|

Northrop Grumman’s Joint STARS Re-Engining Program Completes Preliminary Design Review for Updated Bleed Air System

Northrop Grumman’s Joint STARS Re-Engining Program Completes Preliminary Design Review for Updated Bleed Air System

MELBOURNE, Fla., Feb. 9, 2011 ( ) — Northrop Grumman Corporation recently completed the JT8D propulsion pod’s bleed air system’s preliminary design review (PDR) for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS).

“The successful completion of the PDR indicates that the design is extremely mature and will meet the Joint STARS mission requirements,” said Steve Pauly, Northrop Grumman program director for Joint STARS Development and Modernization. “This significant design effort has been a major focus of the Re-Engining development program.”

The Northrop Grumman program team is re-designing the E-8C’s commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) bleed air system’s equipment in support of the Joint STARS Re-Engining program.

The main function of the bleed air system is to extract high-pressured hot air generated from the JT8D’s engines and convert it into cool air. The resulting cool air pressurizes the Air Cycle Machines (ACM) which cools the aircraft’s environmental control system, cabin and prime mission equipment (PME), as well as pressurizes the utility hydraulic subsystem, engine starting capability and liquid cooling system.

“The newly designed bleed air system will be installed and flight tested towards the middle of next year,” stated Pauly. “This is a major step toward clearing the way for full production and installation of the new JT8D propulsion pod system.”

Today, the 17-aircraft Joint STARS fleet is the only all-weather, long-range, real-time, wide area surveillance and battle management and command and control weapons system in the world. It is flown by the 116th Air Control Wing based on Warner Robins, Ga. and since 2001, the crews have flown over 63,000 hours in 5,200 combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

On Jan. 14, 2011, the weapons system marked the 20th anniversary of its first operational combat sortie in support of Operation Desert Storm. A developmental test aircraft system at that time, two E-8A aircraft were called into theatre in January 1991 by then General Norman Schwarzkopf.

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

Similar Posts

  • |

    NTSB BRIEFING TODAY AT 4:00 PM (ADT) ON AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT IN ALASKA

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    August 13, 2010

    The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a press
    briefing on its investigation into the airplane crash near
    Dillingham, Alaska.

    The briefing will take place today at 4:00 p.m. Alaska
    Daylight Time (ADT) at the Hotel Hilton Anchorage, Lupine
    Room, 500 West Third Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska.

    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman will conduct the
    briefing.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    NTSB Sends Investigators to Paraguay

    February 4, 2013
    WASHINGTON – The National Transportation Safety Board is sending investigators to assist in the investigation of a Robinson R44 II helicopter that crashed about 80 miles north of Asuncion, Paraguay. Initial reports indicate that the pilot and two passengers were fatally injured.
    The investigation is being led by the Paraguay Civil Aviation Authority (CIPAA). The NTSB has designated senior investigator Paul Cox as the U. S. accredited representative to the CIPAA’s investigation and he will be accompanied by representatives from NTSB, the FAA, Robinson Helicopters, and Lycoming Engines. The U.S. team is expected to arrive Wednesday morning. Further information regarding the investigation will be released by the CIPAA.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Dassault Falcon Announces 2011 Regional M&O Seminar Series

    SAINT-CLOUD, France, February 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Dassault Falcon’s Regional Maintenance & Operations Seminar (M&O) series will continue again in 2011, with a total of 13 seminars to be held in eight countries around the globe. The M&O Seminar series gives Falcon operators an opportunity to communicate face-to-face with Dassault’s specialists and engineering teams on a variety of topics.
    “The goal of our M&O Seminar series is to provide a forum for the exchange of information,” said Jacques Chauvet, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Customer Service. “Operators not only get to hear from Dassault specialists, but we are equally as receptive to their feedback. Each year we work closely with our Operator Advisory Board (OAB) to find ways to make the M&O meetings more productive and valuable. That effort has been well received by our Falcon family as reflected in 2010’s attendance figures which were up 20% over 2009.”
    Falcon Regional M&O Seminars focus both on operational and technical issues and are designed to help aircraft operators improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of their operations. Topics range from the latest customer service and engineering support initiatives to enhancements in troubleshooting and product reliability. The one-day sessions include interaction with model and support specialists as well as Authorized Service Centers, vendors and partners. Certificates of attendance can also be issued to participants to serve as credit for recurrent maintenance training.
    “Since we launched the regional seminar format three years ago, it has become very popular among our operators not only because of the content, but because our team travels to meet with our customers, limiting their time spent away from their office. That allows more customers to attend and leads to a more successful experience,” said Frank Youngkin, Senior Vice President of Customer Service. “And, as the series continues to evolve and grow, we will work closely with our Operator Advisory Board (OAB) to find ways to make the M&O meetings even more productive and valuable into the future.”
    2011 Regional M&O Series Locations and Dates:

    Rome, Italy – March 16
    Phoenix, AZ – March 22
    Seattle, WA – March 24
    Dallas, TX – April 5
    Geneva, Switzerland – April 6
    Toluca, Mexico – April 7
    Beijing, China – April 18
    Atlanta, GA – April 19
    Mahwah, NJ – April 21
    Chicago, IL – May 3
    Mumbai, India – May 4
    Toronto, Canada – May 5
    Sao Paulo, Brazil – August 11

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Fatigue Understanding between NATCA and FAA

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) announced agreement on important fatigue recommendations that were developed by a joint FAA-NATCA working group which was established under the 2009 collective bargaining agreement.

    “The American public must have confidence that our nation’s air traffic controllers are rested and ready to work,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We have the safest air transportation system in the world but we needed to make changes and we are doing that.”

    The agreement reinforces existing FAA policy that prohibits air traffic controllers from sleeping while they are performing assigned duties. The FAA will continue to provide air traffic controllers breaks on the midnight shift based on staffing and workload. While on break, air traffic controllers are expected to conduct themselves professionally and be available for recall at all times.

    The FAA and NATCA also agreed that all air traffic controllers must report for work well-rested and mentally alert. It is the employee’s responsibility to notify their supervisor if they are too fatigued to perform their air traffic control duties. As a result of this agreement, air traffic controllers can now request to take leave if they are too fatigued to work air traffic.

    This agreement marks the completion of the tasks required by this joint FAA-NATCA fatigue working group. The FAA and NATCA will continue to collaborate to reduce the risk of fatigue in the workplace.

    “Air traffic controllers have the responsibility to report rested and ready to work so they can safely perform their operational duties,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “But we also need to make sure we have the right policies in place to reduce the possibility of fatigue in the workplace.”

    “We are pleased that the efforts of the joint NATCA-FAA fatigue workgroup that produced these science-based recommendations have resulted in an agreement and their implementation into the schedules and work environments of our nation’s dedicated and highly professional air traffic controller workforce,” said NATCA President Paul Rinaldi.

    “We supported the FAA’s action to enhance aviation safety by eliminating single staffing on the midnight shift and we fully support these recommendations that address fatigue. They are common sense solutions to a safety problem that NATCA and fatigue experts have consistently raised for many years.”
    Air traffic controllers will also now be allowed to listen to the radio and read appropriate printed material while on duty during the hours of 10PM and 6AM as traffic permits.

    The FAA had previously adjusted work schedules to give air traffic controllers a minimum of nine hours off between shifts. The FAA and NATCA will develop new watch schedule principles that incorporate fatigue science for schedules beginning no later than September 1, 2012. The FAA and NATCA are already beginning to work with local facilities on watch schedules that reduce the possibility of fatigue in the transition from the day shift to the midnight shift.

    The FAA has also agreed to develop policies that will encourage air traffic controllers to seek medical help for sleep apnea. Currently, air traffic controllers lose their medical qualification if they are diagnosed with sleep apnea. The FAA will work to develop a process for most air traffic controllers with sleep apnea to regain their medical qualification once they receive proper medical treatment. The FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine will also develop educational material to raise awareness of the symptoms and the physical effects of sleep apnea.

    As a result of this agreement, the FAA will develop a Fatigue Risk Management System for air traffic operations by January of next year. This management system will be designed to collect and analyze data associated with work schedules, including work intensity, to ensure that the schedules are not increasing the possibility of fatigue. Systems like these are commonly used in other areas of aviation to evaluate levels of risk. The FAA is also designing a comprehensive fatigue awareness and education training program for employees.

    Read the agreement pdf here.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

  • FAA Press Release

    FAA Proposes $1.2 Million Civil Penalty for GE Caledonian
    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $1,225,000 for GE Caledonian, an FAA-certificated foreign repair station based in Scotland, for improper maintenance procedures involving 101 engines over a three and one-half year period.

    “We hold certificated foreign repair stations to the same high standards as the repair stations here in the U.S.,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “When necessary, we will issue civil penalties and ensure that companies take corrective action.”

    Between January 2005 and May 2008, GE Caledonian used a procedure to remove the thrust pins from the forward engine mounts of 101 CF6 engines that was different than the one required by the manufacturer’s maintenance manuals. When it removed the thrust pins, GE Caledonian welded the locking screw to the thrust pin instead of drilling and tapping a hole in the thrust pin, as required in the manual.

    “Our safety regulations are the core of our aviation system and we take them seriously,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

    GE Caledonian has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

  • Airbus Official Afriqiyah Press Release

    Airbus regrets to confirm that an Airbus A330-200 operated by Afriqiyah Airways was involved in an accident in Tripoli, Libya at 04:00 GMT, Wednesday 12th May. The aircraft was operating a scheduled service, Flight 8U771 from Johannesburg, South Africa to Tripoli, Libya.

    The aircraft involved in the accident, registered as 5A-ONG, was MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 1024, delivered from the production line in September 2009. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 1600 flight hours in some 420 flights. It was powered by General Electric CF6-80E1 engines. At this time no further factual information is available.
    Preliminary reports indicate that the aircraft crashed short of the runway threshold during approach. According to available information there were 93 passengers and 11 crew on board.

    In line with ICAO Annex 13 international convention Airbus is dispatching a team of technical advisors to support the investigation authorities and the Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) as accredited representative.

    The Airbus A330-200 is a widebody, twin-engine aircraft, which typically carries 253 passengers in a three-class, twin-aisle cabin on medium to long range routes of up to 7,250 nautical miles (13,400km). The A330-200 was first delivered in April 1998.

    The concerns and sympathy of the Airbus employees go to the families, friends and loved ones affected by the accident.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.