jueves, 17 de septiembre de 2009

Airbus prevé una demanda de cerca de 25.000 aviones en los próximos 20 años

http://www.eads-nv.com/1024/es/pressdb/pressdb/20090917_airbus_forecast.html

Demanda de aviones más grandes y eco-eficientes

Blagnac, 17 de Septiembre de 2009

Alrededor de 25.000 nuevos aviones de pasajeros y carga, valorados en
3.1 billones de dólares, serán entregados entre 2009 y 2028, según la
última Previsión Global del Mercado de Airbus. Las economías
emergentes, la evolución de las redes de las líneas aéreas, la
expansión de las compañías de bajo coste y el incremento del número de
mega-ciudades, así como el crecimiento del tráfico y la sustitución de
aviones antiguos, menos eficientes, por aparatos más eco-eficientes,
son los factores que empujan la demanda de nuevos aviones.

Hawker Beechcraft, Lockheed Martin Team to Compete for U.S. Air Force Light Attack

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS183256+15-Sep-2009+PRN20090915

WICHITA, Kan. and OWEGO, N.Y., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawker Beechcraft
Corporation (HBC) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) have teamed to compete for
the opportunity to provide a low-cost, low-risk solution to address U.S. Air
Force (USAF) needs for a Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR)
aircraft. The USAF is expected to launch an acquisition program in fiscal year
2010.

Cessna Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Citation's First Flight

40 años de Citaton
 
 
WICHITA, Kan., Sept. 14, 2009 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the maiden flight of the Citation, the first airplane model in what has become the largest fleet of business jets in the world.

Questions over F-35's stealth capability


 
 
Defence analysts say the new Russian L band radar will detect the fighter and can be fitted to Sukhoi jet fighters of the type flown by Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Vietnam.

Aero Club Of Southern California Recognizes Legendary Pilot

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?contentBlockId=96289471-bf13-4c18-bd98-0c80d18e56b0

Thu, 17 Sep '09

Bob Hoover To Receive 2009 Howard Hughes Memorial Award
Robert A. "Bob" Hoover, World War II fighter hero, postwar U. S. Air
Force and civilian test pilot, and for many years a popular air show
star, has been chosen by the Aero Club of Southern California to be
the 31st recipient of its Howard Hughes Memorial Award.

Shooting Down Aircraft With Torpedoes

 
 
September 17, 2009: Once more, developers are working on weapons that enable submerged submarines to attack aircraft overhead. There was recent successful test of the U.S. Tomahawk Capsule Launching System (TCLS) releasing a AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air heat seeking missile. This is all part of an effort that began during the Cold War, particularly for non-nuclear subs. While most of this work halted when the Cold War ended in 1991, it has since been resumed.

NASA Global Hawk first flight on 17 September

 
A prototype for future PC-based unmanned air vehicle ground control stations developed for NASA's two Northrop Grumman Global Hawks is also a cause for the five-month delay of the UAV's first flight.
[...]
Developed by Northrop, the PC-based station uses internet protocols to enable a more open architecture for the integration of the science payloads NASA wants. Stations will be based at NASA's Global Hawk Operational Center where pilots and scientists sit together to operate the UAVs. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pilot advised Northrop on the station's development.

FAA issues safety alert on short-haul pilot fatigue

 

The US FAA has issued a safety alert calling on airlines and air taxi operators to review their existing policies and procedures aimed at preventing flight crew fatigue for short-haul flights.

The interim action occurs as the agency mulls potential pilot rest rule changes developed by an aviation rulemaking committee (ARC). Efforts to overhaul the decades-old rules gained traction in June after pilot fatigue was identified as a potential factor in the February crash of a Colgan Air Q400 commuter aircraft.

Saab celebrates first flight of Thai fighter


 

Thailand's first of at least six Saab Gripen C/Ds has made its first flight from the Swedish manufacturer's Linköping facility.

Flown by a Saab test pilot, the two-seat Gripen D completed its 80min debut sortie on 16 September.

Gates Names USAF to Oversee KC-X

 
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has given authority for oversight to the U.S. Air Force over the KC-X aerial refueler program, potentially worth more than $35 billion.

Gates made the announcement this morning during a speech at the annual Air Force Association conference outside Washington, D.C., and it was met with applause from the audience.

USAF Worries About Refueler Repair Costs

 

As a result of a series of bad oversight decisions by the Pentagon and Congress, procurement mismanagement and politicking on the part of would-be tanker contractors and lawmakers eyeing work for their districts, there appears to be no more clarity now on the way forward to modernize the fleet—whose average age is 45 years—than there was in 2001.

Meanwhile, at AMC, planners are wrangling with how to keep the KC-135s flying until as late as 2043.

USAF Experiments With C-27J In Iraq

 

As Air Mobility Command awaits a plan for its new refueling tanker, it is also preparing for trials on how to integrate its newest airlifter, the tactical C-27J, into the fleet.

Officials are planning a series of operational concept trials beginning next month to pave the way for the introduction of the C-27J into the fleet next year.

Boeing vs. Airbus: The Tanker Battle Resumes


 
The U.S. Air Force's effort to buy a new generation of refueling tankers has at times taken on the feel of a Tom Clancy novel. Its first deal, with Boeing (BA) back in 2004, was invalidated after an Air Force official was caught discussing a job at the aerospace firm while negotiating the contract—a transgression that ended with the officer going to jail. The military's subsequent award last year—to a partnership led by Airbus parent European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. and Northrop Grumman (NOC)—was later voided when Boeing convinced the General Accounting Office that the Air Force had acted inconsistently with the guidelines it had set at the start (a faux pas that prompted Defense Secretary Robert Gates to strip the Air Force of the final decision).

F-15s Looking for the AESA Edge

 
16-Sep-2009 09:00 Defense Industry Daily
F-15C Eagle air superiority fighters have traditionally used APG-63 radars with mechanically steered arrays. While upgrades over the years have improved them, the mechanical steering components are a point of potential failure given the stresses put on them, and better radar technologies have appeared. With cruise missile defense rising in importance, and longer-range detection of threats desired, upgrades are necessary. They may also correct a known air-air weakness that can reputedly be exploited by aircraft like Russia's SU-30 family, though other reports claim that the mechanically-scanned APG-63v1s have also worked to close that hole. Thus far, 18 USAF F-15Cs have been modified to carry APG-63v2 radars – a misnomer, since the upgrade uses a revolutionary new AESA technology that bears little resemblance to its predecessor.