Pentagon restricts F-22 Raptor Flights

Due to the reported suffering in lack of oxygen of the F-22 Raptor pilots, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered the Air Force to restrict flights of its most advanced fighter jet, F-22, officials said last Tuesday, May 15, 2012. Some pilots complained of dizzy spells and blackouts but engineers have yet to figure out how to fix the problem.

The F-22 Raptor will no longer be conducting longer-range flights and would stay within the reach of their runaways to ensure the pilot could do an emergency landing, George Little, Pentagon’s Spokesman told the reporters. Under Panetta’s decision, “effective immediately, all F-22 flights will remain within the proximity of potential landing locations to enable quick recovery and landing when a pilot encounter another physiological conditions during flight.”

Panetta also advised the Air Force to assist their men in the installation of the back-up oxygen system in the F-22 planes and provide a monthly progress report on the efforts to control and fix the undiagnosed technical problem. Panetta’s officials said that the first back-up systems would be installed by December 2012.

Known as the most sophisticated fighter in the world, F-22 has yet to be deployed in  combat. According to the Air Force, the F-22 flies at a higher altitude than other jets, above 50,000 feet and relies solely on pressurized oxygen instead of a mixture of oxygen under pressure and air in the cockpit. The plane is also faster and more active than older jet fighters as the pilots face more gravitational forces than in other planes.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Boeing Defense, Space and Security, this stealth air superiority fighter possesses capabilities that include ground attack, electronic warfare and signals intelligence roles. According to the Air Chief Marshal, Angus Houston, former Chief of the Australian Defence Force, said in 2004 that the “F-22 will be the most outstanding fighter plane ever built.”

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News Source: defencetalk.com

Indonesia Finds SuperJet Black Box

An official stated that Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency has found the black box flight recorder from the Sukhoi Superjet 100 that crashed during a demonstration flight killing all 45 people on board.

The aircraft crashed on May 9 on the slopes of a dormant volcano about 40 miles (64 km) south of Jakarta.

Those on the flight included Indonesian businessmen, Russian embassy officials and journalists.

Wreckage was found a day later on a steep ridge of Mount Salak.

“The item found is the CVR, cockpit voice recorder. I have asked officers on the ground and rescuers to continue the search of FDR (flight data recorder) as well as the evacuation operation,” agency head Daryatmo told reporters near the crash site.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 was developed with Western design advice and technology from companies including Italy’s Finmeccanica, as well as avionics and engine equipment from French aerospace firms Thales and Safran.

The Superjet, with a capacity of up to 103 passengers, is already in service with Russia’s Aeroflot and Armenian carrier Armavia and is half way through a 15,500-km (9,630-mile), six-nation Asian tour to try to drum up more international customers.

The Superjet 100 aircraft is being marketed internationally in partnership with Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica.

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News Source: Aviationweek.com

Boeing 787 checks in at Sea-Tac

Workers conduct a gate check of Boeing flight-test 787 Dreamliner ZA005 at the south satellite of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday, May 14, 2012.
Photo: Courtesy Don Wilson/Port Of Seattle / SL

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner quietly slipped into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Monday to test the airport’s readiness to serve the new airliner.

All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the 787, announced in December that it will begin nonstop service from Narita airport to Seattle (and San Jose, Calif.) later this year. It will be the first U.S. service for an ANA 787.

Monday’s gate check tested all of the equipment that will serve the 787, including the jetway, electrical plug-ins and cargo loading, according to the airport’s Facebook page. The airplane spent about two hours at the airport.

One geeky note. The airplane that stopped at Sea-Tac — ZA005 — is one of two flight-test 787s with GEnx engines. ANA’s 787s have the other engine option, the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000.

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News source: seattlepi.com

Learjet 70 and 75 Unveiled

The long wait for Bombardier to move on a replacement for the Learjet 40XR and Learjet 45XR is over. The aircraft maker is launching the Learjet 70 and 75, both slated to enter service in second half 2013.

The new models will feature more thrust, improved takeoff performance, faster climb to cruise altitude, better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs. They will be powered by 3,850 lb. thrust Honeywell TFE731-40BR turbofans and have Bombardier’s signature Vision cockpit layout featuring Garmin G5000 avionics.

The Vision flight decks in the cockpit will feature three, 14-inch flat-panel displays, synthetic vision and graphic flight planning, along with split screen images, touch screen controllers and RNP 0.3 capabilities, plus LPV approach navigation and ADS-B OUT broadcasting. They’ll also provide pilots with cabin amenities, such as chrome and leather trim on seats and yokes.

The aircraft will be equipped with much improved winglets modeled after those being developed for the long-range Global 7000 and 8000.

The Learjet 70 and 75 will offer sportier performance than the Learjet 40XR and Learjet 45XR because they carry several hundred pounds less in avionics weight and are propelled by 700 lb. more thrust.

The increased thrust will shorten takeoff field lengths to less than 4,500 ft. Runway performance long has been a sore point with Learjet 40-series operators. The -40AR engines used on Gulfstream G150 are rated at 4,420 lb. thrust to ISA+13C, thus the 3,850 lb. thrust -40BRs will have generous flat-rating margins for hot-and-high airport performance.

The new aircraft will climb directly to 45,000 and, once there, burn 4-5% less fuel than the aircraft they will replace because of the new winglets. (The -40BR engines have the same high altitude cruise thrust output and thrust specific fuel consumption as the -20BR turbofans on today’s Learjets).

Both aircraft will be able to carry at least 200 lb. more payload with maximum fuel and will be able to fly about 2,000 nm at long range cruise.

The aircraft will have extended and harmonized maintenance schedules, with 600 hour or 18 month inspection intervals. Reduced fuel consumption and less frequent shop visits should reduce operating costs.

The new aircraft will use the same high definition cabin management system, produced by Lufthansa Technik, on the Learjet 85. Restyled interiors will offer greater comfort and utility, such as PDA storage pockets in the side rails, 7-inch pop-up touchscreen control panels, a 12-inch bulkhead-mounted flat-panel monitor and improved chair comfort and better space utilization. The cabin management system (CMS) has a flexible design allowing for expected growth in digital audio and visual equipment technology. The entire side trim panels will function as speakers.

Flight Test Vehicles 1 and 2, a Learjet 45XR and 40XR, have been flying with G5000 avionics for nearly two years. The new CMS and interior will be installed in FTV3. FTV4, fitted with -40BR engines and redesigned winglets, is slated to make its first flight later this year. Honeywell expects -40BR certification by year’s end. FTV5, a fully-equipped Learjet 75, will be used for function and reliability proving flights.

The $11.1-million Learjet 70 will be certified slightly after the $13.5-million Learjet 75. Bombardier claims to have more than 40 purchase agreements and letters of intent for the two models.

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News source: aviationweek.com

KC-135, C-5 Engine Water-Wash Test Could Lead to Fuel Savings

Select KC-135 and C-5 engines are getting a good scrub, which could lead to future fuel and maintenance hour savings. Subcontractors have washed more than 340 out of 650 F108 and TF39 engines using atomized water in an Air Force Materiel Command-run test program.

“We’re hoping for not only fuel efficiency benefits, but cleaner engines should also help from a maintenance perspective,” said Lt. Col. Jason Avram, AMC engineer.

So far, engine performance test data is positive, said Maj. Adam Langborgh, the AFMC water-wash program manager.The potential savings of routinely water-washing air mobility aircraft is significant due to the high altitudes and extended missions that the large aircraft fly, Langborgh said.

Atomized water washing began on C-17 engines with positive results, which spurred the current testing, Langborgh said. Due to the early success of the KC-135 and C-5 aircraft water wash progam, the Air Force will also evaluate the TF-33 engine.

Engine water wash is not a new concept for the Air Force. Currently, if a KC-135 flies near salt water, its engines get washed with regular water in order to prevent corrosion, said Master Sgt. Chad Barnes, AMC engine manager.The atomized water wash targets not only the turbine fans but the engine core. A similar engine core wash was tested in the past using a solvent; but disposal of the solvent-infused water could present environmental concerns, Langborgh said.

Source: ASDNews

UAV Sense-And-Avoid Systems Would Have Avoided Collision

A ground-based sense-and-avoid system being prototyped by the U.S. Army would have prevented the mid-air collision of a C-130 Hercules airlifter with RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aircraft at a forward operation base in eastern Afghanistan on Aug. 15, a service official says.

“Had we been operational with GBSAA [ground-based sense and avoid] we would have completely averted the incident,” says Tim Owings, deputy project manager for Army unmanned aircraft systems.

But a software glitch and the recent FAA furlough have delayed Army plans to test the radar-based GBSAA prototype installed at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ El Mirage, Calif., training center for the service’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAV.

The system uses ground radars at three airports to detect and track aircraft entering a surveillance volume centered on El Mirage when Gray Eagles are transiting through civil airspace to and from nearby restricted airspace used for training.

The first three night-training flights using GBSAA were conducted in April, but a software anomaly on the third flight forced a halt to testing. The glitch has been fixed, but a post-furlough backlog at FAA has prevented tests from resuming, says Mary Ottman, deputy product director for UAV airspace integration.

With 11 hr. of testing complete, another 28 hr. of FAA-monitored testing must be performed before the system can be approved for operational use. This requires the presence of three FAA personnel at El Mirage and is a “big commitment” for the agency, Ottman says, as it works to recover from the furlough.

Investigation showed the radar system was tracking all aircraft as planned, but a program that generates a simulated track to test the system produced an incompatible message. The Army has approved revised software following regression testing using a manned aircraft.

“We began meeting with the FAA in July, and planned to return to flight in August, but then the FAA furlough hit,” Ottman says. Dialogue has resumed since the FAA returned to work, but she does not have a date for a return to flight for the GBSAA at El Mirage.

FAA is working through a backlog of applications for certificates of authorization to operate unmanned aircraft in national airspace that were delayed by the furlough “and we are not the highest priority,” she says.

The C-130 landed safety after the collision with the RQ-7 in Afghanistan, and is repairable in the field, but the incident underlines that “even with procedural controls there is a need for active deconfliction,” Owings says.

Investigation is under way, but “the [Shadow] was where it was supposed to be, doing what it was supposed to,” says Col. Robert Sova, UAV capabilities manager at Army Training and Doctrine Command.

The Shadow was in a holding pattern 4,500 ft. off the end of the runway, where it had been directed by air traffic control, when the C-130 “flew right through,” Owings says. “The manned aircraft did not do what it was procedurally supposed to, nor were they where they thought they were,” Sova says.

 

-aviationweek.com

Russian Transaero signs MOU for eight A320neos

Transaero Airlines confirmed Tuesday it signed an MOU with Airbus for eight A320neos, plus four options, making it the first Russian carrier to commit to the re-engined narrowbody aircraft.

The airline told ATW it hopes to firm the MOU within 60 days; it is slated to take delivery of its first A320neo in 2017. It did not announce an engine selection between CFM International’s Leap-X and Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G.

“It was very important for Transaero Airlines to become the first A320neo customer in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe,” said CEO Olga Pleshakova. “The operation of these newest, very efficient aircraft will allow us to create optimal conditions for passengers on the expanding network of domestic and international destinations.”

Russia’s second-largest carrier historically is a loyal Boeing customer and currently operates 65 aircraft, comprising 17 747s, eight 777s, 13 767s, 24 737s and three Tupolev 214s. It did operate an Airbus A310 from 2000-2002.

 

-atwonline.com

South Korea: F-35 could meet F-X Phase 3 program deadline

The South Korean air force rates all of the Western competitors for its F-X Phase 3 fighter program, including the F-35 Lightning, as capable of meeting the in-service date of 2016, an assessment that appears to raise the chances of the Lockheed Martin aircraft.

The air force does not express the same view on the fourth and most recent competitor for the planned 60-aircraft order, the Sukhoi PAK FA.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is in service and can therefore meet the schedule, the air force says in an unpublished briefing paper. And although it notes that the F-35 and the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle are not fully developed, the air force says they can be ready in time.

That judgment is less important for the F-15SE than for the F-35. The Boeing fighter would be modified for the SE version mainly by introducing fly-by-wire flight controls, adapting its conformal fuel tanks to house weapon bays and by canting the tail fins with a straightforward structural change—objectives that should be achievable well before 2016.

But for the Lightning the air force’s assessment seems to sweep aside concerns that, while the stealth fighter is especially well suited to the air-to-ground part of the F-X Phase 3 requirement, its repeatedly delayed development schedule has become uncomfortably tight for South Korea’s needs.

The U.S. Air Force does not expect its F-35As to be operational until 2018. Its definition of initial operational capability is more demanding than South Korea’s, but the U.S. schedule offers little reassurance for potential buyers that would need the aircraft earlier.

Even if the South Korean air force’s assessment is not realistic, the expression of that view at least means that the service is willing to proceed as if the F-35 complies fully with its requirements. And if the air force is bending the rules for the F-35, then it seems to be showing a preference for it.

On the other hand, the F-X Phase 3 program could be delayed, giving more time for Lockheed Martin to meet the schedule. The company has said it could deliver aircraft to South Korea in 2016—but that is not the same as establishing an operational capability.

In the briefing paper, the air force is silent on the question of whether the PAK FA would be ready in time. The failure to endorse the Russian fighter’s schedule can only raise concerns that the aircraft, a late entry into the race, is regarded as only a stalking horse for the Western fighters.

 

-aviationweek.com

Thai Airways Finalizes A350, A320 Orders

Thai Airways has finalized its deal with Airbus for A320 narrowbodies and A350 widebodies purchases.

The deal, first announced in June, sees Thai buying four A350-900s and five A320s, as well as agreeing to lease eight A350-900s and six A320s. The latter are already in the Airbus orderbook.

Thai is due to receive its first A350-900 in 2016, with the first owned A320 coming in 2014. The first leased A320 is due next year.

At the time it announced the first commitment to the Airbus A320 and A350, Thai Airways also announced plans to buy six 777-300ERs and lease eight 787s.

All the leases are for 12 year terms.

Thai is still considering additional fleet purchases for a total of 38 aircraft for delivery between 2018-2022.

 

-aviationweek.com

Engineer sucked into C-130 plane engine

New Zealand — A long time engineer was sucked to death by a C-130 Hercules plane engine while doing a routine maintenance check early Monday morning.

51-year-old Miles Hunter was working on a C-130 Hercules jet turbo prop engine at Woodbourne airbase, Blenheim, New Zealand.

The C-130 engine was not attached to an airplane, but was on a stand when the accident took place.

Hunter had been working for Safe Air Ltd which is owned by Air New Zealand.

Chief executive of Air New Zealand Rob Fyfe says that officials are at a “complete loss” as how the incident occurred.

“It was a very routine procedure with very experienced people involved,” Fyfe said.

Aviation experts described the accident as a ‘one in a million’ occurrence. The fatality is said to be the first for the airline. In a similar accident, a US Navy serviceman survived after being sucked into a jet engine on an aircraft carrier in 1991.

 

-sg.news.yahoo.com

-blippitt.com