Aerospace Diary

Neelam Mathews RH- Jun/July 2013 India’s civil helicopter sector is hamstrung by cultural attitudes,regulatory hurdles and a lack of suitable infrastructure and trained personnel. Mike Meyer, CEO of MRO provider Indocopters, talks to Neelam Mathews about present-day realities and future prospects.India’s civil helicopter sector. In India, general aviation is often equated with elitism and is not recognised as a fundamental tool for business or useful in situations where time is of the essence to speed up point-to-point access to remote areas. However, the country’s largest helicopter sales and maintenance company, Indocopters, is trying to reshape this impression. While the restrictive mind-set, reinforced by a downturn in the economy in the past year, may have hit the helicopter business hard, for Indocopters this has been a time for reflection, coordination and steady expansion. The company is the commercial partner and autho...

Neelam Mathews June 28, 2013 We received this message. Do inform all Friends and Relatives travelling on June 30. At Jet Airways we always endeavor to provide you with the best possible service at all times. Another step in that direction is upgrading our systems. We will be upgrading the Check-in systems across our network on June 30, 2013 between 12:00 hrs to 19:59 hrs IST. During this time you will be unable to avail of any self service Check-in options: Tele Check-in, Web Check-in and Kiosk Check-in. If you are scheduled to travel on June 30, 2013 between 12:00 hrs to 19:59 hrs IST, we request you to reach the airport at least 3 hours prior departure for travel within India and at least 5 hours prior departure for international travel. For all flights departing July 01, 2013 onwards, self service Check-in options: Tele Check-in, Web Check-in and Kiosk Check-in will only be available from June 30, 2013, 19...

06/24/2013 By Neelam Mathews AP Indo-Tibetan border police use a rope to rescue stranded pilgrims on June 20. In India, heavy June rains have killed more than 5,000 and stranded more than 19,000 people in the northern states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh as landslides and flooded rivers cut off major routes and devastated the area's Himalayan foothills. The torrents washed away more than 300 multi-story buildings—many of them illegally built along the riverbeds. While the Himalayan disaster has exposed weaknesses in emergency management policies, the need for India to adopt a sustainable and integrated infrastructure is as urgent as ever, says local environmentalist Anupam Nautiyal. At least 10 hydroelectric power projects have been damaged in the region due to heavy silt and debris. Large dams are especially vulnerable, says Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). Some 600 hydropower projects, which ...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews June 25, 2013 Press Release SEPANG, 25 June 2013 –  AirAsia today announced its decision to terminate its participation in the joint venture with ANA Holdings Inc. under AirAsia Japan with the signing of a termination agreement.  The joint venture, created two years ago under the name AirAsia Japan faced many challenges since its launch. Issues stemmed from a fundamental difference of opinion between its shareholders on how the business should be managed from cost management to where the domestic business operations should be based. AirAsia Berhad through AirAsia Investment Ltd. had subscribed 25,120 voting shares and 23,880 non-voting shares at JPY 50,000 per share, which represented forty-nine percent (49%) of the paid-up share capital in AirAsia Japan. The termination comprises an acquisition of AirAsia’s entire shareholding in AirAsia Japan by ANA Holdings Inc. for JPY 2,450,000,000 (approximately RM80,475,150 base...

Neelam Mathews June 24, 2013 A  MiG–29 aircraft of IAF crashed near South of Khambalia, Gujarat  today  at about 1330 hours, says an IAF release. The aircraft was airborne from Jamnagar airbase  under the aegies  of the Western Air Command  on a routine flying training  sortie. The pilot ejected safely.

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The Maharajah’s seventh 787 awaits delivery June 18, 2013, 10:30 AM Air India’s seventh  GE nx-1B-powered Boeing 787 of the 27 ordered is taking flight at the flying display here at the Paris Air Show. The airline will take delivery of this 787 next month, and a total of eight by the end of this year, five in 2014, six in 2015 and two in 2016. A Qatar Airways 787, which flew at the Farnborough Air Show last year, is also on static display here. Air India’s 787 operations are flying on the domestic sector from Delhi to Bangalore, Kolkata and London. Plans are afoot to start flights to Birmingham, Rome, Milan, Melbourne, Sydney and Moscow, Air India managing director Rohit Nandan said recently. Nandan had last year indicated the importance of the 787 for Air India, which has been struggling to use its 777s effectively. “Dreamliners are expected to achieve great performa...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS  and  DAVID DONALD Here at the Paris Air Show, Swiss company Ruag has this upgraded Super Puma helicopter on display. Improvements include TH06 avionics. (Photo: Mark Wagner) June 18, 2013, 2:30 PM Making its Paris debut in the static display is a Swiss air force Eurocopter  AS 332 Super Puma that has undergone the  TH 06  ISR upgrade by Ruag Aviation (Chalet A118, Static R). The Swiss company has designed and installed a major avionics overhaul that allows the Super Puma fleet to continue to provide service for many years to come. Switzerland originally purchased 15  AS332M 1 Super Pumas, which are designated TH 89 in Swiss air force service. The air arm later went back to Eurocopter for 11 AS532UL / TH 98 Cougars. In 2006 the air force initiated a program to bring the Super Pumas up to an avionics standard that met or exceeded the capabilities of...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The 13th edition of the Dubai Airshow is expected to break its own record of 56,548 attendees in 2011 to more than 60,000 visitors this year, a 6-percent increase. June 19, 2013, 10:00 AM The 13th edition of the Dubai Airshow (Chalet D-50) is expected to break its own record of 56,548 attendees in 2011 to more than 60,000 visitors this year, a 6-percent increase. The show will also have a bigger defense presence, particularly from the U.S., and as the region’s commercial aviation ambitions expand, many aircraft orders are expected to be signed, said Sharief Fahmy, CEO  of  F&E  Aerospace, which is responsible for the event’s management. This is the first time the show will be held on the outskirts of Dubai in Jebel Ali at the new Dubai World Central ( DWC ) Al Maktoum International Airport site. The theme of the show is “Green,” an initiative that started with t...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS June 19, 2013, 11:00 AM Thales has been chosen by   Romanian helicopter manufacturer  IAR  Brasov  to supply the   TMS   2000 sonobuoy to equip   IAR -330 Puma helicopters operated by the Romanian navy. The   TMS   2000 offers a rapidly deployable anti-submarine warfare ( ASW ) capability. The operational performance of sonobuoys has improved over recent years, making them an increasingly serious threat to any submarine seeking to avoid detection. The advantage of the   TMS   2000 processors is that installation requires only minor modifications to the aircraft. Sonobuoys are released over the sea by a fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft and send acoustic data to the processor via a   VHF   link to a receiver that processes data in real time. “The processors will give the Romanian navy a decisive   ASW   capability to detect ...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS June 20, 2013, 3:00 AM APPH , part of the  BBA  Aviation Group (Hall 5 B219), has secured a long-term supply agreement for the manufacture and support of the landing gear trunnion and rod system for Embraer’s  KC -390 medium lift transporter.  UK -based  BBA Aviation is an aviation services and aftermarket support provider, and  APPH designs and manufactures hydraulic systems and landing gear for commercial and military aircraft. “Selecting the right suppliers for the  KC -390 has been critical for Embraer,” said Paulo Gastão Silva, vice president for the  KC -390 program. “ APPH ’s landing gear experience, combined with their manufacturing capability and flexible approach, gave Embraer the confidence to select  APPH  for the  KC -390 program.” The first of two  KC -390 prototypes are expected to roll out at the end of 20...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS June 20, 2013, 4:15 AM Qatar Airways  CEO  Akbar Al Baker is upbeat on the market, having ordered nine Boeing 777- 300ER s, valued at $2.8 billion (at list prices), of which seven are options. “When we say options, we always make them firm orders,” he said. “Options [simply] give us the flexibility of moving up delivery dates.” Al Baker said the new aircraft would allow the airline to open new long-haul routes to the  U.S.  Two of the new jets will be delivered in early 2014. Qatar Airways has ordered 60 787s, with the sixth delivery having flown directly from Seattle for the carrier’s Paris Air Show debut. Bakar told  AIN  that it was likely some of the orders could be changed to 787-900s. Magnanimous about the recent lithium-ion battery problems faced by the 787, he said it was unfair of the  FAA  to have grounded the airplanes. “A new a...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS INSAT-3D being removed from its shipping container. June 18, 2013, 12:15 PM Even as European space consortium Arianespace (Static K400) plans the launch of India’s Insat-3D, the company is looking aggressively to tap business from the Middle East and Asia. Arianespace has launched 65 satellites for Asian operators and has eight Asian satellites in its order book including Jabiru 1, Measat 3B,  NBN  1,  NBN  2, Optus 10 and Gsat-7, a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in  UHF , S-band, C-band and Ku-band to be launched in August. Insat-3D is a meteorological satellite built by India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization, and the launch will take place from Arianespace’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana in the second week of July. Designated Flight  VA 214 in Arianespace’s numbering system, the upcoming Insat-3D mission–th...