Premier Aviation Expands Paint Services in New York State

Premier Aviation, a private aircraft maintenance overhaul “MRO” Services Company, announced the successful completion of 15 aircraft paint projects on Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft emphasizing the capabilities of its Rome facility. The 50,000 sq. ft. paint facility has been in full operation since August 2012 and is ready to meet the industry needs supporting both their heavy airframe maintenance customers as well as those requiring only aircraft paint.

The facility is state-of-the-art environmentally, fully equipped and able to fulfill paint requirements on any regional or narrow-body and most large wide-body aircraft. The central location in New York reduces indirect costs related to ferry flights. Cost saving combined with Premier’s airframe heavy maintenance capabilities and competitive pricing, provides a great solution for customers.

With facilities in both Canada and the USA, Premier can accommodate any customer’s schedule at short notice. Further, strong maintenance capabilities in all Premier paint facilities make the paint process a low risk event.

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Source: www.aviationpros.com

B-1B Lancers Upgraded

As part of the Sustainment-Block 16 program, Rockwell’s supersonic strategic bomber, B-1B Lancers are currently getting their most advanced hardware and software upgrades. The upgrades include a fully integrated data link in the station and vertical situation display in the front. Updates on the navigation, radar and diagnostic systems are also being done. The 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron Assistant Director, Major Thomas Bryant said that the following upgrades will give them an entirely new aircraft.

The crew station will now receive five new color displays all capable of providing moving maps and data link integration. While the weapon system officers will now have a full “QWERTY” keyboards and controllers to interface with the integrated battle station software.

The pilots will receive a new digital flight instrument display providing more precise flight parameters. The pilot and co-pilot stations each will start receiving a new 8-inch by 10-inch multi-function display installed in the crew station.

“Command and control assets will have the ability to send us targets electronically, automatically linking into our system rather than manually entering the coordinates” Bryant said. “The new data link capability is huge for the B-1B Lancer.”

These new situation displays provide independent interactive, moving maps and link information to the front station supplying them identical information available to the station. Developmental testing for the entire Sustainment-Block 16 package is scheduled to begin around March of 2013. The B-1B Lancers will then be tested and will start to operate in September of 2013.

The former Rockwell manufacturer, now part of Boeing, B-1 Lancer aircraft is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force (USAF). The B-1B Lancers started service on 1986 with the USAF Strategic Air Command as a nuclear bomber.

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Source: http://www.defencetalk.com

Boeing Delivers the 5th C-17 Globemaster III to UAE Air Force

Earlier this month, the Boeing was able to deliver the fifth C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force. The other four C-17s was already delivered  last 2011 and the UAE Air Force is waiting for one more airlifter later this year.

UAE Air Force is Boeing’s sixth C-17 international customer. The UAE Air Force received their first airlifter on May 10, 2011. Since then, the UAE Air Force and Air Defence C-17 had more than 2,000 flight hours and carried more than 3,000 passengers and about 4 million pounds of cargo.

“It’s amazing to see all that the UAE has accomplished with its fleet of C-17s in such a short time, including standing up a new base; qualifying three aircraft commanders and four mission-ready loadmasters; and conducting humanitarian aid and peacekeeping missions,” said Bob Ciesla, Boeing Airlift Vice President and C-17 Program Manager. “We’re proud to be a part of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence mission long after each C-17 is delivered. With a mission-capable rate above 90 percent, UAE C-17s are ready to save lives and deliver hope whenever they are needed.”

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is known as a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas in which later merged with the Boeing company. The C-17 is widely-used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases all over the world. The C-17 Globemaster III can also perform tactical airlift, medical evacuation and airdrop missions.

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Source: http://www.defencetalk.com

737 MAX engine undergoing modifications

Boeing is continuing to tweak the design of its coming 737 MAX, the update to its workhorse single-aisle jet due in 2017, and has decided to increase the crucial engine-fan diameter from 68 to 69 inches.

Boeing spokeswoman Lauren Penning said the change stemmed from wind-tunnel testing that was completed last week and continuing work with engine-maker CFM International, a joint venture between GE and Snecma of France.

Despite the size increase, the nose landing gear won’t need to be raised for ground clearance beyond the 8 inches previously announced, she said.

The size of the fan on the new jet has been a matter of contention because Airbus is able to offer a much bigger fan on the coming update to its rival single-aisle family, the A320neo.

A bigger fan produces more efficient propulsion. On the negative side, it also adds weight and drag. Engineers must come up with the optimal engine size to produce the greatest overall benefit to the airplane.

Penning said 69 inches is “looking like the best balance of weight, drag and performance.”

However, on fan size, Airbus insists that bigger is better. Its executives argue that Boeing simply can’t make the 737 MAX fan as big as it would like because the jet sits lower to the ground than the Airbus A320 and there isn’t enough clearance to fit a bigger fan.

On the MAX, Boeing is offering just one engine: CFM’s LEAP-1B.

Airbus is offering a choice between a variant of CFM’s LEAP with a 78-inch fan and a Pratt & Whitney geared engine with an 81-inch fan.

In April, Boeing announced a series of design changes to the MAX, including the 8-inch lift to the nose gear, a change in shape of the tail cone and the introduction of fly-by-wire spoilers on the wings. Then earlier this month, it revealed a new type of winglet for the MAX.

Some in the industry have speculated that, because of the ground-clearance limitation on fan size, Boeing is struggling to come up with a design that will match the fuel efficiency of the Airbus neo.

But in a note to clients Wednesday, Richard Safran, aerospace analyst with Buckingham Research Group, wrote that “the revised engine fan size has more to do with optimizing the engine than a means to overcome performance deficiencies.”

And Scott Hamilton, industry analyst with Leeham.net, said that with the MAX still five years away from entry into service, “Boeing is doing what it ought to be doing in trying to get every little advantage out of its redesign.”

The Boeing 737 MAX is a new family of aircraft being developed by Boeing. Avail world-class commercial airliner models from Showcase Models.

News source: seattletimes.nwsource.com

U.S. eyes V-22 aircraft sales to Israel, Canada, UAE

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. government is eyeing Israel, Canada and the United Arab Emirates as possible initial foreign buyers of the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by Boeing Co and Bell Helicopter, a top U.S. Marine Corps official told Reuters.

Lieutenant General Terry Robling, deputy Marine Corps commandant for aviation, said U.S. officials were continuing to drive down the cost of the aircraft and hoped to sell it to allies overseas to keep the production line running past 2018.

U.S. officials plan to show off the aircraft, which flies like an airplane but tilts its rotors to take off and land like helicopter, at the Farnborough Air Show outside London in July. It also made appearances at the Dubai and Singapore air shows in recent months, Robling told Reuters aboard a military aircraft after a Marine Corps event at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, and Boeing issued a news release in December after the Dubai air show, saying the aircraft had received “significant interest” from potential customers, but it did not identify them.

Boeing and Bell have been trying to generate foreign interest for years, but potential buyers were holding back to see how the plane did in combat, and because of the relatively high price of buying and operating the plane — both of which are now coming down.

Washington is increasingly looking to foreign military sales to keep the cost of weapons systems from rising as the Pentagon cuts its own orders to strip $487 billion from its planned defense budgets over the next decade.

Robling said Israel, Canada and the UAE had expressed interest in the aircraft, but had not received formal pricing and technical information for the Osprey.

The Marines will ask lawmakers to approve a five-year procurement plan for 91 aircraft that will run through fiscal 2017 — 24 less than initially planned for the period.

But the service still plans to buy those aircraft and has not changed its overall requirement, Robling said, although he acknowledged that postponing production resulted in more uncertainty given the current difficult budget environment.

Marine Corps Commandant James Amos this month told U.S. lawmakers that the Osprey, which can cruise at 290 miles an hour — twice the rate of military helicopters — has performed “exceedingly well” since being put into operation. He said it gives U.S. and coalition forces a “maneuver advantage and operational reach unmatched by any other tactical aircraft.”

 

-more at finance.yahoo.com

Singapore Sends RFI For 6 Aerial Refueling Tankers

Singapore has moved ahead with plans to order aerial refueling tankers to replace its Boeing KC-135Rs.

Industry sources say Singapore has issued a request for information (RFI) for six aerial refueling tankers. One of the sources says they anticipate a request for proposals (RFP) may be issued mid-year.

The Southeast Asian nation has four Boeing KC-135R aerial refueling tankers, the first of which the island nation received in late 1999. These aircraft are in fact A-model KC-135s that Boeing upgraded to R-model by re-engining the aircraft with new CFM International CFM-56 power-plants.

Industry sources say new aerial refueling tankers are a top priority for the Singapore Air Force, which has been complaining about the cost and difficulty involved in maintaining the KC-135R. This tanker is based on the Boeing 707 commercial platform.

One of the sources says the reason Singapore’s KC-135Rs may be difficult and costly to maintain is because Singapore’s KC-135Rs are a lower block standard than the U.S. Air Force’s.

At the Singapore Airshow (Feb. 14-19), Airbus Military had on display a U.K. Royal Air Force A330MRTT. Israel Aircraft Industries was also at the show promoting its 767 Multi-Mission Tanker Transport and Boeing was promoting its KC-46 aerial refueling tanker.

Boeing would ordinarily be the front-runner in the competition, because of Singapore’s close ties with the U.S., but the KC-46 is still in development. Boeing is already committed to deliver 18 KC-46As to the U.S. Air Force by 2017, leaving no early delivery slots for foreign customers. The earliest Boeing can delivery KC-46s to international customers is 2018. That may be too late for the Singaporeans.

-aviationweek.com

Classic Airplanes and Modern Jets Share the Spotlight

Airplanes enthusiasts in New Zealand are in for a treat! The Royal New Zealand Air Force will celebrate its 75^th anniversary with an airshow at Ohakea on the 31^st of March. Airplane models from the “Classics in the Sky” Tauraga air show will mix with the world’s top military aircraft where “modern world will meet history” in an exciting extravaganza.

A number of vintage aircraft from Tauraga City are expected to be displayed at the event. Classic Flyers director Andrew shared that preparations for the classic airplanes to attend the event are under way, but everything is still very dependent on the weather. However, he is looking forward that Boeing Stearman, Hawk Hunter, CT4 and Dragonfly will be at the airshow.

The Royal New Zealan Air Force will display their past, present and future aircraft. They will show their vintage airplane models like the Spitfire and Mustang. The Air Force will also showcase their newest acquisition like the A109 and NH90 helicopters plus the upgraded C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orions among other military aircraft. The Red Checkers, the aerobatic/precision flying team of the RNZAF will also demonstrate their expertise.

RNZAF Air Commodore Steve Moore says, “It’s the perfect way to celebrate the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s birthday.”

Air Forces from different nations will also participate in the event. The Royal Australian Air Force will send their F-18 fighter jet, which are very rare in New Zealand, and their C-130J Hercules and a Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft.

US Air Force will bring a C-17 Globemaster while the US Marines Corps will display the KC-130 Hercules air-to-air refuelling aircraft. The French Armed Forces of New Caledonia will have the CASA 235 twin-engine transport aircraft at the event while the Singapore Air Force will display one of their C-130.

Seeing the astounding display of modern and classic airplane models will be an incredible experience for every airplane afficionado.

source: http://www.sunlive.co.nz

JAL sees 787 delivery delay as Boeing tackles fresh glitch

(Reuters) – Flag carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) said on Tuesday it no longer expects its first Dreamliner from Boeing Co. by the end of February as a fresh manufacturing glitch is seen adding pressure to an already-tight 787 production timetable.

The Japanese carrier known as JAL, which has ordered 35 of Boeing’s advanced carbon composite aircraft, said it is now in talks with the aircraft builder for possible delivery in March.

“Negotiations are still ongoing” with Boeing, JAL spokeswoman Sze Hunn Yap said. JAL had expected four 787s by the end of March, but “with this development we are unsure.”

The world’s second-largest commercial plane-maker insists it can fix what it described as “incorrect shimming” in support structures in the aft fuselage of some planes and meet its goal to make 10 Dreamliners per month by the end of next year.

Shims are used to close tiny gaps in joints along the fuselage.

Some analysts, however, say the target was unrealistic to begin with and a new glitch will slow production more.

“We don’t know if this will impact production,” EarlyBirdCapital Managing Director Alex Hamilton said.

“But if you have to go back and correct something and possibly change production going forward, it seems to have a good chance, in our opinion.”

Hamilton, whose company does not own Boeing shares, is among many experts who doubted Boeing’s ability to hit its 787 production target.

The company makes 2.5 Dreamliners per month. It expects to boost monthly output to 3.5 in the second quarter, and five by the end of 2012.

PREMIER CUSTOMER

Much of that output is destined for Japan, where Boeing dominates its European rival Airbus with around a 90 percent market share.

In addition to the 35 jetliners destined for JAL, rival All Nippon Airways has ordered 55 787s and expects a further 20 to join its fleet by the end of March next year. The five aircraft now in service by ANA are operating as normal, a spokesman said.

ANA also said it was in talks with Boeing regarding future deliveries following the fuselage problem.

“We don’t see any big impact, but it might push things back two or three months,” spokesman Ryosei Nomura said.

Boeing’s Dreamliner is the world’s first commercial airplane made largely of lightweight carbon composites and entered service last year with ANA.

Boeing has taken 870 orders for the plane, which boasts greater fuel efficiency over rivals, but has been plagued by development and production delays, including a shortage of nuts and bolts in 2007, a 58-day labour strike in 2008 and a fire on a 787 test flight in 2010.

WAITING

For JAL, which entered bankruptcy in January 2010 and is slated to emerge with a new stock exchange listing this year after a government-led bailout, a further wait for new jets will stall plans for use on high turnover routes including to New Delhi, Moscow and Beijing in March, followed by Singapore and Boston later in the year.

Boeing said it is working to fix the problem.

“We have the issue well-defined and are making progress on the repair plan,” Boeing spokesman Scott Lefeber said on Sunday. “There is no short-term safety concern. Repairs, should they be needed, will be implemented in the most efficient manner possible.”

Lefeber declined on Monday to comment on how many airplanes are being inspected, saying only that Boeing was working its way through the production line. A report from Flightglobal said three airplanes were affected.

Lefeber said that, in some instances, Boeing had discovered signs of “delamination,” which occurs when repeated stress causes laminated composite materials to begin to separate.

The problem occurred in a part of the 787 fuselage made at a Boeing plant in South Carolina. Boeing purchased the plant in 2009 from Vought Aircraft Industries.

“We’ve already taken appropriate steps to address this issue there,” Lefeber said, referring to the South Carolina factory.

But one expert said the problem also raises questions about manufacturing practices at the South Carolina plant.

“This is strictly a production problem,” said Hans Weber, president of Tecop International, a technology management consultancy. “This is not a design problem. This is not even a production process problem. This is a problem of people improperly doing the assembly.”

JUST NOISE

Other analysts however said Boeing is likely to overcome its latest glitch quickly.

Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Virginia-based Teal Group, said problems related to the 787 are often magnified by the public because the plane incorporates new technology.

“There are people who are concerned about the use of composites. It’s a minority view,” Aboulafia said. “Delamination, of course, goes to the very heart of the risk associated with this particular technology – composite materials in primary structures.”

RBC Capital Markets analyst Rob Stallard said the shimming issue spoke to the integrity of the composites used in the 787, but he did not think it would disrupt the program.

“When you think of the big problems we’ve seen on the 787 over many, many years, this just looks like noise,” Stallard said. “I’m sure these things happen in development programs all the time.”

Airbus recently blamed a combination of manufacturing and design flaws for wing cracks on its A380 superjumbo. The company said it had found a simple remedy for the problem, easing concern among analysts.

 

-reuters.com

UK will Acquire Another C-17 Amidst Critism of Military Weakness

Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the United Kingdom will buy a another Boeing C-17 military plane to improve troops mobilization.

This will be Britain’s 8^th C-17 and Cameron said that it is an important investment for the country. The mission in Libya highlighted the importance of transport aircraft, especially in evacuating civilians.

This announcement by Cameron came at the heels of criticisms that military is weakening caused by wide-range budget cuts.

A Defence Committee report suggested that the UK would have a hard time in staging an operation similar to its Libya mission. Massive defense cuts can severely affect the military’s capabilities.

“The real test is whether the success of this mission was a one-off or whether the lessons it has highlighted mean that future such missions can be successfully undertaken, whilst maintaining the U.K.’s capability to protect its interests elsewhere,” said committee Chairman James Arbuthnot.

Britain participated in the NATO-led operation on Libya before the 8% budget cut on the military was implemented. The committee questions how can the military perform a similar operation in the future should the need arises. A limited budget would bring out great challenges to stage such mission.

The Defense Committee is also distressed future NATO Operation will rely heavily on the US Military to provide unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligence, and fueling aircraft.

“For the time being, there will continue to be a heavy reliance on U.S. command and control functions for future NATO operations,” the committee said. “It should be a priority for NATO to examine this over-reliance on U.S. capabilities and assets.”

The committee also observed that with the budget cuts, participating in NATO operations would cause the military to neglect other commitments. While it commends the Royal Navy for evacuating the civilians from Libya, it noted that this action hindered the navy to be able to provide escort and carry out counter-drug operations.

But Defense Secretary Phillip Hammond disagreed with the report. He said that the participation of the military in Libya highlighted the UK’s military power around the world. It is capable to performing its missions while keeping its commitments to other area of interest like in Afghanistan and the Gulf.

“We retain the capability to project power abroad and meet our NATO obligations, supported by what is the world’s fourth largest defense budget,” Hammond said.

source: http://www.cbsnews.com

7 More USN P-8A Aircraft Orders for Boeing

SEATTLE — Boeing on Nov. 3 received a $1.7 billion low-rate initial production (LRIP) award from the U.S. Navy for seven additional P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.

LRIP-II is the follow-on to an initial LRIP-I contract awarded in January to provide six Poseidon aircraft. Overall, the Navy plans to purchase 117 Boeing 737-based P-8A anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to replace its P-3 fleet.

As part of the contract, Boeing will provide aircrew and maintenance training for the Navy beginning in 2012, in addition to logistics support, spares, support equipment and tools. The training system will include a full-motion, full-visual Operational Flight Trainer that simulates the flight crew stations, and a Weapons Tactics Trainer for the mission crew stations.

“This contract is the result of the Boeing and Navy team’s hard work and commitment, and moves us a step closer to P-8A full-rate production,” said Chuck Dabundo, Boeing vice president and P-8 program manager. “We’ve assembled and flown the first LRIP plane and continue to focus on building P-8A aircraft on cost and on schedule.”

“LRIP-II brings the P-8A program one step closer to delivering the Poseidon to the fleet,” said Capt. Scott Dillon, P-8A deputy program manager for the Navy.

Boeing completed assembly of the first LRIP-I aircraft at its Renton, Wash., facility this summer. The aircraft subsequently completed a successful first flight July 7, 2011, from Renton Field to Boeing Field, which marked its transition from fabrication and assembly to mission system installation and checkout in Seattle.

The Poseidon team is using a first-in-industry in-line production process that draws on Boeing’s Next-Generation 737 production system. All P-8A-unique aircraft modifications are made in sequence during fabrication and assembly.

The team has built and is testing six flight-test and two ground-test aircraft under the U.S. Navy System Development and Demonstration contract awarded to Boeing in 2004. Four flight-test aircraft, T1, T2, T3 and T5, are conducting testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The program’s static test plane, S1, completed its test program in January. S2, the fatigue test plane, will begin testing next year. Initial operational capability is planned for 2013.

A derivative of the Next-Generation 737-800, the Poseidon is built by a Boeing-led industry team that includes CFM International, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Spirit AeroSystems, BAE Systems and GE Aviation.

 

-planenews.com