Aerospace Diary

Posted By Neelam Mathews March 30, 2015 Welcome to Episode 022 of the #PaxEx Podcast. Our guest for this episode is Neelam Mathews. Based in Delhi, India, Neelam has been writing about Asian aviation and beyond for over a decade. She has done long stretches of writing for  Aviation Week ,  AIN ,  Jane’s Airports , and  is now a contributor to  RGN . The aviation industry is grappling with another tragedy, the crash of a Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps. Audio from the cockpit voice recorder indicates that the captain was locked out of the cockpit, and couldn’t get back in. The French prosecutor in the case   asserts that the first officer deliberately flew the A320, with 150 people on board, into the French mountainside . However, the guts of the flight data recorder have not yet been found. This crash – and the fact that sourcing information from the physical black boxes is crucial to understanding what happened in any accident –...

by  Neelam Mathews  - March 27, 2015, 7:42 AM India has bought three EMB-145s and equipped them with an indigenous AEW&C system but will not acquire any more Credit-Neelam Mathews India is seeking a joint-venture deal with Embraer to export the EMB-145 AEW&C system, now that it has decided on a larger platform to meet Indian Air Force (IAF) requirements. The country has acquired three of the Brazilian aircraft  and equipped them with an indigenous radar system . They are now undergoing trials, and two will enter service with the IAF. But the service will not exercised an option to acquire more such aircraft. Meanwhile, however, India is evaluating responses to the  RFP that was issued last year  for six larger platforms. S. Christopher, director of the Center for AirBorne Systems (CABS) within the government’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), told AIN that the...

by  Chris Pocock  and Neelam Mathews     March 26, 2015 The first two Indian air force Mirage 2000s to be upgraded were handled by the Dassault Flight Centre at Istres air base in France. (photo: Dassault Aviation) In a ceremony at Istres airbase in southern France on March 25, the Indian Ambassador to France accepted the first two Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage 2000 fighters to be upgraded by Dassault and Thales. It has been agreed that the rest of the IAF fleet will be upgraded by HAL in Bangalore – a fact that the leadership of Dassault and Thales were keen to point out, in view of the long delays in sealing a licensed production deal for the Rafale. After a two-year development phase, the first flight of the upgraded Mirage 2000 I/TI took place at Istres on October 5, 2013. Today’s ceremony is the result of the excellent understanding between the Indian and French partners and of our commitment to India,” said Eric...

Neelam Mathews                March 27, 2015 Time, you old Gypsy man, will you not stay, Put up your caravan Just for one day? All of us with an association with the defense industry know that the 1920 lyrics still hold good today. The fact is MoD is running out of time. While the intent is clear to move procurement forward, there seems to be a clear hiccup and lack of understanding in the bureaucrat arena on the DPP 2013 clause that requires Indian companies to be the prime. Rather paradoxically, this is the very reason that will hold defense manufacturing from taking off for large projects. Take the Avro replacement. While OEMs will conveniently absolve themselves from the liability clause, one doubts Indian companies with little maturity and experience can take on liability of the equipment. One should learn from the MMRCA where in a reverse case, is the major reason Dassault is unwilling to take ...

Security Neelam Mathews, London   IHS Jane's Airport Review 05 March 2015 International flights to and from Nepal were cancelled after an arriving Turkish Airlines A330 skidded off the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Source: Turkish Airlines All flights to and from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only international airport in Nepal, remain cancelled following a runway excursion on 4 March involving an arriving Turkish Airlines A330. Flight THY726 from Istanbul skidded off the shoulder of the runway and landed nose down in a grassy field in poor visibility. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft nose gear collapsed, and there was damage to the fuselage and engine cowlings, as well as a burst tyre. Indian agencies are assisting in the aircraft recovery mission, particularly the Indian Air Force (IAF) and national aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Acting on a request from the...

Airports India confirms PPPs Neelam Mathews  - IHS Jane's Airport Review 08 March 2015   The Indian government still intends to offer public-private partnership (PPP) concessions for four large airports. Addressing the parliament on 3 March, civil aviation minister Mahesh Sharma ruled out full privatisation. "However, based on the recommendations of Task Force on Financing Plan for Airports (up to 2017), India has initiated the process for undertaking operation, management, and development of Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur airports through Public-Private Partnership (PPP)," he added. Airports Authority of India (AAI) issued request for qualification documents on 30 December 2014. "To improve efficiency and transparency, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has framed a draft Civil Aviation Policy that provides the listing of AAI on the Stock Exchange," Sharma said. To read the full article,  Client Login (113 of 159 words)

Neelam Mathews   IHS Jane's Airport Review Mar 12, 2015 The Aireon joint venture for space-based global air traffic surveillance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the potential deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) services in Indian airspace. The MoU states that AAI will work with Aireon to develop applicable regulations, standards, and procedures for ADS-B; identify specific requirements for AAI's use of space-based ADS-B surveillance; and demonstrate how the use of ADS-B can improve aviation operations in Indian airspace. The Indian Space Research Organisation will assist the AAI in examining the feasibility of the Aireon solution. Aireon on 24-25 March will brief the AAI about the cost-effectiveness of its solution. ..... more on ihsairport360.com

Neelam Mathews March 12, 2015 Detailed figures of women in aviation who hold US flight, mechanic (aircraft engineers) and dispatcher certificates and licenses are available because the Federal Aviation Administration is the only regulatory body to break out numbers by gender. The latest statistics on the FAA Airman Certification web site shows the number of women in commercial aviation – who hold commercial certificates and airline transport ratings – is rising. Where women just a decade ago made up 2% of airline transport rated (ATP) pilots, they now make up 4%. “That’s double in a decade. University flight schools in the US are typically 10-15% female in their student composition. But many of those students, particularly the women, choose different careers,” says Amy Laboda, one of 16 founding board members (emeritus) of Women In Aviation International (WAI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to  providing networking, mentoring and scholarship opportunities ...

Neelam Mathews March 9, 2015 Neelam Mathews March 9 2015 Mention the words ‘Woman Pilot’ and the name of Amelia Earhart, stuck in history archives like an olive in brine, might be flung at you. Not so much in India, which has seen definite growth in the number of women serving as pilots, with percentages running into the double digits. By comparison, women account for a meagre 6% of pilots globally. And though it might be paradoxical that a developing country – which is under scrutiny for its treatment of women after a number of brutal,  high-profile assaults  – could well have the highest percentage of women pilots, India is also the second nation in the world to have had a woman prime minister in 1966 after Sri Lanka. Sanjiv Kapoor, COO of budget carrier SpiceJet, tells  RGN : “India is a complex country that operates at many levels. There is a professional class that is progressive and then, there is an u...

Neelam Mathews, London   - IHS Jane's Airport Review 05 March 2015 Model of the mobile air traffic control tower for the MAFI programme. Source: Neelam Mathews The second stage of the Indian Air Force's (IAF's) Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) programme will begin in June 2015,  IHS Jane's  has learned. In total, 30 airfields are earmarked for modernisation in Phase 1 of MAFI and 25 in Phase 2, including facilities run by the Army, Navy, and Coast Guard. Negotiations are underway to widen MAFI even further. First-batch of the Phase 1 work is already complete at six sites. The base at Gwalior in central India will be the first to be modernised under Batch 2, followed by Chandigarh in the north of the country. Tata Power's Strategic Electronics Division (SED) was awarded the USD196 million, 42-month contract to lead the first phase of MAFI in 2011. MAFI includes upgrades, installation, and integration of a range of equipment...

Neelam Mathews, London   - IHS Jane's Airport Review 05 March 2015 International flights to and from Nepal were cancelled after an arriving Turkish Airlines A330 skidded off the runway at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Source: Turkish Airlines All flights to and from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the only international airport in Nepal, remain cancelled following a runway excursion on 4 March involving an arriving Turkish Airlines A330. Flight THY726 from Istanbul skidded off the shoulder of the runway and landed nose down in a grassy field in poor visibility. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft nose gear collapsed, and there was damage to the fuselage and engine cowlings, as well as a burst tyre. Indian agencies are assisting in the aircraft recovery mission, particularly the Indian Air Force (IAF) and national aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Acting on a request from the Nepalese a...

Neelam Mathews Mar 5 2015 Though Lufthansa has served India for over 50 years it continues to be viewed as a strict, no-nonsense German operator in the region. But the carrier is spending a lot of money to change the way it is perceived. And it is reaping results. Last year Lufthansa launched its first ever country-specific customized commercial, “More Indian than you think”, which went viral on social media. On last count, the video had received more than 1.7 million views on YouTube alone. And it continues to be telecast in primetime on popular news channels in India, giving it continuous exposure. The commercial follows the journey of a grandpa and his grandson changing their preformed opinion about the airline through their inflight passenger experience ( #PaxEx ). In the two months following its release, some 898 tickets were booked on Lufthansa, and an internal survey pointed to a “definite correlatio...

The Continuing Story of the U-2 Spyplane By Chris Pocock It’s the plane that just won’t go away! Earlier this year, the US Air Force bowed to pressure from field commanders, legislators and reconnaissance experts, by scrapping plans to retire the U-2 in Fiscal 2016. It was the second time this century,that the Dragon Lady had escaped the axe. The Global Hawk UAV, its high-flying rival, has turned out to be an expensive and inadequate replacement. This is not your father’s U-2. Take a proven airframe, with years of life remaining, and add the very best sensors and communication gear. Give it to a highly skilled pilot, and provide good support from a dedicated team. No wonder the U-2 remains the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft in the world. Chris Pocock has followed the Dragon Lady for 30 years. He has flown in the jet, and talked to hundreds of U-2 pilots, maintainers, managers and commanders. His previous book on 50 Years of the U-2 is the sta...

DEFENCE NOTES 03rd March 2015 - 14:46 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi  The US-India Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) appears to be at a standstill. Three unsigned agreements remain to be signed before the four Pathfinder projects that will introduce co-development and co-production of defence equipment with the US move forward. They have as yet not been approved by India because of sovereignty issues. Speaking to  Shephard  at a media briefing, Frank Kendall, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) ‘is an important agreement. We would like to get that in time.’ CISMOA is one of the three agreements and is the administrative framework for sharing communications. The other two include the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), a cross-servicing agreement, to enable the two militaries a quid pro quo for logistics support, r...

by   Neelam Mathews  -  March 1, 2015, 10:59 AM A uniform rate of import duty on private and charter operators was not included in India’s budget for the financial year (April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016). The nation's Business Aircraft Operators Association had hoped the budget would introduce equal taxation, which it believes is essential to strengthening the business aviation sector in the country. Under the current rules, the levy on an aircraft imported for personal use is between 19 and 21 percent, while charter operators pay approximately 3 percent. The differential tax structure often leads private operators to import aircraft as “nonscheduled operators.” This complicates monitoring the aircraft, and the  BAOA  is working with the Ministry of Civil Aviation on requirements to regulate aircraft for categorization (similar to the procedure for commercial aircraft) to become eligible for similar duties, according to  BAOA  secretary...