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© Spirit AeroSystems.We are the OEM’s OEM. When you need licensed spare parts, it makes sense to do what the OEM did when the airplane was built: Turn to Spirit AeroSystems – the same company that built the part in the first place. Next time you need a spare part, go straight to the source for affordable cost and assurance of original quality. Visit us at spiritaero.com/aftermarket or call our 24-hour AOG hotline at +1 (866) 526-8929. YOUR VI SI ON TAKES FLI GHT. Same part number. Same tooling. Same process. Lower price. © Spirit AeroSystems. We are the OEM’s OEM. When you need licensed spare parts, it makes sense to do what the OEM did when the airplane was built: Turn to Spirit AeroSystems – the same company that built the part in the first place. Next time you need a spare part, go straight to the source for affordable cost and assurance of original quality. Visit us at spiritaero.com/aftermarket or call our 24-hour AOG hotline at +1 (866) 526-8929. YOUR VI SI ON TAKES FLI GHT. Same part number. Same tooling. Same process. Lower price. Editor-In-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo Executive Editor James R. Asker Managing Editors Jen DiMascio, Jens Flottau, Graham Warwick Assistant Managing Editor Michael Stearns Art Director Lisa Caputo Executive Editor, Data and Analytics Jim Mathews DEFENSE, SPACE AND SECURITY Editors Jen DiMascio (Managing Editor), Jeferson Morris (Associate Managing Editor), Michael Bruno, Amy Butler, Michael Fabey, Sean Meade, Frank Morring, Jr., Bill Sweetman (Chief Editor, Defense Technology Edition) CIVIL AVIATION/MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OVERHAUL Editors Jens Flottau (Managing Editor), Darren Shannon (Associate Managing Editor), Sean Broderick, John Croft, William Garvey, Fred George, Rupa Haria, Kerry Lynch, Guy Norris, Bradley Perrett, Jessica Salerno, Adrian Schofield, Lee Ann Tegtmeier (Chief Editor, MRO Edition) Chief Aircraft Evaluation Editor Fred George For individual e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and more, go to www.AviationWeek.com/editors EDITORIAL OFFICES 2 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10121 Phone: +1 (212) 904-2000, Fax: +1 (212) 904-6068 BUREAUS AUCKLAND 53 Staincross St., Green Bay, Auckland 0604, New Zealand Phone: +64 (27) 578-7544 Bureau Chief Adrian Schofield BEIJING D-1601, A6 Jianguo Menwai Ave., Chaoyang, Beijing 100022, China Phone: +86 (186) 0002-4422 Bureau Chief Bradley Perrett BRUSSELS Rue de L’Aqueduc 134, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Phone: +32 (2) 648-7774 Contributing Editor Cathy Buyck CHICAGO 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2300, Chicago, Ill. Phone: +1 (312) 840-8445 Bureau Chief Lee Ann Tegtmeier COLUMBIA, S.C. 1120 Bafn Road, Columbia, S.C. 29212 Phone: +1 (803) 727-0309 Managing Editor, AviationWeek.com Sean Meade FRANKFURT Am Muhlberg 39, 61348 Bad Homburg, Germany Phone: +69 (69) 2999-2718 Fax: +49 (6172) 671-9791 Bureau Chief Jens Flottau LONDON 20 Canada Square, 7th floor Canary Wharf, London E14 5LH, England Phone: +44 (207) 176-2524 Bureau Chief Tony Osborne Engagement Director Rupa Haria LOS ANGELES 10 Whitewood Way, Irvine, Calif. 92612 Phone: +1 (949) 387-7253 Bureau Chief Guy Norris MOSCOW Box 127, Moscow, 119048, Russia Phone: +7 (495) 626-5356; Fax: +7 (495) 933-0297 Contributing Editor Maxim Pyadushkin NEW DELHI Flat #223, Samachar Apartments, Mayur Vihar—Phase-1 (ext.) New Delhi 110091, India Phone: +91 (98) 1154-7145 Contributing Editor Jay Menon PARIS 40 rue Courcelles, 75008 Paris, France +33 (06) 72-27-05-49 Bureau Chief Amy Svitak Contributing Editor Pierre Sparaco [email protected] WASHINGTON 1200 G St., N.W., Suite 922, Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: +1 (202) 383-2300, Fax: +1 (202) 383-2347 Bureau Chief James R. Asker Administrator of Bureaus Kyla Clark Art Department Scott Marshall, Colin Throm Copy Editors Andrea Hollowell, Patricia Parmalee Director, Editorial and Online Production Michael O. Lavitt Production Editors Elizabeth Campochiaro, Bridget Horan, Ellen Pugatch Contributing Photographer Joseph Pries PENTON David Kieselstein Chief Executive Ofcer Warren N. Bimblick Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development Nicola Allais Chief Financial Ofcer/Executive Vice President Andrew Schmolka Senior Vice President & General Counsel Gregory Hamilton President, Aviation Week AVIATION WEEK & S PA C E T E C H NOL OG Y AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 3 Dual Snap ® Pressure, Temperature & Liquid Flow Switches & Sensors www.ccsdualsnap.com Time-Tested. Reduced Costs & Time. Innovative, Next Generation Solutions. 90G Series Hydraulic Pressure, 45D Differential Oil Pressure and 42D Fuel Pressure Switches with PMA shown. CCS manufactures and supplies original PMA parts for Boeing, Airbus and numerous general aviation aircraft globally. Beijing Shanghai Wuxi Significant events of Rockwell Collins’ first three decades in China Since 1983, Rockwell Collins has collaborated with China’s aviation industry to offer a full spectrum of cost-effective aviation systems and services that provide a foundation for tremendous growth in China’s future, including: • Airline avionics • Communications • In-flight entertainment • Simulation and training 1983 Rockwell International opens offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. CASC becomes our first customer, acting as purchasing arm for all airlines in China. 1989 Rockwell Collins’ first partnership program in China is the EFIS for the K-8 jet trainer/light attack aircraft, made at AVIC Changfeng under license from Rockwell Collins. 1990 Y-8F 100 avionics for AVIC Shaanxi Aircraft Company MD-80/82 are delivered to China Eastern Airlines and China Northern Airlines. 1991 Assembling and testing of WXR and TCAS at AVIC LETRI under license. 1992 Y-12 Pro Line 2™ avionics for AVIC Harbin Aviation Industry Group. 1993 CATIC/Rockwell Collins establishes software center at AVIC CARERI in Shanghai. 1996 Y-7 (MA60) EFIS and navigation for AVIC Xi’an Aircraft Company. 1997 The first Rockwell Collins service center in China opens in Shanghai’s Pudong Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, as a wholly- owned foreign enterprise. It is converted in 2003 into a joint venture with China Eastern Airlines. 1998 University student exchange program with AVIC. 1999 CATIC/Rockwell Collins establishes second software center at AVIC ACTRI in Xi’an. 1989 1990 1992 1997 1983 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 Rockwell Collins. Working together with China Aviation, past, present and future. 1999 China MoFA names Rockwell Collins as its provider for HF ground station equipment and installation worldwide. 2003 Commercial helicopter H425 (AC312) Pro Line 4™ integrated avionics for AVIC Harbin Aviation Industry Group. 2003 ARJ21 Pro Line 21™ integrated avionics for AVIC ACAC (now COMAC). 2005 CAAC ATMB awards Rockwell Collins a contract to upgrade its HF ground radio stations. 2006 MA600 Pro Line 21 integrated avionics for AVIC Xi’an Aircraft Company. 2008 PCB production outsourcing starts with AVIC Shennan Circuits Company. 2009 Rockwell Collins begins joint development of the future flight simulator for the MA60/600 FFS with AVIC XASC, certified by CAAC. 2010 COMAC names Rockwell Collins as supplier for the in-flight entertainment, integrated Communication, Navigation, Surveillance and cabin core systems for the C919. 2011 Rockwell Collins opens its China System Support Center in Shanghai, its fifth facility in China. 2011 Rockwell Collins establishes a global asset management pool in China to meet airline customer needs. 2011 C919 engineering FFS joint development with AVIC XASC for COMAC to support aircraft design activities. 2012 Rockwell Collins and China Eastern Airlines sign a 10-year agreement to renew their MRO joint venture. 2012 Rockwell Collins signs C919 joint venture contract for integrated Communication, Navigation, Surveillance systems with AVIC LETRI and CETCA. 2013 AVIC Leihua Rockwell Collins Avionics Company opens in Wuxi. The new joint venture with AVIC LETRI will develop and manufacture integrated surveillance system products for COMAC’s C919 aircraft in China. 2013 MOA with AVIC Bluesky establishes commercial simulation joint venture in China. 2003 2003 2006 2011 2013 2013 2010 2011 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 2013 DEPARTMENTS 7 Letter from the President 10 Feedback 11 Who’s Where 12-14 The World 18 Up Front 20 Leading Edge 22 Reality Check 24 Airline Intel 26 In Orbit 27 Washington Outlook 63 Classified 64 Contact Us 65 Aerospace Calendar THE WORLD 12 Boeing satellite engineers prepare first Inmarsat-5 mobile broadband satellite for launch by year-end 12 Controllers readying another AEHF spacecraft for satcom operation after launch on an Atlas V 14 RAF retiring last of its VC10 tankers to museums or collections this week as service looks to A330 MRTT FIRST FLIGHTS 28 Initial flight for CSeries, Bombar- dier’s largest aircraft and its first with fly-by-wire flight controls 30 Debut of 787-9 a milestone for the program as Boeing continues to ramp up deliveries of the -8 DEFENSE 31 USAF chief places top priorities among new programs followed by replacements for JStars and T-38 34 Netherlands to purchase the JSF, but at a greatly diminished number than originally envisaged 35 Shared situational awareness and decision-making aids now the targets of refocused PCAS demo 58 Hawk T2 jet trainer, modern synthetic training aids have dramatic efect on jet crews’ preparedness 60 European countries invited to qualify their combat aircraft to refuel from Italy’s new Boeing KC-767 tanker 61 Sikorsky Seahawks proving to be the saving graces of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship UNMANNED SYSTEMS 36 Orion takes first step toward demonstrating a 120-hr. flight at 20,000 ft., carrying a 1,000-lb. payload 62 Unmanned aircraft beginning to play key role in monitoring climate changes in vast Arctic areas SPACE 38 More milestones line up for NASA Commercial Crew program contenders as concept tests continue 40 SpaceX modifying Dragon capsule to aford more payload capacity for NASA cargo runs to and from ISS 41 Orbital engineers already looking for another rocket engine to power the Antares medium-lift launcher First flight of Bombardier’s CSeries narrowbody jet lasted about 2.5 hr., operating from Mirabel airport near Montreal in middle-of-the- envelope conditions, taking of at mid-weight and reduced thrust. 28 This week, Aviation Week publishes two editions. On the far left cover, Bombardier’s CSeries test aircraft FTV1 makes its first flight from Mirabel, near Montreal, on Sept. 16. The CSeries is the first all-new competitor to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 in the narrowbody market and its success is crucial for Bombardier, but certification and delivery in 12 months will be a challenge (page 28). The cover of our MRO edition shows a laser drilling holes in a second-stage high-pressure turbine blade from a GE CF6-80C2 during a repair. The article discusses how surplus parts are being used to reshape decisions on whether to repair or replace an aircraft component (page MRO4). CSeries photo by Rick Radell/Bombardier. MRO photo courtesy of General Electric. ON THE COVERS R I C K R A D E L L / B O M B A R D I E R AVIATION WEEK & S P A C E T E C H N O L O G Y 6 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Digital Extras Tap this icon in articles in the digital edition of AW&ST for exclusive features. If you have not signed up to receive your digital subscription, go to AviationWeek.com/awstcustomers Winner 2013 Contents September 23, 2013 Volume 175 Number 33 You’ve probably heard the news that Aviation Week has been purchased by Penton Media, becoming one of Penton’s flagship industry brands with a high-quality comprehensive portfolio of B2B Media, Events and Data/Analytics serving the growing global aviation, aerospace and defense marketplace. We join forces with Penton Aviation’s top brands in commercial/MRO and business aviation, while maintaining our core strength with deep technology expertise across the the industry. Inclusive to this partnership, Aviation Week continues to serve the defense, space and security market with industry-leading intelligence across the air, sea and land segments, including our monthly Defense Technology Edition. In commercial aviation and MRO, our portfolio now includes Aviation Week & Space Technology, and its monthly MRO Edition; Air Transport World; Airportdata.com; Avia- tion Daily; ShowNews; SpeedNews; the global MRO Event series; the commercial/MRO channels on AviationWeek.com; and the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), along with new custom fleet data and MRO forecasting tools. I have been asked to lead the combined and expanded Aviation Week group at Pen- ton, and my management and editorial department heads are now working closely with their new colleagues from Penton Aviation. This is an extraordinary merger of editorial, management, and analytical teams and talent in this sector. We are now uniquely positioned to deliver even more essential news, analysis, business intelligence and data across multiple platforms while producing the most innovative and impactful marketing programs to help your industry succeed and grow at every level. Our commitment and investment in commercial aviation has never been stronger! The synergies of exciting content and direct connections have only just begun. Best regards, Greg Hamilton AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 7 Letter From The President Aviation Week Expands Content 38 36 56 NASA and SLS partners pull out the stops to reduce costs as hardware testing surges ahead COMMENTARY 42 Europe will be at the heart of negotiations at the ICAO Assembly, not just on emissions but in all areas AIR TRANSPORT 43 Progress shows on deal that would commit ICAO to develop a method for tackling carbon emissions 44 Lufthansa CEO’s resig- nation begs question of whether the airline will continue with reforms 45 Lufthansa signs for 34 firm commitments and options plus purchase rights for another 30 777-9Xs 46 Air Nostrum attempts to regain profitability in struggle to recover from Spain’s economic downturn CHINA’S AIRLINES 48 A quarter century after China formed separate airlines, the big state carriers are still learning D E F E N S E A D V A N C E D R E S E A R C H P R O J E C T S A G E N C Y Contents September 23, 2013 Volume 175 Number 33 8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst A round-up of what you’re reading on AviationWeek.com Europe’s maintenance, repair and overhaul community convenes in London this week for Aviation Week’s MRO Europe conference and exhibition. Our editors will be filing articles and live blogging throughout the event. Keep up with the latest on AviationWeek.com or download our free event app: ow.ly/p0VyZ Drop in at our OnSpace blog to view a map of Vesta supplied by the Dawn probe during its history-making 13-month orbital tour of the large main-belt asteroid, and click through to see a full Vesta gallery. (ow.ly/p16Ab) AviationWeek.com/OnSpace VESTA VISIT TRY, TRY AGAIN Darpa is trying again to develop a reusable launch vehicle capable of aircraft-like operations. Read Managing Editor for Technology Graham Warwick’s Ares post and see Darpa’s latest concept (ow.ly/p15O1). AviationWeek.com/Ares MyAWIN allows you to set up customized email news alerts for delivery on a daily or weekly basis. You also can save favorite World Aerospace Database searches and bookmark articles for future reference. AviationWeek.com/awin On our article about Textron’s new Scorpion light attack and recce jet, ‘Rowboat 70’ wrote: “This is what the light surveillance/attack (LSA) aircraft should have looked like in the first place.” ow.ly/p14N1 READER COMMENT PREMIUM CONTENT Keep up with all the news and blogs from Aviation Week’s editors. Follow @AviationWeek or ‘like’ us at Facebook.com/AvWeek Follow On the Web 52 Low-cost commercial aviation in China might be receiving ofcial recognition 53 China looks to major international aerospace firms for help with ATM issues VIEWPOINT 66 Taiwan points to its aviation attributes in pushing to be allowed back into the IACO Assembly TURBULENCE TROUBLING I was astonished to read in “Tilt Tanking” about refueling trials using a V-22 platform in flight mode to refuel an F/A-18C fighter (AW&ST Sept. 9, p. 37). The corkscrew wake turbulence from the tiltrotor propellors are most likely pulsing the F/A-18 compressor blades during the fueling sequence. This might make the engine designers, especially the fatigue experts, a bit uneasy—not to mention this taxpayer. Chris Barnes KENTFIELD, CALIF. JSF’S INTRINSIC VALUE Bill Sweetman’s “Save the JSF. Really?” (AW&ST Aug. 19, p. 19), advocates several actions that could result in significant cost reductions for the Defense Department. However, there are a few of points that deserve additional thought before program cancellation becomes reality. First, when technology programs are canceled, the corporate knowledge is lost forever. Yes, some documentation will remain but the knowledge and skills that will be required to finish the job will be gone forever. What is being overlooked is that retaining the capability to create new weapon systems is every bit as important as the weapon systems being created. Perhaps even more so. Second, the contention that the designs can simply be rejuvenated should the need arise makes one wonder just what enemy is going to give us enough time to pull an outdated design of the shelf and reconstitute the knowledge and skill bases necessary to bring it to fruition in time to counter the emerging threat? The technology in the design will have been rendered obsolete by the passage of time, necessitating redesign and remanufacturing resulting in even further delays in deployment. Where is the wisdom in that? Weapon systems are critical to the maintenance of our way of life, but not more so than the skills required to create them in the first place. The people that possess the skills and knowledge to create those weapons systems cannot just be acquired and discarded at will. The cost of losing the F-35 tribal knowledge will far exceed that of the face value of the contract. These effects must be included in any decision to cancel portions of the F-35 contract. Thomas L. Parker HUNTSVILLE, ALA. REGULATORY ROUNDUP Thank you for Cathy Buyck’s comprehensive Airline Intel column “Accept or Reject” (AW&ST Sept. 9, p. 22). She is correct when she writes about the flight and duty limitations (FTL) and rest requirements and that the European Parliament is reviewing the draft regulations with a possible full implementation by 2015. As an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) auditor, I am familiar with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Standards Manual, Edition 7, that became mandatory on Sept. 1. It has requirements that closely mirror the European Union-wide FTL guidelines. The IOSA standards currently in use are present in both the flight and cabin sections of the IOSA checklist and contain one standard that is required now, with two others that are conditional on the requirements for managing fatigue as established by the governing state or authority. I expect the EU will endorse the recommendation of the European Aviation Safety Agency with requirements that become efective this year. Shand Gause ATLANTA, GA. ITAR FROM MANY ANGLES “Out of the Bottle” (AW&ST Sept. 16, p. 50) tries to paint U.S. export controls as a failure, but it attacks a straw man. You declare that “[i]f restrictions on supplying space technology to China were meant to arrest . . . [its] astronautical development, there is precious little sign of success.” But ITAR (U.S. International Trafc in Arms Regulations) was not meant to do that: It has diferent goals. First, ITAR avoids implicating U.S. suppliers in transactions that could threaten our security. Even if an adversary does get some capability, it is surely better that we not sell it to them ourselves. Second, ITAR aims to slow the development of adversary capabilities. “Stopping” isn’t the issue, since almost anyone can get anything with enough time and efort. But rates of progress do matter in the fast-moving defense technology world. So has ITAR slowed the development of militarily relevant Chinese space capabilities? Fixating upon a red herring, your hatchet-job on ITAR’s “failure” misses the important question. I noticed, however, that “ITAR-Free, No More” (page 52), suggests that Chinese capabilities developed faster because ITAR was circumvented by Thales and various U.S. suppliers. This, the State Department says, “caused harm to national security by providing the People’s Republic of China a more reliable satellite capability.” Hmmm. Christopher Ford WASHINGTON, D.C. LIEBHERR’S FAIR SHARE In “Out West” (AW&ST Sept. 2, p. 31), I came across a statement that the “fly-by-wire avionics” of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 are provided by Thales. I am directly involved with this project and would like to correct the record. Yes, the SSJ100 avionic suite is provided by Thales. However, the entire fly-by-wire flight-control system (FCS) is provided by Liebherr-Aero- space. Our workshare on the aircraft comprises both primary and secondary flight controls as well as all FCS components from “stick-to-surface” (cockpit controls to actuation and drive systems). This also includes the diferent flight-control computers (hardware and software) of the electric FCS. Tim Lammering, Team Leader Flight Controls and Actuation Systems, Liebherr-Aerospace LINDENBERG, GERMANY Feedback Aviation Week & Space Technology welcomes the opinions of its readers on issues raised in the magazine. Address letters to the Executive Editor, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 1200 G St., Suite 922, Washington, D.C. 20005. Fax to (202) 383-2346 or send via e-mail to: [email protected] Letters should be shorter than 200 words, and you must give a genuine identification, address and daytime telephone number. We will not print anonymous letters, but names will be withheld. We reserve the right to edit letters. 10 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst the Washington-headquartered General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He was director of engineering and manufacturing at GAMA’s headquarters. Julian Bracey has been appointed senior purchasing manager for the European headquarters of Wall Colmonoy, Pontardawe, Wales. Curtis Arnold has become completions manager of Rebtech, Bedford, Texas. Andrew D. Williamson (see photos) has been named CFO of the Merex Group, Camarillo, Calif. Steve Melvin has been appointed director of technical solutions and Eric Hillewaert director business development for OEM and Americas programs for Merex Inc. Williamson was managing director for the Angeles Capital Group and a partner at Allendale Partners. Melvin was operations manager for the Merex Camarillo facility, and Hillewaert customer support/product line manager of the Fluid Controls business for Circor Aerospace. Martin Munro has become general manager of Ottawa-based Cubic Field Services Canada. He was executive vice president of Allen Vanguard and general manager of Lockheed Martin Canada. Curtis Reusser Steve Melvin Robert Hosozawa Eric Hillewaert A. D. Williamson C urtis Reusser (see photo) has been appointed president/CEO of the Esterline Corp., Bellevue, Wash., efective Oct. 28. He has been president of United Technologies’ Aircraft Systems business, which was acquired from Goodrich. Reusser succeeds Brad Lawrence, who will continue as executive chairman until March 5. Michel Potvin has become vice president-corporate marketing and strategy. He was a platform president for Esterline and had been a vice president of the Canadian division of L-3 Communications. John W. Diercksen has been named to the board of directors of Luxembourg-based Intelsat. He is an executive vice president of Verizon Communications. James Roddey has been apppinted communications and media relations manager at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla. Robert Hosozawa (see photo) has become vice president-business management for the Herndon, Va.-based Integrated Logistics and Moderniza- tion Div. of the Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Technical Services Sector. He was director of business management for the B-2 Spirit program at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Greg Bowles has been named Brussels-based director of European regulatory afairs and engineering for Ulla Siebke has been appointed country manager for Germany for Vueling Airlines. She was a sales and account manager for SAS Scandina- vian Airlines. USAF Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Geary has been appointed director of intelligence at U.S. Southern Command Head- quarters in Miami. He has been deputy to the deputy chief of staf for intelligence at International Security As- sistance Force Headquarters and deputy director of operations and support for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan in Kabul. Col. Russell L. Mack has been nominated for promotion to brigadier general and appoint- ment as vice commander of the 7th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces/chief of staf of Air Component Command, Osan AB, South Korea. He has been chief of staf of the Air Force executive action group at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. c To submit information for the Who’s Where column, send Word or attached text files (no PDFs) and photos to: [email protected] For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network at AviationWeek.com/awin For information on ordering, telephone U.S.: +1 (866) 857-0148 or +1 (515) 237-3682 outside the U.S. Who’s Where AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 11 MONTREALrOTTAWArCHICAGO www.cmcelectronics.ca On the Button Accuracy LPV / GPS Landing System STC Solutions for Easy Retrofit t Applicable to MMR and non-MMR equipped aircraft t ILS/MMR “look-alike” architecture t Accuracy far superior to RNP 0.1, with better-than-ILS stability t Migration to GBAS just one step away t Exceeds sensor requirements for all global ADS-B mandates ($53.6 million), compared with a ¥3.8 billion target quoted for the initial version by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in 2011. The cost is to be reduced to ¥3 billion, report Japanese media, but it is unclear whether that figure applies to the version successfully launched on Sept. 15, called E-X within SPACE NASA Braces For Furloughs Managers at NASA are preparing for a possible government shutdown at the end of the month if Congress cannot find a way to continue funding. “A lapse would mean that a number of government activities would cease due to a lack of appropriated funds,” writes David Radzanowski, Administrator Charles Bolden’s chief of staf. “It would also mean that a number of employees would be temporarily furloughed.” While near- term planning focuses on “an orderly shutdown of activities” in a funding cutof, work is also ongoing to prepare for a second round of sequestration that would reduce the overall funds available. “We’ve clearly done scenario planning,” says Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, the agency’s No. 2 ofcial. “We do it every year. Right now, we have faith that they’ll work out the process like they always do, and we’ll adjust.” JAXA Launches First Epsilon A Japanese program to develop a cheaper solid-propellant space launcher has achieved a successful first launch, with the Epsilon rocket placing a planetary- observation satellite, Sprint-A, into orbit. The first Epsion launch cost ¥5.3 billion JAXA, or the intended improved design, E-1, which two years ago was to cost less than ¥3 billion per launch. The costs are more crucial than usual, because the whole point of the Epsilon program is to save money. The predecessor M-V launcher, more powerful than Epsilon, cost ¥8 billion a shot. AIR TRANSPORT Danger of No Go-Arounds The Flight Safety Foundation is trying to find out why the vast majority of airliner “unstablized” approaches do not result in go-arounds. The Virginia-based safety advocate says 30 out of every 1,000 approaches can be classified as unstable based on legacy metrics, including airspeed and aircraft configuration below a certain altitude on an approach. However, the number of go-arounds, the proper response for pilots when an approach is deemed unstable, is much lower at 1.2 for every 1,000 approaches. “We feel that the lack of a go-around decision is the leading risk factor in landing accidents,” says Kevin Hiatt, Flight Safety Foundation president and CEO. The disconnect between unstable approaches and go-arounds is alarm- ing, given that 68% of all accidents, or 63, were in the approach and landing phases of flight. Hiatt says approaches in visual conditions are particularly prone to issues as controllers and pilots “try to put as much flow into an airport as pos- First Inmarsat-5 Clears Thermal-Vacuum Test Boeing satellite engineers continue preparing the frst Inmarsat-5 mobile broadband satellite for launch on a Russian Proton before the end of the year, after the spacecraft made it through thermal-vacuum testing without a hitch. The 702HP-based satellite and two more are designed for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress network of broadband links for mobile users on land, sea and in the air. Planned for a 15-year service life, the K a -band constellation is part of a $1.2 billion investment that Inmarsat says is fully funded, to allow users higher speeds and smaller terminals than today’s technology. Among the spacecraft features will be steerable beams to enable “real-time” addition of capacity. Boeing has two more Inmarsat-5s in production at its Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, Calif. iDirect will develop the ground The World For more breaking news, go to AviationWeek.com 12 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst network, including satellite-terminal core module technology, for Inmarsat. B O E I N G Atlas Launches Third AEHF Spacecraft Controllers are preparing another Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-3) spacecraft for operation after an early morning launch Sept. 18 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V fying from Cape Canaveral. Liftoff came at 4:10 a.m. EDT; Lockheed Martin Space Systems—builder of the satellite—acquired its signal 51 min. later. Based on the A2100 bus, AEHF-3 can deliver data rates fve times higher than the old Milstar constellation, allowing real-time video and targeting data for combatants in the feld while providing national leaders with survival communications across the spectrum of confict. The new spacecraft will join two predecessors in orbit as Lockheed Martin builds out a planned six-satellite constellation for the U.S. Air Force, which also will serve Canada, the Netherlands, the U.K. and other U.S. international partners. The 13,600-lb. AEHF-3 was launched on an Atlas V 531, with a Centaur upper stage, 5-meter fairing and three Aerojet Rocketdyne solid-fuel boosters. B E N C O O P E R / A W & S T Environment first www.atraircraft.com N o u v e a u M o n d e D D B T o u l o u s e / P i x t e u r - © A T R . FUEL EFFICIENCY INNOVATION ECO-FRIENDLINESS ISO 14 001 certification 50% less on fuel consumption Lowest CO 2 gas emissions Its unique aircraft profitability and undivided customers’ and partners’ attention make ATR the leader of regional air transport with more than two thirds of the market share in 2011. ATR aircraft have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions, the best technological solutions, optimal comfort designed by Giugiaro and unique commonality, whilst remaining the most cost-efficient technology. Now, rely on ATR’s experience and choose the best solution for short haul flights. 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% -10% 9/19 10/17 11/14 12/12 1/9 2/6 3/6 4/3 5/1 5/29 6/26 7/24 8/21 9/18 2012 2013 AW&ST/S&P Market Indices as of 9/18/2013 AW Aerospace 25 AW Airline 25 S&P 500 2182.5 1078.1 1725.5 INDEX VALUE 9/18 MARKET 3.4% 3.7% 2.2% WEEK AGO* 40.9% 19.4% 21.0% YEAR-TO-DATE* ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ 49.1% 30.8% 18.1% YEAR AGO* ▼ ▼ ▼ *PERCENTAGE CHANGE PERCENTAGE CHANGE ▼ sible.” The situations often lead to higher aircraft speeds that result in unstabilized approaches, though Hiatt notes those criteria may need to be reviewed. He says there could be more leeway, when runways are dry or longer than usual. Chinese Components in A350 The Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Center (HMC) has delivered the first elevator for the Airbus A350. HMC is a joint venture among Airbus and several Chinese partners, including the local Avic branch. Airbus holds a 20% stake. HMC started gaining composite and Airbus expertise by delivering A320 rudders, spars and elevators, initially not as a sole supplier. HMC is expected to become the sole supplier for A350 elevators and rudders by 2017. DEFENSE SM-3 Salvo Success The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) achieved its first ever salvo test of the SM-3 Block IB missile, and the intercept took place at the highest altitude for the system to date. The first SM-3 IB that was launched successfully intercepted the target, a short-range ballistic missile described as “one of the most complex targets that we have shot to date,” says Mitch Stevison, Raytheon’s SM-3 program manager. The second SM-3 IB was launched about 2 min. after the first, in accordance with military doctrine for assured kill. The missile was set to intercept the target if the first SM-3 IB did not. Since the first missile executed the intercept, the second missile flew a profile through the debris field that it was pre-programmed to fly. The target was detected by the Aegis system’s SPY-1 radar on the USS Lake Erie cruiser, which also fired the missiles. C-17 Line To Close Pointing to the lack of enough international orders and uncertainty caused by U.S. military budget cuts, Boeing plans to close its long-running C-17 production line in 2015, the company announced. Boeing will discontinue the line after completing the last of 22 C-17s for international customers. The decision will have an impact on about 3,000 jobs, many of them at the airlifter’s Long Beach, Calif., final assembly facility but also in St. Louis; Macon, Ga., and Mesa, Ariz. Workforce reductions and supply- chain impacts are expected to begin primarily in 2014, says Nan Bouchard, Boeing vice president and C-17 program manager. Of the 22 aircraft for foreign customers, two are for an unnamed international buyer, and seven are yet to be delivered to India, which has ordered 10. Boeing does not yet have orders for the remaining 13, Bouchard notes. Boe- ing has a post-production contract with the U.S. Air Force and will continue to evaluate C-17 work. Russia’s Arctic Return Russia is strengthening its presence in the Arctic Ocean in order to protect natural resources on its part of the Arc- tic Shelf and the Northern Sea Route. On Sept. 12, the surface ships detach- ment of the Russian navy’s northern fleet arrived at the New Siberian Islands, located between the Laptev and the East Siberian seas. The marines landed on Kotelny Island the next day to restore a military air base abandoned in 1993. The air, called Temp, is scheduled to be ready to receive helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft by Oct. 1. The base will initially be able to receive Antonov An-72/74 light transport planes. The airstrip will later be extended for heavier transports like the Antonov An-22 and Ilyushin Il-76, the military says. U.K. Bids Farewell To VC10 The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) is ending its association with the Vick- ers VC10 airliner this week, 47 years after the type entered service. The previous two VC10 tankers, Nos. ZA147 and ZA150, few their last operational sorties on Sept. 20 with a farewell tour of U.K. airfelds before returning to their home base at RAF Brize Norton. Designed during the 1950s, the four-engine airliner was built to operate from hot and high airfelds to support services fown by British Overseas Airlines Corp. Unfortunately the aircraft began operation too late to have an impact on the sales of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, with just 54 being built from 1962-70. The RAF, however, was an enthusiastic operator, fying 28 VC10s in several different confgurations, buying them fresh off the production line and later converting the commercial aircraft into aerial refueling tankers. The fnal RAF fights are scheduled for this week when the aircraft will be fown to museums or collections. The VC10 is being replaced by the Airbus A330-200 multi-role tanker transport, known in RAF service as Voyager, which will also replace the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar when it leaves RAF service in March. The last-ever VC10 fight is planned for Sept. 25. 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The E-Jets—the 170/175 and 190/195—have enabled Embraer to grab a leading share of the 70-130-seat market. “When the industry started to recover, there we were,” says CEO Frederico Curado. The challenge now: hold on to those market gains. The key to Embraer’s success has been its remarkable ability to gauge where the airline market is headed and tailor its products accordingly. Its decision to develop larger regional jets looked prescient by 2004, when soaring fuel prices made it uneconomical to operate the 50-seaters that had been the mainstay of the RJ market. Another important factor is that Em- braer has provided its suppliers with ironclad protection of their intellectual property, enabling the airframer to gain access to cutting-edge components and systems for its aircraft. But Embraer has been boxed in from moving further up the food chain by Airbus and Boeing, which are re-engin- ing their A320 and 737 families to ofer airlines better fuel efciency. Mean- while, new entrants are targeting Em- braer’s market: the Mitsubishi Regional Jet from Japan, the ARJ21 from China, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 from Russia and the smaller variant of Bombardier’s new CSeries jet (see page 28). Curado’s team is responding with a O n Oct. 29, 2001, Embraer rolled out the 170, the first in a new family of passenger aircraft that were later dubbed “E-Jets.” It was an inauspicious time to be investing. The 9/11 terrorist attacks the month before had sent the aviation industry reeling, and the cover of Aviation Week & Space Technology pro- claimed “Airlines, Airports & MRO Under Siege.” But as much of the industry retrenched, ofcials at the Brazilian aircraft builder pressed ahead with an aggressive development schedule. Embraer’s Flight Plan Wary of challenging Airbus or Boeing, airframer aims to secure dominance of 70-130-seat market fication woes have set back first delivery of the MRJ by more than three years, to 2017, and the long-delayed ARJ21 may never sell outside of China. Orders for E-Jets are on the rebound after a painful slump. Embraer was forced to slash production by 40% after the onset of the global economic crisis in late 2008, to about eight per month. But the company has won 281 firm E-Jet orders this year from airlines such as Republic, United and SkyWest. Total backlog has risen by $4.6 billion in 2013, to $17.1 billion, its highest level since 2009. And that figure will likely grow when third-quarter results are reported, thanks to a July order from Interna- tional Lease Finance Corp. for 50 E2s worth $2.85 billion at list prices. While the backlog also counts sales from Em- braer’s business jet and defense units, executives confirm that the increase is mainly from commercial jet sales. Increased demand for E-Jets has led some financial analysts to predict that Embraer will move soon to raise production rates. But Curado says the company plans to hold delivery rates steady in 2014, at 90-95 per year. He also dismisses suggestions that Embraer might begin overbooking—anticipating that some orders will go away when hard times hit. “Boeing and Airbus have done well with overbooking,” he says. “But we’re not ready to take that risk.” Embraer may be bold, but it has never been rash. c complete overhaul of the E-Jets. The company surprised the industry early this year when it announced it would switch from a GE CF34 powerplant to Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan, a next-generation engine about which Embraer’s leaders had initially been skeptical. But the upgrades, formally launched in June at the Paris air show, go much further. “Boeing and Airbus are just changing the engines, but we are doing much more—[improved avionics], wings, gears and systems,” says Luis Carlos Afonso, Embraer’s chief operating ofcer for commercial aviation. “It will be as efcient as if we were designing a clean-sheet airplane.” The “E2” is scheduled to enter service in 2018 with the 106-seat 190- E2, 132-seat 195-E2 in 2019 and 88-seat E175-E2 in 2020. They are designed to ofer 16-23% fuel-burn improvements and 15% lower maintenance costs. Embraer is aiming to win a 40-45% share of a market it estimates at 6,400 deliveries during the next 20 years, with the 175 being marketed as a hub feeder, the 190 an optimally sized “market opener” and the 195 serving E-Jet operators that want to upsize. Can the plan succeed? Embraer certainly holds an advantage in the near term, thanks to stumbles by its new competitors. Certi- 18 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst By Joseph C. Anselmo Editor-in-Chief Joseph C. Anselmo blogs at: AviationWeek.com [email protected] Tap the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST to read our 2001 account of the rollout of Embraer’s E-Jets, or go to AviationWeek.com/ejets JOSEPH C. ANSELMO/AW&ST When it comes to gaining a competitive edge in commerce, you simply need the best. With a Eurocopter helicopter you will fly faster and more safely, while enjoying greater comfort and reliability. Invest in an EC155. Thinking without limits COME AND VISIT US AT HELITECH INTERNATIONAL 24-26 September 2013 - Excel, London EUROCOPTER - Booth P30 ( THINK BUSINESS ) COMMENTARY Hi-RAT was flight-tested by one of the NGJ bidders, but the Raytheon jammer selected by the Navy uses a diferent power-generation system. The July award of a $279.4 million contract for the NGJ technology-development phase is being protested by one of the losing bidders, BAE Systems, opening up the pos- sibility that the competition may have to be restaged. ATGI, meanwhile, demonstrated the performance of its NGJ power-generation system to the Navy and prime contractors on other electronic-warfare and unmanned-aircraft programs during tests of the Hi-RAT installed in a pod in the Calspan wind tunnel in Bufalo, N.Y., T hink “ram-air turbine,” and the pop-out propeller providing emergency power on an airliner comes to mind, or the air- driven prop powering the ALQ-99 jamming pod on a Boeing EA- 18G Growler. But what if huge amounts of power are needed, for electronic attack, long-range sensors or directed-energy weapons—and not just in emergencies, but across the flight envelope? Wind-tunnel tests on a high-power, air-driven generator designed for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) pod have been completed and its developer is looking at other applications, including power generation on unmanned aircraft. The high- power ram-air turbine (Hi-RAT) developed by Advanced Tech- nologies Group Inc. (ATGI) is a ducted turbine embedded within the pod, with inlet and exhaust doors for high power when open and low drag when closed. Air Power Powerful air-driven generator could meet high-energy needs in late August. Hi-RAT produces 2-3 times the power of competing systems, says ATGI Presi- dent John Justak. For NGJ, “we demonstrated full power over the full flight envelope: thresh- old and objective,” he says. “We are compact and modular, with fail- safe operation.” ATGI has demonstrated that Hi-RAT can produce 90 kW of power at the original low-airspeed, high-altitude design point for NGJ, where the dynamic pressure of air flowing into the ram-air turbine is low. “We have a unique approach to turbine design,” Justak says. The turbine has vanes wrapped helically around a coni- cal shaft, changing in shape along their length from a pressure-driven reaction turbine blade to a velocity-driven impulse turbine blade. “Ours is more kinetically driven, like a windmill. At low velocity and low density, we use potential and ki- netic energy to drive the turbine—even at 50,000 ft.,” he notes. The system has been developed with support from the Navy’s small-business innovative research and Ofce of Navy Research rapid innovation fund. “We were asked by the Navy to not go exclusive with any prime, to be available to all primes including the NGJ winner,” Justak says. In July 2012, Northrop Grumman flight-tested a prototype NGJ pod using ATGI’s ram-air turbine for prime power generation, but the companies did not formally team, he says. Northrop, teamed with ITT Excelis, was the other losing bidder, along with BAE. Hi-RAT is a one-piece assembly that includes articulated inlet and exhaust and a single-stage turbine. When operating, exhaust flaps open to create suction to pull air though the turbine. If an anomaly is detected, the inlet and exhaust close automatically to reduce drag. The NGJ Hi-RAT is 24 in. in diameter, 60 in. long and potentially could generate up to 700 kW, Justak says. But ATGI has tested a 300-watt “micro-RAT” and other versions including a 6-kW system to power intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance pods carried by aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin C-130. ATGI is looking at other applications, including providing power on unmanned aircraft at high altitude. “We are also dis- cussing with commercial aircraft manufacturers the idea of a buried ram-air turbine” to provide emergency power with less drag, Justak says. c A T G I Leading Edge 20 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst By Graham Warwick Managing Editor-Technology Graham Warwick blogs at: AviationWeek.com [email protected] Embedded inside the pod, the air-driven turbine has helical vane-like blades (graphic above) Y O U R F L I G H T I S O U R MI S S I O N ™ Chronospace Selfwinding chronograph Officially chronometer-certified Slide-rule Water-resistant to 200 m/660 ft By Pierre Sparaco Former Paris Bureau Chief Pierre Sparaco has covered aviation and aerospace since the 1960s. O n Oct. 4, ailing Air France is expected to unveil yet another cost-cutting plan. This one could involve nearly 3,000 job cuts (in addition to the more than 5,000 previously announced). It also could entail a revamping of the carrier’s short-/medium- haul route system. coalesced under a common brand, “Hop!” No bottom-line numbers have been released, but financial results are understood to be disappointing. Perhaps Air France is simply not going as far as needed, as quickly as needed. Its cost structure is so high it cannot compete efciently against the low prices of Ryanair and EasyJet. But the flag carrier’s leaders believe such a goal could be achieved through Transavia, a small charter-like subsidiary, a heritage of the Air France- KLM consolidation. Transavia, which operates 11 Boeing 737-800s, has a lean structure and minimal overhead. It is now scheduled to serve more city pairs and expand its fleet in the next several years to about 30 aircraft. But this is obviously not enough to intimidate Ryanair, EasyJet and their ilk. Last month a new management The new plan, dubbed Transform 2, is just another confirmation that the airline has been slow to adapt to the ways of the new marketplace (although, in truth, those ways are no longer all that new). European airline industry deregulation, led by the European Union, was implemented in stages throughout the 1980s. Leading low-fare competitors such as Ryanair and EasyJet, and later other startups such as Vueling, became commercial threats less than 15 years ago. Still, Air France executives firmly reject criticisms about their far too timid counterattacks, although they have long underestimated the seismic changes in the market. A significant number of European travelers adapted overnight to no-frills flights while enjoying the rock-bottom prices of- fered by the new players. Flight time between most European points is no more that 60-90 min. and, as consumer groups repeatedly point out, the average passenger can certainly survive for less than 2 hr. without free drinks. Air France, which is desperately seeking to restore profitability, has in the past several months implemented multiple initiatives in an efort to retain market share on short routes, maintain a high seat-load factor and achieve decent yields. It even found inspiration in Ryanair’s strategy of decentralized “bases,” and established provincial teams wherein cockpit crews and flight attendants on Airbus A320s return each night to key domestic points such as Toulouse, Nice and Marseilles. In the same vein, operations of regional afliates—Brit Air, Regional Air and Airlinair—were team came to power, after the retirement of veteran Chairman/CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta, age 70. Philippe Calavia, the CFO, age 65, also retired and Alexandre de Juniac became head of the Air France-KLM group. Trans- form 2 will be their first joint efort to create a more positive environment, but success is far from guaranteed. In an unprecedented initiative, six board members who represent flight and ground personnel recently reached out to French Prime Minis- ter Jean-Marc Ayrault for help. They outlined their mounting worries and uncertainties about the future and suggested quick-reaction measures such as reduced social costs (pensions, etc.) for employees. Air France’s competitiveness is at stake in ways that are unprecedented, the executives aver. They say the carrier spends as much of 34.2% of its revenues for salaries, including social costs, while the Interna- tional Airlines Group (parent of British Airways and Iberia) devotes 24% to salaries, and Lufthansa, 23.45%. France is in the midst of an intense national debate about taxes and social costs impairing the nation’s competitiveness. However, Ayrault and Trans- port Minister Frederic Cuvillier have yet to respond to the board members’ request for support. Board members also criticized the government’s liberal policy toward Middle East carriers, claiming Emir- ates obtains far too many trafc rights to French destinations, distorting competition. Such free rein results from Emirates’ massive Airbus A380 orders, according to the board. In addition, they assert, Air France (as well as other airlines serving Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports) pay excessive airport taxes and fees and state-con- trolled ADP Paris airports authority reaps profits at an obscene rate. The resulting mood is “deleterious,” they conclude. There has never been this level of discontent since Air France was established in the 1930s. And the government’s silence when it comes to this issue is increasingly disturbing. c Air France still ofers traditional inflight service on short-haul routes. Mounting Uncertainties Air France has battled the headwinds of market change to no avail COMMENTARY AIR FRANCE/GUILLAUME GRANDIN Reality Check 22 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst May 20–25, 2014 Berlin ExpoCenter Airport www.ila-berlin.com I m a g e : © E A D S Hosted by COMMENTARY The Coalition —as the long-standing center-right alliance is commonly called—made the removal of the carbon tax a central plank of its election platform. The new government will not back down on this issue, particularly after the Coalition was swept into power by a handy margin in the Sept. 7 election. However, navigating the legislative process will not be straightforward, and there is considerable uncertainty over the level of resistance from opposition parties and how long it will take to repeal the tax. The carbon tax—which afects airlines and other sectors—was introduced by the Labor government in July 2012. It cost Qantas A$106 million ($99.2 million) in the most recent financial year, dwarfing the carrier’s net profit of A$6 million for the period. The tax cost Virgin Australia A$48 million. Both major carriers have stopped short of criticizing the carbon tax policy itself. However, they have high- lighted the amount they have had to W hile campaign promises must always be viewed cautiously, it appears that the overthrow of Australia’s Labor government will benefit airlines in a few key areas. Most notably, the new Liberal-National Coalition government has signaled that it will throw out a carbon tax that has been severely hurting airline profits. If the carbon tax is removed, it would be flying in the face of the global trend. Emission tax plans have been popping up in various countries in recent years, to the consternation of the airline industry. So a reversal would be a significant development. Carbon Costs Australia’s new government looks to eliminate emissions tax pay, and have noted that it is difcult to pass on this cost to passengers in the current demand environment. Some smaller carriers like Regional Express have been much more vocal in their criticism of the carbon tax. The Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) previously esti- mated that this tax would raise A$195 million a year from the nation’s aviation industry, with almost A$50 million coming from regional carriers. Another part of the Coalition’s pre- election agenda for aviation will also please Australia’s smaller domestic carriers. It has said it will reintro- duce the En Route Rebate Scheme, a program subsidizing some regional air services that was eliminated by the Labor government in 2012. Before it was canceled, the rebate was providing support to eight airlines on 81 regional routes. In its aviation policy manifesto, the Coalition says it will “introduce a new and better targeted En Route Rebate Scheme for regional commercial airline carriers to support low volume and new routes to small and remote communities.” A 2009 government review recommended that a revised version of the program be established, but it was axed instead. RAAA CEO Paul Tyrrell acknowledged to Aviation Week in April that the program needs “modernizing,” and said the group would work with any of the parties to do so. One of the most controversial issues in Australian aviation is whether to build a second Sydney airport, and where it should be located. The major parties remained cautious over this issue during the campaign, although the Coalition stated its position in its policy document. It says that although the existing Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport “believes it can cater to the increase in trafc for many years to come, there will be a time when a second international airport will be required.” But the Coalition has so far only committed to making a decision on a site in its first term of government. Other major initiatives proposed by the Coalition include establishing an Aviation Industry Consultative Council that will meet regularly with the transport minister. “The Coalition is concerned at reports from the industry that it does not have a voice at the heart of government,” according to the aviation policy document. “We will seek to develop an open and ongoing dialogue with industry.” The new government intends to launch a major external review of aviation safety and regulation in Aus- tralia, to be conducted by a “qualified, eminent and experienced” member of the international aviation community. It also wants to reform the structure and direction of the oft-criticized Civil Aviation Safety Authority. In one respect, the conclusion of the Australian election period would have been a relief to airlines no matter who won. The major carriers reported that business travel took a hit in the lead up to the election, as the lack of certainty made bean counters for companies of all sizes be more cautious. Now airlines will be looking for more concrete benefits as the Coalition begins to act on its campaign promises. c K E I T H G A S K E L L Airline Intel By Adrian Schofield Senior Air Transport Editor Adrian Schofield blogs at: AviationWeek.com/thingswithwings Adrian.Schofi[email protected] 24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst MORE TO BELIEVE IN Superior performance | Lower cost of ownership | Greater reliability The LEAP engine is cool. Not everyone can add ceramic matrix composites to the mix. And no one else can bring that kind of durability and thermal capability to the table. This special 9>7B5495>D 85<@C I?E <?C5 1 <?D ?6 G5978D 1>4 719> 1 <?D ?6 56fi395>3IÁ Go to cfmaeroengines.com The heat is on CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. In Orbit COMMENTARY By Frank Morring, Jr. Senior Editor Frank Morring, Jr., blogs at: AviationWeek.com/onspace [email protected] Top agency managers say that putting astronauts in a “distant retro- grade orbit” around the Moon, where it would take nine days to get home, can be an afordable next step out of low Earth orbit for humans, even without an asteroid there for them to study (AW&ST July 24, p. 39). But the mission also ofers a technology “pull” for other advanced spaceflight capabilities under development in the open- ended “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” technology efort that is a hallmark of today’s NASA policy. Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) is a good example. NASA already was working on a 30-kw SEP demonstration when the asteroid-capture mission came along. But in tight-budget times, the SEP demonstration mission needs a partner to help defray the cost, and the asteroid mission is picture-perfect for that role. “It fits well in terms of the capability needed and in the time frame,” says James Reuther, deputy associate administrator for programs in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Development of the advanced-SEP demo hardware would have started next year, but that has been advanced with the advent of the asteroid-capture idea. The objective is a 50-kw system able to nudge a space tug out to the target and deflect it to the desired lunar orbit. NASA is working on advanced solar arrays to generate the higher power, and a new Hall-thruster design that can ionize the 10 tons of xenon engineers estimate will be required. In both cases, stowage efficiency is crucial to hold down the size and weight of the space tug. N ASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) has run into some heavy political flack on Capitol Hill, but inside the agency there is a clear understanding that it can be the nucleus of a lot of advanced-technology developments needed for expansion of human spaceflight into the Solar System, regardless of the objective. Tech Pull Asteroid mission advances Solar Electric Propulsion Xenon is the preferred SEP fuel because “at pressure it packs very well,” Reuther says. But to reach an asteroid and nudge it back toward the Moon will require about five years of continuous operation, beyond the state of the art. Over time, the magnetic field around the thruster brings ion- ized particles back onto the ceramic exit ring and can erode it to the point that the ceramic wears away, exposing the electrodes beneath it and shorting out the system. “The idea has emerged of what they call a magnetically shielded Hall thruster, where the shape of that exit ring is designed in such a way that the field lines don’t bring the particles back into contact with the ring itself,” explains Reuther. “That’s one of the things we have been testing in this advanced development efort for the demo. And we’re pretty confident that we actually have what we call erosion- free Hall thrusters.” To power the Hall thrusters, NASA is more concerned with how it can pack solar arrays into a launch-vehicle fairing than with how efciently the solar cells can convert sunlight into electricity. NASA has contracts with ATK and Deployable Space Systems (DSS) for advanced solar arrays that use light- weight blankets of solar cells instead of rigid flat panels—a circular approach at ATK that unfolds like an Asian fan, and a DSS system that rolls out and curls back on itself to stifen in the same fashion as a metal tape measure (see photo). “We expect to cut the mass for the equivalent power by roughly half as opposed to traditional technology, and more importantly, we expect to cut the packing density—how we fit these in a launch shroud—by a factor of three,” Reuther says. The power and specific impulse that could be generated by using erosion- free Hall thrusters and “gossamer” array structures applies across the SEP arena, and could enable such applications as 100-beam K a -band communications satellites, extended robotic satellite-servicing missions, and perhaps robotic spacecraft designed to capture and deorbit dangerous pieces of space debris. The SEP-system thrust is too low to get humans to Mars quickly enough, but it could be used to pre-position habitats and supplies to minimize the launch requirements for the human vehicle, and to send robotic probes on science missions outside the Solar System’s ecliptic plane. “Anything that requires power or a significant [change in speed], it’s going to be a game-changer to bring this on line,” Reuther notes. c 26 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst D E P L O Y A B L E S P A C E S Y S T E M S Washington Outlook T he top generals and admiral in charge of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy, respectively, were posed two questions by a congressman last week: Could you carry out military requirements under the latest Defense Strategic Guidance, assuming the 10-year, across-the-board budget cuts stay in efect? And could you prevail in more than one regional conflict—think Iran and North Korea—at the same time? One by one, the four core members of the Joint Chiefs of Staf said simply, “no.” “In fact, it is my opinion that we would struggle to meet even one major contingency operation,” noted Army Chief of Staf Gen. Raymond Odierno. He also told Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) that the Pentagon’s Strategic Choices and Management Review, performed over the summer after Congress failed to find alternatives to cuts, relied on rosy assumptions. Those include six-month wars with at least 90-day warnings to call up reservists and National Guardsmen, and no peacekeeping operations after major combat ends. “They are very unrealistic and positive assumptions. And for that, they would all have to come true,” Odierno said. Forbes is a vocal defense hawk who represents part of the world’s largest naval base in southeastern Virginia. He said he sought the testimony in a rare joint appearance by the four chiefs last week in front of the House Armed Services Committee in order to combat assertions by some Americans that sequestration is a good thing. It is not that Forbes does not want to cut the federal deficit and debt. It is that he and many other lawmakers know sequestration is not the way to do it, partly because it does not allow for strategic choices in spending. “Congress is failing to adequately fund our military in a responsible and reliable fashion, and that is a considerable charge,” asserted Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.). “If sequestration were foisted on us by an enemy, we’d call it an act of war.” But even within the defense-friendly congressional armed services com- mittees, that message has difculty resonating anymore. Lawmakers are focused on more parochial interests. Barely 24 hr. after the Joint Chiefs testified on the impact of sequestration to national security, most Repub- lican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) used the confirmation hearing for proposed Air Force Secretary Deborah James to lobby her to keep USAF aircraft based in their states (see page 31). Most Democratic members were no better, using the hearing to speechify on sexual harassment and veteran benefits issues in the news. Just five of the 26 members of the SASC re- marked on the harm to security from sequestration. Despite still needing their votes, James did her best to warn senators, too. “These things are possible,” she said of the risks brought on by sequestration. c FROM INDIA WITH LOVE Dozens of large U.S.-India military deals worth billions of dollars are nearing completion and likely to be clinched in the next few weeks. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is preparing to arrive in Washington on an ofcial visit starting Sept. 27, on the heels of a trip to India by U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Top Indian defense ministry sources indicate one or more contracts could be finalized during Singh’s visit, such as a $1.2 billion deal for six follow- on Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transports for the Indian air force. This year “has played out well for Indo-U.S. defense cooperation,” says a top Indian defense ofcer who will be part of the Singh’s delegation. “The prime minister’s visit to the U.S. will take these and many awaited deals forward and intensify the level of cooperation beyond a buyer-seller relationship.”c LIFT FOR GA A new FAA rule is easing restrictions on pilot flight review and recency requirements for both flight instructors and pilots of commuter and on-demand operators. The FAA issued the rule Sept. 16 at the behest of several parties seeking to overturn a legal interpretation limiting exemptions to the standing 24-month flight-review requirement. It also comes as the agency and industry reexamine flight instructor and pilot requirements in an efort to boost the pilot population and improve general aviation safety. The rule allows an additional rating to an existing flight instructor certificate and its renewal or reinstatement to meet the 24-month requirement. It clarifies that recent flight experience requirements do not apply to a commuter or on-demand pilot-in-command (PIC) if that pilot meets an operator’s specific PIC requirements. c You Were Warned Chiefs say U.S. might not win under sequestration COMMENTARY AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 27 By Michael Bruno Senior Policy Editor Michael Bruno blogs at: AviationWeek.com/ares [email protected] ‘ We would struggle to meet even one major contingency operation. ’ —ARMY GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO A P / W I D E W O R L D E merging from a hiatus in new-product development in 2008, Bombardier took on its biggest challenge yet—to enter a new market with a clean-sheet design, its largest aircraft ever and its first with fly-by-wire flight controls, carbon- fiber composite wing and geared-turbofan engines. The Canadian manufacturer crossed its first hurdle on Sept. 16, when the CSeries narrowbody airliner made its delayed first flight from Mirabel, near Montreal. But with the focus shifting to service entry, assumptions made when the development program was laid out are being reexamined to see whether Bombardier can deliver the first aircraft as planned, a year from now. First flight was scheduled for Decem- ber, but was postponed to the end of June by assembly delays. It then slipped further as ground testing took longer than anticipated. So far, the company is sticking publicly to plans for a five- aircraft, 2,400-hr. test program leading to entry into service (EIS) of the initial 110-seat CS100 in 12 months, but its experience with ground tests is leading Bombardier to review its plans. “We really need to reassess, to take another look at the scope of flight testing and how fast we can do it,” says Rob Dewar, vice president and general manager for CSeries. “Our focus has been on early entry into service, but the aircraft has to be mature and ready for EIS.” The reassessment “will take a couple of months” and require a few more flights, as well as discussions with CSeries customers, he says. “Boeing laid out the 787 at 48 months, and it took close to eight years. Graham Warwick Montreal Bombardier’s Challenge Clean first flight for CSeries, but achieving service entry of all-new airliner in 12 months looks aggressive FIRST FLIGHTS We set our schedule at 5.5 years, and some thought that was too conservative. But aircraft are more integrated now, so there are more tests to do, and the rules are more challenging, which is new to us,” Dewar says, adding “We set the schedule [for first flight] too ag- gressively. It took longer than planned.” Even with delays, there is still some cushion in the schedule before Bom- bardier would incur penalties for late delivery. Playing down the delay, Bom- bardier CEO Pierre Beaudoin says the internal target for first flight was June, so it was less than three months behind. Nico Buchholz, executive vice president of group fleet management for CSeries launch customer Luf- thansa, says the EIS is still within the window of variability assumed in the carrier’s planning. Bombardier is holding to its projected $3.4 billion for development of the CSeries, although it now reports a total of $3.9 billion to include the $500 million in interest on financing its $2 billion share of the development cost, with the rest coming from suppliers and the Ca- nadian, Quebec and U.K. governments. Firm orders still stand at 177 aircraft, but will “definitely” reach the target of 300 by EIS, says Mike Arcamone, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. Several customers are waiting for flight tests to confirm the performance projections, he says. Aircraft Nos. 2 and 4 are the performance-test vehicles. “Midway through flight test, will we have the majority of the performance data,” says Dewar. The CSeries conducted its first flight in middle-of-the-envelope conditions, taking of at mid-weight and reduced thrust—which contributed to its extraordinary quietness. The aircraft reached 12,500-ft. altitude and 230-kt. airspeed, retracting the landing gear and varying flap and slat settings during a 2.5-hr. flight, says chief test pilot Chuck Ellis, who commanded flight- test vehicle 1 (FTV1). There was one minor fault during the flight: an advisory message from one of the subsystems. “We made a small adjustment, and achieved all of our objectives,” Ellis says. Most of the extra time on the ground over the past weeks was spent testing and matur- ing the aircraft software. “A lot of the maturity work was around erroneous messages. We had one message on the flight, and there was no functionality issue. I was expecting five to 10, not just one,” says Dewar. The CSeries is Bombardier’s first fly-by-wire (FBW) aircraft, and FTV1’s first flight was in the direct, or degraded mode that is the backup in the event of a flight-control failure. “We were very conservative, and by flying in a degraded mode were able to see the aircraft responding, not the FBW computers interacting. We were trying to remove that part of the equation,” Ellis says. The FBW system will be switched to See video and photos of the CSeries first flight on our Things With Wings blog at: ow.ly/p1xHL 28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 R I C K R A D E L L / B O M B A R D I E R P H O T O S AviationWeek.com/awst Pratt plans a series of minor improvements to the PW1500G to ensure initial CSeries will meet fuel-burn performance guarantees. The company has assembled 11 production engines at its Mirabel site, six of which are installed on the initial three CS100 test aircraft. Since flying the first PW1524G on its Boeing 747SP testbed in June 2011, Pratt has also begun testing the PW1200G for the Mitsubishi MRJ and PW1100G for the Airbus A320Neo, and says lessons learned from these engines will be applied to the CSeries. “From Number 1 onward they have been full-up production engines,” says Bob Saia, vice president of commercial development programs for Pratt & Whitney. “They are just lagging some of the performance items that we have developed and some improvements we will make. We are targeting them for introduction in the last ship- set of flight-test engines for the first CS300s,” he says, adding “We slowed the CSeries engine definition so suppliers can make the parts to the EIS configuration.” The final service-entry standard will be introduced as a block change modifi- facility originally built for the smaller CRJ700 series. Construction of a dedicated CSeries assembly building will be completed by mid-2014, when production needs to move. The new building will have four fixed stations for joining of the fuselage sections and wing and mounting of the gear. Once on their wheels, aircraft join a moving assembly line for completion. Production is beginning to ramp up, and is planned to reach a capacity of 120 aircraft a year by the end of 2016. China’s Shenyang Aircraft, which already builds the rear fuselage section, is beginning assembly of the center and forward fuselage sections and will take over from Bombardier’s Belfast, North- ern Ireland, plant. Dewar says Bombardier decided to build the airframe sections at its own plants to protect the program in its early stages, when there are a lot of design changes, then transition them when the work became more repetitive. “We know China can build the fuselages, no question. They have done well on the rear fuselage and are tracking well to the plan,” he notes. The CSeries is the first aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan—a decision that was critical to meeting the aircraft’s aggressive fuel- economy, noise and emissions targets. “The engine is on track with performance. We will now validate its inflight performance integrated with the aircraft,” says Dewar. fully augmented normal mode for later flights. Bombardier’s fly-by-wire control philosophy is “to give the pilots cues when the aircraft is approaching its limits, but allow them a bit more,” says Ellis. The CSeries also is the company’s first aircraft with sidestick controllers. “We have soft and hard stops. But the aircraft is designed around the soft stops.” The remaining four CS100 flight- test vehicles, the first production aircraft and the first test aircraft for the 130-/160-seat CS300 are in final assembly at Mirabel, but Bombardier will review the results from FTV1 before flying the next aircraft, in case changes are required. Modifications from ground testing have been rolled into FTV2-5. “Everything we learned on 1 we have put into 2-5. We could get two aircraft up fast, but there is no sense putting two in the air if we have to change them,” Dewar says. Static structural testing has continued beyond the seven safety-of-flight cases required for first flight, with no issues so far with the aluminum-lithi- um fuselage and resin-transfer molded carbon-fiber wing. “We are tracking to plan,” says Dewar. Final assembly of the fatigue-test article has begun on site at IABG in Germany, where durability testing is expected to begin by year-end. Test and initial production aircraft are being assembled at Mirabel, in a Capt. Chuck Ellis (right) and First Ofcer Andy Litavniks flew FTV1, with test engineer Andreas Hartono (not pictured). The low noise of Pratt’s PW1524G geared turbofans was notable on takeof and landing. There were no surprises for Bombardier as CSeries FTV1 completed its 2.5-hr. first flight from Mirabel on Sept. 16. AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 29 30 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 FIRST FLIGHTS Guy Norris Los Angeles High Hopes First-flight regime shows Boeing’s confidence in 787-9 B oeing kicked of the 787-9 test and certification program on Sept. 17 with an ambitious 5-hr., 16-min. first flight. Crewed by 787-9 Senior Project Pilot Mike Bryan and 787 Chief Pilot Randy Neville, the aircraft took of from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., at 11:02 a.m. local time and returned to Boeing Field, Seattle, at 4:18 p.m. The flight included evaluations normally conducted during a standard “B-1” Boeing production test sortie as well as assessments related to specific diferences associated with the propulsion system and handling characteristics of the longer airframe. The aircraft, designated ZB001, is 20 ft. longer overall than the baseline 787-8, and is powered by the newly certificated, higher-thrust “Package C” version of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. Maximum altitude reached during the flight was 20,400 ft., and maximum airspeed was 250 kt. The test debut of the 787-9 marks a major milestone for the program as Boeing continues to ramp up deliveries of the 787-8 and initiates development of the 787-10, the third major derivative of the family. Boeing has high hopes for the -9 stretch, particularly because the higher-capacity variant does not trade performance for the additional 40 passengers it will hold compared to the -8. The aircraft is designed to fly an additional 300 nm with a full payload compared to the baseline, and has already attracted 388 firm orders. This represents 41.5% of the program’s overall firm backlog, a figure comparatively close to the 787-8’s current 498 order tally. Boeing also appears more confident about meeting initial performance goals with the 787-9 than it did with the troubled early development versions of the 787-8. This is largely because the 787-9 empty weight is reportedly running marginally better than predicted, partially related to structural and systems improvements gleaned during the weight optimization eforts for the 787-8. The -9 also incorporates aerodynamic improvements, including a hybrid laminar flow- control device in the vertical fin, and will benefit from the latest fuel-burn improvement packages developed by Rolls for the Trent 1000 and General Electric with the Performance Improvement Package (PIP) II package for the GEnx-1B. The Package C engines powering the aircraft on its first flight are rated at 74,000 lb. thrust, and are designed to have 1% better fuel burn relative to Package B. The upgraded configuration incorporates modifications to increase mass flow and the exhaust-gas temperature margin, and includes modified blades in the intermediate-pressure compressor and a semi-active case cooling system for improved tip clearance control in the low-pressure turbine. The engine will be the baseline powerplant for the 787-9 when it enters service with Air New Zealand in mid-2014 and will also be standard on 787-8s from around June 2014 onward. The 787-9 will be based at Boeing Field for most of the upcoming test and certification campaign, which will be completed in second-quarter 2014. The first 787-9 is the 126th 787 to roll of the combined Everett and Charleston, S.C., production lines, and will be joined in the test program by the second and third 787-9s, Nos. ZB002 and ZB021. The second test aircraft has been completed and the third, which will be GE-powered, is in final assembly. Two 787- 9s with completed interiors will also join the latter stages of the program to assist with function and reliability pre- entry-into-service tests. c cation and includes “things associated with optimized cooling. We have turned down flow in some areas and pressurized some bleed cavities,” says Saia. As a result Pratt expects to pick up “a few tenths of a percent” of fuel-burn improvement. “That will put us right on our guarantee to Bombardier so we’re on target for the first customer.” Eforts are underway, meanwhile, to reduce the CSeries weight. “We have a small challenge, which is normal in development, so we are in a weight- saving mode,” says Dewar. “We plan to be on track with or better than all guarantees.” c With Guy Norris in Los Angeles. B O E I N G Boeing’s 787-9 has aerodynamic, structural and systems improvements as well as its 20-ft. stretch over the baseline 787-8. AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 31 Amy Butler Washington USAF chief: JStars, T-38 replacements among top priorities I s there hope for a program’s future if it is not in the sacred Top Three priorities of the U.S. Air Force—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the KC-46 aerial refueler and the long-range bomber? For months, the USAF’s message has been tightly con- trolled. Keep those three programs moving forward; anything else is subject to cuts or, if it is a new start, indefinite deferral. But Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staf, revealed a peek into his priorities beyond the dramatic sequestration cuts that have derailed military spending plans in recent months. Aside from his Top Three, Welsh says he would like to start projects to replace the aging E-8C ground-surveillance and T-38 fast-jet trainer fleets. Industry is already prepared for both—with primes and subs pairing of to pursue these projects. But first, Congress must provide a funding profile that will support them, Welsh notes. Thus, the Air Force is developing two potential budgets— “high” and “low” proposals. The latter takes into account a worst-case scenario of sequestration impacts stretching through fiscal 2015. The former allows for at least some new- start work, though not as much as the service had hoped. The E-8C Joint Stars fleet is housed on aging Boeing 707 airframes, all of which were purchased as used platforms before being modified with mission systems in the 1990s and 2000s. So, their service life is hampered and maintenance cost is high. That, coupled with a desire from combatant commanders for more and better ground surveillance—tracking ground vehicles to individuals on foot—is behind the need. An analysis of alternatives conducted by the service has pointed to a solid business case for housing the next system on a business jet to access both its speed and low operating cost. And significant advances have been made in active, electronically scanned array radars to allow for multimode detection and tracking of many targets simultaneously. The E-8Cs are housed on the oldest of the USAF’s 707s, but it is likely that the service could embark on a larger recapital- ization project to eventually put the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System air surveillance and RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence missions on the same business jet platform. Industry teams are ready for the T-X program to buy 350 T-38 replacements; the Air Force has slipped the competition, delaying fielding until at least 2023. BAE Systems/Northrop Grumman with the Hawk T2, General Dynamics/Alenia Aer- macchi with the M346, and Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries with the T-50 are all competing. Boeing, said to be in talks with Saab for a partnership, is eyeing a brand-new design. Gen. Edward Rice, head of the Air Education and Train- ing Center, says he cannot recommend a quick start to T-X in this budget environment because the T-38 is still safe to fly. Up for cuts are several mainstay Air Force programs. The service is pursuing as many “vertical” cuts, or wholesale fleet terminations, as possible, because the savings are more pro- found than simply slicing a portion of a fleet. With a vertical cut, the service divorces itself from the cost not only of the aircraft, but also of an entire training and supply chain. Potential vertical cuts include the A-10 fleet and MC-12W Project Liberties. Both conduct niche missions. “If funding weren’t an issue I would love to have that capability, [but] there are other things I need more desperately than the MC-12,” says Gen. Mike Hostage, who heads Air Combat Com- mand. The L-3 Communications MC-12Ws were just fielded in 2009 to satisfy an urgent need for more intelligence collectors in Iraq and Afghanistan. A-10s, by contrast, have been lauded for decades by the Army for their precise close air support (CAS). The Air Force has tried before to kill the A-10 fleet during budget crunches, but Army ofcials often convince Congress to keep them. Hostage says that with targeting pods and precision-guided munitions, CAS can be had through a variety of platforms. “While they were not happy, [Army leaders] understand we are in a fiscal crisis,” he says. “I am not backing away from the mission. I am just adjusting the way I’m doing it.” Several other fleets are facing partial cuts. These include the Lockheed Martin C-130 and General Atomics MQ-9 Reap- er unmanned aircraft. “We are trying to convince [the Ofce of the Secretary of Defense] that the 65 [combat air patrol] challenge . . . is not the force structure the nation needs or can aford,” Hostage says. “Predators and Reapers are useless in a contested . . . environment [and] I need anti-access capability.” Hostage did not reveal what the right number of Reapers would be. Likewise, the service may shed old, excess C-130s, even while proposing another multi-year deal of the new “J-model” of the tactical transports. Presently, the Air Force has approximately 340 C-130s, but USAF Gen. Paul Selva, head of Air Mobility Command, says the requirement is closer to 300. Selva is also proposing an early retirement to the KC-10 refueler fleet. It could retire early as the Boeing KC-46 comes onboard. The KC-10 provides more refueling capacity than the KC-135 and was once uniquely capable of providing fuel to Navy and Marine Corps jets that use the probe and drogue receiver interface. Now, however, the service has outfitted the majority of its KC-135s into the R configuration, which allows for the workhorse tanker to conduct such missions. The topline requirement for tankers is 479 aircraft, so it is possible the USAF could reduce the KC-10 fleet as early as the first 18 KC-46s are introduced into service in 2017. Also up for a reduction is the C-5A fleet. C-5As have notori- ously low reliability; by contrast, the C-5M—which includes new engines through a Lockheed Martin program—has proved to be highly reliable. Congressional members have held retirement plans for the fleet at bay in hopes of protect- ing missions at their home-state Air Force bases. Selva says the C-5M, a modernization that includes new engines for the strategic airlifter, is highly reliable and, as such, is not being eyed for a cut. Likewise, the C-17 fleet appears safe. Budget drills are likely to examine other possible cuts until the final proposal is delivered to Congress early next year. c DEFENSE Life Post-Cuts? “Predators and Reapers are useless in a contested environment, [and] I need anti-access capability” See how U.S. Air Force programs are faring amid budget uncertainty and other factors at AviationWeek.com/afa2013 Now as part of Penton, Aviation Week’s Commercial Aviation and MRO Portfolio delivers even more Advantages. The synergies of expanding content and direct connections have only just begun. 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Q Airportdata.com: A comprehensive pre-fight planning service that provides essential information to the air transport industry, including contact details, technical data and airport providers. To learn more, contact: Iain Blackhall Managing Director, Civil Aviation Aviation Week Tel: +44(0)20 7176 6231 [email protected] Bill Freeman Commercial Aviation Market Leader Penton Tel: +1 (301) 755-0166 [email protected] To subscribe today, visit: www.aviationweek.com/marketdatacenter www.buypenton.com 34 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst DEFENSE A fter years of political wrangling, the Netherlands has finally decided to purchase the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), but at a greatly diminished number than originally envisaged. The Hague will now buy 37 of the 85 F-35s it had intended to purchase when it first signed on to the program in 2002, basing its decision on the need to remain within the tight €4.5 billion ($6.1 billion) budget assigned for its F-16 Fighting Falcon replacement program, and the €270 million annual operations budget for fighter types in the armed forces’ inventory. In the decision, announced on Sept. 17 in policy documents setting out the forecast plan for its armed forces, De- fense Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plass- chaert said she saw the purchase of the F-35 as a key innovation for the services, at a time when the country is becoming less militarily ambitious, pointing out that any future Dutch military operations will be limited to “shorter periods of time than was previously possible.” “The F-35 provides the most options from a military operational perspective,” she says. She also cited its “potential for further development, especially in the area of networked operations [along with] the opportunities for international cooperation in areas such as training, maintenance and deployment.” The report states that independent analysis from organizations such as TNO, the Netherlands Organization for Tony Osborne London The Netherlands was the second nation to receive F-35s. LOCKHEED MARTIN Applied Scientific Research, backed up the ministry’s decision. The Netherlands intends to begin operations with the F-35 in 2019 alongside the country’s last F-16s, which will retire in the early 2020s. The defense ministry does not rule out purchasing more aircraft “within the financial framework,” but the document highlights one of the ongoing frustrations of the program as air arms try to work out the operational and ownership costs of the aircraft. As a result, the ministry is creating a “risk reserve” of 10% to be applied to the program and operational costs. Even if more aircraft are ordered, fleet size would still be in the “low forties,” says one ofcial close to the program. The ministry has notified its partners in the F-35 program of the changed figure. The Netherlands was an early sig- natory to the JSF program, investing more than €1 billion in a bid to retain aerospace skills and knowledge in the country following the collapse of Fokker in 1996. Two F-35As were purchased early on to take part in the operational test-and-evaluation phase of the program. Despite this, the F-35’s place in the Netherlands’ inventory has never been assured. In recent months, the program has faced bitter opposition in parliament: A finalized Dutch purchase had been rejected mainly by the left-leaning Labor Party while in opposition. However, that decision changed after the Labor party formed a majority coalition in the lower house with Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberal party after last Sep- tember’s elections. The pol i t i cal strife forced the defense ministry to put one of its two JSFs into storage at Edwards AFB, Calif. The second is understood to be test flying at Lock- heed Martin’s F-35 production facility in Fort Worth. The European economy has taken its toll on defense spending. The Netherlands’ once near-200-strong F-16 fleet has dwindled to fewer than 70 aircraft, and a further 10% of the fleet will be cut throughout 2014. Under the new policies proposed by Hennis-Plasschaert, the country will share responsibility of guarding the airspace of the Benelux countries— Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxem- bourg—with Belgium, rather than each country, holding a quick-reaction alert against possible aggressors in sover- eign airspace, as is currently the case. Belgium, too, might be replacing its aging F-16s in the coming years. The Netherlands’ transport aircraft and helicopter fleets will remain stable, although the air force’s VIP Gulfstream IV will be sold in 2014. The Pentagon is predicting a 50%- plus increase in the ramp rate for F-35 production in the next five years that will contribute, ofcials hope, to a significant reduction in the aircraft’s per- unit price. The cost of each F-35A, not including engines, is targeted below $100 million in low-rate, initial production Lot 7 for the first time. Program ofcials, however, are ultimately targeting “fifth-generation capability at a fourth-generation price,” by 2019, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris- topher Bogdan, executive ofcer for the F-35 program, during a briefing at the annual Air Force Association conference near Washington on Sept. 17. “We are at a point . . . where that [production] ramp is going to shoot up.” c With Amy Butler in Washington. Netherlands finally selects F-35 to replace F-16, but cost questions still loom Difficult Choices AviationWeek.com/mro GA TELESIS AVIATION WEEK & S P A C E T E C H N O L O G Y A CFM56-5B at GA Telesis Engine Services in Vantaa, Finland. Life-Cycle Costs Surplus parts, once an afterthought, are shaping MRO strategies Page MRO4 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO1 Essential Insights To Optimize the Aircraft Life Cycle MRO Edition KEEPING YOU FLYING IS OUR BUSINESS. Wheels Up to Wheels Down Maintenance - Engine Controls - Flight Controls - Aircraft Electronics - Cabin Systems and Modifications www.baesystems.com/commercialsupport M erging companies, moving and culling unneed- ed inventories can be both energizing and stressful. Moving and Mergers MAINTENANCE CHECK There is the excitement generated from new opportunities and the prospect of creating something superior— but there is also the sheer hard work of overcoming unexpected obstacles to make this happen. Just look at the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways. Instead of celebrating the creation of one of the world’s largest airlines in August, the two are scheduled to appear in a U.S. District Court on Nov. 25 to defend anti-competitive concerns. While the pace of airline mergers might slacken, consolidation in the aftermarket will continue. Kellstrom Materials is a good example of why. When Kellstrom purchased AirLi- ance Materials from Lufthansa Technik on May 17, it combined two medium- sized companies into one large entity with complementary product lines. Clients gained a broader channel of distribution, more parts choices and new customer interfaces. The deal happened quickly, and Roscoe Musselwhite, Kellstrom Mate- rials president and CEO, immediately started looking for the synergies. In doing so, he says that “you dis- cover stuf you don’t need,” like DC-9 air stairs. “We’ve been scrapping a lot of material we once loved,” Musselwhite notes, so that the prime commercial material located at Kellstrom’s Florida facility will fit into AirLiance’s warehouse near Chicago O’Hare Interna- tional Airport. It’s like moving to a new house—you realize what possessions you value most—and you purge the infrequently used things because the cost of relocating them is high. Kellstrom’s parts-scrapping is not making a huge economic impact, “maybe a couple $100,000, [but] it’s a necessary step,” says Musselwhite. Kellstrom implemented Phoenix— its enterprise resource-planning system—at AirLiance’s facility, and went live with it this month. This was an essential step because it didn’t make sense to start the physical process of moving the mapped inventory “loc to loc” beforehand—and disrupt the inventory’s data integrity. Parts are now relocating to Chicago, but Kellstrom’s sales staf will remain in Florida. However, they have been visiting Chicago on “cultural exchanges” to cross-pollinate ideas. The parts marketplace—material valuation, ownership options and distribution channels—has drastically changed since AirLiance formed. “Large holders of inventories in this business are seldom rewarded,” unless it is the right inventory—at the right price, says Musselwhite. And with repair costs often eclips- ing the price of a used part, having the three “rights”—part, place, location—is paramount (see page MR04). I recently left my home of a decade for a new one, 700 mi. (1,126 km) away, so I acutely understand the energy it takes to cull, pack and move. The same week I was transitioning domiciles, Penton purchased Aviation Week from McGraw Hill—my work “house”—so I doubly understand the human side of undergoing a merger, posthaste. But like Musselwhite, I feel privileged to be at the stage of exploring new possibilities and brainstorming ideas with colleagues old and new. Change can be disruptive, but it can blow open doors you may not have knocked on before. If you’re in the Windy City, knock on my new office door, which is open. Embrace new ideas and move your company forward. c —Lee Ann Tegtmeier Chief Editor MRO Change can be disruptive, but it can open new doors you may not have even knocked on before. AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO3 Contents FEATURE MRO4 Game Changers Surplus parts are shaping MRO strategies MRO EUROPE MRO8 Start-Ups at Your Service U.K. MROs and SMEs fill needs of all sizes MRO14 Stretching Beyond Core A J Walter is rebranding Azerbaijan’s aircraft, partnering with BA Engineering for 787 BUSINESS & OPERATIONS MRO16 Russia Starts Stocking Up Western parts inventory grows with economic zone MRO22 Tackling Tool Control Survey assessing how industry tracks tools finds desire for improvement MRO24 Tethered Tools Examining tool control in orbit, based on a reader’s comments in the tool survey MRO27 Speed Up Southwest Airlines quickens parts flow to reduce inventory MARKET ANALYSIS MRO28 Twins Part Out The A340 is challenged by twin-engined aircraft INVENTORY OPTIMIZATION & LOGISTICS MRO31 Information Science MRO providers use Big Data to improve operations MRO36 Fine-Tuning Aircraft Health Monitoring SAFETY & REGULATORY NEWS MRO38 Cabin ‘Crewmembers’ Take Notes MRO42 EASA Outlines Upcoming Rulemaking MRO44 Inspiring Excellence MRO LINKS MRO49 Inflatable Hangars MRO50 Fuel MRO51 Electrical The next issue of the MRO Edition will be dated October 28. Read Tegtmeier’s posts on MRO’s weblog, updated daily: AviationWeek.com/mro A mong airlines, manufacturers and the finance community, news of yet another mid-life aircraft being harvested for parts will rekindle the debate about adjusting the useful life of an airframe. In the aftermarket world, however, word of a part-out brings near-universal agreement on a diferent industry trend: the growing influence of surplus parts on MRO strategies. As recently as a decade or so ago, sourcing serviceable parts was neither complicated nor efficient. It did not have to be. Top-tier airlines had larger spares pools and met much of their muted used-parts demand from within, selling of what they did not need. Origi- nal equipment manufacturers (OEM) were just starting to see the valuable roles that secondhand parts could play in their aftermarket portfolios. As a result, part-out specialists could focus on their core competency—ripping planes apart—and earn an extra buck or two selling usable parts to brokers with their own end- user customer base. “Twenty years ago, we were just supplying parts on an ad-hoc basis,” says GA Telesis President and CEO Abdol Moabery. “That has changed drastically.” The numbers hammer home Moabery’s point. In 2001, the air transport serviceable parts market was worth about $11 billion, with just 10% claimed by surplus parts, according to ICF SH&E data. A decade later, the market was close to $15 billion, while the surplus share had climbed to 18%. By 2015, ICF SH&E projects surplus parts could have 20% of the $17 billion- plus market for serviceable airframe, engine and component spares. Several factors are playing major roles in this market shift. First and foremost, operators are changing their strategies. “Airlines realize that the increased availability of good-quality, used, serviceable material has allowed them to control costs by avoiding the need to put brand-new material into their engines or airframes,” says Steve Williams, director of aircraft engine services at A J Walter Aviation. While many MRO-related changes stem from within the hangar, some take place on the flight line. An increase in leased versus owned aircraft also is boosting surplus-parts demand. In 2000, about 25% of the world’s fleet was leased, Boeing data show. Last year, the figure was about 38% and by 2020, it will be above 50%. Sean Broderick Washington Game-Changers Surplus parts, once an afterthought, are shaping MRO strategies AFTERMARKET STRATEGIES Because surplus parts ofer comparable reliability to new parts at a fraction of the cost, they are often tapped to keep leased aircraft flying or prepare them for an end-of-lease return. “It doesn’t make sense to gold-plate a lessor’s aircraft,” Moabery says. Among owned fleets, deciding to pro- long the service life of an older fleet type may have its drawbacks, but surplus- parts availability is not one of them. Take Delta Air Lines’ continued use of nearly 120 MD-88s. Instead of overhauling engines and sourcing new components, the carrier can harvest what it needs from aircraft being phased out elsewhere, such as Scan- dinavian Airlines’ (SAS) MD-82s and MD-87s, which Delta started strategi- cally snapping up last year. “These are aircraft that are typically purchased by part suppliers who will chop that airplane up and sell it for parts,” explains Delta CFO Paul Jacob- sen. “[O]pportunities to acquire older airplanes and harvest them for parts has provided significant savings for us going forward in terms of a lower-cost basis for the overhauls that we have.” Some of the ex-SAS aircraft may pay for themselves in “less than one year,” Jacobsen says. Delta’s strategy is more nuanced than simply keeping its old metal flying. In addition to parking regional jets, it planned to retire 14 mainline aircraft, including DC-9s, in the second half of this year. The moves will come as new aircraft‚ and new-old aircraft—such as ex-AirTran 717s—enter the fleet. The carrier is upgrading its MD-88s and MD-90s with glass cockpits, which both add capability and save weight, not to mention justify the stockpiling of used serviceable spares. “Delta does have one of the older fleets in the system,” acknowledges Ed Bastian, the carrier’s president. “As a result, we have considerable opportunities to use older equipment to, in effect, improve the overall performance of our maintenance programs.” Cost-saving opportunities abound throughout an aircraft’s service life but are particularly ripe in the engine world. The bulk of engine-maintenance costs come from shop visits, of which 60-70% is in materials. While performance-based contracts MRO4 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro A J Walter’s new division AJW Technique repairs and overhauls components in Montreal. A J W A L T E R A V I A T I O N Iberia Maintenance. Commercial and Business Development Direction Madrid-Barajas Airport. Z.I. La Muñoza. Motores Building, 28042 Madrid. Spain tel: + 34 91 587 51 32/ Fax: +34 587 58 84 [email protected] / www.iberiamaintenance.com British Airways Maintenance: [email protected] / www.ba-mro.com Members of OUR EXPERIENCE DRIVES YOUR EXCELLENCE. When what matters is hnely tuned, everything works. Iberia´s merger with British Airways has made us stronger. Our technicians have more than 85 years of experience and are experts in their held. With our extended product range and joint resources we can offer you the high quality service that you demand. STRONGER TOGETHER. such as power-by-the-hour eliminate the shop-visit cost spike for many operators, some party—an OEM or independent engine shop—is performing, and paying for overhaul work. Indepen- dent providers have always sought cost- saving opportunities such as surplus parts or repairs that they can leverage for customers, but OEMs were slow to embrace such tactics. When the primary OEM aftermarket strategy focused on hawking new spares, such resistance made sense. But in a world where OEMs increasingly see broad aftermarket support as a lucrative revenue stream, meeting customer demand is taking precedence over moving new product. An MRO market assessment released by the Aero- nautical Repair Station As- sociation (ARSA) showed that OEMs captured 44% of the $26 billion air transport engine overhaul market in 2012. That percentage should only grow. A TeamSAI analysis shows an across-the-board increase in the percentage of new-generation engines in long-term OEM support contracts compared to their predecessors. CFM International, for example, grabbed less than 20% of the CFM56-3 overhaul market but has about 40% of -5B/-7B work, and could end up with 80% for the Leap engine. As e x pe c t e d, t he OEM aftermarket ramp-up has been matched by increased participation in the surplus-parts game. The evidence— both at the macro and micro levels—is everywhere. Last year, the air transport engine services market generated $1.35 billion in surplus-parts business, an ICF SH&E analysis shows. The biggest slic- es of the pie belong to a pair of OEM subsidiaries, GE Engine Services and Pratt & Whitney Services, at 17% and 10%, respectively. Not surprisingly, they are their own biggest surplus- parts customers. GE’s Engine Services’ foray is just part of the company’s used, serviceable parts activity. In 2006, the company bought aircraft part-out and surplus- parts specialist The Memphis Group, and tucked it into its Asset Manage- ment Services (AMS) business within its GE Capital Aviation Services leasing arm. Last month, AMS unveiled its newest product line: still-flyable Boeing 777-200 parts, courtesy of an in-progress teardown. “OEMs have adopted what we do as acceptable practice,” says Moabery. “They are very much entrenched in the used, serviceable parts market.” GA Telesis and its competitors leverage OEMs for more than their massive parts needs. Moabery says his company sends 70% of its repair jobs to OEMs, too, which results in a higher confidence level among GA Telesis customers. “If you’re concerned about my quality, then you’re concerned about the OEM’s quality,” he says. “There is no call to question [us] about the quality of the parts.” Two-way partnerships with OEMs exemplify one way in which surplus parts specialists have changed to meet growing demand. Moabery suggests the increased capabilities of companies like his has as much to do with an increase in mid-life aircraft part-outs as any macro decrease in the traditional 25-year useful life. “It’s not the availability of those aircraft at a younger age that we should be focusing on,” he notes. “It’s really the capability of companies like us and others that have developed sophisticated business models.” Some of the sophistication has come via organic growth. Two former Col- lins Avionics employees founded Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Intertrade in 1969. For a quarter of a century, the family- run business specialized in secondhand avionics made by cross-town neighbor Rockwell Collins. In the mid-1990s, In- tertrade expanded, adding warehouse space and parting out a Boeing 737-300 to help fill it. In 1999, Rockwell Collins bought Intertrade. Today, the company’s inventory is just as likely to feature harvested parts from a 15-year-old 737- 700 (MSN 28437, purchased a year ago) as it is refurbished components made by its parent. Diversification also gives companies more options as markets shift. At conglomerates such as GE and Rockwell Collins, the synergies of an OEM unit, a large aftermarket services network, surplus-parts specialist and (in GE’s case) leasing arm are self-evident. Smaller companies such as GA Telesis are playing the diversification game, too. The company leases out about 120 aircraft and engines, giving it perspective into the aircraft- demand market. When the company evaluated the prospects of a recently purchased 12-year-old 737-300 (MSN 30723) and a 1999-vintage 777-200ER (MSN 28418), it saw more value in parting them out to support the existing fleet than keeping them in the fleet. Put simply, the present value of the part-out’s revenue potential over, say three years, was greater than the potential lease returns plus the residual value. “We could’ve put them back in service,” Moabery says. “But economical- ly, it makes more sense for us to part out the aircraft and put those parts into the aftermarket today.” Ten years ago, few surplus-parts dealers could extract enough value from a middle-aged, in-demand airliner to make such a call. Five years ago, 54% of surplus-dealer stock came directly from part-outs, ICF SH&E cal- culates. Last year, the figure was 82%. “The suppliers are becoming more sophisticated, both technically and fi- nancially,” Moabery says. c AFTERMARKET STRATEGIES MRO6 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro GA Telesis leases about 120 aircraft and engines, which gives it the ability to lease or part them out, depending on the highest value. G A T E L E S I S YOU MAINTAIN YOUR BUDGET. 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Matthew Bell London Startups at Your Service U.K. MROs and SMEs fill needs of all sizes T he demand for British civil aftermarket work is expected to grow in the next decade, but most startups face an uphill struggle to enter a market being squeezed by OEMs. To add to their headaches, the current shortage of skilled engineering labor is set to worsen in the next decade or two, while the trend of partnering with OEMs ofers a double-edged sword: MRO providers can gain reliable work from a handful of big customers—but only while it lasts. On the plus side, the relative weakness of the British pound in recent years has improved prospects for Brit- ish MRO services, which were previously considered to be ofering poorer value for the money than their Eastern European rivals in particular. Civil MRO work in Britain is forecast to grow about 4% annually in the next 10 years, driven largely by air transport demand, according to Aero- space, Defense and Security (ADS), the sector’s national trade body. At the same time, ADS is encouraging British MRO companies to look outside their comfort zone and exploit growing demand for expertise and technology transfer in Brazil, China, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Jeegar Kakkad, chief economist and director of policy at ADS, says that “it’s not as if a British company is giving away the crown jewels by working with a foreign country.” Once a relationship has been established with an overseas company, “what they quite often want is to maintain a partnership and do a bit of a workshare,” he notes. According to the British trade body, U.K. Trade and Investment (UKTI), domestic MRO providers face stiff competition abroad due to the increasing strength of component manufacturers, while airframe makers such as Airbus, Boeing and Embraer “are a growing competitor as they seek to capture a greater share of the value that their aircraft generate after production.” Avionics repair for foreign customers has relatively high barriers to entry due to the sophisticated test equipment and training needed to deal with modern systems, software development and capability upgrades, UKTI adds. But there has been growth in agreements using performance-based logistics, where suppliers are contracted to deliver performance outcomes against MRO objectives for systems or products, rather than simply agreeing to provide goods and services. Spending by airlines on asset management is rising, meanwhile, and the increasing use of composites in new aircraft means there is “a correspond- ing need to be able to support it and undertake the necessary repairs once in service,” says UKTI. The demand for non-destructive testing and appropriate repair derives from the Airbus A380, A350, A320neo, Boeing’s 787 and Embraer’s 175 and 195. As the OEMs target greater vol- umes of aftermarket work, independent MROs are moving from “heavy, detailed, in-depth services to more frequent, light-touch services,” says Kakkad. Many MRO companies benefit from the aerospace clusters that have developed around Britain, ofering easier access to OEMs and the range of work they can ofer. The aerospace cluster in South East Wales is one such example, and is dominated by the British Airways maintenance center in the Vale of Glamorgan, which employs more than 700 people to maintain the airline’s Boeing 747, 777 and long-haul 767 aircraft. David Jones, the secretary of state for Wales, says the center has had “a very positive impact” on small and medium-sized firms (SME). “There is the very beneficial efect of larger companies being able to as- MRO8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro MRO EUROPE CARDIFF AVIATION “A lot of the workforce in the U.K. are beginning to realize that the pre-2008 gravy train has gone away.” — Mario Fulgoni We keep you flying. Anytime. Anywhere. IAI-BEDEK: World-Leading Full Service Provider of End-to-End MRO Services From airframes, engines, components and logistic support - we cover them all! Around the clock, around the world. • Total maintenance solutions under one roof • Highly experienced technical teams • Wide-body hangars & extensive supporting facilities • Over six decades of reliable operations www.iai.co.il MRO EUROPE 2013 SEE US AT Booth # 1118 sist the smaller companies in developing their business models, because they’ve got a great deal of expertise in terms of running business, giving advice and so on,” he says. “We’re getting very small SMEs, if you like, under the wing of large companies, and benefitting from that relationship,” he adds. Local MRO provider Cardif Aviation was established last year and aims to be a one-stop shop for airlines and leasing companies operating narrowbody passenger aircraft. Cardif Aviation operates in 132,000 sq. ft. of hangar and workshop space at the former Royal Air Force maintenance base in St. Athan and can hold 20 narrowbody airliners at one time. It was co-founded by Bruce Dickin- son, the lead singer for rock band Iron Maiden, and Mario Fulgoni, who hopes the company will transcend the “rather specialist” nature of most British civil MROs by ofering the full range of maintenance, training for engineers and pilots, and even initial flights for startup airlines. British MRO companies previously sufered due to the relative strength of the pound against the U.S. dollar, the chief currency used for industry pricing, while the recession has forced them to improve in the face of growing regional competition, Fulgoni says. “The U.K. has become more competitive over the last few years. Ster- ling was previously strong against the dollar; now it’s relatively weak, which means that our rates are beginning to look pretty good. Against the euro, the U.K. is doing OK as well,” Fulgoni says. He notes that MRO providers in the U.K. are “competing against East Eu- ropeans—their labor costs are lower and they’re much more willing to do work. A lot of the workforce in the U.K. are beginning to realize that the pre-2008 gravy train has gone away and that we need to be more produc- tive now if we’re going to win business from Europe.” He has ambitions to win business in northern Europe, Scandinavia and as far as North Africa, but “if you go beyond that range, it really doesn’t pay to ferry the aircraft,” he says. Fulgoni sees partnership with OEMs as another opportunity rather MRO10 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro MRO EUROPE C A R D I F F A V I A T I O N Bruce Dickinson, lead singer for the rock bank Iron Maiden, co- founded Cardif Aviation with Mario Fulgoni. AERO INSTRUMENTS & AVIONICS, INC. WWW.AEROINST.COM 716.694.7060 In today’s ever changing avionics market, you have to know what sets your business apart from the rest. Reliability is the reputation we have earned for providing outstanding quality repairs to regional and commercial aircraft operators. 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Whether it’s providing total lifecycle management, air operations or aviation maintenance, we help our government, military and commercial customers reduce costs and achieve new levels of performance and productivity. DynCorp International provides our customers with unique, tailored aviation solutions for an ever-changing world. than a threat. “I would like to be an approved supplier to both Airbus and Boeing to provide them with OEM support to their customers. They can produce regular work and it tends to be higher-margin,” he says. “I’ve talked to Airbus. They’re very interested in talking to us and looking at what we can do,” adds Fulgoni. “It all depends on what programs they start and the problems they have.” Cardif Aviation works on the Airbus 320 and Boeing’s 737, 757 and 767 in addition to smaller regional aircraft. For now, its work is split roughly 50/50 between leasing companies and airlines, but Fulgoni sees smaller airlines as a promising source of business. Dorset-based Mari- lake Aero specializes in instrument MRO and also has benefitted from work for smaller customers. An SME em- ploying just 12 people, it has not suf- fered from the recession and still gets “plenty of work” from approximately 100 customers. “Generally, a lot of the budget airlines do reasonably well, and that’s where we get a lot of our work from,” says Gerry Grifths, Marilake’s managing director. The skills shortage has proved to be one of his greatest challenges, a problem that is only set to grow in the coming decades. “It is difficult to get engineers who’ve got instrument experience,” he adds. “In the past, we’ve hired people with electronic and some mechanical expertise and trained them on our equipment—that takes a year to 18 months,” says Grifths. According to Kakkad, “there’s a real challenge in terms of getting skilled people for MRO.” The Royal Academy of Engineering estimates that Brit- ain will need 80,000 new engineering graduates each year but is only producing about 20,000 annually. The civil MRO sector, like other British engineering sectors, is facing a retirement peak of older workers. The industry has only 1,200 licensed engineers ages 20-30 and more than 3,500 over the age of 50, Kakkad says. Spending money on training programs now is just one way of overcoming the skills shortage. “Even though it might seem as if cash is short, most companies realize that without skills programs, production will slow up,” he adds. As for the other challenges faced by new and established civil MRO companies, Kakkad says they need to become “more flexible and agile to respond to shifts in the MRO market,” focusing more on partnering and shifting their focus from heavy to light work. OEMs are unlikely to make life easy for independent MRO providers, and the persistent skills shortage ofers a permanent challenge. But with a weaker pound and growing demand abroad, new U.K. MRO companies should have plenty of opportunities ahead of them.c MRO EUROPE MRO12 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Britain will need 80,000 new engineering graduates each year but is only producing about 20,000 annually. Matthew Bell London Stretching Beyond Core A J Walter is rebranding Azerbaijan’s aircraft, partnering with BA Engineering for 787 MRO EUROPE A zerbaijan Airlines wanted to rebrand its fleet of 18 aircraft and selected A J Walter Aviation, best known for component support, to managing the effort. AJW Group tapped Eirtech Aviation to paint the fleet. Nine months earlier, in November 2012, A J Walter bought two new A340- 500s from Airbus that it repainted and reconfigured for use by Azerbaijan Airlines. Deepak Sharma, technical director at A J Walter, told Aviation Week that the company will continue to look beyond its traditional core capabilities. “That was obviously one of the unique things to do, to buy these aircraft from the manufacturer and pass them onto an airline,” says Sharma. A J Walter is close to completing the new look on Azerbaijan Airlines’ A319, is part way through work on its A320 and will be fully underway updat- ing the airline’s Boeing 757 and 767 by October. “We have done this [previously] on an ad hoc basis, not so frequently and not on such a large scale,” he adds. The program for Azerbaijan is a more formal, managed procedure. A J Walter already is working on a “total solution” for the Boeing 787 with British Airways, according to Sharma. In a sign of their intent, in April the two companies joined forces to provide Azerbaijan Airlines with power- by-the-hour component support for its new fleet of 787s, which is scheduled to start flight operations in 2014. A J Walter and British Airways Engineer- ing will provide extensive component supply, inventory management and repair services. A J Walter also is looking beyond fleet rebranding to building a larger engine portfolio for leasing. In January, it bought three General Electric CF6- 80C2s and five CFM56-3C1 engines and one Pratt & Whitney PW4056-3 to add to its lease oferings of PW2040 and CFM56 series engines. Its lease packages include serviceable ready-to-fit spare engines and complete digital records—with 24/7 service and temporary replacement engines. “We are continuously identifying what the target is, what the opportunities are out there,” Sharma says. “At the moment we’re heavily looking into the 737 and would like to get into A350 work. But that does not mean we are moving away from what we currently do.” A J Walter manages a fleet of more than 400 aircraft under its power-by- the hour services, with customers as far afield as New Zealand and Hawaii. But the company’s vision “is not limited to Europe, America or Asia,” he adds. “We’ll go wherever we need to be.” While some MRO companies see a threat from OEMs trying to grab more of the aftermarket, A J Walter regards this as a “legacy” perception that fails to take full advantage of business opportunities. While he concedes that all OEMs want to protect their intellectual property, “I haven’t found the OEMs to be that difcult.” It’s a matter of perception, he says. The company does encounter some “minor issues” with OEMs, but good business sense and an eye for mutual benefit usually resolves the situation, adds Sharma. “If you were trying to carry out a certain level of repair, some OEMs would restrict you and not grant you a license for that,” he says. “But you work with them, and there is benefit for them in selling the piece part. They realize it is a reciprocating business.” Personal contact remains a priority for A J Walter, an approach that works “99% of the time,” he adds. “We seem to have turned the tables with OEMs in the past few years. I find that if you meet people face-to-face you win a lot more business than by trying to win business by email.” c A J Walter Aviation was contracted in July to rebrand Azerbaijan Airlines’ fleet. The job should be finished by year-end. AJ WALTER MRO14 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro www.boeing.com/boeingedge Genuine Boeing parts. When you order genuine Boeing parts, you get the same OEM parts that are delivered on a new Boeing airplane. Parts delivered with complete certification, built to the highest production standards and backed by a warranty of up to four years. The quality and support you get with genuine Boeing parts saves time and money and delivers what nothing else can: total confidence. Henry Canaday Washington Russia Starts Stocking Up Western parts inventory grows with free economic zone, partners, cultural understanding R ussian aviation lacks the scale and speedy growth of Chinese aviation, but its fleet of about 500 Western aircraft is formidable. Unlike China, Russia is just a 2-3 hr. flying time from major aircraft manufacturers, shops and part inventories in Western Europe, so the need for in-country part stocks has not been as intense as in China or other Asian markets. But one facet of Russian aviation argues for local stocks. Almost every Western aircraft rotates though one city, Moscow, daily. Inventories held in the capital city can very efciently serve the entire market. The government is sensitive to the need for local stocks to support the country’s aviation. It has established a zone in Russia for imported parts free of customs and value added taxes (VAT) until the parts are actually sold to airlines. And the Russian Federation has joined the World Trade Organiza- tion, which should eventually, if not immediately, ensure some important safeguards for foreign suppliers. Non-Russi an compani es have started to build significant stocks of aircraft parts in Russia. These stocks are still supplemented by shipments from Western hubs in the Netherlands, England and Germany. But the direction is clear. If Russian aviation continues to grow at a healthy pace and the government plays by Western rules in regulating and taxing parts, Moscow could have major stocks of line-replaceable units fairly soon. This will happen faster and more efficiently if companies can connect with the right partners in Russian aviation. In penetrating this market, it helps to be close, both physically and in experience, in dealing with Russians. “The Russian market keeps growing and we are planning to grow along with it,” summarizes Paulius Kavaliauskas, head of business development for components and materials at FL Technics. His company is part of a group listed on the stock exchange in Warsaw, Po- land, a neighbor of Russia and well ac- quainted with Russian ways. FL Technics opened a subsidiary, FL Technics Line, two years ago in Moscow and placed no-go and critical components in Moscow Vnukovo International Airport to deal with aircraft-on-the-ground (AOG) situations. “With our own base in Russia, we also ofer logistic services and help operators with customs clearance, significantly shortening delivery times,” Kavaliauskas says. FL plans to expand geographically within Russia and add additional stocks. No-go, critical and some dangerous components are placed at Vnukovo and support Boeing 737s, Bombardier CRJ200s and Airbus A320-family aircraft. FL’s main stocks are still in Vilnius, Lithuania, another close neighbor with very good connections to Rus- sia. Kavaliauskas says FL can deliver parts from Vilnius the same day they are ordered or early the next morning. Customs clearance can be completed less than 24 hr. after a purchase order is received. But London is still the best location for some parts, including flight controls for 737NGs and some other popular items. FL also keeps a parts inventory for 737NGs and 737 Classics in Warsaw. “Sometimes we may even use our Kuala Lumpur or Chicago stock,” Kavaliauskas notes. FL wants to expand the range of parts it stocks in Russia for the most popular models and also to add parts from partners with which FL has distribution agreements. These partners include Seal Dynam- ics, Heico and Kell- strom. It is looking at placing certain flight controls, engines and auxiliary power units inside Russia to support airlines in AOG situations even faster. Russia’s free economic zone for aviation at Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airport is about 570 mi. east of Moscow. Chiefly a cargo airport, the facility is home to Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Aviastar, which makes Antonov and Tupolev jets. Ulyanovsk-Vostochny could become the logical place to stock parts used for heavy checks, where facility space is cheaper than Moscow, MRO facilities exist and tax treatment is favorable. These reasons contribute to FL Te- chics’ plan to build a 16,000-sq.-meter (172,222-sq.-ft.) maintenance base and warehouse at this airport. This will sig- MRO16 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro BUSINESS & OPERATIONS Airbus and S7 Engineering have agreed to develop an A320 maintenance training partnership in Russia. JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET Pratt & Whitney. The shortest distance to profitable operation is your direct line to Pratt & Whitney services. Call us. We respond. With lower costs and uncompromising service. Innovative parts repair instead of replacement, when it’s the best option. A broad portfolio of services and innovations, right where – and when – you need them. Take a look at today’s Pratt & Whitney services at pw.utc.com/DependableServices. Providing dependable services and customer-focused value. Dependable Services nificantly lower investment in stocks, which will cost about the same as anywhere else in Europe. Bringing parts into Russia now means immediately paying an import VAT of 18% and sometimes, customs duties. “Operating from a free economic zone allows stocking parts without freezing this additional cash,” Kaval- iauskas says. “Duties and taxes have to be paid only when the part is sold to the customer.” The FL executive sees other companies taking the same direction his has in Russia. But he cautions, “This market is highly attractive yet very complex and it takes a lot of time and energy to understand it, let alone start operations.” He predicts companies that have been working on serving Russia may soon enter the market, but entirely new entrants will probably take a few years to penetrate it. A J Walter Aviation has been supporting Russia for nearly 20 years from the U.K., but it also now has more than $30 million of rotable and expendable components at Moscow Domodedovo International Airport with a secondary location at Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. It is considering placing inventory at Vnukovo and is willing to look at other locations, says Roger Wolstenholme, director of group sales. He says A J Walter logs about $100 million in annual sales in Russia and in other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The company’s components in Rus- sia initially are intended for the S7 Group’s A320s, but it plans to expand into 737 Classic and NextGen, and perhaps other Boeing aircraft, too. Wolstenholme wants to build on this position by developing customized solutions based on AJW’s expanding product lines, including power by the hour, consumables, engines and component repair management by AJW Tech- nique. He is especially hopeful about opportunities for this division of AJW. AJW has considered Russia’s new duty-free zone but sees only limited benefits, compared with an efcient logistics chain out of the U.K. Russian customs still pose problems that local stocks might partly solve. Customs clearance remains an ongoing issue, even though AJW has considerable experience in minimizing delays, ensuring that documentation is correct and that items are efciently tracked. “AJW also has the ability to provide customs-clearance services via our local agent,” Wolstenholme notes. He expects other companies will join in the buildup of part stocks in Russia. For instance, Engineering Holding, one of the largest MROs in Russia and the parent company of S7 Engineer- MRO18 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro BUSINESS & OPERATIONS The Russian Federation has joined the World Trade Organization, which should eventually ensure some important safeguards for foreign suppliers CONTACT YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE TODAY TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP YOU. customerservices.aero.bombardier.com OR mro.aero.bombardier.com With 10 parts depots in 10 countries and 1.5 billion dollars in inventory, Bombardier can support all of your parts replacement needs. But did you know that Bombardier also has over 50 years of experience in Component Repair and Overhaul (CR&O)? Through facilities in Europe, North America and Asia our highly skilled technicians provide component service solutions for operators and owners of Bombardier, Boeing and Airbus aircraft. TRUST THE COMPANY THAT BUILT YOUR AIRCRAFT ing, is stocking up to $5 million of inventory on a consigned basis from AeroTurbine, a subsidiary of Interna- tional Lease Finance Corp. Stockpil- ing used, serviceable material onsite at Engineering Holding’s facility at Domodedovo should expedite inventory delivery to customers within one day after ordering. The initial inventory for 737 and A320-family aircraft, which became available on May 31, consists of wheels, brakes, avionics, fuel pumps and actuators. In addition, AAR Corp. signed a letter of intent in June to open a parts center in Ulyanovsk in mid-2014 and a maintenance facility there in 2015. AAR currently keeps inventories for Russia in Amsterdam, London and Hanover, Germany, and can also tap warehouses in the U.S., Middle East and Asia. Carl Glover, sales vice president in AAR’s supply chain group, says Am- sterdam has provided good connections to Russia and CIS nations. That is where AAR now stocks its high- moving rotables for exchanges and consumables for immediate shipment, including AOGs, to the region. Glover notes that AAR has Russian-speaking staff who understand local logistics and documentation. Glover attributes part growth in Russia both to more Western jets flying there and to the aging of the first Western jets in Russian aviation, as these now require more maintenance and spares. He emphasizes both single-aisle and regional aircraft fleets. He also notes that, thanks to online tools, airlines have better visibility into which firms have what parts. Glover says AAR will put inventory closer to points of use in Russia as its Russian maintenance venture ma- tures. These on-site inventories will be high-moving rotables and consumables. Glover says AAR will consider partnerships in light of specific business cases and whether partnerships serve customers. Oliver Wyman Partner Chris Spaf- ford observes that Western part stocks in Russia are growing, not only because of more Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier aircraft, but because Russia’s own Sukhoi Superjets require many Western components. And Rus- sia is unusual in that virtually all of its Western aircraft operate through Moscow. Spaford says this attractive market had been difcult to penetrate because ownership of aircraft had been so con- centrated, with about 70% of jets flying for five airlines. Geopolitical and bu- reaucratic factors also posed hurdles. “Some of that has begun to shift.” Aircraft are more numerous now, and geopolitical issues have lessened, except perhaps between the U.S. and Russia. Russia joined the World Trade Organization in mid-2012, but WTO rules have not yet been incorporated into Russian laws, regulations and practice. “It is still very challenging to do business in Russia,” Spaford cautions. “It has become easier, but it’s not like Western Europe.” Even the new free zone at Uly- anovsk-Vostochny has not been applied consistently, Spaford notes. “You must have a local partner to navigate it.” In fact, the Russian aviation market is a lot like China, except for size. Spaford points out that those 500 Western jets are not much more than one Chinese fleet, China Southern. c BUSINESS & OPERATIONS MRO20 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Portable fall protection system— no restriction on aircraft location Use inside, outside and even on wet surfaces Ideal for line or base maintenance tasks right through to decommissioning No electronic components— safe to use around open fuel tanks Quick-to-set-up access solution Minimal storage space Single, multi-user and collective protection options… …and the list goes on! But why just take our word on the virtues of WinGrip? Leading manufacturers Airbus and Boeing feature WinGrip within their AMMs. WinGrip ™ is a trademark of Latchways plc Why Latchways WinGrip ™ is used by the world’s leading aircraft maintenance facilities… See for yourself how easy it is to use by visiting www.latchways.com/AIOAW09 keep you f ying Service makes the difference... ISO 9001:2008 / EN 9120:2010 EASA Part-145, GCAA CAR 145 and FAA Part-145 approved Middle East Facility MSI Jebel Ali,FZS1 BH02 Dubai UAE Head Ofhce MSI Pommernstrasse 8 65428 Ruesselsheim Germany Tel +49 6142 955 115 Fax +49 6142 955 111 Tel +971 4 886 1122 Fax +971 4 886 1121 www.msiair.com [email protected] RDE Cargo Loading Systems Service and Support Franke Faucets Service and Support Sennheiser Aviation Headsets Service and Support Lighting Products Service and Support ATG Electro-Mechanical Shades Service and Support Coffeemakers/ Galley Equipment Service and Support MSI Dubai OOO MSI Ugreshskaya st. 2, Buil- ding 83 115088 Moscow Russia Tel +7 495 505 46 13 Fax +7 495 505 46 13 we Lee Ann Tegtmeier Chicago Tackling Tool Control Survey assessing how industry tracks tools finds desire for improvement and identifies some obstacles T he aftermarket issued a no-confidence vote for its tool control practices—with one-quarter of respondents selecting “highest concern” in a recent Aviation Week survey. The Web-based poll, conducted in June and July, questioned the global civil aviation aftermarket industry about tool control practices, in preparation for a panel on asset tracking during Avia- tion Week’s MRO Europe Conference on Sept. 24. When asked “how concerned are you about the efectiveness of your tool control process,” on a scale of 0-10, the average answer was a slightly concern- ing 6.15. However, note that only 8% selected a 0 or 1 (the lowest concern) versus 22% who chose 10 (the highest). Delving into those extremes, 50% of the “10s” came from airline carriers’ line-maintenance/ operations support, versus 37.5% from MROs and 12.5% from OEMs. Compar- ing that to the 8% who selected the lowest-concern numbers, 55% were from airlines/operations support, 15% from MROs and 30% from OEMs. While tool control practices and procedures need to improve, capital costs and internal cultural resistance are the two biggest obstacles to adopting new tool control practices, survey results show. Other impediments, such as not having the right technology, finished far behind these two barriers. Capital cost and cultural resistance concerns could be linked to who owns the hand tools and how tool boxes are assigned. Consider a European airline that spends €1,800 ($2,388) on a standard electromechanical toolbox for a technician—but it has 12 different types to account for diferent skill sets and maintenance tasks. If this airline opted for shared toolboxes, fewer tools would be available, which should save money, reduce missing tools and foreign object damage (FOD), and make tools easier to track. The return on investment case could be made for funding a high-tech tool control system, but this airline also anticipates that it would produce cultural and technological resistance. “Every time improvements are applied to our tool store control systems, we usually have huge discussions and obstructions from the technicians,” says a manager for this airline. Survey results indicate 64% of respondents work at companies that own the hand tools; the other 34% represent companies where technicians own most hand tools used on the job. Only 42% of respondents report that more than one person works on a single toolbox per shift—and nearly half of those say they inventory toolboxes daily to ensure they are complete. Tool control practices vary greatly depending on the job and location. An airline, for instance, can have disparate practices for base maintenance and outstation operations. Hub environments usually have higher-tech tool control options—often which scan tools and check them in and out to technicians or link them to aircraft, sending alerts when a tool doesn’t come back and an aircraft is going out. In heavy maintenance environments, specialized tooling can be scheduled with work orders. At outstations, those procedures might not be as tight. The same is true for MROs that have heavy maintenance facilities and provide line services. Even though procedures might vary between maintenance bases and outstations, “all of our tool control policies . . . are laid out in our general maintenance manual, which spells out the day-to-day operation procedures for our maintenance department,” points out Joe Pergola, United Airlines’ aircraft maintenance supervi - sor i n Atl anta. And airlines’ and MROs’ mai nte- nance procedures manuals feature a regulator’s stamp of approval. Because airlines and MROs follow strict rules for tool management, “mechanics are very aware that if they lose a tool, they could be sanctioned or charged with the its replacement cost,” which contributes to the cultural resistance, reports a South American maintenance executive. Tools and tooling tend to be mis- placed more often when items are signed out over multiple shifts. To combat this, one MRO flags tools used on multiple shifts as “critical,” which links them to work cards, so controllers cannot close a work card until those tools are returned. One survey respondent revealed that his airline uses an internally developed tool booking application, which provides limited reports—such as number of tools per technician—but it is developing a radio-frequency ID solution for tools and ground support equipment for better tracking. (See chart). The majority of respondents said their companies reported losing 1-10 tools in 2012. When asked about the MRO22 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro BUSINESS & OPERATIONS Existing Tool Control Solutions* Equipment Tracked Electronically* Where Survey Respondents Work Electronic access control (lock/unlock) Parts and consumables Ground support equipment Nothing Large tooling (stands and jacks, rigs and jigs, etc.) Africa Asia Australia Europe North America South America Bar code tool marking Other automated tool identifcation No electronic or automatic functions RFID tool marking * Respondents could select multiple choices A single remedy to take care of everything: created by one of the world’s leading MRO providers, our Total Technical Support (TTS ® ) is on hand whenever you need it. Our full range of services is a renowned treatment for all kinds of fleets and operator requirements. So that you can clear your mind and stay focused on what you do best: flying. Lufthansa Technik AG, Marketing & Sales [email protected] www.lufthansa-technik.com/tts Call us: +49-40-5070-5553 One-stop cure. Visit us at the MRO Europe booth 940 More mobility for the world cost drivers of poor tool control, aver- aged answers rank the following from highest to lowest: lost productivity, labor dedicated to finding lost tools, operational shutdown or schedule disruption, disassembly or rework to locate a lost tool, and replacing tools. There was not an obvious correla- tion between concern about a tool control’s efectiveness and a system’s lack of electronic or automatic functions. Even though companies use robust software applications in their production environment, many do not connect electronic tool monitoring into these applications. However, “The Tooling Module of our custom- enterprise-resource-planning system can establish dependencies between tools and which aircraft types they are applicable for, as well as training required to check out/use the tools,” reports Art Smith, AAR’s vice president and chief quality ofcer. Because 60% of respondents indicate they hope to connect electronic tool monitoring into their software applications, expect more activity in this area. Respondents were divided about their the priorities for better tool control. Reducing the threat of FOD had by far the highest number of first-place votes (but also the second- highest number of “least concerned” votes). After FOD reduction, the order of goal importance is: less time searching for tools, better inventory control and organization, and obtaining metrics on maintenance tasks/repair flow. All lead to a more efcient and cost- efective operation. c BUSINESS & OPERATIONS MRO24 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro • We used a program to laser cut foam silhouettes. This has been beneficial for inventory and organization. • We are introducing cutting foam for controlling personal toolboxes and rolling tool boxes—and shadow board for company tools. Tool-shadowing is a very simple and efective tool control. • Most of our tool inventories are done manually, which is error- prone. We would like to know how other MROs manage their tooling. • We have individual toolkits and sectional-general/shared tools in cribs. We do not have a dedicated IT system for tooling, instrumentation and equipment control. • Tool control foam works just fine and is a simple and quick solution. The new electronic systems from SnapOn and others are way too expensive and too complicated. • Tool rooms are reconciled every third shift. QA and QC inspec- tors are “tested” for “tool finds” every day. • A major part of our tool control happens during final inspection when we search through work areas on the aircraft. c ‘SURVEY SAYS’ Frank Morring, Jr. Washington Tool Tethering In space, tool control is imperative W hen the nearest hardware store is 350 mi. straight down, tool control takes on a whole new dimension. Take away gravity, and air, and it gets even harder. Just ask Jill McGuire, a private pilot who was also the engineer in charge of crew aids and tools for the last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Tele- scope in May 2009. “You have to take everything with you,” she says. “You don’t get a chance to run to Home Depot.” McGuire and her team at the God- dard Space Flight Center in Maryland designed 180 tools for the mission’s astronauts, whose job included replacing three gyroscopes, the Wide Field Cam- era, a command and data handling system, a battery module and a Fine Guid- ance sensor; installing the new Cosmic Origins Spectrograph, and repairing the power supply for the Space Tele- scope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS). They worked with the astronauts on tool design for spacesuit-glove compatibility and on spacewalk choreography, planning for every mishap they could imagine while figuring out how to keep the tools, fasteners and other hardware from drifting away to become potentially deadly space debris. Most of the tools had a spare, and the extensive toolkit had special “contingency” gear to handle problems such as stuck bolts. The power “pis- tol grip tool” the spacewalkers used to turn fasteners had extra torque limiters to add force, and the crew had a special high-speed “mini” power tool to undo the 108 fasteners on the STIS in about 45 min. A special capture plate handled the debris issue for the tiny parts if they came loose, but the repair got complicated when one of the four bolts holding a hand rail would not unscrew. A contingency tool to dismantle the rail was stowed in an external toolbox some distance away. Rather than take the time to send a spacewalker to re- trieve it, mission control ordered as- tronaut Mike Massimino to break the fastener—after Goddard engineers determined he could do so safely. The rough handling saved time, and the astronauts were able to finish the job. That unplanned action was the ex- ception to the rule developed over two decades of on-orbit servicing at the Hubble that holds planning supreme. Spacewalkers spend a couple of hours before each sortie setting up the “mini- work stations” they wear on the front of their suits with the tools for the tasks ahead, following carefully established sequences to keep tool tethers from getting tangled and placing the tools that will get the most use in the easiest positions to reach. With only about 6 hr. normally available for an extravehicular activity, keeping the minute-by-minute timeline is critical. Tool management is one of the keys that makes it work. The tethers and the hooks on those boards are customized for each task, says McGuire. “The tool setup is as critical as the tool designs themselves.” c Jerome Greer Chandler Anniston, Ala. Speed Up Southwest Airlines quickens parts flow in bid to reduce inventory 5-7% I n the aircraft parts world, speed matters. If properly applied, it reduces inventory, saves money and assures components are where they need to be when they are needed. The trick is flowing those parts through the system more quickly. That is the aim of Southwest Air- lines’ recently initiated “Project Veloc- ity,” an efort that promises a 5-7% reduction in per-aircraft parts inventory, according to Peter Requa, director of supply chain management. “We expect to take our per-aircraft inventory down from $650,000 . . . to $610,000 or $600,000,” he says. Project Velocity involves shipping parts directly from a dozen of Southwest’s line stations to component repair shops, bypassing the airline’s four maintenance bases that have been part of the two- step flow. The analogy of a nonstop flight versus a two-leg change-of- plane trip is apt. Under the old regi- men, “You were basically double-shipping it,” Requa says, first from the line station to a maintenance base, such as Dallas Love Field. When a part arrived at the base, parts people would unpack it, load the information into Southwest’s system, issue a repair order and ship it once again to the repair shop or supplier. The process “was taking us an average of 4.5 days,” says Requa. Via the new direct-ship approach, that has been cut to 1.5 days. Transit time from line to repair station varied depending on where the part was pulled. If it was at one of the carrier’s maintenance bases at Dal- las, Chicago Midway, Houston Hobby or Phoenix Sky Harbor airports, “it went out fairly rapidly,” says Requa. If it came of at a line or field station, “it would take too long.” Aircraft-on-ground (AOG) scenarios were particularly onerous. “It was taking us 20.5 days to recover those parts from an out-station . . . and get them shipped out,” he says, noting that a lot of people in the industry can relate to AOG aggravation. “You send the people and the parts out there” and the people come back, “but, for various reasons, the parts don’t work their way back to the maintenance base,” he says. Directly shipping parts to third-party repair shops or suppliers eliminates this two-step, too, yielding significant savings. Project Velocity cut the AOG transit time from out-station to repair station by two-thirds—from an acutely cumbersome three weeks to 6.3 days. To validate this, Requa says South- west has a “very robust” tracking regi- men that closely monitors returned parts. The AOG parts volume is not especially dramatic, but the reduction in transit time is. Making all this work—cutting transit time and inventory—was not especially hard to do, at least not in terms of the technology involved. It just took a bit of organizational reorientation. “We had to go out of the supply chain to get the direct-ship set up,” says Requa. Thereafter, it was a matter of setting up information technology resources at line stations and persuading stores clerks to buy into the concept. “We had to have stores’ help,” Requa says. And that meant stores clerks “had to be able to do this work everywhere,” not merely at the airline’s quartet of maintenance bases. Training proved somewhat challenging. Line stations are traditionally lightly stafed, and it is sometimes difcult to train personnel while still keeping the operation running. In terms of money, the effort’s ex- penditures were “pretty minimal,” says Requa. “We spent only a couple of hundred man-hours setting this up.” The carrier did not purchase new computers and printers. Instead, it delved into its internal stores and surplus to fit the line stations with the necessary IT. The direct-ship process was rol l ed out incrementally, station- by-station, over four months, from January to April. Direct-ship from line maintenance and—i n the case of AOGs at out stations—to repair shops is just Phase 1. Requa hopes to close the loop in Phase 2 by getting suppliers to “direct-ship back to the line stations.” There will be savings from that, too, he says, but inventory has been lowered considerably already by transporting parts nonstop from field to fixers. After Phase 3, Southwest plans to speed things even further by increasing the amount of data interchange with suppliers. Sometimes good ideas take a while to incubate, and so it was with Project Velocity. “I think everybody knew it needed to be done,” Requa says. The problem was that “we all get caught up in day-to-day operations . . . . We really just had to set aside the time and resources to get it done.” c BUSINESS & OPERATIONS AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO27 Tap the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for an interactive breakdown of Southwest’s direct-ship process, or go to AviationWeek.com/swa Southwest Airlines started shipping parts directly from line stations to component repair stations, dropping up to $50,000 of inventory per aircraft. S O U T H W E S T A I R L I N E S MRO28 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Sean Broderick Washington Twins Part Out The A340, designed to complement a similar twin-engine jet, was done in by a bunch of them T he Airbus A340’s fate could be easily predicted by looking at the widebody fleet evolution of one airline that never operated the model. No carrier in history has operated more Boeing 747s than the 112 flown by Japan Airlines (JAL) for more than four-plus decades. Yet as of June 30, the carrier’s widebody fleet comprised 85 aircraft, and there was not a single four-engine jet, let alone a 747, in it. JAL’s long-haul strategy did not change; technology, particularly in twinjet airframe and engine design, simply got better. And it doomed almost all quad jets—and certainly those battling twins of comparable capacity—in the process. “The A340’s history is a cau- tionary tale,” said aviation con- sultant George Ham- lin. “None of us saw how quick- l y the l arge twi ns woul d triumph over the quads.” He should know. As a marketing analyst for Airbus from 1989 to early 1996, Hamlin had more than a ringside seat for the A340’s early bouts against Boeing’s emerging widebody twins— he was in the fight. “When the airplane was being designed, ETOPS was still coming to the fore,” Hamlin said. “By the time the A340 was designed, the die had been cast, but none of us happened to know it yet. Boeing made the bet, but industry did not see it coming.” Boeing’s bet, of course, was the continued evolution of a trend it helped pioneer: long-range twinjet operations. In 1985, there were hardly any U.S.-Europe nonstop frequencies flown by twinjets. That year, the FAA issued new guidance to expand the three-decade limit on twin-engine aircraft flying more than 60 min. from a suitable airport. By 1992, twinjets were flying a few more weekly transatlantic hops than their three- and four-engine coun- terparts, Boeing data show. They have been widening the gap ever since. The A340 was hatched in the midst of this widebody-twin emergence. Launched in June 1987, it was one half of a compromise that united Air- bus decision-makers split between a twinjet and a four-engine design. The result—the A330/A340 program—in efect pitted two models built on the same production line against the 777. The A330 was to cover the shorter hauls, while the A340 would provide the security of four engines on long- haul routes. In some ways, the head-to-head raw numbers are kind to the European aircraft maker. From 1993-2012—the years the first and last A340s were turned over—Airbus delivered 1,315 A330s and A340s, compared to Boe- ing’s 1,066 777s. The A340 racked up just 377 of the Airbus deliveries, however, ceding its spot opposite the 777 and longer-range 767s (which must be factored into any Airbus versus Boeing widebody twin debate) to a continuously improving A330, which set a new annual record for widebody deliveries last year, at 101. With the 777 and A330 firmly established and two new families of long- range twins, the 787 and A350, set to become major players by the end of the decade, the A340’s time appears limited. “If you look at the universe of A340s . . . we believe that essentially all of those aircraft will be replaced over the next 10 years,” Air Lease Corp. CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy told analysts during an August earnings call. A snapshot from Aviation Week In- telligence Network’s Fleets database suggests the transition is underway. From the end of 2008 through mid- August, the A340 in-service fleet dipped by 23 airframes, from 351 to 328. The number in storage increased to 24 from 7, while the number listed as retired jumped to 19 from one. These indicators aside, the model continues to perform workmanlike roles for several carriers. Iberia is upgrading interiors on 17 A340-600s by 2015, while SAS also is refreshing some A340 interiors, albeit with their replacements—A330-300s and A350-900s—already on order. Lufthansa has 48 due to be replaced by a long-anticipated (but as of late summer, yet-to-be-placed) widebody- fleet renewal order. Aviation Week’s MRO Prospector (MROP) and Aviation Week Intelli- gence Network’s Commercial Fleets database suggest the original Airbus four-engine aircraft still has some life left in it. MROP projects about $3.1 billion in MRO spending on the model this year, with nearly half of it, or $1.5 billion, coming on engines, and about 25%, or $825 million, on components. The total expenditure is projected to fall to about $1.3 billion in 2022, with engines accounting for $513 million and components, $437 million. The dip in aftermarket spending will come from a retirement pace that will see today’s fleet fall to about 171 aircraft in a decade, AWIN Fleets projects. Recent market intelligence suggests these figures might be optimistic. Still, the A340’s falling demand and relatively trouble-free airworthiness history could open up some opportunities with smaller operators looking for cheap, reliable lift—especially ones already operating, or familiar with, A330s. c MARKET ANALYSIS Iberia, which is upgrading interiors on its Airbus A340-600s, is one of several carriers hoping to eke some more life out of its A340 fleet. I B E R I A AVIATION SERVICES Supply Chain Programs Aircraft & Engine Parts Aircraft Maintenance & Modifications Aircraft Sales & Leasing Expeditionary Airlift TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS Specialized Mobility Products Cargo & Transport Products Precision Machining Composites Fabrication Communication Systems Oper at i ng i n t oday’s chal l engi ng busi ness envi r onment , commercial airlines and OEMs need a partner that can provide cost-effective support and solutions that contribute to their success. With enhanced safety, improved reliability, increased productivity – and satisfied customers who keep coming back. For many of the biggest names in commercial aerospace, AAR is the answer – for complete MRO, parts, engineering, logistics and fabrication services. And, especially, for a partner they can trust. Visit AAR at MRO Europe, Exhibit 540 Bob Trebilcock Keene, N.H. Information Science MRO providers use Big Data to improve operations T hanks to the National Security Agency, “Big Data” is much in the news today, though it involves far more than spycraft. Data-collection technologies, computing power, algorithms and analytic software tools that allow the NSA to look for patterns among millions of seemingly random communications—and enable Amazon and Facebook to target advertising messages to consumers—are also being explored to improve MRO business processes. Most industry professionals would agree on the catalysts behind Big Data. “With more systems covered by data- collection technologies, you have an increasing amount of data,” says Jim Angus, commercial director of the In- tegrated Vehicle Health Management Center at Cranfield University, north of London. The center is funded in part by Boeing and other players in the commercial aviation industry to develop applications for Big Data. “The question is, ‘How do you translate that into information that you can use for operational decisions or to improve your operations to get more out of your fleet?’” In the commercial aviation space, a number of leading MRO organizations are exploring ways in which Big Data could improve their operations. Here’s a look at four approaches: Lufthansa Technik Predicting Failure, Reducing Inventories In the past, Lufthansa Technik relied on historical data to develop preventive maintenance programs for critical parts. Maintenance records across a fleet of aircraft might indicate that a specific part typically failed after 5,000 hr. Based on that, maintenance was scheduled for any instance of that part at certain intervals to prevent a failure in the field. Today, Lufthansa Technik is gath- ering information from a much wider variety of sources that also includes sensor data, operational and flight data, pilot and crew reports and flight and schedule information. Lufthansa Technik is working on ways to optimize the usage of this huge amount of data. The first step is to collect it in a central repository, or data warehouse, where it can be mined and analyzed. “The data from these different sources helps us to better understand when a fault occurs and why, and to better understand the repair process,” says Sebastian Giljohann, team leader for innovation management at Lufthansa Technik’s aircraft maintenance services. “The goal is to increase the technical reliability of the aircraft.” For instance, Lufthansa Technik is creating new algorithms that correlate data from sources that may not have been considered in the past to identify wear patterns on certain parts. In one instance, an algorithm monitors historical data from a sensor on a pressure- regulating valve. “In July 2010, the system combined and processed diferent data according to the beginning of the wear on the valve and alerted us so that the valve could be changed before it failed. This alert was thrown even though there INVENTORY OPTIMIZATION & LOGISTICS AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO31 As part of its Big Data initiative, Lufthansa Technik is correlating data from a number of parts on an engine— such as historical data on a sensor pressure regulating valve—to identify wear that might not be visible. LUFTHANSA TECHNIK was no obvious wear,” says Giljohann. “History showed also that the valve had been changed in January 2011, so with this mathemati- cal algorithm, we would be able to predict a failure five months in advance,” he says. The key is to know how to identify and combine information. Giljohann notes that Luf- thansa Technik wants to use Big Data to generate a better understanding of wear patterns at a granular level. Instead of maintaining a fleet on a preventive-maintenance schedule, the organization may be able to ofer maintenance programs customized to specific aircraft operating in particular geographies. “We believe that with the right data, the whole supply chain is optimizable,” Giljohann says. Aeroxchange Using Big Data To Create Community There are two ways to use Big Data. One is to create new models that disrupt the way business has traditionally been done. Think of how Amazon has upended the retail marketplace or social media sites such as Google and Facebook have turned the advertising and publishing businesses upside down. The other is to use the vast amount of data now available to create an electronic community with access to more information and a streamlined means of communication. The latter is the focus of Aero- xchange, an online collaboration platform for spare parts. “We are not attempting to aggregate market data to create conflict among distribution channels,” says Al Koszarek, president and CEO. “The promise of Big Data is the potential to improve safety, reliability and the overall cost of MRO operations. For us, it’s not just data, but the transmission of service records, bulletins, completion data, serial numbers, parts history and reliability information between supply-chain partners [in a secure environment].” None of that information is new, Koszarek points out, but it has been maintained in diferent locations and much of it may have been recorded on paper. Now, more powerful computers are enabling the aggregation and organization of this data. “Think about servicing a complex component like a landing gear,” Ko- szarek says. “It comes back with a document stack that’s several hundred pages long that gets stored in a document vault. It’s available, but it’s hard to use in a seamless way. With more powerful computers, secure Internet communications and cheap digital storage, there are better ways to manage the volume of information between diferent organizations.” As Koszarek looks to the future, the question of “what’s next?” is not one of vision, but of scale. “We’ll be able to take what we do today and scale it up to cover larger and more complex systems,” he says. “We may even be able to scale into industries that are near, but not necessarily in the aerospace industry.” Satair Using Big Data To Manage Consumables To turn the promise of Big Data into a process with a real return on investment, Danish parts and service provider Satair is launching a pilot project focused on the management of consumables it provides to one fleet operator. Satair hopes to bring together historical and live, real-time usage data from operators—including operational data from aircraft that are currently flying—to lend more transparency to unscheduled maintenance events. “When you roll your aircraft in for a MRO32 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro INVENTORY OPTIMIZATION & LOGISTICS The operational and performance data from Boeing airplanes will likely be used to improve the design of next-generation aircraft. BOEING and are motivated by the challenge to deliver innovative, best-value test solutions. From test products to complete turnkey systems – from the flight line to the depot – we proudly stand apart in our aim to provide military-ready, aerospace-quality test solutions. Our name has changed from Geotest – Marvin Test Systems to Marvin Test Solutions, but our commitment to delivering full-spectrum, successful test solutions hasn’t. For the last 25 years, we’ve been inspired by the demanding and critical nature of our customers’ mission Learn more about Marvin Test Solutions and our 25 Years of Superior Test Solutions at marvintest.com/newname. © 2013 Marvin Test Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. Product and trade names are property of their respective companies. MARVINTEST.COM MILITARY-READY, AEROSPACE-QUALITY TEST SOLUTIONS New Name. Same Aim. check, you have knowledge of some of what you’re going to replace,” says Steen Karsbo, group vice president and head of marketing. “But there are also items that you won’t know about until you open up the aircraft.” Similarly, he adds, there are components and critical items that are needed at line stations to maintain aircraft once they land and prepare for the next takeof. From where Satair sits in the supply chain, that information can be used to better predict when critical parts and components will be required, where they will be used and in what quantities. With better predictive data, Satair can take both time and inventory out of the supply chain. “If you think about the way the system works today, you get a request for a part at a line station that goes into an [enterprise resource planning] system which creates a purchase order,” says Karsbo. “Once an order goes to a supplier, we wait one to six weeks to get that part. That means we need a five to six weeks’ bufer of spare parts to make sure parts are available when needed.” With information from the 20,000 or so aircraft that are flying every day, a parts supplier like Satair could predict the volume of parts needed before they fail. That information can be tied to customer inventory levels and reorder points and shared with parts manufacturers to better anticipate demand. “We could have a part on order, or even in inventory, before an airline or MRO sends an order for that part because we trust the data,” Karsbo says. “This would allow us to lean the entire supply chain.” Satair is putting that theory to the test now in a pilot program with one operator of a 40-aircraft fleet. The pilot test is focused on a limited range of consumables that are replaced on a regular basis, such as filters. Satair receives a live signal via electronic data interchange (EDI) whenever a part is taken from the operator’s warehouse shelf for line maintenance or an evening layover. That information gives Satair greater visibility into the operator’s inventory levels and use patterns, which should in turn allow Satair to manage those inventory levels more efciently and potentially reduce the amount of inventory in stock. The pilot test is expected to last eight months before it is moved out to other parts as well as larger fleet operators. “We can’t base our planning on just one operator,” Karsbo says. “However, we can make sure that the infrastructure for this type of program is operational and that we can trust the data.” The next step, he adds, is to develop a similar program with one or more operators of larger fleets. “We have to get 60 to 70 percent of a fleet providing us live data to be efective,” he says. Boeing Managing Airplane Health Boeing is focusing on the relevancy rather than the amount of data with which it is working. “Many industries have gone through some transformation from manual, paper-based processes to automated and integrated digitized processes,” says Per Noren, vice president of digital aviation customer solutions. “That has resulted in an explosion of data. The question is whether that is an interesting phe- nomenon, or whether there is relevant data that can solve problems in the future. We’re not after interesting data; we’re after relevant data.” One way Boeing is applying this is in its wellness program for airplanes, or what it refers to as airplane health solu- MRO34 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro INVENTORY OPTIMIZATION & LOGISTICS Boeing personnel monitor live data streaming in from aircraft in flight. The data may reveal mechanical issues that can be addressed once the aircraft is on the ground. BOEING SCIENCE ECONOMY COHESION EUROPEAN UNION Creating the Future of Lithuania KAUNAS FEZ AI RPARK – A RUNWAY FOR YOUR BUSINESS AT THE CENTRE OF EUROPE The new ultimate aviation technology park set up in Kaunas Free Economic Zone (FEZ), Lithuania, invites airlines and aircraft companies to develop their business at the heart of Europe. Leading aviation companies such as Ryanair, DOT LT, and FL Technics have already chosen Kaunas for their maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) terminals. Ryanair has chosen Kaunas for its attractive cost incentives, its convenient geographical location, the fnancial support provided by the State, its deep traditions in the engineering sector and collaboration with Kaunas Airport Management. The Airpark is a territory of the FEZ adjacent to Kaunas International Airport. The Airpark ofers exceptional possibilities for investors of the FEZ. It integrates air, road and railway facilities. Airline bases, aircraft servicing companies, MRO terminals and aviation industry companies will fnd this area particularly attractive due to the access to the 3250 m runway with no restrictions on maximum takeof weight (MTOW), coupled with the tax incentives ofered by the FEZ. “The Airpark is a unique space for investors, which brings together Kaunas Airport, the Customs services and Kaunas FEZ”, says Milda Darguzaite, CEO of Invest Lithuania. “Foreign investors have already appreciated the economic benefts, the highly qualifed employees, the favourable logistics and the established MRO companies, and now they are considering launching the construction of small planes”. Milda adds: “Aircraft servicing companies and Kaunas Airport have formed an aviation cluster. Therefore, business and education institutions have created a strong partnership in training newly qualifed specialists to meet the demands of developing businesses”. Kaunas FEZ ofers attractive tax and cost incentives, as well as fnancial support from the State. Business tax during the frst six years of operation is 0 per cent followed by a 50 per cent exemption throughout the next 10 years. There is no property tax, and business development is encouraged by the ofer of a 99-year lease of land with excellent roads, a gas pipeline, a water supply and sewerage system, and a rainwater drainage system. Lithuania joined the EU in 2004 and it has been a member of the Schengen Area since 2008. t 3FBTPOBCMF $PTUT t &YDFMMFOU (FPHSBQIJD -PDBUJPO t 'JTDBM BOE 'JOBODJBM 4VQQPSU GSPN UIF 4UBUF t -POH BOE 3JDI )JTUPSZ PG UIF -JUIVBOJBO "WJBUJPO *OEVTUSZ t $PPQFSBUJPO BOE 1BSUOFSTIJQ XJUI ,BVOBT "JSQPSU t %FFQSPPUFE 5SBEJUJPOT PG &OHJOFFSJOH 4DJFODF ADVERTISEMENT tions. Some 3,000 onboard sensors monitor more than 100,000 variables on aircraft such as the Boeing 777 or Boeing 787 as they fly, streaming real-time data to Boeing on the ground. That information, along with data collected from pilots, flight crews, maintenance operations, and parts and inventory management systems, goes into a data warehouse to create an overall picture of each aircraft. This allows Boeing to “fly hours ahead of the airplane so that we can see when things may occur on the aircraft and have a spare part available, or perform maintenance now that will avoid downtime in the future,” says Noren. “The ultimate goal is to predict failures before they become an issue.” For example, Boeing noticed a temperature spike in the air conditioning system that occurred over several flights of a 787. When the airline carried out an inspection, it discovered a foreign object blocking the ducts and removed it before larger problems arose. “That’s a simple example of what we’re able to do today,” Noren says. The next step is to use that information to determine how to optimize MRO36 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro INVENTORY OPTIMIZATION & LOGISTICS T he Integrated Vehicle Health Management Center at England’s Cranfield Uni- versity was founded five years ago, after a proposal for it won an international competition sponsored by Boeing. The center has developed a formal statement that defines integrated vehicle health management as “a multi-sector discipline applied to a wide range of vehicles (aerospace, automotive, rail, marine, energy) that transforms system data into information to support operational decisions on vehicle condition and hence provide business benefit derived from minimized maintenance action, improved availability and lower cost of ownership.” In layman’s terms, the center is looking at ways to assess the health of an aircraft using the data collected by the thousands of sensors on it. That information can be used in a variety of ways—everything from reducing the amount of redundant or just-in-case inventory to extending the life of a part through more predictive maintenance. FINE-TUNING AIRCRAFT HEALTH MONITORING “The most generic example of the problems we’re trying to solve is to avoid an unpredictable failure that takes an aircraft out of service as passengers are about to embark,” says Jim Angus, commercial director at the Cranfield center. “Unscheduled maintenance is another potential opportunity we’re trying to address. The industry wants to have a platform where all the major subsystems are monitored in a similar way so that we can monitor the current health of an aircraft and, based on its condition, predict what’s going to happen in the future.” Today’s aircraft are already equipped with thousands of sensors that monitor its condition in real time, as it flies, and transmit information to ground crews in advance of landing. The next step, Angus says, is to determine the right number of sensors and the right places to install them to monitor a system in a more meaningful way. “We’re interested in, given a physics model of a system, what are the modes of failure that might occur?” he says. “And given that information, where do you place those sensors? And what are the diagnostic rules so that you know what’s happening?”c maintenance schedules and, in the future, improve the design of future aircraft. “In general, the opportunity is there, the technology is there and the ability to solve large-scale problems is there,” Noren says. “The issue is shifting the industry to collaborate to make that happen. We’re moving in that direction, but we’re not in align- ment yet.” c 301 N. Dyer Blvd. Kissimmee, Florida | 407-847-4600 | kissimmeeairport.com Central Florida’s number one general aviation airport seeks aviation companies to service rapidly growing air traffic. 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KISSIMMEE. agustawestland.oom <RX $VNHG :H 'HOLYHUHG Agustawestland is a world-olass helioopter manufaoturer, oommitted to expanding its global support and training network. we have invested signitoantly in extending the oapability of our 1raining Aoademies in 3esto Calende, ltaly and Philadelphia, u3A, opening new lleet 0perations Centres in the united Kingdom and the united 3tates of Amerioa. we have added new distributors, servioe oentres and partners in the Middle Last, lar Last and Afrioa and opened a new 1raining Aoademy in Malaysia. we are working oloser with our oustomers to ensure aooess to our network of faoilities, servioes and highly skilled Customer 3upport and 1raining speoialists, wherever they operate. /($',1* 7+( )8785( $ *OREDO 6XSSRUW DQG 7UDLQLQJ 1HWZRUN tion.” This sounds like a rule covering flight attendants, but the FAA makes clear that the scope is much broader. The policy’s final version underscores that an aircraft is “in operation” from the time a crewmember first boards until the last crewmember disembarks “after completion of that flight,” including stops on the ground. The FAA also clarified that, while pilots are exempt from the policy, anyone else who works in a cabin during operations is not. “For the purposes of this policy, an aircraft cabin crewmember means a person assigned to perform duty in an aircraft cabin when the aircraft is in operation (other than flight crewmembers),” the policy states. Also worth noting is what is not included in the policy: language that limits it to operators. It seemingly applies to any company that puts “aircraft cabin crewmembers” to work in a cabin while an aircraft is “in operation.” Taken at face value, the policy seems to cover mechanics—and myriad other non-pilots—called in to address issues that may pop up after a (non-pilot) crewmember boards an aircraft in preparation for a flight. An FAA spokesman says such an interpretation is “accurate.” The policy leaves some murky wa- ters. Does the policy cover third-party contractors, such as line mechanics working in a cabin just before departure? And if so, who is responsible for the OSHA programs, the operator or the MRO provider? Neither the policy nor a document prepared by the agency to address 196 industry comments on the December 2012 draft version clarifies such issues. Developed to satisfy a congressional mandate in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the policy requires any afected company to develop writ- ten policies and procedures showing how it complies with OSHA standards in the identified areas. The FAA’s position represents a significant shift. While OSHA rules apply to most aviation operations, including repair stations, aircraft cabins have been off-limits. A 1975 OSHA probe triggered an FAA notice underscoring the point. But in 1999, the FAA signaled Washington Cabin ‘Crewmem- bers’ Take Note The aviation maintenance world needs no introduction to the Labor Depart- ment’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Typically, MRO-related OSHA rules are linked to hangars or back shops and associated with risks such as exposure to chemicals. But an FAA policy issued in August and efective Sept. 26 brings OSHA regulations to aircraft cabins and reads broadly enough to cover mechanics that work in them. The policy requires companies to develop programs in three areas— hazardous chemical communications, exposure to blood-borne pathogens and hearing conservation—and apply them to employees that work in aircraft cabins. The FAA says the policy statement covers “all aircraft operations that utilize at least one aircraft cabin crewmember” while an aircraft is “in opera- Safety & Regulatory News 905 Clint Moore Road • Boca Raton, FL 33487 • (888) 322-6896 • www.PartsBase.com Aerotron was initially hesitant to sign to the PartsBase system but the decision has proved positive and has enabled us to market our Boeing, Airbus, ATR and Embraer rotable and consumable components into previously untapped customers across the world. Sales and Marketing Executive WWW.AEROTRON.CO.UK • +44 (0)1293 516651 a change was possible, saying it would review oversight of airline worker occupational safety and health issues. A year later, the FAA and OSHA set up a joint team to examine the issues. The new policy is the most significant result. The policy’s breadth is a surprise to many. Part 91 and Part 135 operators assumed it was for Part 121 (airline) operations and expected the FAA to specify as much in the policy’s final version. In- stead, the FAA in the comment disper- sal specifies that Part 91 and Part 135 operations that use a flight attendant would be covered. Many commercial and business aviation operators oppose the policy. Airlines suggested adopting a volun- tary, data-driven system similar to a Safety Management System, while the National Air Transport Association and National Business Aviation Association said the policy would be a considerable burden for small businesses. OSHA’s surveillance and enforcement would be done by inspecting procedures, not boarding aircraft, the FAA clarifies in its comments response. Those afected have six months to develop programs before OSHA starts reviewing procedures and considering enforcement actions. Exactly whose procedures they will be reviewing remains to be seen. Crying Wolf in FAA Flight Standards? Is the FAA’s Aviation Safety branch (AVS) doing more with less? Imperial evidence suggests it may be. Late last year, before sequestration- related sabre-rattling morphed into actual budget cuts, the FAA braced for the impact by enacting a hiring freeze. Some congressional two-stepping got the FAA off the hook for its share of 2013 cuts, but the agency kept the hiring freeze in place, realizing the fix addresses only one year of sequestration’s 10-year gift of forced austerity. Senior ofcials warned of delays to non-essential projects as a result of re- allocating resources to tackle safety- critical issues first. The warning was particularly ominous for companies bringing new products to market or supplemental type certificate seekers. With fiscal 2013 wrapping up, the AVS has 7,100 stafers, 340 fewer than at the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2012. The congressionally approved budget authorizes a staf of 7,455. How- ever, despite the 4.5% dip in staf, there is no sign of a project bottleneck. Heico, the parts manufacturer approval (PMA) specialist that pushes as many as 500 approvals through the FAA per year, says the holdup in bringing new parts to market is not the agency’s throughput; it is finding willing customers. “We could do more. The issue is what can the customers really approve and digest?” says Eric Mendelson, head of Heico’s Flight Support group. “It’s real easy, in theory, to go out there and take a look at what airlines are buying, [start supplying those parts,] and just assume that you’ll end up picking up market share. It doesn’t really work that way.” —Sean Broderick AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO41 Ground breaking mobility standards solutions since 1905. :aeċorq đ USAČ ŐāċĈĂąċĈĈćċąĉąā đ |JrooeČ Őąą ĨĀĩ ĂĀĈ ĀăąāĂĆĀ Condition-based Maintenance Asset Management Data Stream Maintainability SUSTAINABILITY Prognostics Diagnostics OBD P136013 No matter what your industry calls it, it’s nothing short of groundbreaking. INTEGRATED VEHICLE HEALTH MANAGEMENT STANDARDIZATION SAE International is responsible for such internationally adopted aerospace documents as AS, AMS, AIR, and ARPs. In the ground vehicle industry, it plays the central role in developing essential North American standards and bringing them to the global standards table. Now, from the world’s largest, most respected consensus standards development organization, comes the first holistic, systematic approach to vehicle health management. An end-to-end capability that transforms system data into operational support information, Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) and related standards allow for the analysis and diagnosis of a vehicle and the understanding of how a failed structure or piece of equipment impacts the vehicle’s overall health. Use of IVHM has the ability to enhance vehicle safety and reliability as well as extend product life — with maintenance and fleet management benefits. With its roots in aerospace, IVHM is already changing aircraft design and transforming organizations’ manufacturing and operations. And, its use is rapidly being implemented in the ground vehicle and marine craft industries. As SAE International continues to develop a body of standards to enable IVHM technology development, it also is building a collection of resources to further this technology and the economic advantages it can bring to the mobility industry. Listen to free podcast, view IVHM resources, sign up for complimentary SAE technology focused e-newsletter at sae.org/news/ivhm/ Safety & Regulatory News MRO42 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro EASA Outlines Upcoming Rulemaking The European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) four-year rulemaking outlook includes little of significance to MRO in 2014, but work on several key initiatives with longer-term deadlines is featured prominently. Reviewed annually, the planning document sets deadlines for the following year and tentative schedules for the three subsequent years. EASA released the 2014-18 version in late August. Among the new plan’s MRO-related highlights is EASA’s plan to complete in 2016 the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA) rulemaking process it began this year. Airline groups, including the Association of European Airlines, favor a policy statement similar to the one issued by the FAA in April 2012 that set basic guidelines on acceptable ICA language. EASA’s technical-records rulemaking, kicked of in 2011, is now slated to finish in 2017, a year later than previously planned. The rulemaking will tackle many records-related issues, including clarifying so-called “back-to-birth” parts traceability, use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) for tracking, and standards for electronic-signature use. The regulator also is tackling rules that will clarify roles of Part 145 and Continuing Airworthiness Manage- ment Organizations, “especially in complex, multi-tier and subcontract maintenance,” EASA explains in the rulemaking’s terms of reference document. The efort is in response to a 2010 U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) recommendation following a mishap tied to a lease hando- ver-related maintenance. “[T]he regulations and regulatory guidance provided by EU OPS 1, Part M and Part 145 do not specifically cater for arrangements involving multiple levels of subcontracted companies, despite this being commonplace within the industry, and particularly relating to non-core activities such as lease hand- backs,” the AAIB said. EASA expects to publish its recommendation to the Eu- ropean Commission in early 2017, and a related final rule a year later. EASA also is considering a mandate to require runway overrun protection systems (ROPS) on new aircraft. Devel- oped by Airbus for the A380, ROPS will be standard on the A350. They are an option on the A320neo and were recently certified for retrofits on in-service A320s. Airbus is developing versions of the system for other manufacturers’ aircraft. The Association of European Air- lines (AEA) reiterated that while it supports certification eforts for ROPS and similar systems, a mandate should wait until the systems gain more in- service experience. AEA also sees ROPS as but one part of a broad approach to improving runway safety. —Sean Broderick Review EASA’s rulemaking plan for 2014- 18, which maps out MRO-related tasks such as Part M and Part 145, at: ow.ly/oHDOu Unbeatable offers, valid for 24-hours only! 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Our job isn’t just replacing things. If we don’t do it right, that’s someone’s life.” This is human factors at its finest. It is the flip side of the Dirty Dozen. Rather than examining the cause of an error in order to avoid repeating it, the Marine’s actions should be examined in order to inspire the same level of excellence elsewhere. As this case demonstrates, it may not be a matter of leaders working with technicians to avoid problems such as distraction and complacency, but rather developing in them unparalleled focus and attentiveness. How? You could send all your technicians through Marine Corps boot camp—or you can reevaluate how you attract, select, train and develop your employees. Dan Car- rison and Rod Walsh, former Marine Corps ofcers, co-founders of Semper Fi Consulting and authors of Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way, ofer these recommendations for attracting the technicians most likely to excel and setting them on the right course: • Send the best to recruit the best. Attracting the highest-caliber employee—the kind who will go out of his or her way to check an awkward spot of an aircraft just to be sure all is well—takes a high-caliber company representative. In the Marine Corps, the recruiter position is filled only by the cream of the crop, the kind who inspire awe and respect in talented young men and women. How many organizations send out their cream of the crop to recruit? Too often, recruiting is done by a third party or human resources or by whomever is available, while the very people who should be there— your top technicians, who are more qualified than anybody else to recognize potential—remain in the hangar. A maintenance organization that “subs out” recruiting, say Carrison and Walsh, abdicates its greatest responsibility. • Seek qualities of excellence over experience. You can train a mechani- to be inspected at the time. So why did he delve into that area? Simply to be sure nothing was missed. As he stated in the Spring 2012 issue of Mech, being a Marine Corps mechanic “demands more than What is notable here is not that an issue was found. Mechanics find and fix problems every day. What is notable is that the Marine discovered it in a difcult-to-reach area of the helicopter that was not required MRO44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Human Factor By Heather Baldwin Heather Baldwin covers MRO, training and human factors. She can be reached at: [email protected] Inspiring Excellence U.S. Marine Corps training provides model for MRO recruiting success I n late December 2011, a U.S. Marine Corps mechanic conducting a routine phase inspection of a UH-1Y Huey discovered that the helicopter’s transmission pylon beam and the main beam joint were disintegrating. Left unchecked, the problem would have resulted in disaster. The mechanic’s finding led to a Corps-wide inspection and, ultimately, the release of an engineering advisory report. Tool control can only be effective if every tool can be assigned to an individual and if it can be verified that the tool returned was the same one that was checked out. • Automated: real-time tool inventory monitoring • Smart: RFID technology differentiates identical tools • Accurate: tracks tools to their assigned pocket • Simple: doesn’t interfere with technicians’ workflow • Compatible: works with existing tools To see for yourself how the PinPoint tool control system works, visit www.pinpointtoolcontrol.com PIN 5738 (08/13) cally minded individual to work sheet metal, but you can’t train in him or her an innate desire to excel. Marine recruiters seek people of great character, knowing the training will forge the necessary skills. Conversely, private enterprise generally seeks experience, relying on the screening, not the training, to identify the best candidates. While certain requirements such as an aiframe and powerplant (A&P) license are necessary, “qualities such as honesty, determination and a cheerful acceptance of stress, which can all be identified through probing questionnaires and interviews, may be more important to the company in the long run than related experience,” say Carrison and Walsh. • Create an unforgettable first impression. Once accepted into the Corps, the candidate arrives on a specific day to take an oath of al- legiance, led by a solemn Marine in dress blues. Afterward, a sense of awe and irreversibility lingers. That same impression can be duplicated through a company declaring its commitment to new employees. “The new employees could be shown into a conference room filled with all the available managers from every department within the organization. The highest-ranking executive could then stand and, in a sincere and friendly manner, pledge the support of the organization to the new as- sociates, expressing gratitude of the company for being the one chosen by the applicants,” suggest Carrison and Wash. Technicians will not forget such a gesture, and they will be eager to repay it with their best work. • Establish warrior stations. During the final challenge of boot camp, recruits travel through “warrior stations” modeled on actual heroic feats performed by Marines at some point in history. At each station, recruits read a description of the feat, then reenact it. Maintenance organizations can introduce a similar concept using the heroic deeds of mechanics whose actions went above and beyond day-today expectations. Maybe someone on your team identified a potential risk in a procedure and drove industry-wide change. Or superior team- work led to major accomplishment. These real-world examples of excellence from within your own organization will inspire new employees to strive for the same level of performance while communicating that they are joining an elite force. c HUMAN FACTOR MRO48 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro A candidate’s “qualities such as honesty, determination and a cheerful acceptance of stress, which can all be identified through questionnaires and interviews, may be more important than related experience.” Register today! www.aviationweek.com/events/latam Save 20% with promotion code EARLYBIRD Jerome Greer Chandler Inflatable Hangars T o make the concept of an inflatable hangar fly, first you’ve got to make sure the structure itself does not fly away. Jose Antonio Sanz insists his company’s inflatable structures can cope with winds of 100 kph (62 mph), even 150 kph (93 mph). “We’re talking to a customer who will require 180 kph,” protection, says Barcelona-based Buildair’s commercial director. A telematic control system, coupled with multiple 20-cm (7.87-in.) screws drilled into the tarmac, is essential to a structure’s stability. Telematic controls incorporate anemometers that constantly measure wind speed. When winds whip up, the system’s motors pump more air into the semi-circular inflatable tubes that comprise the hangar. At the same time, “You receive an alarm on your smartphone, computer or iPad.” So far, Sanz says Buildair has sold two inflatable hangars to the MRO industry—one to LAN Airlines and the other to EADS-Cassidian. The former is an H-38, with 38 meters (124.67 ft.) of clear width. It can handle Boeing 737 or Airbus A320-family aircraft. The latter is an H-54, with 54 meters of clear width. It is capable of accommodating an A310. Buildair is talking with a customer about fabricat- ing an inflatable hangar with 75 meters of clear width, one that would provide enough room for an Airbus A330 or a Boeing 767, 777 or 747. “The really [difcult] dimension is the width,” says Sanz. “It is very difcult to build a large-width structure.” So far, Sanz says both LAN and EADS-Cassidian are happy with their hangars. Among the attributes he pitches to prospective customers are: • Price. Sanz contends the inflatable hangar can cost about one-sixth of a standard metal structure. MRO LINKS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information • Portability. A hangar ships via standard 20 X 40-ft. sea containers, or it can be palletized for air transport. He says it took EADS-Cassidian seven days to deploy, fix and inflate its H-54. • Environmental advantages. Sanz says fabrication entails “no waste”—no chemicals or contaminant metals. The inflation motors do not demand a lot of energy either. • Minimum scheduled maintenance. Every six months is the plan. Should something bad befall the inflatable tubes, Sanz says one or two can be “inoperative” and the hangar will still support the load. There would be no need to repair or change the tubes until the next regularly scheduled maintenance event. While Buildair’s product ofers some advantages, longevity is not one of them. Traditional metal hangars last 20 years and longer. Sanz says none of the company’s hangars have reached their service life, but that life “will be six to 10 years” or more, depending on proper maintenance, and just what it has to weather. c www.buildair.com Link 600 AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO49 BUILDAIR Sean Broderick Fuel Efficiency 1. Cold Starter Supplier: AIR BP Lubricants Offering: BPTO 2389 is a low-viscos- ity, gas-turbine oil, offering exceptional cold-start capability. Many airlines rely on BPTO 2389 in their auxiliary power units (APU) because it gets them started after long cold-soaks at altitude. BPTO 2389 is the only MIL- PRF-7808 Grade 3 qualified oil that is fully approved in all Honeywell and Hamilton Sundstrand APUs. www.airbp.com/lubricants Link 601 2: Fixed Right Supplier: Aviation Fuel Systems Repair Offering: An FAA repair station specializing in aircraft fuel-leak detection, repair and fuel-cell recertification, Aviation Fuel Systems Repair counts Federal Express and engine maker GE among its regular customers. Its expertise extends to fuel tank-related structural repairs, eliminating the need for an additional supplier in many cases. www.afsrinc.com Link 602 3. Software That Saves, 1.0 Supplier: ETS Aviation Offering: ETS Aviation’s FuelSaver program combines fuel-saving specialists with custom-built software that integrates with an operator’s existing systems. Data are collected from flight-planning software and other sources, and specialists identify opportunities to reduce fuel consumption through operational changes. Customers range from international carriers like easyJet to regionals like Switzerland’s SkyWork Airlines. www.etsaviation.com Link 603 4. Software That Saves, 2.0 Supplier: GE Aviation Offering: GE Fuel & Carbon Solutions helps operators gain efficiency by optimizing operations, policies and processes. Opportunities are identified by studying data and fuel-usage trends, and can lead to annual fuel- cost savings of 3% or more. GE offers two options: “consulting and software” or “software as a service.” www.geaviation.com Link 604 MRO LINKS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO50 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro 2 1 3 4 A I R B U S BOEING S K Y W O R K S A I R L I N E S G E A V I A T I O N Lee Ann Tegtmeier Electrical Optimization A s aircraft increasingly depend on electrical power, sensors need to keep up with overheating-detection capabilities, and repair stations need new certifications. Here is a sampling of some new electrical components and services: Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information 1. Let Me See Supplier: LoPresti Aviation Offering: The BoomBeams lighting system is designed to provide higher landing and taxi light output, and consume less power than stock lighting equipment, to reduce overall lighting and maintenance costs, according to the company. www.speedmods.com Link 605 2. Overheat Sensors Supplier: Avio-Diepen Offering: Avio-Diepen carries Thermocoax’s Negacoax sensors, which are designed to detect overheating and fire, and are based on mineral-insulated cable technology. These sensors, available in a range of alarm temperatures, can be used on bleed air in the wings and around the APU, pylon and turbine. www.avio-diepen.com Link 606 3. Onboard Power Supplier: Liebherr- Aerospace Toulouse Offering: Liebherr is working with Thales Avionics Electrical Systems, with support of the French civil aviation authority, to develop a large-scale electrical and thermal power management approach to optimize consumption. www.liebherr.com Link 607 4. Array Connector Supplier: Bel Fuse, part of Cinch Connector, purchased Array Connector on Aug. 21. Offering: Array Connector’s products include a range of connectors, including ones for inflight entertainment applications. This acquisition broadens Cinch Connectors’ product offerings, as well as brings it new engineering capabilities. www.cinch.com Link 608 5. Sensor Certification Supplier: Ametek Aerospace Offering: Ametek’s Sensors & Fluid Management Systems’ service center in Reynosa, Mexico, has received accreditation certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. This facility, which hopes to expand its Asian aerospace aftermarket activity, repairs most of the company’s systems, including speed sensors and stall computers. www.ameteksensors.com Link 609 AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO51 L O P R E S T I A V I A T I O N L I E B H E R R A E R O S P A C E AMETEK AEROSPACE HONEYCOMB MACHINED HONEYCOMB SANDWICH PANELS DETAILED PANELS CARGO LINERS SPECIALTY LAMINATES INTEGRATED COMPOSITES TECHNOLOGY & SOLUTIONS M.C. Gill Corporation International Headquarters 4056 Easy Street • EL Monte, CA 91731 USA Phone: 626-443-4022 • FAX: 626-350-5880 www.mcgillcorp.com • Email: [email protected] MRO LINKS SPOTLIGHTS Events that will Change your MRO Business Forever! The MRO event series is the largest series dedicated to the aviation maintenance industry, addressing key issues of business and technology strategies in the maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) market. Bringing in not only key airline personnel but the “buyers” as well, these events focus on process improvements and information technology. Be a part of the MRO community, network with your peers, explore our unmatched exhibition halls, and achieve results! Locate reliable manufacturers, suppliers, and service providers at Aviation Week’s MRO Event Series! Visit www.aviationweek.com/events for more information including complete exhibitor listings and MRO Links participants. To advertise in MRO Links, contact Beth Eddy at 561-862-0005, or [email protected]. Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO52 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro MRO Europe Featured Companies, Products & Services Link 065 Boeing Commercial Airplanes www.boeing.com/boeingedge BOOTH 930 AIRFRAMES Introducing the Boeing Edge The Boeing Edge is the industry’s largest portfolio of services, support and solutions. We’ve organized it around your business to give you the advantage it takes to succeed, to optimize the performance of your airplanes and operations. All backed by the knowledge and experience only Boeing can provide. Link 177 Petroferm www.petroferm.com BOOTH 935 CLEANING Lower VOCs, Workplaces Exposures, Fire Risk AXAREL 1000 is the preferred alternative for IPA and other hazardous cleaning solvents. You will use less while lowering VOCs, workplace exposures and fire risk. Applications range from general purpose cleanup to surface preparation. Best of all, AXAREL 1000 has no odor and is approved by many aerospace OEMs. Link 331 Aero Instruments & Avionics, Inc. www.aeroinst.com BOOTH 1109/1111 COMPONENT REPAIR Premier Independent Repair Center Every day, our super skilled technicians unleash their abilities on the avionic world. We specialize in repairs and overhauls of commercial aircraft instruments, avionics and electrical accessories. Let us provide you with the quality repairs and service you need. Link 291 American Cooler Service, Inc. www.americancooler.us BOOTH 636 COMPONENT REPAIR Quality Minded, Customer Driven. Always Reliable! American Cooler Service, an FAA/EASA repair station, repairs and overhauls heat transfer components, with specialization in Heat Exchangers, Oil Coolers, Electrical Fans, and Valves. Customers worlwide have relied on American Cooler’s unmatched quality service and reliability for two decades. February 5-6, 2014 Dubai, UAE October 29-31, 2013 Singapore January 21-22, 2014 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil All new event focusing on MRO operations in Latin, South America, and the Caribbean! ADVERTISING SECTION Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO53 Link 98 EmpowerMX www.empowermx.com BOOTH 630 MRO SERVICES experience empowering innovation EmpowerMX is an international provider of MRO software solutions, consulting/BPO and IT services. We deliver real-time intelligence/Lean-based best practices on MX activity/fleet status and are purely focused on empowering MROs with the ability to decrease their costs of making air travel safer. Link 309 L. J. Walch Co., Inc. www.ljwalch.com BOOTH 1206 COMPONENT REPAIR Better Service, Longer Life Since 1953 we have provided quality repairs, overhauls and spares to OEM’s, Airlines, Rotorcraft and Military customers alike. Quality and Reliability are number one. Large or Small, our support team is ready to help you. Contact us to see why your competitor is using L. J. Walch Co repairs. Link 297 Lewis & Saunders www.lewisandsaunders.com BOOTH 309 COMPONENT REPAIR Overhaul and Repair L&S is a leader in the repair and overhaul of rigid tubes, manifolds, ducts, and flexible hose assemblies used in the aerospace industry. We hold FAA, EASA, and CAAC repair station certifications. As a Part 145 Repair source, we have the total after-market solution for flexible and rigid assemblies. See us at Booth 309 MRO Europe. Link 559 TES Aviation Group www.tes-uk.com BOOTH 918 CONSULTING SERVICES Maintenance Reserve Calculation Tool TES has recently developed a unique Maintenance Reserve Calculation tool to provide quick and accurate MR rate projections to support lease transaction, whereby both lessor and operator can be satisfied that an exact accrual of reserve amounts are collected to support future engine SV’s. Link 087 Crane Aerospace & Electronics www.craneae.com BOOTH 1305 ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS A320 Landing Gear Control Interface Unit (LGCIU) Crane Aerospace & Electronics offers an enhanced LGCIU for the Airbus A320 Series aircraft. The enhanced LGCIU provides significant reliability improvement (45,000 MTBUR), higher accuracy and lower weight. It is certified, standard on all new A320s, and available for retrofit. Link 006 AAR CORP www.aarcorp.com BOOTH 540 MRO SERVICES AAR Solutions for Commercial Aviation AAR, through its 1MRO approach, seamlessly provides products and services through a nationwide network of maintenance facilities, with bundled landing gear, technical and engineering capabilities and backed by world-class processes and systems that lower costs while maximizing aircraft availability. MRO LINKS SPOTLIGHTS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Link 751 Meggitt www.meggitt.com BOOTH 118 MRO SERVICES Meggitt Aftermarket Services Committed to providing highest quality solutions. Continuously improving its products and processes. AOG support 24/7/365 days. Spares sales distribution, technical services, repair shop and warranty administration. Full life-cycle support from requirements definition, design, test and certification to aftermarket and customer support. Link 753 KAPCO AAXICO www.kapcoaero.com BOOTH 1408 PARTS SUPPLY/LOGISTICS More Than Distribution We are a 100% employee owned global leader of distribution and supply chain solutions. We offer customized supply chain solutions for both OEM and aftermarket customers and have various manufacturing capabilities to meet all your supply chain management needs. Link 430 Moog Inc. www.moog.com MRO SERVICES Advanced Products & Services for Global Aerospace Moog is the world’s premier supplier of complete flight control systems and critical control products. We design, manufacture and provide support solutions for commercial aircraft, business jets, military aircraft and rotorcraft. We offer creative and flexible solutions to meet your unique needs. BOOTH 524 Link 160 NORDAM www.NORDAM.com BOOTH 1150 MRO SERVICES NORDAM Delivers MRO and OEM Results…Worldwide NORDAM provides third-party MRO services to the military, commercial airline and air freight markets, specializing in fan and thrust reversers, nacelles and flight control structures. We also manufacture composite aircraft structures, transparencies, interior shells, custom cabinetry, and radomes. Link 557 Sterling Global Aviation Logistics www.sterlingcourier.aero BOOTH 1050 PARTS SUPPLY/LOGISTICS Global Aviation Logistics- To Keep Your Aircraft Flying Since 1981, Sterling has been providing 24/7 global AOG logistics, transporting valuable and critical aircraft parts swiftly and efficiently. We specialize in shipping AOG aircraft parts, rapid returns, heavy weight or oversized freight, and dangerous goods, while keeping down time to a minimum. Link 400 Aerospace Precision, Inc. www.aerospaceprecision.com BOOTH 702 SAFETY SYSTEMS 15-40F-11 PBE, Repair & Overhaul Services Aerospace Precision is the exclusive repair station in the USA for the repair & overhaul of Air Liquide Protective Breathing Equipment - send inquiries to [email protected] ADVERTISING SECTION Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO55 Link 175 Pemco www.pemcoair.com AIRFRAMES The Leader in MRO The leader in maintenance, repair, and overhaul. PEMCO World Air Services provides quality workmanship at our FAA-certified, U.S. service facilities and at our partner sites in Southeast Asia. Link 520 Aircraft Demolition, LLC www.aircraftdemolition.com AIRFRAMES Worldwide Aircraft Disassembly, Part-out & Recycling Aircraft Demolition purchases commercial and military aircraft for recycling purposes. Unique in the industry, we are a dual accredited member of the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association in the Recycling of Aerospace Materials and the Disassembly of Aircraft, Powerplants and Other Aerospace Materials. Link 511 Aimtek www.baystatesurfacetech.com COMPONENT REPAIR Affordable Thermal Spray Equipment Bay State Surface Technologies, a subsidiary of Aimtek, has been providing quality, operator-friendly plasma and twin-wire arc spray equipment and materials for over 50 years. Complete turn-key solutions, including booths, robots, dust collection, turntables, parameter development, and training. Link 338 Chem Processing, Inc. www.mroplating.com COMPONENT REPAIR Plating & Coatings for Aircraft MRO Chem Processing, Inc. offers a full line of metal finishing services to aircraft MRO organizations including cadmium plating, electroless nickel plating, dry film lubricants, silver plating, hard chrome plating, zinc-nickel plating, aluminum anodizing, chem film and passivation. Link 100 ETI INC. www.etitulsa.com COMPONENT REPAIR Heat Shield/Thermal Insulation Blanket Repair ETI INC. offers repair capabilities for all major engine types. Services provided by ETI INC. include both DER and Manual parts repair and PMA development. For quality and innovation send your parts to ETI INC. One such repair is our heat shield/thermal blanket repair. Link 424 Sherwood Aviation www.sherwoodaviation.com COMPONENT REPAIR Component Repairs, Overhauls, Sales & Exchanges Since 1991, Sherwood Aviation has been a World Class provider of component Repairs, Overhauls, Sales & Exchanges, serving Commercial, Military & Regional, Fixed Wing & Rotary Wing Aircraft. Certified Woman-Owned Small Business, CAGE Code 3EM37, FAA OOWR599L, EASA.145.4866, ISO 9001:2008. MRO LINKS SPOTLIGHTS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO56 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Link 183 PlaneTechs www.planetechs.com CONSULTING SERVICES PlaneTechs Aviation Workforce Solutions (Staffing) PlaneTechs provides aviation contract personnel for aircraft maintenance, repair, overhaul and manufacturing projects in the commercial and DoD/ Govt. sectors. As the nation’s largest provider of aviation mechanics and technicians, PlaneTechs makes it easy for our clients to staff their projects and keep them running safely, on time and on budget. Link 310 Sumitomo Precision USA, Inc. - Repair www.spu-usa.com COMPONENT REPAIR Heat Exchanger Specialist Sumitomo Precision USA provides maintenance/repair and OEM warranty administration capabilities to SPU/SPP heat management components inclusive of V2500, TRENT, and BR platform Heat Exchangers. Benefiting from close links with both Sumitomo OEM facilities we offer efficient OEM product support. Link 316 BASF www.aerospace.basf.com COMPOSITES BASF Aerospace Materials Aerospace materials from BASF include a broad portfolio of products and technologies that can provide unique solutions across a wide range of applications — cabin interiors, structural materials, seating components, fuel and lubricant solutions, coatings & specialty pigments, as well as flame retardants & fire protection. Link 169 Pacific Coast Composites www.PCComposites.com COMPOSITES Advanced Composites Stop wasting time hunting around for your aircraft composite repair products; stop wasting your time coordinating those deliveries! We stock the most requested products for next-day delivery anywhere globally. We do all the work & when it arrives on your doorstep you’ve got exactly what you need. Link 515 Oklahoma Department of Commerce www.okcommerce.gov ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Oklahoma Dept of Commerce – Economic Development Oklahoma’s $12 billion MRO industry includes over 500 aerospace companies, with expertise from composites to engines to precision machining. With tremendous state financial incentives, a highly trained workforce, and a low cost of doing business, we can help your company prosper! Visit Booth #2347. Link 121 Harco www.harcolabs.com ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS A320 Landing Gear Harness Repair Servicing both OEM & Aftermarket with repair, overhaul & replacement. Capabilities include repair or replacement hardware for the entire aircraft, from engine and airframe to APU, landing gear, ECS and all subsystems. Specializing in Harness Assemblies & Temperature Sensors. ADVERTISING SECTION Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO57 Link 075 Chase Aerospace www.ChaseAerospace.com ENGINES APU Repair and Overhaul We are an EASA, FAA & CASE approved repair station specializing in Auxiliary Power Unit repair, overhaul and support of GTCP85, GTCP331 & GTCP131-9 series APU’s and associated components with a portfolio for sale, lease and exchange. We provide a high product quality at competitive pricing. Link 758 Malabar International www.malabar.com HANGAR EQUIPMENT B787 Coolant Service Equipment Malabar’s Coolant Service Cart (CSC) performs rapid aircraft coolant drain, fill, clean and de- aerate operations. The Coolant Top-Off Pack (CTOP) is a portable unit for line maintenance service. K-Tools manufactured by Malabar to Boeing specifications connect the CSC and CTOP to the aircraft. Link 145 LCI www.lci-aerospace.com ENGINES Engine Field Service, Sales & Exchange LCI, a FAA/EASA Repair Station, provides services such as MPA runs, Removals/Installations, DVD Borescope Inspections, Repairs, Conversions, Preservation and Storage, Component Changes, QEC Kit Builds/Swaps, Tear- downs, Top-case Repairs, Asset/ Lease Pool Management, and Technical Support. Link 403 Airline Support Group www.airlinesupportgroup.net GSE Ground Support Equipment /Boeing & Airbus Tooling Airline Support Group manufactures, sells, leases and repairs engine stands, specializing in RB211-535,CFM56-3- 5&7,CF6-80C2,CF6- 50C2,CF34-3,V2500-A and Pratt & Whitney engine stands, including JT8D,JT9D,PW2000, and PW4000. ASG is a supplier of Boeing and Airbus tooling. Link 574 Astronics Corporation www.astronics.com LIGHTING Air Lite TM LED Flashlights Astronics DME’s Air Lite TM LED flashlights provide 60% weight savings over their predecessors. The model 1E is for emergency use and the 2R is rechargeable and for utility use. Both models float in water, are constructed of flame- retardant plastic, and include a push-to-test battery monitoring system. Link 371 ECAS Inc. www.ecasinc.com MATERIALS At 32,000 feet, there are no unimportant parts ECAS, Inc. is a stocking distributor of aircraft hardware & electrical components supporting aviation, military and aerospace applications. We offer an extensive inventory of all AN, MS & NAS fasteners. We also carry one of the largest inventories of Cherry Rivets, Hi-Lok, Camloc & Dzus fasteners. 1-800-330-3975 Cage Code-0WTF7 MRO LINKS SPOTLIGHTS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Link 757 Impex International www.impexint.com MECHANICAL COMPONENTS YOUR SINGLE SOURCE FOR FASTENERS AND FITTINGS Since 1985, Impex Provides an extensive product line of standard and special engineered mechanical components (Fasteners and Fittings) to aerospace and defense customers.ISO 9001 / AS 9120 Certified ,One Stop Shop for Multiple Items, Exceptional Customer Service Major Credit Cards Accepted. Link 302 Jergens Specialty Fasteners http://www.jergensinc.com/site/showcase_ KLP/index.html MECHANICAL COMPONENTS Jergens Kwik-Lok® Pins Kwik-Lok® Pins provide quick, easy positive engagement and high holding strength for applications requiring frequent, repetitive use. If you need safety, speed and dependability, then you need Jergens Kwik-Lok® Pins. Link 755 Americase, Inc. www.americase.com METAL Americase: “You dream it, we can build it!” Americase, an AS9100 company, is the premiere custom container manufacturer. With an all-in-house engineering and production environment, Americase is uniquely adept in providing high quality, custom fabricated parts and containers to various industries. If you can dream it, Americase can build it. Link 364 Aero Precision – A Greenwich AeroGroup Company www.aeroprecision.com MRO SERVICES AERO PRECISION AFTERMARKET SOLUTIONS · Military · Fixod Wing · Potary Wing · Sparo, P&OH · Üpgrados · Shortor TAT · OEM Ouality · Compotitivo Prico Link 754 Aereos www.aereos.com MRO SERVICES Keeping You Airborne The Aereos group of companies: Atlas Aerospace provides 35 years of repair & overhaul services of pneumatic, hydraulic, electromechanical, and electronic parts. ACP redeploys high value expendable parts through DER repair. Aervit provides Airbus & Boeing rotable spares, and Euless Aero Components provides precision machining. Link 546 Hisco, Inc. www.hisco.com/aerospace MATERIALS Premier Distributor of Mission-Critical Materials Hisco® distributes MRO products from leading manufacturers. Our portfolio includes adhesives, tapes, abrasives, cleaners, primers, coatings, insulating technologies, breather and bleeders, bagging films, release films, mold release lubricants, solder, wire and cable components, packaging, and more. ADVERTISING SECTION Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO59 Link 037 Ametek MRO www.ametekmro.com MRO SERVICES MRO Capabilities Global provider of repair/ overhaul services for commercial, regional, general aviation & rotor wing aircraft. Operations are FAA, EASA, CAAC & CAAS approved. Capabilities: avionic, electromechanical, electronic, fluid system, hydraulic, oxygen, pneumatic, radio system & safety equipt components. Link 756 EMBRAER S.A www.embraercommercialaviation.com MRO SERVICES EMBRAER COMMERCIAL AVIATION SERVICES & SUPPORT Our global structure provides a prompt response mechanism for a full range of needs, including: field and technical support; spare parts flight and maintenance; operations consulting; aircraft modifications; comprehensive crew and personnel training; technical publications and eSolutions. Link 018 Aerosource Inc. www.aerosourceinc.com MRO SERVICES ADG & RAT Repair and Overhaul Services Aerosource Inc. is the OEM for the DC10 and MD11 Air Driven Generator assembly, as well as RATs and other various components for military application. Aerosource’s FAA/EASA approved repair station specializes in ADGs and RATs for all Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer fleets. Link 404 Amarillo Economic Development Corporation www.amarilloedc.com MRO SERVICES Business Relocation/ Expansion Services The Amarillo EDC’s mission is to promote business expansion in the greater Amarillo area that builds a stronger, more diversified economy. The Amarillo EDC offers aggressive incentives to businesses that locate or expand operations in the Amarillo community. Link 248 Ascent Aviation Services www.ascentmro.com MRO SERVICES Ascent Aviation Narrow-body MRO & Storage Services Ascent Aviation Services- Tucson Intl Airport-is a premier provider of narrowbody heavy maintenance, modifications, & interior/ exterior refurbishment services. MRO industry veterans provide highly dedicated support in FAA, EASA & AFRA certificated facilities to meet the demands of a global customer base. Link 060 BAE Systems www.baesystems-ps.com/customersupport MRO SERVICES KEEPING YOU FLYING IS OUR BUSINESS. BAE Systems offers the largest breadth of MRO, aftermarket, and services spanning commercial, regional, and business aircraft platforms. We’re proud to be a preferred OEM in the service and support of: t &OHJOF $POUSPMT t 'MJHIU $POUSPMT t "JSDSBGU &MFDUSPOJDT t $BCJO 4ZTUFNT BOE .PEJmDBUJPOT MRO LINKS SPOTLIGHTS Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information MRO60 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/mro Link 382 Rockford Area Aerospace Network www.rockfordil.com MRO SERVICES One stop Midwest aerospace & aviation services Rockford Area Aerospace Network, a one stop source for aerospace supplier and aviation service information. We are cost-effective, offering technical talent, a diverse industrial market, a development friendly airport, and an instant supply chain of +200 companies that support the aerospace industry. Link 318 NEFAB www.nefab.us/Aerospace-Industry-Packaging- Solutions.aspx MRO SERVICES Packaging That Reduces Supply Chain Cost Your mission is our mission. We develop complete packaging solutions optimized to reduce total cost and environmental impact in your supply chain. Nefab has unrivaled experience with the aerospace industry and with global engineering and supply capabilities we serve you in every corner of the world. Link 534 Shimadzu www.spi-inc.com MRO SERVICES We’re Not Your Typical OEM MRO! Simultaneously putting OEM care and quality together with rapid TAT, competitive pricing, and responsive customer support into every repair, Shimadzu Precision Instruments, Inc. (SPI) is the One Stop Shop for all your Shimadzu LRU repair needs. Link 213 STS Aviation Group www.stsaviationgroup.com MRO SERVICES Turn-Key Solutions to Keep You Flying SM The STS Aviation Group provides turnkey services for MROs and Airlines through its divisions: STS Engineering Solutions, STS Line Maintenance, STS Component Solutions, & STS AeroStaff Services. These divisions can work together to meet a common goal... to provide Solutions to Keep You Flying. Link 220 Texas Aero Engine Services LLC (TAESL) www.taesl.com MRO SERVICES TAESL Repairs the Rolls-Royce RB211-535 & Trent 800 TAESL is the industry leader in engine repair and overhaul services for the Trent 892 and RB211-535, providing the highest quality, industry-best turn-times at competitive rates. We offer customer-oriented solutions in a state-of- the-art facility, providing engine overhaul and test capacity. Link 508 Texas Aerospace Services www.texasaerospace.com MRO SERVICES Your MRO choice for aircraft components Since 1967, the wings of the world have relied on Texas Aerospace Services, an industry leader in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft accessories and components. Our facility is equipped to overhaul and repair electromechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and fuel system components. ADVERTISING SECTION Enter Link # at www.AviationWeek.com/MROLinks for more information AviationWeek.com/mro AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MRO EDITION SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 MRO61 Link 222 TIMCO Aviation Services www.timco.aero MRO SERVICES Aircraft MRO and Interiors Products and Services TIMCO is one of the largest independent MROs, offering complete aircraft care including: base maintenance; interiors design, engineering, certification & integration; products including galleys, lavs and FeatherWeight™ seating; engine MRO; and TIMCO LineCare™ line maintenance & cabin care. 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Unmatched Experience | World-Class Support | Exceptional Value AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 35 Graham Warwick Washington Shared situational awareness and decision-making aids now the targets of refocused precision close-air-support demonstration W hen the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) declared its intent to make close air support more responsive by enabling ground forces to directly control the weapons on unmanned aircraft, it raised a few eyebrows. When it revealed a heavily armed Fairchild A-10 would be converted to optionally piloted operation for the Precision Close Air Support (PCAS) technology demonstration, eyebrows arched even higher. Now the skeptics can relax, somewhat, as the PCAS program has been reshaped to focus on near-term transition of the technology to manned close-air-support (CAS) aircraft. An A-10 will still be used as the testbed for live-fire trials, but will be flown manned. And PCAS will still demonstrate that a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) on the ground can directly control the weapons on an aircraft, but the outcome will not lead to automated, unmanned CAS. Instead, the product of the demonstration will be hardware and software that provides improved communications and shared situational awareness between the JTAC and the pilot, and autonomous decision aids that recommend actions to increase the speed and accuracy of CAS. Raytheon is moving ahead to demonstrate more rapid and precise close air support after finalizing a contract with Darpa for Phase 2 of the PCAS program. “The fundamental goal is still the same: to decrease the timeline by a factor of 10 from a request for fire to an efect on target from 60 min. to 6 min. for an A-10 loitering 20 nm away,” says Dave Bossert, Raytheon program manager. “And we will still use the A-10, but not optionally manned.” The modified program comprises two elements. PCAS-Air is the airborne system, providing the interface between the aircraft, its sensors, weapons and pilot, and the JTAC on the ground. PCAS-Ground is the kit carried by the JTAC, including an Android tablet computer, head-up display and digital radio. PCAS will provide improved communications between JTAC and pilot, with all-digital messaging and shared displays of sensor imagery, targets, weapons and their efects. “The PCAS-Air piece was the A-10. Now it is ‘Smart Rail’ electronics, small enough so that anything that can carry the Hellfire missile can be PCAS-Air-enabled,” Bossert says, adding “We are platform-agnostic, sensor-agnostic and radio-agnostic.” The Smart Rail includes a computer that hosts the PCAS algorithms, a GPS/inertial navigation system and talks to the JTAC via a dedicated data-link radio and to the aircraft, sensors and weapons via an interface box. An Android tablet identical to that carried by the JTAC is mounted in the cockpit for the pilot. “Tight coupling of the JTAC and pilot is key,” Bossert says. PCAS provides the JTAC access to the computing power and high-resolution sensors on the aircraft without the Smart Rail having to be part of its operational flight program. “It is separate from, but hosted on, the aircraft,” he says, which will reduce the time/cost for adding PCAS capability. Raytheon’s modified $12.9 million Phase 2 contract will cul- minate in a critical design review in November, and Bossert says there is a “high probability” Darpa will proceed into the 18-month, $25.5 million Phase 3 flight demonstration. Team members include GE Aviation providing its stores and payload controller and Rockwell Collins supplying high- bandwidth QNT radios, head-mounted display systems, and targeting and visualization tools. The program changes reflect a shift in focus for near-term transition of PCAS to manned CAS, from unmanned. “One of the original sponsors when we started was the MQ-X [unmanned aircraft] program. There is no MQ-X anymore,” he says. MQ-X was the U.S. Air Force’s planned Predator/ Reaper replacement, but never got beyond concept studies. “The primary focus was never the optionally piloted A-10, and it became somewhat distracting,” Bossert says. Instead of enabling the JTAC to directly control weapons on an aircraft, PCAS is most likely to transition to operational use as an autonomous decision aid for the pilot. “Manned CAS has the biggest need,” he says. “It will be part of their situational-awareness decision aids, showing recommended actions for both the pilot and JTAC,” Bossert continues. “For the PCAS demo, we still plan autonomous weapons employment, but a pilot will fly the A-10 and be able to override the autonomy.” The live-fire demos in 2015 will involve the A-10’s 30-mm gun, a joint-direct-attack-munition GPS-guided bomb, a Laser Maverick missile, dual-mode laser/GPS weapon and 2.75-in. rocket. After the demo, PCAS will be ready to transition “to any fixed-wing, rotary-wing or unmanned aircraft that can carry Hellfire [or larger weapons],” Bossert says. c Aimpoint Refined JTAC’s head-up display previews weapons’ fly-outs and efects. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY 36 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Graham Warwick Washington First flight is only the initial step on long road to ultra-long endurance L ong in gestation and in endurance, Aurora Flight Sci- ences’ Orion unmanned aircraft has made its first step toward demonstrating a 120-hr. flight at 20,000 ft., carrying a 1,000-lb. multi-sensor payload. That would allow the Orion to provide continuous surveillance carrying a Predator-class payload with fewer takeofs and landings than current medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs flying 24-hr. missions, significantly reducing the man- power burden and operating cost. The Orion demonstrator made its first flight from “a Western test range,” believed to be China Lake, Calif., on Aug. 24. Powered by a pair of fuel-efcient Au stro Engine AE300 turbo-diesels, the aircraft flew for 3.5 hr., reaching an altitude of 8,000 ft. and airspeed of around 60 kt., says Tom Clancy, vice president of Aurora’s unmanned air system business sector. Within the Defense Department, ownership of the Orion program has changed hands several times. Aurora declines to identify its current customer, but the U.S. Air Force tells Aviation Week it is the USAF Big Safari program office, which manages the acquisition and modification of special- mission platforms. When Aurora began work in 2006, it was with U.S. Army funding, and the Orion was planned to be a hydrogen-fueled, “high-altitude, long-loiter” (HALL) UAV. In 2008, the company submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Air Force Research Laboratory for a medium-altitude version of the Orion, powered by conventional engines. This led to a contract for the Medium-Altitude Global Intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and Communications relay (Magic) joint concept technology demonstration (JCTD). Using the composite wing and tail of the original HALL design, the Orion was rolled out at Aurora’s plant in Golden Triangle, Miss., in November 2010. It was then expected to fly in August 2011. “The program’s progress has been funding-rate limited,” says Clancy. “The early phases of the Magic JCTD were completed, then we transitioned to a new program ofce,” he says. “But the basic objectives set at the beginning remain: a 120-hr. autonomous UAV carrying 1,000 lb. to 20,000 ft.” The technical goals still align with those of Magic: “Aford- ability, through reduced takeofs and landings; autonomy, to reduce training cost; and open architecture, to minimize the cost of upgrading or augmenting the mission system,” notes Clancy. “We are working toward plug-and-play, so we can change the mission suite with relative ease.” There was no mission system on board for the Orion’s first flight, but there will be a payload on the aircraft for the 120-hr. demonstration flight, expected to be conducted by mid-2014, he says, adding “A number of diferent multi- intelligence payloads are potentially part of the program.” Aurora had proposed building three aircraft for the Magic demo, but now “can’t talk about whether there will be more than one,” Clancy says. He also cannot comment on whether there are any plans to deploy the system operationally. The Orion has a long-span, one-piece composite wing for low drag and light weight, two keys to extended endurance at medium altitude. Another is the fuel-efcient turbo-diesel engines, which burn jet fuel. Two other long-endurance UAV aimed at the 100-hr.-plus mark—AeroVironment’s Global Ob- server and Boeing’s Phantom Eye—are hydrogen-fueled and designed to fly at high altitude. Both flew only a handful of times and are currently without a customer. Long endurance also requires high reliability, and the autonomy and redundancy of the Orion system architecture are similar to Aurora’s Centaur optionally piloted aircraft, a modified Diamond DA 42. “Some pieces are triplex, some duplex. For extreme endurance, there can be no single-point failures,” Clancy says. Control modes were evaluated during the first functional check flight, which included “a couple of approaches and go- arounds to check the autonomous systems before landing on the hard-surface runway,” he notes. Command and control of the Orion is “more Global Hawk-like than Predator-like,” and involves supervised autonomy—the operator “telling the aircraft what to do in broad terms such as takeof, land and trajectory,” adds Clancy. Flights will build up to the 120-hr. demo in the coming months. “It will be a significant reach to expand the envelope that far,” says Clancy. Aurora, meanwhile, has the capacity in place to make “multiple” aircraft per year at its Mississippi plant, he says, if the Orion can traverse the “somewhat tortu- ous path” from a technology demonstration to an operational program of record. c UNMANNED SYSTEMS Staying Power The Orion has a slender, single- piece, carbon-fiber wing for low drag with minimum weight. A U R O R A F L I G H T S C I E N C E S making its first takeof and landing on our Ares blog at: ow.ly/oZex9 See video of the Orion Register now for your ALL ACCESS PASS EXECUTIVE SPONSORS SPONSORS October 29-31, 2013 SingEx, Singapore SUPPORTED BY LOCAL ASSOCIATION SUPPORT Singapore Tourism Board MEDIA SUPPORT A S I A’ S ON LY C OMP R E H E N S I V E I N D E P E N D E N T I N D U S T R Y P U B L I C AT I ON 3UR¯WV DQG 3URJUHVV for Growth in Asia This is where real collaboration and partnerships happen. • Lstablìsh and grcw ycur presence ìn Sìngapcre, Asìa’s leadìng MPO hub. • 8uìld partnershìps wìth regìcnal cperatcrs lccated ìn Chìna, 1haìland and the surrcundìng area. • Caìn access tc experts ìn the aìrlìne and MPO ìndustry. • Dìsccver cuttìng-edge MPO technclcgy that ìmprcves efñcìency. • Fìnd new tccls and servìces tc ìncrease POl. • Ccnnect wìth exìstìng custcmers and meet prcspects. • Develcp actìcnable strategìes ycu can ìmplement. FEATURING: Facility tour of Pratt & Whitney Eagle Services Asia MEDIA SUPPORT Register today and secure your place! www.aviationweek.com/events 38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Guy Norris Los Angeles Gaining Momentum More milestones line up for NASA Commercial Crew contenders as concept tests continue F our years into its initiative to develop a U.S. commercial crew transportation system, NASA is nearing an inflex- ion point in the program as it fights potentially debilitat- ing budget cuts while investing more to see the competitors through to the next stage. The agency is poised to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for the second phase of development and certification under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) program, as a step toward awarding Commercial Crew Trans- portation Capability (CCtCap) contracts in mid-2014. Despite budget concerns, NASA ofcials appear increasingly optimistic that Congress is becoming more supportive of the Commercial Crew initiative, particularly as the competitors—Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Sierra Nevada Corp.—advance into hardware demonstrations. “We’re seeing higher momentum,” says NASA program manager Ed Mango. At the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space 2013 conference in San Diego this month, Mango said the agency is on track to release the RFP for Phase 2 certification shortly. The buildup to certification and the award of CCtCap contracts come amid mounting test activity and encouraging early results from commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS), both helping build the case for more funding, he says. “The mood as I see it on both the executive and congressional side for Commercial Crew is getting stronger,” Mango says. Referencing the congressional plus-up in funding for fiscal 2014 to $525 million from $428 million, he says, “both chambers understood . . . the importance of getting a U.S. capability for the ISS. . . . If certain things happen under a continuing resolution, we will be somewhere between $488 million and $525 million. We are good to get through [fiscal 2014] and still complete commitments we have under [the CCiCap initiative], and that will play into how we implement CCtCap.” Mango notes that NASA has contracted with all three teams for certification products. “While the companies are doing development, we want to start talking with them about our requirements and how they are going to meet them.” The efort has been split into two, with the first round “going very well,” he adds. In the first round, the teams gave NASA proposals on how they would or would not meet the requirements. “Now we’re in the middle of feedback to them,” Mango says. The second round is a further itera- tion of the same process. “At the end of January, we will give them feedback again. Then they have all the data. So, if they’re ready to bid for the next phase, it gives them a chance to refine proposals before the best and final bids,” he says. Mango expects the RFP for CCtCap to be released in late October. Final bids will be due by year-end, with contract award planned for the end of July 2014. “I’d like to have more than one,” he says. “Competition helps price, but we also understand it helps in other ways, such as safety.” Competing providers also gives the government “much more capability—we have a redundant system on this side [of the Atlantic].” The award “pretty much guarantees two missions to the winning contractor,” Mango says. The contract will allow up to six missions, based on performance, through 2020. Beyond this, and assuming the life of the ISS is extended, NASA will transition to a services contract. This will be enacted once commercial crew services have “stabilized,” he says, adding: “We don’t want to go with a long-term services contract until we understand the risk posture.” Of the contenders, Sierra Nevada is the nearest to flying hardware. It is conducting flight-readiness reviews for the first drop test of the Dream Chaser lifting body at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, Calif., amid preparations for its first Commercial Crew critical design review (CDR). At press time, the flight was expected either Sept. 21 or Sept. 28, as the approach-and-landing tests are only permitted on a Saturday at Edwards and, to keep to Sierra’s schedule, should begin by the end of this month. Until now, Dream Chas- er development has been conducted under a $212.5 million CCiCap contract received in August 2012, considerably less than those awarded to Boeing and SpaceX. But NASA’s decision in August to add a $5 million CDR milestone has boosted the competitive position of the Dream Chaser, says Mark Sir- angelo, Sierra Nevada Space Systems’ head and corporate vice president. SPACE Boeing’s CST-100 completed water-drop and egress tests in Nevada last month and is due to return there in October for parachute-drop tests on land. B O E I N G “We will enter CDR this year, and before that, we were doing it on our own. To us, it represents that NASA believes we are a system that’s matured enough to begin the CDR process. They see that because of the energy we’re putting into it,” says Sirangelo. NASA also awarded Sierra Nevada an additional $10 million for incremental reaction-control system testing, to be accomplished in July 2014. “That’s about getting to maturity quicker,” he adds. “One of the biggest risks is the ‘green’ thrusters,” Mango says. “We’d like to keep on with testing of those because, if that technology takes of, it could revolutionize the way we do satellite servicing on orbit. We want Sierra Nevada to work toward that and are funding the thruster design so they can do testing in a near-vacuum environment . . . . At some point, we need to lock down the design of the orbital vehicle, so we agreed to discuss how the ‘test-a-little-build-a-little’ approach will feed into the final design.” Sirangelo says the Dream Chaser engineering test article at Edwards is “ready for its first autonomous flight.” The initial two drop tests, from a hovering Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, could be enough to satisfy Sierra Nevada’s requirements. “It will go at least two flights, but it could go to 10 if we need to,” he explains. Assembly of the orbital-test Dream Chaser, to be used for powered flights into space, is underway at Lockheed Martin’s facility in NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. “We wanted to have two under simultaneous construction, and with it being at Michoud, this brings in another NASA center . . . . We’re targeting delivery next year,” Sirangelo says. Planned testing from next year, assuming a CCtCap award in July, will see the Dream Chaser “go higher, faster, hyperson- ic, suborbital, without people and with people,” says Sirangelo. Testing will be divided into four major steps: approach and landing, high atmospheric, suborbital and orbital. For initial testing, Sierra Nevada has yet to decide whether to tow the Dream Chaser or drop it from a launcher aircraft. Boeing and SpaceX, both proposing capsule-based concepts, are approaching equally intense periods of test and development milestones, made busier by new targets added by NASA. “It’s the grind up to critical design review,” says John Mulholland, Boeing Space Exploration vice president and commercial programs manager. The company is on track to complete five milestones by year-end, having completed seven since the start of the year. Five more remain for 2014, including a newly added requirement to conduct a Phase 2 spacecraft safety review in July. “After you get to CDR, you want to understand how that afects all the safety analysis,” says Mango. “So we decided to fund their next level of safety review. Each team has a unique approach to how they do this development, and we see where there are higher risks and rewards, and use that for optional milestones.” In May, Boeing completed a further round of water-tank drop tests of the CST-100 capsule at a facility in Las Vegas. The tests were required because of last year’s redesign of the airbag system to accommodate extra loads uncovered during analysis of conditions encountered in the event of a water landing. Boeing performed 15 drops of a CST-100 model in five days. “This was to make sure we really understood the loads when we put that center airbag in,” says Mulholland. This month, Boeing also completed engine development tests on the orbital maneuvering and attitude control (OMAC) system, as well as a mission-control-center interface demonstration test as a precursor to pilot-in-the-loop tests in Febru- ary. A new engineering simulator installed at Houston will be used to perform the initial piloting tests “in the fall.” Overall, the CST-100 team is “about a month ahead of plan,” Mulhol- land notes. “Almost weekly, there is a component CDR.” SpaceX, which is poised to launch the first upgraded Fal- con 9 v1.1 that is part of its Commercial Crew architecture, was to deliver a detailed inflight-abort test plan to NASA for review last week. In October, the company will conduct a safety review covering a hazard analysis, probabilistic safety assessment and failure mode and efects analysis. A review of the upgraded Falcon 9 flight, which will take place from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., follows in November. Later in the year, SpaceX will conduct further testing of the parachute system for Dragon Rider, the manned version of the capsule already used to carry cargo to the ISS. “SpaceX has a parachute system and pad-abort system they’re going to test, and they are going to do the chutes in a way that’s never been done before,” says Mango. “We said that’s a pretty big risk, so we came to an agreement to do this extra milestone,” he adds. The $20 million milestone is planned to be accomplished by December. An integrated CDR is set for March 2014, with the final design slated to be presented to NASA before the start of manufacturing the orbital test vehicle. The parachute tests at the end of this year, which include a helicopter drop test, “will help us with the more difcult launch-abort/pad-abort test in April,” Mango says. c AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 39 Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser is poised for “free-flight” drop tests over the Edwards AFB dry lake bed. NASA/KEN ULBRICH 40 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst SpaceX Dragon modifications bump NASA cargo mission to February S pace Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is modifying its Dragon capsule to aford more payload capacity for NASA cargo runs to and from the International Space Station (ISS). But the improvements will push a planned December ISS mission into 2014, in which the company’s crowded launch manifest is pending the delayed debut of the revamped SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. President Gwynne Shotwell says NASA needs SpaceX to make the Dragon enhancements in order to increase the reusable cargo vessel’s cold-storage capacity for transporting research samples between Earth and the ISS. “We’re developing a major upgrade to Dragon to triple the amount of science that we carry up and back,” Shot well said Sept. 10 at the World Satellite Business Week conference here, adding that the capsule’s December mission is now scheduled for February. Under the terms of SpaceX’s $1.6 billion Commercial Re- supply Services (CRS) contract with NASA, the company is supposed to deliver 20,000 kg (44,000 lb.) of food, supplies and science materials to the ISS by Dec. 31, 2015. Dragon’s advertised payload capacity is for more than 3,300 kg of pressurized and unpressurized cargo to the space station and up to 2,500 kg on the return trip. Since the December 2008 CRS contract was signed, however, Dragon has conducted just three trips to the ISS, delivering a combined 1,595 kg of pressurized cargo and returning a total of 2,120 kg to Earth. NASA spokesman Joshua Byerly says no new requirements have been added to the SpaceX CRS contract, sug- gesting the upgrades are expected to fulfill a long-standing requirement to meet ISS cargo needs. But he says the work is taking longer than initially planned. “The December launch date was chosen in cooperation with SpaceX and assumed the enhancements being implemented by SpaceX,” Byerly explains. “It is simply taking longer to get all the modifications completed, which is not unreasonable, given the nature of the enhancements.” In the meantime, SpaceX is still sorting out technical troubles with a new version of its Falcon 9 rocket. More than a year behind schedule, the Falcon 9 v1.1 is a significant departure from the baseline Falcon 9 that has launched four times since its first flight in December 2010. The changes include a complete redesign of the vehicle’s Mer- lin 1 engine, known as the Merlin 1D, and a new octagonal configuration for the rocket’s nine first-stage motors. Other enhancements include considerably longer fuel tanks and a wider payload fairing. All the upgrades are aimed at loft- ing more mass—including crew—to the ISS, while afording entry to the commercial launch market. Falcon 9 has more than $1 billion in commercial-launch backlog to execute in the coming years. Previously slated to debut Sept. 15 from SpaceX’s new launch pad at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., the company shifted the Falcon 9 v1.1 mission to the end of September following a recent static-fire test. SpaceX founder, CEO and Chief Technol- ogy Ofcer Elon Musk stated on Twitter Sept. 13 that during the 2-sec. test, the rocket’s nine engines achieved full thrust, but that “some anomalies” need to be investigated. Two days later, he tweeted plans to conduct a second static-fire test before launching Sept. 29-30. For its first flight, the new Falcon 9 is expected to deliver a small Canadian science satellite to an elliptical polar orbit. If successful, this will clear the way for SpaceX to conduct its first commercial mission to geostationary transfer orbit, launching the SES-8 satellite for SES, the world’s second-largest satellite fleet operator by revenue. SES-8 was expected to launch from Cape Canaveral in the first quarter of this year. SES says it is waiting to deliver the Orbital Sciences Corp.- built spacecraft to Vandenberg until the first Falcon 9 v1.1 mission is successfully lofted. In addition to SES-8, Shotwell says SpaceX is planning to put the Orbital-built Thaicom 6 communications satellite into orbit by year-end before launching at “a cadence of almost one a month in 2014.” For now, the company is producing four Merlin 1D engines per week, but plans to increase the rate to five per week starting in January, she says. This pace is necessary to keep up with SpaceX’s busy launch manifest, which indicates 12 Falcon 9 v1.1 missions next year, including the one to the ISS in February. “Our production is now ahead of our launch,” Shotwell adds. “We have to get these vehicles to the launch site and fly them, but production should not be an issue going forward.” c SPACE Slipping By Dragon has berthed at the ISS three times since SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2008 to deliver 20 tons of cargo to the orbiting outpost. S P A C E X Amy Svitak Paris AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 41 Frank Morring, Jr. Wallops Flight Facility, Va. Orbital Sciences sees an Antares market beyond taking cargo to the space station O rbital Sciences Corp. engineers already are looking for another rocket engine to power the An- tares medium-lift launch vehicle, after closing out the week demonstrating that the new commercial cargo carrier can safely approach the International Space Station (ISS). The supply of surplus Soviet-era Nk-33 kerosene-fueled engines extends beyond the 20 Orbital will need to fly out more than $2 billion in NASA work through 2015. Another two of those engines, which Aerojet has modified and labeled as the AJ-26, lifted the first Cygnus cargo capsule to orbit last week. Assuming all goes well in the next month or so, that mission to the ISS will close out the company’s $288 million Commercial Orbital Transporta- tion Services (COTS) Space Act agreement with NASA. After that, the next 16 are destined for the eight ISS resupply missions under Orbital’s $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. But NASA will continue to need station resupply from Orbital and fellow COTS/CRS contractor SpaceX, and Orbital wants to expand its market beyond the ISS in any event. The company has indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts with NASA and the Air Force for other medium-lift launch services. While no payloads have surfaced yet, the company is courting the private sector as well. “We have a lot of interest from people who are waiting to see if we succeed with this before they place a firm order,” said Frank Culbertson, Orbital executive vice president, before last week’s launch. Liftof of the 13-story Antares/Cyg- nus stack from the new state-owned spaceport pad on Wallops Island, Va., occurred at 10:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. The apparently flawless ascent marked the beginning of 10 safety-of- spaceflight demonstrations over four days, capped by berthing and about a month of operations at the ISS, to complete Orbital’s COTS milestones. A longtime sounding-rocket facility run by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops is a barrier island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore that lies near small communities, working farms and other settlements on the mainland. That proximity led NASA ofcials to check at least four residences shortly before liftoff when range-safety officials raised concerns that a temperature inversion could focus enough overpressure on them in an explosion on ascent to cause windows to blow in. The condition lifted before launch. The Cygnus vehicle carried about 700 kg (1,543 lb.) of supplies on the demonstration mission, but on early CRS flights it will be able to handle as much as 2,000 kg of pressurized cargo; an enhanced Cygnus would have a 2,700-kg capability. The Cygnus—a pressurized aluminum cylinder made by Thales Alenia Space with heritage in the ISS modules the company built in Turin, Italy—maneuvers using an Or- bital Sciences service module based on the company’s geostationary-satellite bus technology. Orbital controllers in Dulles, Va., were maneuvering the Cygnus toward the ISS last week, in preparation for a final set of demonstration maneuvers on Sept. 29—the nominal berthing day. At least two of three orbit-changing burns were completed on Sept. 19 to set up eight planned maneuvers leading to rendezvous, grapple with the station’s robotic arm and berthing to the nadir port on the station’s Node 2. Among capabilities to be demonstrated were relative GPS navigation, autonomous maneuvering, lidar navigation using a reflector on the station as a tracking target, and hold-and-retreat maneuvers. The station crew was ready to grapple Cygnus from the robotic control station in the cupola on the nadir side of Node 2, move it to its assigned common berthing mechanism and open the hatch to begin unloading the cargo. Once the vehicle is empty, station crewmembers will begin loading it with trash, discarded gear and other extraneous material for a destructive reentry over the South Pacific east of New Zealand by mid-October, which will mark the mission’s end. Even before the Cygnus started chasing the station, the successful Antares launch encouraged market analysts on Orbital’s prospects. “With the end of the development of Antares and Cygnus approaching, and the first CRS missions planned for December, Orbital is on the cusp of improved profitability and an upturn in free cash flow,” wrote Jeferies LLC analyst Howard Rubel. Culbertson says Orbital plans to find a replacement for the rapidly dwindling store of Russian engines to enable it to continue flying Antares. “We are looking at what the options are, who has engines that might be compatible and available and how long would it take to develop and/or order them,” he says. “We know that some- time after 2016 we need to start looking at other alternatives, so we’ve got a very active efort going on with everybody who says they make an engine.” c Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket roars toward the ISS to demonstrate cargo delivery and join SpaceX as a commercial resupply vendor. M O B I L E A E R O S P A C E R E C O N N A I S S A N C E S Y S T E M W W W . M A R S S C I E N T I F I C . C O M Opening Another Route to Orbit I t is no exaggeration when I say the eyes of the aviation world will be fixed on this month’s assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal. This meeting will set the stage for world aviation for years ahead and generate the economic conditions that are needed for this vital global industry to grow. It will tackle many challenges that should not be underestimated: in safety, security, air navigation, global competition, market access and of course, the environment. In aviation, Europe has reaped enormous benefits from market opportunities and from open and fair competition. This is why I would like to see ICAO make further progress in this area on a wider, worldwide basis. Global rules for a sector that is already highly in- ternationalized and competitive need to catch up on issues such as common-competition principles and airline ownership and control. The adherence of different national practices, barriers and limitations is an anachronism for such a modern global business. They slow down its development and growth and are an impediment for carriers to important new sources of foreign capital. Competition must be open, fair and non-discriminatory in matters such as state subsidies, user charges, royalties and access to infrastructure. The assembly will likely be dominated by environmental issues, namely how to achieve aviation’s sustainable growth and how it can curb emissions. We cannot pretend otherwise. This is where a truly global deal is long overdue, and the world now justifi- ably expects an agreement. In Europe, we have already shown flexibility when we made the difcult decision to stop the clock on our Emissions Trading System. By doing this, we averted a probable trade war. It also shows our determination to reach an agreement. We will continue working hard to get all our partners onboard for the ambitious action that our planet demands. This is not only about finding a compromise. We want our aviation industry to grow and prosper, and improve its environmental footprint at the same time. For that to happen, the world needs to see the aviation industry as a responsible citizen. The ICAO assembly faces a huge responsibility to guarantee an ambitious and sustainable environment where such growth can take place, and aviation can continue to connect citizens and businesses worldwide. That means more opportunities for travel and trade. A stronger and more sustainable aviation sector provides a definite opportunity. Europe is ready to play its part in achieving and strengthening this vision in Montreal. And Europe has a great deal to ofer. While we have sometimes been alone in tackling some of the difcult regulatory challenges, we would—as always—prefer to see a multilateral way forward. As the largest event in global aviation, the ICAO assembly is the obvious place to discuss and, hopefully, reach agreement on multilateral solutions to global challenges. On security, along with many others, our strong focus has helped to stabilize public confidence after some major challenges, most notably the 9/11 attacks. I am encouraged to see a good deal of support elsewhere in ICAO for this because security is, after all, a matter for everyone. No country can tackle on its own the threat of terrorism to international aviation. We should keep working together in ICAO to find the right balance between keeping people safe and making life as manage- able as possible for passengers and industry. Last year’s ICAO High Level Conference on Aviation Security recommended reinforcing air cargo security and addressing the danger from liquid explosives, as well as insider threats. If these recommendations are followed in Montreal, then we will be stronger and more united in tackling the specter of air-travel terrorism. On safety, there has been remarkable progress, both in Europe and worldwide. But we still need to reduce the risk of gaps in regulations, avoiding con- fused responsibilities and conflicting requirements. I would like to see ICAO give a big push toward this. It’s important to take action to improve before accidents happen, not just afterward. As an international service industry, aviation has reached a level of structural maturity, which means we all need to meet global standards of safety, security and the environment. That means working together to modernize air trafc management, because global aviation needs efcient and advanced ATM systems that can provide fair value and seamless service to airlines as well as punctuality to passengers. These are needed especially now that air trafc growth is pushing the world’s transport systems to their limits. ICAO can play a vital role in helping to develop global ATM standards and interoperability. They would save vast amounts in ATM costs that are passed on to passengers. So the importance of the forthcoming assembly in Montreal cannot be underestimated. There is a lengthy and varied agenda in front of us. It will be a pivotal moment for the future of international aviation. Europe will be at the heart of the negotiations, not just on aviation emissions but in all areas. I plan to ensure the best possible outcomes for EU citizens and businesses, and to secure sustainable growth for this vital global industry. c Commentary Siim Kallas is transport commissioner and vice president of the European Commission. BY SIIM KALLAS Mapping the Future of World Aviation 42 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst EUROPEAN COMMISSION AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 43 N o issue in aeropolitics is as contentious as the introduction of charges for carbon emissions. The European Union almost caused a trade war over its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), but it seems a global deal is in sight. Agreeing on the basics and a schedule for the introduction of a global structure of market-based measures (MBM) to limit aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions will be the most important topic at the International Civil Aviation Organi- zation’s (ICAO) 38th General Assembly, which begins Sept. 24 in Montreal. While it is clear no agreement on the details of a concrete global system will be sealed, progress has been made on a compromise solution that would commit ICAO to develop a method for tackling aviation’s carbon emissions and decide its details by 2016. The global MBMs would be fully implemented from 2020 as part of a basket of measures involving technology and operational improvements (including adopting a global CO 2 standard for aircraft by 2016) and sustainable alternative fuels. They are intended to achieve carbon-neutral growth beginning in 2020. The proposal, endorsed by ICAO’s governing council on Sept. 4, accepts the principle of regional or national MBMs, such as the EU ETS, until the global system is in place. At the request of the EU, which is not a member of ICAO, the council’s draft resolution rec- ognizes that states (or groups of states) may choose, before the full implementation of a global MBM, to implement systems that apply to flights to/from third countries, which depart or arrive at airports in that state, for the portion of those flights within the airspace of that state, and which would fully cover all emissions from flights that both depart from and arrive in that state. Negotiations on the compromise accord were difficult. Several states on the 36-member council, including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, India, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., had strong reser- vations, yet they did not raise formal objections. Whether ICAO’s 191 con- tracting states will support the deal at the pending Assembly is unknown, but “it seems unlikely that delegates will wish to reopen substantive debate on such a hard-won consensus text,” says Chris Lyle, chief executive of Canada- based Air Transport Economics. “The question is how meaningful and com- mitting the resulting, formally adopted Assembly resolution will be,” he adds. Jens Flottau Frankfurt and Cathy Buyck Brussels Clearing the Air International Civil Aviation Organization meeting might break deadlock over emissions trading AIR TRANSPORT This will be key for the EU, which has demanded that the Assembly agree “meaningful” international action on a global MBM. Last November, the Euro- pean Commission (EC) agreed to “stop the clock” on the application of the ETS to routes beyond Europe for a year to give ICAO time to devise a global solution. Until the end of this year, operators (regardless of their nationality) must surrender emissions allowances only for air trafc between European airports. As part of the compromise, and only in return for a global deal, the EC has pledged to extend the moratorium to 2020, although the scope will be slightly amended to include emissions from all arriving or departing flights (also to third countries) using Euro- pean airspace. Overflights will not be included. For example, a London-New York flight will be included in the plan for the segment using European airspace, comprising EU-member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. “There are some technical challenges in implementing a ‘territorial airspace’ approach, but it does address head-on what was the most-cited problem with the original ETS, namely its extraterritorial reach,” notes John Byerly, former U.S. State Department deputy assistant secretary for transportation afairs. The concept of a trading system constrained to European airspace is not new. A group of European carriers led by Air France urged the EC to kick-start the principle of curbing and taxing emissions within the limits of the bloc’s airspace to let airlines and states gain expertise with the new cap-and-trade mechanism and avoid international opposition. Also, before the EU adopted the ETS, the U.S. had signaled it might accept a version that applied only to intra-EU flights by U.S. carriers. Despite this, the EC stuck to its overzealous environmental aspira- tions and in 2008, adopted legislation to bring international aviation into the ETS from 2012—all flights arriving at and departing from a European airport were included for the total length of the flight. The EU now is lowering its ambi- To secure an ICAO deal, Europe would restrict emissions trading to its own airspace until a global system takes efect in 2020. JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET tions, with the EC’s directorate general for Climate Action (DG Clima) recog- nizing it is “a multilateral negotiation where you give-and-take.” The approach is not undisputed, however. Inside the EU, critics warn that some countries might still opt out and claim exemption under the broader climate-change principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBDR). Under this United Nations no- tion, developed countries have greater responsibility and capacity for taking action to address climate change. De- veloping countries, in particular China and India, dispute the compatibility of the EU ETS with the CBDR principle. China has prohibited its airlines from complying with ETS legislation and its airlines operating intra-European flights face fines for non-compliance. Also, Indian airlines have not complied. Surprisingly, China appears to be willing to accept the proposed ICAO Council deal because, insiders say, it hopes to name the next ICAO secretary general succeeding Raymond Benjamin, whose second three-year term ends in 2015. The Federal Association of German Aviation and Space Industry, of which Lufthansa is a founding member, ob- jects to the compromise, claiming it represents “a massive distortion of competition for European airlines.” Also, the European Low Fares Airline Association decries the intra-EU-only application as discriminatory and urges the EU to “honor its oft-repeated public commitment to ‘automatically snap back’ to the legally proven, all-flights scope for EU ETS, pending implemen- AIR TRANSPORT 44 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Jens Flottau Frankfurt Mover and Shaker Lufthansa CEO announces his departure as the airline’s restructuring ramps up N o other recent Lufthansa CEO has forced so much deep change on the airline as Christoph Franz. The announcement of his unexpected departure creates uncertainty, drawing into question whether Europe’s largest airline group will continue with reform or stagnate. Franz confirmed last week that he will not extend his contract, set to expire next spring. Instead, he will become executive chairman of the board of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, replacing Franz Humer. Franz has served on Roche’s board since 2011. The CEO’s departure comes at a time when the company is still struggling to adapt. Franz has been the mastermind behind Lufthansa’s most fundamental relaunch, which is far from complete. When he was leading the group’s passenger business, Franz instituted the “Score” restructuring program aimed at cutting costs by €1.5 billion ($2 billion) starting in 2015. Score includes 3,500 job cuts, unheard of at the consensus-oriented airline, and hundreds of projects to improve efficiency. The largest undertaking is the transfer of non-hub European flying to low-cost affiliate Germanwings, a decision made after Franz recognized that Lufthansa would never be able to compete efectively outside of its hubs. The move remains highly controversial, even among senior management and on the executive board level. But Franz has not only initiated cost cuts; he has also been the first Luft- hansa CEO to open the company to outside expertise. For decades, the airline was inward-focused in its search for talent and ideas. That has changed so radically that now long tenure with the company is almost a disadvantage for career progression. It is no secret or surprise that Franz is disliked by many. Unions representing pilots, cabin crew and ground staf are quiet- ly expressing hopes that his successor will slow things down, although Franz is stressing that there is “no alternative” to the current course, which he sees as a prerequisite for future investment. And the investment will be huge. The airline last week placed orders for 59 new widebody aircraft, including 34 of the yet-to-be-launched Boeing 777-9X and 25 Airbus A350-900s. That alone represents a €14 billion investment at list prices; the carrier has 295 firm orders in total. Even with the usual dis- counts, Luft hansa is likely to spend in excess of €20 billion for new aircraft. “Without the successful implementation of the restructuring program, we will not be able to generate the necessary means to finance the investments,” Franz says. “The orders are an expres- sion of our confidence that we can implement Score.” A successor has not been named, and company officials indicate a decision will not be made for several weeks— possibly as late as year-end. Franz will stay on until May 2014. The board has made clear that it intends to continue the restructuring course. Many see Carsten Spohr, 46, as the leading candidate to replace Franz. Spohr began as a Lufthansa pilot and is an Airbus A330/A340 captain, but since moving into management, he has kept his license current only in the simulator. He followed Franz at the helm of the airline operation, the division most in need of restructuring, and is well-liked among staf. But Spohr has not pushed for reform as hard as Franz, and critics say he has not proven that he is up to being CEO. Other units such as Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa Technik are already delivering promising results. Another contender is Harry Hoh- meister, currently CEO of Swiss Inter- national Air Lines and group executive board member overseeing Austrian and Brussels Airlines. However, he was promoted on the group level only in July, raising doubts about his readiness to step into a still larger role. Lufthansa executives say the board may appoint an interim CEO who would serve for a few years in order to give themselves more time to search for a permanent replacement. Lufthan- sa Cargo CEO Karl-Ulrich Garnadt, 56, would be the most likely candidate in that scenario. c Christoph Franz, Lufthansa Group CEO E P A / L A N D O V F I L E P H O T O AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 45 tation of any equivalent MBM by ICAO.” For International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General/ CEO Tony Tyler, a positive conclusion at the forthcoming ICAO Assembly “is far from assured,” and he warns, “if an agreement is not reached, and individual regions go their own way, then the threat of a trade war will loom again.” The IATA general Assembly in June in Cape Town backed a resolution call- ing for governments to agree to a single global MBM. IATA’s stance is that a single mandatory carbon-ofsetting system, without a revenue-sharing element, under which all operators would have to buy carbon credits from other industries to ofset their future growth, would be the quickest and simplest MBM to introduce and administer. It would also minimize competitive distortion, it states. It took IATA almost two years to align the majority of its 240-member airlines (representing 84% of global air trafc), but its eforts are bearing fruit. The council text, which will be discussed by the Assembly, “notes the support of the aviation industry for a single global carbon-ofsetting scheme, as opposed to a patchwork of state and regional MBMs.” ICAO established a high-level group last November to try to find a way to implement a single, global mechanism and/or a framework for states establishing their own MBMs. Options for a single system adopted by all states include a mandatory emissions ofset, a mandatory ofset with an added revenue charge and a global emissions-trading system similar to the EU ETS’s. c ALL BUT LAUNCHED T he airline industry has become accustomed to first orders for new aircraft coming from the Middle East. But it is not one of the three big Persian Gulf carriers that has placed the first order for the Boeing 777X. Lufthansa last week signed for 34 firm commitments and options as well as purchase rights for another 30 777-9Xs. It expects the first aircraft to be delivered in 2020 but cautions that this may change as the program progresses. Although the airline selected the 777-9X over Airbus’s A350- 1000 for now, last week it also ordered as many as 55 A350-900s and options that could be converted to the larger version if needed. Boeing intends for the 777-9X to replace its 747-400. Luf- thansa operates 22 747-400s and continues to take delivery of its 747-8s—nine have been phased in and 10 more are on firm order. Boeing will not launch the 777X program with an order from a single customer, regardless of the carrier’s size or health, but it remains on track for ofcial launch toward year-end and is widely expected to announce it at the Dubai air show in November. Aside from Lufthansa, other leading launch candidates for the 777X include All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Emirates and Japan Airlines, all of which have been included in the airline group review process for the bigger twin. Expectations of a launch at Dubai have been boosted by Emirates President Tim Clark, who said earlier this year that he anticipated the launch in “six to nine months.” The 777X will use a larger composite wing, drawing on knowledge from 787-9 wing development. The 777X is designed to have 20% lower fuel burn than the 777-300ER, half of which will be gained from the wing’s improved performance and reduced weight. For the rest, Boeing is banking on the General Electric GE9X, a new centerline turbofan selected in March as the 777X’s exclusive powerplant. Tests of a 90% scaled version of the new compressor began in late August on a rig at a GE Oil & Gas site in Massa, Italy. The results of the evaluation will be used to fine-tune the design, which incorporates five bladed-disk (blisk) stages, and run a second compressor in 2014. The twinjet series will include a 777- 8X, 228 ft. long with 353 seats to succeed today’s 777-300ER, and a 250-ft.-long 777-9X that will compete in the 400-seat long-range market between the current 777 and 747-8 sectors. The most distinctive feature of the new twin family will be the aircraft’s 223-ft.-span wing, which will be the largest ever made by Boeing, if finalized at this size. The manufacturer is considering a folding-wing system that would enable the outer 11 ft. of each wing to fold up for improved airport compatibility. c B O E I N G C O N C E P T Lufthansa is the first airline to firmly commit to the new Boeing 777-9X. Jens Flottau Frankfurt and Guy Norris Los Angeles 46 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Cathy Buyck Brussels Air Nostrum attempts to get back on the path to profitability T he past few years have not been kind to Air Nostrum. The regional airline, which has been operating under a franchise contract with Iberia since 1997, is struggling with the fallout of Spain’s relentless economic downturn and an onslaught of low-cost carriers in the country. Iberia’s downsizing and social unrest is making matters worse. Air Nostrum’s challenging situation is indicative of the Spanish air transport market, which has seen the bankruptcy of Spanair and Air Madrid, but also of Europe’s regional segment. Passenger trafc and associated revenue passenger kilometers flown by regional airlines in Europe have gradually declined over the past decade. Enplanements of member airlines of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) fell to 60.9 million last year from 84.4 million in 2002. The Valencia-based regional realized in 2009 that yields would never return to the levels of old and management outlined a drastic plan to cut loss-making routes and reduce unit costs. In 2009, the company posted its first loss following 13 consecutive years of profits. The red ink was still present in last year’s accounts and Air Nostrum is now following a more draconian strategy to return to profitability by 2015. The airline’s restructuring plan includes a further cutback of its network, lowering salaries and increasing productivity, but the main focus in on its fleet. Air Nostrum will phase out its complete Bombardier CRJ200 fleet and postpone deliveries of new CRJ1000 and ATR 600-series aircraft, says CEO Carlos Bertomeu, who co-founded the airline in 1994. The CRJ200 fleet is responsible for most of Air Nostrum’s losses, which amounted to €21.1 million ($28.13 million) in 2012 on revenue of €465 million. The high fuel prices, de- creasing yields and rising airport charges in Spain make the cost per seat of the CRJ200 uneconomical, confirms Ber- tomeu. The airline started upgrading its fleet with larger- capacity aircraft several years ago, and in 2010 introduced its CRJ1000s. Air Nostrum has 10 CRJ1000s in service and 25 on order, according to AWIN’s commercial fleets database. The Air Nostrum CRJ1000s have 100 seats in a one- class configuration. The airline was the launch customer for the aircraft. “The CRJ1000s would gradually substitute our CRJ200 and CRJ900 fleets. The plan was well designed, unfortunately the dramatic worsening of the economic crisis in South Europe has forced us to speed up the process to phase out the CRJ200 fleet,” he sighs. Air Nostrum redelivered already 10 50-seat CRJ200s to lessors when the leases matured (two in 2011, three in 2012 and five in 2013). Of the 25 CRJ200s that remain in its fleet, 17 are leased and eight are owned. The airline, which operates as Iberia Regional, is working with the diferent lessors to obtain early termination of the CRJ200 leases. “To facilitate an early termination we cooperate with the lessors on the sale of the [14] aircraft that are younger than 10 years and therefore are suitable for certain markets that require more modern fleets, for example the Russian market,” notes Bertomeu. For the three aircraft of an older vintage, Air Nostrum is working with the lessors to place the aircraft with a new customer. “We have been placing some of our CRJ200 spare capacity with third parties under sub-lease agreements and we are using these contacts to facilitate the direct relationship between lessor and lessee,” says Bertomeu. Of the eight CRJ200s on its balance sheet, two are used in Air Nostrum’s scheduled operations in niche markets, two are regularly used for charter operations and one is under a wet lease with Binter Canarias. The remaining three are part of what it calls “flexible operations” whereby the airline replaces a larger-capacity aircraft with a CRJ200 on any pair of flights on which fewer than 50 seats have been sold on both legs. By doing this, it achieves savings on airport charges and fuel. Air Nostrum is looking for opportunities to lease these owned CRJ200s out, because “it is more efficient for the company to have a complete phase-out of the fleet as opposed to having an additional small fleet in operation,” asserts Bertomeu. Negotiations are ongoing with Argentinean SOL Lineas Aereas to place up to six of its owned CRJ200s. Air Nostrum is also working on two other projects in the region. Bertomeu says these Latin-American endeavors are “in very advanced conversations but nothing has materialized just yet.” The airline also reached agreement with Bombardier and ATR to postpone short-term deliveries of the CRJ1000 and ATR 72-600 on order. The current weakness of demand in the market does not favor taking on additional capacity, Ber- tomeu says. He vows Air Nostrum is still fully committed to take delivery of all the aircraft and expects to be able to resume the deliveries in 2016. “We expect to make good progress into having an airline based on two fleets, the CRJ900/1000 and ATR 72-600 with a cost-per-seat and a fleet size well adapted to meet the current market constraints,” he explains. Air Nostrum placed an order for 10 ATR 72-600s and a further 10 options at the Paris air show in June 2009. It has five -600s series in service. c AIR TRANSPORT Testing Times Air Nostrum is upgrading its fleet with larger-capacity regional aircraft. B O M B A R D I E R Wide Exposure and Recognition Your winning photo, with credit, will be prominently displayed to more than a half-million aviation and aerospace professionals worldwide. Additional copies of the magazine will be available to you for your marketing activities. The contest is open to all photographers — corporate, military, government, freelance and amateur. AVIATION WEEK PHOTO CONTEST 2013 Entry Deadline Entries must be submitted by October 20, 2013. Get more information and enter your photos at AviationWeek.com/photo AVIATION WEEK New, entry fee — $5 per photo. Winning photos will be included in Aviation Week & Space Technology’s December 23 photo issue, in our iPad app and on AviationWeek.com. As an Aviation Week award-winning photographer, you will enjoy wide exposure for your work and recognition that comes only to a select few. Four Categories Defense, Space, Commercial and General (including experimental, sport and business aviation). A distinguished international panel of aviation and aerospace photographers, artists and editors will judge your entries. Cash Prizes The grand prize-winning photo will earn a cash award of $500. First-place winners in each category will receive $200, second- and third-place winners, $100 and $75, respectively. You could win the 22nd Annual Aviation Week Photo Contest. F or insight into the competitiveness of China’s main airlines, overlook their domestic operations, which are generally profitable—though not lately. Domestically, the carriers compete mainly against each other. Their true strengths and weaknesses are evident in international operations, where the big Chinese carriers shy away from fully competing with experienced foreign airlines. “They are not as strong as they look,” says analyst K. Ajith of Singa- pore brokerage UOB Kay Hian, dis- missing their domestic performance as an indicator of management efciency. Yes, China Southern Airlines is now Asia’s largest carrier, with compatriots Air China and China Eastern Airlines not far behind, and all three are growing powerfully year after year. But their reluctance to put much resources into the international market is proof that, a quarter of a century after they or their predecessor companies were formed, the giant industry is still not up to world standards. Gradual improvement is likely, say analysts and industry ofcials, where- as a radical attempt by Beijing to force rapid change on its airlines is quite unlikely. There is no sense of crisis, and China can get along with imperfect airlines, just as it copes with other industries that are much further behind international standards than its commercial aviation sector. Indeed, commercial aviation is quite open by the standards of other industries. But it could be more open still. For example, China has just one well- developed budget carrier, Spring Airlines, whose growth has been constrained. How fast the Big Three improve in the coming 10 years or so “depends domestically on whether Spring and others are allowed more access,” says Guo Yufeng, director of the Chinese aviation service for consultants ICF SH&E. In fact, the government does seem to be looking more favorably on low-cost carriers, and the extent to which they are allowed to develop may soon be the big- Bradley Perrett Beijing Protected Species A quarter-century after China formed separate airlines, the big state carriers are still learning gest question in Chinese commercial aviation (see page 52). That does not mean unbridled competition from budget airlines is imminent. Even if the government thinks a dose of low-cost competition is just what the Big Three need, it will be careful not to prescribe too much, because the cure could be worse than their disease. China Southern, Air China and China Eastern each have just 25-30% of the international trafc at their home bases—Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, respectively. This low level seems all the more remarkable considering the traffic feed from their enormous internal networks and those of their substantial afliated domestic carriers. Instead, alliance partners seem to benefit from all that connectivity. Moreover, Chinese airlines should have the great advantage of low costs in competing with foreign carriers based mainly in fully developed economies. The Big Three are cheaply capi- talized (and sometimes recapitalized) by the Chinese state and its banks, the government orders aircraft for them in bulk to obtain keen prices, and, above all, they have the advantage of an inex- pensive labor market. And they are no longer new to the game. The Civil Aviation Administra- tion of China (CAAC), now the regulator, was the airline until 1988, when its regional divisions became airlines that were progressively exposed to competition. But they still seem to have so much to learn. “The weakness of Chinese airlines in the international market is mainly due to a lack of experience,” says a senior CAAC researcher. “They feel they are not fully prepared for international competition. And there is another factor: The supply of aviation resources in China, such as skilled staf, is still inadequate, so the airlines lack a mo- tivation to pursue the international China’s major airlines still do not think they are fully prepared for the international market. Tap the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for a closer look at China’s major domestic air routes and data on the top 10 airlines, or go to AviationWeek.com/chinamajors CHINA’S AIRLINES AviationWeek.com/awst 48 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 market.” In other words, they are busy enough domestically. Why do they still feel they can deploy those resources more profitably at home than internationally? It is partly, as the CAAC researcher says, because they are more experienced in their home market, and partly because competition in China is restricted. Limited competition is hardly ap- parent from a glance at timetables. Only 8% of Chinese trips are on routes without competition, and for 32%, passengers can choose among at least five airlines, according to Amadeus (see chart). But the local market is more comfortable than it seems for Chinese carriers because it is con- trolled in two important ways. First, national capacity is carefully limited by the CAAC and the National Development and Reform Commis- sion, which was the central planning committee in China’s truly socialist era and still at the center of attempts to orchestrate much of the economy. Those two bodies approve aircraft imports with an eye on demand for travel and the availability of technicians and pilots. Whether they are directly concerned with airline pricing or mainly about keeping the skies safe amid a skills shortage, restricting capacity restricts competition. Second, there is limited access to that managed market. The fourth- largest carrier, Hainan Airlines, is now basically a private business, despite its earlier links with the provincial government of Hainan, but it carried only 3% of the Chinese industry’s passengers last year. Almost all of the rest of the market is in the hands of the Big Three and their afliates, such Shenzhen Airlines, partly owned by Air China, and Xiamen Airlines, partly owned by China Southern. The state carriers have advantages in attracting personnel as well as acquiring aircraft, runway slots and trafc rights, which limit the opportunities for private carriers to open or expand, say industry ofcials. For six years until this May, a new private carrier could not even begin operations. During that period, the CAAC had a policy of not accepting applications for air operator certificates. In fact, it continued to approve airlines with at least partial government ownership, so the policy was in efect a ban on new private airlines. The stated reason, which is not in doubt, was safety. In 2007, the CAAC was concerned about a surge in new airlines with limited management experience amid the already serious shortage of technicians and pilots. Again, the lack of resources benefited the incumbents. The result of this structure is that the Chinese domestic market is one in which state airlines compete mainly against state airlines. According to Ajith, that hides their inefciencies. One measure is the productivity of their workforces. China Southern, Air China and China Eastern collected revenue of $210,000, $270,000 and $200,000 per employee in 2012, respectively. Such figures must be handled with caution, since some carriers contract out more than others, but it is still notable that the Chinese values are around half the levels of United Continental and Qantas 8% no competition 12% 2 airlines 27% 3 airlines 21% 4 airlines 32% 5 or more airlines Domestic Route Competition in China Note: Percentages of passengers’ journeys in 2012. Source: Amadeus AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 49 JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET ($420,000 and $440,000, respectively). Asian competitors Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines show even higher labor productivity on that measure, with revenue per employee above $500,000, but neither has narrowbody operations, which are relatively labor-intensive. It may be argued that China is a developing country, so labor efciency is only naturally lower here. But the major Chinese airlines have largely failed to fully exploit the related, powerful factor of their country’s cheap labor market. Any Chinese person outside the industry would be startled—indeed, in- trigued—to learn that Air China’s staf costs worked out at $39,000 per employee last year, four times the average wage of even Beijing, where labor costs the most. For United Continental, the figure was $90,000, in a country where GDP per capita is eight times as high. Even allowing for the bargaining power of Chinese pilots, it is hard to see why Air China is spending so much. China Southern’s staff costs are a good deal lower, at $29,000 per employee, but still remarkable by the standards of Chinese workers. Figures for China Eastern are unavailable. To some extent, the inefciencies of Chinese state enterprises are the familiar ones of large government businesses anywhere. The big Chinese state airlines have private sharehold- ers, but there is not the slightest doubt that their managers pay overwhelming attention to their ministerial masters. Indeed, in one respect the airlines have an even deeper state character than, say, British Airways had before privati- zation. The top managers are Commu- nist nomenklatura, moved into and out of managing airlines as they ascend in their careers. The former chairman of Air China, Li Jiaxiang, is now head of the CAAC. They are classic examples of the economic system described as “Socialism with Chinese characteristics.” More than anything, the often-heard but little-understood phrase means the Chi- nese state continues to own large slabs of the economy but its enterprises must accept market prices for their products. At least in theory. In practice, the state fiddles with the market, as when the authorities determine air capacity. The very geographical arrangement of the Big Three shows this mentality of planning competition. Each is based in one of China’s three traditionally leading cities, spaced well apart and with approved route networks. They cannot set up a new base wherever they wish; they must ask the CAAC, which will consider the health of the market before deciding. As government operations, airlines can easily object to each other’s plans that present unwelcome competition. A striking current example of this is China Southern’s struggle to utilize the five Airbus A380s it ordered for the sake of national prestige in 2005. Ideally, they would fly intercontinental services from Beijing, but Air China has successfully resisted that, forcing China Southern to try the best route it could find from Guangzhou—to Los Angeles. That transpacific service used up only part of the A380’s capacity, however, and so by this July, China Southern was reduced to announcing that the aircraft, with a range of 15,400 km (9,600 mi.), would also fly 3.5-hr. services between Kunming and Beijing, probably the lon- gest domestic route on which it could imagine using them. Lobbying from China Eastern, which has a base in Kunming, put a stop to that. It is not quite a bed of roses for the Big Three, however. For a start, the government, through the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administra- tion Commission, wants profits from airlines, as it does from most of its enterprises. The airlines must be at least competent enough to exploit the managed market to generate a return on their equity—although when they fail, the state has been repeatedly ready to recapitalize them. Further, the Chinese state is not monolithic. Diferent groups have different interests, and so not everything is nicely coordinated. The air force re- fuses to give airlines enough airspace for the trafc they handle. The CAAC and Air Trafc Management Bureau, evidently fearful of the political con- sequences of crashes, further limit airspace capacity by being far more conservative about aircraft separation than authorities are elsewhere. The state railways, independent of the transport ministry, have built a colossal high-speed network in direct competition with the airlines. And, every so often, the central planners miscalculate the amount of capacity that is needed. When the economy turns out not to demand the air trafc that the airlines can generate, profits sink. The carriers are in exactly that situation just now. Amid capacity growth of 7.5-11.9%, the Big Three made little or no operating profit in the first half of this year. Still, the domestic operating environment for Chinese airlines is probably one that most foreign carriers would be pleased to enjoy, even without the attractions of strong trafc growth. And it is hard to imagine airlines coping in highly competitive markets with the Chinese service standards. 50 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Air China’s staf costs are four times the average wage in Beijing. JOEPRIESAVIATION.NET CHINA’S AIRLINES “Our airlines are a long way behind on service, and not just in the air,” says a senior marketing officer of a state carrier. “We have problems from end to end in the task of providing a travel service, getting important details right and setting up systematic processes. Staf quality is not good enough. They need to develop experience.” Their service shortcomings are particularly noticeable in Asia, where standards of non-Chinese major airlines tend to be high. Foreign passengers in particular are reluctant to accept such common Chinese airline characteristics as late departures, barely acceptable meals, occasionally loose cabin lining, and dirty nooks and crannies. On Asian regional services, Air China appears to stock Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 flights with only two bottles of mediocre wine—one red and one unchilled white—for about 150 passengers. The carriers seem unable to master such details as always having a stock of landing cards on board; even cards for China are only sometimes available. And they are further burdened by often unruly passengers and lax cabin discipline, which are not problematic domestically but do not please foreigners. Another factor in Chinese state airline management is that, to a some unquantifiable extent, the Chinese government is weighed down by the national game of building relationships to gain favors—guanxi (pronounced GWAHN-shee). The problem is so obviously pervasive that comment on it out- AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 51 side of China seems surprisingly rare. In the guanxi culture, a person will almost instinctively look for a chance to build a good relationship with someone with power, typically buying the connection with meals, gifts and, in the end, maybe cash and other monetary kickbacks. As the two parties see it, they are helping each other. This extends to getting promotions. Guanxi does not just raise questions about staff quality. In most Western countries, the line defining corrupt behavior is now pretty sharp. In Chi- na, because of guanxi, it is a perfect blur. The favors of a relationship may progress from being allowed early departure on Fridays to costly perqui- sites and eventually management of a contract that the subordinate knows should go to a friend of the boss. This certainly does not mean that Chinese managers have all bought their way up, nor that competence is absent even from those who have. In the case of state airlines, analysts say the guanxi culture is much less severe than in other parts of the government. Maintaining safety must hold it in check. But Chinese state enterprises will probably always sufer from the culture more than do private enterprises, where bosses maintain firmer control. c The Chinese government not only buys aircraft in bulk; it works out how many the industry needs. E R I K S I M O N S E N 52 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Bradley Perrett Beijing About-Face Suddenly, the CAAC is promoting budget airlines A fter years of being held back, low-cost commercial aviation in China looks like it might finally be receiving ofcial recognition. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has told the country’s small airlines to explore budget operations and suggested to big carriers they may have something to learn there, too. Perhaps encouraged by the prospect of supportive policies, the small private carrier Juneyao Airlines has applied to set up a budget ofshoot in Guangzhou, the home base of China Southern Airlines, the country’s largest carrier, says an industry ofcial. The policy turnabout may also be good news for Spring Airlines, China’s most mature budget carrier, which has developed far slower than it planned, apparently because of ofcial reluctance to let it move fast. The reasons for the CAAC’s former lack of enthusiasm for budget aviation are unlikely to completely go away, however. The authority can be expected to be as wary as ever of letting small airlines build up their fleets too quickly, endangering safety. And it will not let low-cost operations threaten the viability of the government’s own airlines, whose management has room for improvement (see page 48). In short, no Chinese equivalent of AirAsia is likely to suddenly burst onto the scene. China does not work that way. The decision to encourage low-cost aviation was made at the CAAC’s mid-year work meeting in July. According to a notification sent to the airline industry, but not issued publicly, the head of the CAAC, Li Jiaxiang, told the meeting “small and medium airlines must actively explore the low-cost mode of operations. Large trunkline carriers can take advantage of the methods of low-cost carriers to improve their management and reduce costs.” In the second half of the year, the CAAC will look at regulations “to support the rapid development of low-cost aviation.” (The word “rapid” perhaps should not be taken too literally; Chinese ofcialdom is much given to exaggeration for emphasis.) The support may include subsidies. “Low-cost aviation in North America, Europe and South- east Asia has developed quickly,” says a CAAC ofcial. “It gives strong impetus to the economy, infrastructure and tourism and for that reason has attracted the strong attention of the management levels of the CAAC. So the supervi- sory thinking has changed.” Yet the economic benefits of cheap travel cannot have dawned on the CAAC only in 2013. A bigger factor may be a political one: China’s new premier, Li Keqiang, is pushing for renewed economic reforms. In those circumstances, it would not do for the CAAC to seem hidebound. The south-central division of the CAAC has already approved Juneyao’s application and passed it to Beijing for review. With a provisional OK obtained, there is unlikely to be any technical difculty with the plan, and in view of the latest policy stance the chances of final approval must be good. Juneyao is based in Shanghai but has presumably chosen not to base its budget carrier there because the city is also the hometown of Spring. The new carrier may be related to the announced plan of a Hong Kong travel company to invest in mainland budget aviation. Juneyao’s ofshoot will be mainland China’s third budget airline. A mainland subsidiary of Hainan Airlines, Chongqing- based West Air, has begun converting itself to the low-cost model. Another Hainan Airlines subsidiary, Hong Kong Ex- press, is also moving to budget operations. And, China Eastern Airlines is setting up Jetstar Hong Kong in partnership with Qantas, though this project is encountering strong opposition from incumbent carriers. China Eastern has been ahead of the CAAC in establishing Jetstar Hong Kong, seeing it as a way of learning about budget operations. And in contrast with Hainan Airlines’ eforts, China Eastern will have the advantage of taking part in a project that will be executed with the guidance of experienced staf from the Qantas Group. Despite the knowledge that China Eastern may gain from that, China Southern and Air China have shown no signs of following that path. If they do, perhaps under the impulse of the CAAC’s forthcoming policies, they will have no shortage of Asian low-cost carriers to cooperate with—for example, AirAsia of Malaysia, Indonesia’s Lion Air and Singapore’s Tigerair. And there is no reason why a U.S. or European budget carrier could not be a partner. Before China Eastern’s deal with Qantas, Chinese airline joint ventures with foreigners were largely limited to freight carriers. But many other industries in China, including aircraft maintenance, have developed faster thanks to expertise gained from foreign partnerships. The support for budget carriers comes as the CAAC lifts its prohibition on new private airlines. In May it approved the setting up of Ruili Airlines by Yunnan Jingcheng, a pri- vately owned conglomerate whose businesses include hotels and travel services. For the last six years, the administration would not accept applications for private airlines’ air operators’ certificates. c CHINA’S AIRLINES Spring Airlines may find expansion easier now that the authorities have sanctioned low-cost aviation. C L E M E N T A L L O I N G / A I R L I N E R S G A L L E R Y . C O M AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 53 Adrian Schofield ATM Assist Foreign companies are heavily involved in China’s eforts to reduce airspace congestion I t is widely accepted that there is tremendous growth potential in China’s domestic air travel market. However, just as well-known are some of the air traffic management challenges that could hinder this expansion. China is increasingly looking to address these issues with the help of major international aerospace companies. One goal is to boost air connectivity to cities in western China, and several companies have been involved in installing precision satellite-based approaches to increase the safety and reliability of services to airports in mountainous terrain. But in the eastern part of the country the problems are diferent—congestion and flight delays are becoming a major headache. And China is drawing on the expertise of Boeing and Airbus to address this challenge as well. Neil Planzer, Boeing vice president for air traffic management, says the introduction of required navigation performance (RNP) approaches is an excellent solution for some airports in western China. However, it will do little for the delay problems in the busier airspace, particularly in the Beijing- Shanghai-Guangzhou triangle. Flight delays are bad enough now, but Plan- zer notes that “proposed growth far exceeds the current air trafc control capacity.” One facet of the delay issue is political, particularly regarding military control of a large proportion of domestic airspace. Civilian use of airspace “has expanded a bit, but not enough,” Planzer says. China has “got some real political problems [regarding congestion] in addition to technical air trafc control problems.” Foreign aerospace companies obviously cannot help on the political side, notes Planzer. “But where the Western countries can help is in the development and creation of a ‘next- generation’ phase” of air trafc management (ATM), he says, to prepare for projected growth. As with other countries, “you can’t wait for growth to occur, and then say ‘OK, we want to change the system.’ You need to anticipate it,” he says. Boeing has been helping to lay the groundwork in part through holding classes for senior executives from Chi- na’s Air Trafc Management Bureau (ATMB). One such course finished recently in Seattle and more will follow, says Planzer. Participants learn how to “develop and execute ATM concepts and principles” in a strategic way, Planzer says. This will help instill a “core capability” to understand what the Chinese system needs and how to expand it. “We believe this is more important than [helping] design a particular piece of airspace. “China likes to be self-sufficient— they want to bring in all the information they can and develop an internal capability to execute. Sometimes they do it with [foreign] companies, sometimes on their own.” This has led to China signing many cooperation and advisory agreements with Western companies, “but these are really only helping them out on the fringes,” he notes. At some point, Boeing will probably sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China regarding ATM, Planzer says. “But we want to do something substantive with that,” he adds. In addition to the ATM classes, Boeing has also launched a research initiative through the Boeing-Comac Technology Center in China, in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Uni- versity of China. The aim is to forecast the 30-year capacity of China’s airspace system, develop evaluation tools to predict trends and provide recommendations for improvements. The Boeing-Comac center will also work with the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics on the development of an air trafc decision- support system to optimize inbound trafc flows at airports. This will help controllers determine the most efcient arrival sequences, says Boeing. Planzer stresses that Boeing’s primary motive in China regarding ATM is not to win contracts. Rather, it wants to ensure that the country has “an ATM system that can expand to handle the volume of [projected] trafc that will allow us to deliver the aircraft they have on back order.” Boeing will not be attempting to sell China ATM technology, or bidding to overhaul its ATM system. The company can most help with “processes and procedures in the airspace they have, and in the airspace they anticipate,” says RNP approaches are improving access to airports in mountainous terrain such as Jiuzhai-Huanglong. G E A V I A T I O N Planzer. Boeing can take the “aggregate view,” such as assessing the efect that increasing trafc at one airport will have on others in the system. Chinese ofcials “seem to be indicat- ing to us that they would like to [work] with us” on these issues, Planzer notes. Boeing has recently increased its ATM presence in China in preparation for an expanding role. In addition to the big-picture initiatives, Boeing also works on smaller support projects involving the aircraft it sells. One example is the development of RNP procedures at Wuyishan Airport for Boeing 737s operated by Xiamen Airlines, in conjunction with Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen. Planzer stresses that eforts such as RNP are “perfect capabilities” for terrain-challenged airports in western China and other parts of country. However, this does not reduce congestion at the large eastern hubs. “Over the next decade, I think we’re going see them focusing more on that problem,” he says. Airbus, meanwhile, is also heavily involved in China. The manufacturer early this month signed a new MOU that will help the ATMB determine its next steps in key facets of ATM. Four projects will begin this year. They will involve air trafc flow management (ATFM), airport collabora- tive decision-making (CDM), instrument landing systems (ILS) at Beijing Capital International Airport and performance-based navigation and capacity assessment at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. At the MOU signing, ATMB Director General Wang Liya said these projects will “pave the way for a broader cooperation between us and Airbus in the future.” They will also “help us draw on the experience of other regions to develop our future ATM systems, which will be more integrated with global systems,” Wang added. Much of the work will be conducted by Airbus ProSky, the manufacturer’s ATM unit. The MOU covers several de- liverables, but Airbus is not revealing contract details or specific timetables. The aim of the ATFM component is to set up a functional prototype system, an Airbus ProSky spokeswoman says. This will allow the Chinese agency to evaluate ATFM and determine what data and interfaces it will require. ATFM is a centralized function that is intended to increase the efciency of the broader network. This will essentially be a demonstration system and will combine of-the-shelf products and elements engineered specifically for the project. The airport CDM component of the MOU is aimed at bringing a wider range of stakeholders—including airlines—into planning and operational decisions. Airbus will work with the ATMB to analyze what procedures and functions are required. U.S. and European systems will be examined to evaluate best practices. Airbus will likely recommend the type of system that will best suit the ATMB’s needs. This could be used as a reference to harmonize CDM at multiple airports, including coordination with centralized flow management. At the Beijing airport, Airbus ProSky will be using its exact landing interference simulation environment (Elise) system to analyze the airport’s ILS system. Elise is used to map ILS signals and model interference patterns. It can help optimize ILS systems and ensure that new construction can be as close as possible to runways without causing ILS interference. The Beijing deployment of Elise will be a pilot project, to assess the reliability and accuracy of the system. This will help the ATMB determine at which other airports it needs to be used. Airbus will be doing work at the Chengdu airport to help increase efciency and improve capacity. This includes a performance-based navigation (PBN) initiative, with Airbus providing technical and operational support to create new procedures. The project will link an RNP approach to a runway ILS. At Chengdu, Airbus will be drawing on the PBN expertise of Quovadis, which is one of the companies in the Airbus ProSky group. Quovadis recently completed a separate PBN project at China’s Zhangjiajie Airport, which included an RNP-to-ILS procedure. Other aerospace companies are also involved in various PBN projects in Chi- na. GE Aviation has helped install RNP approaches at several Chinese airports in recent years, working with most of the major airlines. In many cases these procedures have dramatically expanded access to airports that have terrain and weather constraints. GE says it designed the first RNP-to-ILS procedure in China, at Xichang Qingshan Airport, about 200 mi. south of Chengdu. It is now expanding this procedure to other airports. Contributing to congestion in Chinese airspace are hori- zontal separation standards that are significantly higher than in other countries, including the U.S. However, a trial is underway in China’s northeast to reduce these separation minimums, says Brian Davis, Honey- well vice president for Asia-Pacific air transport business. “More airspace allocation from the military” would also help reduce delays, says Davis. But he notes that “there is a certain amount of efciency that can be gained from the aircraft and the infrastructure. There is a lot of low-hanging fruit.” Honeywell and the ATMB are working on installing a satellite-based landing aid known as a ground-based aug- mentation system. The first Chinese airport at which this will be installed should be named within a month, Davis says. China is making good progress with RNP approaches at airports, but these are generally to improve safety rather than to boost capacity, says Davis. Us- ing RNP on air routes would allow aircraft to be kept closer together and, to the satisfaction of the air force, would be much less likely to wander into military airspace. c With Bradley Perrett in Beijing. CHINA’S AIRLINES 54 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst GE Aviation and other aerospace companies have begun installing RNP-to-ILS procedures at some Chinese airports. G E A V I A T I O N An international platform for key decision makers in the aerospace community to touch base, exchange insights and establish networks, Singapore Airshow provides exclusive access to business opportunities in Asia Pacific’s flourishing markets. Get on board with leading industry players and secure your presence at Asia’s largest airshow. ASIA’S BIGGEST FOR AVIATION’S FINEST SCAN TO REGISTER NOW! 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Take advantage of the Early Bird Admission Rates if you register online from now till 31January 2014. www.singaporeairshow.com/registration Aviation Security Zone Green Pavilion Aviation Training Zone Business Forums Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit 2014 Asia Pacific Security Conference 2014 SINGAPORE AIRSHOW 2014 HIGHLIGHTS Organised by: Supporting Publications: Official Media Partner: Supported by: Held in: Follow us on Twitter @SGAirshow 56 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Guy Norris Los Angeles Cost Cutters NASA and its SLS partners pull out the stops to reduce costs as hardware testing surges ahead F acing even greater budgetary uncertainty than before, Aero- jet Rocketdyne is entering a key period of testing in its drive to cut cost from the propulsion element of NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch Sys- tem (SLS) vehicle. Working closely with the space agency, the newly merged rocket engine company has a raft of cost-saving initiatives underway ranging from production streamlining to advanced, but cheaper, manufacturing methods. According to NASA’s SLS liquid engines program manager Mike Kynard, the goal is straightforward. “We want SLS to be more afordable. We don’t want to spend all our money on the truck that takes us to space—we want to be able to spend more on exploration when we get there.” The vision statement stems as much from the fiscal realities of the pressurized NASA budget as it does from the bitter experience of the canceled Constellation program that preceded the SLS. “The Augustine Report said Constellation was not afordable, and we heard that message loud and clear,” Kynard told reporters at NASA Sten- nis Space Center, Miss., where tests are underway of the liquid-oxygen/ hydrogen (LOx/LH) J-2X upper-stage engine in development for the SLS. The latest hot-fire test of the J-2X on Sept. 5 included the first part made from selective laser melting (SLM), a subset of additive manufacturing. The part tested was an access port cover, not typical of the more complex, hard- to-make parts for which SLM will be generally used. But Aerojet Rocket- dyne and NASA ofcials say its inclusion in the J-2X program helps pave the way for broader applications later. Initial targets include using SLM to help produce a more affordable, expendable version of the SLS’s RS-25, which was originally developed as the space shuttle main engine (SSME). Jim Paulsen, Aerojet Rocketdyne Advanced Space and Launch deputy program manager, says the company needs “to start focusing on afordability, and that’s going to be by using lessons learned from the RS68 and J-2X and applying it to the new RS-25.” Paulsen adds, “we hope to get started on that fairly soon because there is a supply-base concern. We hope that when the new fiscal year starts in Oc- tober we will be working on restarting RS-25 production.” Kynard says potential applications of SLM include parts that are difcult to manufacture such as the “pogo” LOx splash-bafe, which is designed to prevent potentially damaging frequency harmonics in the fuel system. Com- pany officials say the application of the SLM process is expected to bring significant cost and time savings. Gas- generator components that typically took nine months to produce at a cost of $300,000 are now expected to be made in 3-5 weeks for just $35,000. NASA SLS program manager Todd May says, “we are laser-focused on getting costs down,” and notes that the sintering process is a valuable tool in this initiative. As well as afordability, the design focus for the new-build RS-25 units will counter obsolescence issues that have emerged over time. An example is the 1980s-vintage engine controller on the SSME. The new-build engine, which will retain the baseline RS-25 designation, is a modern digital-engine controller that will be derived from units tested on the new upper- stage engine. “J-2X was made for Ares [under Constellation] and that’s been adapted for SLS, so now it has diferent requirements,” says Kynard. “So we are evolving the J-2X controller to control the RS-25. We think it is helpful to have a common engine controller anyway, so as we evolve the J-2X unit for the RS- 25, we’ll keep an eye on it and see if we can put it in the RS68, and if we resur- rect it, the F-1B as well.” The adapted J-2X controller will be run on a pair of RS-25 development engines at Stennis starting next year. Aerojet Rocketdyne is moving to restart RS-25 production soon because, even though NASA has 15 complete RS-25 former shuttle engines in storage at Stennis and a 16th due to be assembled from existing parts, this will only cover sufcient engines for four launches of the SLS. The first stage of the SLS will use four RS-25s. “The first 16 flight engines are covered, but SPACE The third J-2X will begin nominal and of-nominal performance tests later this year. GUY NORRIS/AW&ST PHOTOS we like to have four spares ready to go. So you could argue we are good for three launches,” says Paulsen. The first four SLS flights are slated for 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2025. “So we will be looking at delivering the first new engines to Stennis in the 2021-22 time frame,” he adds. Up to 50% of the cost-savings for the expendable RS-25 is also expected to be realized through the process of “value-stream mapping,” the way the engine is put together. “Part of the close- out of the shuttle involved looking at what it takes to restart RS-25,” says Tom Martin, development lead for the F-1B advanced booster risk-reduction program at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We did value-stream mapping to see what drove the major costs and, in future, if we restart production, we will hit the ground running.” “We saw opportunities before where we could do things differently, but change was too expensive in the middle of the shuttle program for re-certification reasons,” adds Chris Sanders, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s deputy director for strategic planning and business development. “After 30 years of work with space shuttle,” Martin says, “there was a lot of baggage that you didn’t want to mess with because it was a flight program. So you can look at it now and say, ‘What do you want to keep and what don’t you need?’” “We changed the approach because the SSME was made in limited quantities and nobody had ever done value-stream mapping on it before,” says Kynard. “We looked at every step to see if there was a better way to make the engine. Flow time has seen a huge benefit. We’re seeing three to four months go to about one- month assembly periods. This engine is ripe for that, and we can make the flow common between engines. That way, the line doesn’t care if it’s a J-2X or an RS68.” Under the revised process, the overall time for production of the new RS-25 from long-lead items to installation is expected to be reduced to around four years from the 6.5-year period it saw on the shuttle. “It’s ambitious, but that’s how you drive afordability,” Kynard adds. Martin says the focus has been on three major areas: raw materials, touch labor and support labor from engineering staf. “So we’ve been going through and looking at all of that,” he says. “We’ve been consoli- dating the supply chain.” Sanders says that suppliers that represent a potential single-point failure have been eliminated, while the number that are common between multiple programs is growing. “For example, they are 65% common between the J-2X and RS-25 and it’s likely that will go higher.” As one of the major tenets of SLS is the heavy use of heritage hardware, Sanders believes this also plays a role in forcing the government-industry team to seek even more cost-saving initiatives. “NASA decided to go with mature and relatively low-risk technology, so we’ve inserted in J-2X more modern manufacturing, and the facilities have been laid out to optimize the production and assembly flow,” he says. “So at the program level, we’ve got those kinds of things going on. At the company level, we’ve been reducing our footprint at the various campuses, which is down by 50% since we started the process in 2007,” Sanders notes. “Head-count is also down by around 30% and part of that is the new reality of the business base—as well as a drive to be leaner and more afordable.” Sanders says this is not just about “reducing square footage.” The company has also been “making eforts to consolidate large turbomachinery production into one location [at West Palm Beach, Fla.], and at Stennis, where we conduct all large-engine assembly and test. In one site, there is now RS68, RS-25 and J-2X,” he says. Major manufacturing consolidation is also close to completion at Aerojet Rocketdyne’s site in De Soto, Calif., near Los Angeles, where the company has centralized activity away from the heritage facility at nearby Canoga Park. “That’s the third big part. We’ve laid out assembly and flow to minimize production time and unnecessary flow,” Sanders says. “We are trying to use same manufacturing technology so that in a common shop the same people can work on different parts. For example, the move to hip-bonded chambers, which was implemented on the J-2X, is a good example of where it sets the stage for everything we’re doing on RS-25,” he says. “We use it on RS68 and intend to use it on the F-1B. In many ways, the J-2X is a testbed for everything we need to do for the RS-25. Also, the RS-25 is a restart of an existing production line, just like J-2X.” Sanders stresses that the “SLS will only be successful if it is afordable.” He asserts that “this program, more than any previous shuttle replacement efort, has the greatest chance because of the initiatives that are being taken now.” c Testing of the second J-2X ended in September with a full-duration 330-sec. run. AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 57 58 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Tony Osborne RAF Valley, Wales Use of new Hawks and synthetic aids could influence jet training beyond the U.K. T he introduction of the BAE Systems Hawk T2 jet trainer and modern synthetic training aids are having a dramatic efect on the preparedness of the U.K.’s fast-jet crews. Senior ofcers say the first four pilots who graduated from the 11-month advanced fast-jet training course in June—arriving ready for conversion onto frontline types—are significantly better prepared for the multi-role missions than their predecessors, who had trained on the older Hawk T1. The new training system is being provided by a private company, Ascent, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Babcock, selected by the U.K. Defense Ministry in 2008 to create a new Military Flight-Training System (MFTS). The Hawk T2 training system was the first of two blocks of MFTS now operational. Ascent also provides rear crew and observer training for the Royal Navy using the Grob Tutor and Beechcraft King Air 350ER, operating from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, England. By the end of the decade, Ascent is due to have revital- ized the U.K.’s entire fixed-wing training operation, with new fleets and systems for elementary, basic and multi- engined pilot training replacing or upgrading the current fleets of Grob Tutor, Shorts Tucano and Beechcraft King Air trainers. Under the new fast-jet training systems, sited with 4 Sqdn. here, pilots are trained by military instructors in the air while experienced ex-military contract instructors integrated into the training squadron work on the ground. New facilities constructed at RAF Valley house modern classrooms and synthetic training aids, including two full-mission simulator domes, flight-training devices and desktop training stations. The introduction of the Hawk T2 enables student crews to familiarize themselves with the modern avionics systems long before they begin flying the Eurofighter Typhoon or F-35 Joint Strike Fighter A networked information technology structure allows students to carry their training syllabus on laptops given to them for the duration of the course. The interactive learning materials facilitate continuing studies during downtime. The laptops give students access to a Microsoft Flight Simulator- style avionics emulator that helps them understand the majority of key avionics button-pushes. In the classroom, the laptops can be connected to a hands-on-throttle-and-stick (Hotas) system through which students can become familiar with that control configuration. In addition, the entire system is geared toward monitoring a student’s progress. Ascent officials say it will be 2-3 years before they can quantify the financial savings of the new training regime, but they believe they will be recognized once the pilots reach the operational conversion unit of the frontline aircraft type they will end up flying. “While the Hawk T1s challenged the pilot, they weren’t giving them relevant training for the aircraft that they were going to be flying,” says Al Shinner, Ascent station manager for the Hawk program here. Thanks to downloaded training, pilots are given an understanding of radar and countermeasures; the simulation system fitted into the aircraft helps with grasping use of beyond- visual-range, air-to-air missile engagements and dropping precision-guided munitions. The data-linked system means instructors can insert potential ground threats into the scenario, which is then shared among aircraft taking part in the sortie. Aircraft can also be configured to fly as Red Air (opposing) or Blue Air. “The training is not just about flying the aircraft. A lot of the skills being developed on this course are related to the data management from the sensors onboard the aircraft,” explains Shinner. Enabling students to learn advanced skills in the Hawk— which costs a fraction of training in a frontline type such as the Typhoon—diminishes the need to conduct systems- familiarity sorties in the more expensive platform. And re- hearsing the mission in the simulator leads to a reduction in “failure events” to 0.5% on the T2 from 7-10% on the T1. DEFENSE Boosting Standards The RAF’s Hawk T2s are fitted with simulated radar and defensive aids. AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 59 Moreover, onboard telemetry and video-recording of each sortie allows the students and instructors to review the flight from takeof to landing. Previously, such debriefings would only have been possible if the aircraft had been carrying a Rangeless Airborne Instru- mented Debriefing System (Raids) or flying on an Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) range. Training for air-to-air combat is mostly conducted only in the aircraft, but many skills required for air-to-ground combat are taught and practiced in the simulator. Some planned training elements—such as for night-time quick-reaction alerts and helicopter interception—have been dropped, and complex missions have been added. One of the last missions before graduation is a simulated attack involving surface-to-air and aerial threats; as the student is about to attack, the pilots are called to disengage and re-plan the mission inflight to engage a time-sensitive target. A number of air forces are looking at the training system, and Ascent is studying options to tap the system’s spare capacity (currently 50%) to train pilots from other air forces or refresh depleted pilot skills for other aircraft types. The U.K. has trained many foreign aircrews on the Hawk T1 and, although it was about to be withdrawn from training operations at RAF Valley at the end of 2012, training activities were extended for pilots from the Royal Saudi Air Force. Ofcials concede that in an ideal world, the Ascent team would have started restructuring the training system from the most basic level up. The current spare capacity is due to the large number of Hawk T2s available, as the aircraft were purchased and training contracts signed before the 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review shrank the Royal Air Force’s fast-jet fleet and its pilot pool. However, there will be potential for more savings as As- cent brings in new training fleets. Future turboprop basic trainers are likely to feature advanced avionics similar to the Hawk T2’s, allowing avionics introductory work to be downloaded into the cheaper aircraft. Basic flight training will probably move here from Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire. Operations with the new fleets are due to begin in 2018. The success of the training system is a test case for the Hawk as an entrant in a number of jet-trainer competitions around the world. BAE Systems recently began production of the first of 22 Hawks for the Royal Saudi Air Force as part of the £1.9 billion ($3 billion) training deal signed by the Saudi government in May 2012. These, along with eight aircraft for Oman’s air force, are being produced on a new line established at BAE’s factory in Warton, England. The aircraft is also being ofered for the U.S. Air Force T-X competition and the Polish lead-in fighter-trainer requirement. c B A E S Y S T E M S The success of the training system is a test case for the Hawk as an entrant in jet-trainer competitions around the world February 4, 2014: Power Roundtable Sessions February 5-6, 2014: Conference & Exhibition Dubai World 1rade Centre · Dubai, UŷE CO-LOCATED WITH Mark your calendars for the region’s leading MRO exhibition and conference addressing your top issues and concerns! NEW FOR 2014: · InIèracIivè worlshops and powèr roundIablès dèsignèd Io IosIèr discussion wiIh your pèèrs · UpdaIèd conIèrèncè agènda providing insighIs by lèading indusIry èxpèrIs inIo growIh opporIuniIiès, cosI rèducIion sIraIègiès, and nanagènènI pracIicès IhaI arè incrèasing POI and naxinizing èIIicièncy · Hore exhibiIors, more air|ines, and more aIIendeesI Get your FREE exhibition hall pass! www.aviationweek.com/events/mideast ŷir|ines and |easing companies aIIend Ihe con!erence, workshops, and power roundIab|es !or PREEI Tony Osborne London Taking lessons from Libya, Europe works on its tanker capability A lack of European aerial refueling capability was one of several shortcomings aficting the air arms partici- pating in Operation Unified Protector in Libya in 2011. The shortage meant that NATO was forced to call upon the U.S. Air Force’s Boeing KC-135 and KC-10 tankers to ensure that the coalition operation was able to strike Gadaf-loyalist forces across the vast desert state. Now, more than two years after the engagement in Libya, work is underway to try to address at least part of the problem with a series of trials aimed at wresting the maximum performance from Europe’s tanker platforms. The first collective air-to-air refueling clearance trial, which took place this month, was a flight-test campaign with the goal of clearing potential receivers for the Continent’s aerial refueling tankers. Organized by the European Defense Agency (EDA) and the Netherlands-based Movement Coordi- nation Center Europe, countries have been invited to qualify their combat aircraft to refuel from the Italian air force’s new Boeing KC-767 tanker. In the space of four sorties, flying in diferent areas of the flight envelope, air arms can clear their combat and support aircraft to refuel from the KC-767, leading to greater interoperability during coalition operations. According to Laurent Donnet, project ofcer for the refueling trials, Europe’s 42 tankers—comprising 12 diferent types of aircraft—lack up to 40% of the clearance required to refuel the many diferent types of European combat and support aircraft. “For planning purposes alone, this means that during operations, more tankers are needed in the air because some aircraft are not cleared to refuel from certain tankers,” says Donnet. Military ofcials suggest that Europe only has 50% of the tankers needed to meet refueling demands, but, Donnet says, “if all the tankers were cleared to refuel the diferent types, it would be possible to reduce the number of tankers needed in the air at one time, and we can make better use of the assets.” During the trials—conducted in Sardinia Sept. 5-12—the KC-767 was able to refuel and qualify the French air force Dassault Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighters as well as the Swedish air force Saab JAS 39 Gripens. A French air force Boeing E-3F Sentry airborne early warning aircraft had been scheduled to participate in the trial, but was needed elsewhere. The clearance work conducted will also flow down to the other European operators of the Gripen, the Czech Republic and Hungary. France had already been granted wartime operational clearances for its Rafale and Mirage aircraft at the beginning of 2013, when the KC-767 supported French operations in Mali, but the new trials mean the aircraft can be refueled throughout the flight envelope. Italy has already cleared the Eurofighter Typhoon and Panavia Tornado aircraft to refuel from the KC-767. Donnet is now working on another series of trials, expected to take place early in 2014 using the KC-767, and says the U.K. Royal Air Force is interested in providing one of its new Airbus A330-200 multirole tanker transport (MRTT) Voyager aircraft to build that type’s refueling capability. The U.K. Defense Ministry is known to be exploring opportunities to share flight hours of the nine-aircraft core Voyager fleet. “This is a more cost-efective approach. By doing the trials at the same time, we can maximize the number of test flights in one sortie, it is just dependant on the availability of the aircraft and the test pilots,” explains Donnet. The EDA trials address one of the four key areas through which it hopes member countries will be able to boost capacity and capability of their tankers fleets. Other areas of study include improving access to commercially available refueling capability—such as that provided by Omega or even the U.K.’s AirTanker consortium—and encouraging European customers of the Airbus Military A400M to fit a refueling capability to that transport aircraft. Another area of discussion is the possible creation of a European tanker operation similar in design to NATO’s E-3 aerial warning and control system component and the Hungary-based Heavy Airlift Wing. Defense ministers from Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Nether- lands, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain, signed a letter of intent to cooperate on such a program at the end of 2012 and EDA hopes to have a memorandum of understanding signed at the end of 2014 that allows for the possible procurement of tankers in conjunction with Occar, the European armament cooperation agency for initial operations, in 2020, and a full operational capability in 2021. No platform has been chosen, although the EDA is looking at both the A330 MRTT and the KC-46 or KC-767. A major hurdle, however, will be overcoming the various certification demands set by diferent countries within Europe. The creation of a single European certification for refueling clearances would, Donnet says, be “challenging” because there is no starting place within European Aviation Safety Agency guidelines from which to draw up guidance. c DEFENSE Baby Steps 60 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst The first of the EDA’s tanker trials involved the Italian air force’s Boeing KC-767s. T O N Y O S B O R N E / A W & S T AviationWeek.com/awst AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 61 Michael Fabey Panama City, Fla. Sikorsky MH-60s rise above Littoral Combat Ship problems T he saving grace for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program may prove to be the Sikorsky MH-60 Seahawks, needed for most of the surface warfare, mine countermeasure or antisubmarine-warfare missions the vessels are expected to perform. While the LCS sea frames and equipment for the ships’ integral mission-module packages have sufered substantial cost increases, schedule delays and operational hiccups, the Seahawk has proved to be the program’s consistent high performer. Indeed, the success of LCS operations will depend on the fleet’s aviation assets. In addition to MH-60R (Romeo) and MH-60S (Sierra) Seahawks, the ships also will likely employ Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned helicopters. They could be real aids if the Navy uses LCS vessels for certain U.S. Marine Corps amphibi- ous operations. The Marines love the Fire Scout, says Capt. John Ailes, who is in charge of LCS integration eforts. “It’s basically a sensor,” adds Ailes, a Navy ofcer recently selected to be an admiral. The Navy is currently using the MQ-8B but eventually is expected to move to the C-Model Fire Scout. The Fire-X, a Northrop Grumman/ Bell Helicopter joint venture is scheduled to make its first flight this fall. Aviation always has been a vital component of LCS. The program’s concept envisions quickly sending small warships to hot zones with mission-specific equipment that can be operated of the vessels. “The LCS could exploit its speed to increase the reach of task groups by serving as a fast-moving lily pad for helicopters other than its own,” says a 2010 report on LCS from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment. “In such cases, one or more LCSs could be positioned on the periphery of a task group to which manned or unmanned air assets could be deployed from (carrier for landing dock ship), or to take advantage of the LCS’s large flight decks to refuel and rearm in patterns synchronized with the LCS’s own air de- tachment. It could also extend the range of its embarked air assets by using its speed to sprint toward recovery points.” While LCS may be evolving much more into a platform other than the aviation “lily pads” envisioned early on by some defense analysts, there is no doubting the importance of the helicopter-centric operations for the vessels. Fleet commanders will covet the LCS airborne assets, Ailes predicts. “Not everyone has a helicopter. The first question fleet commanders ask is: ‘How many helicopters do you have?’ There are so many things you can do with a helicopter. It can double for surface sea surveillance. You can drive around and look for submarines.” Indeed, the Romeo makes an LCS a capable and lethal antisubmarine-warfare vessel, Ailes says, thanks to the peri- scope-detection capability and other technological advances on the aircraft. “You want to keep submarines at [long] range,” he explains. “You never want to get close because they’ll shoot torpedoes at you. You send your helicopter out, and this is extraordi- narily long range. We never talk about just what big part the helicopter is in all of these scenarios. It’s just huge.” Many earlier-model destroyers, Ailes notes, do not have a helicopter presence. The Navy program of record calls for the service to receive 280 Romeos, with 166 delivered thus far; and 275 Sierras, with 234 delivered. A Romeo is now deployed on LCS-1 USS Freedom, a Sierra on Freedom in 2010. “We bring the helicopter,” Ailes says. “And not just any helicopter—we’ve got the Romeos. They’re eye-watering helicopters; by far, the most capable system we’ve ever built. And it’s already in the fleet, so there’s not a lot of technical risk there. We’ve deployed it on LCS-1 [USS Freedom], so we retired that risk.” The Romeo is now on Freedom as part of the ship’s surface- warfare-mission suite as it is deployed in Asia. The Navy expects to be “driving” around and testing the antisubmarine-warfare mission components on Freedom by the end of 2014, says Ailes. Meanwhile, the Navy is counting on the Sierra to conduct a host of mine countermeasure missions. Initially, the Navy had planned to conduct some rather robust sensor pod-towing missions with the Sierra, which had required helicopter modifications. As a recent Government Accountability Ofce report notes, the Navy decided to abandon those operations because of engine-failure concerns. Ailes explains the helicopter still proved it could do the missions but opted against using the Sierra because it lacks a backup engine, and even though there were no reported engine failures, it would be safer to use other equipment for the same task. For its slated mission set, LCS ofcials say, the Sierra has done the job. “Those were really successful, surprisingly successful,” says Tracy Nye, a Navy mine warfare specialist working on the LCS program. “We were just able to fly that helicopter on and of the ship. We tried diferent tactics of launching and recovery. They really pushed the envelope on helicopter operations on the ship.” Nye acknowledges, however, the need to reduce the time to reload mine-neutralizer magazines. When fully implemented, the LCS mine countermeasures package will include an AN/ AES-1 sonar, the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System and AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System, making the LCS a potentially formidable anti-mine platform compared to the current Avenger-class ships. c Helo Effect Littoral Combat Ship ofcers will use Seahawks for multiple ofensive and defensive missions. MICHAEL FABEY/AW&ST 62 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst Graham Warwick Washington Hunting Carbon Unmanned-aircraft technology fielded to monitor rapid changes in thawing Arctic C limate change is fueling a race for once-inaccessible Arctic resources, but the rapidly thawing ice poses a growing risk of accelerating global warming by releasing huge stores of eons-old carbon into the atmosphere. Un- manned aircraft are beginning to play a key role in monitoring the changes in these vast and remote areas. A team lead by Harvard University has completed flights over Alaska’s North Slope to measure the release of greenhouse gases by melting permafrost. Aurora Flight Sciences’ Centaur optionally piloted aircraft was flown manned for these initial flights, but the team plans to return next year and fly the modified Diamond DA42 unmanned on extended flights over the ocean. The FAA, meanwhile, has issued the first restricted- category type certificates to AeroVironment for the Puma AE and Insitu Inc. for the Scan Eagle, allowing commercial flights of the small unmanned aircraft over the North Slope and Beaufort Sea to monitor oil spills and observe wildlife as Arctic resource exploration and exploitation gathers pace. Operations are expected to begin this month. The Aurora-owned and -operated Centaur completed 16 flights totaling more than 60 hr. in August, operating from Deadhorse, Alaska, carrying a highly sensitive spectroscopic instrument developed by Harvard. The aircraft had to fly 5-10 meters (16-33 ft.) above the ground for extended periods so researchers could precisely measure the rate at which carbon is being released into the atmosphere. Over the past 30 years, the Arctic Ocean has lost 80% of its permanent floating-ice volume, resulting in rapid melting of permafrost regions that contain vast stores of methane and carbon dioxide. “The surface soils in Alaska and Siberia contain 2 gigatons of carbon. If just 0.5% of that is released, it will double the carbon added to the atmosphere each year by fossil-fuel combustion,” says Jim Anderson, principal in- vestigator for Harvard’s Anderson Research Group. Determining the rate at which carbon is being released by melting permafrost is crucial to predicting climate change. The Centaur was equipped with the Harvard-developed Flux Observations of Carbon from an Airborne Laboratory (Focal) instrument to measure the concentrations of carbon isotopes C12 and C13 with sufcient resolution to distinguish between carbon from surface vegetation and that released by melting permafrost. Focal bounces the beam from a tunable mid-infrared quan- tum cascade laser between two highly reflective mirrors to create a 5-km-long (3-mi.) path within a 1-meter-long cell. This enables the spectroscopic instrument to detect trace isotopes by direct absorption as air is drawn through by a pump. “The quality is very high, the data unequivocal, and it responds very quickly,” says Anderson. “The flush time is practically 1,000 times a second.” The concentration data are combined with vertical-velocity measurements by a highly responsive air-turbulence probe, supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration, to enable calculation of the flux, or flow rate, of methane and CO 2 . The ratio of isotopes identifies the source, with thermogenic carbon stored in permafrost being higher in C13 and biogenic carbon from vegetation higher in C12. “Flux is the crucial observation, as it quantifies the contribution of the melt zone to carbon in the atmosphere,” says Anderson. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the August research campaign was “very successful,” he says. The pilot was able to fly the Centaur less than 10 meters above the “billiard-table flat” North Slope, keeping the aircraft within a tight altitude tolerance that allowed the instrument to collect flux data with “very high spatial resolution” to measure release rates from diferent landscape features, such as ponds. The Harvard team is now preparing a proposal for a 2014 research campaign that would involve unmanned flights of the Centaur over the Arctic Ocean. Clathrates on the ocean floor trap a large amount of methane in their crystalline structure, and as the ocean warms there is a risk of them melting and releasing their carbon. The 2014 campaign would involve unmanned flights of up to 23 hr. to systematically map the oceanic carbon flux with high spatial resolution, Anderson says. “The optionally piloted aircraft is the ideal tool for this type of experiment,” says Aurora founder John Langford. “The airplane can be ferried through national and international airspace in its manned, fully certified mode. Once the instruments, flight trajectories and operating protocols have all been validated, the long and repetitive measurements can be handed over to the computer.” c UNMANNED SYSTEMS Its extended proboscis snifng for carbon isotopes, Aurora’s Centaur flies low over Alaskan tundra. E D D U M A S To Place Your Classified Ad Contact: Arlene Braithwaite; (410) 772-0820; e-mail: [email protected]; Fax: (703) 938-5910. In Europe, Asia and Africa: Michael Elmes; + 44 (1255) 871070; e-mail: [email protected]; Fax: + 44 (1255) 871071 or David Harrison; +44 (0) 1689 837 447; e-mail: [email protected]. 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March 3—SpeedNews’ Fourth Annual Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference. Beverly Hills, Calif. March 3-5—SpeedNews’ 28th Annual Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference. Beverly Hills, Calif. March 4-5—Defense Technology and Afordability Requirements. Washington. March 6—Aviation Week’s Laureate Awards. Washington. T he 38th Session of the International Civil Avia- tion Organization Assembly convenes in Mon- treal this week. For the first time since losing its ICAO seat in 1971, Taiwan has been invited to attend the assembly, and will do so under the name “Chinese Taipei.” As an integral part of the global aviation network, we reiterate our commitment to ICAO standards and look forward to further meaningful participation in ICAO meetings, mechanisms and activities. Taiwan is located in the busiest section of airspace in East Asia. Its major hub, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, is one of the busiest airports in the region. It was ranked 16th globally in international passenger traffic by Airports Coun- cil International in 2012, and a total of 58 domestic and foreign airlines connect Taiwan with 117 cities across the world. The Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) each year provides more than 1.3 million navigation services to aircraft carrying 45 million passengers and over 1.68 million tons of cargo. In 2011, Taiwanese airlines carried 15.9 billion ton-kilometers of passengers, freight and mail. The large volume of cargo and passenger traffic makes Taiwan an important part of the global air transport network. For more than four decades, due to the lack of direct contact with ICAO, Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration has had to make an extra efort to ad- here to constant updates of the organization’s flight safety and security standards. Although we have an excellent record in keeping our systems current, learning about the latest ICAO standards has often been a long and costly process. International support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation is greatly appreciated. In order to ensure its compliance with the latest aviation safety standards and work with the global community for improvement of the quality and efficiency of air travel throughout the world, Taiwan has for many years strived to participate in ICAO. Our call for inclusion in the organization has been acknowledged around the world. Many important aviation sector officials have publicly endorsed our bid for inclusion in ICAO, and we are grateful for their support. We believe our participation in this year’s ICAO Assembly will allow us not only to closely observe de- liberations and gain a better understanding of various aviation issues, but also to contribute to global endeavors to ensure the safety, convenience and efficiency of international air transport. Taiwan is ready to share with the world its rich experience. It can contribute to regional and global aviation safety by sharing its advanced aviation technologies. One example is the CNS/ATM (communications, navigation and surveillance air trafc management) system proposed by ICAO in the late 1980s for development of a globally coordinated system of air navigation services to cope with the worldwide growth in air trafc demand. CNS/ATM involves a complex and interrelated set of technologies largely dependent on satellites. For a decade, Taiwan made tremendous investments in human resources and equipment to develop the system and find solutions to technical problems as they emerged. Taiwan was the first Asian country to put the system into service—in 2011. The system has given our nation increased air services efficiency, and we believe our know- how and experience gained in developing and operating the system provides an excellent resource for other countries. Taiwan’s participation in the 38th Session of the ICAO Assembly brings us one step closer to reaching the association’s goal of a seamless sky. Regular participation of Taiwan’s experts and officials in ICAO meetings, mechanisms and activities would also be very constructive in this regard. If Taiwan gains access to ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices, we will be able to incorporate them into our aviation safety and security regulations in a much more timely and comprehensive manner. Our technical knowledge and skills also can be shared with the international civil aviation community. Together, we will work toward our common goal: safe, orderly and sustainable development of international civil aviation that promotes the wel- fare of all. c Taiwan can contribute to regional and global aviation safety by sharing its advanced aviation technologies “ “ Taiwan’s Case For a Voice in ICAO Viewpoint Kuang-Shih Yeh is Taiwan’s minister of transportation and communications. BY KUANG-SHIH YEH 66 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AviationWeek.com/awst T A I W A N M I N I S T R Y O F T R A N S P O R T A T I O N & C O M M U N I C A T I O N S © 2013 Raytheon Company. All rights reserved. “Customer Success Is Our Mission” is a registered trademark of Raytheon Company. Sensing Effects C4I Training & Logistics Cyber Today’s skies have more flights than ever. Raytheon is trusted to manage two-thirds of the world’s airspace — modernizing, integrating and supporting today’s air traffic systems to meet the challenge of greater capacity with even greater innovation. SAFELY EXPAND THE SKIES MISSION: Watch, listen and interact with some of the many ways Raytheon continues to enable mission success at: Raytheon.com/missions It’s quiet, it’s clean, it’s MTU. 15 % less fuel, 15 % less CO 2 emissions and noise levels cut in half – the Geared Turbofan TM engine is the technology of the future. And of course it features MTU’s unique high-speed low-pressure turbine. Just some of the reasons why the PurePower ® PW1000G is the engine of choice also for the A320neo. www.mtu.de S e e u s a t A v ia tio n E x p o C h in a S e p te m b e r 2 5 – 2 8 , 2 0 1 3

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