Feral Jundi

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Aviation: The Twin Otter Turboprop To Go Into Production Again

Filed under: Aviation,Paracargo,Parachuting — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 3:55 AM

   This awesome news.  As a smokejumper, this was my favorite aircraft to jump out of.  It was stable, had great power, plenty of room inside, and you could land them anywhere.  They have also been used all over the world and in some crazy climates.  I actually flew in a Twin Otter when I was traveling in Nepal, and it handled the mountain airstrips and high elevations very well.

   This aircraft is also excellent for paracargo, and most pilots that I talked to loved flying this aircraft for such missions. So I am definitely glad to see it back in production again, and I think it was a good move on Viking Air Ltd. to take this on. –Matt

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Twin Otter

The rebirth of a Canadian icon

May 14, 2010

By Brent Jang

The robust Twin Otter turboprop earned a reputation for being able to operate in any conditions. Two decades after the last one rolled off the line, it’s taking to the air again thanks to a small Alberta plane maker

On the shop floor of Viking Air Ltd.’s sprawling Calgary plant, Ken Copiak makes his way from one work station to another, inspecting the aluminum shells of Twin Otter planes as they begin to take shape.

The manager of the final assembly plant sometimes has to pinch himself when he sees the fabled bush plane back in production – 22 years after the last Twin Otter, serial number 844, came off the line in Ontario.

Viking workers are now putting the finishing touches on the first Twin Otter assembled in Alberta, the 845th built in Canada since 1965. Subject to certification from Transport Canada, the turboprop will be delivered next month to Switzerland’s Zimex Aviation Ltd., which has earmarked the new-generation plane for oil and gas exploration duties in Algeria.

(more…)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Paracargo: New Uses For UAV’s–The K-MAX Dropping LCLA Or JPADS Paracargo

Filed under: Aviation,Paracargo,PMC 2.0 — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:12 AM

     This is cool.  To be able to drop paracargo like this, would be a very interesting capability, and especially dropping JPADS.  The K-MAX is such a work horse as well, and can totally handle high elevations a lot better than others in it’s class.  So for unmanned cargo missions, this might be the helicopter/UAV we will see more of in the near future.

     Some other interesting uses for this helicopter, would be SPIE operations or moving around people with a long line. Although that would probably be for only special incidents where survival would depend on having a means of getting out of a spot quickly (medevacs, attacks, etc.), and manned helicopters are not available.  Weaponizing it would be cool too, and to have a dual use helicopter UAV for anything that pops up would be a nice little tool to have in the battlefield tool kit for a commander.

     Having a robotic cargo hauler like this, will probably inspire many innovative uses for the thing as troops utilize it on the battlefield.  Especially if they could harden up this bird a little to give it some more combat survivability. Kind of like the A 10 Warthog of UAV helicopters.  Interesting stuff. –Matt

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K-Max Drops ‘Em in Cargo Demo

by Graham Warwick

5/5/2010

No sign yet of an RFP from the US Navy for umanned cargo resupply of Marine Corps units in Afghanistan, but team-mates Lockheed Martin and Kaman continue to develop the capability of their unmanned version of the K-Max external-lift helicopter. In late April, they demonstrated the ability to airdrop supplies, which would improve the helicopter’s survivability in combat zones.

The 11 drop tests from 300-400ft altitude used the US Army’s LCLA low-cost low-altitude parachute, a one-time-use aerodynamic decelerator that costs just $375 and can be used with loads up to 600lb, the team says. Loads were dropped from the K-Max’s four-hook carousel. Kaman says future tests could include the JPADS precision airdrop system, a GPS-guided steerable parachute that would allow loads to be dropped from higher altitudes and take advantage of the K-Max’s ability to lift 4,300lb to 15,000ft.

The airdrop tests were conducted with a safety pilot on board, but the K-Max operated unmanned during a cargo resupply demonstration for the Marine Corps earlier this year. Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird unmanned helicopter participated. Both teams are now waiting for an RFP from the Navy. Inside Defense, meanwhile, is reporting the Army is pushing for an unmanned cargo demonstration.

Story here.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Black Swan Events: Volcano Illustrates World’s Interconnectedness

Filed under: Aviation,Black Swan Events — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:40 AM

   What we call here a Black Swan (and capitalize it) is an event with the following three attributes. First, it is an outlier, as it lies outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility. Second, it carries an extreme impact. Third, in spite of its outlier status, human nature makes us concoct explanations for its occurrence after the fact, making it explainable and predictable. I stop and summarize the triplet: rarity, extreme impact, and retrospective (though not prospective) predictability. A small number of Black Swans explain almost everything in our world, from the success of ideas and religions, to the dynamics of historical events, to elements of our own personal lives. –Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan

*****

   I have decided to add a new category that actually talks about events that have far reaching effects.  Natural disasters and war are examples, and the reason we need to talk about that here is that contractors are very much needed in order to deal with these kinds of events.  Contractor operations are also impacted by these events, and this stuff can really screw up the logistics for some global operation. As I speak, there are contractors waiting to go home who can’t, or guys in airports just waiting around for their flight.  Logistics for the wars will be impacted as well.  That is why we need to care.

   BSE (Black Swan Events) can also arise from political upheaval or coups.  A BSE could be something small like a extremely deadly virus, or something odd that changes the dynamic.  Drones could be considered BSE’s, because they are something new to warfare that is forcing everyone to rethink strategies.

   I also don’t want to get in the habit of calling everything new a BSE.(I will use Nassim’s three attributes for BSE’s) This category will be for only the big stuff, that really shakes the world.  This volcano is one of those events, much like the Haiti earthquake or the Polish leadership getting killed in a plane accident.  Thanks to Matt for giving me the heads up and cluing me in on the BSE potential. –Matt

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Volcano illustrates world’s interconnectedness

By MICHAEL TARM

April 17, 2010

CHICAGO — A volcano erupts in Iceland, and the effects ripple around the globe: A mom in Romania frets about making her son’s wedding in Texas. A florist in New York worries shipments won’t arrive. Patients awaiting treatment in Nigeria have to wait another week for the doctors.

The fallout from the ash cloud looming over Europe illustrates just how interconnected our world has become.

Thousands of planes fly millions of passengers and tons of cargo each day, providing the economic lifeblood of nations and businesses. The flights deliver products for sale or items as small as a specialized tool that lets a factory keep operating.

The planes also bring medicines to hospitals and food aid to earthquake or hurricane victims. And they bring war and peace. Soldiers are often transported to and from hot spots by air.

(more…)

Monday, April 5, 2010

Aviation: Planned Sale Of Xe’s Aviation Worldwide Services Likely To Mean Loss Of Jobs In N.C.

Filed under: Aviation,Industry Talk,North Carolina — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:51 AM

   This sucks for the families who will be impacted negatively by this sale in North Carolina. Hopefully they can get something else going. –Matt

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Planned sale of Xe company likely to mean loss of jobs in N.C.

By Jeff Hampton

April 4, 2010

Currituck and Camden counties, already struggling with high unemployment, could lose 240 more jobs after the sale of an aviation company operated by a private military company.

AAR Corp. announced last week plans to buy Aviation Worldwide Services for $200 million from Xe Services LLC, the company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide.

AWS operates a fleet of 58 customized aircraft, including fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters. Of the 540 employees working for AWS, 240 are based at the Moyock complex known as the U.S. Training Center, AAR spokesman Chris Mason said.

Eventually, employees and aircraft based in Moyock would be relocated, Mason said. According to tax records, Presidential Airways, a subsidiary of AWS, keeps just one aircraft at the training complex and one at the Elizabeth City airport.

(more…)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Aviation: Drones Slowly Becoming The New ‘Virtual Fence’ On Border

Filed under: Aviation,Law Enforcement,Mexico,Texas — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:53 AM

   So are we actually shutting down the virtual fence, or are we just using a different method of creating a virtual fence? I also want to highlight another ongoing saga involving drones and a call for troops.  In Texas, governor Perry has been fighting to get more drones and more troops on the border in order to stop the spill over of violence, and has met a lot of resistance from the feds on this.

    Over the last year, this has been more political than anything, seeing how Perry is Republican and the Administration and Congress is mostly Democrat. Increasing border security activities goes against any kind of immigration reform or amnesty initiatives, because it sends a mixed message to the U.S. citizenry.  The narrative is this– ‘Do we want to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border so we can stop them from killing Americans or bringing over drugs/supporting the cartels, or do we want them coming over and giving them a free pass so we can get cheap labor? I side on the idea that people should come to my country legally, and go through the same process that all immigrants have gone through who have come to the US.  Why the Mexican immigrant is a special case, is beyond me. Especially when drug cartels are taking advantage of these immigrants and a weak border, and flooding my country with their drugs.

   But back to border security.  As soon as Americans die, either on the border or on either side of that border, I think politics tends to go out the window, and reality sets in. The attack on diplomats and the astronomical increase in deaths across the border in places like Juarez, have presented a reality where border security might start getting the attention it needs.  Our use of drones will probably increase along the border, as will our assistance to the Mexican government in stopping the cartels. American deaths are game changers, and those acts will only put the war back into the ‘drug war’. The bitter irony is American deaths have already been high do to drug overdoses or drug related crimes in the US. I guess it takes killings on the border to really drive home the point.-Matt

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Drones silently patrol U.S. borders

By Ed Lavandera

March 12, 2010

Fort Huachuca, Arizona (CNN) — It’s a frigid, dark night in the mountainous border region of southeast Arizona. A group of 31 suspected illegal immigrants are walking up and down rocky ridges toward Tucson, Arizona. They’re wearing small backpacks and stop to rest every few minutes.

This isn’t a scene unfolding before the eyes of Border Patrol agents on the ground. It comes from a video image provided by a Predator B unmanned aircraft 19,000 feet overhead. In fact, the nearest Border Patrol agents are far away.

Jerry Kersey is the Customs and Border Protection agent in charge of this night’s Predator mission. He and his two-man crew relay the information to Border Patrol agents from a small trailer 40 miles from the scene.

Kersey directs the agents on the ground, who are wearing night-vision goggles.

“Stop! Stop! They’re to your right,” Kersey firmly dictates over a radio transmission. “They must see you. The group is running.”

(more…)

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