BA609 Flys Again!

My friends at Bell emailed me today to tell me that the BA609 has
returned to flight test. Today it made four flights totaling about an
hour before bad weather rolled in. More should be on the internet
tomorrow. This should put them on track for achieving airplane mode
this summer.

Take care,

CTR

Okay, what did Walter Sonnenborne say at the Forum about the US
helicopter industry? I'm still trying to get his remarks.

HW

Helowriter wrote:
Okay, what did Walter Sonnenborne say at the Forum about the US
helicopter industry? I'm still trying to get his remarks.

HW

If you have ever heard Walter Sonneborne speak, you know he pulls no
punches. His uncensored speech covered the following:

1) NASA's stupidity in cutting all rotorcraft research funding.

2) US helicopter industries ignorance in not realizing the future
ramifications of outsourcing engineering jobs to India and China.

3) US helicopter industries myopia in abandoning the commercial light
helicopter business and leaning to heavily on military contracts.

4) The US educational systems incompetence in not encouraging students
to choose technical and science career paths.

5) The litigous US environnment that stifles creativity.

Just to mention a few high points.

Take care,

CTR

Yep, he's right on all of the above.

I'd add the current willingness of the DoD to import European
helicopters for US military requirements is a threat out of proportion
to the benefit.

HW

I always found it a little ironic that years ago in the heyday of the
"cold" war that our Canadian military were still using radio equipment
that used tubes, and that the only supplier of those tubes were
companies in Russia.

Helowriter wrote:
Yep, he's right on all of the above.

I'd add the current willingness of the DoD to import European
helicopters for US military requirements is a threat out of proportion
to the benefit.

HW

Does this opinion include Boeing's response to the Army's ARH RFP of
the Dutch investment firm RDM Little Bird?

Take care,

CTR

No, I still consider that an American product, despite the ownership
and outsourcing. (Howard Hughes probably still has a hand in it from
beyond.)

I do think the VXX decision was a bad one (for lots of reasons,
technical and political) and I wonder what they're going to do on PRV
and LUH . The shear numbers involved make it a bad deal to buy
Eurocopter or Agust Westland products -- even if the entire EU selected
American aircraft, the numbers don't match up. We buy 400 of something
and they buy 40.

I still believe our rotorcraft industry is a national asset to be
nurtured much as Europe has done with Eurocopter. The Brits have no
problem naming AW preferred provider and giving them advisory status on
future procurements. If they can protect their industry, we should do
something to protect ours.

We got ourselves into the postion where no US manufacturer was able and
willing to bid on the Army fixed-wing transports. (Commuter airliners
and trainers are beneath US industry) Do we really want to abandon our
rotorcraft leadership too?

HW