Cri-Cri, the all-electric aircraft, is airborne

Paris/Le Bourget, 2 September 2010 – The all electric Cri-Cri, jointly developed by EADS Innovation Works, Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri-Cri Association has made its official maiden flight at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Thursday. This Cri-Cri is the first-ever four-engined allelectric aerobatic plane, which was first shown at the Green Aviation Show at Le Bourget in June.

“This aircraft flies very smoothly, much more quietly than a plane with conventional propulsion”, said Didier Esteyne, who piloted the all-electric Cri-Cri. “But we are still at the beginning and have a lot to learn. We are allowed to start aerobatic manoeuvres only after five hours of flight and 15 landings.”

“The Cri-Cri is a low-cost test bed for system integration of electrical technologies in support of projects like our hybrid propulsion concept for helicopters,” stated Jean Botti, EADS’s Chief Technical Officer. “We hope to get a lot of useful information out of this project.” In the near future batteries will not able to propel larger aircraft.

The aerobatic plane incorporates numerous innovative technologies such as lightweight composite structures that reduce the weight of the airframe and compensate for the additional weight of the batteries, four brushless electric motors with counter-rotating propellers which deliver propulsion without CO

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Source: EADS

General Dynamics Awarded $10 Million by U.S. Navy to Produce F/A-18 Gun Systems

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, Md., in May awarded General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products a $9.8 million contract to produce the M61A2 20mm Gatling gun system for the F/A-18E/F aircraft. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Production work will be performed at General Dynamics’ facility in Saco, Maine, and the program will be managed at General Dynamics’ Burlington Technology Center in Vermont. Work is expected to be completed in September 2012.

The M61A2 20mm Gatling gun system is mounted in the nose of the aircraft and can fire a rate of 4,000 or 6,000 shots per minute. The M61A2 is 20 percent lighter than the previous model and operates on a closed-loop rotary, linkless ammunition feed system.

Mike O’Brien, vice president and general manager of gun systems for General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, said, “The M61A2 offers a lightweight, reliable gun system to protect U.S. servicemen and women. Our work force in Maine takes great pride in manufacturing the M61A2 for U.S. warfighters.”

Source: General Dynamics

Satellite navigation steers unmanned micro-planes

1 September 2010
An unmanned aircraft system guided by satnav has been developed within ESA’s Business Incubation Centre to provide rapid monitoring of land areas and disaster zones. The planes have already helped Spanish farmers in Andalusia to fight land erosion.
 
The German start-up company MAVinci has developed the new system that uses autonomous micro-air vehicles (MAVs) with a wingspan of less than two metres, to inspect land areas.

“At the moment, the remote-sensing market uses mainly manned aeroplanes,” explains Johanna Born, CEO of MAVinci, “but they are expensive and not always available.

“Our MAVs are cost-efficient, available at short notice and easy to use for surveillance of development areas, construction sites, disaster zones and waste disposal sites, just to mention a few.

“They can carry visual and thermal cameras or other customer-specific measuring equipment.”

Developed at ESA’s Business Incubation Centre
 
MAVinci is hosted by ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme Office at the Business Incubation Centre Darmstadt, Germany. Here, ESA engineers provide expertise on attitude-determination algorithms and exploiting satnav data.

ESA’s optical lab at ESTEC in the Netherlands also helps MAVinci with the calibration of their optical camera.

“The principles for the attitude determination of satellites and for autonomous aircraft such as MAVincis are identical, only the scale is different,” says ESA Flight Dynamics Engineer Michael Flegel.

“Where a satellite might use the measured direction of the Sun, Earth or of known star patterns, the MAV aircraft will use the local magnetic field direction, the direction of ‘down’ and similar local quantities.

“Obtaining meaningful information from the data is an art and the expertise can be applied to both satellites and spacecraft alike.”

The autopilot controls the aircraft from takeoff to landing, and uses satnav to follow a planned track, triggering the camera to image the target area. From the ground, the plane is followed by radio by a safety pilot who can take over the controls at anytime. 
 
Helping to fight soil erosion in Spain

Erosion is a severe problem for land use and water supply in wide areas of southern Europe and northern Africa. According to UNESCO, erosion in Andalusian olive tree plantations results in the loss of an estimated 80 tonnes of soil per hectare per year.

Last October, one of MAVinci’s micro-aircraft imaged several of the many erosion canyons in Andalusia to improve understanding of the dynamics of erosion and to find solutions for local farmers.

Source: ESA

EMBRAER’S LINEAGE 1000 EXECUTIVE JET FLIES MEXICO’S SKIES

Embraer held a delivery ceremony, last week, in São José dos Campos, Brazil, for its first Lineage 1000 executive jet to a Mexican customer. Grupo Omnilife, a leader in the production of nutritional supplements, will be operating the aircraft through its air taxi subsidiary, Omniflys. The aircraft is the first Lineage 1000 delivered in the Americas.

“With the purchase of the Lineage 1000, in December 2007, Omnilife made a solid statement regarding the expansion of its operations and fleet, by choosing our most prestigious aircraft,” USA, Canada, Mexico and Caribbean – Executive Jets. Omnilife, one of Mexico’s largest companies, into our family of customers.”

says Ernie Edwards, Embraer Vice President, Marketing and Sales,“With this delivery, we welcome Choosing from hundreds of interior possibilities, Omnilife selected a five-zone layout, including a master suite featuring a queen-size bed and a stand-up shower, a conference area and three living room areas with five divans, demonstrating the flexibility of interior configurations that the Lineage 1000 offers. The fuselage paint scheme of Omnilife’s new Embraer Lineage 1000 Executive jet is the work of artist Liam Gillick, featuring excerpts of a poem along the body, in a very subtle shade of gray.

Source: Embraer

Boeing-built GOES-15 Weather Satellite Enters Service for NASA, NOAA

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Sept. 1, 2010 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that GOES-15, the company’s eighth Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, has completed on-orbit testing and has been accepted into service by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“GOES-15 completes the fleet of advanced meteorological satellites that Boeing designed, built and launched to provide enhanced weather monitoring over North America and refresh NOAA’s operational fleet,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “The United States will have state-of-the-art satellite images on nightly weather telecasts, better weather monitoring and prediction, and more accurate data for climate studies because of these new GOES satellites. We thank our NASA and NOAA customers for the nearly 13 successful years of cooperative development that has enabled us to deliver the full GOES fleet.”

“Clearly, this is a great day for NASA, NOAA and all of our team members,” said André Dress, GOES deputy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. “We take great pride in knowing that all the years of hard work, late hours and diligence have paid off. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, ITT and United Launch Alliance have really shone on this mission, and it shows in the final product. GOES-15 will be a great addition to the constellation, and we look forward to seeing it in operation.”

GOES-15 was launched on March 4 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite successfully completed five months of on-orbit testing and demonstrated operational readiness of its subsystems, spacecraft instruments and communications services. GOES-15 has already started to deliver high-resolution photos from space, including the first visible and infrared images of Earth taken by its imager instrument, and the first image of the sun taken by its solar X-ray imager instrument.

The eight GOES satellites that Boeing has built for NASA and NOAA began with GOES-D, which launched in 1980. The on-orbit GOES constellation includes the three recently produced Boeing satellites known as GOES-13 (formerly GOES-N), GOES-14 (formerly GOES-O) and GOES-15 (formerly GOES-P). GOES-13 was activated as the operational GOES-East satellite on April 14, in time to monitor the 2010 hurricane season over the Atlantic Ocean. GOES-13 replaced GOES-12, which NOAA moved to 60 degrees west longitude to provide coverage for South America as part of the Global Earth Observing System of Systems. GOES-14 is currently in a storage orbit of 105 degrees west longitude, ready to become a primary operational satellite in the next two years. GOES-15 will be placed in an on-orbit storage location at 105 degrees west longitude.

The mission of the GOES satellites is to provide space-based Earth observation and global environment-sensing activities, delivering enhanced weather forecasting that protects life and property. In addition to providing the familiar weather images seen on television newscasts every day, NASA and NOAA also recently released a six-minute video of the 2009 hurricane season. The video includes data and images supplied by the GOES satellites.

In addition to the acceptance of GOES-15, Boeing also handed over a government satellite to the U.S. Air Force on Aug. 26. The delivery of two operational satellites to two customers in the same week marks only the second time this has occurred in Space & Intelligence Systems’ 47-year history, underscoring Boeing’s commitment to solid program execution.

Source: Boeing

Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer Offers Strong Bilateral Economic Benefits

WARSAW, Poland –  Poland’s plans to procure a new advanced jet training system can act as a catalyst for Polish industry in a number of industrial sectors, not just in aerospace and defence, according to Alan Garwood, group business development director at BAE Systems – the world’s second largest defence, security and aerospace company.

Speaking ahead of his company’s participation in the MSPO defence exhibition in Kielce (September 6-9) Garwood said that a key requirement for the Polish government should be ensuring that large defence procurements, such as the advanced jet trainer programme, sustain Polish jobs and support the development of skills and high-end technology transfer, through mutually beneficial industrial partnerships.
 
“BAE Systems delivers on its promises and has an unrivalled track record of producing economic and industrial benefits for its customers, in support of defence equipment sales,” Garwood says.  “If our Hawk advanced jet trainer is selected to meet Poland’s new generation pilot training requirements, it will present opportunities for Polish industry to become part of a global supplier network, not just of BAE Systems but also its partners such as Rolls-Royce, which already has a significant presence in Poland.
 
“This would give Polish companies access to and involvement in the development of the latest emerging technologies in both the defence and commercial business sectors,” he adds.
 
In neighbouring Czech Republic, where BAE Systems is delivering a 10 year
US$1.3 billion industrial partnership programme in support of the Gripen fighter lease, delivery is approaching 80% of requirement, some 2 years ahead of plan.
 
“Our approach has been to provide Czech companies with access to inward investment, export promotion, research and development and manufacturing opportunities, linked to the global footprint of BAE Systems and its supplier base,” states Garwood.
 
BAE Systems will be using its participation in MSPO Kielce to highlight its capabilities in the land systems, security and aerospace sectors, with a particular focus on its ability to meet Poland’s stated need for a new fast jet pilot training system.
 
The company’s Hawk advanced jet trainer is already training frontline pilots to fly the world’s most advanced and capable combat aircraft, including F16 Block 50/60, F18 Super Hornet, F35, Su30, Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon. Air powers ranging from Australia to the United States, with 20 others in between, choose Hawk to meet their lead-in fighter trainer requirements.

Last month, India committed to buying a further 57 Hawk advanced jet trainers, in addition to the 66 already in manufacture. These aircraft, to be built in India through a partnership with local aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics, will be used to train Navy and Air Force pilots in preparation for flying the Su30 and India’s next generation fighter aircraft. Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen NG, F18 Super Hornet and a number of other combat aircraft are currently being evaluated by the Indian MoD.

The advanced training systems built into today’s new generation Hawk jet trainers enable one aircraft to carry out a number of tasks, for which its rivals may need two or more aircraft.

“Today’s Hawk advanced jet trainer will be training some of the world’s most capable frontline pilots for decades to come. It builds on a pedigree of success, established by previous generations of this highly successful platform which, although entirely different to today’s aircraft, share the same name,” comments Garwood.
 
“For Poland, we will offer a low risk solution based on the aircraft selected by the UK to train its frontline F-35 and Eurofighter Typhoon pilots. This will provide a seamless entry into service and delivery of the required training capability, from day one.”

Source: BAE

Alenia Aeronautica, Avio and Lockheed Martin sign five-year contract to support Italian Air Force’s C-130J Fleet

Japan Airlines to remove 49 routes, 103 jets

TOKYO – Japan Airlines Corp, a carrier worth no more than a two-decade-old jumbo when it was bailed out by the government in January, said it will retire two-fifths of its aircraft, abandon one in eight overseas flights and end a quarter of its home routes in a bid to return to profit.

To compete against cheaper regional rivals, JAL also said it would look at creating a low-cost carrier. The state-backed turnaround body leading the restructuring said relisting the airline would be possible by 2013.

JAL’s turnaround pledge, submitted to the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, includes a halt to 10 international flights following earlier closures aimed at stemming losses. It will also stop plying 39 domestic routes.

JAL forecast the latest contraction in money-losing services would help it to achieve an operating profit margin of 9.2 percent by March 2013.

“JAL’s flop has caused a lot of trouble to shareholders and financial institutions,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Kazuo Inamori at a news conference in Tokyo.

“Today is a new start for us,” said Inamori, the 77-year old founder of electronics maker Kyocera Corp, who was asked by the government to run JAL for three years after it filed for bankruptcy.

UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Under the turnaround plan, JAL will receive an injection of 350 billion yen ($4.14 billion) from the government and a 521 billion yen debt waiver from banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Financial group. JAL said it had 959 billion yen of liabilities at the end of March.

Brought down by years of high costs, the former state carrier still faces an uncertain future as it takes on other carriers in a burgeoning and increasingly competitive regional air market.

JAL’s new start may also be without the architect of its revival. Speaking at the unveiling of its business plan, Inamori said he wanted to step down as CEO in February 2012, a year earlier than he had agreed to when he took the job in January.

Aviation analysts applauded Inamori’s fleet changes, which amount to the elimination of 103 aircraft.

JAL will offload all its Boeing 747-400 jumbos and every Airbus A300-600 jet it owns by March next year, and will stop operating all its McDonnell Douglas-built MD81 and MD90 aircraft by a later date. When complete, JAL will use four models rather than the seven it flies now.

“This is a massive shutdown in a very short amount of time, and generally only happens when airlines are shut down, not when they restructure,” said Shashank Nigam, head of Singapore-based airline industry consultant SimpliFlying Pte.

“We are likely to see a very much smaller and more regional Japan Airlines come out of this,” he said.

Source: business.maktoob.com

Troubled Saudi airline lays off staff

RIYADH – Troubled low-cost Saudi carrier Sama on Saturday told its staff that most of them will have to be laid off immediately after talks with the government failed to yield a commitment to support the loss-making company.

The private firm suspended all operations on Tuesday after it failed to obtain financing from investors or government support to cushion accumulated losses close to $300 million, a company source told Reuters.

Sama Chief Executive Bruce Ashby sent a circular dated Saturday to airline staff saying “discussions with various government agencies about the status of Sama” since last week were continuing in order to “obtain additional funding”.

“Unfortunately, until now no firm commitment has been made. Practically speaking, this means that we will not be able to restart operations quickly. Instead, we are facing a longer-term reorganisation,” Ashby said in a circular seen by Reuters.

“We also will need to reduce our workforce. Most of our employees will be released from duty today, 28 August 2010. We will ask certain employees to stay on for a longer period in order to help shut down operations, organise administrative matters, and continue to move our customers to other airlines,” he added.

Sama has 600 full-time employees, a company source said.

The airline was one of three private low-cost carriers Saudi aviation authorities have licensed to compete with national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines.

But the firms have been complaining they were not on an equal footing with the state-owned carrier especially in the cost of fuel which the latter obtains at subsidised prices.

Sama has been flying to destinations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Syria and Sudan, with 164 weekly flights using six Boeing 737-300 aircraft, according to its website.

Founded in 2005, it started commercial flights in 2007. According to its website, among Sama’s 30 shareholders are Olayan Financial Co and Xenel Industries Ltd.

Source: business.maktoob.com

GULFSTREAM G650 REACHES MACH 0.995

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced today that its ultra-long-range, ultra-large-cabin Gulfstream G650 recently reached Mach 0.995 as part of its 1,800-hour flight-test program.

The aircraft achieved this speed during flutter testing, which evaluates the aircraft’s damping responses following an input from an external test device. Flutter testing is performed at a variety of frequencies, speeds, altitudes, weights and centers of gravity.

For the initial series of flutter tests, the aircraft achieved clearance out to both its design dive speed (Vd) and design Mach dive speed (Md) at altitudes ranging from 10,000 feet to up to the aircraft’s maximum certified altitude of 51,000 feet.

In order to achieve the maximum speed of Mach 0.995, Gulfstream experimental test pilots Tom Horne and Gary Freeman along with flight test engineer Bill Osborne took Serial Number (S/N) 6001 into a dive, pitching the aircraft’s nose 16 to 18 degrees below the horizon. During the dive, flutter exciters introduced a range of vibration frequencies to the wing, tail and flight control surfaces to ensure the aircraft naturally dampened out the oscillations without further action from the pilots. Even under such extreme circumstances, the G650 performed flawlessly.

“The airplane is very predictable,” said Horne, senior experimental test pilot, Gulfstream. “It’s very easy to control and to get precise control at those speeds. The airplane response has matched the expectations of our engineers, and we’ve been able to easily fly the test conditions and march through the test plan.”

During the flutter test missions, a team of multi-disciplinary engineers in Gulfstream’s state-of-the-art telemetry center in Savannah monitored the aircraft’s behavior and determined real-time the damping characteristics of the aircraft. The vibration frequencies exerted on the aircraft ranged from 2 hertz, or twice per second, to 58 hertz, or about as fast as a fluorescent light flickers.

“We’re doing very well,” said Pres Henne, senior vice president of Programs, Engineering and Test, Gulfstream. “The demonstrated flutter margins met or exceeded our expectations out to maximum speeds. That’s a good sign.”

As S/N 6001 continued with flutter testing, S/N 6005 completed initial phase manufacturing and began engine testing. S/N 6005 is the fifth and final aircraft in the G650 flight-test program. Each aircraft in the program has a specific purpose, with S/N 6001 focused on envelope expansion, air data calibration, flutter, in-flight performance and flight controls. S/N 6002 is used to evaluate the aircraft’s systems as well as its takeoff and landing performance, while S/N 6003 tests the avionics, in-flight load measurement and ice protection system. S/N 6004 will be the first G650 outfitted and tested with a full interior, which is currently being installed. S/N 6005 will participate in the reduced vertical separation minimum testing.

The G650 flight-test program officially began on Nov. 25, 2009. Through Aug. 25, the four airplanes currently flying in the program have completed more than 170 flights and 575 flight-test hours.

Source: General Dynamics

Bombardier Sells Two Q400 NextGen Turboprops to Smart Aviation of Egypt

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that Smart Aviation Company of Cairo, Egypt has signed a firm order to acquire two Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft, and has also taken options on an additional three Q400 NextGen aircraft.

Based on the list price for the Q400 NextGen aircraft, the value of the firm order is approximately $62 million US, which could increase to $158 million US should all three options be converted to firm orders.

A corporate jet aircraft charter operator since its founding in May of 2007, Smart Aviation has formed a commercial airline subsidiary and will use its Q400 NextGen aircraft to launch scheduled and charter services to complement its corporate aircraft activities throughout the Middle East.

“Middle East tourism and business travel are growing steadily and we want to be in a position to meet this growth with efficient, reliable, economical and passenger-friendly aircraft,” said Wael El-Maadawy, Chairman and Managing Director, Smart Aviation Company. “Bombardier turboprop aircraft have excelled on these attributes in the Middle East operating environment for several years, so the Q400 NextGen aircraft was the first choice for our new service.”

“The Q400 NextGen aircraft is optimized for the intra-regional, shorter routes in the expanding North African and Middle Eastern travel market,” said Gary R. Scott, President,
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “We at Bombardier are confident that the Q400 NextGen aircraft is well-suited to Smart Aviation’s new venture and welcome the company to the growing family of Q400 NextGen aircraft operators.”

Optimized for short-haul operations, the “comfortably greener,” 70- to 80-seat Q400 NextGen aircraft is a large, fast, quiet and fuel-efficient turboprop. It provides an ideal balance of passenger comfort and operating economics with a reduced environmental footprint. Including Smart Aviation’s order, Bombardier has booked firm orders for a total of 391 Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft, and as of April 30, 2010, 300 had been delivered. The aircraft are in service with more than 30 operators worldwide.

Source: Bombardier

1st Boeing C-130 AMP Low-Rate Initial Production Aircraft Inducted at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 30, 2010 – The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced the induction of the first C-130 aircraft slated to receive the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) upgrade at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga. This is the first of 20 aircraft to be upgraded during low-rate initial production (LRIP).

“Warner Robins is ready to receive the C-130 and begin installing the AMP kits,” said Tommy Jackson, C-130 AMP deputy program manager for the U.S. Air Force. “Our team has been trained by Boeing, and we are excited to get the first of many aircraft through our line and upgraded.”

Air Force workers at Robins will install glass cockpits that include a head-up display; six flat-panel, full-color displays; and night-vision capability in 10 of the 20 LRIP aircraft. Warner Robins will receive its second C-130 for AMP modification in October.

“The C-130 AMP is production-ready,” said Mahesh Reddy, C-130 AMP program manager for Boeing. “Today marks a very important day for the warfighter. Boeing and the Air Force are one step closer to delivering a fleet of C-130 AMP aircraft.”

Boeing will begin its portion of the installations in early 2012 at its San Antonio facility.

Source: Boeing

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