|
News -- Nov-Dec 2007
Boeing opens Oz office 5 December
Boeing: Boeing, through its Integrated Defense Systems Industrial Participation organization, has opened a new office in Seattle, Washington, to help increase business opportunities for Australian companies.
The Office of Australian Industry Capability (OAIC) at Boeing will work closely with the Australian Department of Defence and Australian industry to identify bid opportunities for Australian aerospace companies within Boeing's major commercial and defence programs, as well as key supplier partners.
"The establishment of the OAIC is in direct response to the Commonwealth's new Defence and Industry policy statement," said Joel Gray, Australia/New Zealand Industrial Participation manager for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "We expect the OAIC to develop opportunities for Australian industry as well as bring value to our global customers. We are pleased to continue our commitment to Australia and its industry by being the first U.S. prime contractor to establish such an office."
More
China orders US$14.8bn-worth of jets 4 December
China Daily: Airbus said it signed contracts Monday to sell 160 commercial passenger jets to China in a deal worth around US$14.8 billion.
The order includes 110 of the European company's A320 jets and 50 of the slightly larger A330 planes, Airbus officials said in Beijing, where they were accompanying French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his first state visit to China.
More
Plus…
Airbus: Airbus has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to formalise the commitment of allocating five per cent of the A350XWB airframe to the Chinese aviation industry.
The MOU was signed by Chen Deming, Vice Minister of NDRC, and Fabrice Bregier, Chief Operating Officer of Airbus, at the Great Hall of the People in the presence of Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
According to [another] HOA between Airbus and AVIC II, a joint venture manufacturing centre is to be established in Harbin by Airbus and Harfei Aviation Industry Company Ltd, a subsidiary of AVIC II, to produce composite material parts and components for Airbus A350XWB.
More
Plane rego survey
CASA: Aircraft registration holders will soon be asked to confirm their aircraft's registration details as part of a new CASA survey. The survey will begin in early December and will target aircraft owners on their third anniversary of being recorded as registration holder of their aircraft. CASA is conducting the survey to make sure aircraft registration details are accurate and up-to-date. This is vital so that airworthiness directives and other safety-critical information is sent to the right people.
In December CASA will begin mailing out survey forms asking registration holders to confirm the details CASA holds are correct.
This will include checking information such as aircraft ownership, manufacturer, model and serial number - as well as checking contact details. Registration holders will have 28 days to tell CASA if the details are accurate or need amending. It is a regulatory requirement for registration holders to reply to the survey and it will be quick and easy to complete. Registration holders will have the option of mailing, faxing or emailing their completed survey forms.
CASA
Cirrus Gen-3 launched 3 December
Cirrus Design has launched what it calls the generation three SR20 line, which boasts some significant upgrades.
The US company claims, “With the Generation Three SR20, we've designed a plane that will satisfy beginning students, experienced pilots looking for personal transportation, and flight training centers wanting to expand their operation.” Prices start at US$277,000.
More at Cirrus
New English standards for pilots
CASA: Australia is moving to adopt international language standards for pilots and air traffic controllers to ensure all communication in the air is clear and accurate.
Proposed new rules issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority set out English language proficiency standards.
Existing holders of Australian flight crew licenses who fly domestically within Australia do not need to take any action.
However, holders of Australian flight crew licenses who fly internationally will need to obtain at least a level four English language proficiency…It is proposed that all flight crew applying for a private pilots licence or above from 5 March, 2008, will need to obtain at least a level four proficiency in English.
People applying for a student pilot licence will need to prove their general English proficiency under the proposed requirements.
More
Dassault hunts low-cost countries
Forbes: French aerospace group Dassault Aviation is to shift some of its production out of France to regions with lower costs or which use the dollar as currency, chairman and chief executive Charles Edelstenne said.
'We are in the process of preparing measures to adapt the group to the new situation created by the latest slides in the dollar,' he told Le Monde in an interview published yesterday.
More
Cessna Skycatcher to build outside USA -- 850 ordered 26 November
Cessna Aircraft Co plans to announce next week where its new light sport aircraft will be manufactured.
One place it likely won't be is the United States.
To offer the new plane, called the Model 162 SkyCatcher, at a competitive price, "a major part of that content has to be built someplace else," said Jack Pelton, Cessna's chief executive.
Cessna spokesman Bob Stangarone said company officials traveled to Argentina, Australia, China, the Czech Republic, India and Poland to search for a place to build the plane.
Wichita Eagle
Simulator sales rocket
New Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) training standards recently adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are causing an explosion in flight simulator sales as training organizations and airlines rush to implement the simulator-heavy training regimen.
AvWeb
China looks to the Moon
AP: China displayed the first image of the moon captured by its Chang-e 1 lunar probe at a gala ceremony Monday, marking the formal start of the satellite's mission to document the lunar landscape.
Unveiling the image at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, Premier Wen Jiabao hailed it as a major step in "the Chinese race's 1000-year-old dream" of exploring the moon.
More
India an opportunity for Australia
Australian companies from New South Wales (NSW) can benefit from the booming USD 150 billion development of the aviation industry in India, according to John O' Neill, Executive Director and General Manager, Tourism NSW. He said that the opportunities presented by this important trading partner for NSW were very real, and on a scale unlike no other. As per a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) report, opportunities for NSW companies due to the growth of Indian aviation were discussed between Morris Iemma, Premier, NWS and Praful Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation, India, recently in New Delhi. Patel briefed Iemma on the plans for developing new airports across the country and the subsequent need for more skilled manpower in the industry. He added that these requirements will present an excellent opportunity for NSW-based educational institutes.
TravelBizMonitor
Aviation headlines 21 November
The Age: Two Australian pilots have been rescued after gunmen hijacked their plane and stole a huge cash shipment, leaving them handcuffed to a tree in a mangrove swamp in Papua New Guinea.
More
ABC: Regional carrier O'Connor Airlines has been put in voluntary administration at the request of the company's directors.
More
Sydney Morning Herald: Tiger Airways is expected to be given the all-clear to start domestic flights this Friday, with the airline set to receive its Air Operators Certificate tomorrow morning.
More
The Australian: Jetstar will today offer 5c airfares and will consider allowing passengers to fly for free as the battle of the low-cost carriers heats up.
More
Reuters: African states should harmonise their aviation regulations to attract financing needed by the continent's carriers to compete in the global market, Nigeria's state minister for air transport said Tuesday.
More
The Australian: A Macquarie consortium has agreed to buy a 45 per cent stake in Universal Weather & Aviation, a US provider of worldwide private jet support services.
More
Tandem airship aims for 140,000ft 20 November
JP Aerospace in the US is developing a series of micro tandem airships, with the eventual aim of producing a platform for reconnaissance and UAV deployment.
A recent launch reached 80,000 feet, but the target is 140,000.
The eventual aim is to have something light and simple which can be manouvred by remote control thanks to a set of electric fans.
JP Aerospace
Carburetor line gets a reprieve
You may recall our story from earlier this month, which gave the worrying news that Precision Airmotive was to shut production of its widely-used carburetors because, it said, of skyrocketing insurance premiums.
The company’s line now looks as though it will be taken over by Aero Accessories.
Here is the announcement:
A group including Tim Henderson, president of Aero Accessories, and others involved in the manufacture of the Tempest brand of general aviation products and Precision Airmotive have reached a tentative agreement to acquire Precision’s MSA line of carburetors and spare parts. The details of the agreement remain undisclosed, however the production line will be moved to a North Carolina headquarters and manufacturing facility. The acquisition and move are scheduled to be completed by Jan. 31, 2008.
The Henderson Group’s immediate plans for the product line will be to continue to produce the carburetors and parts as Precision has in the past. The long term strategy will be to integrate the product line into the engineering and research & development programs that have inspired industry leading product and safety improvements to current Tempest pneumatic and filtration products. The carburetor products will be sold under the popular “Tempest” brand name.
“We believe this to be an opportunity that meets a need in the general aviation industry” stated Aero’s President Tim Henderson.
Piper Matrix gets green light 18 November
Piper's new six-seater Matrix, based ion the Mirage, has been given US FAA approval.
The company reports: “The Piper Matrix was certified on schedule with terrific support from the FAA,” said Piper President and CEO James K Bass. “Moreover, since we introduced the Matrix, customers have responded enthusiastically. To date, we have pre-sold our first-year production and have more than 100 contracted orders for the Matrix.”
Matrix site
930 jets needed for Germany
Boeing says Germany will require 930 new heavy jets over the next 20 years. Single-aisle airplanes will dominate deliveries, with carriers requiring 620 single-aisle jetliners valued at approximately $43 billion.
Additionally, German airlines will need 170 twin-aisle airplanes valued at $34 billion. In terms of dollar value, this segment will make up nearly 40 percent of the total volume.
German airlines will also require approximately 70 airplanes the size of the 747 or larger, at a value of $20 billion.
"Single-aisle and twin-aisle airplanes seating 100 passengers or more account for 85 percent of the future market demand in units and 78 percent in terms of value in Germany," said Drew Magill, director, Marketing, for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "These airplanes will serve the growing demand for nonstop flights, connecting an increasing number of city pairs.
More
Plus…
Boeing's Tour Centre welcomed its three-millionth visitor 12 November. The centre is part of the Future of Flight Aviation Center, which is billed as a unique learning and interpretive facility designed to let visitors experience the marvel of commercial jet aviation and production. It claims to be one of Washington state's most-often-visited tourist attractions.
More
Good Dubai show for Airbus
Airbus ended the 10th Dubai Airshow with 163 firm orders valued at US over $28 billion at catalogue prices, from 10 customers. Airbus also won its largest ever order in terms of value for 70 A350 XWBs and 11 A380s from Emirates Airline. In addition, it received 132 commitments from four customers.
Demand for the A350 XWB was very strong with a total of 80 firm orders from two customers. In addition to the Emirates order for 70 aircraft, Airbus received a firm contract from Yemenia for ten A350s. In addition Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Capital (DAE-Capital) committed to acquire 30 A350s, while C Jet Limited of Hong Kong became the first customer for the VIP version of the plane, the A350XWB Prestige. Total firm orders for the type now stand at 276 from 11 customers.
More
Also sold – a flying palace
The pic above shows HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud as he signs a firm order with Airbus for an A380 Flying Palace at the Dubai Air Show. Prince Alwaleed, Chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company, is the first customer for the VIP version of the double-deck airliner. The corporate blurb claims: [This confirms] Airbus' success in the corporate jet market with a presence that extends from its smallest aircraft, the A318 Elite, to its largest, the A380. Sales of the Airbus Corporate Jetliner Family recently passed the 100 order milestone with over 40 already in widespread VIP and government service around the world.
Mid-east shifting the centre of gravity?
The Australian: Middle East airlines are shifting the centre of gravity of world aviation.
And when the industry turns down, they will be the big winners.
More
Cessna sells turbo-diesel Skyhawks
Sales of Cessna’s recently-announced diesel Skyhark series got a boost at the Dubai Airshow with an order for 10 from Ehiopian Air and African Airlines.
More at Cessna
Osprey wins award
Bell Boeing’s quirky Osprey has won a major award.
The company says: Calling the Bell Boeing V-22 a “two-in-one marvel,” Popular Science has named the Osprey to its list of “The Best of What’s New” for 2007.
Now in service with the US Marine Corps and Air Force Special Operations Command, the V-22 is a tiltrotor aircraft with engine nacelles at the tips of both wings. With the nacelles in the vertical position it can take-off, hover and land like a helicopter. With the engine nacelles in the horizontal or forward position it can fly more than 300mph with the long range of a fixed wing turboprop airplane.
Osprey home
Helo airbag project struggles on
Defense News: Rallying from the collapse of a US-funded partnership that took years to put in place, Israel’s Rafael is forging ahead with self-funded testing of a unique troop transport protection system that uses airbags to cushion crash landings.
More
Eurocopter completes McAlpine take-over
Eurocopter has completed its take-over of McAlpine Helicopters in the UK.
The company says: Lutz Bertling, CEO of Eurocopter, stated, "We are proud to add a company as reputable and qualified as McAlpine Helicopters to our international network of currently 17 subsidiaries. The British Isles are one of our major markets in Europe and worldwide. By consolidating our resources and strength with McAlpine’s proven capabilities, we will be able to further extend our service and support to our civil and military customers in the UK and Ireland. It is our strategy to be a multi-local player with a worldwide exclusive sales and customer service network mainly through fully-owned subsidiaries, of which our new Eurocopter UK Limited has now become an integral part."
More
Sikorskys to China
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp says China Southern Airlines Company's Zhuhai Helicopter Branch has contracted for additional helicopters (2 x S76C and 1 x S92A) to support offshore oil projects in the South China Sea and Bohai Bay in China.
Sikorsky
Qantas announces expansion plans
Qantas today announced that it would acquire up to 188 narrow body aircraft to support the further growth of its two brands, Qantas and Jetstar, in Australia and Asia.
The aircraft will be used to defend a minimum 65 percent Group share of the Australian domestic market and to expand low cost services to South East Asia.
The plan will involve Jetstar opening new regional aviation bases in both Darwin and Perth over the next two years to serve fast growing Asian markets.
Qantas Chief Executive Mr Geoff Dixon said the aircraft would be principally B737-800s, which were Qantas’ main narrowbody aircraft, and A320s, which were the core aircraft in Jetstar’s short haul fleet.
“The order also includes larger A321 aircraft, which will have up to 213 seats compared with 177 on an A320 in a Jetstar single-class configuration,” he said.
“The first aircraft to arrive in February next year will be an A321 and we expect to take at least 17 of those aircraft to expand Jetstar’s opportunities in its fastest growing markets.”
The Group will acquire:
• 68 A320/A321 aircraft, plus 40 options and purchase rights; and
• 31 B737-800 aircraft and 49 options and purchase rights.
Qantas statement
And Jetstar…
Jetstar will significantly expand its narrow body operations on domestic and short haul international routes, with the first time introduction of Airbus A321s*, forming part of today’s major announcement by the Qantas Group.
Configured for up to 213 passengers in single class, the first A321s to complement future deliveries of A320 aircraft into Jetstar will enter service from March 2008*.
To support the further expansion of Jetstar an order of up to 108 aircraft including 68 A320 / A321 aircraft plus 40 options and purchase rights for the value based carrier is to proceed.
Included is a provisional order of 17 A321s for Jetstar.
Jetstar has an existing fleet of 23 A320s and has previously announced an additional 9 A320s for its Australian domestic operations to enter service between December 2007 and March 2009, initially including additional services to the Gold Coast, Darwin and Newcastle.
More
P38 found 65 years after crash
News.com: Sixty-five years after it ran out of fuel and crash-landed on a beach in Wales, an American P-38 fighter plane has emerged from the surf and sand where it lay buried - a World War II relic long forgotten by the US government and unknown to the British public.
More
Get the lead out – Friends of the Earth
Environmental group Friends of the Earth has demanded that general aviation in the USA switch over to unleaded fuel. The EPA has responded by asking for public comment by 18 March.
EPA notice
Speaking of environment…
IATA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged the European Union to get its priorities in the right order and focus on practical steps to help reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions. IATA’s statement followed Tuesday's vote in the European Parliament on including aviation in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
“Climate change is a serious problem and hypocrisy is not the answer. We could be saving 12 million tonnes of CO2 annually with an effective Single European Sky. Instead of making that a reality, Europe is single-mindedly pursuing a political agenda of emissions trading that does nothing to improve environmental performance. I don’t see the European Parliament planting many trees, but somehow they have got lost in the woods,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
“With fuel making up 28% of operating costs, airlines have a US$132 billion economic incentive to reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions. We are 2 percent of global CO2 emissions and we have a clear strategy to address this. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutral growth leading to a carbon-free future. This sets a benchmark on environmental performance for other industries to follow,” said Bisignani.
More
ASIC renewals
Just a reminder that a lot of first-gen ASICs are now coming up for renewal. Cost is $186 and you need to go through all the documentation all over again.
More info at CASA
Flightwatch bunfight under review
A dispute between Airservices and well-known aviator Dick Smith has led to an exrternal review of plans to change the operation of Flightwatch.
See these links for further reading:
1. Airservices media release; 2. Flightwatch page at Dick Smith’s site
Improved techniques given scientific proof
Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed a method of simulating aircraft crashes form the past with modern technology to prove if the latter enhances safety.
Apparently it does.
The uni says: On Wednesday 21 November, these improved techniques will be demonstrated to the general public at TU Delft. A number of realistic accident scenarios will be taken as examples, including the Bijlmer crash (Ed: El AL, Amsterdam, 1992). These will be reconstructed using TU Delft’s Simona flight simulator, but this time also using the newly-developed control techniques. Simulator experiments have shown that the new techniques make it easier for the pilot to land seriously-damaged aircraft safely.
More
Too much Bull for flying champs 5 November
Confusion briefly reigned at the final day of the final round of the Red Bull Air Race series, in Perth on Sunday.
Briton Paul Bonhomme (above left) and American Mike Mangold (above right) were desperately close in the overall championship. Neither made the final heat in the new (for 2007) knockout race formula and who won depended on a complex count-back, plus Mangold’s own performance in a consolation final.
Mangold flew well and just scraped through to score his second championship.
The knockout formula has been unpopular with pilots, who preferred a simple race against the clock. However series organisers believe a knockout adds excitement for spectators.
American Michael Goulian (pictured below) and Frenchman Nicolas Ivanoff fought it out for the final, with the latter managing a quick and mistake-free run to take the round in a new Extra 300SR, which has only been developed over the last few rounds.
Red Bull link
Rex to train at Mangalore
Rex is to begin training pilots at Mangalore (Vic) as part of its recently-announced plan to create its own pool of crew as a world shortage looms on the horizon.
A new facility is being built, as part of a joint venture between Mangalore, Rex and Moorabbin Flying Services. It will be called the Civil Aviation Training Academy.
Its first batch of 20 students is expected to start on 10 December this year.
Giving details of the training, Jim Davis, Rex Chief of Staff, said, "Under our intensive live-in training program, we expect the students to graduate with a Commercial Pilot Licence, a Multi Engine Rating and a Command Instrument Rating within 32 weeks. CATA has purchased an initial batch of five new Piper Warrior III aircraft with state of the art glass cockpits for the first training course, as well as a new twin-engine Piper Seminole for multi-engine and Instrument training.
“The Academy intends to accept up to 80 pilots in the first year but has plans to grow the intake to 350 a year by the third or fourth year of operations. We intend to be the premier institute for training professional pilots in Australia.
"The first few intakes of students will be reserved for the cadets recruited under the Rex Pilot Cadet scheme announced earlier, after which the Academy will accept private students as well as those sent from other airlines both locally and internationally. The total cost of training, including full board and lodging, is expected to be priced at around $80,000 per student.
“We are currently in the process of reviewing approximately 700 applicants Rex has received so far and we will select an initial 20 for our inaugural cadet course. This will be followed three months later by our second batch of 20 cadets. Upon successful completion of the training, the cadets will go through two months of ground school and simulator training with Rex before taking up the appointment of First Officer flying in the right hand seat for our company," said Davis.
Mangalore Airport
Eclipse adopts on-board monitoring
Eclipse Aviation has received approval to run a comprehensive on-board data-gathering program, covering usage and performance, across its 500 series jets in an effort anticipate potential safety problems.
The idea is used at the upper echelons of commercial flying, but this will be the first time it has been deployed for very light jets.
Eclipse link
Carb maker falls victim to insurance woes
American carburettor maker Precision Airmotive has decided to drop manufacturing its widely-used float carb line because it cannot get liability insurance.
Here is the text of the letter being sent to its customers:
Precision Airmotive LLC has discontinued sales of all float carburetors
and component parts as of November 1, 2007.
This unfortunate situation
is a result of our inability to obtain products liability insurance for
the product line.
Precision Airmotive LLC and its 43 employees
currently manufacture and support the float carburetors used in nearly
all carbureted general aviation aircraft flying today.
Precision has
been the manufacturer of these carburetors since 1990. These
FAA-approved carburetors were designed as early as the 1930s and
continue to fly over a million flight hours a year. After decades of
service, the reliability of these carburetors speaks for itself.
Nonetheless, Precision has seen its liability insurance premiums rise
dramatically, to the point that the premium now exceeds the total sales
dollars for this entire product line.
In the past, we have absorbed
that cost, with the hope that the aviation industry as a whole would be
able to help address this issue faced by Precision Airmotive, as well as
many other small aviation companies.
Our efforts have been unsuccessful.
This year, despite the decades of reliable service and despite the
design approval by the FAA, Precision Airmotive has been unable to
obtain products liability insurance for the carburetor product line.
While we firmly believe that the product is safe, as does the FAA, and
well supported by dedicated people both at Precision and at our
independent product support centers, unfortunately the litigation costs
for defending the carburetor in court are unsustainable for a small
business such as Precision.
Therefore, as of 1 November, 2007, Precision Airmotive LLC has been left
with no choice but to cease production and support of its float
carburetor product line.
We are working with the engine manufacturers and others in the industry
in an attempt to minimize the impact on general aviation and to provide
future support for this product line.
There is a substantial quantity
of parts and carburetors stocked at our distributors which should be
sufficient to support the industry for a short time.
Precision Airmotive
Robinson R66 breaks cover
A prototype of Robinson Helicopters’ new model, the R66, has been revealed with this picture on the marque’s owner site.
The machine will run a Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft powerplant with, as the designation suggests, 300 horsepower.
Seating is expected to be a 2/3 configuration and the machine looks as though it is running a substantially taller main rotor tower than the R44 it grew from.
Owners website
US Air Force re-opens huge helo contract
The US Air Force has invited new tenders for a $15 billion contract to supply 141 combat search and rescue helicopters, originally awarded to Boeing late last year.
The move came after vociferous protests from Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and United Technologies over the clarity of the original process.
Boeing was to supply an upgraded variant of the Chinook.
More: Star Telegram
Lycoming loses appeal
Lycoming has lost much of its appeal against a 2005 court decision, which saw it lose a case against a crankshaft supplier.
The dispute was over engine failures which were tied to a number of deaths. The crankshaft maker, Interstate, was blamed by Lycoming for the problem.
However Interstate won a judgement which tracked the problem back to Lycoming’s own design.
See this CNN link
Seeker on video
Local aircraft maker Seeker has just added a video expounding the virtues of its unique aircraft to its website. It’s worth a look via this link.
Want a start as a builder?
If you’re of school-leaving age or there-about, you might be interested to learn that Aeropup in Victor Harbor (SA) has an apprenticeship open for an airframe fabricator and welder. Contact John Cotton on 0427 347 840, or see Aeropup.com.
True Flight for Grumman Tiger
A company called True Flight Aviation says it is to complete a new manufacturing plant in Geirgia, USA, where it will build the Grumman Tiger AG-5B under licence.
This is after an earlier false start by another American company, called Tiger Aircraft.
Grumman Tiger at Wikipedia
Wanted: amateur & experimental
A special survey is being conducted to collect information about amateur-built and experimental aircraft. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is asking people who own aircraft in these categories to participate. It says this is the first time in Australia that data has been systematically collected from the growing amateur-built and experimental segment of general aviation.
An ATSB statement says: "This survey was developed with the assistance of members of the ABE aircraft community and we thank them for helping us to construct this simple but informative survey. In the coming months, the ATSB will collate the survey responses and using other data held by the Bureau, build a picture of the health of ABE aircraft in Australia. The survey will only take about ten minutes to complete."
Survey link
 Return
to top
See
our archives for earlier news
Use this tool to search our
site or the web.
|
