52
COMMERCIAL
AIRCRAFT UPDATE
64 Program profi les update status
and production plans for existing
and planned commercial aircraftEDITORIAL
74 Space can become ef cient and
safe if we realize that it will require
hard work and experimentation24
46 Seamless situational awareness high-
lights suite of new software Honey-
well is building for its fl ight decks
48 Universal Avionics about to certify
a new fl ight deck that tightens the
pilot-machine working relationship
50 Touchscreens slowly becoming
standard in modern cockpit de-
sign, but not for primary displays
ZHUHAI 201452 Comac plans to roll out the C
in less than a year and is trying to
prepare for fi rst fl ight in late 2015
54 Six years after its reorganization,
diversifi ed Avic still faces big
challenges due to sheer size
56 Avic and partners should move into
detail design of the Xian MA
turboprop by middle of next year57 Past few months have seen fi rst
fl ights of a pair of signifi cantly
dif erent J-20s from prototype60 China emerging as one-stop military
aerospace provider from satellites
to precision-guided munitions62 Chinese industry introducing family
of launchers that should be more
ef cient and more cost-ef ective63 China making little progress
in opening its skies to
fi xed-wing general aviation8 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/NOVEMBER 3/10, 2014 AviationWeek.com/awst
A roundup of what you’re reading on AviationWeek.comWill Air France go the way of Pan Am? There is no evidence to suggest any imminent demise, but as our Dec.
16, 1991, cover story discussed, it took two decades for Pan Am to slowly decline and fail. It is a lesson worth
remembering. Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo takes a look back in our From the Archives blog: ow.ly/Du9TOur editors will be reporting from the Aviation
Week MRO conference and exhibition in Singapore
Nov. 4-6, and Airshow China in Zhuhai Nov. 11-16.
Keep up with the latest on AviationWeek.comMRO ASIA, ZHUHAI AIRSHOW
Our photographer captured a very dramatic sequence of the
explosion of an Orbital Sciences Antares rocket shortly after
liftof on Oct. 28. See the photos at AviationWeek.com/Antares
and read our editors’ analysis of what happened, on page 26.
Kevinreedy55: “Failures while pushing the test-
ing envelope are normal and not indicative of any
change in broader policy. NASA has had more than
its share of failures in its non-commercial efforts.”Roktmn: “Reminds me of my early days developing rockets.
Somehow I wouldn’t have expected such a thing today but
when dealing with machines you never know. These particu-
lar rocket engines have plagued the Russians and now us,
resulting in test stand failures and launch failures that are
reminiscent of the early days of rocket development.”George Zip: “Sad news for OSC [Orbital Sciences], but maybe
this and August’s SpaceX failure will silence those facile com-
mentators who have been claiming that we are at the point
where NASA can be completely defunded in favor of commer-
cial launch providers. There is no substitute for experience
in this business, and the path to development of a reliable
launcher can be a long and painful one.”READER
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