The aviation scene continues to be promising with a large number of aviation-related projects culminating into firm orders or progressing well through the labyrinth of defence procurement process

On August 5, seven minutes of pure terror turned into seven minutes of total bliss for the ‘Mission Control Team’ in Pasadena, California, when it learnt the ‘Curiosity Rover’ had landed softly on Mars. It was indeed a remarkable feat for mankind and a giant step forward in its quest for unfolding the mysteries of the Red Planet. With the rover now safely at the intended site, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mars Science Laboratory begins its one-Martian-year (98-week) mission of discovery and exploration, where it will seek to answer age-old questions about whether life ever existed on Mars—or if the planet can sustain life in future.

But while there was a deluge of success inundating the Mars mission, it was just a drizzle at the recently concluded Farnborough International Air Show. In the background of tottering economies in the West, it turned out to be a subdued affair. According to R. Chandrakanth, who was part of the SP’s team at Farnborough, there were no show-stoppers though there were a few strategic announcements, sprinkled with promises and optimism. However, Farnborough still turned out to be UK’s biggest outdoor event, after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the ongoing London Olympics, which incidentally, is witnessing the maximum ever movements of ‘business’ aircraft, ferrying into and out of London, celebs of every hue and colour—reinforcing the predictions of a bright future for business aviation.

‘Farnborough’ may have been an indicator of an adversely impacted defence segment but the Indian story continues to be different with the all three armed services striving hard to get on with their augmentation/modernisation plans. The aviation scene continues to be promising with a large number of aviation-related projects culminating into firm orders or progressing well through the labyrinth of the defence procurement process. This issue covers the IAF’s C-17 Globemaster III acquisition programme and the feverish activities under way at the Boeing’s Long Beach military aircraft facility in California to meet the delivery deadlines.

Even though their contribution as compared with other major polluters is small, the business aviation community is striving incessantly to minimise the adverse impact on the environment. While manufacturers are focused on improvement in design to produce aircraft with lower fuel burn, Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey dwells further on how operators are working with air traffic service providers to be able to operate business aviation aircraft even more efficiently.

On India’s regional aviation front, Group Captain (Retd) A.K. Sachdev explains how strict regulations on fleet size and other conditions stipulated in the “Regional Aviation Policy” has so far impeded regional air connectivity from taking off in the country. While some concessions by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation are appreciated, much greater improvement in the civil aviation regulatory framework as controlled by government policies would be required for the regional aviation to thrive in India.

From the news appearing in the Indian media, it is evident the turf war on the ownership of attack helicopters has once again erupted between the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Army’s perennial demand of owning all attack/combat helicopters. This edition carries two interesting viewpoints, in support and against such a move. But the question that keeps coming to mind is: whither synergy for fighting a joint air-land battle?

All this plus many more surprises. Happy reading.