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Boeing Signs An Agreement With Alcoa For Aluminum Supplies
Alcoa has hammered out a deal with Boeing to supply the aircraft manufacturer with aluminum sheet, as well as plate products such as wing skins. The multiyear agreement is valued at more than $1 billion. Alcoa has invested in aerospace recently to diversity beyond primary aluminum...Read More
Boeing Delivers 5th P-8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft To India
The fifth P-8I maritime patrol aircraft was delivered by Boeing to India on Sept. 9 as part of a contract for eight aircraft to support the Indian Navy's maritime patrol requirements. The aircraft arrived at Naval Air Station Rajali, after a flight from Seattle's Boeing Field, and joined the four previously delivered P-8Is."The P-8I program is progressing on schedule, and the aircraft are providing the capabilities to meet our maritime reconnaissance...Read More
Boeing Secures Orders From New Chinese Carriers
China's economic growth has spurred the entry of around 20 startup airlines, and Boeing has succeeded in securing orders from several of the new airlines. "If you look at the (Chinese) low-cost carriers, I think we are 70 to 80%" of sales, said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of sales for northeast Asia...Read More
Boeing, Airbus Consider Boosting Aircraft Production
Boeing and Airbus are considering ramping up aircraft production to meet demand. "If we're going to make that decision, we would want to make that decision as soon as possible, because the market's already there," Barry Eccleston, president of Airbus Americas, said of the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Meanwhile, Boeing has said it may boost production of its 737 aircraft...Read More
Southwest CFO: Demand Remains Strong For Flights
Southwest Airlines chief financial officer Tammy Romo said Monday that the carrier's results are remaining strong as the airline goes through September. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley & Co. conference in California, Romo responded to a question about Southwest's general market outlook with optimism. "Actually, our business trends are holding up very well. Business is strong, so I haven't seen any impact at Southwest from just the more macroeconomic...Read More
Navy Identifies Pilot Killed In F/A-18 Midair
The U.S. Navy has identified Lt. Nathan Poloski, a 26-year-old from Lake Arrowhead, California, as the pilot who was presumed killed in a collision between two F/A-18C Hornets over the Pacific Ocean on September 15. Poloski was declared presumed deceased after the two Hornets collided...Read More
Bombardier Business Rides The JetWave, Connects to Inmarsat IFC Through Honeywell Hardware
Bombardier Business Aircraft will be the launch business manufacturer for Honeywell Aerospace's JetWave Ka-Band satellite connectivity system. Honeywell's JetWave hardware supports Inmarsat's forthcoming Jet ConneX service which, when it goes live in 2015, will provide business jet passengers with global In-Flight Connectivity (IFC)...Read More
Pratt & Whitney, US Air Force Complete Qualification For F135 Engine Testing
Pratt and Whitney and the U.S. Air Force have completed qualification for F135 engine testing at Tinker Air Force Base in Okla. The testing will take place at the base's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex (OC-ALC), which is also qualified to perform maintenance and repair work on the F135 fan modules...Read More
US Air Force Expands RQ-4 Global Hawk Fleet
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $354 million primarily firm-fixed-price contract to expand their RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) fleet by three aircraft. The contract also includes retrofit kits to add Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload (ASIP) sensors into two of the existing RQ-4, providing them with Multi-INT capability. The aircraft will bring the Air Force RQ-4 fleet size to 37 in 2017...Read More
ERAU Aerospace Engineering Program Again Named Tops In The Nation
For the 15th consecutive year, the Best Colleges guidebook published by U.S. News & World Report ranks Embry-Riddle's specialized undergraduate aerospace engineering program No. 1 in the nation and honors the university for continued excellence in undergraduate engineering. Additionally, the annual compilation has named Embry-Riddle the Best Southern University for veterans and active service members for the second year in a row...Read More
NTSB Points To Unstable Approach in UPS Crash
Defense Department Eyes New Engines For Osprey
The Department of Defense is looking at possible alternative engines for the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft in an effort to reduce life cycle costs of the aircraft.Airforcetechlology.com reports that the Navy said in a statement that "The V-22 Program is continually investigating ways to reduce the life cycle costs of the aircraft...Read More
Boeing Receives First Order For 502 Phoenix Small Satellite
Boeing has received its first commercial order for the 502 Phoenix small satellite from HySpecIQ of Washington, D.C. The satellites will carry the commercial remote sensing industry's first high-resolution hyperspectral payload, capable of providing spectral imaging fidelity that far exceeds what is currently available. Boeing will deliver a complete satellite system initially consisting of two satellites, available for launch in 2018...Read More
American Airlines FAs To Use Electronic Manuals
American Airlines was the first airline with a paperless cockpit, and now the airline's cabins are also paperless. The airline is the first mainline carrier to provide flight attendants with electronic manuals, accessible through a handheld tablet. "The accessibility and functionality that the tablet provides our flight attendants will greatly improve their work environment," said Hector Adler, vice president of Flight Service for American Airlines...Read More
Scorpion To Make First Visit To Washington, DC
Textron AirLand, LLC, a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises, LLC, will bring its Scorpion ISR/Strike jet to Washington, DC for the duration of the Air Force Association's Air & Space Conference from September 15 to 17. The aircraft will be displayed at Signature Flight Support Terminal, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), approximately 10 miles from the conference center. This will be Scorpion's first visit to the Nation's Capital, and comes one year after its introduction at last...Read More
Late Engine Issue May Cause A320neo First Flight Delay
The aircraft manufacturer, which declines to comment, has targeted September for first flight of the A320neo with the Pratt engine but, according to industry sources, may be forced to delay this because of unidentified concerns related to the PW1100G. Airbus had hoped to fly the test aircraft, MSN6101, as early as Sept. 5. However the modified A320neo, which was pictured taxiing under its own power at Toulouse on Sept. 1, remains on the ground...Read More
Sierra Launches Upgrade Program for Legacy CitationJets
Sierra Industries announced a new performance upgrade program today for the legacy Cessna 525/CitationJet, which includes the CitationJet, CJ1 and CJ1+. Dubbed Sapphire, the upgrade is billed as a "comprehensive package of modifications that will enhance performance, reliability and comfort." Some 660 CitationJets, CJ1s and CJ1+s are potential candidates for the Sapphire program. Major aspects include replacement of the original engines with more efficient powerplants, new NextGen-capable...Read More
U.S. Air Force Scrimps On Jstars Recap Program
The discussion started more than a decade ago with a defunct and costly plan to reengine the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars or Jstars) aircraft; 16 of the four-engine Boeing 707s are now in inventory after one was removed from the fleet due to an inflight refueling incident. Proponents hailed the merits of more efficient propulsion; opponents said the cost was too great to justify the capability improvements. Joint Stars...Read More
TBM 900 Crash: Rethinking Inflight
If there's a textbook case of an inflight emergency that most everyone agrees was handled flawlessly, it's Capt. Sully's "Miracle on the Hudson" splashdown in January 2009. It made Sullenberger and copilot Jeff Skiles instant national celebrities, and still serves as a model of the calm and collected flight crew skillfully handling an extremely difficult situation. And yet at no point after a flock of Canada geese crippled both the engines on his Airbus A320 was Capt. Sullenberger ever heard to utter the magic...Read More
Gulfstream Paints A Bright Future At Savannah
Gulfstream announced plans on Tuesday to build a new $33 million aircraft paint facility on the southwest side of its Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport headquarters. "The announcement came up unexpectedly as a result of a Savannah Economic Development Agency [SEDA] board meeting that happened that day," a company spokesman told AIN. The new 72,000-sq-ft, state-of-the-art paint facility will be located near the...Read More
American Succeeds In Re-Banking Miami Hub
American Airlines has re-banked its hub at Miami International Airport, scheduling flights close together to make connections easier and boost revenue. "An additional person per flight will make a difference," said Robert Isom, chief operating officer for American, who estimated re-banking will provide $200 million in annual cost savings. Next year, the carrier plans to re-bank its hubs at Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth...Read More
Art Of The Possible
The new approach the Air Force has adopted for aircraft maintenance is providing welcomed improvements, but still requires optimization, said Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, Air Force Sustainment Center commander, on Monday. "I'm not telling you we're anywhere close to where we want to be ... but what we've brought online ... is a system that works," he said at AFA's Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. What AFSC is doing is...Read More
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