paris airshow news 06-17-15

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ParisAirshow NewsTM

PUBLICATIONS

Wednesday 6.17.15

www.ainonline.com

Reconnaissance Human Factors Le Bourget Debuts Langkawi Report Regional’s Rebirth

Wi-Fi Link for Bolt-on Recce PodAirborne Technologies is here with its Self-Contained Aerial Reconnaissance (SCAR) pod. With Wi-Fi links to onboard systems, it ranks as a fully self-contained unit. 9

Brain Research Leads to Greater SafetyIn Toulouse, France, the ISAE Engineering school is making great strides in neuroergonomics for pilots. Interfacing the cockpit with the way pilots’ brains work is said to be a major safety advance. Page 20

V-Tail Scorpion Packs a StingTextron AirLand is here at the Paris show with its fully armed Scorpion light attack jet. Offering a $20 million price tag and low operating costs, Textron hopes to attract interest in the aircraft here. Page 24

Fighters Flirting, Malaysia TeasingLike a trio of suitors gathering at the door of a reluctant maiden, Europe’s three canard-fighter makers have lavished much expense trying to win a contract with Malaysia. Page 26

Ruag to Restart Do 228 ProductionFans of the Dornier 228 twin turboprop are celebrating the news that Swiss company Ruag announced plans to restart production of the 19-seat commuter stalwart. Page 29

Airbus Helicopters launches X6 heavyby Thierry Dubois

Airbus Helicopters on Tuesday unveiled the first artist rendering of the long-awaited X6 here at Paris 2015. The X6 is a new helicopter in the

heavy category that is now beginning a two-year “concept phase,” with the idea being for it to enter service in the next decade. It will in particular target

the oil-and-gas market, with a 19-seat capacity, eventually replacing the H225 Super Puma.

Guillaume Faury, pres-ident and CEO, said the new twin helicopter will feature fly-by-wire con-trols. “It makes sense on a heavy helicopter, driv-ing a lot of capabilities–it improves safety thanks to a reduced crew workload.

‘Judgment call’ kept F-35 home as Marines close in on its IOCby Bill Carey

U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James offered a rationale for the absence of the F-35 Lightning II at the Paris Air Show this week, saying the program made a “judgment call” to hold back the fighter as the U.S. Marine Corps moves closer

to declaring initial operating capability (IOC) of the F-35B.

Speaking to an industry audience on Tuesday at the Paris Air Show’s U.S. Pa-vilion, James also outlined the coming

VOILA PARIS!Chalets, VIPs, blue skies and fluttering flags. All are capped by the most exciting airplanes in the world. The Paris Air Show is the only place to be.

Continued on page 2 u Continued on page 2 u

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Lessors buy more of Maxby Gregory Polek

Boeing fulfilled a long-standing ambition to add Irish leasing company AerCap to its 737 Max customer list here yes-terday with a firm order for 100 Max 8s worth some $10.7 billion at list prices. It was the biggest order in a stack of new narrow-body business announced by the U.S. airframer on the sec-ond day of the Paris Air Show. Including options, and based on list prices, the deals are val-ued at just over $20 billion. The aircraft will be powered by CFM Leap-1B engines.

“This has been a deal that has been long in the mak-ing,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner during a morning press confer-ence. “It’s something we wanted to get for quite some time and we were able to do it over the course of the last three months.”

China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing signed a memoran-dum of understanding, worth roughly $3 billion, to buy a mix of thirty 737 Next Generation and Max jets. The company, which is better known in the business aviation sector, entered

the commercial airliner mar-ket in 2013 and now leases 30 airliners to 10 different opera-tors around the world. The air-craft will be powered by a mix of CFM56-7B and Leap-1B turbofans.

Also from China, Ruili Airlines announced a com-mitment for 30 737 Maxs with the financial support of Avic International Leasing. The $3.2 billion deal is subject to approval by the Chinese government.

SMBC Aviation Capital announced an order for 10 737 Max 8s, worth around $1.1 billion. The aircraft

will be powered by CFM’s Leap-1B engines.

Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air placed an order for a pair of 737-900ERs, plus a letter of intent covering options for another 20. The deal is worth up to $2.2 bil-lion. They will be powered by CFM56-7B engines.

Finally, Day 2 ended with Korean Air signing a con-tract outlining an intent to purchase 30 Boeing 737 Max jets and two 777-300ERs. The deal also reserves options on another 20 of the new narrow-bodies, increasing its potential value to $3.9 billion. o

Korean Air signs up for the A320neo clubby Charles Alcock

Korean Air signed a memoran-dum of understanding to buy up to 50 A321neos at the Paris Air Show yesterday. The agreement, worth approximately $6.2 billion, includes 30 firm orders and 20 options.

The aircraft will be operated on routes across southeast Asia, capi-talizing on its full-payload range of 3,000 nm.

“The A321 will bring new lev-els of efficiency, longer flying range and greater inflight com-fort to our single aisle fleet, as well as reduced impact on the environment,” said Korean Air

chairman Cho Yang Ho.Meanwhile Japanese low-cost

carrier Peach Aviation is buy-ing three Airbus A320s. The $291 million deal is the airline’s first Airbus order, although it does currently operate 14 leased A320s. Its new aircraft will be powered by CFM engines.

Separately, Eva Air of Taiwan signed a memorandum of under-standing, valued at just over $1 billion, to buy A330-300s. Like it’s existing A330s, the new twinjets will be powered by GE CF6-80 engines. o

2 Paris Airshow News • June 17, 2015 • www.ainonline.com

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“It [will] have very integrated systems working together; and it will enhance flight envelope pro-tection,” he said.

For its first civil rotorcraft with fly-by-wire controls, Airbus Helicopters has learned lessons from the military NH90 and sis-ter company Airbus, which has such systems on all its fixed-wing aircraft.

Faury did not specify which tur-bo shaft engines the twin will use, but he hinted that some are avail-able–in the right power class–from both Pratt & Whitney Canada and Turbomeca. The latter com-pany yesterday said it has been running extensive

tests on its Tech3000 demonstra-tor, in the 3,000 shp category, aimed at such 10-metric-ton-plus helicopters.

Since January, the tests have taken place at both the compo-nent and module levels.

“We are especially assessing new materials for the combus-tor and high-pressure airfoils,” Philippe Couteaux, Turbome-ca’s executive vice president for strategy and development, told AIN.

The principle of a dem-onstrator is to bring these

technologies to readiness lev-el six, “to ensure we de-risk the next step–full-scale develop-ment,” he went on.

In addition to burning less fuel, Faury said the X6 will be able to fly longer distances than the H225 and offer a more com-fortable cabin.

Customer input is being sought during the concept phase, but some decisions have already been made, such as integrating full deicing.

In addition to offshore oil-and-gas operators, other pros-

pects are expected to be found in the search-and-rescue, VIP and commercial air trans-port markets.

The X6 “will reach the market when the H225 is still in produc-tion,” Faury said. The development of a mili-tary version is forecast to be further away, so the H225M will con-tinue to be in demand, he noted. o

long-range strike-bomber (LRS-B) and T-X trainer replacement programs.

The Marines expect to de-clare IOC of the F-35B short takeoff, vertical landing variant of the fighter this summer, hav-ing recently completed a round of shipboard operational tests aboard the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship.

Asked why the fifth-generation fighter, which fa-mously missed last year’s Farnborough Airshow in the UK, is again a no-show, this time at Le Bourget, James said, “We are close to initial operating capabili-ty for the Marines and not far from the initial operating capa-bility for the U.S. Air Force.

“The thought behind it was that we are kind of at the fin-ish line for the final testing and training and getting all of those details in line before both the Marines and the Air Force declare IOC. It was a judgment call, and we decided to not take

away any of the aircraft that needed to continue that testing and training. But the F-35–it’s coming. I’m sorry it’s not here this time.”

Meanwhile James, who was accompanied by USAF assis-tant secretary for acquisition Bill LaPlante, said the service expects to select a contractor in August or September for the LRS-B engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.”

Northrop Grumman and the team of Boeing and Lockheed Mar-tin are contending for the LRS-B selec-tion. But there will be ample opportu-nity for subsystem suppliers to par-ticipate in the program, James assured the audience.

The Air Force expects to release a

request for proposals (RFP) for the T-X trainer replacement pro-gram in the “late fall” of 2016, James said. The service should make a contract award within eight to 12 months of issuing the RFP, LaPlante added.

It is also nearing a Milestone A decision on the Joint Target Attack Radar System recapi-talization program to replace its Boeing 707-based E-8Cs. o

Airbus helicopters launches X6uContinued from page 1

‘Judgment call’ kept F-35 homeuContinued from page 1

Airbus Helicopters’ X6 is primarily targeting the offshore oil-and-gas market with a 19-seat cabin. Turbomeca’s Tech3000 demonstrator may be the basis for the X6’s engines.

Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Deborah Lee James

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Airbus inked some neo deals as the A350XWB swooped overhead.

While Boeing’s 787-9 wowed spectators, the Max wowed Boeing’s accountants.

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Singapore picks Franceby Gregory Polek

France is to be the fea-ture country for the 2016 Singapore Airshow, or-ganizer Experia Events announced here at the Paris Air Show this week. The French pavil-ion for the event, which is to be staged from Feb-ruary 16-21 next year, will be in a prominent location in the exhibi-tion hall. French exhib-itors will have access to a dedicated “Demi-nar” area where they can

conduct demonstrations and seminars. They also will enjoy special access to VIP delegations.

Experia Events has sold 80 percent of its exhibit space for what will be the fifth Singapore show to be staged at the Changi Exhibition Center, boosting expec-tations that the size of the 2016 event will eclipse the record-set-ting attendance at 2014’s Singapore Airshow.

For 2016, Expe-ria plans several new and improved exhibi-tion zones and indus-try forums, including a broadened Training and Simulation Zone, which it said will ad-dress increasing de-mand for military train-ing and simulation.

Another zone, dedi-cated to emerging tech-nologies, offers a plat-form for exhibitors to showcase products and

services in aerospace manufacturing and in-formation technology.

Plans also call for the return of business forums, during which participants will get the chance to examine and deliberate on the latest developments and chal-lenges in civil aviation, defense and technology. The Aerospace Emerg-ing Technologies Busi-ness Forum, the Train-ing and Simulation Business Forum and the Asia Business Fo-rum will all make their debut at next year’s show, said Experia. o

www.ainonline.com • June 17, 2015 • Paris Airshow News 3

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CEBU PACIFIC IS LAUNCH CUSTOMER FOR HIGH-DENSITY ATR

Cebu Pacific Air of the Philippines became the launch customer for the new high-density cabin version of the ATR 72-600 yesterday with an order for 16 of the twin turboprops. In a Paris Air Show announcement, the European airframer (Chalet 343) said that the deal includes options for an additional 10 aircraft, which would take its value to $673 million.

The airline is replacing its existing fleet of ATR 72-500s, which are to be retired. The new aircraft will feature the high density Armonia cabin, with 78 slim-line seats and wider overhead bins that offer 30 percent more storage space.

Separately, Sweden-based Braathens Aviation signed a contract for 5 ATR 72-600s and options for 10 more, to replace its aging Saab 2000 fleet. Deliveries will start at the end of 2015. Finally, Air New Zealand, having received

its 7th ATR-600 (pictured) here at the show yesterday, confirmed that it had ordered an addi-tional ATR 72-600, taking its total order-tally for the type to 14. –C.A.

NEWEST AIRBUS ON THE SHOW CARPETHaving made its first flight over the weekend, Airbus’s newest project, the H160, is attracting even more attention this week at the Paris Air Show. Seen here in mock-up form, it is one of the more popular displays at Le Bourget.

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A BIG COMEBACK FOR K-MAX

Launch customers for the newly reinstated Kaman K-MAX helicopter include Rotex Helicopter of Switzerland, led by CEO Rolf Spichtig, left. He is joined in celebrating the rebirth of Charles Kaman's groundbreaking helicopter design by Kaman group v-p of business development and marketing Gary Tenison, center, and K-MAX pro-gram business development director Terrence Fogarty.�

Above, Cebu Pacific president and CEO Lance Gokongwei, left, celebrates his ATR-72 order with ATR CEO Patrick de Castelbajac. Separately, the ATR CEO was joined by Per Braathens, chairman of Braathens Aviation, as they toasted yet another ATR-72 pact.


Hammer time for Herculesby David Donald

Sagem’s AASM (armament air-sol modulaire) rocket-boosted weapon fam-ily, also known as the Hammer, is being proposed as armament for the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The weapon would be carried on a rack that fits under the wing pylon of the C-130 in a quick installation that requires no intrusive modifications. Nor does it require integration with the aircraft’s navigation system.

Known as SSA-1101 Gerfaut, the rack system is the brainchild of the AA/ROK company, which specializes in developing advanced defense technologies. Pylon and weapons rack specialist Rafaut joined the team, supplying its AUF2 twin-launcher that is in routine use on the Mirage 2000. Sagem (Safran Group, Hall 2a 228 and 252) provides the AASM, which has been proven in combat and is a core Dassault/Rafale weapon.

SSA-1101 comprises two AUF2 racks mounted on a spar to allow the carriage of up to four Hammers on a pylon. The spar incorporates its own GPS and inertial sys-tems to provide the necessary data to the

weapon without having to interface with the aircraft’s own systems. The only modifi-cations required are the provision of power and a cable link to the control unit, which can be either in the cabin or flight deck.

Hammer is considered an ideal weapon for the Hercules, as the 190-knot launch speed does not provide sufficient stand-off range for an unboosted weapon. The AASM has a range of around 19 miles when launched from 25,000 feet. The weapon has an accuracy of around 3.5 feet circular error probable.

Armed Hercs for Special ForcesThe Gerfaut system is being consid-

ered for installation in the Armée de l’Air’s C-130s, which support special operations. A go-ahead is expected in the next few weeks for a major refurbishment program of its 14-strong fleet, which is likely to add a fully integrated turreted electro-optical suite with laser designator. If greenlighted, this program will remove the need for any other designation device for using the laser version of Hammer, such as the Damoclès

pod originally studied by AA/ROK.Arming the aircraft is a clearly stated

wish of the special forces community, which originally favored the Raytheon Griffin munition. However, the SSA-1101/AASM combination is now also being examined.

Besides providing close air support (CAS) during special-forces operations, the system is envisioned as a means of provid-ing emergency and temporary CAS capa-bilities. Current operations in Mali, where CAS is required infrequently, is a good example of where the Gerfaut-equipped C-130 could provide cover on the few

occasions when it is required, without the need to deploy fighters for long periods.

AA/ROK suggests that a formal request could be issued in about 12 months, leading to a decision to proceed around a year after that.

In the meantime, Sagem has just received an order from Egypt to pro-vide all three AASM versions (GPS/INS, GPS/INS/imaging infrared and GPS/INS/laser) for the 24 Rafale fighters under contract, with deliveries to start at the end of 2016. The weapon was also test-fired last year from an F-16. o

Improved Skylark from Elbit draws on Hermes technology

Elbit Systems (Chalet 200) has launched a new version of its popular man-portable Skylark mini unmanned air system. The Skylark has become the standard battalion-level UAS for the Israeli Land Forces, and has accom-plished many thousands of operational sorties. It has also been sold to more than 30 international customers, and has been the subject of a number of interna-tional contracts this year.

Drawing on technology developed for Elbit’s Hermes family of large UAVs, the new Skylark I-LEX introduces a number of major improvements over the current I-LE version. Air vehicle per-formance has been improved, and the safety features and airworthiness have been enhanced. New sensors are avail-able and there is a secure, encrypted communication system.

Ground control has also been improved, and two Skylarks I-LEXs can be controlled simultaneously at a range of up to 25 miles. A new remote video terminal is available that pro-vides payload control by forward-deployed operators. Traditionally used in the “over the hill” spotting role, the Skylark can also be used for force protection, law enforcement and coastal patrol duties. Advanced algorithms derived from the Hermes family per-mit “fly-by-camera” and other advanced autonomous modes, in turn allowing the automatic tracking of targets. –D.D.

The electrically powered Skylark is launched by hand.

TACTAIR WINS ARTEMIS AMERICA’S CUP RACING CONTRACT

Tactair Fluid Controls has partnered with Artemis Racing to develop the hydraulic con-trol systems for the team’s America’s Cup-class foiling AC catamaran. The New York-based company’s primary products are aircraft undercarriage controls for nosewheel steering, landing gear extension and retraction and hydromechanical brakes.

“With a solid wingsail and hydrofoils, the AC cats really blur the line between aircraft and watercraft, since the boats lift and sail above the water–effectively flying,” said team designer and sailing legend Loick Peyron. He will be speaking about Artemis Racing’s America’s Cup campaign and AC class development here at the show today at 10:30 a.m. in Hall 3 Stand A117. Peyron joined the Swedish team during the 34th America’s Cup cam-paign and continues in his role as a member of the design group. –G.P.

Saudi orders four C295Ws for ‘hot and severe’ climate

Airbus Defence & Space (Hall Concorde 17, Static C4) announced an order from the Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry for four of its C295W medium airlifters here yesterday. The Kingdom previously bought the smaller CN235 transport and A330MRTT tankers.

Airbus said the Saudi choice followed an open competition and was based on

“the aircraft’s excellent operational capa-bilities in hot and severe conditions, and its proven affordable maintenance and operational costs.”

The C295W version is an upgrade that Airbus announced in 2013, with optional winglets and performance up-grades to the Pratt & Whitney PW127G turboprops. –C.P.

Saudi Arabia has ordered four C295W airlifters, similar to this C295 here at the Paris Air Show. The C295W features upgraded engines and winglets, the better to operate in the new customer’s severe climate.

Seen in model form here at the Paris Air Show, Sagem’s Hammer rocket-boosted weapons family would be carried on wing-mounted racks under the wing pylons of a C-130 Hercules.

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UAE takes the first deliveries from Iomax Archangel orderby David Donald

At the same time as the engineer-ing development platform of the Iomax Archangel Block 3 is on display at the Paris Air Show (Static A5), the com-pany is delivering the first production aircraft to the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf nation has ordered 24 of the Block 3 armed ISR/border patrol air-craft (BPA), and delivery of the first of them is being undertaken on time–just seven months after contract signature.

The earlier Block 1/2 BPAs were based on the Air Tractor AT-802, but the Block 3 uses the Thrush S2R-T660 airframe, which has been modified to meet mission requirements. The produc-tion version of the Archangel differs in several key aspects from the prototype on show at Le Bourget.

The fuselage has been redesigned with a purpose-built fuel tank instead of the pre-vious hopper-based unit, while the cock-pit has been moved forward 43 inches and the nose re-profiled to create a larger wind-screen, affording the pilot a much better view. The aft cockpit has been elevated to improve the view for the rear crew.

The cockpits, engine and fuel fuse-lage tanks can be protected with bolt-on armor plates, which can be installed or removed in a matter of minutes, while the self-sealing tanks offer Level 2 pro-tection against ballistic threats.

Other changes include redesigned wingtips and an enlarged fin and rudder that provide greater directional stability. The aircraft has a digital autopilot, and new throttle quadrants in both front and rear cockpits. Night vision goggle-com-patible exterior lighting is fitted, including

landing/navigation lights that have an infrared capability for covert operations as well as visible light operation.

The Block 3 also has a new propeller, a scimitar-blade unit from MT-Propeller in Germany. These refinements have im-proved safety and reduced pilot workload as well as enhancing mission effectiveness.

Heavily ArmedArchangel is currently cleared to

employ Hellfire missiles, Roketsan Cirit laser-guided rockets, and GBU-12 and GBU-58 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. Iomax has a close relationship with the Turkish missile house, and this summer two further Roketsan weapons will be test-launched from the Archangel in the form of the UMTAS laser-guided anti-armor missile and the Teber GPS-guided bomb that was unveiled during the Paris show. Next summer Iomax plans to per-form trials with the Thales FF-LMM

small precision-guided glide weapon.In terms of sensors, Iomax has devel-

oped a multi-purpose pod that mounts an L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical sensor turret, although other systems could be integrated if required. The company also plans to begin trials of a radar system soon.

The UAE was the launch customer for the first-generation Block 1/2 BPAs, and is replacing them on a one-for-one basis with the Archangel Block 3. Jordan operates six of the earlier aircraft. Iomax’s president and CEO Ron Howard is excited about future prospects for the Archangel. “Border security has never been more important,” he said, later add-ing that, “We believe that there’s a greater demand than we could ever meet.”

With a low acquisition cost and a per-hour operating cost of “well below $1,000,” the Archangel BPA repre-sents an attractive proposition for many air arms with border patrol, ISR, close support and counter-insurgency needs. Howard noted that there were a num-ber of requirements under consider-ation in which Iomax is involved, which might lead to further contracts. “Maybe before the end of the year there will be an announcement,” he added. o

Terma Selected for Archangel

Terma Group has been selected by Iomax to provide its modular aircraft self-protection equip-ment (MASE) for the second-generation Archangel border patrol aircraft. Iomax is currently pre-paring the first of a new batch of Thrush-based aircraft for delivery to the United Arab Emirates.

Flight-testing of MASE is scheduled to begin this summer. Managed by Terma’s ALQ-213 electronic warfare management system, the MASE is a configurable pod that can be tailored to various mission requirements. For the UAE Archangels, the pod will house missile warning systems and countermeasures dispensers.

Meanwhile, Terma North America is welcoming a new chairman this week. On June 19, Bob Louthan will stand down due to age restrictions in the company bylaws. He is being replaced by Tom Burbage, a graduate of the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School and former program manager for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. –D.D.

A combination of low operating cost and ample external payload capability make the Iomax Archangel an effective armed ISR/border patrol platform. Based on an agricultural spraying aircraft, the dual-control Archangel has bolt-on armor plating for front and rear crewmembers.

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Specialty firm signed for Airship marketingby Chris Pocock

Lockheed Martin now has an “exclusive reseller” to market its Hybrid Airship to commercial customers and has completed all the required planning for FAA certification for the aircraft, according to LM Aeronautics

executive v-p Orlando Carvalho. At a media briefing on Tuesday

here at Le Bourget, Carvalho signed an agreement with Rob Binns, CEO of Hybrid Enterprises, a company created recently and staffed by veterans of the air

cargo and logistics industries. But Carvalho confirmed to AIN that Lockheed will not build its first full-scale Hybrid Airship until a customer is secured.

“We’ve invested more than 20 years to develop the technol-ogy, prove the performance and ensure there are compelling eco-nomics for the Hybrid Airship,” Carvalho said. The work has been done at the Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, where Lockheed flew a one-third-scale demonstrator in 2006. “We think it’s pretty cool,” said Binns. “This is the most transforming product I have seen in all my 30 years aviation experience.”

He told AIN that the likely first customer would be an existing air cargo carrier, perhaps prompted by a requirement for remote access from the oil and gas explo-ration industry. But a leasing company or a start-up company might be willing to invest, he said.

The Hybrid Airship has been designed to haul 21-metric ton loads into hard-to-reach areas without any transport infrastruc-ture. Hence the marketing tagline that Lockheed has adopted: “The Road Not Needed.”

The airship’s air cushion landing system (ACLS) is a key aspect of the Lockheed design, allowing the vehicle to land on water or unprepared fields, as well as be secured to the ground. But it also has “the most sophis-ticated fly-by-wire and flight

control system seen on an air-ship to date,” Binns claimed. He also noted the modern avionics and navigation systems, adding, “It’s green and sustainable, and there’s no big investment needed in handling infrastructure. You can back a truck right up to it.”

During Lockheed’s long development journey on the Hybrid Airship, it was pro-posed more than once to meet

military transport and surveil-lance requirements. But Carvalho confirmed that Lockheed “is not currently focused” on defense applications.

The company could deliver a Hybrid Airship in 2018, he added. AIN understands that Lockheed has calculated a cost of several hundred million dollars to build, certify and prepare the Hybrid Airship for production. o

HYBRID AIRSHIP STATISTICSPayload 21,000 kg / 47,000 lb or 19 passengers

Range 1,400 nm

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Cargo bay 3 x 3 x 18 m / 10 x 10 x 60 ft

Fuel capacity 5,000 gal

Field requirements 730 m / 2,400 ft

“Green and sustainable” are qualities Lockheed Martin touts for its Hybrid Airship. Support infrastructure is said to be stark, with no need for big investment in facilities.

Orlando Carvalho, left, executive v-p of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, has signed an agreement with Rob Binns, CEO of Hybrid Entenprises, to market Lockheed Martin’s Hybrid Airship to commercial customers. “We think it’s pretty cool,” said Binns.

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LEASE OF FAITH

Peter Barrett, left, CEO of aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation, joins Jean-Paul Ebanga, CFM president and CEO, in celebrating a deal for $1.16 billion worth of CFM’s LEAP engines. SMBC ordered 60 Leap-1As along with an additional 20 Leap-1Bs for 10 Boeing 737 Max jetliners. The deal was announced here yesterday.�

TURKISH AEROSPACE PICKS LHTEC ENGINE FOR LIGHT UTILITY HELICOPTER

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has chosen the Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Co. (LHTEC), a 50-50 partnership between Honeywell International and Rolls-Royce, to supply engines for the Turkish Light Utility Helicopter (TLUH) program.

TAI and LHTEC officials signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday at the Paris Air Show and now plan further discussions around a contract for CTS800 engines for the aircraft.

Under the TLUH program, TAI will develop an indigenous five-ton, twin-engine utility helicopter, which the program partners would con-vert with mission equipment for Turkish military use after first gaining certification by EASA. The engine for TLUH will be the same model as those on the current T129 ATAK helicopters, with a commercialized version of the Fadec. –G.P.

MALI SIGNS FOR SIX SUPER TUCANOS

Embraer Defense and Security signed a contract here on Monday to supply six A-29 Super Tucano turboprops to the Mali air force. Jackson Schneider, president and CEO, inked the deal with Tieman Coulibaly, Mali’s Minister of Defense. “We are adding another important customer in Africa, where several countries already oper-ate the Super Tucano. This is a robust and versatile airplane, with proven experience in combat.” The aircraft is currently flown by ten air forces on three continents. Embraer has delivered more than 190 out of a total order book of more than 210. –C.P.

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C-130J training system has served the RAF wellby David Donald

This year the Royal Air Force celebrated 15 years of operation of the Lockheed Martin C-130J total training system, with sim-ulators and other tools supplied by CAE (Chalet 56). The cur-rent contract for maintenance and support of the system ends on December 31, and CAE is currently negotiating a five-year extension that will take the system nearer to the C-130J’s planned out-of-service date of 2022.

In the meantime, the company continues to improve the system as part of its support contract, under which CAE acts as a sub-contractor to Lockheed Martin (Chalet 316) as part of the over-arching Hercules Integrated Operational Support program.

The RAF was the launch cus-tomer for the second-generation Hercules, receiving its first air-craft in November 1999. By that time LM’s C-130J training part-ner, BAE Systems (Reflectone), had already installed one dynamic mission simulator, and a second became operational a few months later. CAE acquired the BAE business in 2011.

In addition to the two linked dynamic simulators, the train-ing system includes a fixed flight training device, a rear cabin trainer for loadmaster training and maintenance part-task train-ers covering systems such as pro-pulsion, APU and avionics. They are supported by a range of

computer-based training tools. Maintained by eight CAE

staff, the system has proven to be very reliable, regularly achieving greater than 98-per-cent availability. Last year CAE introduced a major upgrade to the simulators using the latest Medallion-6000 visual package and common database suite that allows rapid updates and dis-tributed training.

As operational burdens on the RAF’s C-130J fleet remain at a high level, training is increas-ingly being transferred into the simulator. All emergency train-ing and check rides are carried in simulators, and various oper-ational mission rehearsals are also undertaken in these devices.

NVG Training CapabilityThe simulator can be made

to comply with “secret” secu-rity requirements, if required. The system includes maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue modules, roles that are per-formed by the RAF’s Hercules fleet, especially in the Falkland Islands. It can be used for low-level NVG training as well.

Under current RAF plans, the service intends to rationalize its transport fleet to two types–the Airbus A400M and the Boeing C-17. However, it is pos-sible that some of the 24-strong C-130J fleet may gain an exten-sion to support special forces.

In respect of the drawdown, starting in 2016 the RAF’s air mobility training and oper-ational evaluation unit, No. 24 Squadron, will reduce its through-put of C-130J conversion train-ing from the current output of around 12 crews per year. This will release simulator time that can be used for upgrading the ratings of current crews and can be offered for training overseas aircrew. Australian and Danish crews have already made use of the RAF’s simulators.

Currently, the squadron is organized into subordinate flights. “A” Flight handles basic C-130J conversion, with around 90 per-cent performed in the simulator, while “B” Flight handles tactical air transport and special-forces training, with a 50-50 live/simula-tor split. “C” Flight is being estab-lished as the A400M training unit.

The RAF is creating an air mobil-ity training center at Brize Norton, and the A400M facility has been planned to a large extent on that created for the C-130J.

Hercules training is now con-ducted in a purpose-built build-ing, the simulators having been transferred to Brize Norton from Lyneham in 2012 when the Hercules force moved base. For the time being, the RAF con-ducts C-17 maintenance training at Brize Norton, while aircrew receive simulator training with Boeing at Farnborough.

In the future it is hoped that all training will be performed at the RAF base, with C-17 train-ing becoming “B” Flight of No. 24 Squadron. “A” Flight will then undertake all aspects of C-130J training, which will be primarily aimed at raising crew capabilities from Tier 4 (combat-ready strategic airlift), to Tier 3

(tactical air transport), and ulti-mately Tier 2+ (special forces). As the A400M fleet builds up, the C-130J fleet will increasingly be tasked with tactical missions.

While the RAF may be run-ning down its C-130J opera-tions, the aircraft is still being sold around the world, and there remains an active mar-ket for simulators and training systems. As the only provider of simulators for the C-130J, CAE has supplied nearly 30 systems to date.

The bulk are in the U.S., where Air Mobility Command has nine, Air Combat/Special Operations Command has seven and the Marine Corps has four. Others have been supplied to Canada and the UK (two each), with sin-gle simulators sold to Australia, India, Italy and Kuwait. Qatar is expected to be a customer in the near future. o


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POINT AND COUNTERPOINTIf you don’t know, come to learn. If you do know, come to teach. Among Paris Air Show attendees, there are all levels of knowledge and understanding. Those more in the know are usually willing to share.�

Above: CAE’s Medallion-6000 visual package draws on a common database to provide high-fidelity imagery.

Right: The C-130J Rear Cabin Trainer is a faithful reproduction of the cargo hold, complete with working systems.

CAE Wins $90M In Airline Training Business

CAE announced more than $90 million in new airline training contracts this week. The deals with some 30 global airlines encompasses everything from cadet pilot training to sales of flight simulators.

Multi-crew pilot training programs selected by easyJet, Air China and EVA Air will swell their first officer ranks by 120 over the next 12 months–30 each at easyJet and Air China and 60 at EVA. Under the agreements, CAE will select, assess and train the cadets at CAE Oxford Aviation Academy in the UK.

CAE (Chalet 56) also netted pilot type-rating agreements with Hong Kong Airlines (A320/330); Aero Contractors (Dash 8-300/400 and B737-400/500); West Atlantic (ATP, CRJ200, B737 and B767); and Braathens Regional Airlines (ATR, Avro, Saab 340 and 2000, A320 and Fokker F50).

In addition, CAE garnered four more full-flight simula-tor (FFS) sales. This includes three B737 FFSs to Hainan Airlines and one A350XWB FFS to an undisclosed airline.

CAE’s civil president Nick Leontidis told AIN that increas-ingly airlines are asking the company to establish “pilot cre-ation programs” that deal with all aspects of flight crew training. An example of this is its “Cadet to Captain” programs.

Another trend is that CAE is establishing more joint ven-ture training operations, such as the academy it runs with

China Eastern in Melbourne, Australia, and the simulator center it has with Japan Air Lines in Tokyo. “Joint ventures provide an anchor for the training center, because the airline has a vested interest in its success,” Leontidis commented. “For the clients we bring operational efficiencies and best practices to the partnership.”

Here at the Paris Air Show, CAE is promoting its new 7000XR full flight simulator. “It has an enhanced lifecycle saving for customers, and is more reliable and less expen-sive to operate because the technology is very industrial and mainstream,” said Leontidis.

The 7000XR features an improved instructor training station, new interfaces including to mobile devices and it can be more easily adapted to specific training needs. The first unit was delivered to Middle East Airlines a few months ago and this year it will account for up to 70 percent of CAE simulator production this year.

Meanwhile, CAE promoted Dean Fisher to vice president of commercial training solutions and business develop-ment. He previously was vice president and general man-ager for global simulation products at the company. In his new role, Fisher is responsible for training solution sales to commercial aviation operators. –C.T.

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BrightNite gives utility ops an edgeElbit Systems (Chalet 200,

Static A8) launched a new sys-tem that provides increased lev-els of situational awareness to helicopter crews flying in a degraded visual environment (DVE). Called BrightNite, the system is aimed primarily at utility transport helicopters to provide their crews with the kind of DVE-piloting capabili-ties that are enjoyed by crews of attack helicopters.

According to U.S. Army Aviation figures, around one-fifth of Class A and B mis-haps experienced in recent years have been attributable to spatial

disorientation or loss of situa-tional awareness in a degraded visual environment. Flying heli-copters tactically at low level is already a high-workload mis-sion due to terrain, power lines and other obstructions, as well as hostile action.

Adding the dangers of DVE–complete darkness, poor weather, brown-out, white-out and sand-storms–dramatically increases that workload. Traditionally, the only aid available has been light-intensifying night vision goggles.

BrightNite is a lightweight and cost-effective system that aims to enable intuitive head-up,

eyes-out flight in pitch dark-ness and other DVE conditions. It comprises non-gimballed

un cooled FLIR and comple-mentary metal-oxide semi-con-ductor (CMOS) sensors that provide a panoramic image that is projected on to an ANVIS/HUD helmet-mounted display.

This image display is over-laid with a synthetic layer that follows terrain contours, and a third layer of 3-D conformal symbology that presents mis-sion information, highlights hazards and provides tactical data with zero latency.

According to the company, multiple crewmembers can simultaneously scan the entire field of regard with the same sys-tem. Elbit claims that BrightNite will allow utility helicopter crews to fly in more than 90 percent of night conditions. –D.D.

IAI’s Heron now has M-19HD sensor optionby David Donald

IAI is adding its high-end M-19HD payload to the options available to the Heron TP large medium-altitude long-endur-ance (MALE) UAV. Developed by IAI’s Tamam division, the M-19HD is a multi-spectral, multi-sensor payload that pro-vides day/night surveillance under all weather conditions. It offers long acquisition ranges thanks to a combination of

high-powered sensors, high lev-els of stabilization and image processing capabilities.

Measuring 27.3 inches in height and 22.6 inches in diameter, the M-19HD can accommodate up to seven sen-sors. Options include zoom and spotter high-definition day cameras, high-definition infared zoom camera, short-wave infrared camera and elec-tron-multiplied charged couple device (EMCCD) camera. Laser options include designa-tor, range-finder, pointer and near-infrared illuminator.

Designed to operate in a range of severe environmen-tal conditions, the M-19HD is applicable to a number of plat-forms, such as HALE/MALE UAVs, aerostats, helicopters and maritime vessels. It incorpo-rates an automatic multi-mode

video tracker, and its embedded GPS/inertial measurement unit allows it to supply accurate geo-location capability.

IAI’s Heron TP has been in Israeli service for some time, known as the Eitan, and has been the subject of interest from several potential export cus-tomers. Powered by a 1,200-shp

Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67, the UAV can carry a number of sensors, typically including an electro-optical turret such as that on the M-19HD, synthetic aperture radar and signals/elec-tronic intelligence systems. It offers a 36-hour endurance at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet. o

DREAM HIGH

Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner, making its Paris Air Show debut this year, is showing the aerial display crowd what it’s made of. The largely composite airliner catapults into the sky with impressive ease and grace. Its flexing wings curve upward in flight. The Le Bourget show will not soon forget the 787-9’s first performance.�

Pictured signing a memorandum of understanding here in Paris are (left to right): GE Aviation Services president and CEO Kevin McAllister, GE Aviation president and CEO David Joyce, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohra and Lufthansa Technik chairman of the executive board Johannes Bussmann.

GE, LUFTHANSA SIGN MoU FOR NEW ENGINE-OVERHAUL JOINT VENTURE

Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed Monday evening in Paris, Lufthansa Technik AG and GE Aviation agreed to create a new engine overhaul facility in Europe to service GEnx-2B and GE9X engines. Closing of the new joint venture, which is expected to be operational in 2018, is subject to “receipt of required regulatory approvals,” the companies said.

The new joint venture will be equipped to perform the full range of engine maintenance services for the GEnx-2B and the GE9X, powering the Boeing 747-8 and Boeing 777X, respectively. The partners will continue to collaborate on repair development and mobile support services. –C.T.

The large M-19HD turret can now be carried under the belly of the Heron TP. It increases the mission options of the UA to include all weather conditions.

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Barco buy boosts CMC’s product lineby Curt Epstein

Earlier this year, Esterline CMC Electronics (CMC) bought the aerospace-and-defense divi-sion of fellow avionics system supplier Barco. Esterline is here in Paris to show off its full line of

products, which now includes the former Barco avionics displays as well as its training-and-simula-tion business. As part of the inte-gration of the two companies, all display-related capabilities are

being consolidated into a dis-play-solutions group, which will include engineering, product management and program man-agement for all of Belgium-based Barco’s avionics products as well

as CMC’s own line of custom electronics displays and systems.

“CMC is now the number one independent supplier of high-quality avionics displays,” said company president Greg Yeldon. The new display-solutions group will offer modules and control assemblies, video displays and smart displays as well as avion-ics and associated software and application services for commer-cial and defense markets.

“We’re an avionics solutions provider and [with this acquisi-tion] we have a more complete tool-kit to provide solutions and products to customers,” Yeldon told AIN. “We’ve also picked up a position in the market for training and simulation systems, which is a newer market for us. Overall, we have a very complementary cus-tomer base.”

C-130 UpgradesHere at the show, CMC is

highlighting its Cockpit 9000 CNS/ATM (communication, navigation surveillance/air traf-fic management) upgrade for leg-acy C-130s and other transports. According to the company, it can extend the life of a 20- to 40-year-old aircraft by another 30 years. Visitors to the compa-ny’s stand (Hall 5 D250), can see a mockup of the integrated, digi-tal cockpit, which is built around the company’s latest-generation CMA-9000 Flight Management System combined with a high-integrity GPS landing system.

Cockpit 9000 will provide full compliance with published inter-national CNS/ATM navigational mandates and also accommodate growth of future “NextGen” provisions such as: automatic dependent surveillance-broad-cast (ADS-B) out; elementary surveillance/enhanced surveil-lance (ELS/EHSD); precision area navigation (P-RNAV); required navigation perfor-mance (RNP) 0.3 and RNP-10; localizer performance with ver-tical guidance (LPV); and also controller-pilot data link com-munications (CPDLC or Data Comm) capabilities. o

Esterline CMC Electronics provides the Cockpit 9000 system as an upgrade for C-130 military transport aircraft

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Airbus steps up its greening effortby Caroline Bruneau

Environmental issues such as reducing carbon emissions and preparing for air trans-port growth are a hot trend in the aviation industry, especially now, six months ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held here in Paris in December.

The main goal of the confer-ence is to limit carbon emissions to neutral growth beginning in 2020, as well as to cut carbon emissions in half by 2050 com-pared to 2005. Since 2009, the goal in aviation has been to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent a year, a rate that has been sustained, so far. Worldwide air traffic managed a 2.9-percent fuel efficiency improvement since 2009 despite slight growth in vol-ume, according to Airbus.

New Airbus designs are all targeting eco-performance–which also translates to increased benefits for the airlines: the A350 XWB promises 25 percent less in emissions compared to the A340: and the A320neo should bring 20 percent CO2 savings per seat starting in 2020. Meanwhile, the A380 already burns 40 per-cent less fuel per seat compared to previous-generation aircraft.

In order to display its accom-plishments and upcoming advancements, Airbus brought together airlines, suppliers and journalists in Toulouse on May 21 to celebrate its innovations in protecting the environment. The speakers conceded that reduc-ing consumption and becom-ing environmentally conscious would not have come about so fast without the carbon tax and the Clean Sky project launched in 2008 by the European com-mission. But the first results are already bearing fruit. “We are the only industry to voluntarily

decide to reduce our emissions. We are a global industry and need to act globally,” said Chris Buckley, Airbus executive v-p for customer affairs.

To reach that ambitious goal, Airbus has gathered small- and medium-size companies in the Aerospace Valley in the south-west of France to develop con-joined programs along with bigger suppliers, such as Rolls-Royce. With customers British Airways, KLM and Cathay Pacific, who all came to Toulouse to present their own projects to help win the challenge, Airbus launched its Sustainable Aviation Program to help them work on CO2 and noise reductions.

Green Game PlanFrom design to retirement, the

life cycle of an airplane’s emis-sions is undergoing improvement. Bob Lange, head of market and product strategy at Airbus, described the main focuses that should drive the industry for-ward: technological improve-ments, infrastructure and air traffic management, aircraft operations and sustainable fuels. These subjects are also heav-ily researched by the airlines themselves.

If reducing CO2 emissions is the main quantifiable tar-get, noise is second on the list. Then there is reducing and reus-ing materials. Airbus spends €2 billion a year ($2.2 billion) in R&D–but there are also a lot of savings that result: for example, in order to reduce carbon emis-sions per passenger, it is eas-ier (and more profitable) to put more seats in the cabin than to develop a new engine. This is the solution currently being tested with the new A350 and the new A380 11-seat-row configuration

presented by Airbus during the Aircraft Interiors exhibition in Hamburg last April.

The airlines have been trying to keep up with the trend. KLM is partnered with Airbus work-ing on new ecological fuel within the ITAKA project. But biofuel must be shown not to negatively affect the earth and its food sup-ply. It must also be shown to be sustainable.

British Airways is targeting the “perfect flight,” a more effi-cient way to fly en route and dur-ing the departure and approach phases, helping reduce fuel burn and noise. A new steeper arrival procedure of 3.2 degrees deliv-ers a 1-dB benefit for residents who live near airports, while a more extreme 4-degree approach during the first segment of the approach offers up to a 3-dB noise reduction to airport neigh-bors. British Airways is also looking at biofuel and is the only airline that has published target numbers: BA aspires to 3 percent biofuel consumption in 2030 and 24 percent in 2050.

As for Cathay Pacific, its research is impacted by the spe-cial topography of the crowded Hong-Kong islands: real estate values versus airport expansion has provoked heavy debates between the needs of the air-line, a huge factor of the local economy, and residents’ quality of life. Waste is also becoming a problem on the tiny piece of land, and Cathay is now trying to produce fuel from the waste while working on the noise foot-print of its aircraft on the air-port area.

Airbus executive v-p of engi-neering Charles Champion said the company is now focused on its new programs, but tries to anticipate future trends, one

of them being the incremental innovation from existing plat-forms, such as the A321neo, which should yield a 23 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

Airbus also is developing the eFan, an electric aircraft that could help it learn more about hybrid propulsion, which could help save up to 25 percent in fuel consumption.

Every Bit HelpsIn the mid-term, Airbus

plans to test a contrarotating open-rotor design together with Rolls-Royce, potentially offer-ing a 20-percent fuel-burn re-duction. A flight-test demon-strator should be available in 2020. Green taxiing, developed by Safran and Honeywell, is al-ready offering 4-percent fuel-burn reduction and up to 75 per-cent CO2 and NOx reduction.

New designs will help too: riblets aid laminar flow, and will be implemented and tested this year. A full-scale demonstrator will be built starting in 2016. Nanotechnologies are also being researched along with additive layer manufacturing, (3-D print-ing), which is already being used. It reduces material waste from 95 percent to 5 percent and

weight up to 50 percent. Airbus A350 brackets are already being manufactured using this new technique.

Here at the Paris Air Show, Airbus is displaying three large-scale demonstrators of the CleanSky2 project, built at a cost of €1.6 billion. The study, half funded by Europe, aims to explore engine and aircraft con-figuration, innovative physical integration and cabin structure, and the next generation of elec-tric aircraft, cockpits and avion-ics. The idea is now to gather the whole industry to achieve its tar-get of reducing aviation’s impact on environment.

But these very ambitious targets need to face the reali-ties of flying. As experimental test pilot Franck Chapman said during the visit to see the new A350 cockpit at the Airbus fac-tory, “The steeper approach [as studied by British Airways] is a way to manage the fuel issue, but it is very complicated.” The air-craft will arrive sooner, burn-ing less fuel in the process, but if the airport is crowded, then a go-around is more likely with the steep approach. “To save 30 kilograms of fuel, we may burn a ton,” the pilot explained. o

TWO FRENCH ENGINEERING SCHOOLS

ISAE SupAéro and ISAE Ensica, two well-known engineering schools in the French aerospace industry, are now completing a merger process. Based at different places in Toulouse, they used to have different com-petitive exams. “The industry has told us there was no longer a case for two different syllabi or two campuses,” ISAE CEO Olivier Lesbre said.

Therefore, starting this year, a single exam will help choose a total of 180 students. The Ensica name and campus will disappear. The ISAE-SupAéro campus in Toulouse is thus being refurbished and expanded. The ISAE group includes another three schools–Estaca, Ensma and Ecole de l’Air.

Nowadays, SupAéro students are encouraged to choose sub-jects such as onboard systems and production, rather than aerody-namics. The industry is expected to need the systems skills over the coming years for upgrading existing models and increasing output. Aerodynamics would be in demand if the airframers were planning to launch clean-sheet designs. –T.D.

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Self-contained recce pod works with a Wi-Fi linkby Chris Pocock

Hanging a new pod underneath a mil-itary aircraft is a favorite trick of exhibi-tors at shows like Paris. But they seldom explain that the pod is not yet integrated with the aircraft in question–a process that will be costly. However, at this Paris Air Show you may see the Airborne Technologies Self-Contained Aerial Reconnaissance (SCAR) pod beneath a variety of aircraft–ready to perform.

Airborne Technologies (Static B4) is a young, innovative Austrian company that is making a name as an integra-tor and turnkey provider of surveillance systems on low-cost platforms such as the Pilatus PC-6 and the Tecnam Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA). It unveiled the SCAR pod at last year’s Singapore Air Show and has claimed three custom-

ers already, according to sales director Marcus Gurtner. “Thanks to the minia-turization of sensors, the development of Wi-Fi technology and today’s battery packs, the SCAR pod needs only a hard-point. It is plug and fly–surveillance out of the box,” he said.

The pod is made of carbon fiber and comes in two sizes to accommo-date either 10-, 15-, or 20-inch EO/IR sensor gimbals. Up to 160 kilos of mis-sion equipment can be fitted; other pos-sible payloads include electronic warfare, SIGINT or hyperspectral survey systems.

The pod can be adapted to carry a small 360-degree surveillance radar, such as the Thales I-Master. It really is self-contained with the pod’s own bat-tery pack lasting up to 10 hours, and no

need for data cabling connections to the aircraft thanks to the secure Wi-Fi sys-tem. (Customers can alternatively run the pod from the aircraft’s power sys-tem, via a 28V DC connection.)

The onboard crew can even oper-ate the sensor with a tablet or laptop, so that no console need be installed. Alternatively, the sensor can be remotely controlled from a ground sta-tion via a high-definition line-of-sight data link. The ground station can be a van or pickup truck containing all the antennas and two workstations. There is also a satellite uplink option from the pod.

The SCAR pod is particularly suitable for helicopters and UAVs, where payload space is limited and weight or power sup-

ply can be critical, accord-ing to George DeCock, international sensors and missions manager for Airborne Technologies.

If the pod is not needed for certain missions, it can simply be removed, DeCock noted. Fitting or removal takes 15 min-utes–compared to the 60 days’ downtime that an operator must allow for a typical fixed-sensor instal-lation. “We can install the sensor fit and then ship to the customer,” he added. He also described a mis-sion scenario for a small aircraft where two pods might be carried, one under each wing–one con-taining a video sensor and the other a radar.

Using Airborne Tech-nologies’ own mission management system, sen-sor operators are presented with a moving map/aug-mented reality system that can be overlaid on the EO/

IR video. “The operation is intuitive via touchscreen menus,” DeCock claimed. The company is offering a detachable dis-play and control module for the Pilatus PC-9/21 series that can be bolt-mount-ed over the instrument panel in the rear cockpit, leaving it undisturbed. The SCAR pod was recently fitted to a Slo-venian air force PC-9 and demonstrated during the NATO Adriatic Strike close-air-support exercise.

“I foresee that we have a three-to-five-year lead in the market, before our solution becomes a standard for many ISR missions,” said Gurtner recently. “By that time, we expect to have imple-mented more innovative ideas that we have on the drawing board at present,” he added. o

Responding to interest from Mil Mi-8/17 operators, Airborne Technologies has adapted its SCAR pod to fit the Russian common launchers on those rotary-wing types. The pod is powered by a battery pack and communicates with the host aircraft or helicopter by Wi-Fi. It can also be fitted to helicopters, such as this Gazelle, below.

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Brain research is a key to safer future flightby Thierry Dubois

A research laboratory in Toulouse, part of the ISAE SupAéro engineering school, funded by insurance firm Axa, is making strides in neuroergo-nomics for pilots. As the word suggests, the goal is to adapt the flight deck to the way the human brain works best, using the latest in neuroscience.

“At stake is resolving the old debate about whether the crew or the aircraft’s design caused an accident. We know enough now to create strategies for the air-craft to help the pilot,” Godefroy Beauvallet, head of the Axa research fund, said when AIN visited the laboratory in March.

Axa has granted a chair to SupAéro’s professor Frédéric Dehais after his team won a tender. The investment so far amounts to €1 million and the team’s headcount is hoped to grow from 15 to 30, as the part-nership extends over 20 years and funding increases.

At the center of the study are two categories of accidents–loss of control in flight (LOC-I) and controlled flight into ter-rain (CFIT)–where human fac-tors account for 80 percent of the problem, according to Mickaël Causse, SupAéro asso-ciate professor.

In these instances, the crew persists in implementing an irra-tional decision despite alarms. An example is the fatal Aeroperú crash in 1996, when an incom-plete maintenance procedure left airspeed and static pressure probes blocked. After takeoff, the crew argued, focused on alti-tude and speed but never arrived at the right procedure.

Attention TunnelingLack of mental flexibility and

attention tunneling can be found in the behavior of otherwise-proficient pilots. Such behavior, caused by intense stress, can be characterized as “pathologic” because brain lesions can have the same consequences, Dehais noted. Both stress and lesions can impair cognitive abilities.

Today’s flight decks cannot help the crew in such predica-ments, but it is hoped that this will change. Dehais’s team is gathering the strengths of neu-roscience, human-factors devel-opments, signal processing and computer science to understand “neural mechanisms.”

The researchers measure how well or poorly pilots make deci-sions under stress in laboratories ranging from an fMRI (Func-tional Magnetic Resonance Im-aging)scanner, where exhaustive data can be collected, to a light aircraft cockpit in flight. The lat-ter, while more realistic, has lim-ited room for accommodating equipment. Occupying the mid-dle ground is a full-motion simu-lator developed in-house.

Emotions vs Rational Thinking

Dehais is keen on research-ing how emotions, as opposed to rational thinking, influence decisionmaking. For instance, a pilot feels pressure not to abort an approach when so close to the destination. He might be under pressure, such as wanting to avoid a delay or having to face questioning if he goes around. This is called “hot reasoning.”

Dehais and Causse have found a way to reproduce the negative emotional consequences associ-ated with the go-around maneu-ver. Pilots in the simulator were hooked up to an fMRI scanner. Their decisionmaking during a landing sequence had to take var-ious risks into account. Pilots were offered a monetary incentive for every successful landing, while go-arounds were systematically punished with a financial penalty.

Most pilots clearly made con-servative choices when the incen-tive was nil and riskier ones when it was significant. “Money cre-ates a very basic emotion, com-parable to an attraction to food or sex,” Dehais said.

fMRI measurements showed higher pre-frontal cortex activ-ity for the conservative courses of action but lower for the risky ones, attributed to being over-whelmed by emotion. The pre-frontal cortex area of the brain is where rational decisionmaking takes place. In extreme–but real–instances of incapacitating stress, the pre-frontal area may virtually shut down, said Causse.

A mystery in a number or accidents has been how a crew could ignore an aural alarm. When on final approach to Megève Airport, in the French Alps in 2009, a pilot and his instructor in a light piston sin-gle were preoccupied by run-way traffic. They did not react to the alarm signaling their

landing gear was not extended. They landed with the gear up despite the loud, intrusive alarm (this incident was recorded and can be viewed and heard on YouTube: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5McECUtM8fw).

Dehais re-created such “deaf-ness” in an experiment on the ground. Again, pilots in the test had to make a decision about landing, with various levels of difficulty with the most diffi-cult situation involving a strong crosswind. The researcher had an alarm sounding during the simu-lated approach. In 30 percent of the most difficult cases, the pilots did not hear the alarms.

Visual Trumps AuralLooking for answers, the

researchers used an electroen-cephalogram (EEG) to mea-sure how active the brain’s area for aural stimuli had been. For those pilots who had not reacted to the alarm, it was inactive. “In 0.1 second, the visual channel can shut down the aural one,” Dehais commented.

What could be seen as an incomprehensible attitude is probably the legacy of a primi-tive predator/prey survival con-duct. At least, researchers now understand that more elabo-rate alarms will not help. EEG equipment is planned to be

installed in a SupAéro-owned DR400 four-seat aircraft for fur-ther studies, once the research-ers have solved the problem of electromagnetic interference.

Researchers also are consid-ering several solutions to this situational deafness. One idea is to create an alarm that calls the pilot’s first name–the last remaining auditory stimulus the brain accepts before complete deafness. Another would be to remove the information the pilot is fixating on and replace it with more relevant guidance. This could happen when the flight computers perceive the pilot does not react to an alarm.

A very short video loop could pop up, with an avatar perform-ing the required action. For example, in a stall, a pilot’s intu-ition can command him to pull back the stick, which has hap-pened in some accidents, such as the AF447 (the Airbus A330 lost in the Atlantic). Of course, the correct reaction is to push. Seeing the avatar pushing the stick will activate the pilot’s “mirror neu-rons,” which tend to direct the person to imitate what his eyes are seeing. Tests have proven that a pilot’s reaction is faster when shown the avatar.

Awareness of the pilot’s mental workload is another important area for progress.

A wearable sensor allowed Dehais and his team to mea-sure the amount of oxygen in the pre-frontal cortex. The technology–functional near-infrared spectroscopy–yields a representation of the cortex’s activity. Computers in future cockpits could interface with the brain sensors. Aware of the pilot’s high mental workload, the computer could remove nonessential information from the panel displays.

In the event that cockpit designers want to avoid requir-ing the pilot to wear sensors, so they could rely on seat-integrated heart-beat sensing, at least to gauge emotional status. At times of high stress, the system would also use eye tracking to direct essential information to where the pilot is looking.

A lot of effort is going into alleviating the pilot workload. However, the level of activity should not be too low either. Tests have shown pilots can be easily distracted, especially via the aural channel, if his work-load is too light. Ideally, the level of concentration required should be medium. o

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy enables a better understanding of brain activity. The pre-frontal cortex is where rational decisionmaking takes place and, now, researchers have linked brain-activity study to pilot tasks performed in a simulator.

Rafael Pixel Revolution tech ‘visually’ guides its weaponsby Chris Pocock

Sensor-to-shooter is one of those buzz phrases that means different things to dif-ferent people in the defense business. Here at the Paris Air Show, Rafael (Static A8) is offering a graphic demonstration of the concept as seen by the Israeli sensor and missile house. Leveraging its expertise in electro-optics (EO), the interactive 3-D display is labelled “The Pixel Revolution.”

“Usually, the sensor-to-shooter process is enabled by the transfer of geographic coordinates,” explained Oron Oriol, Raf-ael’s executive vice president of market-ing. “That can work–but not if your GPS is being jammed. Most of our weapons have an EO sensor, and we provide the most advanced technology for imaging the battlefield, through our Litening and

Reccelite pods. “Through our advanced image processing, we locate and desig-nate the target within individual pixels. Our weapons then recognize the pixel and guide accordingly,” he told AIN.

Rafael claims that the scene-matching algorithms within the memory of weap-ons are unique. The company has named its high-resolution common visual lan-guage “the Match Guide.”

It provides a common operational picture across command and control net-works, sensors and shooters to within a few pixels. It ensures the fast and effec-tive neutralization of time-critical tar-gets, the company claims.

Visitors to the Rafael display will be able to identify targets on a touchscreen display built from Reccelite imagery. Then they can designate it for attack by an appropriate weapon from the company’s stable–likely a Spike missile or a Spice “smart” bomb.

At this year’s show, Rafael is unveiling new versions of the best-selling Litening navigation and targeting pod and the Reccelite reconnaissance sensor that is packaged in the same size pod.

Compared with the preceding Litening IV that the company first showed here in 2011, Litening V offers a new 1k infrared sensor plus a short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensor which, together, provide better res-olution at longer range. Rafael has now produced more than 1,500 Litening pods and these have been fitted to more than 20 aircraft operated by nearly 30 countries.

Reccelite is now a four-waveband sen-sor in the latest XR version, with SWIR added to color, near IR and medium-wave IR. “We have also changed the optics to give the same quality of image at nar-row fields of view, with good exposure,” explained Oriol.

This is the fourth version of this recon-naissance sensor, which has been sold to air forces in Europe, South America and India. It comes complete with its own image exploitation station on the ground, which is named Imilite. o


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A DIVERSE PAIR FROM AIRBUS

Both are large, and both carry a lot. But the A350 widebody airliner in the foreground uses turbofan engines to transport people. The A400M military transport peeling sky-ward in the background is made for lifting heavy metal and fully equipped combat troops.

While most targeting systems use geographical coordinates, Rafael’s Pixel Revolution concept locates and designates targets with reference to the pixels on a display. The weapons then “see” and track the target.

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Textron AirLand’s Scorpion makes its Le Bourget debutby Bill Carey

The Scorpion light attack jet is mak-ing its Paris Air Show debut as manufac-turer Textron AirLand further explores the European market for its clean-sheet design. Attendees can view the tandem cockpit twinjet in fully armed configura-tion at the A4 static display area.

Textron AirLand exhibited the Scorpi-on last summer at the Royal Internation-al Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Fairford, UK, and at the Farnborough International Airshow. The jet arrived in Paris on June 9 after completing its second transatlantic flight since it first flew in December 2013. It will be displayed at Le Bourget through Thursday, then make a second appear-ance at RIAT, which this year takes place from July 17 to 19.

The joint venture of Textron’s Cessna Aircraft subsidiary and AirLand En-terprises said it will demonstrate the Scorpion to “multiple European air forces,” which it declined to identify, while the twinjet remains in Europe. It is emphasizing the Scorpion’s multi-mission

capabilities, ranging from strike to intelli-gence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as the $20 million acquisition price and $3,000 per hour operating costs.

“We’re seeing interest…on every con-tinent,” Dale Tutt, Scorpion program chief engineer, told AIN. “The affordabil-ity and the hourly operating costs are an appealing value proposition.”

Textron AirLand is completing design work and planning to build a new pro-duction-conforming aircraft at Textron’s “glasshouse” rapid prototyping facil-ity in Wichita. The second prototype will incorporate modifications to the original Scorpion including a trailing-link main landing gear and fully trim-mable horizontal tails.

The venture is pleased with its orig-inal choice of the Honeywell TFE731 turbofan and will stay with that engine, although the Scorpion is designed to accommodate others. “It would take a major issue, a major concern, at this point to move away from that [powerplant],”

Tutt said. First flight of the production-conforming aircraft is planned in 2016.

Here at the Paris Air Show, the Scorpion on display is configured with nose and payload bay sensors and vari-ous weapons on all six wing stations to demonstrate its versatility. “We want to be able to show the fact that it’s multi-spec-tral, and also show the tactical interfaces to both pilots,” said Tutt.

Weapon systems on display will include

Raytheon AGM-176 Griffin, MBDA Brimstone and Lockheed Martin Hellfire and JAGM missiles; Raytheon’s Enhanced Paveway IV laser-guided bomb; plus Textron Systems’ G-CLAW guided glide munition and FN Herstal 50 caliber gun.

Sensors include the FLIR Systems Star Safire 380-HD and L-3 Wescam MX-15 imaging turrets, and Thales I-Master syn-thetic aperture radar and ground moving-target indicator. o

The clean-sheet Scorpion is here at Paris, and Textron is “seeing interest” in the low-cost attack jet. The conforming prototype will have trailing-link landing gear and trimmable tail.

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PRECISION ATTACK GETS SMALLER, SMARTER AND PUNCHIER

With an increasing accent on delivering effects with minimal collateral damage, and at lower acquisition and operational cost, interest is growing for ever-smaller preci-sion weapons. One of the leaders in the field is the Weapon & Sensor Systems busi-ness of Textron Systems, which is develop-ing two weapons that are expected to be the first members of a growing family.

The smallest of the two is the Fury glide weapon that weighs just 12.5 pounds, allowing its carriage by a range of unmanned aerial and manned aircraft. It employs semi-active laser and selec-tive availability anti-spoofing module GPS guidance, as well as tri-mode fusing that can be programmed to provide maximum effect against various target sets. At pres-ent, the fusing has to be programmed on the ground, but in the future a mid-air programming function is planned.

Three Fury weapons can be car-ried on a rack that fits on to a standard Hellfire launcher, allowing multiple weap-ons to be carried by platforms such as the Predator/Reaper and AT-6 Wolverine light attack platform. It has been success-fully launched in demonstrations from the Shadow 200 and Shadow M2 UAVs, and

another demonstration will take place this summer against a moving target.

A larger weapon under development is the G-CLAW, which builds on the clean area weapon (CLAW) blast-fragmentation unitary area munition by adding guidance capabil-ity. The 50-pound weapon has a 20-pound warhead that packs a powerful punch after detonation by a height-of-burst fuse.

G-CLAW can be carried on racks for both internal and external carriage, such as a four-weapon rack under the wing of the Scorpion light jet. Alternatively, it is sized for the common launch tube (CLT) that has been adopted by U.S. Special Operations Command for a variety of platforms. The CLT allows munitions to be ejected into the airflow from within the aircraft or from a weapons bay.

In the CLT application the G-CLAW ejects backwards from the tube before righting itself and gliding to the target. This has already been demonstrated with a drop from a Cessna Caravan. Rack launch has been performed from an AT-6.

These initial tests were performed with GPS guidance only, but later this summer G-CLAW will be demonstrated with the semi-active laser guidance as well. –D.D.

G-CLAW (left) can be carried on four-round racks by the Textron AirLand Scorpion. Three Fury weapons can be carried on a rack that fits on a Hellfire launcher, as seen under the AT-6 Wolverine (right).

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has certified Sikorsky’s “Rig Ap- proach” option for the S-92 medium twin helicopter, a system that enables auto-mated approach to offshore oil platforms. It is essentially a software upgrade, AIN un-derstands, and can be retrofitted to in-service S-92s. Sikorsky thus hopes the functionality will be adopted in the North Sea.

“We have used Rig Approach for offshore flights for more than a year and a half and we are seeing clear results; this is truly a break-through in offshore safety and reliability,” said PHI president and COO Lance Bosflug.

Sikorsky developed the option in collabo-ration with S-92 operator PHI and the FAA cer-tified it in May 2013. At the time, Sikorsky said the workload is reduced from 17 pilot-initiated items to only seven. –T.D.

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A newly-restored, original de Havilland Mosquito just out of a year-long restora-tion in New Zealand is worth millions. But this 75-percent-size facsimile is arguably as much fun to fly –and far more affordable.

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Fighters keep flirting; Malaysia keeps teasingby Chris Pocock

At the ILA Berlin Airshow three years ago, the head of the European Defence Agency (EDA) publicly bemoaned the fact that the continent’s prime aerospace companies were en-gaged in damaging and waste-ful competition to export three rival fighters. That nothing has changed was quite evident at the recent Langkawi International Marine and Aerospace (LIMA) airshow and exhibition in Malaysia. Dassault, Eurofighter and Saab were again scrapping to secure an order–from a country that hasn’t even allocated funding for the purchase and could buy American or Russian warplanes if and when it does.

Malaysian officials have been talking about a new multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) for the past five years. The first pri-ority of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) was sup-posedly to replace the MiG-29s that were acquired 20 years ago. Based at Kuantan on the country’s east coast, 18 aircraft served in two squadrons origi-nally, but two crashed and half of the remaining fleet has been grounded and cannibalized to keep the remainder flying.

The RMAF also operates one squadron of eight Boeing F/A-18D Hornets acquired in 1997, a squadron of 18 Sukhoi Su-30MKMs acquired in 2007 and a squadron of 18 BAE Hawks that have a primary com-bat, rather than training, role. A squadron of elderly Northrop F-5E/Fs has been retired.

In March 2013, at consider-able expense, the air forces of France, Sweden and the UK all dispatched operational versions of their respective Euro-canards to the LIMA show–the Rafale, Gripen and Typhoon. Boeing sponsored the appearance of two U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and presumably also the cost of getting them there by refueling from an Omega Air KDC-10 tanker. Moscow sent the

Russian Knights aerobatic team of five Su-27 Flankers, eyeing the possibility that the RMAF might opt to buy more Su-30s to meet the MRCA requirement.

All this made for a great airshow on an otherwise sleepy island that was developed for tour-ism by Malaysia’s energetic for-mer Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed. But no choice of a new fighter was forthcoming.

The federal government in Kuala Lumpur allocates fund-ing for big-ticket items in five-year development plans, and the MRCA was not in the current

plan. Moreover, some informed observers–and at least one senior RMAF officer that spoke to AIN–believe that the air force should prioritize spending on an airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft and more maritime patrol aircraft (MPA). Besides, just how many different fighter types should a country like Malaysia seek to operate?

Crowded Field at LIMA 2015Despite this, and attracted by

a Malaysian request for infor-mation on possible lease options for the MRCA rather than a purchase, the fighter market-ing circus returned to LIMA in March 2015. The French air force sent two Rafales from their now-permanent deployment at Al Dhafra airbase in the UAE. One of the French jets flew each day during the show.

Meanwhile, Saab arranged for the Thai air force to send one of its Gripens for the static park. The U.S. Navy flew in Boeing two Super Hornets from its nearby aircraft carrier for static display. Eurofighter did not bring hardware, but the full-scale model was shipped in and reas-sembled in a prime position just outside the entrance to LIMA’s big exhibition hall. The Russians also didn’t send jets this time, but an RMAF Sukhoi Su-30 pilot put on a great display.

Top brass and government officials supported the market-ers from the aerospace compa-nies. For instance, the UK sent defense procurement minister Philip Dunne, Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshall Sir Andrew Pulford and Sir Glenn Torpy, one of Pulford’s predecessors as RAF chief and now the senior military advisor to BAE Systems. The British company has the lead on marketing the four-nation Eurofighter in Malaysia.

French air force chief General Denis Mercier was also present. Pulford, Mercier and other senior visiting airmen were obliged to sit through a long opening session of the Air Chiefs Conference put on by the show organizers.

Meanwhile, Malaysian de-fence minister Hishammuddin Hussein and RMAF commander General Roslan Saad toured the show, but made no commitments about the MRCA. In his pub-lic comments, Hishammuddin stressed the threat to Malaysia from terrorism and piracy–hardly the prime mission areas for a new combat aircraft.

Options AplentyUnlike his predecessor Gen-

eral Rodzali, General Roslan did not seem so insistent that the MiG-29s must be replaced. He told AIN that they were still flying in one squadron and that, although spares were ex-pensive, no out-of-service date had been fixed.

“We’re talking to RAC MiG about that,” Roslan added. Indeed, the MiG company had a stand at LIMA 2015 where it was displaying a proposed ser-vice-life extension and upgrade to the RMAF’s MiG-29s.

To give them credit, Hisham-muddin, Roslan and other top Malaysian officers and govern-ment officials spent the whole week at the show, even the pub-lic days, and must have made con-tact with most of the exhibitors.

A French air force Rafale takes off to display at the Langkawi airshow in Malaysia last March, in support of a bid to sell the French jet there.

Above: Malaysian show-goers inspect the cockpit of the full-scale Eurofighter model at the LIMA show. The big weapon in front is the Saab Rbs-15F anti-ship missile: Malaysia is reported to be particularly interested in that capability.

Above right: A model of the Super Hornet in RMAF markings on the Boeing stand at LIMA.

Right: Saab encouraged the Thai air force to bring one of its Gripens to LIMA.

Left: If and when Malaysia finally decides to buy a Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA), these will be the key decision-makers: Defense Minister Hishammuddin (left) and Air Force chief Gen Roslan (right).

Right: Top government officials turned out at LIMA to support rival candidates for the MRCA requirement. This is British defense procurement minister Philip Dunne being interviewed for a Malaysian television channel.


Regarding the MRCA, they would not have lacked for advice.

“It’s important that air forces understand the cost of their desires,” Knut Ovrebo, Saab’s chief engineer for future air systems, told attendees at the Air Chiefs Conference. The Swedish company is proposing a package that would include the EriEye AEW/MPA system on a Saab 2000 turboprop twin, as well as the Gripen, thus meet-ing three RMAF requirements.

“We provided a similar pack-age to Thailand, and they are very happy with it,” a Saab manager told AIN at LIMA. “That pack-age included tactical datalinks and naval and land-based C4I, so the Thais now have some sophis-ticated data fusion. Not many nations have that,” he added.

“A new fighter is an acquisi-tion for the next 30 years, and over that period sustainment will be 70 percent of the total outlay,” a Boeing official told AIN. He claimed that Boeing had a sig-nificant advantage here, with the F-18D already in the RMAF inventory. “There’s a common network of suppliers between the Hornet and the Super Hornet, common support equipment, as well as aircrew, training and main-tenance synergies,” he added.

Sir Glenn Torpy described the Typhoon’s combat record over Libya and its role as the defender of British airspace. He was also keen to stress the importance of factoring in the operating costs. “The RAF has achieved a 15-percent reduction with the Tornado through col-laboration with industry, and we’re now seeing the same on Typhoon,” he added.

Glossy BrochureDassault Aviation was hand-

ing out a glossy six-page bro-chure that had been entirely translated into the Malay lan-guage by Rafale International, the marketing entity that also includes Snecma and Thales. Complete with a long personal message from Dassault chief Eric Trappier, the brochure touted the Rafale’s sovereignty and maintainability, as well as its combat-proven record. As in other campaigns, such as Brazil, Rafale International also created a dedicated website that locals could access for data and photos of the French jet and videos that it produced at the LIMA show.

One of the EDA’s biggest concerns about the competi-tion for exports between the European fighters is the stim-ulus that it generates for the giving-away of precious tech-nology and production work as

offsets. And there was no short-age of such offers at LIMA.

Rafale International prom-ised “a key role” for several Malaysian aviation and defense companies, in partnerships that “will go beyond the Rafale pro-gram by offering other high-technology cooperation.” BAE Systems said that “industrial partnerships form an impor-tant part of our strategy” and announced a new contract for Hawk pylons with local com-pany SME Aerospace.

Education Is KeyEducation is another key bat-

tleground. Both Rafale Interna-tional and Saab have organized technology seminars open to hundred of students at Malay-sian higher education institutes or universities. BAE Systems spon-sors one-year engineering masters’ degree scholarships for Malay-sian students at British universi-ties. Boeing’s regional vice-presi-dent made a careers presentation at LIMA on “the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for Boeing and the aerospace industry.”

Since the LIMA show, the French have secured orders for the Rafale from Egypt and Qatar, and a renewed commit-ment from India. The Rafales from LIMA 2015 flew on to Jakarta for demonstration to the Indonesian air force.

But it’s not clear how much capacity remains in France to build more jets for a fourth or fifth customer. However, at his pre-Paris Air Show press con-ference two years ago, Dassault Aviation boss Eric Trappier said that Malaysia could have its own production line, if it wanted.

Meanwhile, Saab has pro-gressed its big partnership with Brazil for the Gripen, and con-firmed the Swedish order for the new-generation Gripen E/F. It could be that Boeing and Eurofighter are most in need of new export business right now. Without it, both the Typhoon and the Super Hornet will be out of production by the end of the decade. Perhaps the sponsors of these jets had better reserve their exhibition space for LIMA 2017.

Or perhaps not. Two weeks ago, RMAF commander Gen Rosland told the Malaysian media that the MiG-29N fleet would be upgraded after all. He said, “Initially there were plans to phase out the aircraft and replace them with another multi-role combat aircraft. However, we have decided to upgrade the aircraft to ensure it has simi-lar capabilities with fighter jets owned by other countries.” o

Honeywell demos tech with 3-D virtual realityby Matt Thurber

Honeywell has figured out a new way to demonstrate its lat-est cockpit and cabin technol-ogy, using another type of high technology–the Oculus Rift 3-D virtual reality headset. Instead of building then shipping huge cockpit and cabin mockups to air shows or lugging compli-cated demonstration displays to customer sites, the Oculus Rift headset allows potential cus-tomers to experience the tech-nology nearly first-hand in an environment that is much more immersive than the typical prod-uct video.

“Honeywell is a technology company, and this tool exem-plifies that,” said Mike Beazley, vice president of global sales for Honeywell Business and General Aviation. In a typical tradeshow display, he explained, customers rarely stop to watch a video all the way through, either because they are distracted or worried about being pounced on by a salesperson.

With the Oculus Rift dem-onstrator, visitors are spend-ing 10 to 15 minutes immersed in Honeywell’s virtual reality cockpit and cabin. “It’s created a lot of buzz,” he said. “You’re stepping into your own lit-tle world. This allows them to learn at their own pace.”

The first time Honeywell deployed the Oculus Rift demon-strator system was at last year’s MEBAA show in Dubai followed by ABACE and EBACE this year. Here at Paris, Honeywell is inviting visitors to view the dem-onstration at its chalet (106).

To start the demonstration, the user dons the Oculus Rift headset while sitting in a com-fortable chair. The 3-D scene opens with a view from out-side a typical large-cabin busi-ness jet, facing the open door. Entering the door, the user is offered a choice of turning left into the cockpit or right into the cabin. Selections are made by looking at a target hot spot with a head-up symbol embed-ded in the view.

In the cockpit, the demon-stration highlights technologies such as Honeywell’s SmartView synthetic vision, SmartRunway, SmartLanding, FMS, satcom and cockpit displays. The syn-thetic vision demo takes advan-tage of the Rift’s capabilities by showing how the pilot’s view

outside the windows is of wors-ening weather while the flight dis-play shows the synthetic view of a clear day. Some of the demos put the airplane in motion, too, which can be slightly disori-enting but further highlights Honeywell’s technologies.

Moving back to the cabin, various hotspots are available for further exploration. The user can try out features of Honeywell’s

Ovation Select cabin manage-ment system and even “see” a video playing on a cabin display.

“It’s very realistic,” said Beazley. Before trying the sys-tem for the first time, he added, “I was somewhat skeptical. I thought it would be a little gim-micky. But you really do feel like you’re in that airplane. When you’re sitting in the cabin, you can interact with it almost at the

same level as having the aircraft in front of you.”

While the Oculus Rift demo currently doesn’t offer users the ability to manipulate anything in the 3-D world with their own hands, Honeywell is working on adding a special tactile glove to the system. “We’re looking at how we can continue to expand this experience,” he said.

Beazley also sees many other potential uses for the Oculus Rift, including avionics training. But first the plan is to add more depth to the product demonstra-tions, including deeper menus so users can explore all of a prod-uct’s features. “I want the person to completely interact with the

system as if it were the real air-craft,” he said. “The technology is there to do that. It’s really just a question of time and resources to get that data in place.”

Meanwhile, show visitors can bring some of that Honeywell technology home, in the form of downloadable virtual reality videos of the product demon-strations on their mobile devices (iOS and Android). o

Honeywell’s Oculus Rift 3-D virtual reality demonstration brings users into a virtual cockpit and cabin equipped with Honeywell technology.

AIRCRAFT INTERIORS MIDDLE EAST TO RETURN IN 2016

Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME), dubbed as the Middle East’s only aircraft interiors event, will return to the Dubai World Trade Center in early February (3rd and 4th), show organizer F&E Aerospace announced this week. Two-thirds of the airlines that attended this year’s AIME said they planned to make a purchase from an AIME exhib-itor within the next 12 months, while the remaining one-third said they would consider doing so, according to F&E.

A total of 85 international airlines–including Gulf Air, Rwandair and Turkish Airlines–attended AIME 2015, while 95 percent of airline attendees that were surveyed admitted that they buy, approve or rec-ommend purchases. More than half of them did not attend any other aircraft interiors event this year.

Almost 60 percent of this year’s exhibitors have re-booked for AIME 2016, said F&E. –G.P.


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Flaris selects Williams for LAR 1 powerplant by Chad Trautvetter

Podgórzyn, Poland-based Flaris (Static B6) has selected the Williams FJ33-5A to power its LAR 1 five-seat single-engine very light jet, the company announced this week here in Paris. The LAR 1 prototype, unveiled at Paris 2013, was originally fitted with a 1,460-pound thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F, but project director Rafał Ładziński told AIN that the aircraft required an engine that could produce at least 1,506 pounds of thrust.

To meet this requirement, Flaris had been considering the P&WC PW615 and an engine from French firm Price Induction before settling on the Williams turbofan. The FJ33-5A was orig-inally developed for the now-shelved Diamond D-Jet, also a single-engine jet design, and pro-duces about 1,700 pounds of thrust, according to U.S.-based Williams International.

Ładziński said engineers in-cluded provisions to accommodate other powerplants, making an en-gine switch “fairly easy.” With the new engine, target performance

specifications are mostly un-changed: 820-foot/250-meter take-off distance from a grass field, 380-knot/700-km/h top cruise speed, 62-knot/115-km/h stall speed, 1,543-pound/700-kg empty weight and 3,300-pound/1,500-kg mtow. It has lowered the certified ceiling from 46,000 feet to 28,000 feet and bumped up the maxi-mum range from 1,350 nm/2,500 km to 1,700 nm/3,200 km.

The $1.5 million (in 2013 dol-lars) all-composite jet sports several unique features: a nose-mounted ballistic parachute; wide rear-opening pilot and co-pilot doors; detachable wings and horizontal stabilizers, for easier storage; a fuselage-mount-ed fuel tank, because no fuel can be held in the detachable wings; and electric deice system. It will also have a dual Garmin G600 avionics system.

Flaris said its parent compa-ny, Metal-Master, is self-fund-ing the project using cash flow. Metal-Master is an established company that makes assem-bly-line production tooling for

truck manufacturers such as Scania, Volvo, Saab and Man. While it has extensive experience in working with metals, Flaris is Metal-Master’s first foray into composites.

After the Paris Air Show closes this week, Flaris plans to resume taxi tests using the new engine as it prepares for first flight by year-end. The company still expects to receive FAA and EASA type certification for the LAR 1 in 2016. o

Poland’s Flaris very light jet (VLJ) will be powered by a 1,700-pound-thrust Williams FJ33-5A. The unique single-engine, five-seat VLJ made its world debut here in 2013.

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Air-drop electric drone relieves surveillance craft by Thierry Dubois

Airborne Concept (Hall 4 A108) is here exhibiting the Drop ’n Drone, an air-droppable, electrically powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can carry a two-pound payload. “The idea is to relieve a surveillance aircraft, such as a special-mission mili-tary transport, and still keep a site under watch,” Airborne Concept president Arnaud Le Maout told AIN. He alluded to those missions when terrorists have to be kept under constant observation so as not to lose track of a hostage.

If, for example, a manned aircraft has to leave the site to refuel, the crew can drop the UAV from any opening. “A parachute deploys, the wing–previously aligned with the fuselage–rotates into position, then the parachute detaches and the UAV pulls out,” Le Maout explained.

At the end of its mission, the UAV can fly to a preprogrammed point, which also can be changed in flight. It can either open a sec-ond parachute for a smooth recovery or crash if the operator

does not want the enemy to use it.A benefit of electric power is

quietness. Terrorists know very well the sound of in-service pis-ton-engine UAVs, Le Maout pointed out. Electric power is to be supported by a fuel cell, which is expected to push endur-ance to three to six hours.

The payload can use data-link, via ground networks or satellite, to transmit pictures, for example. Another applica-tion might be found in acting as a relay for telecommunications after a disaster such as a flood or an earthquake.

Airborne Concept hopes to sell 50 to 100 Drop ’n Drones in three years. The first flight was to take place on the eve of the show but had to be postponed due to the weather. o

VAPORIZER

Paris Air Show attendees are getting their first look at Pakistan’s PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder jet fighter in the skies over Le Bourget. The company reports a first export customer, but declined to name the country. The needs of export cus-tomers have driven development of a two-seat trainer version.

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The wing of the electrically powered Drop ’n Drone rotates into position before the parachute detaches.

Do 228 gets fresh start as Ruag restarts productionby David Donald

Ruag Aviation is restarting serial production of the Dornier 228 utility turboprop twin. “The move sends a clear signal to the market that Ruag is strongly com-mitted to its Dornier 228 pro-gram and expects steady growth in this segment,” the company said here at the Paris Air Show.

The Swiss-based company plans to produce four aircraft per year starting in mid-2016, with this number set to increase along with demand. To meet this sched-ule, the final assembly line for the Do 228 has already been set up in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

Ruag-Tata PartnershipLast year, Ruag Aviation

(Chalet 120, Static A5 and Hall 4 B77) signed a partnership agreement with Indian airframe manufacturer Tata Advanced Systems to manufacture fuselages and wings for the turboprop. Assembly of the first new Do 228 fuselage has already begun and the wing panels are currently being formed, Ruag said.

“The Dornier 228 is experienc-ing significant growth in demand for special missions, including maritime policing and border

control. In its special mission configuration, the twin turbo-prop offers numerous advantages, with on-station time of up to eight hours and easy installa-tion of equipment,” said Volker Wallrodt, Ruag’s senior vice pres-ident for business jets, Do 228 and components. “As a commuter air-craft in places such as Venezuela, the Dornier 228 has proven its STOL and hot-and-high capabili-ties, as well as its ability to operate on unprepared runways.

The aircraft can also be re-configured from passenger to cargo-transportation layout with minimum effort.”

Ruag believes that Do 228 demand will be strong is “key regions” of Asia and Africa, where the trend among opera-tors is for 19-seat aircraft.

Ruag Aviation recently teamed with ENAER of Chile to coop-erate in MRO, upgrades and lifecycle support. Ruag said that it will benefit from ENAER’s “close ties with the local market” while ENAER will benefit from the Swiss company’s “extensive net-work and international reach.” The strategic alliance came into effect on May 19. o

BOEING’S SINNETT ADDRESSES COST

No one can know precisely what future technology will find its way onto a new airplane that might not appear in service until a decade from now. But Boeing vice president of product development Mike Sinnett seems to have a clear idea of what developmental “levers” the company might pull in its efforts to fill the mar-ket space between the 737 Max 9 and the 787-8. During a Paris Air Show briefing on Monday, Sinnett named fuel economy, maintenance costs and training costs as the top considerations.

“Fuel burn reduction is really important to us, and it always has been,” he said. “If you look at where we are today, we burn 70-percent less fuel than we did with our first-generation jet aircraft. The 737 has improved fuel burn by something like 1.4 percent per year for the last 40 years. So that’s a natural thing and that will go on forever.”

Meanwhile, said Sinnett, maintenance costs have become more important as airplane “functionality” improves and new systems work harder to burn less fuel due to their complexity. Technology enabling the diagnosis of the mechanical health of an airplane while airborne to help maintenance teams move parts before it lands show particular promise in the effort to lower those costs, he added. In terms of training costs, the most effective means to lower costs will likely continue to lie with systems and cockpit commonal-ity between aircraft types.

“So much of the cost of the pilot has nothing to do with him flying the airplane on the day he flies it,” said Sinnett. “It’s in all the training that gets him capable of flying the airplane. Moving pilots from one airplane to another is a significant expense. The 787 and the 777 have a common type rating. We were told that would be impossible and we took it on as a challenge.” –G.P.

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IAI’s Ultra radar group shows flexibility of use

Here at the Paris Air Show, IAI Elta (Chalet 210) unveiled its Ultra radar family and announced that it is now oper-ational after five years of devel-opment. The system, which works in the UHF band for better small-target detection at long ranges, features advanced digitization for greater opera-tional capability. The family is modular, allowing different sys-tems to be built up to answer different requirements.

At the heart of the Ultra family is the ELM-2090U mod-ule, an array of UHF trans-mit-receive modules (TRM) in a single clustered unit that has

been designed so that modules can be easily swapped. Using UHF, rather than the higher frequency bands, has particular application at long ranges since it suffers from less signal loss in the atmosphere.

Digitization Up FrontA discriminating innovation

of the ELM-2090U is the dig-itization of the signal at TRM level. In most electronically scanned radars, the digitization of the radar’s analog signals is performed further back in the radar. Conducting the process at TRM level allows more flexibil-ity in beam-forming and shaping.

In its basic form, the single-module ELM-2090U is being promoted as a mobile air sur-veillance radar with a range capability of up to 310 miles. Known as the Ultra-C1, this radar can be mounted on a truck bed and has a fully rotat-ing pedestal.

For long-range early warn-ing with capability against satellites, aerial targets and ballistic missiles, including the accurate estimation of launch and predicted impact points, IAI is proposing the Ultra-C6, which has six clusters. And for very long-range detection, there is the 300-metric-ton Ultra-C22 array with 22 ELM-2090U units.

Each radar can electronical-ly steer its beam through +/-60 degrees in azimuth and across a 40-degree sector in elevation. In

all cases, the array can be me-chanically tilted through 30 de-grees in elevation to provide a total elevation coverage of 70 degrees. While the single-clus-ter Ultra-C1 is intended for

360-degree mechanical rotation, the larger arrays are mount-ed on a rail assembly that can be mechanically slewed through +/100 degrees to give 320-de-gree coverage. –D.D.

COUNTING NOSES

The static aircraft display at the 2015 Paris Air Show has an even 100 aircraft. That doesn’t quite match up to previous shows’ total numbers on display at Le Bourget, but experts agree the overall currency value of this year’s exhibiting aircraft is higher than any other show in recent memory.

The Elta radar works in the UHF band, enhancing small-target detection. It’s modular format enables users to tailor the system to their particular missions.

Dornier 228 fans will enjoy the news that their aircraft is back in production.



L-3 extends beacon battery life; notes upcoming ADS-B needsby Matt Thurber

L-3 Aviation Products (Chalet 306) is exhibiting a variety of surveillance, nav-igation and safety products here at Le Bourget.

The company’s latest product is a new underwater locator beacon for L-3 cockpit voice and flight data recorders, extending the underwater beacon life to the new 90-day operational standard in Technical Standard Order C121b. While this is currently an FAA TSO standard, a European TSO is expected shortly. Beacons manufactured after Dec. 1, 2015, must meet TSO-C121b, and the FAA will not grant TSOs for beacons manufac-tured to the earlier TSO-C121 or C121a after that date. The earlier TSO specified a 30-day underwater beacon standard.

“We expect the entire industry to move towards a 90-day underwater locator beacon standard,” said Ralph DeMarco, vice president of marketing and sales for L-3 Aviation Products. Operators will be able to upgrade their TSO-C121 or C121a 30-day beacons to the new C121b standard, he said.

According to L-3, “Retrofit kits are available for the 90-day beacon that allow operators to remain in factory compo-nent maintenance manual compliance as they upgrade their recorder products in the field.” L-3 will support the 30-day bea-cons with battery exchange kits and it also is offering a beacon test kit that works for both the 30-day and 90-day beacons.

Meanwhile, over the next five years airlines and operators of business aircraft will need to upgrade transponders and GPS sensors to meet the 2020 ADS-B out mandate in the U.S. and Europe. Many other countries already have imple-mented ADS-B out at higher altitudes.

The standard for ADS-B has shifted to the more stringent RTCA DO-260B, and all of the transponders made by ACSS, the L-3 Aviation Products/Thales joint venture, meet DO-260B requirements. This includes the new Lynx MultiLink Surveillance System for general aviation aircraft made by L-3 Avionics. With the addition of the Lynx series, L-3 can now fill the needs for any size aircraft for ADS-B out, and it also offers ADS-B in features as well, although those aren’t part of any mandate.

“We have the only certified avionics available today with both ADS-B out and in solutions for air transport,” said DeMarco. Benefits of ADS-B in include providing pilots “with information to assist in things such as airport taxi, spac-ing cues for aircraft as they approach for landing, in-trail procedures over non-radar areas and overall providing greater situational awareness,” he added.

US Airways, which is now part of American Airlines, has equipped 20 Airbus A330s with ACSS’s SafeRoute ADS-B in software and is participating

in an FAA trial of ADS-B in capabil-ities. These include SafeRoute’s CDTI assisted visual separation and merging and spacing functions during operations at Philadelphia Airport and also in-trail procedures over the North Atlantic, according to L-3.

Other FAA trials with ADS-B out and in have taken place with UPS, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue. “A benefit report for using [CDTI assisted visual separation] is expected to be completed later this month, and a merging and spacing benefit report is due in November,” DeMarco said.

ACSS transponders already have been installed in several hundred airliners in the U.S., but many more aircraft need equipage to meet the 2020 deadline. L-3 expects the rate of installations to acceler-ate as the deadline approaches and also in concert with scheduled maintenance visits.

L-3 Aviation is also highlighting recent developments in India, with the opening in March of the company’s new Bengalaru MRO facility. In addition, Hindustan Aeronautics selected L-3’s TACAN+ tac-tical airborne navigation system for its new Light Utility Helicopter, L-3 said. The TACAN+ is available for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, for both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations, and can track up to four ground stations simulta-neously in range and two in bearing. o

L-3 Aviation Products has released a new 90-day underwater locator beacon for its cockpit voice and flight data recorders.

Grob assuming mentor role at U.S. Army training centerby David Donald

Grob’s G120TP aerobatic trainer has been selected as part of a new training system for the U.S. Army fixed-wing fleet, as well as for students destined for the U.S. Air Force King Air fleet. The system will allow the Army to train initial-entry fixed-wing students for the first time, and also provide fixed-wing conversion for rotary-wing pilots. Student throughput will be more than 600 each year.

CAE was awarded the contract for a company-owned and operated train-ing center at Dothan Regional Airport in Alabama, close to the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker. This is due to open in June 2016.

In addition to a suite of ground-based training tools, the school will con-duct live training with six CAE-owned G 120TPs, along with a fleet of 10 C-12U King Airs that are owned and main-tained by the Army but flown by CAE instructors. The value of the contract with Grob is $30 million.

Grob’s G 120TP offers fully certified aerobatic capability and a glass cock-pit. The ability to undertake upset train-ing (recovery from unusual attitudes) was an important criterion in the selec-tion of the aircraft, as was the aircraft’s turbine powerplant. The Rolls-Royce M250-B17F turboprop develops 380 shp in maximum continuous power, but can develop 456 shp for up to five minutes. The aircraft is stressed for +6g/-4g aero-batics, and has a top speed of 235 knots.

CAE is producing two G 120TP flight training devices to complement the live training aircraft, as well as a suite of desktop trainers. For King Air training, the company is initially supplying two 7000XR Series full flight simulators (FFS) and two integrated procedures trainers.

It is also developing two more FFSs that feature roll-on/roll-off cockpits that allow the simulators to accurately repre-sent four different King Air variants in U.S. Army and Air Force service. o

Grob will provide six of its G120 trainers as part of the new U.S. Air Force and Army training center being developed by CAE.

SCRUBBING THE SKY CLEAN

Safran’s Snecma division is one of three participants in the Clean Sky 2 phase, targeting significant cuts in CO2 and NOx emissions and reductions in noise footprint. Snecma is building a ground-test version of a contra-rotating open rotor turboprop as part of the sustainable and green engine (SAGE) initiative. Here at Le Bourget, it's worth a look.�

ROLLS-ROYCE, LIEBHERR JOIN TO DEVELOP POWER GEARBOX

Rolls-Royce (Chalet 93) and Liebherr Aerospace (Chalet 279, Hall 2a A276) have agreed to establish a 50-50 joint venture to develop manufacturing capability for the power gear-box of Rolls-Royce’s new UltraFan engine. The UltraFan is a geared design based on tech-nology that could be ready for service in 2025, the engine manufacturer said.

The power gearbox will enable the UltraFan to deliver efficient power over a range of take-off thrusts for future high-bypass-ratio engines. Rolls-Royce said the engine will offer at least a 25-percent improvement in fuel burn compared with the first generation of its Trent engines.

The joint venture, located in Friedrichshafen, Germany, will provide production engineer-ing for the power gear drivetrain components. Manufacturing will initially be done in existing Liebherr facilities. As production volume increases, “The joint venture will look for options for creating a standalone manufacturing infrastructure,” the companies said. –B.C.

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