December 28, 2017 - No. 100 In This Issue China conducts maiden flight of indigenous amphibious aircraft GE Aviation Announces First Run of the Advanced Turboprop Engine U.S. Maintenance Training Standards Poised for Major Overhaul Korean Aviation Industry Launches 'Aviation Convergence Alliance' Air New Zealand Explores Translation Technology. The Air Force Wants to Install New Engines on the B-52 Bomber Electric passenger jet revolution looms as E-Fan X project takes off Cargo Industry Tests Seaplane Drones to Deliver Freight Is Airbus Finally Ready To Shut Down A380 Production? GE looks to complete acquisition of Swedish 3D-printing company MINIVAN DRIVER DISTRACTED BY SPACEX LAUNCH TOTALS TOYOTA COROLLA China conducts maiden flight of indigenous amphibious aircraft China on Sunday successfully conducted the maiden flight of its first indigenous amphibious aircraft, believed to be the world's largest, in southern Guangdong Province. The aircraft AG600, code named "Kunlong", lifted off from the Jinwan Civil Aviation Airport in Zhuhai in Guangdong. The flight lasted about one hour. "The maiden flight makes China among the few countries capable of developing a large amphibious aircraft," said Huang Lingcai, chief designer of AG600. The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) has congratulated all those engaged in the mission. The congratulatory message said the maiden flight was a major breakthrough in developing special-purpose aircraft following the first flight of the large C919 passenger jet in May. The 39.6-meter aircraft is powered by four domestically- built turboprop engines, according to its developer, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). With a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes and a top cruising speed of 500 kilometers per hour, the AG600 has a range of 12 hours. Designed to be the world's largest amphibious aircraft, the AG600 will be mainly used for maritime rescue, fighting forest fires and marine monitoring, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. It can carry 50 people during search-and-rescue missions, collect 12 tonnes of water in 20 seconds for fire fighting and transport up to 370 tonnes of water on a single tank of fuel. Its name "Kunlong" stands for a high expectation in Chinese culture with the "Kun" meaning an enormous legendary fish and "Long" a dragon. China in recent years made major strides in aviation technology. The AG600 is the third member of China's "large aircraft family" following the large freighter Y-20 and large passenger aircraft C919, which made maiden flights in 2013 and 2017. The Y-20 entered into service with China's airforce in July 2016. On December 17, the second prototype of China's large passenger jet C919 completed its maiden flight in Shanghai. It tested the performance of the C919 major systems and equipment, such as taking-off and landing, navigation and communication, speed acceleration and deceleration. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-conducts-maiden-flight-of-indigenous-amphibious-aircraft/article22270932.ece Back to Top GE Aviation Announces First Run of the Advanced Turboprop Engine PRAGUE - December 27, 2017 - GE Aviation's Advanced Turboprop engine, the first clean-sheet turboprop engine to hit the Business and General Aviation (BGA) market in more than 30 years, successfully completed its first engine test run at GE Aviation's facility in Prague, Czech Republic, on Friday (December 22). "Running the Advanced Turboprop engine this year was our biggest and most important goal," said Brad Mottier, vice president and general manager of GE Aviation's BGA and Integrated Systems organization. "This milestone comes as a result of two years of tremendous effort by a worldwide team. We're developing a real catalyst for the BGA market and we're executing on plan. The integration of proven technologies has expedited the design, development and certification cycle of the engine." The Advanced Turboprop engine will begin certification testing in 2018. The engine will power Textron Aviation's new Cessna Denali, which is expected to fly in late 2018. By the time the Denali enters into service, the engine will have completed more than 2000 hours of testing. "The continued testing will generate valuable data from the engine and validate the aerodynamics, mechanics, and aerothermal systems," said Paul Corkery, general manager for GE Aviation Turboprops. "With the engine run and most of the individual component testing completed, early indications show that we will meet or exceed all the performance numbers we have quoted for the engine." The new 1,240 SHP-rated Advanced Turboprop engine is in the family of turboprop engines aimed at BGA aircraft in the 1,000-1,600 SHP range. With 79 new technologies introduced, the engine offers a portfolio of advanced technology, as well as unparalleled performance and efficiency. The Advanced Turboprop engine features an industry-best 16:1 overall pressure ratio, enabling the engine to achieve as much as 20 percent lower fuel burn and 10 percent higher cruise power compared to competitor offerings in the same size class. At 4,000 hours, it offers 33 percent more time between overhaul than its leading competitor. When installed on the Denali, these engine efficiencies allow for a larger cabin experience with a comfortable 6000-foot cabin altitude at a 30,000-foot cruising altitude, as well as class-leading, low cost of operation compared to smaller aircraft in the category. The Advanced Turboprop engine's proven technology developed from GE's large commercial and regional engines has reduced engine development risk and timing. It is the first turboprop engine in its class to introduce two stages of variable stator vanes and cooled high-pressure turbine blades, proven technologies developed by GE in its large commercial engines and flown more than 1.3 billion flight hours. With the use of advanced 3-dimensional aerodynamics, improved materials, and cooled turbine technologies, the Advanced Turboprop engine will deliver significantly higher efficiency, as well as greater performance and durability than other engines in its class. The Advanced Turboprop engine includes more printed components than any production engine in aviation history with 35 percent of the turboprop's parts built via additive manufacturing. A total of 855 conventionally manufactured parts has been reduced to 12 additive parts, including sumps, bearing housings, frames, exhaust case, combustor liner, heat exchangers and stationary flow path components. Additive components reduce the ATP's weight by 5 percent while contributing a 1 percent improvement in specific fuel consumption (SFC). Since Mottier unveiled the Advanced Turboprop engine at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention in November of 2015, GE Aviation has committed more than $400 million in development costs for the engine. GE also finalized an agreement with the Czech government to build its new turboprop headquarters for development, test and engine-production in the Czech Republic. When complete and at full production rate, this new facility is expected to have 500 additional employees. GE Aviation Czech has already added around 180 jobs, with another 80 expected in 2018. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12388459/ge-aviation-announces-first-run-of-the-advanced-turboprop-engine Back to Top U.S. Maintenance Training Standards Poised for Major Overhaul From composites to onboard connectivity, aircraft technology has advanced significantly in the past several decades. The required training standards used to develop mechanics in the U.S., however, have not kept pace. But that is about to change. The FAA is in the late stages of a major revamp of its Part 147 regulations, which set standards for the 170 aviation maintenance technician schools (AMTSs) that supply approximately 60 percent of the industry's certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanics. (The rest are trained by their employers or the military.) A parallel effort to develop Airman Certification Standards (ACS)-a detailed list of what an A&P candidate must know and do to earn a license-might end up being integrated with the new rule. The result would be sweeping changes in how new mechanics are developed and tested. The general consensus in the industry is that change is long overdue. The last major revision to Part 147 came in April 1970, the same year that Garrett began testing the TFE731. The changes included increasing curriculum requirements to the current 1,900-hour standard and further defining subjects, placing them in four appendices. Aside from minor revisions in 1992, the appendices, which cover basic curriculum requirements and list the general, airframe, and powerplant subjects that must be covered, have remained unchanged. The FAA proposed major revisions in 1994 and 1998, issuing notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) that included curriculum updates, but strong resistance from industry stalled both efforts. Meanwhile, aircraft and engine technology marched on, with once-futuristic concepts such as all-composite primary structures and Internet-connected aircraft becoming commonplace. The FAA, prompted in part by a 2003 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that called on the agency to update maintenance training curriculum, established a working group to recommend changes. The working group issued its report in 2008. Seven years later, in October 2015, the FAA released another draft rule, acknowledging its late arrival and incorporating many suggestions from the working group's report. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-12-27/us-maintenance-training-standards-poised-major-overhaul Back to Top Korean Aviation Industry Launches 'Aviation Convergence Alliance' Corporate Korea will develop the avionics market in earnest, including the launch of the Aviation Industry Convergence Alliance after a drone industry alliance. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 27 that the ministry launched the Aviation Industry Convergence Alliance to help ICT- and aviation-related companies and research institutions to enter overseas markets hand in hand. The convergence alliance includes aviation companies such as Asiana Airlines, Grid Space, Digitron, and Hankuk Carbon, ICT companies such as Wise Jet, Symphony Imaging, Dovolink, Inu Creative and Uniquest and research institutes such as the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology and the Korea Aerospace Industries Association. The Aviation Industry Convergence Alliance was forged to discover new business models such as smart cabins with the information and communication technology (ICT), display and electronics industries in a public consensus that the aviation industry changes with a focus on avionics in the face of the 4th industrial revolution. Avionics deals with the design, production, and service of various electronic, navigation, display and communication devices and sensors for aircraft operation. The Aviation Industry Convergence Alliance discusses research on and the development and commercialization of electronic and communication technologies for smart cabins in aircraft. A smart cabin is a new business model that prunes cost by reducing need for maintenance and making aircraft lighter through the replacement of wired terminals with wireless ones at passenger seats. The Ministry of Trade, Industry Energy will hold technology exchange meetings between Korean companies and large-scale aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus to help Korean companies to enter global avionic supply networks and actively move forward with the export of avionic products by strengthening technical cooperation and utilizing offset trade. On top of that, the ministry will commercialize promising technologies such as wireless terminals and cabin window display technology in aircraft early and secure core technologies such as software for sensors, flight control and integrated modules. http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/20181-developing-avionics-businesses-korean-aviation-industry-launches-%E2%80%98aviation Back to Top Air New Zealand Explores Translation Technology Air New Zealand is turning to technology to tackle the language barriers that often arise during travel. The airline is one of the first corporates globally to trial a customer service use case for Google's wireless Bluetooth Pixel Buds headphones which enable live translation of 40 languages via Google's Pixel handset. Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says the airline has a number of multi-lingual employees but naturally there are times when the relevant language speaker may not be on hand and technology could play a pivotal role in those moments. "We operate to 30 international destinations and our customers speak an even more diverse range of languages. Google's Pixel Buds could assist in areas such as check-in and boarding as well as inflight to help our staff communicate effectively with international customers. "Both Air New Zealand and Google put people and technology at the heart of their products and experiences and it's been excellent exploring how translation technology like Google's Pixel Buds could enhance our customer experience. "In this increasingly digital world our customers expect us to provide a fast and personalised experience. It's crucial we embrace technology solutions and collaborating with like-minded partners helps us keep ahead of the game," says Mr Golan. Air New Zealand has an aspiration to be a leading digital airline. It's experimentation with Google Pixel Buds follows on from other initiatives this year involving Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Social Robotics. http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12388390/air-new-zealand-explores-translation-technology Back to Top The Air Force Wants to Install New Engines on the B-52 Bomber America's fleet of B-52H Stratofortress nuclear bombers are on track to outlast their engines, and the planes need new ones to remain viable past 2030. The U.S. Air Force, which received its first B-52H during the Kennedy administration, wants to replace existing engines with cheaper, more power ones to keep the lumbering jets flying into all the way into the 2040s. The B-52H is the last of the family of B-52 Stratofortress bombers to remain in U.S. service. The first -H model was delivered in 1961, and 76 of the original 102 bombers still fly with U.S. Air Force active and reserve units. The bombers have a range of 8,800 miles, giving them the ability to conduct strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations worldwide. The bombers are capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional cruise missiles, and are set to carry the new Long Range Stand Off nuclear-tipped cruise missile in the future. The B-52H fleet is still using its original Pratt & Whitney TF33-103 engines. Two of which hang off each of the bomber's four engine stations, giving each aircraft eight such engines that combine to generate up to 136,000 pounds of thrust. As powerful as they are, the Pratt & Whitneys are growing old and increasingly difficult to maintain, and they have missed half a century of aircraft engine development. At $69,708 an hour to fly, the B-52 is an expensive bird to keep in the air. New engines could generate even more thrust, require less maintenance, and cost less per hour to fly. Aviation Week & Space Technology says that the Air Force wants to replace the TF-33-103 with a new commercial engine, like those used on commercial airliners, with a "20-40% improvement in fuel consumption compared to the TF33." The new engine should also generate even more electricity for onboard systems, perhaps powering defensive lasers to shoot down air-to-air missiles. In the past, the Air Force has toyed with the idea of consolidating the number of engines to four to save weight and simplify things, but eight engines will provide more thrust and electrical power. The Air Force has had on-again, off-again plans to reengine the B-52H fleet for decades, but the service's 2018 budget finally provides funding for an early study. According to AvWeek, new engines would go on the first ten bombers around 2026, with the remaining 66 bombers refitted in the 2028-2034 time frame. The bombers would ideally stick around in Air Force service until 2050 or so, making them approximately 90 years old at their time of retirement. http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a14501568/air-force-install-new-engines-b-52-bomber/ Back to Top Electric passenger jet revolution looms as E-Fan X project takes off Trains, ships and automobiles have all been swept along in recent years by the electric power revolution - and planes are next. Passenger jets are poised for an electric makeover that could fundamentally change the economics and environmental outlook of the aviation industry. Up until now the fact that the necessary batteries weigh two tonnes each has limited the switch from fossil fuels to a totally electric-powered future. However, last month a consortium comprising Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens said they had found a way to use hybrid electric jet engines to conquer gravity. They are converting a regional jet into a demonstration plane, called the E-Fan X, which will be ready by 2020. Paul Stein, chief technology officer at Rolls-Royce, said: "It is a two-tonne battery pack - the batteries are still fairly heavy. Beating gravity into submission is a huge challenge, so weight is a big issue." The BAE 146 demo aircraft, a jet that seats up to 100 people, will at first have one of its four gas turbine engines replaced with the hybrid engine. This engine will be powered by batteries and an onboard generator using jet fuel. If successful, the team will then move to two electric engines. Siemens is designing the 2MW electric motor, Rolls is building the generator that powers the engine and Airbus will integrate the system into the plane and link it to flight controls. They are developing the hybrid motor because fully electric commercial flights are currently out of reach. Pound for pound, fossil fuels contain around 100 times as much energy as a lithium-ion battery, the most common electric power pack at present. In a car, which has its wheels planted firmly on the ground, engineering boffins can design a vehicle to offset that weight disadvantage. But in a machine that must lift itself off the ground and propel upwards this is a much harder problem to solve. This tricky dilemma is a challenge that has been embraced with renewed gusto in the aviation sector. "Aviation has always eluded electrification largely because of the size and weight of components involved," Stein said. "But technology has moved on apace. Electrification is now poised to make a significant impact." Stein said three classes of aviation are potentially within reach of an electric engine revolution. "The smallest is air taxis, which can take 1 to 4 people up to 75 miles. For small air taxis, the battery technology is almost ready now," he said. Some of these air taxis look like flying cars, such as those backed by Larry Page, one of Google's founders. Chinese-owned Terrafugia's "roadable aircraft" drives like a typical car on the ground and fits in a standard single-car garage and can be pre-ordered for $300,000 (£224,000). Pipistrel, a Slovenian company, already makes a two-seater electric training plane. Airbus has also developed a two-seater, the E Fan, which flew across the Channel in 2015. The second market is the small, regional jet that can carry between 10 and 100 passengers. "Our target end game is a fixed wing, regional hybrid design," Stein said of the E-Fan X project. The third market - the short-haul commercial market, dominated by Airbus's A320 and Boeing's 737 - is still some way off. Bjorn Fehrm, an aeronautical analyst at aviation Leeham News and Comment, said: "For ultra short range, it can be fully electric. For the range of today's thousands of single aisle [A320, 737] planes, it will have to be hybrid for at least another 30 years. For long range, it's unrealistic. There would have to be a breakthrough in fuel cells, or similar." Airlines are watching the evolution of electric battery technology with interest. EasyJet wants electric planes to fly passengers on its short-haul routes within 10 to 20 years. It has signed a deal with Wright Electric, a US engineering company, to develop electric-powered aircraft that could reach Paris and Amsterdam from London. The attractions for airlines are clear; depending on the oil price, jet fuel had accounted for between 17% and 36% of their running costs over the last few years. Stein reckons the E-Fan X could produce fuel savings of 15%. The rush to electric battery technology in the automobile sector and a renewed push by aviation is likely to lead to scientific breakthroughs in what is possible over the coming years. Samsung Electronics recently declared it increased the energy capacity of a lithium-ion battery by 45%, and decreased the time needed for a recharge, by incorporating graphene - an ultra-thin form of carbon - into the power pack. Lithium-ion battery chemistry is notoriously unstable, prone to overheating and catching fire - not ideal when cruising at 35,000 feet. "For us, safety is paramount. The burden of proof to ensure we maintain that safety margin is very high," Stein said. "We cannot have a battery chemistry that risks a fire." So, lots of big hitters are ploughing huge investment and brain-power into developing alternative battery chemistries. One promising option is a solid-state lithium battery, which replaces the liquid electrolyte of current cells with a solid substitute. Such batteries offer much higher energy densities and should also be cheap to mass produce. Huge riches await those that can crack the problem and produce a next generation power source that is cheaper and greener. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/dec/28/electric-passenger-jet-revolution-looms-e-fan-x-air-taxis-hybrid-planes Back to Top Cargo Industry Tests Seaplane Drones to Deliver Freight Two years after WorldWar II, billionaire Howard Hughes personally piloted his "Spruce Goose" troop transport aircraft on the first and only flight of the largest seaplane ever built. It lasted barely a minute. Now, more than 70 years later, a U.S. startup is testing a new seaplane concept-one that could evolve into huge cargo drones that fly 109 metric tons of freight across the Pacific, touch down autonomously over water, and unload at ports around the world. The startup Natilus was founded in 2014 with a dream of building large cargo drones to deliver international freight for about half the price of piloted aircraft, and much faster than ships. In December, Natilus planned to test the water-taxiing capabilities of a small prototype drone with a 9-meter wingspan in San Francisco Bay. Waterborne testing, done under the careful watch of the Federal Aviation Administration, sets the stage for flight tests in 2018. "The first flight will follow the traditional general aviation flight-testing approach, which includes a water takeoff and a climb out to about 200 feet, followed by a cruise, descent, and landing," says Aleksey Matyushev, CEO and cofounder of Natilus. These early remote-controlled flight tests could lead to semiautonomous and then fully autonomous flights in which the drone autopilot navigates over a route of waypoints set by a human controller. By removing human pilots, Natilus wants to create a streamlined aircraft with just a single engine and more room for jet fuel or cargo. "So the drone is cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate because you burn less fuel, and cheaper to maintain," says Francois Chopard, CEO and founder of Starburst Ventures, a company that helps aerospace startups raise seed funding. Natilus hopes to sell its drones to delivery and logistics companies such as Atlas Air (an Amazon partner), UPS, and DHL in a bid to disrupt the US $15.5 trillion global freight market. The sweet spot in terms of freight could include pricey goods that consumers want quickly, Chopard explains. Seaplane drones could avoid many of the safety and air traffic control concerns of drones flying over land, says Sanjiv Singh, a robotics researcher at Carnegie Mellon University and CEO of Near Earth Autonomy, a startup focused on intelligent flight systems. "If I have to ditch my containers over the ocean, it's not the worst thing in the world, because people don't die and everything is insured," Singh says. Before tackling trans-Pacific routes, Natilus first plans to build and sell a small drone by 2020 that can carry nearly 2 metric tons of cargo and operate between regional airports. Such drones could allow companies to open new air shipping routes between cities with low volumes of freight. Similar cargo drones the size of aircraft have yet to take off in a serious way around the world. The U.S. Marine Corps previously tested a K-Max helicopter modified to become a drone capable of delivering several tons of supplies to troops in Afghanistan. More recently, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences transformed a light aircraft into an experimental AT200 drone that can carry more than 1.5 metric tons of cargo. Singh and other experts are uncertain whether huge cargo drones can compete with piloted cargo aircraft on cost. "Unmanned cargo drones have an efficiency advantage when they are small," says Hans Heerkens, chairman of the Platform for Unmanned Cargo Aircraft, an international organization investigating the technology's possibilities. "I don't see so much of the efficiency advantage when they are large." Still, Heerkens points to a potential market for cargo drones in servicing midsize cities in regions such as China and Africa that lack major airport infrastructure but want to ship goods to international markets. Whether flying over land or sea, Natilus drones could change the way goods are shipped around the world-if they can pass their flight tests. https://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/aviation/cargo-industry-tests-seaplane-drones-to-deliver-freight Back to Top Is Airbus Finally Ready To Shut Down A380 Production? Is the ax finally falling for the Airbus A380? According to three highly placed sources, the Airbus consortium is reportedly drawing up contingency plans to phase out production of the world's largest jetliner, if it fails to win a key order from Dubai's Emirates. This is the same highly anticipated A380 order that was supposed to be a highlight of the Dubai Airshow in November 2017, but somehow never arrived. So the high-stakes game of chicken over the future of the Airbus 380 continues, a battle of wills between Airbus Industries and its most important A380 customer, Emirates Airways. What's at stake? Only whether Emirates will finally cough up another 36-plane, $16 billion order, or if the production line will be shut down for the multi-billion dollar aircraft project. The reason for the standoff is simple: Both sides are vulnerable. Airbus is reluctant to keep money-losing production going without the admittedly limited security that a significant Emirates order would provide. Emirates, on the other hand, wants Airbus to guarantee that production will continue at least another ten years to provide a steady flow of replacement aircraft, spare parts, engineering expertise, etc. The A380, one of the largest and most advanced aircraft ever to fly, is the pride of European aviation and technology. Yet the life of the A380 program may indeed "hang by a thread" as the giant plane heads into its second decade of commercial service. Even the millions of dollars spent building new cabins, like those in an A380 built for Singapore Airlines unveiled this month, have left potential customers unmoved. No American airlines operate the A380, and only a handful from Asian countries with massive populations, despite constant claims from Airbus claiming the giant aircraft will become more popular with airlines due to airport congestion. Instead, relatively tiny Gulf countries are the largest operators of the A380. The Arab Emirates have a population of 9.27 million, Qatar 2.57 million and Abu Dhabi 1.15 million. Yet of the 217 A380 aircraft delivered so far (out of 317 orders) well over half have gone to the Gulf, with 100 to Emirates, 10 to Abu Dhabi's Etihad, and 8 to Qatar Airways. Emirates, still expecting another 42 aircraft exclusive of the hoped-for order, also has the largest backlog. The Gulf carriers have problems other than whether they will have a continuing pipeline of new A380 aircraft. Foremost are the constant charges by their American rivals (Delta, American Airlines, and United) that the three Gulf carriers benefitted from 50 billion dollars in subsidies since 2004, violating the Open Skies agreement and making it impossible to compete with their artificially low fares. While President Trump did not sanction the Gulf Carriers this year, Tim Cannoll, president of the Airline Pilots Association, pointed out "Since January 2015, these Gulf carriers have increased capacity to the United States by 50 percent, even though the demand to justify this expansion doesn't exist." The A380, with its exceptionally long range and 555-passenger capacity, is a key part of this expansion. Long plagued by delays and the cancellation of a potentially profitable freighter program, the A380 has been a consistent money-loser for Airbus. Although the A380 has a good safety record, an engine explosion of a GE engine earlier this year was the third jet problem recorded. Problems with Rolls Royce engine production postponed deliveries of 12 A380s to Emirates. With "no Emirates deal, Airbus will start the process of ending A380 production," Reuters quoted a person close to the plan. A supplier source added that finally ending the financial agony of the A380 made sense due to weak demand. Millions of euros spent on new cabins have not appreciably created increased demand for the plane, nor has a reliable secondary or "used" aircraft market developed. Instead, operators of aging A380 make vague comments about packing hundreds of religious pilgrims aboard or leasing the craft plus pilots to non-airline companies. Emirates, the largest A380 operator and perhaps also the biggest promoter of the plane, has its own problems. The airline experienced two "serious incidents" in 2017 of missed landings, one in Moscow and another at New York's JFK. An Emirates 777 was a total loss after a crash in 2016 at Dubai Airport that killed a responding fireman, although all 300 passengers were saved. And most recently, Emirates flights have been banned from Tunisia, after Emirates prohibited female Tunisian passengers from boarding flights to the UAE. Although no reason was supplied, the rumors of terrorism, as well as the chaos involved, infuriated the Tunisians. A strong economic argument might be made for ending A380 production. Airbus has a significant order backlog for all its planes. It could probably better divert resources from the money-losing A380 project to one of its many profitable and well-regarded smaller commercial aircraft. The estimated $20 to $25 billion in research and development costs of the A380 have long since been written off. But the political costs of dropping the guillotine on the A380 program would be incalculable, particularly to an Airbus already in turmoil from corruption investigations and management changes. With another 100 aircraft to deliver, the program may well limp along another ten years before the A380 gracefully flies into oblivion. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2017/12/27/is-airbus-finally-ready-to-shut-down-a380-production/#2f0bbc2259c6 Back to Top GE looks to complete acquisition of Swedish 3D-printing company General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is looking to scoop up the remaining shares of a Swedish 3D-printing company more than a year after it announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in a $1.4 billion deal. GE said on Wednesday that it will own approximately 95 percent of shares in Arcam AB later this week after it buys out other investors Elliott Management and Polygon Investment Group at $41.68 per share. GE previously owned 77 percent of the company, which makes electron beam melting machines for metal 3D printing. GE said it plans to acquire the remaining Arcam shares in a compulsory buy-out and to delist the company from the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange where it currently trades. Arcam generated about $78 million in revenue in 2016, up from about $68 million in 2015. The original $1.4 billion deal, announced in Sept. 2016, also included GE's acquisition of another European 3D-printing company, SLM Solutions Group AG. Both firms' technology now supports GE's jet engine manufacturing business. Workers from the GE Aviation plant in Lynn recently tested the company's first civilian aircraft engine produced with 3D-printing technology. The Boston-based manufacturing giant has been building out GE Additive, the division within GE Aviation focused on industrial 3D printing, throughout 2017. In November, GE acquired GeonX a German maker of engineering simulation software. GE Ventures also participated in a $115 million investment into Burlington-based Desktop Metal Inc. GE has said it wants Additive to be a $1 billion line of business by 2020. Elliott Management, one of the firms that GE bought out, is an activist investor that recently took aim at another Massachusetts tech stalwart, Akamai Technologies Inc. https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2017/12/27/ge-looks-to-complete-acquisition-of-swedish-3d.html Back to Top MINIVAN DRIVER DISTRACTED BY SPACEX LAUNCH TOTALS TOYOTA COROLLA Houston, we have a problem. Rocket launches can be spectacular pretty much any time of day, but the recent SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was truly something to behold. It lifted off just after sunset on December 22 and eventually followed a southerly course, giving the four million residents of Los Angeles one hell of a show in the sky. Unfortunately, the timing of the launch also coincided with rush hour on Friday, which is bad enough at any time but even worse when it's the Friday before Christmas. As such, the Falcon 9 rocket was as spectacular as it was distracting, as the driver of this Toyota Corolla found out the very hard way. The crash - not to mention the rocket launch that contributed to it - was captured in terrific detail on a dash cam and it shows just how quickly a distracted driver wreak havoc. With traffic suddenly slowing in all lanes, a minivan blasts full force into the back of the Corolla, which then gets shoved into an SUV that had slowed in front of it. Hopefully there were no serious injuries as a result of the melee. As for our rocket man narrator, he's certainly fascinated with the launch but still seemingly aware that his first priority is to drive without crashing. Even with a car load of kids and passengers shouting he manages to avoid catastrophe both from traffic slowing in front of him, and the collision in the neighboring lane. And after a brief coming-to-Jesus moment over narrowly avoiding the crash, everyone in the car goes back to rocket and its expanding smoke trail, as if nothing happened. If there's ever been a step-by-step video to show in driver education courses how things can suddenly go wrong on the road, this could well be a keeper. We have an unexpected event that is understandably distracting, leading to slowdowns and ultimately a serious collision. Lessons learned here are that rubberneckers should move off the road instead of significantly slowing on a high-speed highway, but since that will almost certainly never happen, always be prepared for slowdowns when you see a rocket - or anything strange - zipping through the skies. https://www.motor1.com/news/225465/minivan-driver-totals-toyota-corolla/ Curt Lewis