Air Nostrum was the first regional airline in Spain when it was founded in 1994. Over the past eight years, it has grown into one of Europe's biggest, crowning its achievement by winning the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) gold award for the Best European Carrier in 2002-2003. Scheduled operations began in December 1994 with a fleet of six propeller-driven aircraft flying from Valencia to Bilbao. In May 1997, it signed a franchise agreement with Spanish carrier Iberia which put the airline on track for a period of regular growth that stands up well to comparison with any other European regional. As the regional aviation leader in the Spanish domestic and south European markets, Air Nostrum has seen passenger numbers and revenue rise steadily. It operates one of the most modern fleets in Europe and continues to follow an ambitious business plan. When Astronautics says its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) is going to "revolutionise the cockpit" with an impact similar to that of the PC in the office and home, it does so with some justification. The American company has designed and developed a Pilot Information Display (PID) to meet the needs of a significant new avionics market segment. Described as the most advanced EFB display available for both commercial and military aviation, it features truly open architeture and can support both certified/uncertified applications. Noting the absence of a fully-certified EFB platform, Astronautics set about developing one. The company worked with airlines, aircraft manufacturers, government agencies, and other industry partners to define the hardware, installation and application requirements for this new product. During 2002, Astronautics saw its PID become the de facto standard for Class 3 EFBs in commercial aviation as the dream of a paperless cockpit moved closer to reality. Honeywell's first all-new turbofan engine for a decade, the AS907, was certified just 40 months after being launched at Farnborough 1998, when the company announced plans for the new AS900 engine family. It enters service on Bombardier's new super-midsize Challenger 300 business jet this year. The manufacturer says the AS907 engine incorporates more than 85% of all specific suggestions from its customers for durability and ease of maintenance. This new 7,000lb (30kN) thrust engine was designed to be maintained virtually on-wing. All LRUs can be maintained through the use of 13 simple hand tools. A common 1/4in drive can be used to rotate the motor when boroscoping the engine. The engine makes use of blisk manufacturing techniques and high-work airfoils, reducing the number of parts by approximately 50% over previous TFE engines. Siberia Airlines (Sibir) is a trail-blazer for modernisation in the Russian airline industry. Now the country's largest domestic carrier, it has thrived with a world-class business development strategy aimed at growing its business, improved quality of services, transparency and a positive credit history. Along the way it broke the mould by being the first private Russian airline to buy new-generation Russian aircraft with state-owned bank backing, and the first former Aeroflot domestic airline to offer a two-class configuration, free ground transport for passengers and online ticketing (through its subsidiary Ticketplus). It was also the first Russian airline to use experienced Western advisors in a planned and systematic way. Today Sibir enjoys steady, profitable business with annual turnover approaching $350 million. Its business is ready for further development, including fleet modernisation with Western-built aircraft and multi-stage training at top European centres. Austrian manufacturer Diamond Aircraft Industries has capped a productive period with the launch of the DA-42 Twin Star, the first new twin-engine composite aircraft for more than 35 years fuelled by Jet A1/diesel and diesel. The DA-42 Twin Star, a derivative of the diesel-powered DA-40TDI Diamond Star, establishes a new standard in performance and value for the light twin piston market. Experience in general aviation gained by Diamond with the two-seat HK-36 Super Dimona and the four-seat DA-40 made this project viable. With only 55 weeks from announcement of the project to first flight on 9 December 2002, the prototype that flew was very nearly the first production model. Diamond's secret to bringing its new designs to market so quickly is a concept the company calls "platform strategy". All Diamond designs are built on previously-produced aircraft model platforms. Wherever possible, parts that are standard on previous models are incorporated. Last year the US government selected Boeing to accomplish what many considered an impossible task: to achieve 100% security screening of checked baggage at all US commercial airports by 31 December 2002. That Boeing succeeded is a measure of its ability to apply the principles of lead systems integration and to work efficiently with large numbers of suppliers all over the world. The Boeing-Siemens team had less than six months to install more than 1,000 Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) machines and 4,500 Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) machines at 400-plus commercial airports and train more than 25,000 baggage screeners. The original US Federal Aviation Administration notional timetable estimated more than a decade for the task. The project encompassed airport operations analysis, design, construction, installation and commissioning of equipment, field service support, curriculum development and training. At one time, 32,000 people and 22 contractors were working around the clock on the EDS/ETD programme. For its achievement, Boeing was recognised as the US Department of Transportation Prime Contractor of the Year. Affordability is a key consideration for military planners. The Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE) programme led by Northrop Grumman brings together a 'system of systems' that locates and tracks a moving ground target and destroys it with an affordable precision weapon. This technology gives combatants an unprecedented capability to deny adversaries sanctuary in movement. It makes it possible to conduct multiple, near simultaneous, standoff engagements of even the most mobile targets in all weather. With AMSTE, commanders can engage targets moving at up to 50mph (80km/h) with precision, using low-cost unitary weapons, minimising the risk of collateral damage. In demonstrating the capability to kill moving targets based on real time, stand-off intelligence, this programme fulfils the long held promise of integrated surveillance and precision strike. In an ideal world, aero-engines would never fail or, if some level of component failure is inevitable, the engine would contact its owner every time it 'felt ill' and book treatment when convenient. Through 2001/2002, Rolls-Royce has come closer to this ideal with a new and innovative service technology, Predictive Maintenance (RRPM). In 2002 this new system became available on the Trent 900 for the Airbus A380 from entry into service. RRPM is the only engine-specific system allowing real-time monitoring and in-flight communication of engine behaviour. Instead of learning about mechanical failure after it has happened, with this system operators know in advance of incipient failures, allowing them to take corrective action before the actual failure. This all but eliminates one risk of their business, lowers costs and delivers a significantly more predictable engine maintenance programme. After the completion of its development, certification and flight-test programme, the Trent 500 entered service on a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 on 1 August 2002. The development testing was the most successful that Rolls-Royce and its programme partners had completed. All engine milestones were met early or on time, more testing was done than ever before, and the Trent 500 met all its technical targets. Entry into Service (EIS) was similarly successful. The Trent 500 achievement represents the fulfilment of the Rolls-Royce strategy of developing a family of engines economically, creating cost-effective products which are affordable, efficient and reliable. As such, it represents an important stepping stone to the next generation. Terrain and obstacle data are key building blocks for a variety of innovative future avionics products. Both contribute to reducing the risk of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and collision. Jeppesen is the only company to have developed obstacle and terrain databases usable by the entire aviation community. In so doing, it has significantly contributed to safety and operational efficiency. The database contains man-made and certain natural obstacles higher than 100m above ground level. In the terminal environment, obstacles as small as 50mm above ground level are shown. Jeppesen rigorously maintains and upgrades its data. Obstacles and terrain can be integrated into software performance modules, procedure design such as 'one engine-out' operation. Interest is expected from the makers of Vertical Situation Awareness Displays (VSAD) and even 2D and 3D Synthetic Vision Systems.
Source: Flight Daily News