TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (CBS13) — The Air Force is rolling out an old plane with new technology as part of a plan it says will save you money.
The $90 million upgrade to the jet’s engines makes the plane one of the most fuel-efficient airplanes of its size in the world. And it’s stationed at Travis Air Force Base.
In a grey sky, the C-5 Super Galaxy made its first flight over Travis Air Force Base on Thursday.
The cargo plan that spans nearly the length of a football field is touching down for the first time since it was given a $90 million upgrade.
“Words that come to mind are phenomenal and incredible,” said Lt. Gen Brooks Bash.
He was at the controls for the first flight to Fairfield. The plane that can house six Greyhound buses in its belly is now more powerful and able to climb to higher elevations much quicker. But the real gains come in fuel savings.
“Capabilities of this plane to fly direct from here to New Zealand, or from here all the way to Afghanistan with well over 200,000 pounds of cargo,” Bash said.
The new engines and over 100 miles of wiring didn’t come cheap. The Air Force claims it will help pilots, but we asked how does it help taxpayers?
“Over time the modification on this airplane will definitely pay for itself,” said Lt. Col. Jacqueline Breeden.
But she couldn’t say how quickly those savings would come. With cargo loads and flight times different for each mission, she says it’s difficult to calculate.
“It’s a matter of balancing fuel load with cargo load, how heavy we are, how fast we climb, how quickly we get to that altitude is where that fuel savings is built in,” Breeden said.
With the upgrades, the Air Force hopes this plane that was originally build in 1987 will have another 30 to 40 years in teh air.
Travis Air Force Base is set to house 18 of the modified cargo planes.
Story and video: http://sacramento.cbslocal.com
Showing posts with label Aircraft Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aircraft Technology. Show all posts
Friday, May 09, 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014
John Wade: Aircell Business Aviation Services LLC in Broomfield, Colorado
Connected in thin air
By Beth Potter February 28, 2014
BROOMFIELD – When businessmen charter a corporate jet they expect to have the Wi-Fi and cellphone calling capability that is available on a commercial flight.
Many business executives refuse to fly on charter jets that don’t have Wi-Fi and cellphone capability, according to John Wade, executive vice president and general manager of Aircell Business Aviation Services LLC in Broomfield.
“The reason people fly business aircraft is for the time efficiency, and for a business executive to be cut off from the Internet, is almost an anathema,” Wade said. “I think it has reached the tipping point. It’s as important on a business aircraft as the seats and the lavatory.”
Wade believes Aircell is poised to help. Aircell’s most popular product is Gogo Biz – an Internet connectivity system that works by linking wirelessly with cellphone towers on the ground. Aircell has installed more than 2,000 of the systems on business planes. The company, and parent Gogo Inc. in Itasca, Illinois, rolled out a cellphone talk and text service in 2013.
Wade’s sales pitch to charter jet owners and others: An owner faces a potential loss of $300,000 to $500,000 in revenue per year, if a jet can’t be rented out because it doesn’t have broadband capability.
The revenue estimate comes from an hourly rental rate of $4,000 to $8,000 per hour multiplied by the potential number of hours a charter jet might fly on an annual basis, Wade said.
Aircell’s equipment box and two hockey puck-size antennas sell for $60,000 to $100,000, with customers paying an additional sum to have the system installed. With Wade’s potential loss calculations, the Aircell system pays for itself in less than a year, he said.
Large market to tap
Only about 6,000 business jets – about one-third of the 18,000 business jets registered in the United States – have broadband connectivity installed, Wade said. That means the sky’s the limit for Aircell’s growth in the next several years, he said. The cellphone talk and text service costs about $10,000 to install on a private plane, he said.
“We’re in the early days. At some point, the vast majority of business aircraft will have connectivity on board,” Wade said. “We have a long way to grow.”
Aircell, with 200 employees in Broomfield, is the business aviation division of Gogo Inc. (Nasdaq: GOGO), a company focused on selling inflight Internet and phone connectivity equipment for commercial jets. Aircell’s revenue was up 42 percent at $34.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, because of a 37 percent increase in equipment revenue and a 51 percent increase in service revenue, according to a Gogo earnings statement.
Gogo Biz system hardware is made by Honeywell in New Jersey and shipped to Broomfield, where subcontract manufacturers do additional work on the product, Wade said, without giving specifics. It then goes through quality testing before being boxed up and sent to customers. Aircell received an exclusive FCC frequency license in 2006 to build the mobile broadband network for commercial and business planes.
The company has more than 200 ground-based towers in the United States, including Alaska, and soon will have service in parts of Canada, according to Tom Myers, a company spokesman. Gogo owns some of the towers and leases the rest.
Competition in wings
Parent company Gogo Inc. competes with some other companies in the commercial space, according to industry watchers. For example, Global Eagle Entertainment in Westlake, California, through subsidiary Row 44, sells a satellite-based system that Southwest Airlines uses for Internet connectivity. Gogo and Aircell also have a satellite-based system, available for sale, but it hasn’t been as popular as the ground-to-air system, Wade said.
Global Eagle Entertainment spokeswoman Karin Pellmann said she wasn’t aware of any direct competition for Aircell’s proprietary ground-to-air system, however.
“It’s such a young industry to begin with. There’s a lot of opportunity in the market,” Pellmann said.
Overall, Gogo Inc. is forecasting revenue between $395 million and $415 million for 2014, a 49 percent increase over 2013. Specific growth forecasts have not been announced for Aircell, although the company is growing rapidly, Wade said.
Because of the growth, Aircell plans to move into new digs in the Interlocken Advanced Technology Park sometime in the next two years. The company is expected to be the first tenant in the unoccupied EOS building in the Interlocken business park, taking 112,300 square feet of the 186,000-square-foot building.
City of Broomfield officials recently approved a $222,062 tax-incentive package that requires Aircell to have more than 150 employees. Gogo has more than 600 employees in total in Broomfield, Illinois and London.
Story: http://www.bcbr.com
Aircell Business Aviation Services: http://www.aircell.com
By Beth Potter February 28, 2014
BROOMFIELD – When businessmen charter a corporate jet they expect to have the Wi-Fi and cellphone calling capability that is available on a commercial flight.
Many business executives refuse to fly on charter jets that don’t have Wi-Fi and cellphone capability, according to John Wade, executive vice president and general manager of Aircell Business Aviation Services LLC in Broomfield.
“The reason people fly business aircraft is for the time efficiency, and for a business executive to be cut off from the Internet, is almost an anathema,” Wade said. “I think it has reached the tipping point. It’s as important on a business aircraft as the seats and the lavatory.”
Wade believes Aircell is poised to help. Aircell’s most popular product is Gogo Biz – an Internet connectivity system that works by linking wirelessly with cellphone towers on the ground. Aircell has installed more than 2,000 of the systems on business planes. The company, and parent Gogo Inc. in Itasca, Illinois, rolled out a cellphone talk and text service in 2013.
Wade’s sales pitch to charter jet owners and others: An owner faces a potential loss of $300,000 to $500,000 in revenue per year, if a jet can’t be rented out because it doesn’t have broadband capability.
The revenue estimate comes from an hourly rental rate of $4,000 to $8,000 per hour multiplied by the potential number of hours a charter jet might fly on an annual basis, Wade said.
Aircell’s equipment box and two hockey puck-size antennas sell for $60,000 to $100,000, with customers paying an additional sum to have the system installed. With Wade’s potential loss calculations, the Aircell system pays for itself in less than a year, he said.
Large market to tap
Only about 6,000 business jets – about one-third of the 18,000 business jets registered in the United States – have broadband connectivity installed, Wade said. That means the sky’s the limit for Aircell’s growth in the next several years, he said. The cellphone talk and text service costs about $10,000 to install on a private plane, he said.
“We’re in the early days. At some point, the vast majority of business aircraft will have connectivity on board,” Wade said. “We have a long way to grow.”
Aircell, with 200 employees in Broomfield, is the business aviation division of Gogo Inc. (Nasdaq: GOGO), a company focused on selling inflight Internet and phone connectivity equipment for commercial jets. Aircell’s revenue was up 42 percent at $34.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, because of a 37 percent increase in equipment revenue and a 51 percent increase in service revenue, according to a Gogo earnings statement.
Gogo Biz system hardware is made by Honeywell in New Jersey and shipped to Broomfield, where subcontract manufacturers do additional work on the product, Wade said, without giving specifics. It then goes through quality testing before being boxed up and sent to customers. Aircell received an exclusive FCC frequency license in 2006 to build the mobile broadband network for commercial and business planes.
The company has more than 200 ground-based towers in the United States, including Alaska, and soon will have service in parts of Canada, according to Tom Myers, a company spokesman. Gogo owns some of the towers and leases the rest.
Competition in wings
Parent company Gogo Inc. competes with some other companies in the commercial space, according to industry watchers. For example, Global Eagle Entertainment in Westlake, California, through subsidiary Row 44, sells a satellite-based system that Southwest Airlines uses for Internet connectivity. Gogo and Aircell also have a satellite-based system, available for sale, but it hasn’t been as popular as the ground-to-air system, Wade said.
Global Eagle Entertainment spokeswoman Karin Pellmann said she wasn’t aware of any direct competition for Aircell’s proprietary ground-to-air system, however.
“It’s such a young industry to begin with. There’s a lot of opportunity in the market,” Pellmann said.
Overall, Gogo Inc. is forecasting revenue between $395 million and $415 million for 2014, a 49 percent increase over 2013. Specific growth forecasts have not been announced for Aircell, although the company is growing rapidly, Wade said.
Because of the growth, Aircell plans to move into new digs in the Interlocken Advanced Technology Park sometime in the next two years. The company is expected to be the first tenant in the unoccupied EOS building in the Interlocken business park, taking 112,300 square feet of the 186,000-square-foot building.
City of Broomfield officials recently approved a $222,062 tax-incentive package that requires Aircell to have more than 150 employees. Gogo has more than 600 employees in total in Broomfield, Illinois and London.
Story: http://www.bcbr.com
Aircell Business Aviation Services: http://www.aircell.com
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Pilots may use flexible flaps to control their planes in the future if research pans out
DRYDEN RESEARCH CENTER, California - Imagine airplane flaps that flex instead of simply raise and lower. Could they control aircraft better? NASA is about to do an experiment to find out.
FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., has delivered two "revolutionary" flaps to NASA for the experiment, the space agency says. They will be attached to NASA's Gulfstream G-III Aerodynamics Research Test Bed aircraft after a process to make sure they don't damage the plane's systems.
The 19-foot long test flaps - the same length as the G-III's current flaps - are "continuous bendable surfaces" made of advanced materials, NASA says. Will they work? Do a bird's wings flex? Stay tuned to see how it all works out.
Story and photos: http://www.al.com
FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., has delivered two "revolutionary" flaps to NASA for the experiment, the space agency says. They will be attached to NASA's Gulfstream G-III Aerodynamics Research Test Bed aircraft after a process to make sure they don't damage the plane's systems.
The 19-foot long test flaps - the same length as the G-III's current flaps - are "continuous bendable surfaces" made of advanced materials, NASA says. Will they work? Do a bird's wings flex? Stay tuned to see how it all works out.
Story and photos: http://www.al.com
Rolls-Royce Unveils New Engine for Future Boeing, Airbus Jets
Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, the world’s No. 2 commercial jet-engine maker, will pursue geared turbofan technology championed by rival Pratt & Whitney as it seeks to power future Boeing Co. and Airbus Group NV aircraft.
The so-called UltraFan would be available from 2025 and offer about 10 percent greater efficiency than the TrentXWB, the engine maker’s most modern turbine, said Simon Carlisle, executive vice president for future programs at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division. The UltraFan would build on the so-called Advanced engine, a technology upgrade due from 2020.
“The demands of the industry are becoming much greater,” Carlisle said. “We need to make sure we don’t stand still.”
Rolls-Royce has focused on powering long-range airliners, with engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A380 superjumbo and the A350 that is due to begin commercial operation this year. The company has 2,500 Trent-family engines in service and orders for the same number to come.
The London-based manufacturer faces competition to power future aircraft, with General Electric Co. the exclusive provider for the Boeing 777X, the largest twin-engine plane due around 2020. Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corp.’s engine arm, is also seeking wide-body applications for its geared turbofan technology on narrow-bodies.
The new Rolls-Royce offerings are not aimed at a specific plane from Airbus or Boeing, Carlisle said. Airbus has said it is exploring re-engining programs for its A380 and A330 wide-bodies.
Single-Aisle Return
Rolls-Royce, which spends about 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) on technology research each year, will run a test engine in 2015 to help mature the 2020 powerplant, with a trial UltraFan to come toward the end of the decade, Carlisle said at the company’s civil aerospace center in Derby.
Chief Executive Officer John Rishton has made cost control a priority as the company faces a year of no growth in 2014 for the first time in a decade. The new programs will not cause a spike in capital requirements, Carlisle said.
Technologies could flow into future engines to power the more ubiquitous single-aisle market, where Rolls-Royce has retrenched after exiting the International Aero Engines joint venture led by Pratt & Whitney. Carlisle said returning to that market is “absolutely” planned.
The new engine will include technologies including composite fan blades and casing that will save about 750 pounds in weight per turbine. Design improvements also should eliminate the need for thrust reversers.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
The so-called UltraFan would be available from 2025 and offer about 10 percent greater efficiency than the TrentXWB, the engine maker’s most modern turbine, said Simon Carlisle, executive vice president for future programs at Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division. The UltraFan would build on the so-called Advanced engine, a technology upgrade due from 2020.
“The demands of the industry are becoming much greater,” Carlisle said. “We need to make sure we don’t stand still.”
Rolls-Royce has focused on powering long-range airliners, with engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A380 superjumbo and the A350 that is due to begin commercial operation this year. The company has 2,500 Trent-family engines in service and orders for the same number to come.
The London-based manufacturer faces competition to power future aircraft, with General Electric Co. the exclusive provider for the Boeing 777X, the largest twin-engine plane due around 2020. Pratt & Whitney, United Technologies Corp.’s engine arm, is also seeking wide-body applications for its geared turbofan technology on narrow-bodies.
The new Rolls-Royce offerings are not aimed at a specific plane from Airbus or Boeing, Carlisle said. Airbus has said it is exploring re-engining programs for its A380 and A330 wide-bodies.
Single-Aisle Return
Rolls-Royce, which spends about 1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) on technology research each year, will run a test engine in 2015 to help mature the 2020 powerplant, with a trial UltraFan to come toward the end of the decade, Carlisle said at the company’s civil aerospace center in Derby.
Chief Executive Officer John Rishton has made cost control a priority as the company faces a year of no growth in 2014 for the first time in a decade. The new programs will not cause a spike in capital requirements, Carlisle said.
Technologies could flow into future engines to power the more ubiquitous single-aisle market, where Rolls-Royce has retrenched after exiting the International Aero Engines joint venture led by Pratt & Whitney. Carlisle said returning to that market is “absolutely” planned.
The new engine will include technologies including composite fan blades and casing that will save about 750 pounds in weight per turbine. Design improvements also should eliminate the need for thrust reversers.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Rolls-Royce Sees No Profit Growth This Year: The U.K. Engine Maker Forecasts Return to Growth In 2015
The Wall Street Journal
By Marietta Cauchi
Updated Feb. 13, 2014 4:43 a.m. ET
LONDON— Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC warned on Thursday that it expects no revenue growth this year for the first time in 10 years, with earnings also likely to stagnate, as the British engine-maker reported a 41% drop in net profit in 2013.
The fall in net profit reflected a retroactive accounting gain that Rolls-Royce has booked in its 2012 accounts. The company said underlying profit before tax rose 23% to £1.76 billion ($2.92 billion). Rolls-Royce declared a 13% higher dividend of 22 pence a share.
The profit warning took investors by surprise, knocking Rolls-Royce shares 12% lower in early trading. Analysts were expecting modest growth in revenue and earnings this year.
Britain's flagship engineering group said a combination of the impact of military budget cuts on its military business, deferred contracts for marine engines, and a hiatus in the timing of big defense export contracts in India and the Middle East explained the relatively gloomy outlook for the year despite its buoyant aerospace business.
Rolls-Royce said revenue and profit growth should pick up in 2015.
"In 2014, we expect a pause in our revenue and profit growth, reflecting offsetting trends across the business," Chief Executive John Rishton said.
"This is a pause, not a change in direction," Mr. Rishton said.
Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for commercial and military jets and ships, has four main business lines with around 43% of its revenue coming from civil aerospace, 17% each from its defense and marine divisions, 17% from power systems and 6% from energy.
The company said its underlying profit rose largely because of a 27% rise in underlying revenue to £15.5 billion as the group benefited from strong demand for its jet engines.
Excluding the additional revenue from Tognum AG, the marine-engine maker Rolls-Royce has bought in partnership with German auto maker Daimler AG and whose results were consolidated for the first time, underlying revenue rose 6%.
Underlying profit excludes lumpy one-off items and the company's hedge book and is used widely by analysts to give an accurate picture of what's going on in the business.
Rolls-Royce said it is paying a dividend of 22 pence a share.
Mr. Rishton declined to comment on a criminal investigation being carried out by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office into the company over allegations of bribery and corruption in Indonesia and China. Wednesday the SFO confirmed it had searched a number of premises and made two arrests in connection with the probe.
He said that an internal inquiry into compliance at the company was "going well." Rolls-Royce hired David Gold, the British peer and veteran lawyer, to carry out the review in January 2013.
Mr. Rishton also declined comment on future mergers and acquisitions following the recent collapse of preliminary talks about a possible multibillion-dollar takoever of smaller Finnish rival Wartsila Oyj. Last month, Wartsila, a specialist maker of diesel engines for midsize ships and Rolls-Royce confirmed that talks had ended.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By Marietta Cauchi
Updated Feb. 13, 2014 4:43 a.m. ET
LONDON— Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC warned on Thursday that it expects no revenue growth this year for the first time in 10 years, with earnings also likely to stagnate, as the British engine-maker reported a 41% drop in net profit in 2013.
The fall in net profit reflected a retroactive accounting gain that Rolls-Royce has booked in its 2012 accounts. The company said underlying profit before tax rose 23% to £1.76 billion ($2.92 billion). Rolls-Royce declared a 13% higher dividend of 22 pence a share.
The profit warning took investors by surprise, knocking Rolls-Royce shares 12% lower in early trading. Analysts were expecting modest growth in revenue and earnings this year.
Britain's flagship engineering group said a combination of the impact of military budget cuts on its military business, deferred contracts for marine engines, and a hiatus in the timing of big defense export contracts in India and the Middle East explained the relatively gloomy outlook for the year despite its buoyant aerospace business.
Rolls-Royce said revenue and profit growth should pick up in 2015.
"In 2014, we expect a pause in our revenue and profit growth, reflecting offsetting trends across the business," Chief Executive John Rishton said.
"This is a pause, not a change in direction," Mr. Rishton said.
Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for commercial and military jets and ships, has four main business lines with around 43% of its revenue coming from civil aerospace, 17% each from its defense and marine divisions, 17% from power systems and 6% from energy.
The company said its underlying profit rose largely because of a 27% rise in underlying revenue to £15.5 billion as the group benefited from strong demand for its jet engines.
Excluding the additional revenue from Tognum AG, the marine-engine maker Rolls-Royce has bought in partnership with German auto maker Daimler AG and whose results were consolidated for the first time, underlying revenue rose 6%.
Underlying profit excludes lumpy one-off items and the company's hedge book and is used widely by analysts to give an accurate picture of what's going on in the business.
Rolls-Royce said it is paying a dividend of 22 pence a share.
Mr. Rishton declined to comment on a criminal investigation being carried out by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office into the company over allegations of bribery and corruption in Indonesia and China. Wednesday the SFO confirmed it had searched a number of premises and made two arrests in connection with the probe.
He said that an internal inquiry into compliance at the company was "going well." Rolls-Royce hired David Gold, the British peer and veteran lawyer, to carry out the review in January 2013.
Mr. Rishton also declined comment on future mergers and acquisitions following the recent collapse of preliminary talks about a possible multibillion-dollar takoever of smaller Finnish rival Wartsila Oyj. Last month, Wartsila, a specialist maker of diesel engines for midsize ships and Rolls-Royce confirmed that talks had ended.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Southwick, Hampden County, Massachusetts
B & E Precision Aircraft Components looks to build staff, grow with industry
SOUTHWICK - A 30-pound block of aluminum arrives at B & E Precision Aircraft Parts here and leaves 12 weeks later as a fuel supply part for a jet engine weighing just 5 or 6 pounds.
In that time, the aluminum gets tested, measured, bored and machined then tested and measured again. Then, it gets deburred, smoothed to a buttery softness and polished to a mirror finish before it's packaged and shipped.
All this work is for a really fancy carburetor that looks like a maze of tiny notches, slots and tunnels which helps keep a jet in the air.
"There is no room for error in aircraft parts. None," says Anthony G. DiSantis, quality control manager at B & E Precision.
The machine shop, with its 103 employees, had a good 2013 and is looking for an even better years 2015 to 2020 as aircraft like those new jetliners go from design and testing to full production , according to company president Glenn Ford,. The precision machine shop is one division of the larger B & E Group which has offices in Westfield and Florida.
The machine shop is a maze of activity with robots placing parts on machine tools and people setting up the work and telling the robots what to do. Nearby are airplane parts, including a small bracket that breaks away when a pilot hits a bird on takeoff or landing.
"We get a lot of them back to be repaired," Ford explained to a recent visitor. "Planes hit birds from time to time."
Elsewhere in the factory are stacks of heavy, U-shaped joints used to hold rotors on Sikorsky helicopters. The rotors are, of course, the part that keeps the aircraft up as well as moving in any direction.
Aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing are coming out with new planes to help airlines replace aging fleets. Jet engine manufacturers, like the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies, in East Hartford, Conn., and General Electric are ordering parts from shops like B & E and not manufacturing them in-house.
"It think you'll see a great next few years in the aircraft industry," he said. "All these new platforms are great for us."
He's even hopeful that the long-stalled Joint Strike Fighter project, the F-35, will finally go into full production. B & E manufactures fuel-control parts for the new fighter.
Airlines, too, are looking for new and more efficient engines for existing aircraft, said Jim Gastringer, vice president of operations at B & E precision aircraft parts.
"Efficiency is huge," Gastringer said. " If you can squeeze a few percentage-points of savings out of jet engine you are using to fly from here to Los Angeles, that is a lot of savings. It's worth it for the airlines."
It's also worth it for B & E to manufacture those parts here, either for Pratt in Connecticut or for General Electric jet engine factories in Ohio, said Ford. For one thing, B & E is here with millions in machine tools. For another, it's got a workforce of highly-trained and experienced technicians and, increasingly, programs in area trade schools designed to bolster that staff.
But, it is expensive to do business in Western Massachusetts. Ford pointed to rows of parts that are among B & E's last runs of a certain product. The future work is going overseas, he said.
"We bought a new machine to do that part, they knew it and they took the job away," he said.
Not only overseas, but regional hot spots of aircraft-parts manufacturing are starting to open in other areas of the U.S., including in the Carolinas and in the West.
To compete, B & E gets more efficient. That explains the robots and what Ford calls "lights out" manufacturing. That's a machine a technician sets up in the evening and lets run all night while only other parts of the factory are staffed. in the morning the parts are ready.
Production workers at B & E start off at salaries of $30,000 a year and can earn up to $80,000.
"At any given time, I'd say we have 30 percent of our workforce learning, 40 percent really well-trained to produce and the remaining top-level employees, those are your trainers. Those are your masters, and we have to take advantage of them," Ford said
Ford said B & E also works with the region's vocational high schools.
in the office, steps from the factory floor are Artem Krapova and his sister, Ella Krapova. Both are recent graduates of Westfield Vocational Technical High School .
"I set everything up and design the job in three dimensions," Ella Krapova said. "It's a great job. I love what i do."
Story, photo gallery, comments/reaction: http://www.masslive.com
December 11, 2013 - Southwick - Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon
The quality control team B & E Precision Aircraft Components from left: Lisa Gagnon, Tony DiSantis, Paul Terpos, Tim Bliven and Steve Bates.
SOUTHWICK - A 30-pound block of aluminum arrives at B & E Precision Aircraft Parts here and leaves 12 weeks later as a fuel supply part for a jet engine weighing just 5 or 6 pounds.
In that time, the aluminum gets tested, measured, bored and machined then tested and measured again. Then, it gets deburred, smoothed to a buttery softness and polished to a mirror finish before it's packaged and shipped.
All this work is for a really fancy carburetor that looks like a maze of tiny notches, slots and tunnels which helps keep a jet in the air.
"There is no room for error in aircraft parts. None," says Anthony G. DiSantis, quality control manager at B & E Precision.
The machine shop, with its 103 employees, had a good 2013 and is looking for an even better years 2015 to 2020 as aircraft like those new jetliners go from design and testing to full production , according to company president Glenn Ford,. The precision machine shop is one division of the larger B & E Group which has offices in Westfield and Florida.
The machine shop is a maze of activity with robots placing parts on machine tools and people setting up the work and telling the robots what to do. Nearby are airplane parts, including a small bracket that breaks away when a pilot hits a bird on takeoff or landing.
"We get a lot of them back to be repaired," Ford explained to a recent visitor. "Planes hit birds from time to time."
Elsewhere in the factory are stacks of heavy, U-shaped joints used to hold rotors on Sikorsky helicopters. The rotors are, of course, the part that keeps the aircraft up as well as moving in any direction.
Aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing are coming out with new planes to help airlines replace aging fleets. Jet engine manufacturers, like the Pratt & Whitney division of United Technologies, in East Hartford, Conn., and General Electric are ordering parts from shops like B & E and not manufacturing them in-house.
"It think you'll see a great next few years in the aircraft industry," he said. "All these new platforms are great for us."
He's even hopeful that the long-stalled Joint Strike Fighter project, the F-35, will finally go into full production. B & E manufactures fuel-control parts for the new fighter.
Airlines, too, are looking for new and more efficient engines for existing aircraft, said Jim Gastringer, vice president of operations at B & E precision aircraft parts.
"Efficiency is huge," Gastringer said. " If you can squeeze a few percentage-points of savings out of jet engine you are using to fly from here to Los Angeles, that is a lot of savings. It's worth it for the airlines."
It's also worth it for B & E to manufacture those parts here, either for Pratt in Connecticut or for General Electric jet engine factories in Ohio, said Ford. For one thing, B & E is here with millions in machine tools. For another, it's got a workforce of highly-trained and experienced technicians and, increasingly, programs in area trade schools designed to bolster that staff.
But, it is expensive to do business in Western Massachusetts. Ford pointed to rows of parts that are among B & E's last runs of a certain product. The future work is going overseas, he said.
"We bought a new machine to do that part, they knew it and they took the job away," he said.
Not only overseas, but regional hot spots of aircraft-parts manufacturing are starting to open in other areas of the U.S., including in the Carolinas and in the West.
To compete, B & E gets more efficient. That explains the robots and what Ford calls "lights out" manufacturing. That's a machine a technician sets up in the evening and lets run all night while only other parts of the factory are staffed. in the morning the parts are ready.
Production workers at B & E start off at salaries of $30,000 a year and can earn up to $80,000.
"At any given time, I'd say we have 30 percent of our workforce learning, 40 percent really well-trained to produce and the remaining top-level employees, those are your trainers. Those are your masters, and we have to take advantage of them," Ford said
Ford said B & E also works with the region's vocational high schools.
in the office, steps from the factory floor are Artem Krapova and his sister, Ella Krapova. Both are recent graduates of Westfield Vocational Technical High School .
"I set everything up and design the job in three dimensions," Ella Krapova said. "It's a great job. I love what i do."
Story, photo gallery, comments/reaction: http://www.masslive.com
Friday, January 17, 2014
Let It Snow: The Makers of De-Icing Fluid Are Having a Superb Winter
Few people are as important in winter air travel as the crews that spray de-icing fluid onto departing airplanes. Without the fluid, there’s a good chance there won’t be a flight. More weekend snow across the Midwest—the forecast for the region predicts up to 5 inches and has airlines gearing up for more de-icing—promises to be a boon for the chemicals’ manufacturers.
“For the North America market, it’s going to be a a blistering good year,” says Gary Lydiate, chief executive of London’s Kilfrost, one of three big players in the de-icing fluid industry, along with Dow Chemical and Swiss company Clariant. Lydiate says Kilfrost has already shipped about 70 percent of the de-icing fluid it expected to sell this winter, with two-thirds of the season remaining. Come May, once most airport de-icing ends, Kilfrost says volume will total about 20 percent more than during the 2012-13 season.
In recent weeks the company has shipped more than 544,000 gallons of de-icing fluid to Illinois, most of it to Chicago’s O’Hare International, where Kilfrost customers American and United both have hubs. Airlines at O’Hare have used 1.06 million gallons through Jan. 15, compared with 1.1 million gallons for all of the 2012-13 season, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Aviation said in an e-mail. Most airports deal with multiple suppliers, given that carriers generally procure and apply their own de-icing fluid or outsource the job.
U.S. airlines spray more than 25 million gallons of de-icing fluid each year, according to a 2009 study of the industry by the Environmental Protection Agency. In Denver, where a May snowstorm isn’t terribly unusual, airlines used 1.9 million gallons of de-icing fluid last winter and are on pace to go through the same volume this winter, says Scott Morrissey, director of environmental programs.
Most de-icing is performed with propylene glycol, called Type 1, a pinkish-orange fluid you may see washing across your plane window. When weather is more severe—or when a plane must wait in a queue for takeoff—a thicker green liquid, akin to a gel, is applied to coat the airplane for longer periods. Both types of fluid are formulated much like other competitive products, be it motor oil, laundry detergent, or the top-secret syrup Coca-Cola blends with water and sugar, Lydiate says. “It looks like a simple thing on the surface, but underneath there’s a hell of a lot of technology to make it work,” he says of de-icing fluids. “This is not a commodity industry.”
The 3 to 5 inches of snow predicted for the Midwest and Great Lakes this weekend is likely to be followed by a second, frigid taste of the polar vortex, which earlier this month sent temperatures plunging as low as 25 below zero in parts of the Midwest and to single-digit temperatures as far south as Texas. Overnight temperatures could drop as much as 25 degrees below normal later next week, according to forecasts, as the jet stream takes a deeper dip south.
“There is the chance the cold may rival that of early January in some areas,” AccuWeather said in a Jan. 16 client note. The next time you’re on a delayed flight, as the plane is hosed ahead of takeoff, consider the positive: Nasty weather means nice profits for some companies.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Rolls-Royce, Wärtsilä End Merger Talks: U.K. Industrial Group Would Have Taken Over Finnish Engine Maker
The Wall Street Journal
By Matthew Curtin
Jan. 9, 2014 2:54 a.m. ET
LONDON— Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and Wärtsilä Oyj said Thursday they are no longer in merger talks which would have seen one of the U.K.'s flagship industrial groups take over its smaller Finnish engine-making rival in a multibillion-dollar deal.
Rolls-Royce, which makes aircraft engines for Airbus Group and Boeing Co., said "preliminary discussions with the board of Wärtsilä regarding a possible offer for the company…are no longer continuing."
Helsinki-listed Wärtsilä confirmed in a separate statement that talks have ended after it had received a preliminary approach from the British company.
The companies said their statements follow press speculation about a possible deal.
The Finnish company, which has a market capitalization of around €6.7 billion ($9.1 billion), derives most of its €4.7 billion in annual revenue from making power-generation equipment for liquid-fuel and gas power plants as well as making engines for ships. It also has a services business.
Rolls-Royce, best-known for making engines for commercial aircraft, is also a big producer of power equipment and increasingly focused on the marine industry.
Rolls-Royce in partnership with Daimler AG of Germany is the process of the completion of the takeover of Germany engine maker Tognum AG. Wärtsilä recently acquired Hamworthy, a specialist U.K. maker of marine equipment.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By Matthew Curtin
Jan. 9, 2014 2:54 a.m. ET
LONDON— Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and Wärtsilä Oyj said Thursday they are no longer in merger talks which would have seen one of the U.K.'s flagship industrial groups take over its smaller Finnish engine-making rival in a multibillion-dollar deal.
Rolls-Royce, which makes aircraft engines for Airbus Group and Boeing Co., said "preliminary discussions with the board of Wärtsilä regarding a possible offer for the company…are no longer continuing."
Helsinki-listed Wärtsilä confirmed in a separate statement that talks have ended after it had received a preliminary approach from the British company.
The companies said their statements follow press speculation about a possible deal.
The Finnish company, which has a market capitalization of around €6.7 billion ($9.1 billion), derives most of its €4.7 billion in annual revenue from making power-generation equipment for liquid-fuel and gas power plants as well as making engines for ships. It also has a services business.
Rolls-Royce, best-known for making engines for commercial aircraft, is also a big producer of power equipment and increasingly focused on the marine industry.
Rolls-Royce in partnership with Daimler AG of Germany is the process of the completion of the takeover of Germany engine maker Tognum AG. Wärtsilä recently acquired Hamworthy, a specialist U.K. maker of marine equipment.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Monday, October 21, 2013
Aircraft-mounted camera will help city track Staten Island's deer population
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- This winter, the city Parks Department will take to the skies over Staten Island with a special high-tech device to track deer movements, the first step to managing and monitoring the borough's burgeoning population.
"The survey, called Forward Looking Infrared Radar, uses an infrared camera mounted on a small plane and will measure the temperature difference between the deer and its environment," explained Parks spokeswoman Tara Kiernan.
The plane will climb to 1,000 feet and fly at night, when the temperature difference between warm-blooded animals and the surrounding terrain is the greatest.
"This survey is the first step in developing a management plan for [the] deer population," she added. "The results will be used to establish a baseline population number, which can then be monitored over time to see how populations are changing. The results will also be used in combination with ground surveying to inform a management plan."
And as the number of deer rise, it's becoming clear that the problem is no longer limited to the rural West and South shores of the borough.
For example, last month a deer was blamed for a crash on Arden Avenue that injured a driver and severely damaged two parked cars.
The early-morning accident occurred on the rural, quiet road in Arden Heights, when the driver told police he swerved to avoid a deer that bolted from the woods, across the sidewalk and into the road.
According to Dr. John Maligno, whose parked car was most severely damaged, "The impact was so powerful that my car pushed the parked car in front of me into the woods across the street."
Island drivers need to stay alert, because the borough's growing deer population is on the move -- a majority of the accidents occur in October and December because it's prime mating and migrating season.
State officials, aware of the increasing danger, recently planted six additional warning signs along the West Shore Expressway and ramps.
"If the deer habitat continues to grow, and if the habitat growth is near roadways under state jurisdiction, we welcome the opportunity to work with the communities and local elected officials to place additional signs as needed," said state Department of Transportation spokesman Adam Levine.
In all of 2012, 44 dead deer were removed from Staten Island roads.
By early October, according to the city Department of Sanitation, 34 large deer had already been carted away. Department personnel handle smaller animals, but rely on a Long Island-based private firm -- The Pet Crematory Agency -- for removal of the large ones.
"We're getting more all the time," said a worker at the firm's local office.
Most were removed from areas around the West Shore Expressway, particularly near the Outerbridge Crossing.
But on local roads, it's a different story.
The city Department of Transportation, citing the unpredictability of deer travel patterns, has yet to start placing warning signs.
"The issue is installing potentially hundreds of signs at the large number of locations where deer may or may not be crossing and expecting them to be effective," said city DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow.
The results of the Parks study could be used to determine where signs should be placed on local roads, according to a Parks official.
Sightings are becoming more and more common in North Shore communities.
A deer was spotted recently near the parking lot of Tech Products Inc. on Willow Avenue just off Bay Street.
"We're a sign company, so maybe the deer is trying to tell us something," said Tech Products employee Mary Ann DiNoia of Rosebank. "It just stood around and watched me as I got to my car. We had given it a bowl of water, and then it took off up a one-way street -- it was going the right way."
And just recently, a Sunnyside resident spotted two deer interacting in her backyard.
The number of deer-related collisions in the U.S. has increased by 7.7 percent over the last year, according to the insurance company State Farm. The increase comes after a 2.2 percent decline over the last three years.
Late last month, a young male deer with an injured hind leg was found on the grassy median of the Staten Island-side approach to the Outerbridge Crossing.
And last weekend, one of the creatures suffered a gruesome fate after impaling itself on a fence at the United Hebrew Cemetery, Richmond.
Story, Photo Gallery and Comments/Reaction: http://www.silive.com
"The survey, called Forward Looking Infrared Radar, uses an infrared camera mounted on a small plane and will measure the temperature difference between the deer and its environment," explained Parks spokeswoman Tara Kiernan.
The plane will climb to 1,000 feet and fly at night, when the temperature difference between warm-blooded animals and the surrounding terrain is the greatest.
"This survey is the first step in developing a management plan for [the] deer population," she added. "The results will be used to establish a baseline population number, which can then be monitored over time to see how populations are changing. The results will also be used in combination with ground surveying to inform a management plan."
And as the number of deer rise, it's becoming clear that the problem is no longer limited to the rural West and South shores of the borough.
For example, last month a deer was blamed for a crash on Arden Avenue that injured a driver and severely damaged two parked cars.
The early-morning accident occurred on the rural, quiet road in Arden Heights, when the driver told police he swerved to avoid a deer that bolted from the woods, across the sidewalk and into the road.
According to Dr. John Maligno, whose parked car was most severely damaged, "The impact was so powerful that my car pushed the parked car in front of me into the woods across the street."
Island drivers need to stay alert, because the borough's growing deer population is on the move -- a majority of the accidents occur in October and December because it's prime mating and migrating season.
State officials, aware of the increasing danger, recently planted six additional warning signs along the West Shore Expressway and ramps.
"If the deer habitat continues to grow, and if the habitat growth is near roadways under state jurisdiction, we welcome the opportunity to work with the communities and local elected officials to place additional signs as needed," said state Department of Transportation spokesman Adam Levine.
In all of 2012, 44 dead deer were removed from Staten Island roads.
By early October, according to the city Department of Sanitation, 34 large deer had already been carted away. Department personnel handle smaller animals, but rely on a Long Island-based private firm -- The Pet Crematory Agency -- for removal of the large ones.
"We're getting more all the time," said a worker at the firm's local office.
Most were removed from areas around the West Shore Expressway, particularly near the Outerbridge Crossing.
But on local roads, it's a different story.
The city Department of Transportation, citing the unpredictability of deer travel patterns, has yet to start placing warning signs.
"The issue is installing potentially hundreds of signs at the large number of locations where deer may or may not be crossing and expecting them to be effective," said city DOT spokesman Seth Solomonow.
The results of the Parks study could be used to determine where signs should be placed on local roads, according to a Parks official.
Sightings are becoming more and more common in North Shore communities.
A deer was spotted recently near the parking lot of Tech Products Inc. on Willow Avenue just off Bay Street.
"We're a sign company, so maybe the deer is trying to tell us something," said Tech Products employee Mary Ann DiNoia of Rosebank. "It just stood around and watched me as I got to my car. We had given it a bowl of water, and then it took off up a one-way street -- it was going the right way."
And just recently, a Sunnyside resident spotted two deer interacting in her backyard.
The number of deer-related collisions in the U.S. has increased by 7.7 percent over the last year, according to the insurance company State Farm. The increase comes after a 2.2 percent decline over the last three years.
Late last month, a young male deer with an injured hind leg was found on the grassy median of the Staten Island-side approach to the Outerbridge Crossing.
And last weekend, one of the creatures suffered a gruesome fate after impaling itself on a fence at the United Hebrew Cemetery, Richmond.
Story, Photo Gallery and Comments/Reaction: http://www.silive.com
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Business boost for Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick and Kelbrook firm Euravia
West Craven’s aerospace firms have received a double boost.
Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick is expected to benefit from a £6 billion order from Japan Airlines for more than 30 new Airbus wide-body jets.
They will be powered by Trent XWB engines and the blades are made at Rolls’ Skipton Road site, which employs 1,000 people.
Under the latest deal, the Far East airline has secured 31 A350s, which will enter service from 2019 onwards, as part of a six-year fleet replacement programme.
An option has been taken on a further 25 craft, which are believed to have been selected in preference to Boeing’s delayed 777X.
Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “This is yet more good news for the aerospace industry in Lancashire and the north-west.”
The group has secured more than 750 orders for the jets to date and aims to start delivering them to customers by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, another local aerospace firm has signed a major deal to repair jet engines for an American company.
Euravia Engineering, based on Colne Road, Kelbrook, will work with Greenwich AeroGroup, from Wichita, to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Pratt & Whitney’s PT6A and PT6T engines on fixed and rotor wing aircraft in the United States.
The firm, which won a Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2010, has a mobile repair team in America, and engines can also be brought to the UK.
Euravia managing director Dennis Mendoros said: “We are very excited to work with Greenwich AeroGroup to expand Euravia’s services into the United States. Our commitment to quality engineering, cost-effective services and personal service aligns well with Greenwich AeroGroup’s pledge to provide customers with optimal aviation solutions.”
Jeff Mihalic, senior vice-president of Greenwich AeroGroup, said: “Euravia has an outstanding international reputation for delivering cost-effective, high-quality gas turbine engine services with exceptional performance and reliability.”
Euravia was founded in 1988 by Sudanese-born Mr Mendoros and the company has grown to a £10m turnover business, specialising in repairing and overhauling US-made Pratt & Whitney jet engines.
Source: http://www.cravenherald.co.uk
Rolls-Royce at Barnoldswick is expected to benefit from a £6 billion order from Japan Airlines for more than 30 new Airbus wide-body jets.
They will be powered by Trent XWB engines and the blades are made at Rolls’ Skipton Road site, which employs 1,000 people.
Under the latest deal, the Far East airline has secured 31 A350s, which will enter service from 2019 onwards, as part of a six-year fleet replacement programme.
An option has been taken on a further 25 craft, which are believed to have been selected in preference to Boeing’s delayed 777X.
Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “This is yet more good news for the aerospace industry in Lancashire and the north-west.”
The group has secured more than 750 orders for the jets to date and aims to start delivering them to customers by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, another local aerospace firm has signed a major deal to repair jet engines for an American company.
Euravia Engineering, based on Colne Road, Kelbrook, will work with Greenwich AeroGroup, from Wichita, to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Pratt & Whitney’s PT6A and PT6T engines on fixed and rotor wing aircraft in the United States.
The firm, which won a Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2010, has a mobile repair team in America, and engines can also be brought to the UK.
Euravia managing director Dennis Mendoros said: “We are very excited to work with Greenwich AeroGroup to expand Euravia’s services into the United States. Our commitment to quality engineering, cost-effective services and personal service aligns well with Greenwich AeroGroup’s pledge to provide customers with optimal aviation solutions.”
Jeff Mihalic, senior vice-president of Greenwich AeroGroup, said: “Euravia has an outstanding international reputation for delivering cost-effective, high-quality gas turbine engine services with exceptional performance and reliability.”
Euravia was founded in 1988 by Sudanese-born Mr Mendoros and the company has grown to a £10m turnover business, specialising in repairing and overhauling US-made Pratt & Whitney jet engines.
Source: http://www.cravenherald.co.uk
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Indonesian firm is lone bidder for P800-M PAF plane contract
MANILA, Philippines -- An Indonesian aircraft manufacturer was the only firm to bid for a Department of Defense contract to supply the Philippine Air Force with two medium-lift transport planes worth more than P800 million.
This was first revealed by reliable military sources and later confirmed by Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo who, when asked, said in a text message that the “big is (still) being evaluated.”
He did not elaborate.
According to one source, three companies bought bid documents but only PT Dirgantara Indonesia/Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) and Sikorsky Aircraft submitted offers.
When the bids were opened at the DND in Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday, only PT Dirgantara qualified as a bidder. It offered a price of P812,550,000.
Another source said Sikorsky had offered the C27 Skytruck while PT Dirgantara offered the NC21-200 Aviocar.
“Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez has given the (Air Force’s) technical working group seven days to evaluate (PT Dirgantara’s) bid,” he said.
The Indonesian firm describes the NC-212-200 in its website as “a light transport that was designed to operate in areas lacking in infrastructure and unpaved runways. It has a high-wing configuration and fixed landing gear, is fitted with twin turboprop engines, and has excellent Short Take Off and Landing capability.”
The firm was established in 1976 and bills itself as “one of the indigenous aerospace company in Asia with core competence in aircraft design, development and manufacturing of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft.”
Original article: http://www.interaksyon.com
This was first revealed by reliable military sources and later confirmed by Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo who, when asked, said in a text message that the “big is (still) being evaluated.”
He did not elaborate.
According to one source, three companies bought bid documents but only PT Dirgantara Indonesia/Indonesian Aerospace (IAe) and Sikorsky Aircraft submitted offers.
When the bids were opened at the DND in Camp Aguinaldo on Wednesday, only PT Dirgantara qualified as a bidder. It offered a price of P812,550,000.
Another source said Sikorsky had offered the C27 Skytruck while PT Dirgantara offered the NC21-200 Aviocar.
“Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez has given the (Air Force’s) technical working group seven days to evaluate (PT Dirgantara’s) bid,” he said.
The Indonesian firm describes the NC-212-200 in its website as “a light transport that was designed to operate in areas lacking in infrastructure and unpaved runways. It has a high-wing configuration and fixed landing gear, is fitted with twin turboprop engines, and has excellent Short Take Off and Landing capability.”
The firm was established in 1976 and bills itself as “one of the indigenous aerospace company in Asia with core competence in aircraft design, development and manufacturing of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft.”
Original article: http://www.interaksyon.com
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Air-Traffic Wish List Targets Busiest Skies: WSJ
September 22, 2013, 12:08 p.m. ET
By ANDY PASZTOR
The Wall Street Journal
Facing potentially deep budget cuts for modernizing air-traffic control, aviation-industry leaders have mobilized to protect funding for a handful of top-priority initiatives that target congestion around busy airports.
The recommendations, released by an influential U.S. Federal Aviation Administration advisory group last week, represent the industry's most detailed wish list so far of projects that should be placed on a fast track, even under the federal government's across-the-board spending reductions called sequestration.
Approved by representatives of airlines, manufacturers and labor, the recommendations are included in a report requested by FAA chief Michael Huerta. The focus is on new navigation and runway procedures that don't entail sweeping changes in current traffic management, or require major airline investments in new cockpit equipment.
Instead, the conclusions put the onus on the FAA to push ahead and even accelerate shorter-term enhancements aimed at increasing airport capacity and achieving clear-cut fuel savings before the middle of the decade.
The handful of projects at the top of the list include expanding satellite-based approach and departure procedures that already are being tested at various hub airports.
Aircraft can fly shorter, more direct routes using such procedures.
They also can increase airport capacity through more-precise and gradual descents, and by following other planes more closely to parallel or converging runways.
Other high-priority items include efforts to keep better track of planes or vehicles moving on tarmacs and revised wake-turbulence standards to reduce separation between landing aircraft.
Some efforts, however, have faltered as a result of overall agency inertia, lack of training for controllers and the FAA's slow progress in redesigning certain airspace. In April the Department of Transportation's inspector general criticized the agency for failing to develop "an integrated master schedule to help advance and prioritize" key projects.
At an industry gathering Friday, Mr. Huerta said that the agency will review the recommendations to determine its next steps. The same advisory committee also gave Mr. Huerta a report calling for stepped-up efforts to share fuel-use data among airlines in order to substantiate savings.
After ranking some three dozen planned initiatives, industry officials reached consensus on the top six. Some were included in previous recommendations. But this time, the committee explicitly ranked projects at the top that were "deemed to be high benefit and high readiness," stressing that "budget cuts should not affect these capabilities."
Missing from the top of the industry list were ambitious concepts to use digital data communications to replace radio transmissions between pilots and controllers, practices that would allow pilots to unilaterally change routes while airborne and plans to permit landings in extremely-low-visibility conditions that currently aren't possible.
The industry move comes amid escalating controversy over the direction of NextGen, the more than $40 billion proposed restructuring of the nation's air-traffic-control system.Fearing potential negative impact from sequestration, airlines and equipment manufacturers are stepping up pressure on the FAA to focus immediate attention on a handful of the most promising upgrades. The Aerospace Industries Association, which represents aerospace contractors, plans a public roundtable at the end of the month to buttress those arguments.Airlines, meanwhile, generally remain resistant to making expensive equipment purchases essential to realize the ultimate benefits of NextGen.
"In a difficult budget environment, it is important to prioritize and move forward with programs" that use existing equipment "to provide immediate benefits to the flying public and reduce fuel burn," a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, the leading trade association representing U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, said over the weekend. The association reiterated that satellite-based routes around busy airports should be a top priority.
Overall, the recommendations underscore industry's determination that before airlines agree to wholesale installation of additional equipment, the FAA should do more to ensure more-effective use of the sophisticated navigation and automated flight-control capabilities that already are available on many airliners.
Last week's report comes three months after the FAA, as part of its annual NextGen implementation update, highlighted enhanced weather detection and forecasting capabilities that didn't make the industry's top-level options. The FAA plan also noted that the agency will be able to implement fuel-saving airspace redesigns—plus associated navigation and procedural changes—at only about half of the 21 specific airports initially slated for those enhancements by 2016.
Last week's advisory report put so-called metroplex enhancements in the top tier of pending initiatives, noting the "aviation community has been actively involved and supportive" of the work. But based on the same objective criteria applied to other projects, according to the advisory committee, the airspace-redesign plans should have been relegated to a lower-priority category "deemed to be of medium benefit."
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By ANDY PASZTOR
The Wall Street Journal
Facing potentially deep budget cuts for modernizing air-traffic control, aviation-industry leaders have mobilized to protect funding for a handful of top-priority initiatives that target congestion around busy airports.
The recommendations, released by an influential U.S. Federal Aviation Administration advisory group last week, represent the industry's most detailed wish list so far of projects that should be placed on a fast track, even under the federal government's across-the-board spending reductions called sequestration.
Approved by representatives of airlines, manufacturers and labor, the recommendations are included in a report requested by FAA chief Michael Huerta. The focus is on new navigation and runway procedures that don't entail sweeping changes in current traffic management, or require major airline investments in new cockpit equipment.
Instead, the conclusions put the onus on the FAA to push ahead and even accelerate shorter-term enhancements aimed at increasing airport capacity and achieving clear-cut fuel savings before the middle of the decade.
The handful of projects at the top of the list include expanding satellite-based approach and departure procedures that already are being tested at various hub airports.
Aircraft can fly shorter, more direct routes using such procedures.
They also can increase airport capacity through more-precise and gradual descents, and by following other planes more closely to parallel or converging runways.
Other high-priority items include efforts to keep better track of planes or vehicles moving on tarmacs and revised wake-turbulence standards to reduce separation between landing aircraft.
Some efforts, however, have faltered as a result of overall agency inertia, lack of training for controllers and the FAA's slow progress in redesigning certain airspace. In April the Department of Transportation's inspector general criticized the agency for failing to develop "an integrated master schedule to help advance and prioritize" key projects.
At an industry gathering Friday, Mr. Huerta said that the agency will review the recommendations to determine its next steps. The same advisory committee also gave Mr. Huerta a report calling for stepped-up efforts to share fuel-use data among airlines in order to substantiate savings.
After ranking some three dozen planned initiatives, industry officials reached consensus on the top six. Some were included in previous recommendations. But this time, the committee explicitly ranked projects at the top that were "deemed to be high benefit and high readiness," stressing that "budget cuts should not affect these capabilities."
Missing from the top of the industry list were ambitious concepts to use digital data communications to replace radio transmissions between pilots and controllers, practices that would allow pilots to unilaterally change routes while airborne and plans to permit landings in extremely-low-visibility conditions that currently aren't possible.
The industry move comes amid escalating controversy over the direction of NextGen, the more than $40 billion proposed restructuring of the nation's air-traffic-control system.Fearing potential negative impact from sequestration, airlines and equipment manufacturers are stepping up pressure on the FAA to focus immediate attention on a handful of the most promising upgrades. The Aerospace Industries Association, which represents aerospace contractors, plans a public roundtable at the end of the month to buttress those arguments.Airlines, meanwhile, generally remain resistant to making expensive equipment purchases essential to realize the ultimate benefits of NextGen.
"In a difficult budget environment, it is important to prioritize and move forward with programs" that use existing equipment "to provide immediate benefits to the flying public and reduce fuel burn," a spokeswoman for Airlines for America, the leading trade association representing U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, said over the weekend. The association reiterated that satellite-based routes around busy airports should be a top priority.
Overall, the recommendations underscore industry's determination that before airlines agree to wholesale installation of additional equipment, the FAA should do more to ensure more-effective use of the sophisticated navigation and automated flight-control capabilities that already are available on many airliners.
Last week's report comes three months after the FAA, as part of its annual NextGen implementation update, highlighted enhanced weather detection and forecasting capabilities that didn't make the industry's top-level options. The FAA plan also noted that the agency will be able to implement fuel-saving airspace redesigns—plus associated navigation and procedural changes—at only about half of the 21 specific airports initially slated for those enhancements by 2016.
Last week's advisory report put so-called metroplex enhancements in the top tier of pending initiatives, noting the "aviation community has been actively involved and supportive" of the work. But based on the same objective criteria applied to other projects, according to the advisory committee, the airspace-redesign plans should have been relegated to a lower-priority category "deemed to be of medium benefit."
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Larger Version of Boeing Dreamliner Begins Maiden Flight: WSJ
Updated September 17, 2013, 7:34 p.m. ET
By JON OSTROWER
The Wall Street Journal
Boeing Co. unveiled a new version of its 787 Dreamliner that the company hopes will redeem a jet program beset by embarrassing delays and technical challenges.
The 787-9 that made its first flight on Tuesday from Boeing's Everett, Wash., factory looks a lot like the 787-8, the version that has been flying passengers since late 2011. The "Dash Nine," as the new plane is known within Boeing, is 20 feet longer than its predecessor, can fly a few hundred miles further without additional fuel, and—with a capacity of 270 to 290 seats—can hold about 40 more passengers.
But underneath the new plane's carbon-fiber skin are big changes in how Boeing designs and builds the aircraft—including bringing more of the process back in house after outsourcing it. The changes are intended to ensure that the new plane meets customer expectations, with fewer of the design and production missteps that have plagued the cutting-edge 787.
"We're beginning to lay the seeds of a track record that hopefully will translate into confidence with our customers," said Scott Fancher, Boeing's vice president of airplane development. He ran the 787 program from December 2008 to early last year and helped overhaul how Boeing designs its jets.
The Dash Nine builds on Boeing's experience with the smaller 787-8, which was grounded by regulators world-wide for 3½ months after batteries burned on two aircraft in January. The bulk of the Dash Nine's changes, though, were set in motion before those incidents, and are focused not on safety but on efficiency—for Boeing and its customers.
The original 787 was hailed for its technological advances. It boasts the first fuselage and wings on a commercial jetliner made mostly of carbon composites, and its advanced electrical system replaces many functions previously performed by mechanical and pneumatic systems.
Boeing also adopted a new approach to making the plane, outsourcing much of the design and manufacturing to suppliers in an effort to slash its share of the investment cost. Boeing engineers designed only 40% of the parts for the original Dreamliner, Mr. Fancher said.
The approach brought problems. Boeing's suppliers, in turn, outsourced to subcontractors, which caused design changes to pile up and feuds between Boeing and its suppliers.
Originally scheduled for delivery in May 2008, the 787-8 didn't make its commercial debut until more than three years later, a costly delay. Barclays Capital estimates Boeing that spent more than $12 billion to develop the original 787, not including factory equipment—more than double what analysts say was Boeing's original estimate of $5 billion. Barclays says the 787-9 cost an additional $3.5 billion to $4 billion. Boeing doesn't disclose its development spending for the 787.
For the Dash Nine, Boeing reversed course, designing 60% to 70% of plane internally, Mr. Fancher said. That's comparable with its previous all-new jet, the long-range 777, which was first delivered in 1995.
Boeing also has started manufacturing more of the plane itself, hoping that will help the company increase total Dreamliner output to 10 planes a month, its fastest pace ever for a twin-aisle jet. Boeing builds seven a month today and will soon move to the record rate.
For the first Dreamliners, Boeing manufactured 25% to 30% of each plane in house. That has increased to 35% for the line as a whole and the share is even greater for the 787-9. Its horizontal tail, for example, is now designed and manufactured at a Boeing facility in Salt Lake City, instead of by an Italian supplier that has struggled with quality control.
To cut weight and assembly time, Boeing has redesigned some multiple-piece components into single pieces, including parts of the windshield and body frames.There are "hundreds, maybe thousands" of small and large changes from nose to tail to lighten the aircraft and make it easier, quicker and less expensive to assemble, Mr. Fancher said.
The Dash Nine's original due date of 2010 was delayed by the broader problems that bedeviled the first version. But the current plan for initial delivery next year has remained relatively stable since late-2011. Mr. Fancher said assembly and engineering have remained on time.
The Dash Nine is Boeing's "chance to make things right, and live up to the original promise of the program," said Richard Aboulafia, a vice president at the Teal Group aerospace consulting firm.
Customers have high expectations. The new version accounts for 41% of Boeing's 936 Dreamliner orders. And orders for the Dash Nine and the 787-10, which is slated for 2018 delivery, have accounted for three-quarters of new 787s sold since 2009. The list price of the Dash Nine is $249.5 million, before the discounts that are typical in the industry, compared with $211.8 million for the 787-8.
Boeing currently sells each Dreamliner for less than it costs to manufacture. But the company says the Dreamliner program already is profitable, based on accounting standards that allow it to average estimated costs over 1,100 deliveries expected to stretch to the end of the decade. That makes it crucial for Boeing to bring costs down with revised supplier agreements and factory changes, and to sell jets that command higher prices. After discounts, Barclays estimates Boeing will be able to sell the 787-9 on average for about $10 million to $12 million more than the smaller model, or about $110 to $112 million.
Boeing hasn't disclosed production plans for the Dash Nine. A person familiar with its planning says the Dash Nine quickly will dominate production, accounting for a quarter of the 200th to 300th Dreamliners the company builds, half of the next 50 planes and 70% of the 50 planes after that. Mr. Fancher declined to comment on the pace of the Dash Nine's introduction.
Boeing has continued to develop what it can do with composite technology and is still learning as it moves on from the hard lessons of the 787-8. The company this year told customers—after manufacturing had begun—that it would have to reinforce part of the structure that connects wings to the body after analysis showed that the area needed to be strengthened.
Boeing says the reinforcement caused a "minor impact" on the schedule during assembly but didn't affect Tuesday's flight or the Dash Nine's scheduled first delivery to Air New Zealand Ltd. in the middle of next year.
A version of this article appeared September 17, 2013, on page B3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: New Dreamliner Takes Flight.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By JON OSTROWER
The Wall Street Journal
Boeing Co. unveiled a new version of its 787 Dreamliner that the company hopes will redeem a jet program beset by embarrassing delays and technical challenges.
The 787-9 that made its first flight on Tuesday from Boeing's Everett, Wash., factory looks a lot like the 787-8, the version that has been flying passengers since late 2011. The "Dash Nine," as the new plane is known within Boeing, is 20 feet longer than its predecessor, can fly a few hundred miles further without additional fuel, and—with a capacity of 270 to 290 seats—can hold about 40 more passengers.
But underneath the new plane's carbon-fiber skin are big changes in how Boeing designs and builds the aircraft—including bringing more of the process back in house after outsourcing it. The changes are intended to ensure that the new plane meets customer expectations, with fewer of the design and production missteps that have plagued the cutting-edge 787.
"We're beginning to lay the seeds of a track record that hopefully will translate into confidence with our customers," said Scott Fancher, Boeing's vice president of airplane development. He ran the 787 program from December 2008 to early last year and helped overhaul how Boeing designs its jets.
The Dash Nine builds on Boeing's experience with the smaller 787-8, which was grounded by regulators world-wide for 3½ months after batteries burned on two aircraft in January. The bulk of the Dash Nine's changes, though, were set in motion before those incidents, and are focused not on safety but on efficiency—for Boeing and its customers.
The original 787 was hailed for its technological advances. It boasts the first fuselage and wings on a commercial jetliner made mostly of carbon composites, and its advanced electrical system replaces many functions previously performed by mechanical and pneumatic systems.
Boeing also adopted a new approach to making the plane, outsourcing much of the design and manufacturing to suppliers in an effort to slash its share of the investment cost. Boeing engineers designed only 40% of the parts for the original Dreamliner, Mr. Fancher said.
The approach brought problems. Boeing's suppliers, in turn, outsourced to subcontractors, which caused design changes to pile up and feuds between Boeing and its suppliers.
Originally scheduled for delivery in May 2008, the 787-8 didn't make its commercial debut until more than three years later, a costly delay. Barclays Capital estimates Boeing that spent more than $12 billion to develop the original 787, not including factory equipment—more than double what analysts say was Boeing's original estimate of $5 billion. Barclays says the 787-9 cost an additional $3.5 billion to $4 billion. Boeing doesn't disclose its development spending for the 787.
For the Dash Nine, Boeing reversed course, designing 60% to 70% of plane internally, Mr. Fancher said. That's comparable with its previous all-new jet, the long-range 777, which was first delivered in 1995.
Boeing also has started manufacturing more of the plane itself, hoping that will help the company increase total Dreamliner output to 10 planes a month, its fastest pace ever for a twin-aisle jet. Boeing builds seven a month today and will soon move to the record rate.
For the first Dreamliners, Boeing manufactured 25% to 30% of each plane in house. That has increased to 35% for the line as a whole and the share is even greater for the 787-9. Its horizontal tail, for example, is now designed and manufactured at a Boeing facility in Salt Lake City, instead of by an Italian supplier that has struggled with quality control.
To cut weight and assembly time, Boeing has redesigned some multiple-piece components into single pieces, including parts of the windshield and body frames.There are "hundreds, maybe thousands" of small and large changes from nose to tail to lighten the aircraft and make it easier, quicker and less expensive to assemble, Mr. Fancher said.
The Dash Nine's original due date of 2010 was delayed by the broader problems that bedeviled the first version. But the current plan for initial delivery next year has remained relatively stable since late-2011. Mr. Fancher said assembly and engineering have remained on time.
The Dash Nine is Boeing's "chance to make things right, and live up to the original promise of the program," said Richard Aboulafia, a vice president at the Teal Group aerospace consulting firm.
Customers have high expectations. The new version accounts for 41% of Boeing's 936 Dreamliner orders. And orders for the Dash Nine and the 787-10, which is slated for 2018 delivery, have accounted for three-quarters of new 787s sold since 2009. The list price of the Dash Nine is $249.5 million, before the discounts that are typical in the industry, compared with $211.8 million for the 787-8.
Boeing currently sells each Dreamliner for less than it costs to manufacture. But the company says the Dreamliner program already is profitable, based on accounting standards that allow it to average estimated costs over 1,100 deliveries expected to stretch to the end of the decade. That makes it crucial for Boeing to bring costs down with revised supplier agreements and factory changes, and to sell jets that command higher prices. After discounts, Barclays estimates Boeing will be able to sell the 787-9 on average for about $10 million to $12 million more than the smaller model, or about $110 to $112 million.
Boeing hasn't disclosed production plans for the Dash Nine. A person familiar with its planning says the Dash Nine quickly will dominate production, accounting for a quarter of the 200th to 300th Dreamliners the company builds, half of the next 50 planes and 70% of the 50 planes after that. Mr. Fancher declined to comment on the pace of the Dash Nine's introduction.
Boeing has continued to develop what it can do with composite technology and is still learning as it moves on from the hard lessons of the 787-8. The company this year told customers—after manufacturing had begun—that it would have to reinforce part of the structure that connects wings to the body after analysis showed that the area needed to be strengthened.
Boeing says the reinforcement caused a "minor impact" on the schedule during assembly but didn't affect Tuesday's flight or the Dash Nine's scheduled first delivery to Air New Zealand Ltd. in the middle of next year.
A version of this article appeared September 17, 2013, on page B3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: New Dreamliner Takes Flight.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Monday, September 16, 2013
San Francisco first responders trained to use Osprey aircraft
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco emergency personnel trained with military aircraft Monday as part of a drill to prepare for a potential large-scale disaster in the area.
The disaster response training is taking place at the U.S. Coast Guard station in South San Francisco and involves firefighters, other first responders and members of the U.S. Marine Corps, according to Francis Zamora, spokesman for the city's Department of Emergency Management.
Zamora said the training is simulating "a catastrophic event where the military is helping us out."
An MV-22 Osprey, an aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but flies like an airplane, is being used in today's drill, Zamora said.
The first responders are training on how to properly load casualties onto the Osprey as well as best practices on fighting fires and extracting pilots from aircraft, he said.
The exercise is a preview of what will take place during next month's Fleet Week in the Bay Area, he said.
Federal budget cuts prompted the cancellation of the popular Blue Angels air show, but the disaster response training that is a part of Fleet Week will go on as usual, he said.
"One of the things San Francisco worked hard to ensure is that this type of interoperable training continues to take place," Zamora said.
"Something we like to say in the emergency management business is that we don't want to exchange business cards during a disaster, so it's really important for the city to make sure this training continues to happen," he said.
The exercise began at 10 a.m. and will continue into the afternoon. Training will also take place during Fleet Week, which is scheduled to run from Oct. 7-12.
More information about Fleet Week can be found online at www.fleetweek.us.
Story and Video: http://abclocal.go.com
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Airplane Wi-Fi Gets Up to Speed: Gogo Inc.’s New System Combines Satellites and Cell Towers
September 11, 2013, 12:04 a.m. ET
By JACK NICAS And ANDY PASZTOR
The Wall Street Journal
The race for fast Internet at 30,000 feet is accelerating as airlines roll out new technologies and speedier connections—offering more productivity for business travelers but also encroaching on a rare refuge from the wired world.
Gogo Inc. the largest provider of inflight Internet in the U.S., on Wednesday plans to unveil a system that uses a combination of satellites and cellular towers, connecting airplanes to the Web at speeds six times as fast as its current best option.
Virgin America Inc. will launch Gogo’s new inflight Wi-Fi service in the second half of 2014 and says it expects to eventually upgrade its 53 aircraft with the product.
That comes after JetBlue Airways Corp. received government approval last week to install a new high-capacity satellite link on many of its aircraft, an inflight Wi-Fi solution that can support streaming video to fliers’ devices from Netflix Inc.and Hulu, among others.
JetBlue, which has lacked inflight Internet, plans to launch the service on some aircraft this year and equip its entire fleet of 180 aircraft by the end of 2015.
Gogo sets the prices for its onboard Wi-Fi, with options including $14 one-day passes and $50 monthly passes.
JetBlue said it is reviewing pricing for the service, but that basic Internet use initially will be free, while the airline will charge fliers for streaming content, which uses more bandwidth. Other airlines that provide Wi-Fi currently block access to streaming services like Netflix, to avoid cannibalizing their own fee-based inflight entertainment.
The new technologies could mean Internet speeds in the air that are at least as fast as the average Internet speeds for Americans on the ground—something that could help break down flier resistance to paying and make the service profitable.
Almost nine of 10 U.S. fliers said they think every flight should offer Wi-Fi, according to a survey of 2,000 people released last week by Honeywell International Inc., which makes equipment for providing in-flight Internet. Yet Gogo said about 6% of potential customers currently purchase its Internet on flights.
Tim Farrar, a Menlo Park, Ca., satellite-industry consultant, said the same lower-than-expected percentage has generally held steady across the industry, “there’s no indication of any dramatic shift” on the horizon and the trend could impede the swift growth that Gogo and rival services foresee.
Some blame pokey speeds for that gap between desire and purchase. Fliers must share bandwidth, meaning that speeds slow when more passengers log on. David Cush, Virgin America’s CEO, said that on average flights, about a fifth of its fliers pay for Wi-Fi, but that “it starts to top out at 30 to 35 users very simply because response time starts to degrade.”
Gogo says its new service will offer speeds of 60 megabits per second to each airplane, compared with 3 mbps on its original Wi-Fi connection, which 1,700 aircraft still use, and 10 mbps on an updated product launched last year, which about 300 aircraft have. Panasonic Avionics Corp., which provides Wi-Fi to about 2,000 aircraft internationally, says its speeds now average 5 mbps to 10 mbps.
The average Internet connection on the ground in the U.S. is 8.6 mbps, according to Akamai Technologies Inc., a network operator.
JetBlue is connecting its aircraft via ViaSat Inc.’s satellites, the first time a commercial airline will use the higher-capacity Ka-band satellite spectrum, which some in the industry see as the future of inflight Internet. Gogo intends to use the same constellation.
JetBlue said its new service would provide speeds of 12 mbps to each flier’s device—not just the airplane, like on other providers. That model means “almost everyone on the airplane can enjoy that, not just one or two,” said Don Buchman, ViaSat’s director of mobile broadband.
Consultants said that JetBlue may be able to deliver high speeds to each device if several dozen fliers are just surfing the Web, but if users gravitate toward more bandwidth-intensive applications, JetBlue may find it hard to meet expectations.
Flights have been one of the few places that require people to unplug for a few hours. But since 2008, when AMR Corp.’s American Airlines flew the first Gogo-equipped commercial aircraft, the U.S. airline industry has rapidly expanded inflight Wi-Fi, connecting nearly 2,500 aircraft over the period.
Today, nearly 60% of commercial passenger aircraft in the U.S. are connected, not counting commuter jets, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of the nation’s 12 biggest airlines. That compares with about 35% two years ago. By the end of 2015, the airlines plan to have more than 85% of their mainline aircraft connected, including virtually all of the larger jets flown by the nation’s biggest carriers.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Jason Cupp, an independent management consultant from Kansas City, Mo., who took about 150 flights last year. “On one hand, it’s good because I get a lot of work done. On the other, [a plane] is the only space in literally my entire life where I’m not on the Internet.”
Matt Nevans, who travels more than 200,000 miles a year helping local governments set up email systems, said he is a loyal flier of United Continental Holdings Inc. But in recent years, as United was slow in adding inflight Wi-Fi, “I chose other airlines because I knew I needed to be online” during the flight.
United expects to add Wi-Fi to 200 of its 700 mainline aircraft by the end of the year, from 90 now, and to be fully equipped by the end of 2015.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mr. Nevans said.
Various foreign carriers have tried to focus on business travelers by maximizing connectivity on long-haul and intercontinental runs. But in some cases the revenue hasn’t been as hefty as envisioned, according to industry consultants, partly because many of those trips are overnight flights. There also are signs that short-haul flights may not be conducive to streaming video. Southwest Airlines Co. which specializes in such flights, originally agreed to have Row44 Inc., is a unit of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp., provide such content for a fee. But at least temporarily, the connectivity is now being provided free of charge as long as users watch a brief advertisement for sponsor satellite-broadcaster Dish Network Inc.
Gogo posted a loss of $70.5 million in the first half of this year. According to Mr. Farrar, Wall Street analysts expect Gogo’s revenue to climb to about $500 million over the next two or three years from an estimated $300 million in 2013. But plans to enhance Gogo’s hybrid network will cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the same period, according to industry consultants and analysts.
Jimmy Schaeffler, who runs satellite consultancy the Carmel Group, said hybrid satellite and land-based systems “still may have to contend with quality issues stemming from clouds, weather systems and other factors.”
Source: http://online.wsj.com
By JACK NICAS And ANDY PASZTOR
The Wall Street Journal
The race for fast Internet at 30,000 feet is accelerating as airlines roll out new technologies and speedier connections—offering more productivity for business travelers but also encroaching on a rare refuge from the wired world.
Gogo Inc. the largest provider of inflight Internet in the U.S., on Wednesday plans to unveil a system that uses a combination of satellites and cellular towers, connecting airplanes to the Web at speeds six times as fast as its current best option.
Virgin America Inc. will launch Gogo’s new inflight Wi-Fi service in the second half of 2014 and says it expects to eventually upgrade its 53 aircraft with the product.
That comes after JetBlue Airways Corp. received government approval last week to install a new high-capacity satellite link on many of its aircraft, an inflight Wi-Fi solution that can support streaming video to fliers’ devices from Netflix Inc.and Hulu, among others.
JetBlue, which has lacked inflight Internet, plans to launch the service on some aircraft this year and equip its entire fleet of 180 aircraft by the end of 2015.
Gogo sets the prices for its onboard Wi-Fi, with options including $14 one-day passes and $50 monthly passes.
JetBlue said it is reviewing pricing for the service, but that basic Internet use initially will be free, while the airline will charge fliers for streaming content, which uses more bandwidth. Other airlines that provide Wi-Fi currently block access to streaming services like Netflix, to avoid cannibalizing their own fee-based inflight entertainment.
The new technologies could mean Internet speeds in the air that are at least as fast as the average Internet speeds for Americans on the ground—something that could help break down flier resistance to paying and make the service profitable.
Almost nine of 10 U.S. fliers said they think every flight should offer Wi-Fi, according to a survey of 2,000 people released last week by Honeywell International Inc., which makes equipment for providing in-flight Internet. Yet Gogo said about 6% of potential customers currently purchase its Internet on flights.
Tim Farrar, a Menlo Park, Ca., satellite-industry consultant, said the same lower-than-expected percentage has generally held steady across the industry, “there’s no indication of any dramatic shift” on the horizon and the trend could impede the swift growth that Gogo and rival services foresee.
Some blame pokey speeds for that gap between desire and purchase. Fliers must share bandwidth, meaning that speeds slow when more passengers log on. David Cush, Virgin America’s CEO, said that on average flights, about a fifth of its fliers pay for Wi-Fi, but that “it starts to top out at 30 to 35 users very simply because response time starts to degrade.”
Gogo says its new service will offer speeds of 60 megabits per second to each airplane, compared with 3 mbps on its original Wi-Fi connection, which 1,700 aircraft still use, and 10 mbps on an updated product launched last year, which about 300 aircraft have. Panasonic Avionics Corp., which provides Wi-Fi to about 2,000 aircraft internationally, says its speeds now average 5 mbps to 10 mbps.
The average Internet connection on the ground in the U.S. is 8.6 mbps, according to Akamai Technologies Inc., a network operator.
JetBlue is connecting its aircraft via ViaSat Inc.’s satellites, the first time a commercial airline will use the higher-capacity Ka-band satellite spectrum, which some in the industry see as the future of inflight Internet. Gogo intends to use the same constellation.
JetBlue said its new service would provide speeds of 12 mbps to each flier’s device—not just the airplane, like on other providers. That model means “almost everyone on the airplane can enjoy that, not just one or two,” said Don Buchman, ViaSat’s director of mobile broadband.
Consultants said that JetBlue may be able to deliver high speeds to each device if several dozen fliers are just surfing the Web, but if users gravitate toward more bandwidth-intensive applications, JetBlue may find it hard to meet expectations.
Flights have been one of the few places that require people to unplug for a few hours. But since 2008, when AMR Corp.’s American Airlines flew the first Gogo-equipped commercial aircraft, the U.S. airline industry has rapidly expanded inflight Wi-Fi, connecting nearly 2,500 aircraft over the period.
Today, nearly 60% of commercial passenger aircraft in the U.S. are connected, not counting commuter jets, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of the nation’s 12 biggest airlines. That compares with about 35% two years ago. By the end of 2015, the airlines plan to have more than 85% of their mainline aircraft connected, including virtually all of the larger jets flown by the nation’s biggest carriers.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Jason Cupp, an independent management consultant from Kansas City, Mo., who took about 150 flights last year. “On one hand, it’s good because I get a lot of work done. On the other, [a plane] is the only space in literally my entire life where I’m not on the Internet.”
Matt Nevans, who travels more than 200,000 miles a year helping local governments set up email systems, said he is a loyal flier of United Continental Holdings Inc. But in recent years, as United was slow in adding inflight Wi-Fi, “I chose other airlines because I knew I needed to be online” during the flight.
United expects to add Wi-Fi to 200 of its 700 mainline aircraft by the end of the year, from 90 now, and to be fully equipped by the end of 2015.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mr. Nevans said.
Various foreign carriers have tried to focus on business travelers by maximizing connectivity on long-haul and intercontinental runs. But in some cases the revenue hasn’t been as hefty as envisioned, according to industry consultants, partly because many of those trips are overnight flights. There also are signs that short-haul flights may not be conducive to streaming video. Southwest Airlines Co. which specializes in such flights, originally agreed to have Row44 Inc., is a unit of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp., provide such content for a fee. But at least temporarily, the connectivity is now being provided free of charge as long as users watch a brief advertisement for sponsor satellite-broadcaster Dish Network Inc.
Gogo posted a loss of $70.5 million in the first half of this year. According to Mr. Farrar, Wall Street analysts expect Gogo’s revenue to climb to about $500 million over the next two or three years from an estimated $300 million in 2013. But plans to enhance Gogo’s hybrid network will cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the same period, according to industry consultants and analysts.
Jimmy Schaeffler, who runs satellite consultancy the Carmel Group, said hybrid satellite and land-based systems “still may have to contend with quality issues stemming from clouds, weather systems and other factors.”
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Sunday, September 08, 2013
Behind the C-17: Building the plane has been the work of families, friends
Posted: 09/07/13, 4:39 PM PDT
By Karen Robes Meeks, Long Beach Press Telegram
For those who don’t know Steve and Scott Hackman, it’s hard to tell who’s who unless you know who does what.
The longtime employees and identical twins work in the wing department, where Steve Hackman, a mechanic, drills thousands of rivets and fasteners into the plane and younger brother Scott Hackman — younger by five minutes — inspects that work.
“Everything has to be just right,” said Scott Hackman, lining up a small measuring tool against some of the 44,000 bolts, rivets and other parts on the plane.
“I don’t cut him any slack, and anything I find, he fixes, just like anybody else would,” the younger brother said. “He’s a really good mechanic. He’s one of my favorites. Not because he’s my identical twin brother, but I have a nice work ethic and so does he. It’s a genetic thing, you know.”
The Hackmans came to work for Boeing because their father worked here, as did their mother, aunt and uncle.
“Our dad gave us the applications, we both filled them out, we both handed them in, we both got called into the employment office together, we took the test and got hired on the same day,” Scott Hackman said. “My badge number was one different than his.”
Like the Hackmans, many graduates from Millikan High School came to work at the Long Beach plant.
“I think the reason why it’s close-knit is because every single day I come in — I’ve been here 33 years — and I see the same people every day,” Steve Hackman said. “The same guys go to the gym. I mean, you see them at the lunch truck, go in and out, it’s a family. You spend more time here than you do at home. ... When you work together like that you basically become like family.”
The twins are pretty inseparable. They are on the phone with each other on their way to work. (Before cellphones, they talked on two-way radios with linear amplifiers on their commute.) They walk in together, go to the gym at lunchtime together and chat during breaks.
“We’re best friends,” Scott Hackman said.
All in the family
Garrett Eddington, who works in fire services for Boeing, remembers being a 6-year-old sitting on the hood of a red 1965 Ford pickup at the end of the runway near his Long Beach home, watching the first C-17 Globemaster III fly out of the plant nearly 22 years ago.
“It’s something I’d never seen before,” said Eddington, 28, a third-generation Boeing employee. “It’s a C-17. It’s what my dad built.”
The three generations of Eddingtons tied to Long Beach and this company started with his grandfather, Robert Eddington, a machinist who worked on commercial planes for 39 years. His father, Gary Eddington, is a supervisor on the C-17 who started at the company on the commercial side in 1979.
“I’ve got friends here that I went to high school with,” said Gary Eddington, 55. “Some of us grew up on the same block, went to the same high school and we’re all still working here.”
He remembers when there was more than 40,000 people working there.
“When I was first hired here, we used to take trams … that pulled us all the way into the buildings because you couldn’t find a parking spot.”
He said working on the C-17 has been a blessing.
“It’s been fun. It’s been great for me, great for my family,” said Gary Eddington, adding that his job has afforded him the ability to put his three children through college. “They’ve all got college degrees and have full-time jobs. ...
“I’ll be here until they close the doors myself. I’m not quite old enough to retire yet.”
Star power
Over the years, customer relations manager Lynne Jungers has seen many high-ranking officials, presidents and dignitaries come to the Long Beach plant to see the military jet.
But perhaps the most celebrated visit was that of the late Bob Hope, who came to Long Beach in 1997 for the naming of C-17 Globemaster III No. 31, “The Spirit of Bob Hope.”
She remembered the legendary comedian sitting in a Jeep, wearing a C-17 jacket and hat.
“He was very frail until you put the microphone in his hand,” she said. “If you didn’t look at him to realize how elderly he was, you’d have thought this was Bob Hope in Vietnam talking to the troops. I mean, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’”
Jungers said it reminded her of being at a ballgame watching a player retire his number.
“It chokes you up,” she said. “He got a bigger reaction than any general. He got a bigger reception than President Clinton by far. This is a great American. I will always remember this day.”
Flying high
For seven of the 28 years he has worked at Boeing, aircraft mechanic Willie White commuted from Perris in Riverside County to Long Beach by plane.
He and eight others took two private airplanes they chartered themselves to and from Riverside and Long Beach, flying up and over the grueling rush hour traffic.
“That’s been the highlight, to be able to fly in an airplane into your work on an airplane and fly back home,” said White, who now lives in Anaheim and drives to Boeing in Long Beach. “We’d clock out of here at 2:30, get in the plane and fly 70 miles and get in our home by 3:25 on a Friday.”
He racked up more than 1,000 hours of flying during his seven-year commute to and from Long Beach.
“That’s love,” he said.
A life’s work
When Nancy Wrobleski was recruited out of college by McDonnell Douglas in 1985, she thought she’d spend a couple of years in Long Beach before moving back to her native Wisconsin.
That was 28 years ago.
“I’ve been on the C-17 program my whole career, and I absolutely love it,” she said.
She and her team provide field support for the C-17, ensuring that the more than 1,000 engines in the fleet are in good health.
The propulsion engineering manager spoke about the passion of longtime workers who mentored her.
“Everyone is so proud of this plane,” she said. “Every time it takes off, people get chills. After that many years, you still really feel this way.”
Original Article and Photo Gallery: http://www.presstelegram.com
By Karen Robes Meeks, Long Beach Press Telegram
For those who don’t know Steve and Scott Hackman, it’s hard to tell who’s who unless you know who does what.
The longtime employees and identical twins work in the wing department, where Steve Hackman, a mechanic, drills thousands of rivets and fasteners into the plane and younger brother Scott Hackman — younger by five minutes — inspects that work.
“Everything has to be just right,” said Scott Hackman, lining up a small measuring tool against some of the 44,000 bolts, rivets and other parts on the plane.
“I don’t cut him any slack, and anything I find, he fixes, just like anybody else would,” the younger brother said. “He’s a really good mechanic. He’s one of my favorites. Not because he’s my identical twin brother, but I have a nice work ethic and so does he. It’s a genetic thing, you know.”
The Hackmans came to work for Boeing because their father worked here, as did their mother, aunt and uncle.
“Our dad gave us the applications, we both filled them out, we both handed them in, we both got called into the employment office together, we took the test and got hired on the same day,” Scott Hackman said. “My badge number was one different than his.”
Like the Hackmans, many graduates from Millikan High School came to work at the Long Beach plant.
“I think the reason why it’s close-knit is because every single day I come in — I’ve been here 33 years — and I see the same people every day,” Steve Hackman said. “The same guys go to the gym. I mean, you see them at the lunch truck, go in and out, it’s a family. You spend more time here than you do at home. ... When you work together like that you basically become like family.”
The twins are pretty inseparable. They are on the phone with each other on their way to work. (Before cellphones, they talked on two-way radios with linear amplifiers on their commute.) They walk in together, go to the gym at lunchtime together and chat during breaks.
“We’re best friends,” Scott Hackman said.
All in the family
Garrett Eddington, who works in fire services for Boeing, remembers being a 6-year-old sitting on the hood of a red 1965 Ford pickup at the end of the runway near his Long Beach home, watching the first C-17 Globemaster III fly out of the plant nearly 22 years ago.
“It’s something I’d never seen before,” said Eddington, 28, a third-generation Boeing employee. “It’s a C-17. It’s what my dad built.”
The three generations of Eddingtons tied to Long Beach and this company started with his grandfather, Robert Eddington, a machinist who worked on commercial planes for 39 years. His father, Gary Eddington, is a supervisor on the C-17 who started at the company on the commercial side in 1979.
“I’ve got friends here that I went to high school with,” said Gary Eddington, 55. “Some of us grew up on the same block, went to the same high school and we’re all still working here.”
He remembers when there was more than 40,000 people working there.
“When I was first hired here, we used to take trams … that pulled us all the way into the buildings because you couldn’t find a parking spot.”
He said working on the C-17 has been a blessing.
“It’s been fun. It’s been great for me, great for my family,” said Gary Eddington, adding that his job has afforded him the ability to put his three children through college. “They’ve all got college degrees and have full-time jobs. ...
“I’ll be here until they close the doors myself. I’m not quite old enough to retire yet.”
Star power
Over the years, customer relations manager Lynne Jungers has seen many high-ranking officials, presidents and dignitaries come to the Long Beach plant to see the military jet.
But perhaps the most celebrated visit was that of the late Bob Hope, who came to Long Beach in 1997 for the naming of C-17 Globemaster III No. 31, “The Spirit of Bob Hope.”
She remembered the legendary comedian sitting in a Jeep, wearing a C-17 jacket and hat.
“He was very frail until you put the microphone in his hand,” she said. “If you didn’t look at him to realize how elderly he was, you’d have thought this was Bob Hope in Vietnam talking to the troops. I mean, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness!’”
Jungers said it reminded her of being at a ballgame watching a player retire his number.
“It chokes you up,” she said. “He got a bigger reaction than any general. He got a bigger reception than President Clinton by far. This is a great American. I will always remember this day.”
Flying high
For seven of the 28 years he has worked at Boeing, aircraft mechanic Willie White commuted from Perris in Riverside County to Long Beach by plane.
He and eight others took two private airplanes they chartered themselves to and from Riverside and Long Beach, flying up and over the grueling rush hour traffic.
“That’s been the highlight, to be able to fly in an airplane into your work on an airplane and fly back home,” said White, who now lives in Anaheim and drives to Boeing in Long Beach. “We’d clock out of here at 2:30, get in the plane and fly 70 miles and get in our home by 3:25 on a Friday.”
He racked up more than 1,000 hours of flying during his seven-year commute to and from Long Beach.
“That’s love,” he said.
A life’s work
When Nancy Wrobleski was recruited out of college by McDonnell Douglas in 1985, she thought she’d spend a couple of years in Long Beach before moving back to her native Wisconsin.
That was 28 years ago.
“I’ve been on the C-17 program my whole career, and I absolutely love it,” she said.
She and her team provide field support for the C-17, ensuring that the more than 1,000 engines in the fleet are in good health.
The propulsion engineering manager spoke about the passion of longtime workers who mentored her.
“Everyone is so proud of this plane,” she said. “Every time it takes off, people get chills. After that many years, you still really feel this way.”
Original Article and Photo Gallery: http://www.presstelegram.com
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Major aircraft deals a boon for GE Aviation plant
GE Aviation is wrapping up the summer in style.
The company recently signed two substantial aircraft engine contracts – and that means good news for the more than 600 employees who work at the local GE Aviation plant in Castle Hayne, which makes rotating parts for a slew of aircraft engines.
Those orders come on top of a significant future investment in the New Hanover County plant that the company announced at the start of the summer as part of a statewide expansion of its North Carolina facilities.
Just before the Labor Day weekend, Canada's WestJet Airlines ordered 65 next-generation Boeing 737 jets, which generally seat from 160 to 180 passengers. The exclusive supplier of engines to the popular twin-engined 737 is CFM International, which is a joint venture between France's Snecma and GE Aviation.
WestJet's order for LEAP engines is valued at $1.7 billion. The planes will be delivered starting in 2017.
Parts for the LEAP engine are made in Castle Hayne.
Then last week Delta announced that it had selected CFM engines to power 30 Airbus 321 jets, which will seat 190.
The agreement is valued at more than $850 million, including spare engines and a suite of material support agreements.
That engine, the CFM56, also uses parts from the Castle Hayne plant.
Delta's planes will start to be delivered in 2016.
GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy said that while it was hard to quantify the impact of a single order on employment levels, the recent contracts help to ensure the long-term stability at the local plant.
He added that GE and its partner companies, including CFM, are forecasting to deliver about 3,600 commercial and military jet engines this year and 3,800 in 2014.
"The outlook for the Wilmington plant, based on our production outlook over the next three years, is very good," Kennedy said in an email.
GE also has announced plans to expand and upgrade its aviation facilities in North Carolina, including at Castle Hayne.
The company announced in June that it would add 242 jobs – possibly 35 of them at its Castle Hayne facility – and invest $195 million over five years as part of a $20 million incentive package offered by the state and local governments.
In Castle Hayne, the company will invest $63 million in its 540,000-square-foot facility.
Along with parts for commercial aircraft engines that power airliners built by Boeing, Airbus, Montreal-based Bombardier and Brazil-based Embraer, the Castle Hayne plant also makes parts for a GE engine used to power the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a multi-role fighter popular with the U.S. and many foreign air forces.
Original Article: http://www.starnewsonline.com
The company recently signed two substantial aircraft engine contracts – and that means good news for the more than 600 employees who work at the local GE Aviation plant in Castle Hayne, which makes rotating parts for a slew of aircraft engines.
Those orders come on top of a significant future investment in the New Hanover County plant that the company announced at the start of the summer as part of a statewide expansion of its North Carolina facilities.
Just before the Labor Day weekend, Canada's WestJet Airlines ordered 65 next-generation Boeing 737 jets, which generally seat from 160 to 180 passengers. The exclusive supplier of engines to the popular twin-engined 737 is CFM International, which is a joint venture between France's Snecma and GE Aviation.
WestJet's order for LEAP engines is valued at $1.7 billion. The planes will be delivered starting in 2017.
Parts for the LEAP engine are made in Castle Hayne.
Then last week Delta announced that it had selected CFM engines to power 30 Airbus 321 jets, which will seat 190.
The agreement is valued at more than $850 million, including spare engines and a suite of material support agreements.
That engine, the CFM56, also uses parts from the Castle Hayne plant.
Delta's planes will start to be delivered in 2016.
GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy said that while it was hard to quantify the impact of a single order on employment levels, the recent contracts help to ensure the long-term stability at the local plant.
He added that GE and its partner companies, including CFM, are forecasting to deliver about 3,600 commercial and military jet engines this year and 3,800 in 2014.
"The outlook for the Wilmington plant, based on our production outlook over the next three years, is very good," Kennedy said in an email.
GE also has announced plans to expand and upgrade its aviation facilities in North Carolina, including at Castle Hayne.
The company announced in June that it would add 242 jobs – possibly 35 of them at its Castle Hayne facility – and invest $195 million over five years as part of a $20 million incentive package offered by the state and local governments.
In Castle Hayne, the company will invest $63 million in its 540,000-square-foot facility.
Along with parts for commercial aircraft engines that power airliners built by Boeing, Airbus, Montreal-based Bombardier and Brazil-based Embraer, the Castle Hayne plant also makes parts for a GE engine used to power the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a multi-role fighter popular with the U.S. and many foreign air forces.
Original Article: http://www.starnewsonline.com
Monday, August 12, 2013
Business and political leaders celebrate New Mexico aviation industry
ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUIS
Planes equipped with Aspen Avionics gear and jets built by Eclipse Aerospace are on display at the Aviation Rally held at Cutter Aviation on Monday.
Why We Fly Eclipse Jets
Aviation business leaders, state politicians and employees from prominent New Mexico-based companies gathered in Albuquerque on Monday to celebrate the state’s growing aviation and aerospace industry.
At the rally, organized by the Washington, D.C.-based General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Gov. Susana Martinez and others spoke about the industry’s broad impact on the New Mexico economy.
Aviation-related activity in the state supports more than 48,000 jobs, generates $1.3 billion in payroll annually, and contributes $3.1 billion to the economy, she said.
“That’s something worth celebrating, and worth building on,” Martinez told the crowd.
Manufacturers Association President and CEO Pete Bunce said New Mexico is the 10th state selected by his organization for an industry rally, something the association launched following the recession in 2008.
The downturn had a huge impact on the aviation industry nationwide, so the association uses the celebration events to highlight its benefits and unite local, state and national leaders to make it stronger.
“We took a beating in the recession,” Bunce told rally participants. “We realized we hadn’t done a good job of telling our story as a high-wage and high tax-producing industry. So we’re telling our story with elected officials at the state, local and federal levels.”
General aviation, which includes all aviation other than military and commercial, contributes more than $150 billion annually to the national economy and supports 1.2 million jobs, according to the association.
In New Mexico, the sector contributes about $760 million annually to the economy. It includes everything from aircraft manufacturers and avionics developers to charter flight firms and repair and service companies.
As in other states, local businesses suffered in the recession. Many laid off workers. Some went bankrupt, the most notable being Eclipse Aviation Corp.
But the industry has rebounded substantially in the last two to three years. Nationally, the association reported that billings for airplane shipments reached $10.4 billion in the first half of 2013. That’s up 26.4 percent from $8.2 billion in the same period last year.
New Mexico companies also report healthy growth, including four firms that helped organize and host the rally in Albuquerque: Cutter Aviation, Aspen Avionics, Bendix King by Honeywell, and Eclipse Aerospace.
Eclipse Aerospace bought Eclipse Aviation’s assets out of bankruptcy and has since completely rebuilt the company, said Ed Lundeen, vice president for operations.
“The first Eclipse 550 very light jet will come off the production line in the fourth quarter of this year,” Lundeen told rally participants, which included a few dozen Eclipse employees. “When we started four years ago, we had only 13 employees. Today we have 273.”
Story and Photo: http://www.abqjournal.com
Monday, August 05, 2013
Drones to fly over parts of Onondaga, Madison and Oswego counties - New York
Syracuse, N.Y. - Drones have been approved for training flights over
parts of Onondaga, Madison and Oswego counties, military officials
announced today.
The remotely operated MQ-9 Reapers have already been flying over a far larger swath of upstate New York since October 2011. But the new federal approval has expanded that air space further south to include some of Central New York's most densely populated regions.
At a news conference, Col. Greg Semmel dismissed concerns about drone surveillance, praised their safety record and said the new air space would improve the efficiency of the Air National Guard's training operation.
"The flights have been highly successful and are critically important" for training drone operators who are then tasked with providing aerial cover for American soldiers at war, Semmel said.
The extra airspace - which stretches down to Syracuse, west to Camillus and east to Fayetteville - will give training officers more flexibility around Central New York's notoriously erratic weather, Semmel said. This will save the government money by reducing the number of delayed or canceled training exercises, he said.
The drones can also be used to gather information about natural disasters at the governor's request, Semmel said.
"There are so many opportunities to use this bird to help the citizens of New York," said Semmel, who spoke in front of a reaper and American flag at the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base.
Semmel also promised that the drones would never be used for surveillance on citizens, saying their operations are carefully circumscribed by federal laws.
"We will never perform targeted surveillance on any New Yorker or any other U.S. citizen during our training missions," Semmel said.
The 174th Attack Wing's four planes will not be used for local law enforcement either, Semmel said.
Asked how Central New Yorkers would react to the drones' presence in their area, Semmel noted that the training missions take place 18,000 feet in the air.
"They will very likely never see the airplane," Semmel said.
Story, Photos and Comments/Reaction: http://www.syracuse.com
The remotely operated MQ-9 Reapers have already been flying over a far larger swath of upstate New York since October 2011. But the new federal approval has expanded that air space further south to include some of Central New York's most densely populated regions.
At a news conference, Col. Greg Semmel dismissed concerns about drone surveillance, praised their safety record and said the new air space would improve the efficiency of the Air National Guard's training operation.
"The flights have been highly successful and are critically important" for training drone operators who are then tasked with providing aerial cover for American soldiers at war, Semmel said.
The extra airspace - which stretches down to Syracuse, west to Camillus and east to Fayetteville - will give training officers more flexibility around Central New York's notoriously erratic weather, Semmel said. This will save the government money by reducing the number of delayed or canceled training exercises, he said.
The drones can also be used to gather information about natural disasters at the governor's request, Semmel said.
"There are so many opportunities to use this bird to help the citizens of New York," said Semmel, who spoke in front of a reaper and American flag at the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base.
Semmel also promised that the drones would never be used for surveillance on citizens, saying their operations are carefully circumscribed by federal laws.
"We will never perform targeted surveillance on any New Yorker or any other U.S. citizen during our training missions," Semmel said.
The 174th Attack Wing's four planes will not be used for local law enforcement either, Semmel said.
Asked how Central New Yorkers would react to the drones' presence in their area, Semmel noted that the training missions take place 18,000 feet in the air.
"They will very likely never see the airplane," Semmel said.
Story, Photos and Comments/Reaction: http://www.syracuse.com
Monday, July 29, 2013
GE Aviation test records hottest temperatures in jet engine history
GE Aviation has recorded the highest temperatures in history for a jet engine during tests, the Evendale company said Monday.
The jet engine maker tested an engine core for a potential military combat engine as part of a research and development program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
Temperatures in the test exceeded the target by 130 degrees Fahrenheit, demonstrating the highest combination of compressor and turbine temperatures ever recorded in aviation history, GE Aviation said.
The actual temperature reached is classified information, said Matt Benvie, spokesman for GE Aviation.
GE Aviation conducted the test in February this year, Benvie said. The information is being publicly released now after getting security clearance.
The entire engine test ran for 60 total hours. The turbine fan ran during the test for two hours above state-of-the art temperatures. And the engine was tested for 85 minutes above the goal temperature, Benvie said.
The technology is unprecedented.
“If you can go over a target temperature while still having the hardware perform well, there’s a lot of margin in terms of the durability of the engine,” he said. And “if you run an engine hotter, you’re able to extract more energy from the fuel.”
Based on the test’s success, conducted in Evendale, in Hamilton County, the first full adaptive cycle engine test is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013 in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, housed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
The new military engine in development uses the company’s proven commercial engine technologies: the next-generation LEAP high-pressure compressor; heat-resistant ceramic matrix composite materials in the combustor and high-pressure turbine; and additive (3-D) manufactured components, GE Aviation said.
The LEAP engine is a product of GE’s and French company Snecma’s joint venture CFM International. LEAP will be GE Aviation’s next big commercial product to enter service in 2016, and the first commercial engine to contain ceramic matrix composite parts.
The record-setting engine test was for the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
“The engine hardware is in excellent condition, even with operation above the target temperatures. We are pleased with the core test results and look forward to continuing the success with the full-engine adaptive cycle demonstration,” said Matt Meininger, Air Force Research Laboratory ADVENT program manager, in a statement.
Source: http://www.toledoblade.com
The jet engine maker tested an engine core for a potential military combat engine as part of a research and development program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
Temperatures in the test exceeded the target by 130 degrees Fahrenheit, demonstrating the highest combination of compressor and turbine temperatures ever recorded in aviation history, GE Aviation said.
The actual temperature reached is classified information, said Matt Benvie, spokesman for GE Aviation.
GE Aviation conducted the test in February this year, Benvie said. The information is being publicly released now after getting security clearance.
The entire engine test ran for 60 total hours. The turbine fan ran during the test for two hours above state-of-the art temperatures. And the engine was tested for 85 minutes above the goal temperature, Benvie said.
The technology is unprecedented.
“If you can go over a target temperature while still having the hardware perform well, there’s a lot of margin in terms of the durability of the engine,” he said. And “if you run an engine hotter, you’re able to extract more energy from the fuel.”
Based on the test’s success, conducted in Evendale, in Hamilton County, the first full adaptive cycle engine test is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013 in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, housed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
The new military engine in development uses the company’s proven commercial engine technologies: the next-generation LEAP high-pressure compressor; heat-resistant ceramic matrix composite materials in the combustor and high-pressure turbine; and additive (3-D) manufactured components, GE Aviation said.
The LEAP engine is a product of GE’s and French company Snecma’s joint venture CFM International. LEAP will be GE Aviation’s next big commercial product to enter service in 2016, and the first commercial engine to contain ceramic matrix composite parts.
The record-setting engine test was for the Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology program in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
“The engine hardware is in excellent condition, even with operation above the target temperatures. We are pleased with the core test results and look forward to continuing the success with the full-engine adaptive cycle demonstration,” said Matt Meininger, Air Force Research Laboratory ADVENT program manager, in a statement.
Source: http://www.toledoblade.com
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