Farnborough 2008 Show News - July 17, 2008 - (Page 8)

FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Kaman Proffers Super Seasprites ‘You’ll Have to Ask Airbus About That ’ or, Perhaps, Marshall It is difficult not to feel some sympathy with Nick Durham, president of Europrop International, maker of TP400-D6 engines for the Airbus A400M military airlifter. It up to Airbus as to when the A400M first attempts to fly, but with an aircraft now rolled out at Seville and a TP400 languishing on a test C-130 Hercules, firmly on the ground at Marshall Aerospace’s Cambridge airfield, it is natural that some pointed questions are being asked at the Show. The provision of answers to journalists’ probing is made no easier because Marshall is under contract to Airbus, not to Europrop. The test Hercules—which has one TP400 and three standard issue T56 engines—will be remembered by some as that long-nosed, former Farnborough-based, meteorological research aircraft dubbed “Snoopy.” It is expected to generate some 30 ground running hours, plus 50 in the air. But, Durham cautions, “It is what we learn, not number of hours flown,” that counts. Will the A400M wait on the ground until the end of the Hercules trials program? Will it launch part-way through the ex-Snoopy’s investigations? (After all, the TP400 has 1,700 bench hours, growing at 100 to 200 hours per month.) Will the A400M refuse to wait at all? “You’ll have to ask Airbus about that,” Durham says. Or, he suggests, “Ask Marshall.” —Paul Jackson Kaman Helicopters says it has eleven SH-2G(I) Super Seasprite helicopters ready for “rapid response delivery,” preferably to a single integrated fleet. The 11 aircraft feature an Integrated Tactical Avionics System (ITAS), and are supported by a complete logistics and training package, the manufacturer says. “This is a great opportunity for a nation, or nations, to obtain a readily available, cost-effective, and incredibly capable multi-mission aircraft,” said Kaman Helicopters President Sal Bordonaro. “These aircraft are backed up with a Moving Base Simulator and a complete Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package,” said business development director Mark Tattershall. Kaman is in the International U.S. Pavilion in Hall C4. VADER Radar Passes First Flight Test Northrop Grumman was able to obtain high-quality synthetic aperture radar images on the first flight of a new radar system it is developing for DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) system also provided ground moving target indicator data during the recent test of the system mounted on a Northrop Grumman-operated Britten-Norman Islander. “Notably, the design, building and integration of this complex system were completed in a very short 18-month period,” says Brian Reise, VADER program manager. The radar sensor is being developed for use with the new Sky Warrior, an extended-range, multi-purpose UAV by General Atomics. HARCO’s Affordable ADC Qualifies for RVSM HARCO has added a new, low-cost air data computer to its ADC family. The 100855-X was developed to provide a high level of performance at an affordable cost, matching a wide range of applications. The new ADCs are used on unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, general aviation and military trainers, as well as space vehicles, and have been qualified to meet Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) requirements. The new unit weighs up to 1.65 lb and consumes less than two watts. HARCO is at Hall 3, Stand D10. TAP Portugal Launches Inflight Cell Service TAP Portugal has launched an inflight communications service allowing passengers on European flights to use BlackBerry-type devices and mobile phones to send and receive e-mail and text messages, and to make and receive voice calls. Initially the service will be available on a single Airbus A319. TAP is one of a number of European airlines to run a commercial trial of Mobile OnAir, which uses the latest Inmarsat-SwiftBroadband, for high-speed air-to-ground communications. A central feature is the crew's ability to turn it off at any time, or switch it to “silent”-text and e-mail-only mode, enabling airlines to tailor services to passenger preferences. Elbit DIRCMs for Israeli CH-53s Following the painful loss of a CH-53 helicopter during the second Lebanon War exactly two years ago, the Israeli Air Force has accelerated the procurement of Directional Electro-Optical Countermeasures (DIRCM) for its CH-53 fleet. According to IAF sources, Multispectral Infrared Countermeasures (MUSIC) systems developed by Elbit Systems subsidiary ElOp will soon be installed on the first in-service aircraft. The system employs a compact turret housing a thermal imager and a laser beam director coupled to a missile-jamming laser. Jet2.com Selects F:WZ for Flight Planning Grim duty it’s not Major Roland Hillier of the USAF’s 493rd Fighter Squadron, a native of Orlando, Florida now based at RAF Lakenheath, puts an F-15 to peacetime use. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise-owned F:WZ Aviation Software will supply the Leeds, UK-based lowcost airline Jet2.com with advanced flight planning technology designed to optimize flight routes, increase efficiency and generate significant cost savings. The carrier will implement two key technologies developed by F:WZ: an advanced flight planning solution (mfs:2), and the Ops Publishing System for managing Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) and company-specific mission information. 8 July 17, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://Jet2.com http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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