Japan Airlines has softened its restructuring effort, planning fewer job cuts than were discussed in June, reports in major Japanese media suggest. JAL is also asking for less debt forgiveness from its banks—¥320 billion ($3.84 billion) instead of ¥360 billion—in a restructuring plan that it hopes they will endorse to the bankruptcy court. JAL has been under protection from creditors since January. The airline is considering requesting an additional injection of capital from a government bank, the Development Bank of Japan.
Despite heavy rainfall and sodden fields that delayed or defeated many visitors to the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture, held July 24-Aug. 1 in Oshkosh, Wis., one of the earliest arrivals was among the more unusual at an event known for “Hey, look at that” aircraft.
European engine makers are seeing slightly better earnings prospects for this year than first thought. Rolls-Royce is expecting its full-year profit to be slightly ahead of 2009 levels, the company says in reporting half-year results. Underlying profit was up slightly to £465 million from £445 million the year before. Writeoffs actually led to a £331-million net loss for Rolls-Royce in the first six months, but the operational performance was seen as largely positive.
MD-11F operators may have to confront an uncomfortable truth, namely that the cargo aircraft, for all its cost and payload virtues, is so difficult to land that safety could be compromised.
Robert Wall (London), Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Andy Nativi (Genoa)
Despite growing concerns about military cutbacks, European contractors are riding a strong earnings-performance wave. To prepare for a drop in government spending, companies are crafting new cost-cutting and restructuring plans. Several big primes such as BAE Systems are already well down that path, while others are only starting to act now. Qinetiq, for example, says “management is rolling out its action plan to refocus the businesses,” with labor talks already underway on staff reductions and productivity improvements.
With an eye both on cutting training costs and boosting the ability of pilots to act in concert, the Israeli air forceis looking to field an enhanced mission-training system in the coming years. The service already extensively employs simulator tools across its aircraft types, but the majority of those activities are focused on improving aircraft handling or on how to deal with emergency situations. As a result, the air force concluded that it needed a capability to actually carry out tactical operational flights in a so-called synthetic setting.
Daniel Oltrogge has been named senior research astrodynamist for the Center for Space Standards and Innovation of Analytical Graphics Inc. of Colorado Springs. He was lead systems engineer for SkySentry and senior analyst/CEO of 1Earth Research
Looking beyond the aerospace and defense industry for more than just inspiration, the Pentagon’s advanced research arm wants to tap a wider population for ideas ranging from spacecraft software to military vehicles. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) calls it “the democratization of innovation.” Others call it crowd-sourcing, the art of outsourcing tasks to a large community of people via the Internet. Examples include open-source software and Wikipedia.
Brian Roberson (see photo) has been named global platform director for aerospace coatings for PPG Industries , Sylmar, Calif. He was its director in Canada for the automotive refinish business.
Chris VanderWeide has been named chief inspector for foreign airworthiness for Duncan Aviation , Battle Creek, Mich. He was chief inspector for Great Lakes Aviation.
Troubled Sea Launch is moving closer to emerging from Chapter 11, where it has been stuck since filing for bankruptcy protection on June 22, 2009. Last week, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware confirmed a reorganization plan filed by Sea Launch on May 10. The plan will become effective upon completion of regulatory review. The court move followed conclusion of an agreement for three new satellite launches with EchoStar. Earlier Sea Launch inked a launch agreement with AsiaSat in settlement of claims.
Concepts are useful, but demonstrators get the work done. And when the task at hand is maturing technology for the next generation of commercial aircraft, demonstrators have a key role to play.
A lightweight carbon-fiber composite that can conduct electricity and heat is the holy grail of structural design, and may be within reach with plans to scale up production of a nano-engineered “fuzzy fiber” material developed by the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI).
The Indian military is buying 57 more BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainers, with 40 to go to the air force and 17 to the navy. The trainers will be built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. under a £500-million ($780-million) agreement with BAE for parts and support. Another £200 million will go to Rolls-Royce and Turbomeca for the Adour engines. The contract was signed during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit to India.
Todd D. Sigler has been appointed assistant vice president-civil aviation for the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Association . He was vice president-manufacturing support and process engineering for Cirrus Aircraft.
Launch vehicle engineers here believe a shuttle-derived vehicle built around the space shuttle main engine (SSME) is probably the fastest route to a heavy-lift launch vehicle. Some kind of heavy lifter is emerging as a centerpiece of the compromise space policy being worked out between Congress and the White House.
Roy Kinnear has become senior vice president of United Arab Emirates-based Etihad Crystal Cargo . He succeeds Des Vertannes, who has been named global head of cargo for the International Air Transport Association. Kinnear was vice president-revenue management of Etihad Airways.
Commercial crew and cargo transportation to orbit is emerging as the big sticking point in the ongoing debate over U.S. space policy, both between the House and Senate, and between Congress and the White House. Senate authorizers cleared $612 million to support the new industry in Fiscal 2011, while their House counterparts would authorize only $164 million. NASA requested $812 million, according to an analysis prepared by the Space Foundation. But the agency is running into some reservations even among its own advisers.
Even though the technology is still in its infancy and its practical application is not at all assured, the electric aircraft is more than a concept being pursued by small group of green-thinking devotees. Well-established aviation manufacturers—notably Sikorsky Aircraft and Cessna Aircraft—have now come forward to further develop and exploit the alternate power source. Those companies and others outlined their plans for and challenges to electric flight during a July 30 symposium at the EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wis.
Richard Shaw (see photo) has become manager of the PlaneParts sector of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. , Savannah, Ga., He was a product support executive for Bombardier Aerospace in Montreal.
As U.S. major airlines regain their financial footing, the biggest question facing the industry is whether it will revert to old habits and let an oversupply of capacity unravel all of its hard-won gains.
Israeli’s top young minds are being identified and put to work early with the goal of introducing radically new ideas and concepts of operations that can be applied to rapidly changing threats and technological innovation. The program, called Talpiot, finds these youngsters with the same screening process that the nation uses to identify its elite fighter pilots. In this case, it is designed by the government to institutionalize creativity across the spectrum of military, political, industrial and intelligence organizations.
The Auto-GCAS’s capabilities can best be appreciated firsthand. During a 1-hr. 20-min. flight on the Air Force Research Laboratory/NASA F-16 testbed, this Aviation Week editor observed a variety of scenarios, many flown at extremely low altitudes and high speed, designed to show how the automatic ground collision avoidance system (Auto-GCAS) will prevent mishaps while allowing the full range of tactical flying without triggering nuisance fly-ups.
Peter Hruz has become subject matter expert in oceanic and domestic air traffic control for Metron Aviation , Dulles, Va. He was the FAA’s support manager of international operations, airspace and procedures, and military operations.
Susan Irwin has been named Washington-based president of Euroconsult USA Inc. She was head of Washington satellite industry consulting firm Irwin Communications. Partnering with Euroconsult will be the Jones Consulting Group, headed by Dennis Jones, a former senior executive with GeoEye, Space Imaging and The Aerospace Corp.
