F-22 demise premature?

Posted by John McHale

Over the last few days I've read different articles detailing how Congressional leaders in the President's own party are saying "not so fast," when it comes to canceling the expensive F-22 jet fighter program.
Over the last few days I've read different articles detailing how Congressional leaders in the President's own party are saying "not so fast," when it comes to canceling the expensive F-22 Raptor jet fighter program.

As we've detailed on this page, President Obama wants to discontinue the F-22 Raptor, which has had major cost overruns and has yet to be deployed in favor of increased funding for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The problem as F-22 prime contractor Lockheed Martin sees it and many in Congress as well is that cancellation may create major job loss at a time when unemployment is already hovering around 10 percent.

Yes, major republican figures such as Sen. John McCain of Ariz., support the cancellation of the program, but congressional leaders on both sides are loathe to cut thousands of jobs that may in the end cost them their own jobs at election time.

President Obama's and Defense Secretary Robert Gates' argument for shifting funding away from the F-22 makes sense. However, some times facts don't matter in politics.

The recession doesn't look to end by the time the defense budget goes to Congress for a vote and if unemployment numbers go up look for the F-22 to keep flying for few more years.

Paris exhibitors credit military market for stability

Posted by John McHale

Exhibitors at the Paris Air Show last month were constantly asked about how they were faring during the economic downturn. Most credited their military systems designs with keeping them afloat.

Exhibitors at the Paris Air Show last month were constantly asked about how they were faring during the economic downturn. Most credited their military systems designs with keeping them afloat.

"Military wins saved our business," Francois Hervieux, director of sales for Air Data in Quebec told me. Commercial wins have dried up due the economic downturn, but military business has been steady.

Nandu Balsaver of Laversab, a designer of avionics test equipment near Houston said it is not because commercial outfits do not have the money, -- they do. It is that they do not wish to part with it. "They are holding it tight to wait out the storm," he said.

The military is the only thing that has been consistent, Balsaver added.

Most of the people I talked to who have designs in both markets said the same thing -- commercial business is drying up while the military is steady but not going gangbusters.

That is unless you are a defense prime, a maker of unmanned systems, or FLIR in Beaverton, Ore. David Strong, the vice president of marketing for FLIR said the company is doing better than ever.

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently shifted funding in the DOD 2010 budget request from large platforms such as the F-22 to applications for Special Forces it played right into FLIR's core business, Strong said.

"Practically everything we do targets Special Forces from thermal weapon sights" to electro-optical gimbals on helicopters, Strong said.

The company is sitting quite pretty, having grown nearly 50 percent in the last two years, with their Government division making up more than half of their more than $1 billion in revenue.

Their government business -- which consist of not just military but civil and homeland security applications throughout the world -- is also the fastest growing part of their business, Strong noted.

Strong said he also sees the European market having fast growth potential, hence why they were here at the Paris Air Show.

Last day no-shows in Paris

Posted by John McHale

The Eurofighter and Eurocopter wowed the crowd at the Paris Air Show today -- the last day of the industrial exhibits and the first day open to the French public.
The Eurofighter and Eurocopter wowed the crowd at the Paris Air Show today -- the last day of the industrial exhibits and the first day open to the French public.

Unfortunately, many U.S. exhibitors were unable to hear the very loud roar of the Eurofighter's jet engine -- and not because the exhibition halls are sound proof. Most of the U.S. booths were ghost town. They either packed up and crossed the pond or were exploring the French cafes.

Something the French exhibitors were happy to point out to me. A typical comment was: "you see how most of the Americans are gone?"

Grrrr.

It was pretty glaring but maybe understandable. It is a considerable expense to staff a booth at the Paris Air Show for a week, plus Fridays at the air show are open to everyone. So instead of doing business they are mostly handing out lollipops and trinkets to kids or answering strange questions from average citizens.

However, Aerovironment officials told me they wished more U.S. companies stuck around on Friday, because it sends a more positive message -- especially to the French public.

"Yes, we don't make a lot of sales on Friday," but it is important to have a presence if you want to have a growing international business, said Stayne Hoff, director of international business development Aerovironment in Simi Valley, Calif. Leaving early may send the wrong message.

There are many foreign companies that "make very high-quality products," David Strong, vice president of marketing at FLIR in Beaverton, Ore., told me earlier in the week. "We need to be competitive with them"

His comments were made during a discussion on the many complicated import/export regulations that make it difficult for U.S. companies over seas.

However, the remarks could also apply to seeing an international trade show through to the end. If U.S. companies want to compete internationally they need not only to get some breaks from our State Department, but make the extra sales call or just stay the extra day at the world’s biggest air show.

Aeronautics not just space

Posted by John McHale

Walking through the U.S. Pavilion today at the Paris Air Show I was handed a NASA sticker by tall friendly guy wondering if I knew that NASA did aeronautics and not just space -- because the first A in NASA stands for aeronautics as in National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Walking through the U.S. Pavilion today at the Paris Air Show I was handed a NASA sticker bya tall, friendly guy wondering if I knew that NASA did aeronautics and not just space -- because the first A in NASA stands for aeronautics as in National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

I said of course I do, but failed to impress him with any other NASA aeronautical facts, so he decided to share a few with me in NASA's booth at the show.

Apparently NASA aeronautics expertise was behind the development of glass cockpits, icing sensors, and lightening protection for military avionics in fighter jets.

I asked is there anything new on the lightening front? He said no, not in the last few years.

So why is NASA here if not to talk about anything new?

To let people know that it is much more than a space exploration outfit, and does quite a bit of technology development for aeronautics and even for the environment, he replied.

Then I was handed a nice looking brochure on the X-48B test plane as an example. The experimental plane is designed with a flat, tailless fuselage to burn less fuel and produce less Carbon Dioxide.

I asked NASA is here just to give a history lesson?

He nodded and said yes that's a big part of it.

Seems like a lot of tax payer money to spend on travel and an exhibit to go give a history lesson on a subject, which he admitted is a small part of the NASA budget.

However, I did walk away knowing something I didn't know before about NASA.

I guess that was the point.

Avionics display trends in Paris

Posted by John McHale

While showing me around his booth today at the Paris Air Show, Jean Cristophe Monfret, Barco's director of product and program management showed me the different ways avionics display capability is deployed today in military such as in moving map displays, electronic flight bags, video displays, etc.

While showing me around his booth today at the Paris Air Show, Jean Cristophe Monfret, Barco's director of product and program management showed me the different ways avionics display capability is deployed today in military such as in airport moving map displays, electronic flight bags, video displays, etc.

Trends that he sees in the avionics display market include providing more flexibility for the end user, improved touch screen capability, and greater use of light emitting diode (LED) technology. Meanwhile, enhanced vision and synthetic vision applications are driving future avionics display applications.

Monfret said that their MOSArt, modular open architecture avionics displays are popular because they enable system integrators to develop their software on Barco's hardware.

He said that like everyone else Barco is feeling some of the effects of the downturn in the commercial market, but that their military business in avionics and simulation remains quite strong.

Monfret also noted that the oil applications -- where helicopters are flying to off-shore platforms -- is a growth area for avionics displays.

Commercial aircraft market holding steady

Posted by John McHale

The Airbus A380 did a few flybys at the Paris Air Show today, causing many to whip out their cell phones for close up pictures and videos. However, the buzz in the Airbus Chalet was less about the 380 or the future 350 aircraft and more about how the commercial aircraft market is bottoming out.

The Airbus A380 did a few flybys at the Paris Air Show today, causing many to whip out their cell phones for close up pictures and videos. However, the buzz in the Airbus Chalet was less about the 380 or the future 350 aircraft and more about how the commercial aircraft market is bottoming out.

Folks I talked to in the very crowded chalet believe that economic conditions shouldn't get any worse for commercial aircraft sales, but are uncertain as to when orders will pick up again.

Echoing aerospace industry forecasts from earlier this year the air frame manufacturer still sees China as the biggest growth market for commercial aircraft.

Airbus did announce small aircraft orders today such as Vietnam Airlines ordering 16 more single aisle A321s along with signed agreement for two additional A350 XWBs.

The aircraft orders this week are much smaller than in past shows where Airbus would announce orders in the 100s, but business appears steady.

The mood in the Airbus Chalet appeared quite optimistic.

Attendees at the air show also were more lively today as rain stopped and the sun came out. The exhibit halls got busier and the Eurofighter dazzled those outside with very cool aerodynamics.

Raining in Paris

Posted by John McHale

A steady rain welcomed visitors to the Paris Air Show at La Bourget Airport in France this morning. The wet, gloomy weather matched the somber tone of many at the show.
A steady rain welcomed visitors to the Paris Air Show at La Bourget Airport in France this morning. The wet, gloomy weather matched the somber tone of many at the show.


The recent crash of an Air France jet over the Atlantic combined with the struggling commercial avionics/aircraft market has made delegates to the 100th Paris Air Show a bit subdued.

It's not all doom and gloom though. Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) continue to create quite a bit of buzz. One of Boeing's first announcements at the show this year was the formation of their Unmanned Airborne Systems division.

But the best thing of all about any air show is that you get watch cool planes take off -- if you're into that sort of thing.

This my first trip to the Paris event and being a journalist gives you the best seat in the house. As I write this I hear jets taking off right outside my window in the press tent.

There is also a balcony above me that once the rain stops provides the most excellent perch to see the live aerodynamics. Everything from new Air France cargo planes to military helicopters from Bell are on display.

My first air show more than 20 years ago in Reading, Pa., was great fun, but there weren't European Space Agency Rockets parked outside the terminal.

Talk to you tomorrow.