Aerospace Diary

Latest Press Release EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 21, 2018 -- Pratt & Whitney has released a revised configuration as a solution to the issue relating to a knife edge seal on the High Pressure Compressor (HPC) aft hub which affected a limited subpopulation of the PW1100G-JM engine that powers the Airbus A320neo aircraft.  The solution is based on a design with which the company has significant experience, and this solution has received all necessary regulatory approvals. Pratt & Whitney has begun implementing this solution and production engine deliveries incorporating this change will begin in early March. The company will continue to work with Airbus and its mutual airline customers to minimize operational disruption. About Pratt & Whitney  Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems ...

Neelam Mathews ENR (US) Drought and continued reliance on electric generation that uses water for cooling are causing some of India’s power plants to shut down for days and even months at a time, a problem that is expected to worsen, according to a new report from the World Resources Institute. “Water shortages shut down power plants across India every year. When power plants rely on water sourced from scarce regions, they put electricity generation at risk and leave less water for cities, farms, and families. Without urgent action, water will become a choke point for India’s power sector,” said O.P. Agarwal, CEO of World Resources Institute (WRI) India, in the paper “Parched Power,” released on Jan. 16. India lost 5.87 billion kilowatt-hours of power generation in 2016 due to the lack of water, Piyush Goyal, India’s power minister, told parliament last year. The loss in 2015 was about 5 billion kWh. In its own study, WRI found that the generation lost was more than do...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 20, 2018, 12:22 PM The hybrid-electric XTI TriFan 600 is designed to be able to fly like an airplane but land and take off like a helicopter. It is slated to enter service in late 2022/early 2023. (Photo: XTI Aircraft) Denver-based XTI Aircraft received the first order from an Indian customer for its hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, the TriFan 600. Arvind Lal, chairman and managing director of Dr. Lal’s Path Labs, placed the milestone order for the $6.5 million TriFan 600, which is expected to enter service in late 2022/early 2023. Dr. Lal’s Path Labs has more than 170 pathology laboratories and 1,600 collection centers across India. “We have plans to run these VTOL/STOL aircraft that suit our needs for picking up samples in underserved remote areas, which will help in speeding up results for our patients.” Lal also runs an alternative therapy resort in the Himalayan foothills that...

by Neelam Mathews February 19, 2018, 11:00 AM India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has refuted media claims that that budget airline IndiGo put safety at risk by flying A320neos powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100Gs following findings of faulty knife-edge seals in some of the engines’ high-pressure compressors. In a caustic statement, it called the allegations “baseless, devoid of technical support, and lacking material evidence…with a view to  create   sensation  in the minds of the traveling public. IndiGo’s fleet includes 32 A320neos, and fellow Indian low-fare carrier Go Air has inducted 13 A320neos powered by the Pratt & Whitney engines. Pratt recently reported it identified the potentially affected engines and communicated with its customers. “As a precaution, aircraft with these engines will be addressed in a manner consistent with the operational instructions issued by Airbus,” it said. In compliance with a February 9 EASA Emerge...

Boeing’s senior vice president for Asia-Pacific and India sales, Dinesh Keskar. If there is one common factor in Indian aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) for the past decade, it’s that the status quo remains. Not much has changed, although there are signs that interest in the sector on the subcontinent is increasing. Contributor  Neelam Mathews  attended the recent MRO South Asia Summit in New Delhi. THE FIGURES ARE INSPIRING  as carriers grow their fleet sizes and India is leading the trend. Asia’s Commercial Services market, worth a hefty US$3. 2 trillion — the highest in the world- according to Boeing’s 2017-36 forecast, will see a compound annual growth rate in MRO of 5.2 percent. The commercial services market in South Asia (India and neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) is forecast at to be worth US$410 billion, of which the share of maintenance and engineering will be 22 percent, training and pil...

India’s Airports Feeling the Strain of Traffic Growth by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 5, 2018, 12:05 AM While Mumbai Airport faces choking levels of passenger traffic, India looks to expand its infrastructure further afield, focusing on lower-tier facilities that do not require the same levels technology, both for their air traffic needs and requirements for handling passengers. India’s growing domestic air traffic has presented challenges in air and ground infrastructure that were not faced five years ago. Already, significant pressure on air traffic management (ATM) and airport infrastructure is being felt, with mounting concerns over safety on the ground and in the air, due to congestion. The rise of budget carriers and pressure to open remote and underserved airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme has many mid-sized airports already running close to full capacity. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has 125 airports, of which...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW AEROSPACE India Drone Regs Will Help Market by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 4, 2018, 12:05 AM Even as India's growing civil drone industry is forecast to grow at 18 percent until 2021, stakeholders have been invited to submit their comments on draft guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. A final Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) on Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) will be released by the end of February. At this time, the rules on UAS are sketchy, and drone flying, including sports models, is not encouraged, as there is no tracking system and more than one third of the country's airspace is controlled by the military. “Drones have generated a lot of interest, [but] not having any regulations amounted to a complete ban,” civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told  AIN . “So, we decided to go ahead and develop a regulatory framework.” “Security restrictions have already ...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW AEROSPACE by  Neelam Mathews  -  February 2, 2018, 12:05 AM Nivedita Bhasin, India Airlines, discusses aviation as a career with students. Even as the aviation industry grows at its fastest pace—28 percent in an average year in India—and orders for aircraft are at a high for the next five years, there is concern that growth could shrink if skill shortages are left unaddressed in the industry. Lockheed Martin India, known for its Innovation Growth Program launched in 2007, is playing a dominant role in encouraging girls from 15- to 18-years-of-age to consider jobs in aviation when making career choices. A recent event to encourage women to contribute their skills in the field of aviation was held jointly by Lockheed Martin, Women in Aviation International (WAI) India and Airports Authority of India at the Indian Navy’s airport in Visakhapatnam, south India, with reinforcement from the state government present...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW AIR TRANSPORT by  Neelam Mathews  -  January 31, 2018, 6:00 PM IndiGo’s A320 fleet will be augmented by ATR turboprops for rural service. India has rolled out a plan designed to encourage rapid growth in transportation services to, from, within, and between its regions. The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), titled “Udan” (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik, or “let the common man fly”), has been designed to act as a catalyst for growth as the Indian economy matures. The RCS was launched last year, after two phases of bidding for laid out routes, and now seems well on its way to maturity. Demand is clearly there­. Already growth in populated metropolitan areas has been spilling over to the hinterlands, opening numerous opportunities for regional aircraft, helicopters, and seaplanes to interconnect remote, underserved, or unserved airports, towns. and cities. Domestic ticketin...