USAF: FORMATION FLYING COULD CUT FUEL BURN
STUDY Close formation flying involving only two aircraft could deliver fuel savings of up to 14%, according to a US Air Force study. Chief scientist Werner Dahm says the work is intended to ensure that "two aircraft can maintain the sweet spot", and that an operational system would be likely to use an automated flight mode.
GE FACES FRAUD CHARGE OVER ACCOUNTS
SPARES Civil fraud and other charges have been filed against General Electric by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges the company misled investors by making materially false and misleading financial statements. Allegations include improper accounting for the sales of commercial aircraft engines' spare parts that increased GE's 2002 net earnings by $585 million.
THAI AND AIRBUS AGREE A380 DEFERRAL
DELIVERIES Thai Airways International has confirmed that Airbus has agreed to delay the delivery of its six Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered A380s until 2012. The carrier was due to receive its first A380 in October 2010 but has embarked on a financial turnaround plan after losing 21.3 billion baht ($588 million) in 2008.
NETJETS FOUNDER SANTULLI RESIGNS
FRACTIONALS Richard Santulli, the man credited with starting the fractional aircraft industry, has abruptly resigned his position as chairman and chief executive of NetJets, the company he founded in 1986. The company was bought by billionaire investor Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway in 1998 for $725 million. Succeeding Santulli as chairman and interim chief executive is David Sokol, chairman at Berkshire's MidAmerican Energy Holdings and a man rumoured to be in line to take Buffet's position when he retires.
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SOUTH KOREA DEBUTS UTILITY HELICOPTER
ROLL-OUT Korea Aerospace Industries and Eurocopter have rolled out the prototype for the Korean Utility Helicopter programme at the former's Sacheon production plant, and say the 8t-class aircraft will make its first flight "in the early months of 2010". The South Korean army is expected to receive 245 production examples from 2012.
ALL KILLED IN MERPATI TWIN OTTER CRASH
ACCIDENT All 15 passengers and crew on board a Merpati Nusantara de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter (PK-NVC) died when the turboprop crashed in west Papua on 2 August. The aircraft came down 43km (23nm) north of the town of Oksibil.
BELL DECLINES SUPER COBRA INDIA TENDER
ROTORCRAFT Bell Helicopter will not offer its AH-1Z Super Cobra for a $600 million, 22-aircraft tender for attack helicopters in India because problems with its integrated helmet targeting systems and other sensors have left the type's US Navy operational evaluation process incomplete. Likely contenders for the India contract include the AgustaWestland AW149, Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow, Eurocopter Tiger and Mil Mi-28.
AEROFLOT FIXES SUPERJET DATES AND ROUTES
AIRLINERS Russian flagcarrier Aeroflot will introduce the Sukhoi Superjet 100s into service on 28 December, replacing Airbus A319s on routes from Moscow to Chelyabinsk and Astrakhan.
Source: Flight International