korea and Islamic State
terrorists. That order affects how the US Department of Defense approaches its
procurement priorities. When it comes to air, it means the Pentagon has set its
sights on buying high-end aircraft that can penetrate more sophisticated
Russian air defences in Crimea.
But there is some indication
from Trump’s previous statements and his proclivity for Russian president
Vladimir Putin that the old order could be flipped. US president Donald Trump’s
national security team could make terrorism their top concern and let the
Russian threat fall to the back burner, according to CSIS defence budget
analyst Todd Harrison.
“If that holds true then why do
you need as many of these stealthy aircraft?” Harrison says. “So it could
dramatically change what we’re buying.”
Last week, USAF chief Gen David
Goldfein expressed his support for Senate Armed Services Committee Chair
Senator John McCain’s proposal to add 300 low-cost fighters to the budget. That
move would make sense if the DOD pivots its focus toward fighting terrorist
groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, where light-attack aircraft such as the
Embraer Super Tucano already operate.
Trump’s proposal for a price
shoot-out on the F-35 programme between Boeing and Lockheed has some precedent.
Harrison noted the US Navy already pits the Super Hornet against the
carrier-based F-35C variant, with its numerous budget requests to increase the
number of F/A-18E/Fs while reducing orders for the F-35C.
The service requested 14 Super
Hornets in the most recent defence policy bill, which were turned down by
Congress. A recent white paper from McCain suggested continuing this trend,
pointing to the growing shortfall of Navy fighters and ongoing delays to the
F-35C programme. McCain proposed procuring 58 more Super Hornets and 16 EA-18G
Growlers over the next five years, but would continue F-35 procurement as
quickly as possible.
If Lockheed would feel
competition from any aircraft, it would be the Super Hornet, Harrison adds.
“I
think it’s easy to say Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about, the F-18
doesn’t have the same capabilities as F-35C,” Harrison says. “All of that’s
true, but I think he knew that he was picking at a scab.”
Fornebu 31.12.1982 - Siste tur med Citation II i HS- Foto Per Gram
Citation business jet turns 45 this month This Cessna Citation 500 business jet is similar to
the first one delivered in January 1972. Textron Aviation Courtesy
photo
Forty-five years ago this month, Cessna delivered its first
Citation business jet, an event that arguably changed the course of the Wichita
plane maker.
American Airlines was the first recipient of the Citation
500 jet in late January 1972, officials of Cessna parent Textron Aviation said
Monday. American planned to use the jet for the development of its in-house
training program.
Since the delivery, the company that is equally known
for its light, single-piston-engine airplanes has delivered more than 7,000
Citation business jets that have amassed nearly 35 million flight
hours.
"This milestone marking 45 years of industry leadership is really
a celebration of the thousands of people through the years - customers and
employees - who have made the Citation line of business jets the world leader,"
Kriya Shortt, Textron Aviation senior vice president of sales and marketing,
said in a news release.
The Citation line encompasses eight jets ranging
from light to midsize with two larger models under development: the super
midsize Longitude that's expected to be certified later this year and the
large-cabin Hemisphere, scheduled for first flight in 2019.
Singapore Airlines looking to hire more overseas pilots This is reportedly part of a more aggressive
recruitment drive to meet the needs of its growing fleet.
Singapore
Airlines (SIA) is reportedly expanding its search for cadet pilots beyond
Singapore's borders.
This is part of an aggressive recruitment drive to
hire more pilots to meet the needs of a growing fleet, The Straits Times
reported.
The carrier had ordered 67 Airbus 350s, six of which arrived
last year.
Job advertisements recently posted on online pilot forums
stated that all nationalities are welcome to apply.
Previously, the
airline tended to hire Singaporean Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents
(PRs) for its cadet pilot training programme, industry observers told The
Straits Times.
The cadet pilot training programme typically takes three
years to complete.
As a comparison, the carrier continues to seek
Singaporeans or PRs for the direct entry second officer position, as posted on
its website.
More than 80% of its 2,000 cockpit crew are either
Singaporeans or PRs.
But SIA said it will continue to recruit mainly
Singaporeans, according to spokesman Nicholas Ionides.
"As an
international airline, we do have employees of various nationalities, including
pilots who must meet our stringent requirements. This policy has not
changed."
Last year, SIA became the last Singapore airline to hire women
pilots through its cadet pilot intake.
Airlines Scramble to Adjust to Trump's New
World Carriers seek clarity as passenger lawyers say American border
officers are pressuring green card holders.
As new U.S. travel rules
plunged several large American airports into chaos, lawyers for some travelers
who are long-term legal residents said the government had urged them to
relinquish their status as a requirement for reentering the country.
This was among the more curious developments over a weekend in which a
Trump administration order restricting entry into America was met with
condemnation abroad and furious protests at home. The official U.S. document,
Form I-407, "record of abandonment of lawful permanent resident status," was
distributed on several aircraft that landed this weekend at Los Angeles
International Airport, said Rachel Odio, an immigration lawyer with pro-bono law
firm Public Counsel. Other travelers saw the forms after they had been detained
by U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in the airport, she
said.
U.S. DHS Public Counsel assisted about 50
travelers detained at LAX since the Trump's executive order was issued Friday.
Several federal courts subsequently temporarily restricted full enforcement of
the ban as constitutional challenges move forward. A spokeswoman for the CBP
didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
"It's absurd. There's
no legal basis for it," Odio said of the requests to renounce residency. Because
many of the forms are being signed "under duress" in isolated airport rooms
without access to family, attorney representation, or even food, "there is
definitely a strong argument that their signature is without
consent."
Airlines seeking clarity
Trump imposed the travel ban on
people from seven predominantly Muslim nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,
Syria, Sudan, and Yemen. The policy didn't include several nations with ties to
past U.S. terror attacks or where Trump's companies do business, including
Egypt, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, Trump attempted to blame the
upheaval on a technical glitch at Delta Air Lines Inc., though the glitch
occurred two full days after his order was issued and after protests had begun.
Delta didn't respond to Bloomberg's queries about the president's comment.
The International Association of Air Transport (IATA) said the executive
order "placed additional burdens on airlines to comply with unclear
requirements" and imposed implementation costs and penalties. IATA is seeking
"clarity" from the U.S. administration. "Moreover, we urge all governments to
provide sufficient advance coordination of changes in entry requirements so that
travelers can clearly understand them and airlines can efficiently implement
them," the Geneva-based group said in a statement.
Lufthansa spokeswoman
Christina Semmel said the travel changes have caused only "a few recorded cases"
whereby the airline hasn't allowed a customer to travel to the U.S. "Customers
who have been affected by these new regulations are offered a free rebooking or
are given a full refund," she wrote in an e-mail. A New York-based spokeswoman
for British Airways, Michele Kropf, said none of the carrier's customers had
been refused entry to the U.S. due to the order. Emirates, which said it has
changed some flight staffing to comply with the U.S. requirements, is offering
refund and travel rebooking options for people affected.
In a statement,
Air France said it was "obliged to offload 15 passengers" from nations subject
to the U.S. decree, while KLM informed seven passengers on Saturday that they
could not fly to the U.S. "Air France's main concern is to protect its
customers, including the possible consequences of arriving in a country they are
not allowed to enter, and to limit the inconvenience caused to them by the
decision of the U.S. authorities," the airline said. KLM, its sister carrier
under the same ownership group, said it "regrets the inconvenience caused to its
passengers who were confronted with this sudden change of
circumstances."
Green card question
Ally Bolour, an immigration
lawyer in Los Angeles, said he was told by one traveler from a Qatar Airways
Ltd. flight from Doha that U.S. officials had distributed the 407 forms before
passengers disembarked. He said attorneys at the airport had tried to circulate
word to passengers not to sign the forms. "Nobody I had talked to who had come
through [immigration] had signed," Bolour said on Monday, calling the situation
"highly, highly unusual." A spokeswoman for Qatar Airways didn't immediately
respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
A counter-protester, right, holds a
sign and chants in front of other demonstrators outside Los Angeles
International Airport, on Jan. 29, 2017. A counter-protester, right, holds a
sign and chants in front of other demonstrators outside Los Angeles
International Airport, on Jan. 29, 2017. Photographer: Dania
Maxwell/Bloomberg Several travelers at LAX also reported that customs
officials had asked a variety of questions about their travel, including one
about Trump, Bolour said. "The one question that stuck out to them was 'Do you
like Trump?'" he said. "It's very bizarre. But that was a question."
On
Sunday, the Trump administration slightly loosened the restrictions for those
with long-term U.S. resident status, saying those travelers would be admitted
subject to "case-by-case determinations."
"When you're an LTR (long-term
resident) you present your passport, you present your green card and they say
'Welcome home,'" Bolour said. "That's what's supposed to happen."
It was
unclear exactly why the U.S. would seek to reduce the number of long-term
residents, many of whom obtained green cards through marriage. "I have no idea
why the government would be trying to have these people sign these forms except
maybe to reduce the number of those people from these countries who reside in
the U.S.," Odio said. "It's really terrifying."
Trump Immigration Ban Makes U.S. Airlines Less
Secure
Christine Negroni , CONTRIBUTOR I write
about aviation and travel. A flight departs Newark. Photo by Christine
Negroni
The flight attendant, a green-card holding German citizen
working for a U.S. airline was clear: "I don't know where I belong," she told me
on Saturday evening.
Trump's immigration ban, hastily applied to seven
countries, does not include Germany, but the flight attendant has lost
confidence in America and is thinking about leaving. She symbolizes the
uncertainty spreading across the airline industry following Trump's executive
order and it may be responsible in Monday's slump in stock prices for U.S.
airlines.
Legal residents of America are holding back on international
travel, experts tell me in light of new questions about who may and may not be
allowed to enter the country.
"You've got a valid visa, you've been
vetted for a year or more, you were an interpreter for the special forces, you
saved lives and you are shit out of luck," said a former head of a large
domestic airline, who agreed to speak to me so long as he was not
identified.
"There are arguably tens of thousands of people who are
frozen in place in the U.S.," he said, creating havoc for their employers and
for the airlines that would have transported them, not a small number whom would
have flown in lucrative business class seats.
And what of the airline
employees? American carriers may not employ many pilots and flight attendants
from the seven named countries, (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen)
but the impact could be considerable on Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, airlines
with a large Arabic-speaking customer base and which fly to several cities in
the U.S.
"They may have entire crews that may be impacted, where
scheduling has to say 'you cannot fly these flights,'" said John McDonald, a
former executive vice president at American Airlines who runs the consulting
firm, Caeli Communications.
"There doesn't appear to be an understanding
or appreciation of how the system works," McDonald said.
The speed with
which the order was applied, so that legal entrants were transformed into
undesirables as they were America-bound, seemed designed to create maximum
chaos. It was unlike previous changes in immigration policy where airlines were
informed in advance and travelers were advised before departing for America.
Emirates airline changes pilots and flight crew on US flights because of
Donald Trump 'Muslim travel ban' Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Germany's Lufthansa
also affected by the new US policies
Dubai-based carrier has 11 flights
to US cities each day Getty Emirates airline is reportedly changing its
pilots and cabin crews on flights to the United States following Donald Trump's
executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority
countries.
The Dubai-based carrier, which has 11 flights to US cities
each day, made "the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the
latest requirements," an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday
The
President's executive order temporarily suspended refugees and immigrants
travelling from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering
the US.
Reuters reports the ban also applies to pilots and flight
attendants from those seven countries, even though all flight crew who are not
US citizens already need a special visa to enter the country.
Protests
across American airports in response to Trump's immigration ban The impact of
the ban on operations would be minimal, another spokeswoman told the agency, as
Emirates employs over 23,000 flight attendants and around 4,000 pilots from
around the world.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways told Reuters the airline had
"taken steps to ensure there will be no issues for flights departing over the
coming weeks" while Germany's Lufthansa confirmed airlines and passengers were
required to follow the new rules.
Separately, Etihad said a number of its
passengers had been affected by the new US immigration policies.
The
carrier said it is offering affected passengers refunds or flight changes where
possible.
Jan 27, 2017James Drew| Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
Lockheed's T-50A would be built in Greenville, South Carolina.
Lockheed Martin
The U.S. Air Force’s once-crowded $16 billion T-X next-generation trainer competition is beginning to look more and more like a price shootout between the Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries T-50A and Boeing/Saab BTX after Northrop Grumman expressed mixed feelings about entering the race.
What started out as six potential entrants including Raytheon/Leonardo, Sierra Nevada Corporation/Turkish Aerospace Industries and Textron Aviation prior to the Dec. 30 request for proposals has narrowed to five and perhaps fewer after the Raytheon/Leonardo team withdrew its M-346 Master-based T-100 offer.
The two firms left T-100 partners CAE USA and Honeywell Aerospace, as well as the town of Meridian, Mississippi, in the lurch on Jan. 25 when they abandoned T-X, having failed to come to a business agreement over the cost of the Italian aircraft, which Raytheon believed needed to be substantially lower to be competitive.
On Jan. 26, when asked if Northrop would bid, company CEO Wes Bush surprised some T-X watchers by saying no decision has been made either way, despite substantial investment in a flying prototype. “We don’t want to walk ourselves into a decision to do something just because we’ve been doing it,” he said.
Sierra Nevada has avoided saying whether its “Freedom Trainer” will enter the race, and Textron Aviation also will n0t say definitively if a Scorpion-based offer is on the table.
One industry source tells Aviation Week that the T-100 needed to be the low-cost option for the Air Force to have a fighting chance against Boeing and Lockheed.
Raytheon, which produced the T-1A Jayhawk and T-6A Texan II, exited the aircraft manufacturing business in 2006 when it sold Hawker Beechcraft, now owned by Textron Aviation. The firm would have been Leonardo’s U.S. face for the T-100, acting as prime system integrator and driving toward 70% American content on the aircraft.
The team announced its partnership in February 2016 and looked solid until October, when Aviation Week reported disagreements over control of the bid. The source says Leonardo’s aircraft and helicopter divisions, FinmeccanicaAlenia Aermacchi and AgustaWestland, respectively, are “not the easiest partners” and do not like relinquishing control of their products to teammates. Alenia Aermacchi had been teamed with General Dynamics for T-X, but split and reformed with Raytheon.
“[The M-346] is probably the most proven of the competitors, [but] Leonardo and Raytheon were several million dollars apart from what [unit price] they wanted,” the source says.
Just last month, Raytheon held a ceremony at Key Field in Meridian—where it hoped to complete assembly of the aircraft—to drum up support for the T-100 among local politicians and business leaders.
A spokesman for Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran (R) expressed disappointment about the breakup, but was not totally disheartened. “Because of this process, there’s no question that we are poised to meet future opportunities [in high-tech aerospace manufacturing],” the spokesman says.
CAE, one of the leading providers of aircraft training and simulation services, says it is disappointed that the T-100 will not compete. The Canadian firm’s U.S subsidiary in Tampa, Florida, would have provided the ground-based training system. It typically competes against FlightSafety International, L-3 Link Simulation & Training, and Boeing and Lockheed’s in-house training services businesses for U.S. military training contracts. L-3 Link is partnered with Northrop, and Boeing and Lockheed are leveraging their own training and simulation capabilities. Sierra Nevada has not disclosed its teaming arrangements.
“We would welcome supporting the eventual T-X winner with our advanced simulation technologies and training support capabilities,” CAE says.
The T-100 split has dashed Honeywell’s hopes of resuming production of its F124 low-bypass turbofan engine in the U.S. The F124 was militarized from Honeywell’s commercial TFE731 business jet engine for Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighter, and it now also powers the M-346 and Aero Vodochody L-159. Honeywell opened an American assembly line in Phoenix, Arizona, to build engines for Israel’s M-346 training fleet, and would have resumed production there if Raytheon won T-X.
“For Honeywell, it’s easy to shrug off,” says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group. “This was only a combat engine by accident when the Taiwanese adopted it for their fighter program a long, long time ago. For CAE, their business is going very well, so they should be able to shrug it off, but it hurts; it hurts to be a big training company and not be part of the biggest training competition in the world.”
Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said the break with Leonardo was a “smart move” by Raytheon because of the economics and Leonardo’s shaky track record of partnering with American companies, citing the failed the Lockheed/AgustaWestland AW101-based VH-71 Kestrel presidential helicopter project. “Leonardo had an integrated training solution before Raytheon even came along,” he says, “but there’s a price of admission for getting into this market that requires getting along with one of the major U.S. system integrators.”
Aboulafia and Thompson agree that it could come down to a price war between Lockheed and Boeing, although the two firms have different motivations and market forecasts.
The T-50A is an already-fielded, high-performance aircraft that easily could be adapted to other missions such as light combat or aggressor training support, whereas Boeing and Saab have developed a purpose-built trainer aircraft. Boeing is hungry for a military aircraft win after losing the Joint Strike Fighter contract to Lockheed in 2001 and the Long-Range Strike Bomber to Northrop in 2015. “Boeing does have a significant development bill, but boy, are they hungry for a military airframe win,” Aboulafia says.
Thompson says if price does become the main discriminator for T-X, it might be wise for Northrop to sit this competition out, since it significantly underbid the Boeing/Lockheed team to win the bomber contract and might be exposed to too much financial risk with another development program. “Taking a big risk dampens your enthusiasm for more such bidding,” he says.
Aboulafia says just because Northrop invested in a clean-sheet prototype does not mean it must bid. “Any economist is going to tell you that the sunk cost fallacy is the biggest fallacy of all,” he says.
Bush expressed such sentiments during the earnings call. “While it’s interesting enough that we have made some investments supporting this program, [these] investments tend to have broader applicability, so we need to be thoughtful.”
The Air Force is seeking 350 next-generation trainers over 11 annual batches to replace upward of 450 Northrop T-38 Talons for undergraduate fighter and bomber pilot training. The T-38 was introduced in 1961, and T-X service entry is due by late fiscal 2024 “or earlier,” the service says.
Lockheed Martin has selected BAE Systems
to replace the head-up display (HUD) on the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter with an
all-digital version. BAE’s Electronic Systems business unit at Rochester
in the UK will provide its digital light engine (DLE) for a
development contract that is expected to lead to full production for the entire U.S.Air
Force F-22 fleet.
BAE Systems provides the
current HUD for the F-22, and for many other fighter aircraft,
notably the F-16. It has developed the DLE version as a “form and
fit” upgrade that removes the conventional cathode ray tube image source and
introduces a more advanced digital display solution. The digital technology
offers increased reliability, eliminates high-maintenance and obsolete items, and
provides a constant luminance performance.
Andy Humphries, director of
advanced displays at BAE Systems, said: “F-22 pilots deserve the most
advanced situational awareness technology available today. We’ve worked closely
with Lockheed Martin to deliver a completely modernized HUD solution
for the F-22 fleet that meets the long-term needs of the Air Force.” In fact,
the pilot sees very little difference when a BAE Systems DLE HUD is
installed; it retains the existing optics, video camera and control panel.
The DLE package is
compatible with any existing aircraft interface, and BAE Systems has
been marketing it to F-16 operators. But the F-22 contract is the company’s
first for this new technology. BAE Systems has produced more than
15,000 head-up displays that have been in service on more than 50 different
aircraft types in more than 50 countries.
Leonardo Gains Italian Orders To Boost Balance Sheet
Boosted by new practical support from the Italian government worth more than €500 million ($532 million), Leonardo reports “all conditions are in place for our next stage—growth,” according to CEO Mauro Moretti. The Italian Ministry of Defence has contracted for the company’s M-345 basic jet trainer, and for development of a new exploration and escort helicopter to replace the AW129 Mangusta. The revamped company also announced the reorganization of its substantial UK activities into a single entity named Leonardo MW Ltd.
The Italian air force will receive five M-345s toward a total requirement of 45 aircraft that will replace the MB-339 training fleet that was delivered from 1982 and now numbers 137. Pilots will graduate from the single-engine M-345 onto the M-346, Leonardo’s advanced twinjet trainer, 18 of which are on order or in service already. The prototype M-345 made its first flight from Leonardo’s Venegono airfield at Varese on December 30, marking the start of a test campaign that should be completed this year. The company describes the M-345 as a “High Efficiency Trainer” (HET) that offers a significant reduction in acquisition and life-cycle costs compared to those of powerful turboprop trainers, an obvious reference to the rival and very successful Pilatus PC-21. Read More
Russia’s T-50 PAKFA fifth-generation
stealth fighter is about to undergo flight testing by military pilots for the
first time. The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) said on January 6 that it
would take delivery this year of five of the aircraft that have been
flight-tested by Sukhoi at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII) in
Zhukovsky. But the VKS, which since last year has encompassed the Russian
Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, made no further mention of
any order for
production aircraft.
The five T-50s will now be
transferred to the Chkalov VKS State Flight Test Centre base No. 929
at Akhtubinsk. Once at the Chkalov center, the aircraft will be put
through a two-stage program, “State-Joint Flight Testing,” that allows for
military pilots to gradually take over the validation of the aircraft. This
joint testing program is in theory the last process that the prototype aircraft
would undergo before the go-ahead is given for the T-50 to enter series
production.
In the first stage of the
program, the industry pilots who have been flying the T-50, which is developed
by the state-owned United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) will train a cadre of military
pilots to fly the aircraft. In the second stage, flights would be
conducted entirely by VKS pilots and validate whether or
not the aircraft meets the service’s operational requirement.
Russian defense industry
specialists, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AIN that the
authorization for the T-50 to enter production need not wait until the final
results of the joint state testing program. One said: “The VKSflight-test
team could issue a preliminary report stating that the major points of
validation have been successfully completed and that production may commence.”
He noted that in some previous programs, the seal of approval for series
production was given as far in advance as a year before the testing program was
formally completed.
But that might not happen with
the T-50. Another industry specialist told AIN, “The T-50 was a priority
program for [former UAC CEO Mikhail] Pogosian, but since he was
replaced it seems to have fallen from the top of the VKS priority
list. There may no longer be a big bureaucratic push to see this aircraft type
rushed into production.”
Two possible reasons for this
are that the next-generation fighter engine and an AESA radar for the
T-50 are still not ready for series production and will have to be certified on
the aircraft. At the moment the T-50 is fitted with the same Saturn 117S
jet engine and NIIP-built N035 Irbis passive electronically
scanning array that are part of the standard configuration for the Su-35.
Once off the production line and
accepted into service, the first T-50 series-production aircraft would be
delivered to the Russian Ministry of Defence’s 4th State Centre for Training of
Aviation Personnel and Combat Testing at Lipetsk. At this stage the VKS pilots
who have completed the State Joint Testing program would create a cadre of
instructor pilots drawn from the combat units slated to be the first operators
of the T-50.
The announcement regarding the
T-50 program also stated that the VKS would take delivery of some 100
aircraft and helicopters. These will include more than 20 Sukhoi Su-30SM fighters,
a number of overhauled and modernized Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers already
in long-term VKS service and an unspecified number of new Mil Mi-28
and Kamov Ka-52 combat helicopters.
General uproar against his executive order on immigration. Now he is using all possible means to defend his descision. He is also using Delta`s software problems as such a means (Ed.):
Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....
About 150 flights canceled after Delta grounds U.S.
flights
Delta Air Lines canceled 150 flights Sunday after
grounding its U.S. flights due to an automation issue, the company said in a
statement. And the company expects more cancellations. USA TODAY
NETWORK
Delta Air Lines canceled 150 flights Sunday after grounding its
U.S. flights due to an automation issue, the company said in a statement. And
the company expects more cancellations.
Delta said in a statement around
11:45 p.m. ET that airline's IT systems "returned to normal" the ground stop was
lifted. The cancellations and delays left thousands of airline travelers in
limbo across the country.
"I want to apologize to all of our customers
who have been impacted by this frustrating situation," Delta CEO Ed Bastian
said. "This type of disruption is not acceptable to the Delta family who prides
itself on reliability and customer service."
The Delta systems didn't
show the latest total of cancellations late Sunday night, including delta.com,
the Fly Delta App, airport information screens or through our Reservations
agents, according to the statement. Some customers experienced delays upon
landing, particularly at Delta's hub airports.
The grounding was reported
earlier Sunday in a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration's Air
Traffic Control System Center. International flights were exempt.
Reports
on social media Sunday showed flight disruptions at airports in Atlanta, New
York City, Houston, Tucson, Austin, and other U.S. cities.
Exactly a week
earlier, United Airlines grounded its domestic flights due to a computer outage.
In that outage, as in this one, international flights were not
affected.
U.S. officials last Sunday said the Aircraft Communications
Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS, was having issues with low
bandwidth.
Delta offered a waiver for flights scheduled Sunday and
Monday, which can be rebooked by Feb. 3.
Delta won't accept unaccompanied
minors will not be accepted for flights through noon ET, Monday, according to
the statement.
