February 2012 Archives

I quite enjoyed this video of RSAF Fokker 50 operations over the Gulf of Aden last year. I found it interesting that despite the sensor pod under the fuselage they still have a photographer snapping away in the cabin and then loading the photos onto a laptop.  I would expect that the pod under the fuselage is much better suited to this purpose, and no doubt can snap photos or take video from much farther away and at night as well.

I also found it odd that it took them so long to upload this video. The aircraft returned to Singapore in July 2011, and it is not as if there is anything the video that is operationally sensitive. Somalia's pirates are well aware that those grey aircraft flying about over the Gulf of Aden are not carrying tourists on joyrides.

Anyway, I got in trouble with an engineer for writing that Singapore could possible replace the Fokker 50 with an upgraded type, such as P-3C or even P-8, or an 'equivalent' type such as the Ruag Do228NG. He wrote that replacing a Fokker 50 with a Do228NG would be like replacing an F-15 with T-6C. I would argue that miniaturisation means the Do228NG, itself a fairly large airframe, could carry a formidable suite of systems for the maritime patrol role.

That said, perhaps Singapore could go for two MPA types. A light MPA like the Do228NG for routine local duties, and something like the P-8 for ASW and long range patrols out in the South China Sea or at the northern end of the Straits of Malacca.

Last September's Beijing Aviation Expo was primarily a commercial affair, but there were a bunch of cool VTOL UAVs on static in the lobby. These included the SVU200, a creation of US UAV designer Dennis Fetters, that had its first flight recently.

While all the UAVs were ostensibly being pitched for ho hum peaceful civilian purposes - pipeline patrol, environmental monitoring, crop dusting (yawn), and so forth, virtually every stand had at least one picture of their UAV armed up with rockets and the sensors to direct them.

The main SVU200 brochure, for instance, shows the aircraft with 18 rocket tubes and an EO/IR sensor. Given that advances in technology make it affordable to have small guided rockets in the 70mm range, the SVU200 could pack a heck of a punch in PLA service. There can be little doubt that these systems will also find a fertile market in Africa, the Middle East, and Africa. 

For many owners and users of private jets, mostly rich businessmen or company executives (high net-worth individuals, in the industry parlance) who need to zip around from one place to another without being held back by airline schedules, these aircraft are a business tool.

Yet, most people are more familiar with the glamorous side of it all. You see it in the movies or music videos, where the stars climb out of their aircraft to a waiting limousine that whisks them away to an exclusive party. That is how most, rightly or wrongly, perceive private jets.

Some of that stardust will be on show at the Singapore Airshow next week, when Chinese movie star Jackie Chan's brand new Embraer Legacy 650 will be on the static display.

The man himself will not be in town, and I doubt that the interior will be opened up to the general public. Yet, those who see his "JC Jet" will get an inkling of how a global movie star travels. And you have to admit - it is a pretty cool way to get around.

Want to join the club? Just give the Embraer executives at the show a cheque for $30 million, and one of these babies is yours. Excuse me while I go call my banker.

As a young boy who dreamed of flying around the world, I had a fixation with the Concorde and the Boeing 747. Even now, just talking about these two beautiful aircraft or writing about them brings a silly smile to my face.

I never flew on the Concorde, although I got a photo of myself beside one in 2010 at Toulouse airport. I also happily parted with a lot of Euros for a beautiful model of one in British Airways colours at the Airbus shop in Toulouse.

I have, however, flown on the 747-400 several times and loved it almost every time. 

Occasionally, I snagged a seat in the upper deck - the special place in this venerable aircraft and my favourite spot. It feels like the cabin of a private jet to which only the invited few have access, and a place where you are virtually guaranteed special attention from the crew.

When you walked down those stairs after your flight, you could look around smugly at those who did not have the privilege. I certainly did that. The tables were turned when I was the one seated downstairs. I would look longingly at those stairs, and daggers would fly from my eyes targeting those who sashayed down with a smile.

Singapore Airlines operated the first 747-400 I flew on, and it was also the first one in which I got into the upper deck (Melbourne-Singapore). The advent of the Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER means that the 747-400 is no longer economical, and the final aircraft will be retired from SIA's fleet in March.

So I am glad that the members of the public who are going to the Singapore Airshow next week will get a chance to see the 747-400 on the static display. This is one of the last opportunities to see this beautiful aircraft in SIA colours, and it will be a fond farewell from many of us to what was - and to a large extent still is - a symbol of the romance of flying.

There are many newer, faster and more comfortable aircraft aircraft out there and I certainly enjoy flying in all of them. And when there is an opportunity, I will fly in the 747-400s operated by the other airlines in the region.

Yet, for the romantic in me, the SIA 747 will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for the dreams and memories. You will be missed.

Yet again I'm impressed by the creativity displayed by one of the region's air forces in putting together a flying display to impress both frequent air show visitors and the the general public.

The RSAF plans on teaming its new F-15SG with an F-16C in a joint aerobatics display, certainly an unusual teaming of aircraft. A few hours ago the pair buzzed our office in Changi Business Park. The team here has become quite lulled by the regular commercial traffic approaching from the south, so two fighters on afterburner coming directly above us from the north certainly got our attention.

The RSAF's F-15/F-16 combination is not entirely without precedent. A few years back the RSAF combined F-16s with A-4 Skyhawks, and RSAF F-16s have even paired with AH-64D Apaches. Can you imagine the USAF and US Army cooperating on something like a joint aerobatics display?

My favourite regional team is probably China's August 1, which flies red white and blue Chengdu J-10As. At Zhuhai in 2010 they were liberal in their use of flares. They also seemed to have few compunctions about flying near the crowd, and a few of them flew directly overhead. Perhaps not the safest thing to do, but very cool to watch.

Flightglobal's plans for the Singapore Airshow 2012 are well afoot. Looks like it's going to be a super busy week on the defence side. There will be two of us covering it, myself (@asiajetwatch) and my colleague @sivag.

Unfortunately, as is always the case at air shows, a lot of the briefings clash with each other and with individual briefings I've set up. Being a defence buff I'd be happy to go to ALL of the briefings, but there is so little time and in any event I'll also be rushing to bash out stories.

Singapore's A Star, perhaps concerned about conflicting with other events, has the most bizarre timing and location for a show-related presser, at 5pm on Sunday before the show. The event is not even at the show site, but at a golf club. How random is that?

One unfortunate scheduling decision is Dallas Airmotive's opening of its Seletar service centre at 12pm on Monday, conflicting directly with the official opening of Roll Royce's monster engine factory, which will produce fan blades and the Trent 1000 power plant for the 787.  The Rolls Royce opening is huge for Singapore, and the prime minister will spend a few hours at the site. There can be little doubt of which event the media will focus on.

I got a kick out of Boeing's thinly-veiled swipe at the F-35 in the title of one of its briefings: 'A brief examining the balanced and evolutionary approach to fighter design versus the challenges of fielding a "revolutionary" design affordably and on schedule." 

The organisers seem to have finally posted an update of what will be flying at the show. While the B-52 flyby will be sort of interesting in a 'check that off the list' sort of way, it's not a B-1B or B-2. Anyway, it's good to see US taxpayers' money at work.

I'm dubious that those MiG-29s of the RMAF Smokey Bandits team will get airborne. They suffered mechanical issues at LIMA in December (pictured above, on the ground), so not sure they'll get much airtime at the Singapore show. In any case, how much do these guys actually get to practice given the well known support problems with their cool, but Russian, aircraft?

The static park is looking healthy. The F-22 isn't on the list notwithstanding the liberal use of this aircraft's image on the landing page. Intriguingly the A330 MRTT is listed, although an Airbus presser yesterday said only the ACJ318 private jet will be coming to the show. 

Came across two cool news items from India today, both involving naval aviation.

The first is a story in the The Hindu in which the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma said the Aeronautical Development Agency had let the service down with the Naval version of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

"They focused largely on the Air Force programme and the (naval Tejas) did fall behind.... There have been many promises made by the ADA but they failed us," he is quoted as saying.

He may have a point: the naval Tejas was supposed to fly last November, but the last we heard it was still in ground tests. We're not even talking about catapult launches and arrested landings, but merely the aircraft's first flight.

"It is often said that there is only 15 per cent difference between both versions," he is quoted as saying. "The Navy has always maintained that it may be 15 per cent in terms of material and systems, but it is a substantial part. And they underestimated it."

This all reminds me of a quip Richard Aboulafia made when I interviewed him about the LCA last year: "The Tejas is a victory of the guys in lab coats over the guys in flight suits."

To be fair, the Indian Air Force is by all accounts less than delighted with the Tejas, which seems as far as ever from achieving its final operational capability. It was apparently rushed into its initial operational capability in early 2011 for the sake of the Aero India show.

Separately, The Times of India reports that shipyard workers are snapping photos of India's indigenous aircraft carrier as it starts to take shape. The brass denies this and said camera kit is restricted aboard the ship. Nonetheless, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for any stray images.

Bombardier should confirm that Garuda will buy their CRJ regional jets, while ATR and Airbus are expected to announce some orders as well.

Not too sure if Boeing have lined something up, but Lion Air - their big customer - said that they expect to make an announcement around this time of the year. Could they firm their 737 MAX order?

Embraer do not appear to have anything lined up, although I heard that their E-190 might make an appearance and their Asian sales team has had success with Sriwijaya and BOC Aviation last year.

For a show that is traditionally the quietest of the big four, there appears to be a fair bit of activity ahead of it. Can't wait for the Singapore Airshow to begin.