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703AWBIFC.indd 1 3/14/2017 1:57:45 PM March 20-April 2, 2017 Contents Volume 179 Number 6
Winner 2016 AVIATIONWEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Digital Extras Access exclusive In early development work for the four-person Altair lander, online features from articles NASA’s Constellation program drew heavily on the Apollo accompanied by this icon. 22 Lunar Excursion Module that put astronauts on the Moon.
7 Feedback 8 Who’s Where 10-11 First Take 12 Up Front 14 Going Concerns 15 Inside Business Aviation 16 Airline Intel 18 Leading Edge 20 In Orbit 21 Washington Outlook 71 Classifed 72 Contact Us 73 Aerospace Calendar
SPACE COMMERCIAL AVIATION 35 Aireon surveillance payloads on 22 “American footprints” vision of 32 Airlines and lessors press Boeing Iridium NEXT satellites detect Trump would be possible, if NASA to launch New Midsize Airplane frst aircraft ADS-B transmissions human exploration funding grows as 737 MAX family progresses TECHNOLOGy 24 Lunar cargo lander key to Blue 36 Stratospheric balloon specialist Origin plan for Moon bases as 65 plans to ofer edge-of-space jumping-of points to deeper space passenger fights by 2020
26 Blue Origin aims for “new equilib- DEFENSE ri um” in commercial satellite 39 U.S. Air Force seeks to lower F-35A industry with New Glenn launcher cost by 2019 by persuading non- U.S. customers to join block buy 37 SpaceX develops and fies frst 40 Short on funds for new tankers, rocket booster autonomous U.S. Air Force considers destruction system on Falcon 9 survivability upgrades for KC-135s
BELL 505 PILOT REPORT 42 Three industry teams ofer bizjet and commerical airliner platforms 28 Jet Ranger X meets Bell’s goals for 34 Established airlines move to to replace U.S. Air Force J-Stars reentering light turbine market, unbundle oferings as new LCCs Aviation Week’s pilot fnds disrupt Latin American markets 44 Russia challenges Washington with violation of Intermediate-Range ON THE COVER Nuclear Forces Treaty
The new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is a more powerful, updated 45 U.S. Air Force entices engine version of the 206B. Aaron Smith reports on his evaluation fight manufacturers with plan to (see page 28). Bell Helicopter photo by Sheldon Cohen, Cohen Pictures. Also in this issue: Boeing’s next mid-market airplane upgrade or replace B-52 engine (page 32), renewed interest in Moon missions (page 22), new Russian cruise missiles (page 44) and our annual Laureate ROTORCRAFT awards (page 54). 47 Real-time health and usage Aviation Week publishes a digital edition every week. Read it at monitoring system data access AviationWeek.com/awst and on our app. could help save lives ofshore
AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 3
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48 FC-X concept expresses Bell’s 63 ATR aims to replace dozens of vision for the future and its aging Saab turboprops being aspiration to take market lead operated by U.S. regional airlines
AEROSPACE IN EJECTION SEATS SWITZERLAND & AUSTRIA 64 Martin-Baker is requalifying 50 Chinese partner Xian and tech its US16E seat for the F-35 to acumen boost expansion plans accommodate new helmet Mobile. Online. of Austrian supplier FACC 65 UTC Aerospace Systems regains Ruag draws on Updated Daily. 52 its composites momentum in escape system technology portfolio to gear up market with ACES 5 contracts for next-gen narrowbody program Free to subscribers. Get new content daily and read the weekly digital edition 67 Lightweight seats for small aircraft of Aviation Week online or in our app. 36 00 will be next growth area, hopes market leader Martin-Baker DESKTOP/LAPTOP Go to AviationWeek.com/awst LOW-COST CARRIERS IN ASIA APPLE APP 68 AirAsia Group and Singapore Go to the Apple App Store, search Airlines subsidiaries plan network for “Aviation Week” and download the and fl eet expansion this year Aviation Week & Space Technology app to your iPad or iPhone. 18 ANDROID APP Go to Google Play, search for “Aviation Week” and download the Aviation Week 53 Building on strong turboprop sales, & Space Technology app for your Pilatus looks to make its name in Android phone or tablet. business jets, despite weak market LOGIN Tap on any locked article to get to the LAUREATES 2017 70 Japan’s LCC sector could see login screen OR on the menu icon in the 54 Aerospace industry’s best and big changes this year with upper right corner of the app screen brightest celebrated with 60th (image with three parallel lines) and tap consolidation and new player annual Aviation Week awards “Login.” Log in using the email address associated with your subscription. TRAINING VIEWPOINT Forgot Password? 62 New technologies from Thales use 74 The case for privatization of U.S. Tap the “forgot physiological data from pilot to air traf c control is weak: Airlines password” link on the login screen help reduce human factors errors can control causes of most delays and follow the reset instructions emailed to you (this password may not be the same as your digital edition password). 54 Customer Service If you don’t have a registered email or password, or are having problems with the download or login, contact our customer care team for assistance: Toll-free (North America) 800-525-5003 Outside North America (+1) 847-763-9147
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48 FC-X concept expresses Bell’s 63 ATR aims to replace dozens of More than an aircraft. vision for the future and its aging Saab turboprops being aspiration to take market lead operated by U.S. regional airlines It’s the most advanced AEROSPACE IN EJECTION SEATS SWITZERLAND & AUSTRIA 64 Martin-Baker is requalifying integrated training system. 50 Chinese partner Xian and tech its US16E seat for the F-35 to acumen boost expansion plans accommodate new helmet Mobile. Online. of Austrian supplier FACC The most up-to-date cockpit-embedded tactical training 65 UTC Aerospace Systems regains Ruag draws on Updated Daily. system that integrates with multiple aircraft and ground- 52 its composites momentum in escape system technology portfolio to gear up based devices can be found on the T-100. It’s comprised market with ACES 5 contracts for next-gen narrowbody program Free to subscribers. Get new content of real aircraft, simulators and ground-based instructional daily and read the weekly digital edition systems including live, virtual and constructive scenarios. 67 Lightweight seats for small aircraft of Aviation Week online or in our app. 36 00 will be next growth area, hopes So, for all levels of training, the T-100 satisfi es the future market leader Martin-Baker DESKTOP/LAPTOP needs of the Air Force’s T-X program. Go to AviationWeek.com/awst LOW-COST CARRIERS IN ASIA APPLE APP 68 AirAsia Group and Singapore Go to the Apple App Store, search Airlines subsidiaries plan network for “Aviation Week” and download the and fl eet expansion this year Aviation Week & Space Technology app to your iPad or iPhone. 18 ANDROID APP Go to Google Play, search for “Aviation Week” and download the Aviation Week 53 Building on strong turboprop sales, & Space Technology app for your Pilatus looks to make its name in Android phone or tablet. business jets, despite weak market LOGIN Tap on any locked article to get to the LAUREATES 2017 70 Japan’s LCC sector could see login screen OR on the menu icon in the 54 Aerospace industry’s best and big changes this year with upper right corner of the app screen brightest celebrated with 60th (image with three parallel lines) and tap consolidation and new player annual Aviation Week awards “Login.” Log in using the email address associated with your subscription. TRAINING VIEWPOINT Forgot Password? 62 New technologies from Thales use 74 The case for privatization of U.S. Tap the “forgot physiological data from pilot to air traf c control is weak: Airlines password” link on the login screen help reduce human factors errors can control causes of most delays and follow the reset instructions emailed to you (this password may not be the same as your digital edition password). 54 Customer Service If you don’t have a registered email or password, or are having problems with the download or login, contact our customer care team for assistance: Toll-free (North America) 800-525-5003 Outside North America (+1) 847-763-9147
Email: [email protected] Web: AviationWeek.com/awstcustomers Learn more at T-100.us
4 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p03-04.indd 4 3/16/17 5:45 PM 703AWB5B.indd 1 3/15/2017 10:10:23 AM Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo [email protected] AVIATION WEEK Executive Editor James R. Asker [email protected] Managing Editors Jen DiMascio (Defense and Space) MRO [email protected] Jens Flottau (Commercial Aviation) BEER [email protected] Graham Warwick (Technology) [email protected] Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell Art Director Lisa Caputo Editors Michael Bruno, John Croft, James Drew, Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Frank Morring, Jr., Jeferson Morris, Guy Norris, Tony Osborne, Bradley Perrett, MRO BALTICS EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA • MAY 10-11, 2017 James Pozzi, Adrian Schofeld, Lara Seligman, Lee Ann Shay THE NATIONAL PALACE OF CULTURE CONGRESS CENTRE • SOFIA, BULGARIA Artists Scott Marshall, Colin Throm Copy Editors Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon, Arturo Mora, Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie Production Editor Bridget Horan MRO BEER Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George the most comprehensive conference & Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries AviationWeek.com DELIVERS showcase on aircraft maintenance in the region. Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria Interactive discussion Idea exchange and networking Revenue, partnership and Digital Content Marketing Manager Regina Kenney sessions that address with industry peers and 40+ growth opportunities Digital Content Producer Jen Deglmann your big MRO questions solution providers Editorial Offces 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Va. 22209 Speakers include: Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 Dr. Holger Appel Bureaus Program Manager Monitoring, Daniel Hoffmann Auckland Diagnosis & Prognosis – Aircraft CEO Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld Lufthansa Technik Sofa [email protected] Engineering & Line Maintenance, Beijing Lufthansa Technik AG Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett [email protected] Boston Bureau Chief Kristin Majcher Heiko Holm James Kornberg [email protected] Head of Technical Services Director Engineering Chicago Wizz Air Hungary & Maintenance Innovation Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay [email protected] AFI KLM E&M Frankfurt Bureau Chief Jens Flottau [email protected] Houston David Rushe Bureau Chief Mark Carreau Director - Sales & Marketing, Europe [email protected] Magellan Aviation Group Kuala Lumpur Bureau Chief Marhalim Abas [email protected] London Bureau Chief Tony Osborne To be considered for the 2017 showcase [email protected] Los Angeles please contact your account representative: Bureau Chief Guy Norris [email protected] Lyon AMERICAS EUROPE/RUSSIA/CSI/AFRICA Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois [email protected] Beth Eddy/Mimi Smith Mike Elmes/Kevin Reeve Moscow E: [email protected] E: [email protected] Bureau Chief Maxim Pyadushkin [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] New Delhi T: +1.561.279.4646 T: +44 (0)1206 321639 Bureau Chief Jay Menon F: +1.561.279.4699 F: +44 (0)1206 321259 [email protected] Paris Bureau Chief Helen Massy-Beresford ASIA-PACIFIC [email protected] San Francisco Margaret Chong Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan E: [email protected] [email protected] T: +65 9736 1722 Washington Bureau Chief James R. Asker [email protected] REGISTER BY MAY 1, AND SAVE $200! Wichita Bureau Chief Molly McMillin call: +1.212.204.4202 or in U.S./Canada, +1 800.722.6344x2 [email protected] mrobeer.aviationweek.com Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network
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AW_03_20_2017_p06.indd 6 3/16/17 12:05 PM Feedback Address letters to the Executive Editor, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Suite 600, Arlington, Va. Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo [email protected] 22209 or send via email to: AVIATION WEEK FLANKER FAMILY GROWS Hornet, has anyone considered dou- Executive Editor James R. Asker [email protected] [email protected] “ Flanker Fixation ” (Feb. 20-March 5, bling or tripling its range by replacing Letters may be edited for length and clarity; Managing Editors p. 50) was comprehensive, but note that its two engines with one high-bypass a verifiable address and daytime telephone Jen DiMascio (Defense and Space) China already seem to have a catapult- engine (as in an airliner ) while keeping number are required. MRO [email protected] Jens Flottau (Commercial Aviation) assisted takeof but arrested recovery the same acceleration rate? BEER [email protected] (Catobar) version of the J-15 fl ying If more than 90% of aerial combat Graham Warwick (Technology) (J-15A), and possibly an early warning occurs subsonically , why is it con- original Challenger, and therefore that [email protected] Associate Managing Editor Andrea Hollowell (EW) variant (J-15D), which is likely sidered a given that modern fi ghter the whole family tree comes from low- Art Director Lisa Caputo based on the two-seat trainer J-15S. On engines will be supersonic-capable? tech tweaking of the Lear “design.” Editors Michael Bruno, John Croft, James Drew, the land-based side, another EW Flank- The Super Hornet’s rear could Bombardier’s fl awless airliner, which Thierry Dubois, William Garvey, Frank Morring, Jr., Jeferson Morris, Guy Norris, Tony Osborne, Bradley Perrett, er (J-16D) has entered production. has surpassed all its design goals for MRO BALTICS EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA • MAY 10-11, 2017 James Pozzi, Adrian Schofeld, Lara Seligman, Lee Ann Shay As for the J-10, I believe three major weight, speed and fuel burn—and THE NATIONAL PALACE OF CULTURE CONGRESS CENTRE • SOFIA, BULGARIA Artists Scott Marshall, Colin Throm Copy Editors Dan Hockensmith, Richard Leyshon, versions (not counting trainers or garnered George’s praise for pilot Arturo Mora, Patricia Parmalee, Andy Savoie acrobatic models ) are in service . friendliness—underscores the legacy of Production Editor Bridget Horan Perhaps t he Aviation Week Intel- learning . MRO BEER Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George ligence Network database needs The launch hiatus allowed Bombar- Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries the most comprehensive conference & updating; photographs exist of at least dier to use advanced materials and the AviationWeek.com DELIVERS showcase on aircraft maintenance in the region. Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt 20 production J-15 serial numbers, as geared turbofan engine, but unfortu- Interactive discussion Idea exchange and networking Revenue, partnership and Director, Digital Content Strategy Rupa Haria well as seven prototypes of the basic nately permitted Embraer’s E-jets to Digital Content Marketing Manager Regina Kenney design —the two-seat trainer, and three move ahead on orders. The two-year sessions that address with industry peers and 40+ growth opportunities Digital Content Producer Jen Deglmann your big MRO questions solution providers Editorial Offces Catobar trainers. Also, there are at service-entry delay (reminiscent of 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036 least three J-11Ds, and 10 J-16s, with a Boeing’s 787 experience ) has them in a Phone: +1 (212) 204-4200 second batch soon to be commissioned. tight spot. The two majors are trying 1911 Fort Myer Drive, Arlington, Va. 22209 Speakers include: Phone: +1 (703) 997-0333 Rees Shuman to sell large numbers of their exist- Dr. Holger Appel Bureaus SEATTLE, WASHINGTON ing designs while transitioning to the Daniel Hoffmann Program Manager Monitoring, Auckland more-desired reengined models. CEO Bureau Chief Adrian Schofeld Diagnosis & Prognosis – Aircraft [email protected] CONSIDER FRUGALITY George talks about the deep Engineering & Line Maintenance, Lufthansa Technik Sofa Beijing In response to the Viewpoint “Let bbee eeasilyasily rredesignededesigned ttoo aaccommo-ccommo- discounting by Bombardier in an at- Lufthansa Technik AG Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett [email protected] the Arms Race Begin” (Jan. 23-Feb. 5, date such a shorter and much wider tempt get early orders, but I note that Boston p. 66), while President Ronald Reagan engine, and its two intakes could be pricing by Airbus and Boeing is rarely Bureau Chief Kristin Majcher may have been on watch when the So- enlarged if necessary . Very long-range mentioned. Heiko Holm James Kornberg [email protected] Head of Technical Services Director Engineering Chicago viet Union went over the brink, it was fi ghters may eliminate the need for Charles J. Jennissen Wizz Air Hungary & Maintenance Innovation Bureau Chief Lee Ann Shay trillions of U.S. taxpayer dollars spent large, expensive and vulnerable fl eets SHERWOOD PARK, ALBERTA [email protected] over decades that pushed it there. of aerial tankers, especially since they AFI KLM E&M Frankfurt Bureau Chief Jens Flottau America’s nuclear arsenal is the will be a key target of enemy fi ght- AWARD-WINNING ROSTER [email protected] cornerstone of our national defense ers and missiles, given that fi ghters Why was Elon Musk overlooked as Houston David Rushe Bureau Chief Mark Carreau and should be funded accordingly. But today cannot complete their missions Person of the Year in favor of three Director - Sales & Marketing, Europe [email protected] the U.S. military budget is already by without them. Pentagon bureaucrats who have Magellan Aviation Group Kuala Lumpur Bureau Chief Marhalim Abas far the largest in the world. It does not Do modern tankers even have fl ares simply “made real progress toward . . . [email protected] need my cof ee money. and chaf for their own defense? Other solving problems”? Well OK, but that London I suggest that congressional audi- aircraft, such as the F-15, B-52 and is their job (Jan. 9-22, p. 28). Bureau Chief Tony Osborne To be considered for the 2017 showcase [email protected] tors conduct a review of how recent B-1 could conceivably make the same Musk though has challenged the Los Angeles military budgets have been spent, change for the same benefi t. biggest industries and government please contact your account representative: Bureau Chief Guy Norris [email protected] with an eye toward identifying ways to John M. Craig entities to leap ahead in space technol- Lyon better use the substantial resources WINNIPEG, MANITOBA ogy and exploration, along with pursu- AMERICAS EUROPE/RUSSIA/CSI/AFRICA Bureau Chief Thierry Dubois already being allocated. ing many other endeavors . I hope the [email protected] RISING TO THE CHALLENGE Beth Eddy/Mimi Smith Mike Elmes/Kevin Reeve Moscow Also, consider closing or consolidat- aviation community will support his E: [email protected] E: [email protected] Bureau Chief Maxim Pyadushkin ing some of the 800 U.S. military instal- Aviation Week has given short shrift ef orts and spirit, unlike the car and [email protected] E: [email protected] E: [email protected] lations we have in 70 foreign countries. to Bombardier over the years, so it energy industries which do their best New Delhi T: +1.561.279.4646 T: +44 (0)1206 321639 Bureau Chief Jay Menon We might have more money to was heartening to read Fred George’s to diminish his massive advances. F: +1.561.279.4699 F: +44 (0)1206 321259 [email protected] bolster our defenses—and improve positive pilot report on the manufac- Andy Ross Paris Bureau Chief Helen Massy-Beresford benefi ts for those who serve—if we turer’s C Serie s (Feb. 6-19, p. 58). TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA ASIA-PACIFIC [email protected] exercise greater restraint in involving It is not easy to develop a major (Elon Musk received a Space Laureate in San Francisco our forces in confl icts, and reexamine a aircraft program, as witnessed by 2009 (March 16, 2009, p. 53) —Ed.) Margaret Chong Bureau Chief Madhu Unnikrishnan E: [email protected] [email protected] foreign policy rooted in the belief that the Mitsubishi MRJ, Comac ARJ and T: +65 9736 1722 Washington other people need to be more like us. India’s Tejas fi ghter. A background Bureau Chief James R. Asker Dan Patterson of direct experience on similar work [email protected] Correction: REGISTER BY MAY 1, AND SAVE $200! Wichita MORGAN HILL, CALIFORNIA is invaluable. Bombardier has that, Bureau Chief Molly McMillin gained on generations of regional jets An obituary about satellite pioneer call: +1.212.204.4202 +1 800.722.6344x2 [email protected] or in U.S./Canada, EVEN MORE SUPER? and some of the highest-performing Harold Rosen in the Feb. 20-March 5 mrobeer.aviationweek.com Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week Network “Souped Up Super-Hornet” raises corporate aircraft. issue (p. 10 ) incorrectly identifi ed him some questions (Feb. 20-March 5, There are still people who cling to in the photograph that accompanied p. 30 ). To further improve the Super the view that Bill Lear designed the the article . He was on the right. Penton is an Informa business
6 AviAtioN Week & SPAce techNology/MArch 20-APril 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 7
AW_03_20_2017_p06.indd 6 3/16/17 12:05 PM AW_03_20_2017_p07.indd 7 3/16/17 5:33 PM Who’s Where To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the isakazu Mizutani has been of air/U.S. forces, Central Graham Turnock Aviation Week Intelligence Network Hnamed president of Mitsubishi Command, Kabul. Hecker had at AviationWeek.com/awin For Heavy Industries. He had been been commander of the 19th information on ordering, telephone executive vice president/president/ Air Force, Air Education and U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or CEO of integrated defense and space Training Command, Joint Base +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. systems. He succeeds Hiromichi San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. Morimoto, who has retired. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. (lower Rockwell Collins has named Talel half) James S. Bynum has Air cargo company LUG Kamel managing director and Ber- been appointed director, J-5, James B. Hecker GmbH has promoted Wolf- nard Bouillaud sales director for the U.S. Northern Command, Pe- gang Voigt to head its stra- Middle East, Turkey and North Africa. terson AFB, Colorado, from tegic product development. Stark Aerospace has named Michael commander, Carrier Strike Axel van Hees will succeed J. McGrevey chief executive ofcer. Group 9, San Diego. him as operations manager He succeeds U.S. Air Force Gen. (ret.) Airlines for America has in Frankfurt and will remain Robert H. Foglesong, who will retire named Todd Burke as senior head of aviation security. but remain board chairman. vice president of communica- FlightSafety International Northrop Grumman Corp. has tions. Burke had held senior op- has named John Van Maren promoted Janis G. Pamiljans to erations and communications J.B. Taliaferro (see photos) vice president corporate vice president/Aerospace roles with TWA, American Air- of simulation products and Systems president from general man- lines and JetBlue Airways. services, a new segment focus- ager of strategic systems. He succeeds Steve Priest has been ing on government agencies Thomas E. Vice, who is retiring. named JetBlue Airways execu- and commercial air transport. Textron Aviation has appointed Mi- tive vice president and chief In addition, Scott Goodwin chael Thacker Bell Helicopter execu- fnancial ofcer. He succeeds has been promoted to gen- tive vice president of technology and Jim Leddy, who had been eral manager of simulation, innovation; Brad Thress succeeds interim chief fnancial ofcer Carole Jackson which focuses on advanced him as Textron senior vice president since November. technology training devices; of engineering. Kriya Shortt becomes CAE has promoted Ian Bell and Nathalie Raby has been senior vice president of customer ser- to vice president/general man- promoted to learning center vice and Rob Scholl, senior vice presi- ager for Asia-Pacifc and the assistant manager at Paris-Le dent of sales and marketing. Middle East and Marc-Olivier Bourget Airport. The UK Space Agency has named Sabourin to vice president/ Orbital ATK has named U.S. Graham Turnock (see photo) chief general manager for Europe Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) Ole A. executive, replacing Interim Chief Ex- and Africa. Bell and Sabourin Knudson senior director of ecutive Katherine Courtney on April have been with CAE for 10 and John Van Maren precision weapons for arma- 1. Turnock has been chief executive 21 years, respectively. ment systems, a division of Or- of the Better Regulation Executive, General Dynamics has pro- bital ATK’s Defense Systems a unit within the UK Department moted M. Amy Gilliland to Group. for Business, Energy and Industrial deputy for operations, infor- Ron Sieber will join Duncan Strategy. mation technology; Kimberly Aviation’s Bombardier air- Airports Council International has A. Kuryea succeeds her as frame service sales team, sup- hired Philippe Villard as head of senior vice president of human porting the Bombardier Global policy and economics. He has held resources and administration; and Challenger airframes. Scott Goodwin management roles in air transport William A. Moss succeeds economic policy development at the Kuryea as vice president and HONORS & ELECTIONS International Civil Aviation Organiza- controller. Space Center Houston has tion and the International Air Trans- Lightweight machining given Jodie Guillen the Cherri port Association. products manufacturer Con- Brinley Outstanding Educa- U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jefrey trox has hired Todd Hammer tor Award for her signifcant B. Taliaferro (see photos) has been as key account manager for achievements in space science named director of operations, J-3, the Western U.S. education. Guillen is a teacher U.S. Northern Command headquarters, The Netherlands Institute for Nathalie Raby at Moriarty Middle School in Peterson AFB, Colorado. Maj. Gen. Radio Astronomy has appoint- New Mexico. James B. Hecker succeeds him as ed Carole Jackson (see photo) gen- Bombardier’s commercial aircraft commander, 9th Air and Space Ex- eral and scientifc director. She had customer services team received the peditionary Task Force, Afghanistan; been director of the Curtin Institute of 2016 People’s Choice Stevie Award director of air combat command for Radio Astronomy and science director for customer service and a Silver NATO’s Operation Resolute Support, at the International Center for Radio Stevie Award for Customer Service Afghanistan; and deputy commander Astronomy Research. Department of the year. c
8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGy/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
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703AWB9.indd 1 3/14/2017 1:58:49 PM First Take
aircraft to replace the canceled Global Hawk-based Euro Hawk and, from 2025, carry a locally developed signals intelligence payload to fi ll the gap left by retirement of its Breguet Atlantic sigint fl eet in 2010.
Over objections from China and Rus- sia, the U.S. has deployed Lockheed Martin Theater High-Altitude Area BOEING Defense (THAAD) interceptors to COMMERCIAL AVIATION South Korea in response to provocative ballistic-missile launches by North Ko- Boeing rolled out the fi rst 737 MAX 9 Council on March 6. The standard will rea, which on March 6 fi red four long- on March 7. Seating up to 220 passen- apply to new type designs from 2020 range rockets into the sea of Japan. gers, the 737-9 is planned to enter ser- and to aircraft now in production as vice in 2018. The baseline 737-8 variant of 2023. Aircraft that do not meet the The U.S. Air Force is to conduct received FAA certifi cation on March 9, standard by 2028 will be barred unless fl ight demonstrations this summer of and Boeing is formally of ering airlines modifi ed. available light-attack aircraft at Hollo- the further stretched, 230-seat -10X for man AFB, New Mexico, in support of delivery in 2020. Embraer is forming innovation the OA-X concept of potentially buying teams in Silicon Valley and Boston 300 of -the-shelf, low-end combat After years of confl ict and a total of to explore business opportunities in aircraft to ease the burden on the A-10 29 strike days, Lufthansa and its pilot future air transportation in collabora- close air-support fl eet. union, Vereinigung Cockpit, announced tion with startups, investors, aca- on March 15 they have reached an demia and other companies. The move Textron Aviation has decided not agreement that solves all contentious follows Airbus’s creation of a Silicon to of er the Scorpion for the U.S. Air issues. The settlement is still subject to Valley outpost, A3, in 2015. Force’s T-X advanced jet trainer com- approval by union members. petition but will propose the privately French authorities are following developed light-attack/surveillance International Airlines Group—par- the UK in investigating allegations aircraft for the service’s emerging ent company of British Airways, of fraud, bribery and corruption in OA-X requirement. Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus—is the Airbus’s commercial aircraft business. launch customer for European Aviation Airbus is cooperating with the pre- Russian air force procurement of Network infl ight broadband service liminary investigation by the Parquet Sukhoi T-50 stealth fi ghters has developed by Inmarsat and Deutsche National Financier, which follows that slipped beyond 2018, reveals Deputy Telekom that combines satellite con- launched by the UK’s Serious Fraud Defense Minister Yury Borisov. Three nectivity and a ground network. Of ce in August. aircraft will be delivered this year for operational evaluation. China’s Cheng- Embraer rolled out its second next- DEFENSE du J-20 stealth fi ghter, meanwhile, has generation E-Jet variant, the new entered operational testing. 120-146-seat E-195E2, on March 7. Two Northrop Grumman’s B-21 stealth prototypes are to fl y by year-end, lead- bomber has completed its prelimi- Dynetics and General Atomics Aero- nary design review. While the U.S. Air nautical Systems have moved into Force plans to buy at least 100 B-21s, Phase 2 of DARPA’s Gremlins program the service is studying reengining its to demonstrate by 2019 air-launched B-52s, with GE CF34-10s, Rolls-Royce and -retrieved low-cost unmanned air- BR700s or an upgrade of the existing craft that will cooperate with manned Pratt & Whitney TF33s (page 45). aircraft. Kratos, a Phase 1 contractor, is now a subcontractor to Dynetics. The U.S. is accusing Russia of violat- ing “the spirit and intent” of the ROTORCRAFT EMBRAER Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces ing to service entry in the fi rst half of Treaty, signed in 1987, by deploying a Citing domestic demand, Russian 2019. The initial E190-E2 variant is to new ground-launched cruise missile, Helicopters is developing a 3,500-lb.- enter service with Wideroe in the fi rst the 3,400-nm-range SSC-8, that “puts class light helicopter with fi ve seats and half of 2018. at risk most of our facilities in Europe” coaxial rotors. Production is planned to (page 44). begin in 2020-21. The company previ- The fi rst CO2 standard for aircraft ously worked with AgustaWestland was adopted by the 36-state Inter- Germany has selected Northrop on a 5,500-lb.-class machine, but the national Civil Aviation Organization Grumman’s MQ-4 Triton unmanned project was abandoned in 2014.
10 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p10-11.indd 10 3/16/17 6:55 PM For the latest, go to AviationWeek.com
Trump’s First Budget: Aerospace Winners and Losers
p DeFense spenDing Adds $30 billion in fscal 2017 and $54 billion in fscal 2018, including more F-35s for Air Force and F/A-18s for Navy p ATC privATizATion Shift from FAA to a non-government organization ▶ HumAn spACeFLigHT $3.7 billion for Orion and Space Launch System ▶ WeATHer sATeLLiTes Supports current programs, slows follow-on q pLAneTAry expLorATion Cancels NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission MD Helicopters MD helicopters’ 5,500-lb.-class q sATeLLiTe serviCing Restructures NASA’s Restore-L mission MD6XX is to fy by year-end. It is a q essenTiAL Air serviCes Eliminates federal funding ($175 million) derivative of the light single-turbine q nAsA AeronAuTiCs reseArCH MD6O0N with a conventional four- Cuts funding to $624 million from the blade tail rotor replacing the NOTAR $846 million planned under Obama administration anti-torque system, Rolls-Royce q CLimATe reseArCH Ends funding for global climate-change programs 250-C47E/3 engine, Genesys avion- ics, three-axis autopilot and boosted controls. communications satellite. New Glenn, DIED leonardo has confrmed that its with a reusable frst stage that will fy AW209 designation applies to a light back to land aboard a ship, is sched- luigi Pascale, who with his brother twin-turbine helicopter but says the uled to fy in 2020. giovanni founded italian aircraft program is “immature” and could de- manufacturer Partenavia in 1957 pend on European and U.S. regulators canadian startup Maritime and general-aviation manufacturer revisiting certifcation rules that limit launch Services (MlS) plans to fy Tecnam Aircraft in 1986, died unex- the gross weight of normal-category Ukraine’s Cyclone 4M launch vehicle pectedly on March 14, after a brief helicopters to 7,000 lb. from a spaceport in Nova Scotia illness. He was 93 years old. A native beginning in 2020. Halifax-based of Naples, Pascale built his frst air- the pilot died and three crew were MLS, which received initial funding in craft, the P48 Astore, with his brother missing, presumed dead, after a 2016 from small U.S. private company in 1951. His last design is Tecnam’s Sikorsky S-92 helicopter operated by United Paradyne Corp., plans eight P2012 Traveller, an 11-seat commuter CHC International for the Irish Coast launches a year by 2022. aircraft now in fight testing. Guard crashed in the Atlantic of Ire- land on March 14. The Dublin-based 80 YEARS AGO S-92 was providing cover for another helicopter evacuating a crewman from IN AvIAtION WEEk a trawler. Our March 1937 cover featured an SPACE advertisement from Pratt & Whit- ney heralding a record-breaking, 2,490-mi. (4,007-km) cross-country fight by Howard Hughes from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hr., 28 min. and 25 sec., besting by 2 hr. his own record. The movie producer and aviation enthusiast few a racer airplane he had de- signed, powered by a P&W Twin Wasp Junior engine that delivered 1,100 hp, averaging 332 mph. “This epoch-making fight heralds the com- ing of similar speeds in scheduled air Blue origin travel,” the cover ad declared. It was Blue Origin has signed satellite Read about Hughes’s record- operator eutelsat as the frst com- the same aircraft Hughes had fown setting fight in our February and mercial customer for its New Glenn when he set a landspeed record of March 1937 editions at: launch vehicle, with a fight planned 352 mph in 1935. archive.aviationweek.com for 2021-22 to orbit a geostationary
AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtiOn Week & SPAce technOlOgy/MARch 20-APRil 2, 2017 11
AW_03_20_2017_p10-11.indd 11 3/16/17 6:55 PM Up Front By Antoine Gelain Contributing columnist Antoine Gelain is the managing director of Paragon European Partners. He is based in London.
commentary patch was enough to make Zodiac’s board and controlling families cave in, with complete disregard for the values Hope (and Despair) that made the company so successful for decades: entrepreneurial spirit, humility and independence. Safran has never created value beyond its legacy Finally, Safran is trying to make Snecma business. Will it change with Zodiac? everyone believe this transaction will create a lot of value when all evidence n January, aerospace supplier Safran announced it had points to the contrary. The only area I of real positive synergy—electric launched a $10 billion friendly takeover of fellow supplier power generation—accounts for Zodiac Aerospace, a world leader in aircraft cabin and safety less than 10% of Zodiac’s revenues equipment. and hardly justifes acquiring the whole company. Also, their ability to In the wake of Safran’s Profit Machine increase their “share of wallet” with the announce- 100% their main customers by combining ment, TCI, a UK- €2,400 the two companies’ product portfolios based hedge fund is questionable, as both companies are and minority 2,000 80 already individually more dominant shareholder in in their respective domains than their 1,600 both Safran and 60 customers probably would like. Zodiac, publicly Over its 14 years in existence, expressed con- 1,200 Safran has always struggled to create cerns about the 40 value beyond its core legacy Snecma 800 merger, criticiz- business (mainly aircraft engines),
Operating Profit (€ millions) Operating Profit 20 ing its strategic 400 which has consistently accounted for and fnancial more than 90% of the group’s total
rationale as well 0 0 profts (see graph). The 2003 merger as the way it 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 of Snecma with Sagem that created is being forced LegacyLegacy Snecma Snecma Business Business OtherOther (Acquired) (Acquired) Business Business Lines Lines Safran was based on very similar upon public ShareShare of of Legacy Legacy Snecma Snecma Business Business in in Safran Safran Profits Profits grounds to the one with Zodiac, yet Source: Paragon European Partners Analysis shareholders, Source: Paragon European Partners Analysis the announced benefts never mate- calling it “unfair, rialized, and most Sagem businesses unscrupulous and unbecoming” of and more transparency toward all were sold of within a few years. Simi- such a company. their stakeholders. larly, in 2009, Safran invested in the As Safran’s board and TCI ex- Capitalism also is at its best when security sector, successively buying change blows, are we seeing modern companies use transactional mecha- GE Security and L-1, brandishing it as capitalism at its best or worst? I tend nisms to move business boundaries, the “third pillar” of the group, with an to think it is a bit of both. thereby stimulating innovation and ambitious 10-15-year growth target. There is nothing wrong with the developing synergies that ultimately Six years later, it was put up for sale. takeover attempt itself. Mergers and beneft customers. In this case, that For an industrial operator suppos- acquisitions are an integral part of could occur in the feld of electric edly keen on long-term value creation, modern capitalism. They remind us power, where Zodiac has strong ex- this stint in security comes across as that a company cannot rest on its pertise and Safran has much at stake. rather shortsighted and ill-advised. laurels and that if management is too Unfortunately, the clash between Will Zodiac sufer a similar fate? complacent, as Zodiac’s was in recent Safran and TCI is also capitalism at All in all, if the deal goes through years, it gets punished. By underper- its worst because so much pretense despite its many faws, it should forming, it opened itself up to preda- and self-interest are on display by be greeted with a mix of hope and tors. And Safran had been waiting for all parties. TCI presents itself as the despair. Hope to see people on both its prey for many years. defender of small public sharehold- sides use their creativity and goodwill Neither is there anything wrong ers, but hedge funds are notorious for to meet the challenge of making the with TCI making the dispute public creating value for themselves through combined company worth more than and, by doing so, lifting the veil of ruthless tactics. Meanwhile, Zodiac’s the sum of its parts. Despair over not- secrecy that often surrounds this type shareholders six years ago rejected a ing that the fate of companies, in aero- of transaction. As listed companies, similar ofer from Safran, arguing that space as elsewhere, is too often driven both Safran and Zodiac are expected a merger would bring no synergies by egos and short-term self-interest to disclose sufcient information to and the two companies’ cultures were rather than by true stewardship and allow for healthy scrutiny of the deal incompatible. But a two-year rough strategic vision. c
12 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 aviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p12.indd 12 3/8/17 2:29 PM 703AWB13.indd 1 3/15/2017 10:13:11 AM Going Concerns By Michael Bruno Michael Bruno is Senior Business Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/GoingConcerns [email protected]
commentary vice president at aircraft auditor Collateral Verifcations. “If the scope clauses don’t get relaxed enough to Scoping Out RJs allow that, why build the airplane? They’re going to continue to build the 175 because it just works,” he says. Regional jet makers and others warily “Or, does . . . Embraer rejigger the 170 eye looming scope clause debates to make it a little bigger and put on a new engine to ft into that category, or do they just shift to the 190?” ommercial aerospace executives have a lot on their minds Rival Bombardier, meanwhile, is Cthese days, what with fresh uncertainty injected by Presi- positioning itself in the expectation dent Donald Trump, as well as an expected new-order slow- that scope will not change, according to Ross Mitchell, vice president for down among other issues. But for one subsector, regional jets commercial operations at Bombardier (RJ), nothing compares with what lies a few years ahead. Co- Commercial Aircraft. gnoscenti are already concerned. Mitchell argues the CRJ900 fts well under the scope clause. “Scope Renegotiation of RJ OEM Market Share clause is weight as well as seats, and scope clause restric- in 1,000s of Seats Delivered sometimes people forget the weight tions is weighing on element,” he says. “[That’s] not going makers of new RJs 25 to change in 2018.”
and associated sec- 20 In turn, Bombardier is looking to tors, like appraisers, replace CRJ cabin interiors in North and predictions of 15 America because newer aircraft will change are few and not be scope-compliant. “We certainly 10 far between, accord- see 70-seat aircraft shifting around;
ing to comments Number of seats 5 we see 50-seat aircraft coming out of ofered during the the market, and the majority of those ISTAT Americas 0 aircraft will be replaced by the exist-
2017 conference in 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 ing generation of regional jets, and we San Diego in March. Airbus BAE Systems Boeing Bombardier Embraer Other certainly expect to take our fair share “The market is Note: Includes passenger jets with fewer than 120 seats. Source: Ascend, UBS estimates. of that market,” Mitchell says. very uncertain, Not surprisingly, Gregory Alberts, just because we’re looking ahead at and provide more clarity for many senior vice president for global leas- what happens in 2018,” said Lindsey new small-jet and turboprop aircraft. ing and asset management at Mitsubi- Webster, director for asset valuations To make any changes, proponents shi Aircraft, disagrees. at consultant and appraiser Morten would have to surmount a raft of issues The MRJ can be confgured with up Beyer & Agnew. “We’re a little bit cau- such as overcoming reluctance by to 90 seats, and its MTOW exceeds tious about what we’re going to see in mainline carrier pilot unions to loosen the cutof. Mitsubishi has said the the marketplace, but it’s going to be the restriction. And there is potential seat-count restriction can be met a few years before we can see what’s opposition by Airbus—which now by confguring the MRJ90 with two actually going to transpire.” performs production in Alabama—and classes of service, but the MTOW Many like Douglas Kelly, senior vice Boeing to the rise of smaller OEM restriction is more difcult to address. president for asset valuation at avia- competitors. Nevertheless, according to Alberts, tion consultancy Avitas, believe that Annual regional aircraft production the MRJ was aimed at the 50–70-seat RJ manufacturers know they’ll be in at 4-5% of the installed base already is market, which is based on turboprops limbo for a while longer. “I don’t think at the low end of its 4-10% historical and frst-generation RJs. Turboprops we’re going to see scope relief in 2018, range, investment bank UBS said in will continue to exist because of their I don’t think Bombardier or Embraer February. Bombardier gained shares fuel efciency, he says, but that will expect that, either,” he says. “It’s why of RJ deliveries in 2014-16, although also drive demand for next-gen RJs those programs are getting pushed Embraer continued to lead overall (see with new fuel technology, cabins and out a little bit, same as Mitsubishi.” chart). ATR still dominates the turbo- technology. Scope limits remain at 76 seats and prop market. Use of old 70-seaters will change, 86,000-lb. maximum takeof weight But for some new aircraft, like Alberts says: “I think it’s going to be (MTOW) but ostensibly are open for Embraer’s 175-E2, the coming debate a new-generation aircraft, and that’s amendment at major U.S. carriers be- is existential. “There’s defnitely a lot what MRJ is all about.” ginning in 2019. That means negotia- of concern about whether the 175-E2 Time will tell—and sooner rather tions could pick up in earnest by 2018 gets built,” said Gueric Dechavanne, than later. c
14 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 aviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p14.indd 14 3/15/17 1:59 PM Inside Business Aviation By William Garvey William Garvey is Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/IBA [email protected]
commentary above) would like business aircraft operators to focus on that countdown. That’s because at the pace things Tick Tock are moving, a lot of fying hardware is likely to be grounded as of Jan. 1, 2020. Aviation’s calendar: For some too slow, Like it or not—and many do not, for others too fast clearly—aircraft operating in con- trolled airspace from that day forward he Dow Jones Industrials must be equipped with automatic de- T pendent surveillance-broadcast (ADS- index passed the 20,000 mark B) “Out” avionics. The equipment is in January. Unemployment is the key airborne element in the FAA’s below 5%. The real estate melt- new satellite-based air trafc control system. down is a memory. Republicans GeNerAl AVIAtION MANUfACtUrerS ASSOCIAtION Hilkemann is president and CEO of are promising lower taxes and fewer regulations. The dollar is Duncan Aviation, the world’s largest golden, Boeing’s backlogged forever, Detroit can’t roll fivvers privately owned business jet support facility, with major repair, overhaul fast enough, and Elon Musk is shooting tourists to the Moon. and upgrade shops in Battle Creek, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Industria Americana is swaggering. totaled just 661 units, the industry’s Provo, Utah. His company is equipped Well, most of it. But then there’s the lowest fgure since 2004. Only turbo- to handle 60-65 ADS-B installations business of business and general avia- props increased, by 19 units. per month, but it is doing just a third tion airplane making. That sliver of Simon Caldecott, GAMA’s chairman of that fgure, and that’s worrisome. aerospace has typically been the last and head of Piper Aircraft, had a so- It’s not that Duncan is trying to to feel the crush of economic contrac- bering view of the numbers. Focusing drum up business; its 2,100 employees tion and the last to realize its expan- on jet totals, he said, “I believe what sion. And so the pattern continues— we see today is the norm.” but this time the sine wave has been And while Pete Bunce, GAMA alarmingly slow in curving upward president and CEO (photo, top), called again. the totals “disappointing,” he avers Harken back to the failure of that his members are “optimistic Lehman Brothers, the opening volley about the future,” in part because of of near economic collapse in early fall their investments in new products 2008. Wall Street was convulsing, Main and technologies. Streeters watched in horror as their Asked whether the steady contrac- DUNCAN AVIONICS 401(k) plans halved into “201(k)s” and tion of the pilot population—by last are busy doing inspections, interior house fippers mailed their keys back count there were 162,313 active U.S. and avionics upgrades, regular main- to the banks. private pilots, a 55% decline since tenance and such. But Hilkemann’s Yet the General Aviation Manufac- 1980, a year in which 11,877 aircraft team estimates there are 6,000 turers Association (GAMA) closed were manufactured—was a factor in business jets in North America that that year having shipped nearly 4,000 GAMA’s vexingly low output, Bunce still need ADS-B installed, and once new airplanes, including 1,300 busi- sidestepped the question. Rather, he that realization of the calendar and ness jets, for total billings of $24.7 noted that the continuing digitization consequences of delay set in, it may billion—up nearly $3 billion and of cockpits, increased use of automa- be too late. The work takes on aver- $6 billion, respectively, from the tion for control and enhanced safety, age 7-10 days per aircraft but is often previous two years. But since then, and the facilitation of design improve- coordinated with major scheduled annual new aircraft shipments haven’t ments through a recently updated service, which can keep an airplane in topped 2,500, and business jet totals FAR 23 should produce aircraft at- the work hangar even longer. have been of by about 50%. tractive to the millennial generation. Now when owners tell Hilkemann At GAMA’s dispirited state-of-the- Considering the industry’s current they’re delaying ADS-B, hoping the industry gathering, held Feb. 22 in trends, that generational shift can’t deadline will be extended, prices re- Washington, the association reported come soon enough. c duced or the airplane sold, he writes total airplane shipments of 2,241 units, down their names, the date and time. a decrease of 3.9% from 2015, and to- Procrastinate at your Peril Should they call looking for an up- tal billings of $20.7 billion, a stunning Approximately 700 workdays remain grade slot in a work-crowded 2019, he decline of 14.1%. Notably, business before the new decade begins, and fgures he may need to recall details of jet shipments, its big-ticket category, Aaron Hilkemann (photo, at right those conversations. c
aviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 15
AW_03_20_2017_p15.indd 15 3/15/17 12:47 PM Airline Intel By Jens Flottau Jens Flottau is Managing Editor for Civil Aviation Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/AirlineIntel [email protected]
commentary for investment profles if an aircraft can be safely scheduled to make two roundtrips from Central Europe to Defning the Future the Canary Islands instead of just one and one additional outbound fight. And then there are important play- The New Midsize Airplane represents ers such as Emirates Airline President a major turning point for Boeing Tim Clark, who argues that the twin design will be “the key” for success. t the ISTAT Americas conference in San Diego in March, Emirates, of course, does not operate A narrowbodies and, as an almost pure Boeing actively promoted the impending launch of its 737- long-haul airline, it has a greater focus 10X—to mixed response. Key lessors such as AerCap and Air on passenger comfort than a short- Lease Corp. expressed doubt about the aircraft’s capabilities haul low-cost carrier. Clearly, there are two camps in the and service-entry timing. Airlines seemed much more inter- industry, and it is Boeing’s task to ested in what could become Boeing’s next big program, known determine which is more promising in as the middle-of-the-market aircraft, the New Midsize Airplane terms of aircraft sales. The next challenge is the engine (NMA) or simply the 797. question. There is no obvious answer yet—what is available now is either too big or too small. But for Rolls-Royce in particular, the NMA is the next opportunity to participate in a major aircraft program that could be the joepriesaviation.net frst application for Rolls’s Advance engines. For Pratt & Whitney, the NMA could be the platform for the next iteration of its geared turbofan (GTF); now powering the A320neo and Bombardier C Series, and it would be a step ahead of putting a GTF on a Boeing is trying to defne a new airplane to replace the 757, among others. true long-haul aircraft. There is an abundance of new The 737-10X is Boeing’s quickest accommodate seven-abreast seating technologies available or nearly answer to the growing threat posed in economy, like the 767. Six-abreast ready to make the NMA a really good by the sales success of the Airbus seating would be unlikely because the aircraft. But Boeing will have to make A321neo. While Boeing says the -10X’s added width would simply be used for some tough decisions: Airlines do not performance will be better in every the second aisle rather than to gener- need another 787, which is extremely aspect, customers are skeptical. The ate more revenue than a narrowbody good and extremely expensive. They NMA, if launched and done right, could. Therefore, a seven-abreast want a very good and relatively cheap would be Boeing’s best response to confguration would be the narrowest airplane. the competing Airbus model—and of that makes sense. And the exact fuse- So a lot of thinking has to go into course much more. The aircraft would lage shape is still being studied. both the airframe and new production sit between the 737, which appears not Airbus sales chief John Leahy and technologies and processes that will to have sufcient capabilities for the some customers argue that a narrow- enable Boeing to price the aircraft longish-range missions required in the body will always be more aerodynami- aggressively and run high-volume pro- targeted segment, and the 787, which is cally economical than a small twin-aisle. duction efciently. At the ISTAT con- overqualifed (and therefore too expen- That may be true, but other factors ference, some key potential customers sive) for the relatively short transatlan- come into play, too, that would make made clear that the NMA would have tic fights airlines are considering. a twin-aisle more feasible—if Boeing’s to cost well below $100 million to sell So Boeing’s task is to develop an technology studies are on target. in large quantities. A300/310 done right, a technologi- Airlines such as European char- And looking further ahead, the cally up-to-date yet afordable 757/767 ter carriers that could operate the NMA’s new technologies will also be hybrid. Easily done? Absolutely not. NMA on relatively short routes will part of the aircraft that will ultimately Impossible? Absolutely not. appreciate the signifcantly shorter replace the venerable 737 at some The frst challenge is a design turnaround times possible with twin- point late in the next decade. choice: Boeing seems to be lean- aisle boarding and deplaning. What There could not be more at stake ing toward a widebody that could is more, it makes a big diference for Boeing. c
16 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 aviationWeek.com/awst
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703AWB17.indd 1 3/14/2017 2:02:28 PM Leading Edge By Graham Warwick Graham Warwick is Managing Editor for Technology Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/LE [email protected]
commentary small and fast like Vahana, which is a tiltwing with higher speed and range, or a larger version of a quadcopter Catch the CityAirbus like CityAirbus?” he says. “We recog- nize every city has slightly diferent needs in speed, size and range.” European aerospace giant sees promise in electric Many of the advances needed for VTOL transportation within congested cities urban air transport are coming from the automotive industry, Thomsen irbus is serious about urban air mobility, and the potential says—in electrifcation, self-driving, A composites and manufacturing. So for electric-powered vertical-takeof-and-landing (VTOL) Airbus partnered with Italdesign to aircraft to change the way people move around within cities. look at diferent vehicle ideas. The result is a modular concept that In the past six months, the seamlessly combines ground and air European aerospace giant transport, “without being a fying car, has unveiled plans to fy two which we have much more difculty electric VTOL demonstrators: endorsing as an interesting concept,” a single-seater by year-end, he says. under Project Vahana, and the Pop.Up comprises a two-seat pas- multipassenger CityAirbus by senger capsule that can couple with the end of 2018. separate ground and air modules. Airbus has created an urban The capsule could also connect to air mobility program within other modes of transport such as Airbus its corporate technology ofce. trains or hyperloop high-speed links. “This is a new area for us, but Users would plan and book a trip it leverages everything we do using an app. The system will auto- across our divisions: vertical matically suggest the best transport fight, autonomy and passen- solution based on timing, trafc, cost ger transport,” says Mathias and ride-share demands, and join Thomsen, general manager for the passenger capsule to either the urban air mobility. “The focus ground or air module or another has accelerated in intensity in means of transportation. the last six months.” “Pop.Up is not just an object; it is a This month, Airbus teamed system and a service,” Thomsen says, up with automotive design but there are no plans to demonstrate house Italdesign to unveil a the concept. “It is a way to reach out, modular ground/air concept and we have had a positive response. vehicle, called Pop.Up, at the A lot of companies have opened up Geneva International Motor itAldesign dialog on urban air mobility.” Show. Pop.Up will not fy but is There is no shortage of critics aimed at engaging with the mo- of urban air mobility, skeptical the bility industry, and the public, technology is viable and certifable. on urban air transport, he says. But improving battery technology Vahana is designed by and revamping of certifcation rules Airbus’s Silicon Valley outpost, around industry standards ofer a A3, and is a tiltwing VTOL way forward. “The main proposition design. Pop.Up has four ducted for electric VTOL is for cities. We will fans—as has CityAirbus, which not be able to fy 500 km [310 mi.] for is being designed with Airbus Airbus a good while, so the use case is the Helicopters. The rotorcraft urban environment,” says Thomsen. unit is also involved in the Skyways says Thomsen. “The second phase “We think battery-driven electric drone-delivery demo on the National will be a more commercial vehicle,” vehicles will be sufcient to fy within University of Singapore campus. planned to fy by 2020, he adds. the range regime of an urban environ- The autonomous Vahana will carry CityAirbus will carry three to four ment,” he says “Electric aircraft are cargo or a single passenger. “Vahana passengers and be piloted initially, but fying today. In 10 years, for sure, they will fy a full-scale demonstration this will be autonomous in the longer term. will have a high level of performance. year. It will perform a full mission and “They will help us identify the ideal You do not have to be that futuristic a test of airborne sense and avoid,” electric VTOL vehicle. Should it be for the vehicle to be viable.” c
18 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 aviationWeek.com/awst
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703AWB19.indd 1 3/14/2017 2:03:27 PM In Orbit By Frank Morring, Jr. Frank Morring, Jr. is Senior Space Editor Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/InOrbit [email protected]
commentary Gingrich. “Private space eforts will move faster.” The pace of spacefight develop- Setting the Pace ment is the issue. At the 55th Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium March 7-9, NASA representatives up White House options for an exploration time line to and including Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot stressed the impor- ef Bezos is into heraldry. tance of cooperation between both JHis Blue Origin factory in camps as the U.S. pushes out beyond Kent, Washington, is littered low Earth orbit. “What a great situation for us in with it—the company’s feath- terms of saying: ‘They are thinking er icon, symbolizing “the about the next boundary as well,’” perfection of fight”; the slow- says Lightfoot. “That is another awe- some opportunity for us to leverage.” but-steady tortoise; the Latin For the moment, NASA still plans motto “Gradatim Ferociter,” to use the space around the Moon to “step by step, ferociously.” shake out technology for an eventual NASA human trip to Mars. It has no plans His methodical approach notwith- and particularly NASA, or private to land and no hardware to do it with. standing, Amazon’s CEO set a couple business. Six “NextSTEP” contractors are using of deadlines for his spacefight spinof Bezos is not the only wealthy agency funds to fesh out concepts for this month, both in 2020. That is space entrepreneur promising what human-tended outposts in lunar orbit when Bezos expects to begin fying is sometimes called a “Kennedy mo- that could support surface operations the partially reusable New Glenn ment” in space as the new admin- or—perhaps—fy on to the red planet orbital launch vehicle and when he istration decides where it wants to as early as the 2030s, depending on says he can put a large robotic lander go. Elon Musk says SpaceX has two available funds and technology. called Blue Moon on the lunar sur- paying customers—as yet unidenti- An alternative “minimum path” face (see pages 24 and 26). fed—who want to fy around the approach, developed at the Jet Pro- On that schedule, a private-sector Moon in his Dragon 2 capsule, once pulsion Laboratory, would trim the space spectacular could give Presi- it is human-rated for NASA missions cislunar shakedown time and target dent Donald Trump some bragging to the International Space Station crewed Mars orbit, which would make rights in his reelection campaign. (ISS). Musk says he can do it by the human operations at Mars more Bezos readily concedes he needs end of 2019, which puts his unfown likely without increasing NASA’s NASA’s help, and the Trump adminis- Falcon Heavy in a race with NASA’s exploration budget. Like the Apollo tration is calling the shots at the space heavy-lift Space Launch System 8 lunar fyaround that produced the agency now. (SLS)—also unfown—for the hearts famous “Earthrise” image (see photo), The new president has ofered lip and minds of the West Wing. advocates say the Mars-orbit mis- service to space exploration with brief Congress, meanwhile, has made sion would focus public attention and mentions in his two major speeches up its mind. On March 7 it gave support on space exploration (AW&ST on Capitol Hill, and his transition unanimous fnal passage to its “NASA April 13-26, 2015, p. 22). team gave NASA the go-ahead to Transition Authorization Act of 2017.” It also speeds up Bezos’s tortoise see what it would take to fy humans The law directs NASA to deliver a approach substantially. Another con- around the Moon as early as 2019 road map “to achieve the long-term cept—proposed by former astronaut/ (AW&ST March 6-19, p. 18). It is clear goal of human missions near or on the space-science manager John Grunsfeld that, within the bounds of other surface of Mars in the 2030s.” The at the Goddard Symposium—would spending priorities (starting with SLS and NASA’s Orion crew cap- cut out the lunar step altogether. an expected $54 billion increase for sule are central to that goal, and the “I think this administration could defense), spacefight could be a theme schedule tracks with the agency’s past decide to make its Kennedy moment a in the Trump presidency. Less clear is funding levels for human exploration. fight to Mars orbit, and back, within the direction he will choose. Trump did not rush out to sign a decade,” he says. “That is something The early transition tea leaves sug- the bill into law, and one of his key we could achieve straightaway by using gest there is a behind-the-scenes de- advisors on space used the president’s the ISS as our testbed, and the [Next- bate on the subject that really started preferred medium to voice his displea- STEP] technology to build, test and after President Barack Obama took sure with the exploration schedule. then fy the vehicle to Mars and back. ofce eight years ago. It still centers “Newly passed NASA authoriza- “It’s a choice,” Grunsfeld adds. on who would be best to carry the tion bill will be obsolete within a year,” And Donald Trump is in a position to U.S. fag into space—the government, tweeted former House Speaker Newt make it. c
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AW_03_20_2017_p20.indd 20 3/15/17 12:41 PM Washington Outlook Edited by Jen DiMascio Jen DiMascio is Managing Editor for Defense and Space Join the conversation at: AviationWeek.com/WashingtonOutlook [email protected]
cOMMentary not-for-proft organization to provide this service,” says House Transporta- tion and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Budget Wars Shuster (R-Pa.). But skeptics were just as vocal. “For the last two years, opponents Under Trump, gridlock returns of this shortsighted plan have raised serious concerns about whether ATC resident Donald Trump’s plan to privatization would guarantee safety, Pincrease the defense budget in fscal protect national security, expedite new technology, and keep our aviation sys- 2017 and 2018 is being pummeled by tem solvent,” says Rep. Peter DeFazio Republicans and Democrats in (D-Ore.), the ranking Democrat on the Congress. His budget blueprint would transportation panel, who adds that Shuster’s ATC proposal failed to gener- provide $639 billion, $65 billion of which ate enough support in 2016 to pass. c would fund overseas wars. Lockheed Martin LeveLing Off The White House asserts that this is Senate. “We have a budget deal from The Trump administration’s budget “one of the largest one-year [Defense December 2015 and they have to go outline contains more specifc details Department] increases in U.S. history.” back and basically renegotiate that regarding its space plans than for But his proposal, $54 billion more than deal,” says Todd Harrison, a direc- other departments. The administra- 2017, does not provide enough money tor of defense budget analysis at the tion would provide $19.1 billion for the to accomplish even his own goals. Center for Strategic and International space agency, prioritizing deep-space For instance, Trump has pledged to Studies. “I don’t know how they are missions and gutting the previous increase the size of the force by 10-15%, going to get the Democrats to support administration’s plan to capture an as- notes Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fel- any of this.” teroid. The budget proposal cuts just low at the Brookings Institution. The Democrats are seething in the face 0.8% from the amount provided by the administration is asking for less than of reductions to federal funding for fscal 2017 continuing resolution. half of what is needed. To support education, the environment, health and Trump’s document envisions new op- that growth, the Pentagon would need international diplomacy. Says Rhode portunities for government-industry another $30 billion or more in 2018 and Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Demo- collaboration on the International every year after, O’Hanlon says. crat on the armed services committee: Space Station, deep-space habitation Trump’s plan amounts to a 3% “The president . . . is just increasing and exploration. It would also support increase above what President money for the military and cutting the purchase of data from private Barack Obama proposed. Sen. John money for domestic priorities and hop- companies that operate small-satellite McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Mac ing that makes him look strong.” c constellations and look to industry to Thornberry (R-Texas) have already commercialize new technologies to be counterproposed a $640 billion base Privatize Me used in space. The administration’s budget request, with even more money Trump has made one thing clear about budget proposal would still prioritize requested for fghting wars. “It is clear U.S. air trafc control (ATC): He wants deep-space human spacefight, provid- that this budget proposed today can- to take it out of government hands. ing $3.7 billion for the Orion crew not pass the Senate,” McCain says. “The president’s 2018 budget initiates vehicle, the Space Launch System and Along with plans for 2018, Trump a multiyear reauthorization proposal its associated ground system. submitted a supplemental request for to shift the air trafc control function In addition to scrapping Obama’s 2017 to add $30 billion for defense. of the Federal Aviation Administration Asteroid Redirect Mission, Trump That includes $13.5 billion for procure- to an independent, nongovernmental would cut Obama-era funding for ment, F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, F/A-18 organization, making the system more aeronautics research, a Europa Super Hornets, Apache helicopters efcient and innovative while main- lander, four Earth science programs and Terminal High-Altitude Area taining safety,” states the outline. “This and a National Oceanic and Atmo- Defense missile interceptors. would beneft the fying public and spheric Administration polar satellite While that proposal is welcome taxpayers overall.” program in favor of expanding the news for the defense industry, getting The proposal was music to the ears use of commercially provided data. support from Congress is another of ATC privatization proponents. The Aerospace Industries Associa- matter entirely. The added base- “This budget takes the next step in tion says those cuts “risk our access budget funding blows past Budget what our committee produced last to key information that is used across Control Act spending caps, but only year—separating the air trafc control government agencies for national for defense. Overturning the limits function from the federal government security, public safety and community will require at least 60 votes in the and establishing an independent, planning applications.” c
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AW_03_20_2017_p21.indd 21 3/16/17 6:43 PM SPACE Moon Drea Trump’s ‘footprints’ are possible; restarting lander will take funds
Frank Morring, Jr. Washington
resident Donald Trump’s vision that “American footprints Pon distant worlds are not too big a dream” resonates with government engineers who spent years working to make it a reality. But they say it will only happen if there is more funding for human exploration than has been available in recent years.
Diferent variants of the canceled Altair lunar lander, the most recent NASA concept for landing humans on a “distant world.”
NASA CONCEPTS
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AW_03_20_2017_p22-27.indd 22 3/15/17 5:39 PM Moon DreaMs In early development work for the four-person Altair lander, NASA’s Constellation program drew heavily on the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module that put astronauts on the Moon.
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The Trump administration has NASA engineers studying Center from 2007 until Constellation ended. “We weren’t [at] whether it is feasible to put astronauts on the frst Orion cap- the preliminary design review (PDR) yet, but we understood sule to fy around the Moon instead of the second, a change the key trades and the basic confguration was set.” that could give the new president an Apollo 8 moment before The vehicle, which Thomas says was designed to be as he stands for reelection. simple as possible to save money and time, would have taken Entrepreneurs also have the Moon in their sights, including as many as four astronauts anywhere on the lunar surface a thinly sketched plan by SpaceX founder Elon Musk to send for stays as long as seven days, and for as long as six months two paying space tourists on a lunar fyaround next year, and if there was a separate habitat available to sustain them. Dif- several robotic-lander projects—one of them just proposed ferent confgurations were planned for diferent missions, by Blue Origin owner Jef Bezos. including an unmanned cargo variant able to carry 17 metric But the U.S. has not been trying to put U.S. boots on the tons (see illustration on page 23). ground anywhere of the planet since February 2010, when But that was as far as it went. Since then, the U.S. space then-President Barack Obama shut down the Constellation agency has bypassed planning for a return to the Moon’s exploration-vehicle development program initiated by his surface in favor of using the space around it to shake down predecessor, George W. Bush. NASA’s Altair lunar lander spacecraft designed to take astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. project never went beyond trade studies and PowerPoint Current NASA managers are unwilling to discuss future concepts. No prime contractor was selected. programs while delicate budget negotiations with the White “We were quite a ways along in the preliminary design of House are underway, according to an agency spokesperson. the Altair,” says Dale Thomas, an engineering professor at But Thomas and other former Constellation engineers be- the University of Alabama in Huntsville who held top-level lieve lander work could restart fairly quickly. Constellation-program positions at Marshall Space Flight “Assuming that you could pick up essentially what we had
Special Delivery the Blue Moon concept, Bezos says. Its BE-3U upper-stage engine, a high- altitude variant of the hydrogen-fueled A commercial lunar lander is in the works BE-3 that took the frst New Shepard booster to space fve times in 2016 with- Frank Morring, Jr. Washington out a change out, would send the lander into its translunar injection trajectory. lue Origin is at work on what future deep-space exploration. It would retain enough capability after Bcould be a key moneymaker for Bezos and executives of the launch- that to begin slowing the vehicle toward the nascent off-planet econo- vehicle company he is bankrolling with its target on the lunar surface, he says. my—a robotic lander capable of deliv- some of his Amazon wealth presented Like New Shepard, Blue Moon would ering as much as 10,000 lb. of cargo to the idea at NASA headquarters on land tail-down, braking with retropro- the Moon in a single trip. March 2. The response, he says, was pulsion from a set of 11,000-lb.-thrust Intended to carry cargo to a perma- positive, raising hopes at Blue Origin liquid oxygen/methane engines already nent outpost on the rim of the Moon’s that it can gain access to precision- in development at the Kent facility, ac- polar Shackleton Crater, the Blue landing, hazard-avoidance and other cording to Bezos. The lander would Moon lander design combines rocket technology the company needs to turn be “launch-vehicle-agnostic,” able to engines already developed or in de- its Moonbase-logistics concept into a lift of from Earth on NASA’s heavy- velopment at the company’s factory in reality. lift Space Launch System (SLS), the Kent, Washington, and autonomous- “We are hoping to partner with United Launch Alliance Atlas V, the landing technology from NASA. NASA on a program called Blue Moon, reusable New Glenn orbital launcher Blue Origin owner Jef Bezos says where we would provide the cargo- Blue Origin is developing (see follow- it could make its first flight by July delivery service to the surface of the ing article) and even the Falcon Heavy 2020. He has pitched the idea to acting Moon, with the intent over time of under development by reusable-launch NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot building a permanently inhabited hu- rival SpaceX. and other agency engineers, who want man settlement,” Bezos says. “It’s time Bezos says the lander’s payload to see if they can give President Don- for America to go back to the Moon, would be scalable, with an SLS launch ald Trump a significant spaceflight this time to stay.” enabling transport of 10,000 lb. to the achievement before the end of his frst Bezos discussed the concept—frst lunar surface and smaller payloads on term in the Oval Ofce. reported in The Washington Post—at less capable launchers achieved by re- Bezos says the commercial cargo Aviation Week’s annual Laureates ducing the propellant load and number lander could support a human base banquet, where Blue Origin received of descent engines. at a near-permanently illuminated the Space Laureate for its initial un- Planetary scientists and spacefight zone on the crater’s rim (see illustra- manned fight-test campaign with its engineers have long been interested in tion). The site is adjacent to the cold New Shepard suborbital space-tour- establishing a base on a plateau over- sink inside the dark crater, where sci- ism vehicle. looking Shackleton Crater at a spot entists believe there are deposits of The New Shepard, set to begin fy- that receives almost full-time sunlight water ice that might be exploited for ing humans this year, is the basis for as the Moon goes through its orbit. So-
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AW_03_20_2017_p22-27.indd 24 3/15/17 5:39 PM with Altair and move, from a technical standpoint you could the rate of funding. “If it were given adequate funding, they probably be at PDR in six months, and then move on to criti- could do it in a reasonable amount of time, like four or fve cal design review and so forth,” Thomas says. “So depending years, maybe.” on how big a time crunch you put on things, you’re probably Thomas says the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) looking at four or fve years to get Altair ready.” that NASA started with congressional support after the Con- That will take money, of course, and fnding it will be hard- stellation cancellation has the capability to deliver Altair to er than getting out of Earth’s gravity well. It will be essential the lunar surface. Orion—the only Constellation vehicle still if the Trump administration really does want to put human in development—can take the crew to and from lunar orbit. footprints on the Moon or anywhere else. NASA is bracing Given U.S. human spacefight history, the risk of losing a crew for cuts in its next budget request, based on Trump’s pledge on a near-term mission probably would be seen as acceptable. to cut federal spending everywhere except for defense, and William Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator who the cost estimate for a lunar lander never went much beyond oversees human exploration planning and development, re- “a lot.” cently reminded a conference audience that agency engineers There have been hints dating back to last year’s election seriously underestimated the risk faced by the frst space campaign that some NASA programs—Earth science, for shuttle crew. example—are in for deeper cuts than others, so there may “[W]e’re going to be fying with some risk, no matter how be wiggle room for restarting a human-lander program. No hard we try to remove that risk,” he says. one pretends to know how that will turn out. At the urging of the Trump transition team, engineers in Doug Cooke, a retired NASA associate administrator for Gerstenmaier’s shop are running statistical analyses of the exploration systems who was a key architect of the Constel- risks and benefts that would be involved in putting two as- lation program, says the key to a Moon spectacular will be tronauts on the frst fight of the SLS instead of the second.
Artist’s concept of a permanent base at the Moon’s Shackleton Crater, where Blue Origin wants to send commercial robotic cargo landers. Potential Landing Approach landing near permanent structures. Resource Zone One system, dubbed South Pole (100 Football Fields Shown) the Autonomous Land- (Approx.) Monthly Illumination ing and Hazard Avoid- To Earth (Southern Winter) ance Technology (AL- 50-60% HAT), uses flash lidar 60-70% Observation Zone Landing Zone >70% and sophisticated al- (40 Landings Shown) gorithms to character- Power Production Zone Habitation Zone ize the terrain below a (ISS Modules Shown) landing spacecraft and avoid hazards autono- mously. Under develop- Potential Landing ment at Johnson Space 0 5 km Approach Center (JSC) and the NASA Jet Propulsion Labora- tory, ALHAT has been lar energy could power facilities there Congress that commercial resupply of demonstrated on JSC’s small Mor- where astronauts and robots could a six-person government-backed lunar pheus lander testbed. mine water ice preserved in the cra- base requiring 15,000 kg (33,000 lb.) of Although NASA’s current human- ter’s permanent darkness and convert cargo a year would generate an inter- exploration plan does not envision es- it into hydrogen and oxygen for propul- nal rate of return of more than 27%, tablishing a base on the Moon, Bezos sion and life support. enough to provide a realistic incentive argues that a return to the Moon, with That lunar industry would create a for a private cargo business (AW&ST the resources available there through market for commercial resupply with April 1, 2013, p. 56). ISRU, is the next logical step on the Blue Moon and perhaps some of the Bezos says Blue Origin is working way to Mars and other destinations smaller robotic landers in development on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) deeper in the Solar System. His com- for the Google Lunar X-Prize. Michael technology to exploit off-planet re- pany’s stated goal is to have “millions Grifn, the former NASA Administra- sources as well. It also needs tech- of people living and working in space. tor, calculated in a 2011 paper present- nology NASA has been developing “These things take time,” Bezos says. ed to the International Astronautical to achieve the precision required for “I don’t plan on skipping steps.” c
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Originally scheduled as a three-week mission to put an un- Musk says he believes all of that can happen before the manned Orion in orbit around the Moon, the study is evaluat- end of 2019, an optimistic view given the work that remains ing what it would take to install life-support and other gear to be done before the Dragon and its Falcon 9 launcher are on the “Exploration Mission-1” Orion and fy an eight-day deemed safe enough to carry crews to orbit, let alone to the “direct-return” manned lunar fyaround instead. Moon (AW&ST Feb. 6-19, p. 22). The outcome of that analysis likely will play into the frst The concept of a “lunar village”—frst proposed by Euro- NASA budget the Trump White House sends to Capitol Hill. pean Space Agency Director General Jan Woerner—is now It is probably Trump’s best chance to score a frst-term space also gaining traction in the U.S. Republican space advocates spectacular, but it will not involve any American footprints. have long favored a return to the lunar surface over the Also in the mix is an 11th-hour announcement by Musk that “Journey to Mars” approach adopted under Obama, and SpaceX has signed two customers willing to pay for a lunar their party now controls both houses of Congress as well fyaround in the company’s Dragon 2 vehicle, once NASA as the White House. human-rates it for trips to the International Space Station. With an eye to sparking a commercial logistics industry
tions satellite in the 2021-22 time frame, after Blue Origin fies its new launcher for the frst time in 2020. Shifting “Eutelsat has been frst customer for a number of launch vehicles in the past, so we will also beneft very greatly from their experience,” Bezos says. the Market Bezos’s Kent, Washington-based launch vehicle company has shipped
Blue Origin sets 2020 This artist’s concept of the New date for frst New Glenn launch vehicle pictures aerodynamic strakes for reentry Glenn fight control of the frst stage. its frst BE-4 main-stage engine devel- oped for New Glenn (see photo) to the company’s test facility near Van Horn, Texas, where it will undergo a hot-fre test campaign beginning in “a couple of months,” according to Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA has partnered with Blue Origin on developing the big new hydrocarbon- fueled engine. Bezos revealed that the reusable en- gine, fueled with liquefed natural gas, is designed for a 100-fight service life. Blue Origin COnCept Bruno said ULA will decide whether Frank Morring, Jr. Washington it will use the BE-4 or Aerojet Rock- etdyne’s planned AR-1 hydrocarbon lue Origin plans to begin fying its lower, satellites can come down in cost,” engine on its new Vulcan launcher af- BNew Glenn orbital launch vehicle he says. “They will be less precious, so ter the Blue Origin test campaign is in 2020, with an emphasis on re- you’ll be able to take more technology completed. usability that aims to establish a “new risks. The lifetimes will be lower. You’ll Meanwhile, Blue Origin is prepar- equilibrium” in the commercial satellite place them more frequently. You’ll ing to begin fying its suborbital New industry. reach a new equilibrium, and that new Shepard space-tourism vehicle with Jef Bezos, the Amazon founder and equilibrium will be just a much-larger passengers—possibly before the end CEO who is using his wealth to bankroll industry.” of this year. Bezos says the suborbital a private spacefight infrastructure, says In a presentation March 7 at the Sat- launcher required only about $10,000 the “dramatically lower launch costs” ellite 2017 conference here, Bezos and worth of turnaround maintenance per that will be enabled by his 100-mission Rodolphe Belmer, CEO of Eutelsat, fight in an unmanned fight-test series BE-4 engine and innovative “opera- announced that the European satcom that sent it to space fve times last year. tional” reusability with New Glenn is operator will be Blue Origin’s frst com- The company is building extensive intended to change the way money is mercial customer with the partially re- facilities at Cape Canaveral to manu- made in Earth orbit. usable New Glenn. They are planning facture, test and launch the New Glenn. “Once launch costs are much, much to orbit a geostationary communica- Bezos provided a few more details
26 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p22-27.indd 26 3/15/17 5:39 PM to serve the lunar surface, the $30 million Google Lunar X Columbia Accident Investigation Board, among others—of Prize competition has certifed that fve teams have met its letting schedule pressure outweigh good engineering. deadline to get under contract for a launch by the end of this “What you don’t want to see happen is some rush to do year. Included in that international array of small landers something that ends up being too risky,” says Cooke, stress- is one proposed by Florida-based Moon Express, which has ing the need for “of-ramps” to keep the program moving contracted for additional launches in anticipation of selling forward if unexpected problems crop up. “Schedule pres- rides to the Moon’s surface. sure has always been a concern. They’ll be careful about Blue Origin’s proposal to partner with NASA on its larger that, I know. But on the other hand, they might need to think “Blue Moon” commercial lunar lander concept is targeted about being a little more risky than they’ve been, along the to fy in July 2020, right in the middle of the next U.S. presi- lines of our experience—things we’ve done before.” c dential election campaign. Despite the White House desire to expand the envelope in space, the professionals who must Check 6 Aviation Week editors discuss launcher options do the work are mindful of the risks—highlighted by the raised at the Satellite 2017 conference: AviationWeek.com/podcast
about the big new rocket’s two-stage greater operability, according to Bezos. New Glenn in our manifest we are pur- variant, which he says is designed to “Those aerodynamic surfaces allow suing our long-standing strategy of deliver 13-metric-ton payloads to geo- us to operate with very high availabil- innovation that drives down the cost stationary transfer orbit (GTO), and 45 ity in very high wind conditions,” he of access to space and drives up per- metric tons to low Earth orbit. says. “So that booster is to go down- formance,” he stated. “This can only The addition of a cryogenic upper range and land on a moving ship, and be good news for the proftability and stage powered by the BE-3U variant it needs to be able to fly through a sustainability of our industry.”
of the engine fying on New Shepard Origin Blue will give the vehicle planetary-mis- sion capability. Like the rival SpaceX Falcon 9, the New Glenn frst stage will reenter after delivering its upper stage to space and land downrange on a sea-going vessel to avoid burn- ing fuel for a fyback to dry land. But unlike Falcon 9, New Shepard will use aerodynamic strakes to guide it to landing as a way to stretch propel- lant for the reusable stage (see illus- tration on page 25). “We’ve put a lot of efort into let- ting the vehicle fy back with aerody- namic surface control instead of with propulsion, because if you want lots The frst BE-4 engine was just shipped from Kent, Washington, for a hot-fre test campaign in Texas.
of cross range and to be able to get back to the landing ship, even with unknown wind environments, you re- ally want to be able to do that aerody- namically rather than propulsively,” Bezos says. wide variety of wind environments Bezos repeated his company policy Unlike the SpaceX “drone ship”— to do that, because we don’t want to of taking things slowly and steadily, essentially a stationary unmanned constrain availability of launch based refected in the motto “gradatim fe- barge—the Blue Origin landing ves- on the availability of the landing of the rociter,” which is Latin for step by sel will be moving when the first reusable booster.” step, ferociously. stage touches down, stabilized with Belmer said Eutelsat was attract- “Our goal, and we won’t stop until hydraulic fins under the water’s sur- ed by the fexibility aforded by New we achieve it, is to dramatically lower face to enable operations in a variety Glenn, which will be compatible with launch costs,” Bezos vows. “It’s not go- of sea states. That design wrinkle is almost all of the company’s spacecraft. ing to be easy. It’s going to take time, in keeping with the aerodynamic That will allow planners to allocate a but when we do achieve that goal, it will strakes on the reusable stage, broaden- mission 12 months before launch, ac- grow the entire industry. We’ll reach ing the launch-constraint window for cording to the company. “In including a new equilibrium in this industry.” c
AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 27
AW_03_20_2017_p22-27.indd 27 3/15/17 6:07 PM BELL 505 PILOT REPORT X Factor Model 505 Jet Ranger X fulfi lls Bell Helicopter’s goals for reentering the light turbine market
Aaron Smith Dallas
ell Helicopter has returned to the fi ve-seat light turbine market it once owned with the iconic Model 206B Jet
B PICTURES COHEN/COHEN SHELDON Ranger, last produced in 2010. Inheriting that legacy is the Model 505 Jet Ranger X, a more powerful and sophisticated development of the 206, with a new engine, avionics, systems and airframe but the same transmission and rotors.
28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p28-31.indd 28 3/16/17 6:34 PM The 505 was certifed in December, and deliveries began the tail rotor and its gearbox are from the 206. The main in March. I was invited to the Dallas Central Business Dis- rotor and transmission are also proven components from trict Vertiport to evaluate the new light helicopter for Avia- the 206, with minor design changes for installation. All the tion Week. Nearly 21 years ago, I walked onto Lowe Army lighting is LED, and a night-vision-goggle-compliant version Heliport in Fort Rucker, Alabama, to begin training on the of all lighting and displays will be available. TH-67, the Army’s version of the Jet Ranger. Since then, I There are no chin bubble windows in the cockpit, but the have accumulated 2,500 hr. as an Army CH-47D instructor main windscreen descends level to the foor with no obstruc- pilot and 5,000 hr. as an MD 520N pilot for Prince George’s tions. Doors and seats were easy to manipulate. No doors-of County Police Department in Maryland. confgurations have been specifed but should be soon, likely Chuck Evans, director marketing and sales, says Bell had with a speed restriction of 90 kt., similar to the 206. several major goals in developing the 505: provide a pow- Behind the left cockpit door is a smaller reverse-opening erful turboshaft with full-authority digital engine control door to help access the rear cabin. The area in the rear is (FADEC), a glass cockpit, true fve-place cabin and great remarkably spacious and truly big enough for three adults. visibility, all for around a $1 million price tag. I sat in the rear seat upright and still had 3 in. of clearance Randall Parent, Bell’s senior demonstration pilot, was to with a headset. A 6-ft., 3-in. adult would experience no dis- fy with me, with Aviation Week’s London bureau chief, Tony comfort in any of the three rear seats. Osborne, riding in the back as the photographer. Parent and As we climbed into the aircraft, I would have liked a strap I discussed the fight maneuvers I felt would best give an to grab to assist with front-seat boarding. Such straps can idea of the Jet Ranger X’s abilities. We were fying a dem- stop crewmembers from grabbing the wrong item or losing onstration aircraft that was not equipped with skid shoes balance and breaking something. The seats were comfort- for touchdown autorotations or run-on landings. We would have to terminate all autorotations with power. We walked out of the lobby onto the Vertiport, Dallas’s downtown elevated heliport. The winds were now out of the south at 25 kt., with gusts to over 33 kt. Some maneuvers would not be advis- able in sustained winds with such a gust spread. Bell 505’s external lines underscore that the light helicopter is designed to provide a roomy cabin and good cockpit visibility.
We started the walk-around. Everything on the aircraft I needed to check—sight gauges, engine inlets, avionics bay—were easy to ac- cess. Dzus fasteners secure all access doors, making them easy to manipulate. Climbing on the aircraft to inspect the rotor head and engine was also relatively easy. I wished there was a right-side handhold, like the one on the left, to Tony osborne/AW&sT aid the ascent. able but not adjustable. They must be locked forward in the Up top, the dual-spool hydraulic actuators are a slight “fy” position. To adjust for pilot height, anti-torque pedals change from the 206. The major diference is the Turbo- must be moved to one of eight positions, a task that was a meca Arrius 2R engine, putting out 504 shp for takeof and bit cumbersome. 457 shp continuous. That is a healthy step up from the 420- Parent grabbed the simple one-sheet checklist that is shp Rolls-Royce 250-C20B in the TH-67 (206B), which was taken directly from the pilot operating handbook. He turned limited by the transmission to 317 shp for takeof. But Bell’s the battery switch on. The small lithium-ion battery is in main reason for choosing Turbomeca was the FADEC. the avionics bay. Lithium batteries provide a more stable Behind the cabin is a luggage compartment big enough voltage without too much loss over short (30-min.) periods. for four sets of golf clubs or 250 lb. of gear. Inside the avi- They also require only about 35 amps to charge when the onics bay, you can see the tubular-truss airframe structure generator is on. An advisory light indicates when the bat- that supports all the major components and the mixture of tery is charged. aluminum and composite skins. On the instrument panel, Garmin G1000 displays and Parent showed me the electronic power supply unit. This standby indicators warmed up. Integration of engine, contains everything needed to manage the generator, bat- transmission and systems with the G1000 appeared seam- ednChnChnPi CT ures Cohen/Cohen s heldon tery monitoring and charging, and power distribution to less. Warning, caution and advisory lights are all displayed various systems in the aircraft. In the cockpit, there are clearly. The limiting engine or transmission indication is no circuit-breakers in reach of the pilot. Parent says Bell’s enlarged, with information presented in dial format so pilots idea is to wean pilots from using breakers as switches, or can readily monitor trends. For startup, Turbomeca’s limit- resetting breakers that are trying to tell you something—a ing indication is measured gas temperature (MGT). notion I agree with. Parent switched to a nifty weight and balance display The tail boom remains a classic monocoque design, and page that is clearly laid out as a top-down view of the air-
AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 29
AW_03_20_2017_p28-31.indd 29 3/16/17 6:35 PM BELL 505 PILOT REPORT
Evaluation pilot Aaron Smith (left) fnds integration of the helicopter’s systems with the G1000 displays to be seamless.
Tony osborne/AW&sT PhoTos craft. He entered my weight, his and Osborne’s (in kilo- it. I noticed this positive trait throughout the fight. grams) and then the 500 lb. of fuel on board, which was I set up a 70-kt. base leg then reduced to 60 kt. indicated air- 50 lb. shy of full. Instantly we knew our current weight of speed on fnal and shot my approach to the departure end of 3,150 lb. and our longitudinal and lateral center of gravity. Runway 17. Into the wind it was difcult to detect the 25-35-kt. We were 530 lb. below the maximum gross weight of 3,680 lb. wind. On the way to Dallas Executive I did notice that, similar Now it was time to start the Jet Ranger X. On the col- to the 206, you have to make a conscious efort to maintain lective-lever head, easily manipulated by thumb, is a two- coordinated fight and keep the aircraft in trim. I have fown a position switch labeled idle and fly. number of aircraft without automated We made sure both switches were set fight controls that do not require as to idle. Reaching to the center instru- Bell 505 Performance much footwork, but it was no diferent ment panel controls, I pushed the se- Max. speed ...... 125+ kt. from the 206. On short fnal, a voice lector to start/run. That was it. We alert told me I was at 50 ft. Max. Range ...... 294+ nm watched as MGT, Nr (rotor speed) and At the departure end of Runway NP (power turbine speed) came alive, Useful load ...... 1,500+ lb. 17 we sidestepped to the large sod and Ng (gas turbine speed) was now Hover IGE ...... 14,450 ft. area where Parent let me conduct about 63%. I have thousands of hours Hover OGE...... 10,460 ft. a number of hovering maneuvers, in FADEC-equipped aircraft, but none including sideward and rearward in a single-engine rotorcraft in this IGE = in ground effect flight. I was easily able to get the price range. OGE = out of ground effect aircraft to move in either direc- After setting up the pages on the Source: Bell Helicopter tion smoothly, with relatively little G1000 primary-fight and multifunc- pedal input to keep the tail behind tion displays, Parent placed his throt- the aircraft. I was easily able to tle (switch) to fly and we were ready to go. We taxied out, reach 17-18 kt. Parent demonstrated speeds closer to the away from the lobby. Parent made a radio call to the Verti- 25-kt. sideward and rearward limits with no issues. Turns port frequency. I heard him say “change mic,” there was a around the mast were smooth, and the aircraft required tone, and he was talking to controllers at Dallas Love Field, less torque than I thought to get the tail through the 30-kt. about 3 nm to the northwest. “Wait, what did you just do?” I wind while maintaining a relatively constant rate of turn. asked. Parent explained there is voice activation for certain After in-ground-effect hovering maneuvers, I asked functions like swapping between radios.. Parent to get to an out-of-ground-efect (OGE) altitude of We headed out to Dallas Executive Airport, about 8 nm to about 100 ft. above ground level (AGL) to demonstrate pedal the southwest, to conduct our maneuvers. Parent gave me the turns—a maneuver I would not have been as comfortable controls almost immediately. He had me switch my throttle doing in the 206 given the winds. I noted about 78% as the to fly, and the aircraft let us know we were in “dual-fly” highest torque value—good power remaining considering mode. The 505 was remarkably smooth given the winds. I winds and weight. had no problems fnding a straight and level attitude at 100 After the OGE hover work, I asked for a hovering autoro- kt. The collective control was also staying right where I put tation. I wanted 10-ft. AGL to demonstrate what is consid-
30 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p28-31.indd 30 3/16/17 6:35 PM ered a common “lazy-pilot” altitude and to see if holding of rate rate of descent for both types of autorotation. Minimum on collective pull or even a slight down collective prior to descent rate at 50 kt. gave us 1,400 fpm, and max glide speed cushion would save the day. Parent was more comfortable of 70 kt. gave us 1,850 fpm. going to the published zero-ground-speed bottom side of the Parent used the middle of the green arc for Nr, or 100%— height-velocity diagram limit of 5 ft. at the center of the 90-111% range. Descent rates were as ex- This was the frst time I could see how best to manage the pected for the high inertia of the relatively large and lengthy throttle switches. Parent had transferred control to me, and I blades of Bell’s semi-rigid underslung rotor design. It feels had selected fly on my throttle switch. His throttle was still like you have lots of time. Compared to some aircraft, you in fly also, hence the “dual-fly” crew coordination callout. do—just don’t let Nr go below the green. Getting rpm back For Parent to demonstrate a hovering autorotation, I needed on a decayed high-inertia rotor system is not fun, if not im- to place my switch in idle, giving him full control. Training possible. will require good crew coordination, but it is important to On one autorotation, Parent went as far as the flare note the FADEC will return the engine to 104% or fly status before cushioning (where energy in the rotor system is if either switch is placed to fly. used to soften the landing) before he switched the throttle Parent switched to idle and the 505 settled much like the back to fly. He slowed the descent to 5 ft. AGL and then 206 does, with about 2-3 in. of right pedal input. Now it was placed the throttle switch back to fly and almost simul- my turn. I took the controls, placed the throttle to fly and taneously pulled collective, asking for power. The Arrius the FADEC smartly brought rotor rpm back to fight speed. I 2R responded rapidly with little yaw to the right as power then conducted a hovering autorotation, and it acted exactly increased. like the 206 in such a situation. Parent now let me fy the aircraft with the hydraulics of. We rejoined the trafc pattern. I asked Parent to dem- You need to put in some efort, but the rates and movements ostrate minimum-rate and maximum-glide autorotation. are predictable. In the 206 with hydraulics of to simulate The high winds would allow us to cheat on the amount of a failure, it is standard to search for a suitable landing area deceleration we needed, but I could still get a relatively accu- such as a runway to execute a run-on landing. Parent told me to perform a normal landing from a hover. My experience fying the CH-47D with the automatic fight control system Bell’s 505 Jet Ranger X of helped, but any pilot with good stick-and-rudder skills retains the 206B’s proven would do well. main and tail rotors and gearboxes. At this point, it made sense to demonstrate run-on land- ings, but because of the winds we chose to put the hydraulics back on. We were not equipped with skid shoes, but were able to demonstrate a run-on landing to a grass area. Touch- ing down above efective translational lift speed (16-24 kt.— where the rotor system is more efficient and drag from downwash starts to reduce) I was easily able to smoothly transition and maintain control to a complete stop. I relinquished the controls to Parent and asked him to demonstrate a max-performance takeof using about 95% of continuous power available, or about 85% torque. I saw about 1,750 fpm as we climbed to 2,000 ft. At the top we planned to reduce collective to enter a vortex ring state. With zero ground speed and a 35-kt. wind across the nose, we were not going to be able to enter a settling-with-power condition. Parent showed me some standard features of the G1000, including range rings that indicate fuel reserve and burnout locations on the map. They changed as expected for speed, burn rate and wind. Winds were so strong, the foreshorten- ing of range rings in the direction of the wind was clear. The 505 holds about 550 lb. of fuel and, at a consumption of about 200 lb. per hour, you can expect about 2.5 hr. of fight and a fair planning range of about 250 nm. Bell predicts about $420 per hr. for the 505’s direct operat- ing costs. For now, some components are life-limited to 500 hr. pending fatigue testing. Carey Cannon, the 505’s chief engineer, says the goal is for all major components to have at least a 3,000-hr. time between overhauls. The 505 Jet Ranger X does a good job of hitting Bell’s goals for FADEC, glass cockpit, roomy cabin, cockpit vis- ibility and price. I would have liked a fully articulated rotor, but this would have prevented Bell from getting close to its $1 million goal. At about $1.2 million for a base aircraft, the 505 will compete well in the entry-level market. c
AviationWeek.com/awst AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 31
AW_03_20_2017_p28-31.indd 31 3/16/17 6:35 PM COMMERCIAL AVIATION
For that market segment, Boeing Get On With It has begun making fi rm of ers to cus- tomers for the fi nal stretch of the 737 Airlines and lessors are telling Boeing they want MAX family, the 737-10X. Unveiling the fi rst image of the 737-10X at the the New Midsize Airplane to be built ISTAT Americas conference, Tinseth said the 66-in.-stretch variant will Jens Flottau Frankfurt have “the lowest seat costs ever for a single-aisle airplane,” adding: “Simply oeing has been considering mak- expects there will be two engine man- put, the [737-10X] would be [the] most Bing its proposed New Midsize ufacturers on the program—General profi table single-aisle airplane the in- Airplane a widebody for some Electric and Pratt & Whitney or Rolls- dustry has ever seen.” time. But now, airlines and lessors have Royce—but fi nding an appropriate en- Although longer fuselage extensions just one message for the manufacturer: gine is one of the key challenges that is were considered, Boeing fi nally opted Get on with it. still to be addressed for the proposed for a more modest 66-in. stretch late in The airframer has been briefi ng a type. 2016 and apparently received author- number of airlines about the project, United is the most outspoken carri- ity to offer the model from the com- intended to cover the middle of the er promoting the idea of the New Mid- pany’s board in October. The most signifi cant design chang- es—in addition to the incorporation of two extra fuselage barrel sections forward and aft of the midsection— are focused on the main landing gear. According to industry sources, the design has now essentially been fro- zen. On the -10X the bottom section BOEING Boeing has received a of the main strut will be angled aft to lukewarm response to the provide about an additional 6 in. of proposed 737-10X from some ef ective ground clearance. The semi- market between the Boeing 737 and leasing companies. levered confi guration, which positions replacing the 757 and 767. Just as it the main gear around 6 in. further aft rolled out the 737-9 and nears launch size Airplane becoming a widebody, when deployed, will resemble a trailing of the proposed -10X to counter Air- but it is not the only one. According link gear. A separate test program for bus’s highly successful A321neo, cus- to industry of cials, Japan Airlines is this feature is planned. tomers are asking the company to looking at using the aircraft on domes- Boeing 737 MAX Vice President and take the next step. tic routes and regional services into General Manager Keith Leverkuhn “What we have seen so far is very, China, for which the 787 has too much says studies and testing will continue very interesting to us,” United Airlines range. Like All Nippon Airways, JAL through 2017 to make sure the gear will Chief Financial Of cer Andrew Levy had ordered the proposed short-range still fi t into the wheel well. remarked at the International Society version of the 787, the 787-3, which Leverkuhn says Boeing is looking at of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) Boeing later dropped. the -10X entering service in 2020. How- Americas conference in San Diego. At The proposed 797 would be pitched ever, lessors in particular have been the show, Air Lease Corp.’s CEO John at replacing the 767-300 and 757. But concerned about the market prospects Plueger told Bloomberg that he would one industry observer notes that the of the aircraft. AerCap CEO Aengus not be surprised if Boeing goes as far aircraft would need at least 500-700 Kelly says he is “cautious” about the as of ering the aircraft to airlines later nm more range than the 757 so that outlook for the -9 and -10X, particu- this year. U.S. carriers would be able to fly it larly since they “will cannibalize each Levy says the airline initially did not from the U.S. East Coast into Central other.” believe the aircraft would be economi- Europe. According to Boeing Com- “The 737-9 is really about high ca- cally viable as a twin-aisle, but what mercial Airplanes Vice President for pacity with great range,” Leverkuhn Boeing has shown so far in terms of Marketing Randy Tinseth, the manu- says. The -10X will accommodate even concepts and data has changed his facturer is looking at two variants of more passengers, “but we let the range mind. “What we have seen, we like,” the midsize aircraft. fall of a little bit,” he adds. Leverkuhn he says. The talks with airlines confi rm the says the -10X will have a range of about Offering the aircraft to potential results of a Bank of America Mer- 3,100 nm, compared to 3,300 nm for buyers this year may be a case of wish- rill Lynch and Aviation Week survey the -9. Boeing is considering a two- ful thinking, however. Many questions about carriers’ interest in a midsize class configuration of 189 seats and still need to be answered, the least of aircraft published in 2016, which found 230 seats in single-class arrangements. which is the aircraft’s designation, ac- that 60% of respondents would consid- The -10X will offer transcontinen- cording to some industry players. “Just er a widebody. However, 46% wanted tal range and will also be able to fly, call it a 797, because that’s what it is Boeing to develop an aircraft with 150- for example, from China’s east coast going to be,” Air Lease Corp. Executive 199 seats, the size category of the 737 to the western parts of the country, Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy says. He MAX family. Leverkuhn says. c
32 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
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fi ve airlines to fl y the new routes. How- Low Costs, High Hopes ever, a transportation of cial says only three carriers have been of cially au- Latin American mainline airlines and LCCs thorized to start operations. Those include startup Alas del Sur and two lower fares while expanding operations existing carriers, American Jet and Andes Lineas Aereas. Kristin Majcher Boston Alas del Sur hopes its fares will be low enough to attract those who nor- s some established airlines airline is led by Estuardo Ortiz, who mally travel via long domestic bus Atake steps to unbundle their served as Avianca’s chief revenue of- trips, says airline President Damian of erings, a wave of startups is fi cer before retiring from the position Toscano . It plans to operate routes looking to further disrupt several mar- in June. Santiago-based Sky Airline that primarily link Cordoba to other kets within Latin America. In recent is also moving toward an LCC model, domestic locations, but eventually months, two main types of new low- with a new website to inform custom- seeks to fl y to international destina- cost carriers (LCC) have emerged— ers about its new fare structure. tions such as Miami. country-specifi c subsidiaries of existing Sky Airline has started to offer Operations of two other airlines— aviation companies and new startups. two new fares, Light and Plus. Light Synergy Aerospace subsidiary Avian Both approaches can be seen in includes carry-on luggage only and Lineas Aereas (marketed as Avianca Chile, where a fresh company is look- does not allow passengers to choose Argentina under a licensing agree- ing to launch alongside an incumbent their seats. The more expensive Plus ment) and the LCC Flybondi—are still airline that seeks to shake up its exist- fare includes a checked bag up to 23 pending. ing business model. kg (51 lb.), seat assignment and a one- Argentina’s Flybondi has ambitions JetSmart is the latest carrier time opportunity to change the date or to of er the lowest prices in the market, backed by veteran ultra-low-cost air- route of the fl ight. Customers must pay and signifi cantly grow traf c. The air- line developer Indigo Partners, which for additional luggage. line plans to be able to carry 8 million has supported companies such as LATAM Airlines, also based in the passengers in 2021. Frontier Airlines, Hungary’s Wizz Air Santiago area, said last November that Flybondi’s operations were contin- and Mexico’s Volaris. The airline says it would of er a new lower-fare busi- gent upon it providing more informa- it plans to start operations at the end ness model in its six countries with tion to authorities about its aircraft of the Chilean winter, between July domestic operations ( AW&ST Dec. 26, leasing plans, which it updated the and August. It is planning to fl y within 2016-Jan. 8, 2017, p. 120). market about in mid-March. Flybondi Chile at fi rst, and to provide interna- Meanwhile, Argentina recently un- also announced then its decision to tional fl ights as part of a second phase. veiled an aviation plan that involves launch operations with the Boeing JetSmart, which plans to operate boosting domestic and international 737-800NG in a 189-seat confi guration. new Airbus A320s, will initially fly routes. The country is investing 22 bil- Norwegian, which has shaken up the three aircraft. It plans to add 6 or 7 lion Argentine pesos ($1.4 billion) into U.S. market with its low international next year, for a total of 9 or 10 aircraft improving aviation infrastructure over fares, has established a company in Ar- by the end of 2018. The airline has sub- several years, President Mauricio Mac- gentina to explore opportunities there. mitted a formal request to Chile’s civil ri said during a March 6 public address. However, its development in the coun- aviation authority to begin the process The plan calls for opening 135 new try is nascent. The carrier confi rmed of obtaining its air operator’s certifi - routes—77 domestic and 58 interna- in January that it had launched a com- cate, executives said during a Febru- tional. Argentina’s aviation authority pany called Norwegian Air Argentina, ary press conference in Santiago. The recently issued an opinion that cleared but did not name any routes and said
Chile’s Sky Airline is selling two new types of fares—Light and Plus—as it works toward implementing a low-cost business model.
PHILLIP CAPPER/WIKIMEDIA
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AW_03_20_2017_p34-35.indd 34 3/16/17 6:26 PM its exploration of opportunities in the of which originate and end in the capi- Airbus A320s. market was at a “very early stage.” tal city of Lima. Viva Air Peru said in Viva had planned to launch a Costa Another well-known brand expand- February that it intends to start op- Rica-based airline in 2016, but said last ing Latin American operations is the erating 11 domestic routes on May 9 February that it was shifting its focus Viva airline group, backed by Ryanair and that it will begin selling tickets to another location. Instead, Mexico’s developer Irelandia Aviation. on March 20. Its one-way fares start Volaris set up in that country. The air- Its new LCC, Viva Air Peru, re- at just under 60 Peruvian sol ($18), in- line launched its Volaris Costa Rica cently received permission from local cluding taxes and fees. The airline said operation on Dec. 1—the same day as aviation authorities to fy commercial in November that it plans to transport Copa’s new Colombian airline Wingo routes. The carrier can now ofer daily more than 700,000 passengers in its began flying (AW&ST Dec. 26, 2016- service on several domestic routes, all frst year of operations, using 180-seat Jan. 8, 2017, p. 120). c
other transmitted data elements from the ADS-B transpon- Eyes Open ders airlines are installing to meet global surveillance man- dates, a requirement U.S. airlines must meet by January 2020. Along with tracking en route aircraft—the primary mis- Aireon is able to track aircraft sion of Aireon—one receiver followed Swedish regional air- from Iridium NEXT satellites line NextJet Flight 594, a British Aerospace ATP turboprop, through its landing in Sweden, showing the potential for John Croft Washington broader surveillance applicability. “Detecting NextJet [Flight] 594 was an added bonus,” says Vincent Capezzuto, chief tech- ireon has powered and self-tested all 10 of its hosted nology ofcer for Aireon. “This is an early proof-point of the Apayloads onboard 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, detect- power of the Aireon ADS-B payload and its ability to detect ing 1090-MHz automatic dependent surveillance- aircraft close to the ground and in terminal airspace.” broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance transmissions from a large Thales, the provider of air trafc automation systems for number of airliners, general aviation aircraft and helicopters the majority of ANSPs globally, has begun to independently “in oceanic and remote airspace that have never before had validate the ADS-B data from the payloads as an input to its real-time surveillance,” states CEO Don Thoma in a March TopSky-ATC automation platforms. The validation, outlined 2 program update. in a 2015 agreement between the two companies, includes The initial power-up and self-diagnostic testing of the Har- assessing the technical performance of the surveillance data, ris Corp.-built ADS-B receivers in late January proved that defning requirements for using the data safely and reliably, the electronics survived the Jan. 14 launch of the 10 NEXT satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9, the frst of eight launches to put 75 NEXT satellites into low Earth orbit. The NEXT constellation has 66 satellites in six polar-orbit planes, with nine spare satel- lites also on orbit Global air trafc tracked by one and six completed Aireon receiver on an Iridium NEXT satellites on the satellite over a 62.-hr. period. ground. All 81 sat- ellites have the Aireon-hosted payload aboard. The position and performance data transmitted at least once every second from ADS-B antennas on the top and bottom of an airliner are picked up by the downward-looking ADS-B receivers on one or more NEXT satellites. Aireon The satellites bundle data into packets, encrypt the infor- and determining the impact the service will have on existing mation and beam it back to customers at least once every TopSky maintenance and operational processes. 8 sec. via a daisy chain of other NEXT satellites, one of fve Aireon says Thales will have a “direct connection” to its terrestrial Iridium “teleports” and Aireon processing centers. service delivery point and be ready to begin using the surveil- The 8-sec. rate is similar to position updates that air trafc lance data when the full Aireon system is operational in 2018. controllers receive today from long-range radar in en route Capezutto says Aireon received ADS-B data from all 10 airspace, and Aireon is confdent the rate could eventually be payloads during the initial power-on testing. Eight of the reduced to about 4 sec. receivers will go through initial and detailed performance When the 66-satellite low-Earth-orbit constellation is com- verifcations (DPV) over the next two months. DPVs will in- plete in 2018, the company will provide air-trafc-control- clude targets of opportunity, tracking of fight-test aircraft grade satellite-based ADS-B surveillance data to a wide with controlled 1090-MHz emissions and tracking of ground- variety of customers. Included are Canadian air navigation based reference transmitters for payload antenna-beam cali- service provider (ANSP) Nav Canada, which co-owns Aireon bration and power-range detection. with Iridium Communications, and the ANSPs of Curacao, Testing for the remaining two satellites will begin after the Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, South Africa and the UK. vehicles drift into fnal positions in an adjacent orbital plane. Aireon captures position information and more than 50 The next Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for June. c
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curate pointing, so we know which way Higher Purpose the winds are going despite which way we drift at any altitude,” he says. Human-rated and sensor-carrying stratospheric Another key enabler is the U.S. weather-monitoring infrastructure. balloon fight development picks up pace For data on upper-level winds, “We use our fight history, and the history Guy Norris Tucson, Arizona of other balloons that launch nearby, plus we get a broader picture every y early 2018, stratospheric bal- time the National Weather Service Bloon specialist World View aims [NWS] launches another balloon,” says to fy its Explorer test vehicle to MacCallum. pave the way for edge-of-space passen- The twice-daily NWS balloons col- ger fights later in the decade. lect atmospheric data through a profle But for the company, which opened that extends to the upper reaches of a 142,000-ft.2 facility at Spaceport Tuc- the stratosphere. While the variations son in February, passenger fights are in wind speed and direction usually just part of an untapped market in the seen in this profle are long-recognized upper atmosphere it plans to exploit phenomena, World View’s flight-test with a family of balloon-lofted craft. data reveal nuanced atmospheric char- Along with the passenger-carrying acteristics it plans to take advantage of Voyager—follow-on to the Explorer— for precise fight control. “What we are World View is felding the Stratollite, fnding out is there are subtleties that an unmanned platform or “strato- the weather balloons are going too fast spheric satellite.” to catch,” MacCallum says. “There is Operating at altitudes of 55,000- more turbulence and options than you 75,000 ft., the Stratollite has been might otherwise expect.” developed to offer low-cost, persis- To steer through the complex upper tent surveillance. The vehicle uses a airfow patterns, World View is devel- buoyancy control system to ride coun- oping augmented piloting systems for tervailing stratospheric winds that en- the vehicles under both balloon- and able it to remain overhead target ar- parafoil-supported fight. “We are look- eas. The 10,000-lb. Voyager, which will ing at whether we can use machine- carry six passengers and two crew, is learning computer algorithms,” he
being developed in parallel for fights World Vie W Photos adds. Vertical flight control involves up to 100,000 ft. Like the unpressur- chasing winds with buoyancy chang- ized Explorer prototype, all the vehi- The parafoil for the human-rated es, while the main focus for horizontal cles ascend beneath huge, helium-flled vehicle, one of the largest ever speed and directional control is on de- balloons and return to landing under a made, hangs in World View’s velopment of a fy-by-wire (FBW) sys- ram-air-infated parafoil. 100-ft.-tall rigging tower. tem for the payload recovery parafoil. World View founder and CEO Jane The buoyancy change system funda- Poynter says the Tucson facility will be looning has plateaued for decades. The mentally involves modulating the vol- a launchpad to the previously inacces- higher the altitude, the more extreme ume of lift gas and mass of air in the sible economic and scientifc potential the operating environment, says Taber balloon. The upward buoyant force is of the stratosphere. “It’s the only build- MacCallum, World View chief technol- equal to the weight of the surrounding ing in the world developed for the sole ogy ofcer. “We are subject to the day- air displaced by the helium balloon. purpose of stratospheric flight,” she night cycle. The Sun warms up the Since the helium in the envelope is says. It houses vehicle assembly pay- balloon and at night it cools of, so we less dense than the surrounding air, load integration areas and mission con- are always compensating for changes the buoyant force is greater than the trol facilities. Unique features include a in temperature and the environment.” weight of gas and air inside the enve- layout table 0.1 mi. long where balloons This is changing, thanks to a com- lope, plus the payload. are assembled, and a 100-ft.-tall tower bination of advances ranging from “The principle is we take on air and to service the steerable parafoils. solar-panel and battery technology to make ourselves heavier to go down, and The company has its roots in Para- satellite-based navigation and data sys- release air to make ourselves lighter to gon Space Development Corp., which tems. “It’s really taken leaps in comput- go up. We use that as a control mecha- worked together with the Stratospher- ing, analytical tools and materials—we nism to change altitude,” MacCallum ic Explorer (StratEx) Space Dive team are right on the edge of being able to do explains. Developments in motor tech- in 2014 to help skydiver and Google it,” says MacCallum. nology, energy storage and solar arrays executive Alan Eustace achieve a re- “A huge part of what makes this pos- now enable a viable, lightweight power cord-breaking jump from more than sible is the GPS and communications system that can compress or expel 135,900 ft. satellite infrastructure already orbit- ambient and very thin air on demand. World View argues that progress in ing the planet. It’s good for calculating “This wouldn’t have been possible fve very-high-altitude, long-endurance bal- geometric altitude and extremely ac- years ago,” he says.
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AW_03_20_2017_p36-38.indd 36 3/16/17 3:54 PM To terminate the fight, the envelope World View’s is destroyed by a lanyard connected to unmanned Explorer the payload, which pulls out a whole will test the mass side of the balloon. “It just unfolds so and aerodynamics that the balloon comes down pretty for the follow-on quickly, much faster than the payload, passenger-carrying which is under a steerable parachute. Voyager. We have a continuous wind study going on so we know at any point where the that from a dead stop balloon would land if we release it. So to where it is working we fy over areas where it will make a is another part of the safe landing,” says MacCallum. secret sauce,” Mac- Development continues on the para- Callum says. The goal is to increase air “pull on the tail of the parafoil to gen- foil which, for the Voyager, will be one pressure to infate the parafoil before erate drag” to change direction, says of the largest ever flown. “There are it generates lift. This is achieved by Jared Leidich, aerodynamic descent technical papers that say you can’t descending with the balloon until the systems lead. fy parachutes that high in the atmo- release conditions are attained. If the Current operations are focused on sphere, but it turns out that if you get parafoil fails, the Voyager will deploy a the Stratollite, which has a 100-kg (200- the controls right, they are steerable,” backup ballistic parachute. lb.) payload capacity with customer- says MacCallum. Due to low air density “We’ve done scaled flights with provided power, or 50-kg with a World at 100,000 ft., the indicated airspeed smaller parafoils and now have a good View-supplied, 250-watt solar power for the parachute at release is a star- line on another order-of-magnitude system. “That’s basically the business tling 250 kt. “But the parafoil thinks it jump,” he adds. Four high-altitude end of a medium-size optical or comms is going 30 kt. It’s all a matter of getting parafoil test flights have been con- satellite, and we are providing the bus, the initial conditions set up so you can ducted, three of them over 100,000 ft. power and basic communications,” get up to speed safely,” he says. Two of the tests have been flown says MacCallum. In February, World To ensure the parafoil flies imme- with a 460-ft.2 parafoil and two with a View and Ball Aerospace conducted a diately on release without sufering a smaller unit. The much larger canopy Stratollite mission from Arizona that high-speed stall and collapsing, the de- for the Voyager measures 3,250 ft.2. demonstrated the platform’s capability vice is predeployed and infated. “To do The FBW system will control lines that as a remote-sensing platform. c
SPACE rules, the rocket continues its ascent. But if CASS returns Safe Destruction fve consecutive violations of fight-safety criteria, a termi- nate command is passed on to the wrapper software, which then sends a destruct pulse to the ordnance initiators, says SpaceX Falcon is frst to use Howard Schindzielorz, chief engineer for the 45th Space Wing’s Range Safety Ofce. “You’ll end up with the same autonomous destruction system FTS [fight termination system] destruct action that a MFCO Irene Klotz Cape Canaveral [mission fight control ofcer] would have done,” he adds. Automating the system has several advantages over tra- lon Musk’s companies have won accolades for devel- ditional ground-based range safety control. For starters, a Eoping self-driving electric cars and rockets that fy rocket outftted with an AFSS has about 3.5 sec. more to themselves back to a landing pad. Last month, Musk’s correct its course before fight is terminated due to range SpaceX achieved another, if understated, milestone: launch- safety violations. ing a booster outftted with an autonomous control system “When you have an individual in the loop, you’ve got to to monitor its ascent and trigger safety destruct ordnance get your telemetry from the rocket back to the ground. The if it strays of course. telemetry signal has to be processed, it’s got to go through Developed in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, NASA our system, it’s got to be recognized by an individual that and the FAA, the Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) you have a fight issue, then the individual has to react, has was a long time coming. Air Force Space Command began to send functions back to the rocket and the rocket has to looking at GPS metric tracking to feed into range safety receive those,” says Brig. Gen. Wayne Monteith, 45th Space systems 20 years ago. The software evolved into a core Wing commander. “The system has to activate and that takes autonomous program that can determine if a vehicle is in time. And there’s always a chance—although extremely re- compliance with preloaded fight rules. mote—that an individual would make a mistake. Software What fnally pushed the AFSS into its Feb. 19 operational is not going to.” debut was an industry partner willing to invest millions of The autonomous system also allows control of a poten- its own funding to develop and test wrapper software that tially errant vehicle farther downrange, increasing public confgures inputs from GPS receivers, inertial measurement safety, Monteith adds. units or other tracking sensors aboard the rocket and feeds For SpaceX, using an automated fight-safety system of- them into the core autonomous safety software (CASS). fers signifcant cost savings. During the Feb. 19 Falcon 9 If CASS determines the vehicle is complying with fight launch, for example, the Air Force was able to cut the num-
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ber of personnel needed to support the mission from 245 to Because the U.S. Navy and ballistic missile organizations 96—a 61% reduction from what is normally required for a have no plans to include an AFSS on their launch vehicles, Falcon 9 launch and Cape Canaveral AFS landing attempt, the Air Force will continue to ofer ground-based range safety Monteith says. services for the foreseeable future. “We reduced the cost of the launch to the customer by “Right now there is no forcing function for the Navy or half,” he says. the ballistic missile organizations to change,” Monteith says, SpaceX declined to comment about the cost saving, but adding that the Air Force charges customers, including other before the CRS-10 mission, a cargo delivery fight for NASA, military agencies, for the range services they use. “If the Navy SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the AFSS stream- becomes the fnal user, the entire bill goes to the Navy.” lines range operations. “Ultimately the Air Force wants to Perhaps the biggest advantage of an AFSS is what it will get rid of some of the assets they have here that are neces- mean for range operations and fexibility. Currently, the 45th sary for launch,” she says. SpaceX, she notes, “was told to Space Wing can support two launch attempts of two difer- fy this. We would have done it anyhow.” ent vehicles in a 24-hr. period, but then would need to stand Monteith says the AFSS is an option for SpaceX Falcon down for several days due to lack of personnel. “Right now 9 fights, though it is mandatory if the company wants to I can launch twice in one day, but I can’t launch three times return multiple boosters simultaneously, which is planned in four days. I’ve run out of capacity if I do that twice in one for upcoming Falcon Heavy missions. The Falcon 9 that was day. I can’t turn my people. I can’t turn my range. With AFSS, launched on March 16 is delivering the EchoStar 23 com- I can,” Monteith says. munications satellite into orbit. It is expected to be the last “In the past 10 years, we have increased our launch rate Falcon 9 to fy without the AFSS. over 300%, reduced our personnel by one-third and reduced United Launch Alliance intends to include an AFSS sys- the amount of instrumentation on the range by almost 60%,” tem on its Vulcan rockets, but will continue to use ground- he says, adding that the biggest surge is yet to come. based range safety personnel for its Atlas and Delta mis- “I am trying to get the range to be able to launch 48 times a sions. Orbital ATK is working with the Air Force on an AFSS year,” Monteith says. “That allows me one launch every week for multiple vehicles. and four weeks a year of complete downtime to reconstitute Although the AFSS is new to U.S. rockets, Russian launch the range, to do all my maintenance, . . . all my crew training, vehicles have long had the ability to autonomously terminate everything. We’re looking at that by 2020 because we believe fight without ground control commands. “We are behind every- by 2021-23 we will have customers wanting to launch every one else,” Schindzielorz says. “Russia only fies autonomous.” single week.” SpaceX also is working on an upgraded AFSS design for Falcon 9 rockets that will SpaceX used the launch crews to the International Space Autonomous Flight Station for NASA. “This is the future. This Safety System on is where the range is going,” says Kennedy its Feb. 19 Falcon Space Center Director Robert Cabana, a 9 launch to the four-time space shuttle pilot and commander. International Space “Prior to shuttle launches, we used to go Station. Had the visit the guys that sat on console, that would launch gone awry, push the button, and show them pictures of our kids and get to know them. But the truth the system would is, with a human in the loop, if you’ve got an have detonated the envelope that the rocket is to remain within rocket. as it goes out over the ocean, if it’s approach- ing the edge of that envelope, the human may terminate it when the system is actually cor- recting to get back toward the center,” Ca- bana says. “An automated system, done correctly, can iterate fast enough that the system sees that the guidance system is taking it back before it’s going to exceed that limit. If done correctly, an automated system is actually safer, more reliable than having a human in the loop,” he says. The upgraded system, which is under review by NASA, includes a crew early warning system. SpaceX’s current AFSS few in a backup mode 13 times before replacing the 45th Space Wing’s range-safety ground team in February . The system is expected to make its West Coast debut during a Falcon 9 flight from Vandenberg AFB, California, this spring. c SpaceX
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partners, only Norway has publicly Should, Maybe Could expressed interest in joining the block buy. U.S. Air Force seeks to reduce F-35 cost with The prices discussed by Bogdan and Babione include the aircraft’s Pratt & block buy, if non-U.S. buyers will go along Whitney F135 engine. Babione com- pared the fgures with the $60-65 mil- Bradley Perrett Geelong, Australia and Lara Seligman Washington lion unit price of the F-16, a much small- er fighter of 9.21 metric tons (20,300 lb.) empty weight. The F-35A’s empty weight is around 13.2 metric tons. Australia’s frst two F-35As few at the Avalon air show. The F-35A, the most common version of the Lightning II, operates conven- tionally from paved runways. F-35Bs, capable of short takeoff and vertical landing, and F-35Cs, designed for cata- pult launch and arrested recovery on aircraft carriers, are more costly. Lockheed Martin is looking for ways of reducing the cost of the program other than through multiyear con- tracts. One idea is to build a simpler version of the engine trailer. The new version would be used on land only and lack features needed for handling Cpl. Craig Barrett/Commonwealth of australia Defense Department the F-35 at sea. The savings would be ockheed Martin F-35A Lightnings called a block buy, for Lots 12, 13 and mostly in sustainment. Lshould cost $80 million each by 14, he adds. Even without multiyear contracts, 2020, says the Pentagon’s program To Lockheed Martin, a single order unit costs for the F-35 are falling as chief. Well, they could, says the manu- for several years’ production—either production progresses, which is typi- facturer—if customers order more than a block buy or a multiyear contract— cal for manufacturing processes. Air- one year’s batch of aircraft at a time. is critical for achieving what it says craft production commonly shows The most recently negotiated price is a “reasonable” $80 million target. something like an 80% learning curve, for F-35As, for production Lot 10, is Jef Babione, head of the Joint Strike meaning that each time the number of $94.6 million. But the program has a Fighter program for Lockheed Martin, units is doubled, the marginal unit cost long-standing target of $85 million for suggests that the three-year contract falls by 20%. F-35As put under contract in 2019 as should be followed by one for fve years. Babione says the F-35’s overall Lot 13, notes Joint Program Ofce Chief The company has previously urged learning curve is steeper than that at Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan. “That’s non-U.S. customers to sign up for a Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth facility, not enough,” Bogdan said at the Aus- block buy, similar to a traditional U.S. which does much of the fabrication of tralian International Airshow at Avalon, multiyear contract but with fewer the fghters, plus fnal assembly and Geelong, Feb. 28-March 5. “We need the congressional restrictions. Congress check out. For Lot 9, currently in airplane to be lower in price in 2019 and is unlikely to approve a true multiyear manufacturing, the learning factor is 2020 than $85 million. And I think we contract before the F-35 completes 75-78%, Babione says. can get there.” development and passes its fnal test For one of the two major airframe “We ought to be looking at about period. manufacturing partners, BAE Systems, an $80 million airplane by that time The Pentagon has long said it is in- the curve is fatter, meaning costs are frame and then continuing to de- terested. According to Bogdan, a block falling more slowly, because that com- crease the price of the airplane, lot buy for Lots 12, 13 and 14 would cover pany’s processes are heavily automated, over lot over lot,” Bogdan says. Specif- 451 aircraft and save about $2 billion. Babione says. Automated work tends to ically, his new target is less than $85 But it is not clear that the block buy become efcient very quickly but is not million for Lot 13 F-35As and about will gain traction. Until recently, the easy to improve later. For the other big $80 million for Lot 14. These cost re- U.S. services planned to take aircraft airframe partner, Northrop Grumman, ductions can be achieved by working from the second and third years of the the curve is steeper. with industry, sometimes paying up proposed buy. But Bogdan seemed to More generally, a learning curve can front to avoid expense later and by backtrack in December, telling report- be expected to flatten as production maintaining a steady ramp-up rate, ers that the plan had changed, with passes 500-600 units, Babione says. he says. Also, the falling price “fits the U.S. to instead contribute money With more than 200 F-35s fying, the in fairly well” with a proposal for a to buy long-lead parts in bulk during program is not yet halfway to that fat- money-saving bundled contract, often all three years. Among non-U.S. F-35 tening of the curve, but it will not take
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long to get there. Lot 11, up for nego- acquisition of 28 in the next decade. were the frst Australian F-35s to visit tiation this year, will cover 134 aircraft, According to the head of the Austra- the country, at this year’s Avalon air says Bogdan. Later lots will be even lian program, Air Vice Marshal Leigh show. They are based at Luke AFB, bigger. Gordon, the country is on track and Arizona, as part of the multinational Availability and maintainability of on budget for its target of making the training operation. The frst F-35s to the whole F-35 feet is not improving F-35 initially operational in Decem- be based in Australia should arrive in much, says Bogdan, because of poor ber 2020. At that time, there should December 2018. As with the Boeing performance by units built early in the be 12 F-35As in an operational squad- F/A-18A/B Hornets that they will re- program. What Bogdan calls “the good ron and six in a training squadron, place, most of Australia’s Lightnings airplanes” are getting better faster, he he says. Final operational capability will be based at RAAF Williamtown, says, but not the old ones. should be achieved in December 2023, at Newcastle on the east coast, while Australia is one of the largest F-35 by which time all 72 Australian F-35s one squadron will operate from RAAF customers, with planned funding for should have been delivered. Tindal, in the far north. Their mission 72 aircraft and a prospective further The frst two, handed over in 2014, will be primarily air-to-air combat. c
notes Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Inter- Fifth-Gen national Studies. But if the Air Force needs more tankers right now, adding KC-46s will not help because the additional Stratotanker aircraft will not be available until near the end of the current production schedule in the 2020s, he says. In the meantime, the Air Force wants to make sure the U.S. Air Force eyes survivability KC-135 workhorse can survive on a dynamic future battle- feld. The service is currently remodeling the fight deck with upgrades for its legacy KC-135 new liquid-crystal displays as well as a radar altimeter, au- Lara Seligman Orlando, Florida topilot, digital fight director and other computer module updates as part of a $910 million Block 45 upgrade program. trapped for cash to buy Boeing’s new KC-46 tanker in But AMC is also beginning to look into what is needed for Ssufcient numbers to fully replace the legacy feet, the U.S. Air Force is looking instead to outft its 60-year- old KC-135 Stratotanker with state-of-the-art survivability upgrades so it can fy for another 40 years. The service is buying 179 next-generation KC-46s as the frst step in an ambitious efort to recapitalize its tanker feet. But even after Boeing’s Pegasus is fully felded in fs- cal 2028, the remaining 300 KC-135s will be the backbone of the force until the future KC-Y or KC-Z comes online in the 2030-40 time frame. In fact, the joint force will rely so heavily on the Strato- tanker in the coming decades that the aircraft could be 100 years old before it is sent to the boneyard, according to Gen. Boeing Carlton Everhart, chief of Air Mobility Command (AMC). The Air Force will begin to feld Boeing’s next- But why spend time and resources upgrading a 1950s-era generation KC-46 Pegasus by the end of 2017. weapon system instead of simply buying more ffth-gener- the next block upgrade, Everhart says. ation KC-46s? It all comes down to budget limits, Everhart Everhart wants to add Link 16 and beyond-line-of-sight explained during a March 2 media roundtable at the Air communications so KC-135s can exchange imagery and oth- Force Association’s air warfare conference. er data in near-real time with other aircraft in the feet—a “It’s all about the money, it’s all about the resources, it’s huge step up from current capabilities. He also wants to all about the continuing resolution [CR],” Everhart says, re- incorporate a layered defense approach, adding electronic ferring to the stopgap spending measure Congress used to countermeasures to protect against jamming, self-defense fund the government through April. Retiring KC-135s would systems and maybe even signature management. not automatically mean more cash for KC-46s because the “We are going to be fying the KC-135 for quite a while, and it Defense Department cannot easily transfer money between is going to have to participate in that networked, multidomain its operations and maintenance (O&M) and procurement ac- command-and-control environment where the enemy is go- counts, Richard Aboulafa, an analyst with the Teal Group, ing to come after our tankers,” says Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, points out. AMC director of strategic plans, requirements and programs. “The fundamental conundrum of Defense Department “KC-135 is a great platform, [but] it needs to be modern- procurement is [that] procurement and O&M accounts don’t ized,” says Everhart. Still, Harrison warns that the Air Force talk to each other,” says Aboulafa, adding that Everhart “is should be careful not to “box itself into a corner,” because just being realistic.” upgrading the KC-135 may ultimately come at the expense of Modernizing the KC-135 instead of buying more KC-46s long-term capability. “How much longer does the Air Force also allows the Air Force to add capacity in the near term, really want to be fying a 707 platform?” he asks. c
40 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p39-40.indd 40 3/15/17 2:59 PM Award-winning technology
Together, BAE Systems and Gulfstream are innovating to provide enhanced situational awareness for pilots by introducing electronically coupled active control sidesticks on the G500 and G600 business jets. The Gulfstream G500 will be the first fly-by-wire aircraft with active control sidesticks in service when it attains certification later this year. Learn more at www.baesystems.com/flightcontrols.
We are honored to receive the Aviation Week 2017 Technology Laureate.
703AWB41.indd 1 3/14/2017 2:08:59 PM DEFENSE
A J-Stars Primer Team: Northrop Grumman, Gulfstream and L3 Technologies Platform: Gulfstream G550 Who has the edge in the contest to replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging ground surveillance/battle management f eet?
Lara Seligman Washington
The U.S. Air Force is one step closer to replacing the repurposed Boeing 707-300s once used to transport cattle with a modern ground surveillance and battle management fl eet that will provide critical battlefi eld information to com- batant commanders for decades to come. The three industry teams vying to recapitalize the Air Force’s legacy E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar NORTHROP GRUMMAN System (J-Stars) hae now submitted their proposals to the PROS: Incumbent. Northrop manufactures and maintains the service after years of uncertainty over whether the Pentagon existing E-8C J-Stars fl eet, a militarized Boeing 707. Its expertise would move forward with the program. Two teams led by in the aircraft and mission could give it the edge in terms of risk and schedule. Northrop Grumman—the incumbent—and Lockheed Mar- S ize. A smaller business jet can fl y to higher altitudes than a com- tin are of ering business jet platforms to replace the legacy mercial airliner, allowing operators to surveil larger areas, and it pro- E-8C J-Stars; Boeing is bidding a modifi ed 737-700-based vides a smaller target for enemy radars and anti-aircraft weapons. airframe. This platform would enable the Air Force to base the new J-Stars all over the world, in many more locations than a larger aircraft, argues Alan Metzger, Northrop’s J-Stars lead. The smaller airframe also consumes less fuel and so has lower life-cycle costs, he says.
U.S. AIR FORCE Procurement cost. The 2015 price for the G550 is $61.5 million, equipped, roughly equivalent to the Global 6000 but cheaper than the fl yaway cost of a commercial airliner.
CONS: Operating costs. Business jets are produced globally at a lower rate and designed to operate for fewer hours per year than commercial airliners. The consumption of spare parts is lower, therefore pricing is higher. So although it is a smaller platform, a business jet could actually be more expensive to operate. “Common sense tells us smaller must be cheaper; but no, it’s not,” says Richard Aboulafi a, an analyst with the Teal Group. The business jets are also supported by a worldwide logistics network, but it is not on the same scale as the While no team clearly has the edge, experts say the battle Boeing 737. will come down to Northrop and Boeing. Lockheed likely Quality assurance. The Air Force temporarily grounded four of its E- faces two hurdles: Of the two business jet proposals, it is 8Cs in September, over concerns about quality assurance and maintenance not the incumbent, and it relies on a non-U.S. airframe. If procedures at Northrop’s depot facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Air Force the decision is between the 737 and a business jet, much Materiel Command chief Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski now says Northrop has will depend on how many crew and consoles the Air Force “righted the ship,” though there is still work to be done. This is unlikely to af ect the source selection process, but neither is it a ringing endorsement decides the new J-Stars will need. of the contractor.
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AW_03_20_2017_p42-43.indd 42 3/8/17 5:09 PM Team: Boeing Team: Lockheed Martin and Bombardier Platform: Boeing 737-700 Platform: Bombardier Global 6000
PROS: Global footprint. Boeing’s 737 is produced globally at a much higher rate and designed to operate for signifi cantly more hours per year than either of the business jet platforms. The consumption of spare parts is higher, therefore pricing is lower, says Aboulafi a. Boeing argues that the 737’s global maintenance and parts footprint means the Air Force could take a 737-based J-Stars virtually anywhere and fi nd support . Economies of scale. More than 9,000 Boeing 737s are in operation worldwide, with another 4,000 on order. Boeing is
building 737s at a rate of 47 a month now and will step up to LOCKHEED MARTIN 57 a month by 2019. “The scale of the 737 program is really PROS: Size . Like Northrop’s of ering, the smaller business jet without precedent in civil aviation, and therefore there are can fl y to higher altitudes than a commercial airliner, is a smaller opportunities for cost savings that you wouldn’t normally get,” target for enemy radars and anti-aircraft weapons, allows basing says Loren Thompson, an analyst with the Lexington Institute. in more locations and burns less fuel. Integration experience. Lockheed has extensive experience integrating special mission aircraft for the military and is a leader in battle management systems. Track record. The Global 6000 currently fl ies in the Air Force inventory as the E-11 Battlefi eld Airborne Communications Node. Procurement cost. The 2015 price for the Global 6000 is $62 million, equipped, roughly equivalent to the G550 but cheaper than the fl yaway cost of a commercial airliner.
BOEING CONS: Operating costs. Like Northrop’s proposal, a business jet may have higher operating costs for the Air Force. Capacity. Boeing boasts room for up to 16 consoles in cabin, over Non-U.S. airframe. Using a Canadian-built airframe is typically 800 ft.2 of fl oor space and about 49,000 lb. of payload capacity. a disadvantage in any U.S. military competition, especially when the It is unclear if that space is absolutely necessary: Although the proposal is going up against giant U.S. primes like Boeing and Gulf- E-8C carries 18 operators, the Air Force requires the J-Stars recap stream. “I hate to say it, but it probably matters,” says Aboulafi a. c to accommodate just 10. However, the Air Force probably wants as many onboard consoles as possible, due to concerns about communications disruptions. The additional space also gives the Air Force more fl exibility if it decides to modify the aircraft later. Commonality. The U.S. Navy’s P-8 Poseidon maritime surveil- RADAR FACEOFF lance aircraft and the Royal Australian Air Force’s airborne early Developing and integrating a modern warning E-7 “Wedgetail” are both 737-based platforms. Boeing is active, electronically scanned array (AESA) also pushing the 737 as the best solution to replace other 707-de- radar is key to replacing the legacy E-8C J-Stars, rived U.S. fl eets, including the E-3 AWCS, EC-130H Compass Call which is distinguished by a long, canoe-shaped electronic warfare aircraft and RC-/OC-/WC-135s. space under the forward fuselage that houses a 24-ft. radar to track movement in the battle CONS: Procurement cost. The 737-700 lists for $78.3 million, space and relay tactical pictures to ground and more than $10 million higher than either business jet. air theater commanders. The Air Force made the Size. The larger commercial airliner, while more spacious, can- unusual move of allowing the competitors to not fl y as high as the smaller business jets and is a bigger target submit two proposals for the J-Stars recap: for enemy radar. It is also potentially limited to airfi elds that can one using Northrop’s long-range, wide- area surveillance radar and another accommodate larger platforms. using Raytheon’s competing system.
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Treaty Violator blocks put up by China and North Korea in the Western Pacifc. China has felded many types of conventional and nuclear Washington reacts to Russia’s medium-range missiles to restrict U.S. forces, and it appears that some of those ground-launched cruise missiles have recently been emplaced in missile deployment silos in the South China Sea. Without restraint, Moscow and Washington could quickly extend the range of existing ground- launched ballistic or cruise missiles such as Russia’s Iskander (pictured).
“Perhaps the time is right for a seri- ous debate over the U.S. withdrawing from the INF Treaty,” Gunzinger says. “If Russia refuses to comply with it, why should the U.S. continue to con- Russian Defense MinistRy Photos James Drew Washington strain the range of its ground-based, conventional missile?” ussia’s deployment of a new question: Should the U.S. remain in Michaela Dodge of The Heritage Rground-launch cruise missile compliance with the treaty unilaterally Foundation says that after 30 years, in violation of the Intermediate- while trying to strong-arm Moscow the treaty is no longer strategically rel- Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty back into compliance via diplomatic or evant, and the U.S. should withdraw. has many lawmakers and pundits in military pressure? Or should Washing- The U.S.’s main rivals, now including Washington wondering if the U.S. ton withdraw entirely and begin felding Russia, possess these weapons, and no should walk away from the landmark new weapons? actions by the Obama administration agreement altogether. When asked those questions, chair- have been able to persuade Moscow to Signed between Washington and man of the House Armed Service Com- ditch its specifc INF-violating missile. Moscow in 1987, the treaty prohibits mittee Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) She notes that it is unlikely the Trump each side from deploying ballistic and said all options should be considered administration can constrain Russia cruise missiles with ranges of 500- but gave no personal preference. either. 5,500 km (311-3,418 mi.). The arms “You’re not going to get rid of a Rus- “First, we had a test of the missile. control agreement resulted in the sian capability by not having a capabil- Then we had production. Now we have elimination of all nuclear-armed Soviet ity of your own,” he says. “They’re not a deployment,” she says. “That’s con- SS-20 “Pioneer” missiles as well as the going to stand down out of the good- cerning. We should be more forceful in U.S. Army’s BGM-109G Gryphon and ness of their heart, so some sort of responding.” Pershing II weapons, among others. strong action is important.” The Washington-based Arms Control Thirty years later, Russia has of- Mark Gunzinger of the Center for Association (ACA) takes a diferent ap- cially adopted a new mystery ground- Strategic and Budgetary Assessments proach, saying that without agreements launched cruise missile, which U.S. (CSBA) has no qualms about walking such as the INF Treaty, Russian forces Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of away. China, North Korea, Iran, Paki- would be totally unconstrained. It says Staf Gen. Paul Selva says puts at risk stan, India and Saudi Arabia possess the Obama administration rightly “most of our facilities in Europe.” The various types of ballistic missiles with viewed Russia’s noncompliance as a general told Congress in March that ranges of 500-5,500 km; some also political problem rather than a military this deployment “violates the spirit have ground-launched cruise missiles. one, since both sides as well as France and intent” of the INF Treaty and is War-game exercises supported by still hold vast troves of nuclear-capable meant specifcally to threaten U.S. and the CSBA show the precarious situa- cruise missiles that can be fred from the NATO facilities within the military al- tion of NATO members Poland, Lithu- air or sea without violating provisions of liance’s area of responsibility. ania and Latvia. These countries are the treaty. Russia has been upgrading to In response, the Pentagon has pro- bracketed by compliant, ofensive Rus- the 3M14 Kalibr and Kh-102-series land- posed a number of undisclosed re- sian weaponry based in Kalingrad, Be- attack cruise missiles while the U.S. has taliatory actions to the White House larus and along Moscow’s border, says begun developing replacements for the for consideration as part of the new Gunzinger. Cold War-era Tomahawk and AGM-86 Trump administration’s nuclear pos- He says future ground-based strike air-launched cruise missiles. ture review. Among those proposals systems could help the U.S. suppress Without restraint, either country could be a nuclear-armed ground- Russia’s advanced integrated air de- could rapidly feld and proliferate new launched cruise missile of America’s fense systems and freedom of action medium-range weapons and extend own, or perhaps a beefing-up of in the event of a confict. Those same the range of already fielded rockets NATO’s missile defenses. weapons could also help the Pentagon such as the Russian Iskander and U.S. The missile deployment begs the overcome some of the military road- Army Tactical Missile System. Ei-
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AW_03_20_2017_p44-46.indd 44 3/16/17 6:59 PM Estimated Ranges of Russian Strike Weapons
P-800 Oniks Missile (SS-N-26) ...... 160 nm BrahMos Cruise Missile ...... 157 nm BrahMos Extended Range ...... 216+ nm Iskander Ballistic Missile (SS-26) ...... 311 nm Iskander R-500 Cruise Missile ...... 311 nm Kalibr Land Cruise Missile ...... 810-1,350 nm 9M729 Ground-Launched Cruise Missile (SSC-8) ...... 1,080 nm Kh-101/102 Air-Launched Cruise Missile .... 1,620 nm R-36M2 ICBM (SS-18) ...... 8,640 nm UR-100N ICBM (SS-19) ...... 5,400 nm RT-2PM “Topol” ICBM (SS-25) ...... 5,400 nm the arsenal of capabilities Russia has The confict in Syria has been an RT-2UTTH “Topol M” ICBM (SS-27) ...... 5,940 nm opportune platform for Russia to felded to coerce its near-abroad states demonstrate new cruise-missile and provide cover for future acts of RS-24 “Yars” ICBM (SS-29) ...... 5,940 nm technologies, including the con- aggression,” Gunzinger says. “Russia RS-26 Rubezh ICBM (SS-X-31) ...... 6,800 nm is already capable of reaching NATO ventional surface-launched 3M14 Sarmat ICBM (SS-18 Replacement) ...... 5,400 nm Kalibr (pictured). targets across most of Europe.” Russia has long objected to Washing- Source: Manufacturers ther nation could bring more vertical ton’s placement of Aegis Ashore ballis- launchers ashore. tic missile defense sites in Romania and launched cruise missile, he says. Gunzinger says the specifc violation Poland, claiming those vertical launch Selva says Washington has confront- by Russia is not surprising, as it has tubes could easily house nuclear-armed ed Moscow about the issue via bilat- been in the works for some time. Test- Tomahawk cruise missiles. But Gunz- eral exchanges under the New START ing of the cruise missile, designated inger contends this is a false narrative, Treaty and “will continue to do so.” c SSC-8, was frst reported in 2008, and since those sites are confgured specif- the U.S. State Department formally cally to intercept missile threats from Gallery See more on Russia’s eclectic fagged the violation in 2014. Iran. They could also potentially be used arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles: “It’s just another deadly tool in to shoot down Russia’s new ground- AviationWeek.com/RussianMissiles
and there are concerns about airfow Wheezy Warrior changes around the bomber’s nuclear- armed weapons. GE, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce tell Aviation Week they pitch engine options for B-52H are keenly watching this reemerging requirement. All say they could ofer James Drew Washington commercial engines from their exist- ing portfolios, but Pratt & Whitney be- he U.S. Air Force once again fnds aircraft’s remaining 30 years of life? lieves a TF33 upgrade package makes Titself in a Boeing B-52 engine di- The Air Force’s track record for re- more sense. There do not appear to lemma. placing old bombers seems to suggest be any structural limitations the TF- It has long been stated that the the latter option. The service is getting 33 cannot overcome to fy past 2050. 17,000-lb.-thrust Pratt & Whitney serious about moving forward with an Pratt says the engine could run more TF33 that has powered the eight- engine replacement efort after years efciently and require less frequent re- engine H-model Stratofortress since of study and speculation. pairs through targeted design changes. its introduction in 1961 guzzles too On March 8, Vice Chief of Staf Gen. In fact, the service recently supported much gas and costs too much to sus- Stephen Wilson told Congress that the trials of redesigned TF33 inlet and tur- tain and repair. Air Force “must” begin searching for bine exhaust cases. But should the service continue fy- an engine to replace the TF33, since Rolls-Royce has proposed one of ing the TF33s indefnitely—or at least the Global Strike Command-operated its BR700 series, while GE is market- until they literally begin dropping of bomber’s expected structural life will ing the CF34-10. These commercial the wings (as happened in January). carry it beyond 2050. off-the-shelf engines would require Should it introduce the next-genera- The Air Force and Boeing are push- militarization, and hardening against tion Northrop Grumman B-21 sooner? ing an eight-engine solution, based on cyberattacks and the electromechani- Or should it fork out at least $3-4 bil- eight 17,000-19,000-lb.-thrust-class re- cal pulses that result from nuclear lion now for new engines, to avoid an gional/business jet engines. They say explosions. estimated $10 billion in future operat- installing four engines would require The frst H-model B-52 took fight ing and sustainment costs over the too many structural modifications, on March 6, 1961. There have been
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several reengining proposals over the past few decades, including a four- engine swap for the General Electric CF6/TF39, which already powers the Air Force’s Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy and was originally tested on a B-52, designated JB-52E. A decade ago, the service considered Boeing’s 757-class PW2040 and the Rolls- Royce RB211. The Air Force says it has not com- missioned any wind-tunnel tests or
flight trials of four- or eight-engine U.S, Air Force combinations in the past several years. It has not decided on an alter- The B-52 needs new engines, but which, and at what cost? The Air Force is native engine, but market research now fguring that out. conducted by the government over the past few years suggests there are placing the engine of an old bomber engine could be adopted and installed. enough engine candidates to hold a already fown by three generations of “Acquisition strategies are being competition. airmen? Time will tell. formed for both the purchase of the An Air Force spokesman confrms The service would require at least engine and the integration on the that the service is now charting an 608 new engines—or in Pratt’s case, aircraft,” the Air Force says. “If the acquisition path for procurement of a engine upgrades—for today’s opera- Air Force decides to fund a reengine new engine as well as B-52 integration tional feet of 76 B-52Hs based at Barks- program in the future, it will assess all services, and will proceed if funded. dale AFB, Louisiana, and Minot AFB, procurement options to create the best The Trump administration has made North Dakota. The service would also value for the government. Competition nuclear modernization a key priority, need several sets of spares. No timeline typically results in better value, so that but does that emphasis extend to re- has been provided for how soon a new option will defnitely be analyzed.” c The Competitors
Pratt & Whitney Engine GE Aviation CF34-10 Enhancement Package Rolls-Royce BR700
GE Aviation is a longtime Nobody has more experience with the 56-year-old Headquartered in Indianapolis, propulsion system supplier for the TF33 than the original designer and manufacturer, British engine-maker Rolls- Air Force’s bomber force, provid- Pratt & Whitney. The company could ofer a new Royce’s U.S. division has already ing the four-engine Boeing B-1B’s commercial engine but says an upgrade package is had “several conversations” with F101-102 and Northrop Grum- preferred. “Commercial engines ofer advantages the Air Force about a B-52 propul- man B-2A’s F118-100 engines. of higher fuel savings, extended mission range, sion upgrade. The company The company is ofering the reduced aerial refueling and minimized overhaul would ofer something from its 18,000-21,000-lb.-thrust CF34-10 maintenance,” a company spokesman says. “How- BR700 series, which already from its TF34/CF34 family. The ever, all commercial engines in this class require powers the Air Force’s Gulfstream 9,000-lb.-thrust TF34-100 already [enhancements] to support the B-52H electric and V/C-37A transport feet and Bom- powers the service’s Fairchild hydraulic load requirements and would also require bardier E-11A Battlefeld Airborne Republic A-10 “Warthog” attack extensive airframe integration and fight testing.” Communications Node (based aircraft. The commercial CF34-10 The “engine enhancement package” would address on the Global Express). The series powers the two-engine Em- the TF33’s performance, durability, reliability, fuel choice appears to be between the braer E190/195 and Lineage 1000 consumption and time between scheduled over- 17,000-lb.-thrust BR725 that was as well as Comac ARJ21. “While no hauls as much as possible without needing to buy introduced in 2012 or the older, GE engines have been demonstrat- new engines, Pratt says. “The TF33 meets all B-52H 18,500-21,000-lb.-thrust BR715. ed on the B-52, the CF34-10 is an power and performance specifcations and would “A decision has not been reached economical eight-engine replace- not require any changes to the aircraft structure,” it yet, as we await the specifc ment,” says Karl Sheldon, GE vice says. Pratt did not nominate an alternative engine requirements,” says Thomas president and general manager from its portfolio, but the 18,000-24,000-lb.-thrust Hartmann, Rolls-Royce’s senior of large military turbofan engines. PW6000 series (Airbus A318) or new 15,000- vice president for U.S. customer “We are excited to compete for the 17,000 lb.-thrust PW1200G high-bypass geared business. “We are confdent we opportunity to fy the CF34 on this turbofan (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) seem to ft the can meet the technical and avail- strategic asset.” c bill. The latter model will enter service soon. c ability requirements.” c
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know, technicians will be able to con- Rotary Triage frm if the warnings are a false alarm, and if not, provide the next steps to the Gulf of Mexico ofshore pilots benefting aircrew, such as divert locations. The Iris system can also be used to from real-time infight HUMS tracking interrogate HUMS data from earlier in the fight if required, allowing techni- Tony Osborne Dallas cians to see how a fault has manifested. “The Iris system evaluates critical- elicopter health and usage mon- sensors, records for 5,000 different ity,” says Gharibian. “I like to think of Hitoring systems (HUMS) have parameters; the pilot is not going to it as doing triage.” helped to transform ofshore he- be able to process that in the cockpit,” PHi sees potential in the system for licopter safety, but often the data can be Simon J. Gharibian, director of feet streamlining its operations. Mainte- used only retroactively because of how management at Sikorsky, told Aviation nance equipment and parts could be it is collected, usually after each fight Week at Heli-Expo 2017 here. pre-positioned, ready for an aircraft’s or at end of the fying day. The system—developed by Outerlink arrival so that mechanics can begin But now Sikorsky, ofshore operator Global Solutions, an afliate of Metro work as soon as the aircraft lands, us- Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHi) and Aviation, a U.S. helicopter completions ing information provided in fight. Metro Aviation have proven a way of company—links the Sikorsky HUMS “For an aircraft on ground, send- using the data collected infight to as- system to a Metro-developed processor ing the data back means you can send sist pilots in real time. called Iris, that examines and processes the right people and the right parts to After three years in quiet develop- the HUMS readings in the event of one get that aircraft returned to service ment, the system is now operational of currently seven HUMS-prompted quickly,” says Lance Bospflug, PHi’s on one of PHi’s Sikorsky S-92s fying to cautions or warnings and then pack- president and chief operating ofcer. The operator flew its first passen- gers on an S-92 ftted with the system on March 7, following approval of the supplementary type certifcate in late
Royal Dutch Shell Royal February. The system is currently ftted to one S-92, but more will be equipped PHi is planning to add the real-time HUMS to its Sikorsky S-92 feet; other types could follow.
in the coming months. Sikorsky says the system could also be ftted to the S-76D. “Our industry continues to develop, test and apply new technologies that are making offshore helicopter flight platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. ages the data to be sent to PHi techni- ever safer, and real-time performance- The three companies have cooperat- cians on the ground. monitoring is a big part of that,” says ed to develop a system that can process “We are not sending all data all the Gretchen Haskins, CEO of offshore the HUMS data in fight and then size it time; there is no reason to do that,” helicopter industry association Heli- so it can be sent in a data burst back to says Gharibian. “If the aircraft is per- Ofshore. “This real-time HUMS data engineers on the ground. They can then fectly healthy, it doesn’t send data. We transfer is an exciting development and examine it and assist the crew on the only want the information when the demonstrates our industry’s ongoing best course of action in an emergency. crew needs assistance. commitment to innovation,” she adds. A similar system has been used in “Now when the caution comes on, Sikorsky and other helicopter OEMs the airline industry for decades. Main- there’s a lot of data behind the scenes, are taking steps to make more use of tenance and aircraft data have been but only so much you can glean of the the big data collected from HUMS sys- passed through the Aircraft Commu- cockpit displays,” he adds. tems, using it to extend the life of parts nications Addressing and Reporting By sharing the data with engineers and increase time between overhauls. System (ACARS), but the helicopter on the ground, the process can give Work is progressing to democratize industry has not had access to it. It is added situational awareness to the HUMS so it can support even small op- only since the wider introduction of pilot, he notes. erators lacking the engineering capabil- satellite communications capability The HUMS-prompted captions ity of larger ones. This is being done via for voice and data that the helicopter include warnings about oil pressure, wireless download of data onto tablets, industry has been looking more closely engine overspeed and fres, as well as which can provide a trafc-light-based at the potential for passing such data main gearbox chip detections. In some system that clears the aircraft for fight. back to their engineering teams. instances, standard operating proce- Eforts are also ongoing to make HUMS “There is a wealth of information dure will be to land immediately or di- more afordable on smaller single- and coming of the aircraft, 140 diferent vert. By passing the data to those in the twin-engine models. c
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Copter Concept they settled on what is essentially a conventional helicopter, as opposed to a tiltrotor or electric urban-mobility vehicle. “Engineers sometimes need a push toward the sci-f,” says Bell wraps new rotorcraft Levi Bilbrey, Bell’s marketer and blue-sky thinker. “And if the technologies into futuristic FC-X creative folks are going to produce an aircraft that is feld- able, safe and good from the operational standpoint, they Tony Osborne Fort Worth need a pull from the engineers.” FC-X is what Bell describes as a New Medium Twin, t is not a new product, but Bell Helicopter CEO Mitch bigger than the Model 412 in length and width, and seat- ISnyder is hoping the company’s vision for future rotor- ing 8-12 passengers. Key to the concept are strategic craft is one the industry can get behind. areas of research selected by Bell to advance rotorcraft Snyder, who became CEO in October 2015, wants to return programs, among them alternative propulsion, advanced Bell to an innovative past in which it developed the frst super- anti-torque, autonomy and energy management. “It was sonic (X-1), variable-sweep (X-5) and tiltrotor (XV-15) aircraft. a case of wrapping an aircraft around 3-4 of these ideas,” Bell Helicopters c oncepts
vAriAbLe-sweep MAin rotor bLAdes Bell believes an adjustment of the Bell’s FC-X Concept Vision blade tip could optimize the blade for different phases of fight, rather like a variable-geometry wing on a fghter aircraft.
cross-FLow FAn Anti-torque systeM Bell engineers are studying the potential of an electrically powered anti-torque system using thrust-vectored air driven by a series of high- power fans embedded in the tail boom. Potential benefts include low noise and saving weight.
HigH-energy-Absorbing LAnding geAr Bell is studying what it calls non-traditional geometries for AdvAnced cockpit Bell believes advances wheels, tires and support structures in fy-by-wire, autonomy and artifcial for future landing gear. intelligence (AI) could do away with the traditional cockpit. The pilot would play a mission-management role, controlling the aircraft through an augmented reality system with AI-based assistance. The FC-X would be optionally piloted.
Like something out of a science-fction flm, Bell’s FC-X concept wraps several promising rotorcraft technolo- gies into a futuristic airframe (above). Bell envisions a hybrid-electric thrust-vectored cross-fow fan acting as the FC-X’s anti-torque system, eliminating the tail rotor says Scott Drennan, director of innovation. and the need for a horizontal stabilizer (inset). FC-X does away with the traditional tail rotor and horizon- And with the unveiling of the FC-X concept on March 7 tal stabilizer, opting for a cross-fow fan anti-torque system at Heli-Expo here, Snyder is keen to demonstrate his grand embedded in the tail boom. Unlike the global airfow provided futuristic vision to the rotorcraft world. “We are pushing by MD Helicopters’ NOTAR system, which counters torque industry and pushing Bell,” Snyder told Aviation Week in using the Coanda efect, the electrically driven system uses January. “You cannot just say, ‘Go and invent stuf.’ There several high-power fans. Thrust is vectored in diferent direc- are some problems in the industry we want to solve.” tions to provide anti-torque. The fans are powered by a hybrid- Snyder set his engineering and marketing teams to work electric system with a generator running of the engines. on a concept rotorcraft similar to those designed by auto- Several manufacturers are studying the potential of elec- mobile companies. From 12 initial concepts, many of which tric anti-torque systems and tail rotors because they save appeared to embrace science fction rather than physics, weight, eliminating the need for shafts and gearboxes, and
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AW_03_20_2017_p48-49.indd 48 3/15/17 6:09 PM The wide modular cabin of the FC-X is envisaged for up to 12 people and a single pilot up front. allowing the tail rotor to be decoupled from the main rotor, improving safety and poten- tially reducing noise. “The anti-torque system is the quickest way to chase down hybridization on a tradi- tional platform,” says Drennan. The company is still studying how many fans are needed for redundancy, should any fail. Bell also suggests the airframe could har- vest and store electrical energy from helicop- ter vibration, which could be used to trickle- charge the batteries. bell HelicopTers concepTs Besides hybridization of propulsion, Bell is studying morphing technologies and variable-tip main gram, the V-247 unmanned tiltrotor under development to rotor blades. A variable-sweep blade tip can adjust itself for meet an upcoming U.S. Marine Corps requirement for a long- diferent fight phases, for performance and noise, fully ex- range, long-endurance armed surveillance platform that can tending for hover and sweeping back for forward fight. En- be operated from ships. gine intakes could also morph for diferent environments. The company is working on several new commercial prod- The landing gear has diferent geometries and materials ucts for diferent sectors, he says. But with the market at the and is designed to absorb more shock in a heavy landing, re- bottom of a downturn, Bell is weighing its options carefully. ducing the impact on passengers and crew. It could also help “We are trying to decide which is the right one, and which keep the aircraft level when landing on an incline, similar to is the right technology to go into the time frame for when robotic landing gear tested by DARPA in 2015. we need it,” Snyder says. Flight is be performed by a single pilot, but without normal Unlike some of his predecessors, Snyder is enthusiastic fight controls or displays. Instead, fight information is dis- about the market potential of commercial tiltrotors. But six played via augmented reality, and much of the fying task is years after the company sold its share in the BA609 program handled by automation, thanks to fy-by-wire (FBW) control. to AgustaWestland (now Leonardo), he insists development will only be possible if the military adopts the technology in Bell’s pressurized civil tiltrotor volume. Therefore a commercial derivative of the V-280 Val- or, under development for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role concept uses the wing and nacelles technology demonstration, is being studied. “When you have from the military V-280 Valor. the quantities of a military application, that’s what makes commercial much more viable,” says Snyder. “We believe a civil tiltrotor is better as a derivative of the V-280, as opposed to a clean-sheet.” Snyder has two civil tiltrotor models in his ofce here, one with the same slab-sided fuselage as the V-280, another with a business-jet-like fuselage pressur- ized to operate at higher altitudes. “The wing and nacelles are the same in both,” he says. “That’s what makes the magic occur.” Another area of focus for Snyder is fy-by-wire. Having in- Tony osborne/AW&sT troduced it to the civil market with the Model 525, he is keen to see the technology trickle down to smaller light twins and Pilots can customize the cockpit layout and are as- singles. Technologies already exist to put FBW systems into sisted by artifcial intelligence. Logistics missions such the smallest drones, but complexity, cost and weight grow as carrying cargo to an ofshore platform might not re- exponentially when designed for manned aircraft. quire a pilot at all. “We placed the pilot to do mission control; “We need to see if we can get more cost-efective and get the computers can do the dumb, dirty, dangerous and dull fy-by-wire into all aircraft,” Snyder says. “There is a band work,” says Drennan. where it is deemed too expensive, and we need to look at In the modular cabin, passengers can adjust their envi- what we can do to attack afordability and get rid of those ronment with mood lighting and access an onboard enter- mechanical linkages.” tainment system that allows them to communicate with col- Snyder will not say which market he will address next, leagues, view personal fles or simply watch movies. Seats but it seems likely the next product launch is just around can be removed for certain missions. the corner. “Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean “Helicopters are kind of standard today,” says Snyder. “We we aren’t working on it,” he says. c can be diferent. We can push the envelope on the things we can do. In a concept car, some technologies will go into new cars that will go into production. This was the inspiration.” Check 6 Aviation Week editors discuss the state of the rotorcraft On Snyder’s watch, Bell has so far begun one new pro- market and what is coming next: AviationWeek.com/podcast
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AW_03_20_2017_p48-49.indd 49 3/15/17 6:09 PM AEROSPACE IN SWITZERLAND & AUSTRIA
ny, FACC grew by more than 20% in Branching Out 2016 mainly driven by the ramp-up of Airbus A350 work. Its goal is to post Aerospace supplier FACC boasts strength via €1 billion in annual revenue by 2020. The company is divided into three Chinese partner and technology initiatives business units: aerostructures, en- gines and nacelles, and cabins. Jens Flottau Ried im Innkreis, Austria Winglets have been an area of par- ticular expertise. FACC has designed ompanies like peared from the com- and is building the Boeing 737 blended CFACC should in pany’s bank account last winglet, split scimitar winglet and the theory be in trou- year. Investigations are A350 winglet; it is now working on a ble having to compete ongoing, but the FACC morphing winglet it hopes will be with much larger groups board of directors lost ready in 2018. in a consolidating indus- faith in long-time CEO Being majority owned by Xian gives try. But given its techno- Walter Stephan, al- it a unique strategic beneft. The Chi- logical acumen and drive leging that he had not nese company bought FACC in 2009 toward innovation, the done enough to protect to have access to a manufacturing Austrian company con- the company from com- base and Western know-how. From siders itself well-placed puter hacking. Stephan FACC’s perspective, the strategic ra- for growth. oversaw FACC’s rise tional was simple: In addition to im- Originally an ofspring to internationally re- proved access to capital, which would of alpine ski manufacturer Robert Machtlinger nowned aerospace sup- enable the Austrian company to pur- Fischer, FACC is Austria’s FACC CEO plier, thanks to his deep sue its growth initiatives, it could also preeminent aerospace program knowledge and be used as a bargaining chip in ofset company. The acronym widespread network of deals. Placing supplier work with stands for Future Advanced Compos- global contacts. FACC could be viewed as an elegant ite Components. With the local industry Replacing him was not easy. But the way for Western manufacturers to ful- landscape comprising smaller second- leadership question was fnally resolved fll ofset requirements while retaining and third-tier suppliers and general avi- in February when Robert Machtlinger, Western management for the parts in- ation aircraft manufacturer Diamond, it who had served as the interim chief volved, all while gaining better market is also the only company of meaningful executive since Stephan’s ousting, was access in China. size by international standards. Sales of ofcially named CEO. He has received While the success of that approach around €700 million ($745 million) put strong customer endorsement. for Western customers is still being it in the midsize-supplier category, still Machtlinger also inherited a com- debated, there has also been the ex- far smaller than market leaders in an pany that has a presence on most pectation by Chinese investors that industry that recently saw deals such as commercial aircraft programs. FACC FACC will win work (primarily relat- the takeover of B/E Aerospace by Rock- produces entire aircraft cabins except ed to cabins) in programs such as the well Collins, the acquisition of Goodrich for galleys and lavatories. It also builds ARJ-21 and Comac C919. Anticipat- by Honeywell and the proposed merger engine nacelles, wing and structural ing delays in both projects, FACC has of Safran and Zodiac. components and winglets. And it is been reluctant to become too exposed FACC also lacks a big local airline or expanding its composite technology to low-volume, high-risk development signifcant military procurement from manufacturing base in Austria and programs. Given the poor state of the which it could beneft. And the com- beyond with new autoclaves to cope ARJ-21 and the yet-to-be-proven ca- pany no longer has a preponderance of with rising demand. pabilities of the C919, FACC has stuck Austrian investors. Chinese aerospace Ranked as a €700 million compa- with marginal involvement. company Xian Aircraft now owns 55% of the shares via FACC’s international structure. While beneficial in some regards, Chinese-majority ownership raises concern about data protection and intellectual ownership with the company’s customers. Adding to this, FACC recently un- derwent the most fundamental lead- ership crisis in its history, following a blatant case of so-called CEO fraud, in which the CEO’s email account was hacked and nearly €50 million disap- FACC is producing winglets for the Airbus A350 program (right) and the Boeing 737NG, among others.
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AW_03_20_2017_p50-51.indd 50 3/16/17 12:06 PM Production rates for FACC cabin interiors are increasing in step with Airbus A320 program rate hikes.
Machtlinger still views Chinese ownership as a beneft. “In 2009, we had €270 million in revenue. Since then we were able to invest €300 mil- lion and increase revenue to €700 mil- lion. The past eight years have been good,” he acknowledges. But nothing is set in stone, particularly as consoli- dation in the sector unfolds. As far as the current positioning is concerned, Machtlinger considers it an advantage that FACC is not yet part of a big inte- grated group, but operates as a rela- tively independent entity despite its here, is focusing on two areas: chang- in 2016, which is not expected to be one large strategic investor. “Custom- ing manufacturing processes and repeated this year or next. FACC is ers don’t like mergers [like Safran/ new materials. Machtlinger believes currently producing A350 parts at a Zodiac] that much,” he argues. “They the industry must find ways to sig- rate of eight per month and always want alternatives in the marketplace. nifcantly accelerate manufacturing. maintains a buffer of 3-4 aircraft in That is our opportunity.” That would not only allow it to bring case of irregularities. Machtlinger Nonetheless, his communication down costs using existing materials, assumes that it will move up to 10 with the board leads Machtlinger to it would also open up the opportunity aircraft per month toward year-end believe that China shares his drive to introduce composites into areas in anticipation of Airbus’s own tar- for consolidation. There had been talk where they have not yet been broad- get to increase A350 deliveries to 10 that Xian might be preparing to sell ly used: in the narrowbody segment aircraft per month at the end of 2018. of more of its shares. Machtlinger be- where the high build costs combined Machtlinger is confident that lieves a reduction to 35% from the cur- with limited benefts for shorter-haul FACC (and the industry) can assume rent 55% is possible, a level that would flights have made their widespread an overall growth rate of around still ensure Xian’s veto rights remain use less economically relevant. 5.5% annually in the long term. The in place. There are also several ways to FACC is working on new approach- company does, however, face the implement consolidation: Avic, Xian’s es and has fled patent applications challenge of its own portfolio having parent, acquired industrial design spe- but is keeping quiet about the details shifted to the Airbus side in recent cialist AIM Altitude and Thompson for competitive reasons. years. Historically, it has been more Aero Seating in 2016 and “is working Another initiative is to bring mor- balanced between the two manufac- on a global strategy,” he says. One op- phing surfaces to maturity. FACC has turers, and a long-standing deal to tion could be for FACC to assume the completed wind tunnel tests; “now it build 737 winglets expires in 2018, role of internal lead consolidator, cre- is about taking out the complexity,” creating the necessity to find alterna- ating an extremely powerful player in Machtlinger explains. He is confident tive work with Boeing so the balance the aircraft cabin market. that morphing parts can be used on- does not shift further. Machtlinger But “we are also looking for addi- board civil aircraft soon, but there hopes FACC will still find its way tional partners in the U.S. and Europe,” also needs to be a new platform for onto the 777X program, even if it is Machtlinger confrms. Nothing major application even if the technology mainly through providing smaller is imminent because the company will could in theory be retrofitted to ex- parts rather than more complex sub- not be ready for consolidation until isting models. Boeing’s proposed assemblies. late 2018. But for 2019 and beyond, New Midsize Airplane would be “a And then there is China. “The C919 strategic moves are being seriously good opportunity,” Machtlinger says. level of maturity is significantly bet- considered. While FACC is commit- He notes that “Boeing is extremely ter than the ARJ-21’s,” Machtlinger ted to not going outside the aerospace open about the idea.” observes. He believes that the flight- sector in future activities, one option is But with a launch decision still test campaign due to start later this to broaden its knowledge base. “Metal pending, FACC needs more short- year will yield fewer unpleasant sur- manufacturing is a serious option for term and concrete projects to meet prises than that of the regional jet us,” Machtlinger says. That capability its growth targets. For now, both the program. For FACC, ramp up of C919 could help the company when it comes A350 and the A320 ramp-up are its parts is expected to start next year to dealing with hybrid parts. two key growth drivers. On the A350, in anticipation of the model’s entry But entrepreneurial moves are just FACC has so far delivered around into service in 2019 or later. He ex- one part of the equation, technology 140 shipsets and added hundreds of pects FACC to also be on board the is the other major component. “For workers, some on a temporary basis, C929, the proposed medium-range FACC, innovation is key,” Machtlinger to handle the initial workload while widebody aircraft that is to follow the says. The company’s technology cen- traversing the learning curve. Over- narrowbody C919 as the next ambi- ter, situated near the headquarters all, employment levels rose by 15% tious Chinese aircraft project. c
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fuselage section. It was able to meet the Aligning Stars required ramp-up of recent years, and the CEO is proud of his team’s consis- Ruag is gearing up for the next narrowbody tent on-time, defect-free deliveries to the fnal assembly line in Hamburg. program based on its technology portfolio The hope is that this experience, cou- pled with current contracts with Pilatus, Thierry DuBois Zurich will result in Ruag being the supplier for
RUAG the in-development PC-24 s it struggles with a continuing business jet, when production Adownturn in business aviation time arrives. and limited arms sales because Ruag has also put much ef- of Swiss neutrality, Ruag is betting on fort into supply chain reliabil- growth in aerostructures and space. ity, with built-in backup solu- The state-owned company, operating tions. It holds responsibility under Switzerland’s commercial busi- for the A320 rear fuselage ness laws, is also in a long preparatory section’s supply chain. But, phase for a potential new narrowbody in case a weak link appears, aircraft program. it has in-house capabilities Ruag, formed to support the country’s in every domain, Breitmeier armed forces, has a strong military back- says, mentioning surface ground. It is now largely globalized and treatment and machining as diversified in aerospace and defense, examples. including as a major supplier for Airbus And when a new produc- Commercial Aircraft and satellite man- tion line was opened in Hun- ufacturer OHB. But in addition to the gary, a factor in choosing the short-term challenges every aerospace location was distance to an- player faces, it must also cope with op- other factory in Oberpfafen- erational constraints such as high sala- hofen, Germany. It takes one ries and the prohibition on selling arms night for subassemblies to to parties in a confict. The Middle East travel—by transport truck— region, a signifcant weapons buyer, is between the two. This “guar- practically closed to Ruag, CEO Urs Bre- Ruag’s new out-of-autoclave process for antees a stable supply chain,” itmeier says. This includes the Saudi-led composite materials, here applied to two half- says Breitmeier. coalition fghting in Yemen, and Turkey fairings (background) for the Vega launcher, Salaries for Hungary’s due to the Kurd confict. could be used for a next-generation narrow- skilled workforce are lower The 8,700-employee company than in Switzerland by a fac- therefore focuses on stronger growth body aircraft. tor of five, he notes. Ruag in its civil business—which accounts of-autoclave curing, a shorter-cycle fnds it economical to relocate produc- for 55% of total revenues of 1.8 billion process, has been the focus of much tion of labor-intensive subassemblies. Swiss francs ($1.8 billion)—over de- research and development for launcher The greater cost of Swiss labor is ofset fense work. In civil space, Breitmeier fairing manufacturing. At a spectacular by higher levels of training. Breitmeier estimates Ruag has a strong growth facility in Emmen, the company manu- praises the country’s four-year appren- potential. The rising demand for mo- factures fairings for the United Launch ticeship system. In Ruag’s continuing bile connectivity, including for the In- Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, as well as Ari- improvement program, “50% of prod- ternet of Things, “requires a bandwidth anespace’s Ariane 5 and Vega. uct and process improvement is coming that can only be satisfed by space,” he The first fairing made out of auto- from our blue collars,” he says. says, adding the company is investing in clave is to fy this year, Breitmeier says. A marginal but highly symbolic activ- cybersecurity for communications. In Moreover, Ruag has partnered with a ity has been production of the Dornier addition, the space division ofers diver- university to invest in resin transfer 228 twin turboprop. Ruag manufactures sifed products for electric propulsion molding, a more capable composite ma- a mere four per year. But it makes the satellites, a sector with a bright future. terial manufacturing method expected company a type certifcate holder and He thinks a new single-aisle aircraft to be required for the next single-aisle. “gives us the know-how for a complex program could emerge sooner than ex- Another trump card in composites may cockpit upgrade,” he says. Maintaining pected because of the need for Boeing be Ruag’s relationship with Boeing for the existing 1,500-strong feet is a lot of to “react” to the Airbus A320neo selling the ailerons and trailing edge faps of work, too. faster than the 737 MAX, and he wants the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. It is a Meanwhile, the ongoing business avi- Ruag to be ready. high-stress part and Ruag is a single- ation downturn is having an impact on Composite materials will be key on source supplier, Breitmeier emphasizes. Ruag’s activity in private air terminals a next-generation narrowbody, and In his quest for next-gen narrowbody and maintenance. It is making the most Breitmeier is counting on technology work, he is also relying on Ruag’s expe- of maintenance synergies, with shops transfer from Ruag’s space business rience with the A320. On that aircraft, using similar equipment for both busi- to its aerostructures activities. Out- his company is responsible for the rear ness and military aircraft. c
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AW_03_20_2017_p52.indd 52 3/15/17 4:58 PM seems to have given program managers Slump Breaker? sufcient confdence about the remain- ing challenges. “The data we have so far Pilatus took a chance developing indicate that our Swiss business jet ex- ceeds published performance fgures,” new aircraft in a tough market says Oscar Schwenk, chairman of the board. Thierry Dubois Lyon Meanwhile, a new era may be open- ing for marketing the PC-12 NG in Eu- ood news is hard to come by in cation was planned for early 2017. The rope. The number of potential applica- Gbusiness aviation, but Pilatus latest estimate suggests the schedule tions for the business and utility aircraft Aircraft is looking to buck that has slipped to the right—certifcation is growing, thanks to the March publica- trend. The Swiss manufacturer’s three is now expected in the fourth quarter. tion of long-awaited rules for commer- main programs—the PC-24 business jet and PC-12NG turboprop as well as its PC-21 military trainer—are making Pilatus quickly flled the PC-24’s orderbook, progress and securing sales despite the despite the slump in business aviation. market en vironment. Business aviation was already in the grip of its current downturn when the PC-24 was launched in 2013. Perhaps Pilatus executives—like others in the sector—believed new products should be developed in difficult times, to be ready when the market recovers (the company declined interview requests). Despite the slump, the airframer quick- ly flled its initial orderbook, scooping up 84 commitments in 36 hr. for the light jet at the European Business Avia- tion Convention & Exhibition in Geneva in May 2014. It then closed its book with plans to reopen it in 2020. The manufacturer’s frst foray into jet production was planned with plenty of margin. When the rollout of the “Crys- The delay can be seen as marginal, cial air transport operations using sin- tal Class” aircraft took place at Pilatus’s compared to other aeronautical pro- gle-engine turbine, fxed-wing aircraft Stans headquarters in August 2014, 2.5 grams. The first flight of the third, at night or in instrument meteorological years were allotted for testing. Certif- and fnal, PC-24 prototype on March 6 conditions (SET-IMC) in the EU. The General Aviation Manufactur- ers Association (GAMA) predicts The third Pilatus PC-24 few in March. SET-IMC will “greatly facilitate over- night cargo delivery and help provide connectivity to Europe’s most remote regions.” Common around the world, such operations are based on Interna- tional Civil Aviation Organization stan- dards issued in 2005, GAMA points out. A few European operators—such as France’s Voldirect—have been fy- ing under SET-IMC thanks to national exemptions. In military pilot training, too, Pi- latus has been consistently managing to convince customers of the benefts of turboprop singles. The latest order received for the PC-21 was in January: Under a contract with Babcock Mission Critical Services, the French air force will use 17 PC-21s at an intermediate phase of fghter pilot training. In addi- tion to Babcock, at least one other bid- der was basing its ofer on the PC-21. c Pilatus aircraft Photos
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AW_03_20_2017_p53.indd 53 3/16/17 4:18 PM LAUREATES 2017 Eyes on the Future
viation Week’s 60th annual Laureate Awards began with a Aviation Week President Greg Ham- focus on future leaders—and concluded with a bold vision ilton and Sandy Magnus, a former as- tronaut and executive director of the Aof mankind’s future in space. In between, the 330 attend- American Institute of Aeronautics and ees at the black-tie gala inside Washington’s historic National Astronautics, kicked of the March 2 Building Museum witnessed awards presented for great achieve- event. They recognized four cadets ments in aviation, defense, space and heroism, and honored two and midshipmen from the U.S. mili- tary academies and the 20 Twenties individuals who are crossing the fi nish line of storied careers. (see photo far right), a group of stand- out science, technology, engineering
Aviation Week President Greg Hamilton (far right) and Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo (far left) fl ank this year’s Laureate winners and cadet honorees.
54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p54-55.indd 54 3/15/17 1:22 PM and math students from universities F. Bolden, Jr., a former Marine Corps winner Blue Origin, joined Aviation across three continents. aviator, test pilot, NASA astronaut and Week Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo Continuing a tradition begun in 1957, recently retired NASA administrator, for an onstage chat. Bezos talked Aviation Week editors then saluted 30 and John Tracy, who recently retired as about Blue Origin’s plans to launch fi nalists in seven fi elds—Civil Aviation, Boeing’s chief technology of cer after humans in the next year, its proposal Defense, Space, MRO, Business Avia- playing a pivotal role in the company’s for a Moon lander, his faith that a free tion, Innovation and Technology—and development of advanced composite market and new technologies will en- named Laureates in each category. primary structures. able untold creativity in space and his Lifetime Achievement awards were The evening was capped of when prediction that heavy manufacturing presented to Maj. Gen. (ret.) Charles Jef Bezos, founder of Space Laureate will one day take place in space. c
ALL PHOTOS BY CHRIS ZIMMER
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AW_03_20_2017_p54-55.indd 55 3/15/17 1:22 PM LAUREATES 2017 Civil Aviation recent high-profle orders by Delta Air Lines and Air Canada, C Series Celebrated it is still unclear whether the C Series will become the com- mercial success its manufacturer seeks. hen Rob Dewar began his But if even Airbus’s chief salesman W career in 1986, Bombardier John Leahy’s skeptical assessment— was selling snowmobiles “it’s a nice little aircraft”—stung a bit, and building firefighting aircraft. one thing is certain: Bombardier has The company was not a player in built a very good aircraft. Given the commercial aviation. But six years fve-abreast layout and size of its wing, later it bought de Havilland Canada, expanding the C Series family beyond which included the Dash-8 regional the CS100 and CS300 (the two first turboprop program. family members, now in service with Nearly 30 years later, C Series pro- Swiss and Air Baltic) is conceivable. gram chief Dewar and his colleagues Bombardier executives Fred Cromer Development and testing are over; were able to hand over the frst Bom- (left), Rob Dewar (center) and Alain some challenges remain. Managing the bardier CS100 to its launch operator, Bellemare (far right) receive the 2017 production ramp-up is one; securing Swiss International Air Lines, at a Civil Aviation Laureate from Aviation more orders is the other. But bringing ceremony in Montreal. The aircraft— Week Managing Editor Jens Flottau. the C Series to market is a tremendous no longer a regional jet like the CRJ achievement that warrants the Civil Series Bombardier has built since the 1990s—is the frst Aviation Laureate. all-new narrowbody aircraft since the advent of the Airbus Other companies and individuals whose achievements A320 in 1988. qualifed them as fnalists were: Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, for The C Series was delayed several times; the aircraft ex- the remarkable turnaround of the airline within two years; ceeded the original budget by far. The company was close to Airbus, for the entry into service of the A320neo; the FAA selling the C Series to Airbus and has since received fnancial Fire Safety Branch at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, support from Quebec (now 49% owner of the program) and for developing new testing standards for containers to safely the Canadian federal government. Bombardier was forced to hold lithium-ion batteries in fight; and United Airlines and cut thousands of jobs to keep the project viable. And despite AltAir Fuels, for the frst commercial-scale use of biofuels. c Defense
a multimode seeker designed by BAE Systems for semi- Reviving At-Sea Defense autonomous strikes against specifc naval vessels. The program was launched in 2009 and achieved its frst fter the Cold War ended, the successful strike against a maritime AU.S. Navy dropped the ball target on Aug. 27, 2013, fred from a with respect to anti-ship weap- B1-B. The weapon’s design has been onry as the prospect of a major sea validated in fight testing in 2013 and battle faded from view. 2015 and was adopted by the Navy in China took a diferent tack, spend- 2014 to meet an urgent requirement ing big on naval modernization with for an air-launched anti-ship weapon, new ships and submarines and an the Ofensive Anti-Surface Warfare increasingly sophisticated array of (OASuW) Increment 1. Moving at anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles roughly twice the speed of a normal or “carrier killers” fred from land, sea acquisition program, LRASM was and undersea. Its road-mobile DF- Lockheed Martin’s Michael Fleming (left) cleared by the Pentagon to enter low- 21D missile, for instance, can target and U.S. Navy Capts. Jamie Engdahl and rate initial production in late 2016 to military vessels about 810 nm of the Todd Huber (center) receive the 2017 support felding on the Air Force B-1B coast, and its YJ-18 subsonic cruise Defense Laureate from Aviation Week next year and the Navy F/A-18E/F missile felded in 2015 can reach out Defense Editor James Drew. Super Hornet in 2019. Lockheed will 290 nm, creating a threat ring of turn out 110 missiles to meet the im- 264,200 nm2. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to rely on the mediate need and then compete for the follow-on require- mid-1980s sea-skimming Boeing Harpoon Block 1C missile, ment known as OASuW Increment 2. with an unclassifed range of 67 nm. “It puts the most heavily defended and sophisticated Seeing the Navy increasingly forced into a defensive maritime threats at risk—period,” says Alan Jackson, di- crouch and responding to the White House’s “Pacifc Pivot,” rector of strike systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and DARPA and the Ofce of Naval Research began tinkering Fire Control. with the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), The other Defense Laureate candidates were: Embraer, derived from Lockheed Martin’s extended-range Joint Air- for the development of the KC-390 tanker/transport; Lock- to-Surface Standof Missile, which boasts a range of more heed Martin, for the F-35 Lightning II; the Netherlands and than 500 nm. Sharing 88% common components including Luxembourg, for establishing the Airbus A330-based Euro- the airframe, engine, anti-jam GPS receiver and 1,000-lb. pean Tanker Force; and DARPA, MIT Lincoln Labs and L3 penetrating warhead, the weapon has been upgraded with Technologies, for the Space Surveillance Telescope. c Chris Zimmer Photos
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AW_03_20_2017_p56.indd 56 3/16/17 2:31 PM Space
Vision and Action an entire economy into Earth orbit and beyond. The Amazon founder is personally bankrolling development of a follow- n its push toward the day when “millions of people are liv- on rocket engine—the hydrocarbon-fueled BE-4—that may Iing and working in space,” the New replace Russia’s RD-180 as the power- Shepard Team at Blue Origin flew plant used to launch U.S. national se- their vehicle on fve suborbital missions curity payloads on the planned United in a row without pulling the BE-3 engine, Launch Alliance Vulcan vehicle. demonstrating true reusability. Seven of the big new engines are On the fnal mission—a launch abort baselined for the next stop on Blue’s test on Oct. 5, 2016—the capsule fred the path to space—the New Glenn orbital solid-fuel escape motor that protrudes launcher. Inside the company’s Kent, into the crew cabin like a cofee table. It Washington, factory, the New Glenn pulled away from the cryogenic-fueled will be designed to generate 3.85-million booster 45 sec. after launch, at maximum lb. of thrust at liftof. Two versions are dynamic pressure. The capsule went su- Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos planned, a two-stage all-hydrocarbon personic as it veered up and to the side to (left) receives 2017 Space Laureate type for launches to low Earth orbit and avoid its rising reusable launcher. from Aviation Week Editor-and- a three-stage model for missions to the Despite that jolt, the launcher man- Chief Joe Anselmo. Moon and probably beyond. aged to resist the loads and steady itself The other Space Laureate fnalists for a picture-perfect tail-down landing at a remote test area were: The Juno Team on NASA’s Discovery program, for in West Texas. This landing capped the company’s Laureate- setting a precedent by using only solar arrays for power on winning unmanned fight-test campaign. missions to the outer Solar System; NASA’s Jet Propulsion The test series included a pad-escape exercise in 2012 and Laboratory, for the Dawn orbiter, the frst space probe to orbit several static ground tests, in keeping with Blue Origin’s care- two extraterrestrial bodies; and Space Exploration Technolo- ful, stepwise approach to human suborbital spacefight. The gies, for the recovery of multiple Falcon 9 frst stages on land abort system, which Blue Origin compares to passenger- and at sea—and for the first sale of a reused booster to a safety airbags in an automobile, is designed to enable paying customer. c passengers with relatively little prefight training to survive a catastrophic launch vehicle failure. New Shepard is the frst step in fulflling Blue Origin owner Video Watch the conversation between Bezos and Anselmo Jef Bezos’s vision of using ever larger reusable rockets to send following the Laureates dinner: AviationWeek.com/BezosQandA Business & General Aviation many as 250 aircraft. In late 2017 or early 2018, Wheels Up On-Call Air Accessibility plans to expand into Europe. Wheels Up appeals both to those who heels Up, a private aviation already fy privately as well as to the larger Wmembership company founded market of fyers new to private aviation. in 2013, was selected as Aviation Members pay an initiation fee, annual dues Week’s 2017 winner of the Business Avia- and a fxed hourly rate for hours fown. tion Laureate Award, which recognizes Wheels App, a booking and ride-share excellence in business aviation. mobile application, allows members to ac- Wheels Up co-founder and CEO Kenny cess one-way “empty leg” fights that are Dichter began the company with a promise posted and updated daily. to revolutionize and “democratize” busi- Dichter is not an aviation novice. In ness aviation. 2001, he and his partners introduced Mar- Since its founding, Wheels Up has grown quis Jet and the first 25-hr. jet card. By from a disruptive startup to an operation of Wheels Up Cofounder and Ex- 2010, the year Marquis Jet sold to NetJets, more than 4,000 members. Membership is Dichter and his team had sold $4 billion even available via Costco. So far, the com- ecutive Vice President Robert worth of cards and $1 billion in fractional pany has taken delivery of 72 King Air 350i Withers receives the 2017 shares. turboprops and Citation Excel/XLS jets. Business & General Aviation Other finalists for the Business Avia- In 2013, Dichter placed the single-largest Laureate from Aviation Week tion Laureate were: Cirrus Aircraft, for buy of King Airs in history with its order Wichita Bureau Chief Molly its work developing the SF-50 Vision, the for 105 King Air 350 turboprops, including McMillin. frst civilian single-engine light jet to earn 35 frm orders, with Beechcraft, now part FAA type and production certifcation and of Textron Aviation. With servicing, the deal has a potential enter service; Corporate Angel Network, for providing free value of $1.4 billion. transport in business aircraft to more than 50,000 cancer Growth has come faster than expected. In 2015-16, mem- patients traveling to treatment centers around the U.S.; and bership has grown 72%. FlightSafety International, for its work developing and feld- In the next 3-5 years, Dichter says, he expects member- ing the frst full fight simulator to receive FAA approval for ship to reach 9,000 or 10,000 and the feet to comprise as aircraft upset prevention and recovery training for pilots. c Chris Zimmer Photos
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AW_03_20_2017_p57.indd 57 3/16/17 3:20 PM LAUREATES 2017 Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul use case,” to deliver results faster—within weeks—instead of Analytics Rule months or years, says Jan Stoevesand, head of analytics and data intelligence in information manage- ufthansa Technik won Aviation ment at Lufthansa Technik. LWeek Network’s MRO Laureate for Through Condition Analytics, Lufthan- pioneering digital transformation in sa Technik reduced technical delays for the civil aviation aftermarket. an airline by 25% by identifying contra- In 2016, the company launched its Con- dictory results from height sensors that dition Analytics platform, which com- caused an autopilot landing system to bines condition monitoring with predic- fail. Data analysis identifed which sen- tive maintenance in one integrated tool sors needed to be replaced before they to make component maintenance, repair failed, thus solving the problem, increas- and overhaul (MRO) more predictive. ing aircraft reliability and preventing op- A team of engineers, data scientists erational disruptions. and data architects analyzes the full- Lufthansa Technik’s platform shows a fight data after each fight and develops feet’s health and predicts outages for any “use cases.” This co-located team ap- aircraft type—so it is OEM-agnostic and proach replaces one previously domi- can be used for mixed feets. nated by troubleshooting and condition By deploying digital technologies such monitoring. The group analyzes flight as this, the MRO provider is converting and MRO data to continuously develop data to intelligent information that can use cases, and after developing the ana- Elmar Lutter of Lufthansa result in fewer faults, fuel savings, opti- lytical model, the team analyzes custom- Technik with Inside MRO Chief mized costs and greater safety. er data to show results. Editor Lee Ann Shay. Condition Analytics is an independent Having been developed with funda- data analytics tool, not coupled with a mental knowledge of MRO and engineering, these “use cas- support contract or other Lufthansa Technik tools. es” go beyond fnding correlations and are designed to show In addition to this platform, Lufthansa Technik is fostering the relationship between correlation and causality. Using this an Open Innovation Network, which links to its work with the multifaceted approach, the system then checks customer Starburst Accelerator to inspire new technologies. data for relevant abnormalities and anomalies. Other MRO Laureate fnalists included EasyJet, GE Avia- “It’s more predictive, and we can deep-drill use case by tion and Latam Airlines. c Technology for certifcation this year and next year, respectively. The Sidestick Ties Bind business jets will be the frst commercial FBW aircraft with active sidesticks in service, likely to be followed in 2018 by efore fly-by-wire (FBW), it the airline transport sector with the Bwas virtually assured that the certifcation of the Irkut MC-21 sin- flight controls on both sides gle-aisle jet and its active sidesticks of a cockpit would move in unison, built by United Technologies Corp. giving pilots a direct, intuitive and Aerospace Systems. nonverbal understanding of what the “The new active sidesticks pro- other was doing. With the advent of vide such realistic tactile and vi- FBW, starting with the Airbus A320 sual feedback that they appear to family, however, side- sticks were be mechanically linked,” says Fred made to be passive and independent George, aircraft evaluation editor of each other. for Aviation Week and sister publi- This design decision has led to cation Business and Commercial Avi- human-factors issues in some cases, ation (BCA), after fying the G500 prompting calls from international fight-test aircraft in October 2016. safety organizations for specialized Gulfstream’s Dan Nale (center) and “During our pretakeoff checks, training for aircraft equipped with Ehtisham Siddiqui of BAE Systems (right) both [the Gulfstream pilot] and I “non-coupled control sticks.” In par- with Aviation Week Senior Editor John Croft. performed flight control checks.” ticular, regulators want pilots to be George says. “We watched and felt profcient at taking over control from each other (with an as the sidestick controls mimicked inputs from each pilot. override switch), as their inputs are likely unknown to one From the immediacy and precision of their actions, they other and in certain accident scenarios have been shown to could well have been mechanically connected rather than be diametrically opposed. electronically linked.” Technology Laureate winners Gulfstream and BAE Sys- George went further, taking a stance on the likely safety tems set out to reintroduce the intuitiveness of mechani- benefts of the technology: “In BCA’s opinion, they provide cally coupled fight controls by integrating electronically a signifcant improvement in situational awareness from coupled sidesticks on the G500 and G600 business jets, set older passive sidesticks.” c All Photos Chris Zimmer
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AW_03_20_2017_p58.indd 58 3/15/17 1:17 PM Innovation
Flight Director The frst result was the Environmentally Responsible Avia- tion (ERA) program, a six-year efort in which NASA invested ith less than 3% of the total NASA budget, the frst $400 million and industry $250 million, to mature, integrate W“A” in the agency’s name was and demonstrate technologies to reduce fuel much reduced from its heyday burn, emissions and noise that could pro- when Jaiwon Shin became associate ad- duce a projected $255 billion in operational ministrator for the Aeronautics Mission savings in 2025-50. Research Directorate in 2008. That stipend With ERA underway, Shin led creation was being spent on fundamental research, of an innovative strategy to align NASA’s and the days of fying X-planes were past. still-limited aeronautics budget with six Winner of the Innovation Laureate, Shin thrusts shaped to help industry respond is the agency’s longest-serving head of to three global “megadrivers”: growing aeronautics research since NASA’s Hugh demand for mobility; severe challenges to Dryden. Length of tenure and strength of sustainability; and disruptive technology purpose have allowed Shin to restructure developments in information, communica- NASA aeronautics around a strategy ad- NASA Associate Administrator tion and automation. dressing the biggest challenges facing civil Jaiwon Shin (left) receives the The strategy includes a return to fight aviation globally. He has led eforts to revive 2017 Innovation Laureate from research. NASA plans low-boom superson- the agency’s culture of fight research, em- Aviation Week Managing Editor ic and ultra-efcient subsonic X-planes and bracing risk and learning from doing. Graham Warwick. is building the electric-propulsion X-57—its Shin has a non-native’s awareness of the first dedicated X-plane in a decade. Re- achievements and vulnerabilities of the U.S. civil aviation in- searchers are conducting rapid feasibility demos and engag- dustry. Born and raised in Seoul, he came to the U.S. to further ing entrepreneurs to recapture the spirit of learning by doing his education. He joined NASA’s Glenn Research Center in that made NASA aeronautics great. 1989. The other nominees for the Innovation Laureate were: Ger- Becoming deputy associate administrator in 2004, Shin many’s E-volo, for its electric multicopter, which promises to played a key role in refocusing NASA’s meager aeronautics transform urban mobility; industry association HeliOfshore, budget on fundamental research. Taking over as associate ad- for improving the safety of ofshore helicopter operations; and ministrator in 2008, he understood that the technology being The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment developed had to be matured, integrated and demonstrated Consortium, for an ecosystem that assures avionics software before industry would be ready to embrace the advances. is open, portable and reusable. c Heroism Polar Rescue Plunge the Drake Passage to Rothera Research Station on Antarctica’s Adelaide Island. It would be a difcult fight. The plane was outftted with a specialty load and carrying about 5,000 lb. more vacuating a pair of sick workers from than the normal manufacturing weight. Ethe South Pole is business as usual for “What sort of slows us down or stops Kenn Borek Air Ltd., which special- us is any icing on that routing,” Dobchuk izes in transport to remote polar destina- explains. Luckily, the weather cooperated. tions. The carrier typically avoids runs to The crew arrived in twilight, spent 12 hr. in Antarctica starting in mid-March, when the −60C (−76F) cold, reconfgured the aircraft weather turns colder and the winds pick up. on spring skis and started another 9.7-hr. The call for this mission came in June, the journey to Amundsen Scott South Pole Sta- time of year when the land of ice and snow tion. sees little daylight, when no aircraft had ever Although there was no problem with the made the journey across the Drake Passage, weather, watching the fuel gauge became known for vicious winds and storms, and an obsession for Dobchuk because there is then into the heart of the South Pole. But a nowhere to stop. Fluctuations in the speed pair of Lockheed Martin workers were sick Kenn Borek Air President John of the wind can make a big diference in the and needed to leave Antarctica. Harmer receives the 2017 Hero- amount of fuel left for the ride, he says. But Kenn Borek Air Capt. Wally Dobchuk is ism Award from Aviation Week they wound up with more than enough to all business in describing the mission he Managing Editor Jen DiMascio. spare. few with frst ofcer Sebastian Trudel and For Dobchuk, the best part of the journey maintenance engineer Michael McCrae. The crew started on was arriving safely at Rothera Station and handing of the a pair of Twin Otter aircraft in Calgary, Alberta. They few rescued workers to the next crew: James Hafney, Lindsay to Denver and then McAllen, Texas. From there, they took Owen and Gerald Cirtwill. Says Dobchuk: “Our job is just to a commercial fight to Punta Arenas, Chile, to rest while a get there and get there safe.” c backup crew few the Twin Otters to meet them. There, they consulted with ofcials from the National Sci- ence Foundation, watching satellite weather imagery. The crew Video See how the Kenn Borek Air team accomplished the waited 36 hr. for a blizzard to pass before the 8-9-hr. fight across rescue mission: AviationWeek.com/2017Heroism Chris Zimmer Photos
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AW_03_20_2017_p59.indd 59 3/16/17 1:58 PM LAUREATES 2017 Philip J. Klass Lifetime Achievement Award deployed the Hubble Space Telescope on STS-31 and com- Trailblazer in Space manding the mission that included the frst Russian cosmo- naut on a U.S. crew when NASA began collaborating with its harles F. Bolden, a U.S. Marine Corps aviator, NASA Cold War rival in the post-Soviet era. Castronaut and the 12th adminis- Bolden remained in the Marine trator of the U.S. space agency, Corps while at NASA, retiring as a ma- is the 2017 recipient of the Philip J. jor general. His active-duty service in- Klass Lifetime Achievement Award. cluded a combat command in Kuwait Bolden overcame the barriers im- during Operation Desert Thunder in posed on African-Americans in his na- 1998. tive South Carolina to win admission Named NASA administrator by to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1964. President Barack Obama in 2009, Bold- That marked the beginning of a life- en shepherded the agency through the time of public service that continued difcult transition that followed the end until his retirement this year. of the space shuttle era into develop- After Annapolis, Bolden chose a Former NASA Administrator Charles ment of spacecraft for deep-space hu- commission in the Marine Corps and Bolden (left) receives the 2017 Lifetime man exploration. He oversaw comple- began fight training in the A-6A In- Achievement Award from Aviation Week tion of the International Space Station, truder. He few more than 100 combat Senior Editor Frank Morring, Jr. the unmanned frst fight of the Orion missions over North and South Viet- crew vehicle, development of the heavy- nam, Cambodia and Laos in 1972-73. lift Space Launch System and the shift Awarded a Master of Science degree in systems manage- to a commercial approach for U.S. civil-space access to orbit. ment from the University of Southern California in 1977, Cutting-edge space technology has forged ahead, too. Last Bolden entered the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent Riv- year the James Webb Space Telescope’s optics were com- er, Maryland, moving on after graduation to test a variety of pleted; they are in testing for a launch by the end of 2018. c ground-attack aircraft for the Naval Air Test Center. Selected as an astronaut candidate in 1980, Bolden few in space on the shuttle four times, twice as commander. Among Video See more on Bolden’s career and accomplishments: his achievements in orbit were piloting Discovery when she AviationWeek.com/CharlesBolden
Composite Success facture an airplane and that the aircraft would pass certifcation. The program had major hiccups, not just related to composites, of course. Still, Tracy recalls some uncomfortable moments fac- ohn Tracy, whose career crossed space, defense and com- ing the company’s board of directors to defend the decision to Jmercial applications, and who was go with a “plastic” airplane. an early proponent of compos- Tracy believes one of his chief ites, is a 2017 Philip J. Klass Lifetime achievements at Boeing was central- Achievement Award honoree. izing its test and evaluation capabili- When Tracy retired in 2016, he was ties across its defense, space and com- Boeing’s chief technologist and its se- mercial operations. Without that, his nior vice president of engineering. It cohorts say, rollouts and deliveries of was a far cry from where he began. such products as the 787 and 747-8 A native of Southern California, would have slipped further. But those Tracy earned a degree in physics from who know him cite his overall leader- California State University-Dominguez ship abilities, and here’s where we go Hills. After college, he became a high John Tracy, former Boeing chief technolo- back to high school. Asked about his school teacher. After being laid of three gist and senior vice president of engineer- experience with students and the rel- times in three years, he turned to indus- ing (left), receives the 2017 Lifetime evance in aerospace, he said: “You learn try for opportunities. But his classroom Achievement Award from Aviation Week how to communicate, to honor them, to experience was invaluable later. respect them, to help them grow, en- By 1981, Tracy had joined Mc- Executive Editor Jim Asker. courage them. We end up doing more Donnell Douglas (now part of Boe- than we thought we could.” ing), where he worked on Delta launch vehicles. Tracy remains bullish about aerospace and its ability to at- “I became convinced that composites were the future,” tract a new generation of engineering talent. “People don’t re- Tracy says. He pushed for their use in Delta rocket fairings. alize everything they touch, in one way or another, is enabled While there is no “free lunch” in engineering, he saw in com- by aerospace or is a spinof from aerospace,” he says. “We have posites a golden opportunity to improve system performance had more impact on the world than any other industry.” c and reduce manufacturing costs simultaneously. At Boeing, the development of the 787 brought composites their biggest test. Tracy knew the company’s engineering team Video See more on Tracy’s career and accomplishments: had to show composities could be used to economically manu- AviationWeek.com/JohnTracy Chris Zimmer Photos
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AW_03_20_2017_p60.indd 60 3/16/17 2:11 PM Tomorrow’s Leaders Outstanding U.S. Military Cadets
or more than 200 years, the U.S. emy. He holds the position of Redbird mental Test Pilots East Coast Sympo- Fhas looked to its military service Simulator Coordinator, which involves sium. As a member of the Mangrove academies as the training ground the organization of simulator training Surveillance Coastal Approach Path for future military leaders, combining procedure and cadet-instructor sched- Evaluation team, Speir was the lead technical and scientifc know-how with uling for the academy’s Redbird simu- structures engineer for a quadcopter the arts, leadership and service. And lator. Creswell is also one of six cadets designed to use multispectral imaging there is no doubt that these same acad- who serve as “orange” members of the to map Mangroves in order to discover emies have produced not only military academy’s fight team, which competes potential drug-trafcking routes. Speir leaders but individuals who have gone with other colleges in events involving is a four-year member of the men’s on to lead in business and government actual operation of aircraft. He has cross country and track and feld teams. service. had his private pilot’s license for three He is now pursuing a master’s degree Aviation Week’s Tomorrow’s Lead- years and has logged approximately in aerospace engineering at the Univer- ers awards recognize one outstand- 120 hr. If accepted to flight school, sity of Maryland. After completion of ing student from each of the four U.S. military academies who is pursu- ing a career in aerospace. As the kickof to the 2017 Laureates awards pre- sentations, Aviation Week President Greg Hamilton and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astro- nautics Executive Direc- tor Sandra H. Magnus recognized this year’s four recipients. Cadet Lt. Michael Cremins of Burr Ridge, Illinois, is studying me- chanical engineering with a focus in aeronautical engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he is leading a capstone team focusing on the Magnus moment of spinning pro- jectiles. Last summer, Cremins shadowed an Army platoon leader at Tomorrow’s Leaders 2017 award recipients (from left): Cadet Col. Young Yuyang Wu of Fort Drum, New York, the Air Force Academy, Midshipman 1st Class Ryan Speir of the Naval Academy, 2/c Cadet where he learned about David Creswell of the Coast Guard Academy and Cadet Lt. Michael Cremins of West Point. Army Aviation and offi- cers’ duties. In the summer of 2015, Creswell would like to fly C-130s for his graduate studies, Ryan will report to he interned at Boeing’s CH-47 produc- the Coast Guard. NAS Pensacola, Florida, to begin naval tion facility in Philadelphia, where he Midshipman 1st Class Ryan Speir pilot training. learned about civil-military relation- studied aeronautical engineering at Cadet Col. Young Yuyang Wu is a se- ships in acquisitions as well as the in- the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, nior at the U.S. Air Force Academy ma- ner workings of the Chinook helicopter. Maryland. While at the academy, Speir joring in aeronautical engineering. He is After graduating in May, he will report participated in an internship at NAS involved in the academy’s undergradu- to Fort Rucker, Alabama, to begin of- Patuxent River, Maryland, working ate research program, participating in fcer and aviation fight training. with the Unmanned Aerial Systems multiple independent study courses 2/c Cadet David Creswell has had a Test Directorate and the MQ-8B Fire and an internship at the U.S. Air Force strong desire to be a military aviator Scout program. He also participated in Research Lab. Outside of his studies, he since early in high school in San Diego, the fight-test engineering course at the enjoys hiking, camping and skiing. He California. He plans to attend flight academy, where he evaluated the SR22 hopes to become a test pilot for the U.S. school for the Coast Guard, building Cirrus and assisted in the presentation Air Force. Wu was selected to attend on the aviation-related activities he has of “Can We Trust the Magic Behind the the academy from Leland High School pursued at the U.S. Coast Guard Acad- Glass?” at the 2016 Society of Experi- in San Jose, California. c Chris Zimmer Photo
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AW_03_20_2017_p61.indd 61 3/16/17 2:17 PM TRAINING
2009. In fi xed-wing aircraft, the fi rst cus- Neuro Cockpit tomer for a cockpit incorporating physi- ological sensors might be a business air- craft manufacturer. A business aviation pilot is more likely to be stressed than a Ergonomics and psychology experts have contributed to the design of Thales’s Avionics 2020 A better understanding advanced fl ight deck. commercial pilot, due to the variety and of the pilot’s brain will complexity of missions, Jutteau notes. shape future fl ight decks Some measurements are more rel- evant for long-haul fl ights. Fatigue can THALES be evaluated through electrothermal Thierry Dubois Paris quantifi cation of sweat, which indicates drowsiness, Jutteau says. hales’s recent unveiling of an “Advances in physiological sensor At a more advanced stage of devel- Tadaptive training device, able to technology have enabled us to measure opment is Thales’s Avionics 2020 next- acquire pilot physiological data and analyze a whole host of human pa- generation fl ight deck. Ergonomics and and modify the human-machine inter- rameters,” says Christian Jutteau, tech- psychology experts spent a long time face accordingly, is confi rming a trend nical manager at Thales’s training and working on its situational awareness in future cockpit design—neuroscience simulation business. Correlating heart features. For example, when selecting will help take into account the human rate with stress levels may be relatively an airport on the moving map, the pilot brain’s weaknesses and strengths. The simple. However, interpreting blinking, can add its radio frequency to a list on fi rst applications may be found in sim- pupillary response and electrical sig- the communications display. The pilot ulators, helicopters and business jets, nals in the brain is more dif cult. “Here, will see the radio frequency sliding but such progress is also likely to enter we’re entering the realm of neurosci- through the displays, from the map to commercial fl ight decks in the not-so- ence research,” says Jutteau. its position on the list. This not only just distant future. Thales’s main partner in this fi eld has looks nice—using cognitive continuity “A current system reacts the same been the Cognac-G laboratory. It brings is also a very powerful way to conserve way, whoever is at the controls; what together researchers from France’s na- mental resources, experts at Thales say. if this could depend on the user?” says tional research institute CNRS for the Avionics 2020, which is intended to Denis Bonnet, Thales’s director of in- medical side, the ENS Cachan engineer- set a new standard for human-machine novation for avionics activities. In its ing school for complex mathematics interface in commercial aviation, has initial ef ort in this fi eld, the company and the IRBA armed forces biomedical found its first customer, a helicopter is applying human behavior modeling research institute for analysis of hu- manufacturer. “The more complex to training. On an advanced simulator man factors. “We have made suf cient the mission, the more useful such a demonstrator, the pilot is monitored by progress in terms of sensor integration, system,” Thales experts contend. The design engineers to understand his or measurement-system architecture and customer has not yet been made public. her cognitive state in terms of workload the ability to capture and process real- A research laboratory in Toulouse, and fatigue. An electroencephalograph, time data on actual pilots for the solu- part of the ISAE-SupAero engineering electrocardiograph, thermometer and tion to be considered viable,” he asserts. school, has been making strides in what eye-tracking instrument are used to Aside from a ground training device, its director, Frederic Dehais, calls neu- “tailor training to trainees,” he says. one of the fi rst applications could be on roergonomics for pilots. One focus has Tunnel vision—when the pilot gazes a rotorcraft. The French government been the problem of alarm deafness. at a particular display for too long—can is funding a research and development Visual dominance shapes most human be detected and an alarm triggered, or project involving Airbus Helicopters brains, Dehais explains, something critical information displayed differ- and French Gendarmerie pilots. The that can be measured. In 100 millisec., ently to attract the pilot’s attention. A idea is to feed the fl ight management a stimulus coming from the eye can out- mental workload that is too low can be system (FMS) with the information col- weigh a simultaneous stimulus coming noticed as well. “If my student is too re- lected on the pilot’s cognitive state, so from the ear. This is faster than a per- laxed, I can inject wind gusts to ensure that the FMS can fi ne-tune the human- son becomes conscious of any stimulus, his mental workload is higher, thus op- machine interface as needed. which takes 300 millisec. timizing training time,” a Thales engi- A candidate helicopter could be the Although these occurrences are rare, neer explains. Or if the mission proves still-under-wraps Airbus Helicopters some high-profi le accidents have made too dif cult, the instructor can adapt it X6, designed to replace the H225 Super alarm deafness an infamous defi ciency. to the trainee’s capabilities. During the Puma heavy twin sometime in the next In addition to guiding cockpit design debriefi ng phase, the instructor will re- decade. Human behavior modeling could changes, Dehais’s work may improve fer to the physiological measurements improve the safety of of shore oil-and- the selection and training of pilots to gathered during testing in his or her gas operations, which have suf ered from ensure visual dominance does not cause discussion with the student. an unfortunate series of accidents since them to miss aural alarms. c
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AW_03_20_2017_p62-63.indd 62 3/15/17 4:02 PM able economic proposition,” he adds. Pitch Man Following the tour, which highlighted the attributes of the -600 series aircraft The ATR 72-600 is being promoted in North for passengers, ATR officials devel- oped “marketing tools and analytical America as replacement for aging turboprops work” for airlines that showed inter- est. “They’re knocking on doors,” says John Croft Miami Scherer of the marketing team’s eforts, “and the doors are beginning to open.” hen ATR executives traveled Bombardier has orders for three Although ATR has a backlog of 220 Waround the U.S. in a new ATR Q400s and options for 15 more; Saab aircraft—which at a production rate of 72-600 in May 2016 as part no longer makes the 340 or the 2000. 80 aircraft per year would nominally of a “reintroduction” of the turboprop For Scherer, a natural fit for U.S. mean a wait time of 2.5 years for new for regional routes, CEO Christian sales would be as replacements for orders—Scherer says customers can Scherer said it showed “customers the Saabs, which in most cases have get an aircraft as early as 2018 because and other stakeholders that this is not been in service for two decades or of the leasing company orders. ATR is a ratty old propeller airplane” and it more. “Those are beginning to be very in the unique position of having a num- “reset expectations.” Since then, the Toulouse-based company has moved its Americas sales team to Miami, installed the frst North American full-fight ATR 72-600 simulator, also in Miami, and completed marketing studies and op- erational analyses in an attempt to seal some deals. “Give me six months,” says Scherer when asked when we can ex- pect to see the fruits of ATR’s labor. Big orders from the U.S. have eluded the company. “We’re by far the leading regional aircraft guy, and it’s very frustrating to us how few aircraft we have in the U.S., Scherer told Aviation Week at the opening of the new simulator cen- ter in Miami in February. “There’s no reason why there shouldn’t be signif- cantly more fuel-efcient ATRs here.” Scherer noted that not having a simu- lator in the U.S. was an “impediment ATR to growth.” ATR touts the large cabin and fuel economy of its ATR 72-600 series ATR is No. 3 in terms of the most turboprops as key selling points for the U.S. market. popular in-service turboprops on the U.S. registry, according to Aviation relevant aircraft for us to address,” he ber of leasing companies that hold or- Week’s Fleets Discovery database. says. Silver Airways is the largest Saab ders, says Scherer. “They can provide Bombardier is first, with 145 Dash 8- operator in the U.S., with a feet of 22 delivery positions since they buy air- series turboprops; Saab is second with Saab 340B Plus aircraft, followed by craft based on speculation.” 70 aircraft, mostly 34-seat Saab 340s, Peninsula Airways (operating as Pen Asia, not including China or India, and ATR has 52 in-service aircraft, 37 of Air), with three Saab 2000s and 16 accounts for half of ATR’s backlog, which are freighters. The largest ATR Saab 340B Pluses. partly due to geography. “Take Indo- passenger carrier is Hawaiian Airlines, With a new ATR 42-600, the 50- nesia, an archipelago of 6,000-7,000 with six aircraft; Empire Airlines is the seat variant, Scherer says an operator islands,” says Scherer. “This is ATR largest ATR freighter operator, with 18 could fy the aircraft on the same net- heaven. But for a big continent like aircraft. works as the Saab “for substantially North America, where the ground However, ATR has the most orders the same trip costs” but with 25% more transportation infrastructure is very on the books of the three turboprop “revenue proposition.” Included are advanced, [our aircraft] are less con- airframers: GE Capital has ordered fuel, crew, maintenance, landing fees ducive to 300-400-mi. regional fights.” eight ATR 72-600s, the latest genera- and the fnancing cost of the aircraft, The selling point in the U.S. is cabin tion of the Pratt & Whitney PW127M- which nominally lists at about $20 comfort and fuel economy. “The cabin powered aircraft, and Air Lease Corp. million. “That is a very strong selling is very nice compared to the Bom- has ordered three of the same model. point,” says Scherer. “In places not bardier CRJ or Embraer ERJ,” says GE Capital also has options for 17 more constrained by scope clauses, we can Scherer, “and the ATR -600 series is ATR 72-600s. ofer the ATR 72-600 for an unbeliev- unchallenged in terms of economics.” c
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AW_03_20_2017_p62-63.indd 63 3/15/17 4:02 PM EjEction sEAts
was reassigned to a dif- Rapid Redesign ferent aircraft type as a result. “The failure rate at 160 kt. could not be toler- Martin-Baker to ated . . . . and we had to revisit the design of the begin retroftting helmet and the seat,” says US16E seats to cope Roberts “We could have with Gen 3 helmet Note the infatable head and neck device surrounding the pilot’s head in this rocket- sled trial of the US16 seat.
put in an interim measure to keep that person fying, but we were told to focus on the solution.” Tony Osborne London Martin-Baker Lockheed Martin and Martin-Baker began hen concerns emerged in late “Although we brought afordability, working on a fx in the summer of 2015 W2015 that a seat designed to the US16E had to be better than legacy and began testing the fxes last October. save pilots’ lives might now escape systems, have better head-neck What was expected to be a delta test be endangering them, it created a cri- loads, more protection and bring lower program became a full-blown requalif- sis for British family-owned ejection- risk,” says Roberts. “It’s like designing a cation of the seat, with 22 ejection tests seat manufacturer Martin-Baker. sports car to deal with lots of extremes.” from rocket sleds in Northern Ireland More than a year later, the company The company had already complet- and New Mexico as well as from Mar- has concluded tests for a modifcation ed qualifcation of the US16E in 2010 tin-Baker’s test aircraft in France. to the seat that will accommodate and with the initial so-called Gen 2 helmet The lighter helmet led to a center-of- keep safe all the pilots who, one hopes, produced by Vision Systems Interna- gravity shift. As for the seat itself, the will never have to use it. tional, but when issues arose with that company has adjusted the software in The F-35’s US16E seat is a very dif- helmet, the F-35 Joint Program Ofce the seat sequencer, which, as its name ferent one from its predecessors, says (JPO) decided to introduce the Rock- suggests, sequences the timing of the Steve Roberts, head of the US16E pro- well Collins and Elbit Systems Gen various ejection processes, including gram at Martin-Baker. Because of the 3 Lite system, which necessitated a opening the drogue, releasing the seat large number of countries expected to number of changes related to weight and deploying the main parachute. adopt the aircraft, the seat had to be and the center of gravity. The timing of these processes is designed for a variety of physiological Therefore, the replacement helmet based on velocity, air pressure and al- needs. had to undergo its own set of ejection- titude information taken by sensors on It must accommodate males and seat tests, which began in October 2013. the seat at the time of ejection; look-up females of varying height and weight “We started getting failures . . . and it tables (a data-process technique that and be able to jettison them, fully kit- got dramatic in July 2015, when we did a replaces computing with indexed in- ted, at speeds of -60-600 kt. and alti- low-speed test at 160 kt.,” Roberts says. formation) provide the correct timings tudes of 0-50,000 ft., as well as receive Data show that as the seat pitched for the conditions. electronic signals from the aircraft to back in the moments after ejection, the For pilots in the lower weight range, eject the pilot automatically should the mannequin experienced what Martin- the company has introduced a gradu- F-35B model’s vertical-landing lift-fan Baker calls a neck-injury-criteria ex- ated delay—around 0.45 sec. for the system fail. The US16 was designed ceedance, where loads on the manne- smallest pilot—into parachute deploy- specifcally with the F-35B’s powered quin’s neck posed a potential or real ment. This change is activated via a lift capabilities in mind. Because the risk of injury. Exceedances were also switch on the seat. F-35 can fy backward they have had to recorded in higher-speed tests. According to Roberts, 99% of pilots account for that by designing the seat “The last time we did a 160-kt. test, will have this switch in the standard to operate in non-forward fight. years before, we had passed it. . . . The position, while the low-weight mode More critically, it also had to fac- program didn’t expect us to fail it that will be activated if the pilot weighs less tor in the new helmets, which are much,” Roberts says. than 150 lb., although the fnal decision now much larger and heavier because When news of the failures became on the threshold weight will be made of the new helmet-mounted display public, the U.S. Air Force banned pi- by the Air Force and Navy. model that has replaced the cockpit- lots who weighed less than 136 lb. from The other modification is the in- mounted head-up display. fying the aircraft. One Air Force pilot troduction of the head support panel
64 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MARch 20-ApRil 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p64-66.indy.indd 64 3/16/17 3:44 PM (HSP), a fabric panel at the base of the will provide their assessment of the is expected “soon,” ofcials say. harness risers that stops the head from escape-system upgrades. However, the tests beg the question moving backward as the seat pitches “The JPO has been working hand of whether, if there are further changes back. in hand with airworthiness ofcials in to the helmet or if a new HMD is intro- This works in conjunction with an the Air Force and Navy to develop the duced, a new round of costly ejection- infatable head-and-neck device, which escape fixes and to develop the test seat testing could be required. works rather like an airbag on a car, plan for the fxes,” the JPO said in a “It all depends on what mass and with three fngers infating around the statement. “The services have seen center-of-gravity changes there were,” top and either side of the head, holding draft reports and are encouraged by Roberts says. “If it’s a major change, it in position. the results but are holding their fnal then it is quite a big program, and if The HSP is most useful in low-speed airworthiness and risk assessment un- there is a Gen 4 or 5, we will need to do ejections after the seat’s rocket motor til the fnal reports are provided.” This some testing if that came up.” c has burned out and the drogue does not have much control authority. Roberts says the introduction of both the HSP and new sequencer tim- ings has reduced head-neck loads by a factor of six. “We went from a mas- Seat Rising sive exceedance to a magnitude under the requirement,” says Roberts. “The wider [JPO] program liked it. . . . It was First full qualifcation a cost-efective, low-mass and quick- change fx and didn’t require software of ACES 5 seat on B-2 or much complex testing. this year positions “But there were a lot of ‘doubting Thomases,’” Roberts adds. “They UTAS for new couldn’t believe it was possible via a simple change.” competitions The new tests have focused on three key anthropometric groups, Case 1, Case 6 and a hybrid Case 2ST, which covers short torsos. The “cases” are based on a U.S. and European database of consumer body measurements, the Civilian American and European Sur- face Anthropometry Resource Project United technologies AerospAce systems (Caesar). Cases 1 and 6 were tested be- Graham Warwick Washington cause they encompass the extremes of the seat. Case 1 represents the smallest ith the frst aircraft applica- UTAS says it has completed all high- adult; Case 6 covers the largest-limbed Wtions for its latest ACES 5 risk rocket-sled testing of the ACES 5 and tallest pilots. Case 2ST was tested ejection seat under contract, on company and customer funding. to determine the mass weight at which UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) is the seat switch should be engaged. regaining momentum in the escape- tract in September 2016, under which Manufacturing of the retroft for the system market and targeting key do- ACES 5 will be qualifed on the B-2 this seats began in January 2016; shipping mestic and international opportunities. year. began last November and modifica- In the U.S., these include the Air Qualifcation of the new seat on its tions got underway in February. Force’s 360-aircraft T-X advanced jet frst application will be a major mile- The retroft program is expected to trainer competition and an emerging stone for UTAS, which has taken time take nearly a year. However, one of the program to replace the company’s to recover from a setback in 2001, biggest challenges, Roberts says, will ACES 2 seat on hundreds of Air Force when Lockheed selected rival Martin- be making the aircraft available to the Boeing F-15s, Lockheed Martin F-16s Baker’s US16E seat for the winning Martin-Baker teams. When the retroft and F-22s, and Rockwell B-1s. Interna- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Losing out work is completed, the Air Force plans tionally, opportunities include South on a potential 3,500-aircraft program to reopen F-35 training to pilots under Korea’s KF-X indigenous fighter, un- was a blow to the only U.S. developer of 136 lb. by December, the Ofce of the der development by Korea Aerospace ejection seats, one with approximately Director of Operational Test and Eval- Industries. 6,000 ACES 2s in service. uation noted in its fscal 2016 report on “In the last year we have won four UTAS achieved that position the F-35’s progress. programs,” says Jim Patch, UTAS se- through acquisition and consolida- The F-35 JPO confirms it has re- nior manager for ACES 5 and govern- tion. The ACES seat was originally ceived the escape system data and ment relations. Of the four, only one developed by Douglas Aircraft and documentation from industry and can be identifed, he says: the ACES 2 acquired by Goodrich from Boeing in will soon release this to the Air Force safety and sustainability improvement 1999 after its merger with McDonnell and Navy for review, as the services program for the Northrop Grumman Douglas. In 1998, Goodrich acquired own the airworthiness process. Each B-2. UTAS received a $14.4 million con- Universal Propulsion, maker of the
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AW_03_20_2017_p64-66.indy.indd 65 3/16/17 3:44 PM U.S. Air Force EjEction sEAts
Unlike the ACES 2 in this F-16, ACES 5 allows seat removal with- out taking of the cockpit canopy.
SIIIS seat used in the Boeing AV-8B. And in 2000 Goodrich acquired IBP Aerospace, licensee for the Russian Zvezda K-36 seat, a U.S.-manufactured version of which was proposed for the F-35. Goodrich itself was acquired by United Technologies in 2011. The combined experience of all three companies now resides in UTAS’s Interiors, Actuation and Pro- peller Systems business in Colorado Springs. This unit provides aftermar- ket support for the remaining SIIIS seats and continues production of meets all the requirements included began. “Testing of ACES 5 has dem- ACES 2 for international F-15 and F-16 in the T-X safety specifcation,” says onstrated compliance with all 62 customers. Patch. T-X requirements incorporate ejection-seat requirements in the T-X ACES 5 has been developed over the latest changes to the MIL-HND- specification,” Patch says. “Those several years on company and cus- BK-516C airworthiness handbook, re- tests have been reviewed by the Air tomer funding and has the same ejec- leased in December and refecting the Force, which has substantiated ACES tion envelope as ACES 2, but with prevalence of HMDs. 5 meets the requirements today.” increased safety and maintainability, The updated safety requirements UTAS has invested substantially says Patch. The seat operates from limit the risk of neck injury to 5% or in qualification testing of ACES 5, zero airspeed to 600 kt., and from zero less when ejecting at airspeeds up to particularly aimed at the F-35, says altitude to 60,000 ft., and accommo- 450 kt., with a linear increase in the Patch. The Air Force has considered dates the full pilot-size range of 103-lb. limit to 15% at speeds up to 600 kt. switching from the Martin-Baker seat female to 245-lb. male, specifed by the “Over time, ejection seats have not more than once, most recently in mid- Pentagon as JPATS Cases 1-8. 2016 because of safety concerns with A modular structure improves the US16E afecting lightweight pilots maintainability, “by allowing removal wearing the F-35’s latest Gen III HMD. of the seat, in total or in part, and re- In June, the service’s top uniformed placement of parts that require ser- acquisition ofcial confrmed the Air vicing without removing the canopy, Force’s interest in ACES for F-35. “We or the escape hatches in the case of believe most if not all high-risk testing the bombers,” Patch says, adding that has been accomplished,” Patch says. less maintenance time translates into “Some testing remains, to be fully increased aircraft availability. qualifed on the F-35.”
Safety features include passive arm ce Sy S tem UTAS operates its own rocket-sled and leg restraint systems, eliminating A facility for ejection-seat testing at lanyards or infatables, a faster-acting Hurricane Mesa in Utah. It is here drogue, and an improved parachute that testing to qualify ACES 5 on the that reduces oscillation. ACES 5 B-2 is underway. The B-2 program will retains the proven active pitch-sta- upgrade the existing ACES 2 seats, bilization system from ACES 2, the which will result in the frst full quali-
cartridge- and propellant-activated S p United t echnologie S Aero fcation of ACES 5 on an aircraft. This devices and the mortar-deployed will help position UTAS to compete parachute. for the Air Force’s Next Generation But perhaps the biggest safety im- ACES 5 introduces passive head Ejection Seat (NGES) program. provement is the passive system that and neck protection for pilots wear- An initial synopsis of the NGES pro- supports the pilot’s head and neck ing helmet-mounted displays. gram, released in October 2016, says during ejections. This has become in- the government wants to complete creasingly important, given the wider been providing that level of safety, qualifcation and begin production for range of pilot sizes now required, and including ACES 2 as it relates to the the frst four aircraft platforms in fs- the added weight of head-worn night- absence of passive head and neck pro- cal 2019. A ffth aircraft, the Fairchild vision goggles or helmet-mounted dis- tection for pilots wearing HMDs,” he A-10, could be added, says Patch. The plays (HMD) they now use. says. synopsis seeks projected costs for 80 “In combination, these provide a The resulting T-X requirements test and 2,200 production units, mak- signifcant enhancement in safety. We are more stringent than for the F-35, ing it the biggest ejection-seat pro- believe ACES 5 is the only seat that which were set when the program gram since the F-35. c
66 AviAtion Week & SpAce technology/MAy 23-JUne 5, 2016 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p64-66.indy.indd 66 3/16/17 3:45 PM Sitting Comfortably Martin-Baker sees lightweight ejection seats for small aircraft as an area of growth Tony Osborne London
n the last fi ve years, Martin-Baker “At the moment, there are lots of in- pursuing more than 20 new future- Ihas produced more than 4,000 termediaries between us and the end aircraft programs, with the aim of seats for 13 manufacturers of 18 user, so by setting up these facilities, reaching the customer early and of- aircraft types fl own in 27 countries; we can support the end user directly.” fering an of -the-shelf seat, a process more than 7,500 people owe their The company is also pursuing ret- he says reduces the need for costly lives to the company’s ejection seats, rofi t campaigns and closely following integration and qualifi cation testing. and some pilots have even used them new aircraft programs. A push is underway to get the Mk. more than once. The company has Encouraged by its success install- 16 seat into several programs in Asia, 53% of the market for seats in service. ing the US16T seat into the T-38 Talon such as Japan’s XF-3 and South Ko- Despite its proliferation, the British fl eets of both the U.S. Air Force and rea’s KF-X future indigenous fi ghter. company is seeing its target market NASA—the last T-38 was retrofi tted Prospective clients closer to home shrink. include Turkey’s TFX and Leonardo’s As fi ghters become more advanced M345 High Ef ciency Trainer, appli- and expensive, the number of aircraft cations for which it faces competition ordered and produced continues to from UTC Aerospace Systems. fall, so Martin-Baker wants to broaden More significant, however, is the the market and its capabilities, part of company’s development of a light- an evolution that has helped keep the weight seat for smaller training air- family business running since World craft, which previously might not War II, when it started building air- have been fi tted with craft components and later attempted The Mk. 17 is a new such an escape sys- to produce its own advanced piston- generation of ejection tem. “We see this as engine fi ghters, which made it to the seat for lightweight an area of growth. . . prototype stage but not much beyond. training aircraft . We are seeing these Part of this evolution has included such as the Diamond lightweight, more af- international expansion. A subsidiary DART-450 and the fordable aircraft tak- in suburban Paris, SEMMB, and Grob G 120TP. ing on military roles another in Latina, Italy, Sicamb, and taking over what produce and service seats for was historically done by an aircraft those countries’ air arms and with an ejection seat,” says Martin. national industries. Mar- The new Mk. 17 seat weighs in at tin-Baker America in 38 kg (84 lb.), just over the half the Johnstown, Pennsylva- weight of a standard fast-jet seat. nia, assembles and MARTIN-BAKER Currently in qualifi cation, the Mk. 17 maintains seats uses a gun-type explosive cartridge for the U.S., includ- rather than a rocket motor to punch ing the Mk. 16 (US16) seat the pilot out. The company has al- for the Lockheed Martin F-35, ready tested the seat for fitting on and builds crashworthy seats for the in 2014—Martin-Baker is now pursu- the Grob G 120TP and envisions it for Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. ing other retrofit programs. One of Diamond’s DART-450, Blackshape of Service centers have also been set Martin’s aims is to get his company’s Italy’s Prime and BK160, and the Io- up in Germany and Egypt, and a new seats installed into a Russian-built max Archangel. facility, Martin-Baker Australia, was fi ghter, and he says that is close, with Meanwhile, the Mk. 18 seat, in ear- established in early 2016 to support interest from a Sukhoi Su-25 operator. ly development, is envisaged for the that nation’s fighters, particularly Exported aircraft from China have next-generation T-X jet trainer for with the arrival of the F-35. The com- also been a target in recent years, the U.S. Air Force, but the company pany also sees potential for facilities particularly after Pakistan requested is looking beyond that to yet the next in India, as well as in Brazil to support that its Karakorum-8 (K-8) jet train- generation of seats. That next gen- the arrival of the Gripen. ers and JF-17 Thunder fi ghters be fi t- eration has to take into account new “This is a captive market, and we ted with the British-made seats. But helmet-mounted displays and must are looking to deliver the best ser- this has been made more dif cult by be designed to sense the conditions vice,” says Andrew Martin, director of a push from Chinese manufacturers around it, adapting the sequence of marketing and business development to keep their own seat in the aircraft. ejection events and keeping the pilot at Martin-Baker. Martin says the company is now away from danger. c
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AW_03_20_2017_p67.indd 67 3/16/17 3:37 PM LOW-COST CARRIERS IN ASIA Growth Mode AirAsia and SIA Group carriers target long-haul routes and improved connectivity Adrian Schofi eld Auckland
outheast Asian low-cost car- porary growth slowdown and other Sriers (LCC) are proving once moves to strengthen the balance sheet again that financial success is have helped restore confi dence in its a powerful stimulant for growth am- fi nancial outlook. As recently as last bitions. Some of the major players in year, the group was facing serious this sector are emerging from a period questions about falling profits. The of uncertainty with plans for fl eet and struggles of most of its of shore af li- network expansion this year, including ates were dragging down earnings. new tilts at coveted but elusive long- AirAsia’s financial reports for the haul markets. fourth quarter and full-year 2016 un- The past few years have been fi nan- derline the progress it has made. All cially challenging for LCCs in Southeast four of the group’s carriers in the Asia. In many cases, they have restrict- Southeast Asia region—which ex- ed fl eet growth or deferred orders as cludes the newest units in India and strengthening their earnings became Japan—achieved operating profi ts in It operates 30 Airbus A330s, and is a higher priority. Now these ef orts ap- the last quarter, and full-year operat- not planning to add any more of this pear to be paying of , prompting new ing profi t was up 24% for the group. model in 2017. However, it may add a phases of expansion for carriers such A successful turnaround ef ort at In- new type, which would have signifi - as the AirAsia Group and Singapore donesia AirAsia led to it recording its cant network ramifi cations. Airlines’ stable of LCC subsidiaries. fi rst-ever annual profi t in 2016. AirAsia X is reportedly consider- AirAsia provides the clearest ex- Fernandes says he is “thrilled to see ing leasing its first two Boeing 777- ample. The group, which comprises our investments [in Southeast Asian 300ERs, specifi cally so that it can in- six carriers, added just two aircraft in af liates] beginning to pay of .” With troduce a fl ight from Kuala Lumpur to 2016 to increase its total to 172. This its carriers in this region succeeding, London around mid-year. The carrier marks a dramatic slowdown for an “We can confidently press forward has been signaling its desire to launch airline that built its reputation on its with expansion.” this route for some time, but it does not rapid spread across Asia. The additional aircraft will be used have the right aircraft in its current The core Malaysia-based opera- to open new destinations as well as to fl eet to operate it nonstop. tion actually shrank its fl eet by three raise frequencies on existing routes. The airline has given mixed signals aircraft to 77 last year, while AirAsia India and Thai AirAsia were the only AirAsia Group Fleet Mix affiliates to grow. Capacity still in- creased, however, as the group lifted 77 Malaysia AirAsia its aircraft utilization rates. High-profile group CEO Tony 51 Thai AirAsia Fernandes has signaled that this year will see a resumption of fleet growth. 22 Indonesia AirAsia The AirAsia Group expects to receive 14 Philippines AirAsia 30 additional aircraft in 2017, and while a few will be for replacement, the overall 8 AirAsia India fl eet size will increase to 201 by year-end. The group recently reached an Note: All aircraft are Airbus narrowbodies. Totals as of Dec. 31, 2016. agreement to bring forward some of its Excludes two aircraft allocated to AirAsia Japan, which have yet to start operating. A320neo deliveries and is now due to re- Source: AirAsia ceive 17 this year—12 for the Malaysian In the Malaysian operation, AirAsia about when and how it will start Lon- operation and five for Thai AirAsia. intends to increase up to 16 less-fre- don fl ights. Executives have previously Another 13 A320ceos will be leased quent routes to daily service. This will said AAX will wait until it begins re- this year, for use by the af liate airlines. increase potential connecting oppor- ceiving A330neos in 2018, although at Three A320s will be returned to lessors. tunities at its main Kuala Lumpur hub. other times they have said they could Further expansion will follow from AirAsia’s sister LCC group, AirAsia start earlier by leasing aircraft or op- 2018: AirAsia has about 400 Airbus X (AAX), which operates widebodies erating a one-stop fl ight to London. A320neos and A321neos remaining on on longer routes, kept its fl eet growth A recent regulatory application order. to just three aircraft last year after adds weight to the prospect of a Lon- For the AirAsia Group, the tem- canceling or deferring some orders. don flight this year. The Malaysian
68 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 AviationWeek.com/awst
AW_03_20_2017_p68-69.indd 68 3/16/17 4:21 PM AIRBUS
Airbus has agreed to accelerate the deliveries of AirAsia’s Airbus A320neos, which will help grow the group’s fl eet this year.
Aviation Commission has granted fi nancial performance, but this year it S$20 million ($14 million) and Scoot AAX up to nine weekly frequencies to will start adding aircraft again. It oper- recorded a profit of S$26 million. In serve London Gatwick Airport start- ates 21 A320s and two A319s. each case, this compared to a narrow ing in June. Tigerair is due to take back 11 A320s operating loss in the same period a There is a great deal of industry that it leased to Indian LCC IndiGo. The year earlier. interest in whether an LCC can make fi rst of these will start to arrive in the The planned merging of Scoot and long-haul fl ights to Europe work. AAX second half of this year, and all will be Tigerair is expected to provide the has tried this before, with short-lived returned by 2019. These additions will largest boost to their growth pros- routes from Kuala Lumpur to London be partially of set by the exit of fi ve of pects. SIA Group completed the full and Paris that were discontinued in Tigerair’s leased A320s over the next acquisition of Tigerair in March 2016, 2012. An unfavorable demand envi- two years, resulting in a net gain of six and it intends to have the carriers fl y ronment and its use of the less fuel- aircraft. In the longer-term, Tigerair under a single operating certificate ef cient A340s contributed to the lack has placed orders for 39 A320neos, and brand by the end of this year. Ti- of success of these fl ights. which are due between 2018-25. gerair’s aircraft will be progressively Another focus will be on flights to For Scoot, fl eet growth will not be repainted in Scoot livery. the U.S., after AAX received regulatory such a novelty. The airline has taken The airlines are already working to clearance to serve that country. It will delivery of 12 Boeing 787s over the better align their networks and sched- start with fl ights to Honolulu via Osaka past few years, which have replaced ules, which will improve connectivity. in June, and has expressed interest in older aircraft and increased fl eet size. This means the narrowbody opera- serving the U.S. mainland as well. Capacity was up by more than 50% tions will be able to provide more feed The AAX expansion is driven by fi - year-on-year by the end of December. to the widebody fl ights, and vice versa. nancial improvement in 2016, with the Four more 787s are due to be deliv- Integration of the LCCs is particu- group achieving its fi rst net profi t since ered in the financial year beginning larly important for the new Euro- its initial public of ering . This gives it April 1. The fi rst two of these are set to pean service. Senior executives have a “solid foundation” to “accelerate our arrive in April and May. The four 2017 signaled that the business case for momentum in 2017,” says AAX Group aircraft—all 787-8s—are particularly the Athens flight relies on connect- CEO Kamarudin Meranun. significant additions, because they ing traf c from across the combined The Singapore Airlines (SIA) LCCs will be Scoot’s fi rst confi gured for true networks. The merger provides a will also be ones to watch this year. Ti- long-haul operations. platform for more-aggressive growth gerair and Scoot are both wholly owned These deliveries could allow Scoot plans, according to Lee Lik Hsin, CEO subsidiaries with a key role in the SIA to beat rival AirAsia X to Europe. of the SIA holding company that over- group strategy. A shift to profi tability Scoot has already revealed it will be- sees Scoot and Tigerair. and the prospect of merging the two gin fl ights from Singapore to Athens, Cooperation with other carriers LCCs has boosted the parent company’s Greece, in June, and intends to launch will also help. Tigerair and Scoot are confi dence in expanding them, and in another long-haul fl ight to a yet-to-be- part of the Value Alliance, a coalition launching a foray into Europe. named destination this year. of eight Asia-Pacifi c LCCs that intend As with AirAsia, growth will mark Both the SIA Group LCCs are per- to interline with each other. In this way, a change of direction for Tigerair. The forming better financially. For the they hope to of set the scale advantage carrier has been shrinking its fl eet in nine months through Dec. 31, Tigerair enjoyed by AirAsia, Lion Air and other recent years in an ef ort to improve its achieved a modest operating profi t of larger rivals. c
AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 20-APRIL 2, 2017 69
AW_03_20_2017_p68-69.indd 69 3/16/17 4:31 PM LoW-cost cArriers in AsiA
Peach to codeshare with either Vanil- Evolving Market la or the ANA mainline operation, the ANA spokesman said. Peach also does Latest moves by ANA and AirAsia not intend to enter any alliance, includ- ing the newly formed Value Alliance of could alter Japan’s LCC landscape Asian LCCs that Vanilla has joined. The three Peach owners jointly stat- Adrian Schofeld Auckland ed that “consolidation with the ANA Group” is the “best way to accelerate he fast-growing Japanese low- Peach will remain as separate brands the growth of Peach in its next phase Tcost carrier (LCC) sector is set at least initially, and no decisions have of development.” ANA HD CEO Shinya for some signifcant changes in been made about the prospect of merg- Katanozaka stresses that Peach is a its competitive dynamic this year, with ing them in the future. “strong brand,” and the ANA Group is a step toward consolidation and the However, the ownership move is “committed to building on its distinc- likely launch of a new player. expected to increase Peach’s coordi- tive position and unique culture.” All Nippon Airways Holdings (ANA nation with other airlines under the Both Peach and Vanilla plan to grow HD) is boosting its stake in LCC ANA HD umbrella. While Peach and their feets. Peach currently has 18 Air- Peach Aviation, bringing Peach into Vanilla “will decide their network bus A320s in its feet and is due to add two more in the fscal year beginning April 1 and another three in the follow- ing year. It recently placed an order for 10 A320neos to be delivered from April 1, 2019. Joepriesaviation.net Vanilla operates 12 A320s, after its latest new aircraft arrived Feb. 26. The carrier expects to take delivery of three more A320s in the fscal year through March 2018. There are three carriers in Japan considered true LCCs—Peach, Vanilla and Jetstar Japan. However, another will be added to this list if AirAsia be- gins service with its joint venture LCC. AirAsia Japan has missed previous launch targets. Its latest goal was to introduce its frst domestic fight ear- ly this year, but it has postponed this plan. While no frm date has been set, it is now expected to be later in 2017. AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes Japanese LCC Peach is planning to add more Airbus A320s to its feet. recently said the Japanese afliate is “approaching a full launch.” Training the ANA group and aligning it more planning themselves,” they will “share flights to meet regulatory require- closely with ANA subsidiary Vanilla their plans,” an ANA spokesman tells ments were conducted in February, Air. Meanwhile, AirAsia is preparing Aviation Week. Peach will gain support and ticket sales will start soon, he says. to start service with its much-delayed from the group in areas such as fuel Two A320s have already been allo- Japanese LCC joint venture. supply, pilot recruitment and training, cated to AirAsia Japan, and Fernandes ANA HD has reached agreement and aircraft purchasing. says this feet will be expanded to fve with the other two major sharehold- Peach’s main base is at Osaka Kan- aircraft by the end of 2017. It will be ers in Peach to increase its holding to sai International Airport, and Vanilla’s based in Nagoya and will start with a 67%. The share transfer is scheduled major hub is at Tokyo Narita Airport. domestic route to Sapporo. This will be to occur April 10, assuming regulatory The carriers also operate some fights followed by a fight to Taipei, Taiwan. authorities grant permission. ANA HD out of each other’s hubs. Jetstar Japan, meanwhile, is keeping currently owns 38.7% of Peach, with While there are about a half-dozen its feet size more stable than the other partners First Eastern Aviation Hold- routes served by both airlines, the active LCCs. It has recently added its ings and Innovation Network Corp. overlap will soon be reduced. Peach is 21st A320, which will be deployed in its owning 33.3% and 28% respectively. suspending two of its Narita routes— network when the summer schedule The shares being acquired by ANA HD to Sapporo and Okinawa—effective season starts in March. are worth ¥30.4 billion ($271.1 million). March 26. These are both routes also The latest addition marks the frst These steps will make Peach a sub- served by Vanilla, although Peach says change in feet numbers since Decem- sidiary of ANA HD, while LCC Vanilla the decision was made in January based ber 2014. There are no plans to add is already a wholly owned subsidiary. on demand not meeting expectations. more aircraft this year, a Jetstar Japan The group has indicated Vanilla and There are no current plans for spokesman says. c
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AW_03_20_2017_p73.indd 73 3/16/17 5:41 PM Viewpoint Airlines Can Fix ATC Problems
By roBerT W. MAnn, Jr. Joepriesaviation.net roponents of privatizing U.S. air trafc manage- our competitors within the system where we all operate.” Pment, chiefy airlines (except Delta Air Lines) Delta used commercial software at Atlanta, Detroit and their lobbying group, continue to aggres- and Minneapolis; US Airways/US Express used the same sively push Congress to turn over the air trafc control software in an FAA-sponsored demonstration at Char- (ATC) system to an “advisory board” whose single larg- lotte, North Carolina. The system optimization benefts est voting bloc under recent proposals would be repre- each carrier was able to achieve were validated by in- sentatives of the airline industry. dependent reviewers. Managing and stabilizing aircraft Supporters of privatization or “corporatization” of fows—eliminating randomness and variability—reduced ATC articulate no specifc user cost, operational perfor- delays, block times and dwell time in the terminal area as mance or logistics improvement objectives or metrics, well as fuel burn, emissions and operating costs, and it nor meaningful reductions to block-time creep, fight de- expanded airport handling rates and capacity. lays, ground stops and resulting costs to airlines, custom- Each carrier’s program operated with the FAA’s full ers, the National Airspace System and the U.S. economy. knowledge, unimpeded, and each reduced ATC system In the business world, a viable proposal requires an complexity and terminal area controller workload. Nei- economic rationale. A feasible ATC privatization pro- ther program required any new airline, aircraft or FAA posal must state and quantify the cost, performance and equipage, unlike Flightdeck Interval Management or logistics improvements it expects to achieve. There is many promises under NextGen. no proof that privatization would save operators money, NavCanada is the ATC system cited most often as an improve service reliability and quality or reduce fight example of the success of privatizing air navigation servic-
es. But NavCanada’s fees are increasing costs and hurting Canada’s carriers. As the Conference Board of Canada said
There is no proof that in its report Driven Away: Why More Canadians Are Choos- ing Cross-Border Airports, factors including air navigation ATC privatization would save “ fees of $30-40 per round-trip passenger (on trips over 300 “ mi.) give a 30% cost advantage to U.S. air carriers. operators money or improve Supporters of privatization/corporatization promise no performance improvement and primarily seek to step reliability and reduce delays. away from Congressional oversight and avoid funding uncertainties that Congress creates. They also seek the power that a privately run ATC system would give them, time and delays that place a drag on the U.S. economy— for example, to select and award multibillion-dollar annual which airlines have been in a position to remedy for system fnancing, procurement and operational contracts. more than a decade. Continuous improvement to ATC system processes and According to the Transportation Department, delays performance can and should be made. All system users attributed to factors that airlines control were the larg- have a role to play, not just airlines. And Congress must est category of delay in 2015, and by the widest margin ensure stable funding to make improvements possible on since the government began collecting such data in 2003. an efcient basis. An equally large category of delays “due to late-arriving Informed discussion of air trafc management and air- equipment” was not charged to airlines, though it is typi- line performance improvement should focus on what air- cally the consequence of earlier airline-caused delays. lines and other signifcant participants can and should do According to Bloomberg, “airline-caused delays totaled right now to resolve these issues. We do not need to risk 20.2 million minutes last year—2.7 million more than all our future on transformations that could leave us no better other categories combined.” How would ATC privatiza- of than we are now and possibly worse of. They defect tion alleviate these and other delay causes and costs to attention from what airlines can do to lower operating the economy that are clearly within airline control? Pro- costs, improve operating performance and reduce delays ponents don’t say. in scheduled transportation system logistics. c Delta recognized a decade ago that “self-help” works and is the frst step to reducing delays and optimizing Robert W. Mann, Jr. is president of R.W. Mann & Co. Inc., an outcomes. Delta CEO Ed Bastian noted that the nation’s independent aviation industry advisor. He was a senior executive air trafc system is “far from broken,” adding, “What sets and corporate ofcer at American Airlines, Pan Am and TWA Delta apart is that we have invested in our people, our and served on the International Air Transport Association’s operation and our technology to enable us to outperform Information Management Committee.
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