Avantair took delivery of its 53rd, 54th, and 56th Piaggio P180 Avanti IIs during the show. Meanwhile, Piaggio Aero Industries CEO Alberto Galassi says the Italian turboprop aircraft maker intends to develop a business jet but is in “no rush” to do so. He offers no details on the aircraft’s size or performance. Galassi says Piaggio will deliver 27-30 P180s in 2010, “the same as this year.”
Coming out of a quarter laced with program delays and cost overruns, Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney foresees production levels stabilizing next year and an end to the company’s long saga of getting two new airplanes into flight test.
Former space shuttle commander Pam Melroy (see photo) has become director/deputy program manager of the Space Exploration Initiatives Program Office in Houston for the Lockheed Martin Corp. She was NASA branch chief for the astronaut office working on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.
Paul Clark has been appointed group director for claims, David Bickerton principal surveyor, David Hitchen senior surveyor/associate director and Nigel Soane senior surveyor, all for London Heathrow Airport-based Airclaims .
A high-level political commitment and a new community treaty may finally permit the European Union to jump-start Europe’s sputtering space effort and keep it from being overtaken by emerging rivals.
Rob Parrish has become federal security director for William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. He was acting FSD for Dallas Love Field Airport, Preston Smith Airport in Lubbock, Tex., and several other airports in Texas.
The era of the lone researcher making a major discovery may be past, with most breakthroughs now occurring at the intersections between disciplines. Within aerospace, this is particularly true for unmanned systems and is a driver behind the trend toward interdisciplinary research at universities.
Corporate culture is key to cultivating innovation, and to Raytheon Chairman and CEO William Swanson that means leading from the top. “If I don’t care about innovation, why would people do it? I have to make sure I am passionate about it,” he says. As an engineer leading an engineering-driven company, Swanson could be expected to focus on technology innovation, but that is not sufficient to keep the company competitive, he says. “Most people think of innovation and technology. We need all business functions to understand it happens in all areas.”
European Union emissions allowance (EUA) prices rallied in October, recapturing most of the losses seen the previous month, on the back of positive sentiment in the wider economy and reduced fears of new allowances coming to market.
Differing tacks are being taken by the U.K.’s two research councils involved in the British National Space Center (BNSC) over whether the U.K. should replace it with a space agency.
The European Commission will order only 22 of 28 satellites needed for full operation of the Galileo satellite navigation system, leaving the remaining six to be purchased later. Executives from OHB System, which is bidding for the so-called Full Operating Capability (FOC) spacecraft award with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. against an Astrium/Thales Alenia Space team, say the framework contract for the award will cover all 28 units, which include two spares, but only an initial batch of 22 will be acquired immediately.
Lockheed Martin is proceeding with development and early planning for production of the Medium-Extended Air Defense System (Meads)—which is being jointly developed by the U.S., Germany and Italy—though questions loom about the ability of the three nations to afford the project.
At first glance, it appears that the term “innovation” is used too freely in aerospace—every incremental improvement in a product, process or service is trumpeted as such. Where are the discoveries and breakthroughs that marked the first century of aviation? They are there, is the answer, but not where they once were to be found. Aerospace and defense contractors can no longer afford standing armies of scientists, so they are forging close relationships with universities and acquiring innovative small companies as they cast their net wider for new ideas.
The six-member International Space Station crew is unloading 2.5 tons of supplies from the Progress M-03/35P Russian cargo carrier, which docked with the ISS Oct. 17. The load includes spare parts, propellant and water. The vehicle approached and docked at the Pirs docking compartment nadir port autonomously using the Kurs system, making contact at 9:40 p.m. EDT and locking down about 20 min. later. The Progress launched Oct. 14 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Australian government is signaling its intent to become a player in the space business by announcing plans to set up a formal national space policy, steered by a small group to facilitate the fledgling venture.
Philip Lewin has been named country manager for India for American Airlines . He was Zurich-based business development manager for Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Russia/CIS.
Raytheon’s quest to instill an interest in math and science in young audiences has taken a new twist at Disney’s Epcot Center theme park in Florida. As of last week, guests of any age can customize a thrill ride via a touch-screen table and a robotic simulator. The “Sum of all Thrills” guides participants to pick a theme, including roller coaster or jet plane, and using engineering-based tools, such as rulers and speed dials, customize a ride by adding corkscrews and inversions.
The parent company of Go and majority owner of Mokulele reached an agreement to combine the jet operations of the two Hawaii interisland carriers, both of which have struggled to be profitable. The joint venture agreement between Mesa Air Group and Republic Airways could take some of the lowest fares out of a market that has seen price wars and create a stronger challenger to Hawaiian Airlines.
The sudden and severe downturn that hit the business and general aviation industries forced Cessna Aircraft to lay off nearly half its workforce, temporarily shut down production lines and cancel development of the Columbus Citation executive jet. In an interview at Cessna’s Wichita, Kan., headquarters, Chairman, CEO and President Jack Pelton told Aviation Week Deputy Managing Editor for Business Aviation William Garvey and Senior Business Editor Joseph C. Anselmo that he is seeing signs of stabilization, but he cautions that the road to recovery will be a long one.
The Obama administration is on board with a U.N. conference set for 2012 to craft an international Arms Trade Treaty. A sticking point for Washington dating back to the George W. Bush administration had been whether the treaty would be by consensus or majority rule.
BEI Duncan Electronics’ brochure covering position sensor solutions for aerospace and defense industries highlights the company’s original goal of producing military-grade, precision wire-wound potentiometers for position sensing. The position sensors operate in a wide range of environmental extremes where the ability to withstand high vibration and shock is required. These include commercial and military aircraft, missiles and guided projectiles, helicopters, autonomously guided vehicles (AGVs), military vehicles and spacecraft, according to the company.
An astronaut, a cosmonaut and a circus clown returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) early Oct. 11, capping a standard ISS tour for the two spaceflight professionals and what may be the last space tourist flight for awhile. Canadian Guy Laliberte, the billionaire founder of Cirque du Soleil, joined Russia’s Gennady Padalka, outgoing commander of ISS Expedition 20, and Expedition 20 flight engineer Michael Barratt of NASA in the landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Their Soyuz TMA‑14 touched down at 12:32 a.m. EDT, after a nominal return from the ISS.
Three weeks after it was used to strike a stationary vehicle from the air, the Boeing/U.S. Air Force Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) damaged a moving target at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. High-powered chemical laser ATL was carried by a C-130H flying out of Kirtland, AFB, N.M. ATL’s energy is directed by a beam control developed by L-3 Communications/Brashear. Its mission is to destroy or damage targets on battlefields or in urban environments with little or no collateral damage. Last week, the vehicle, traveling about 30 mph., was unoccupied and remotely controlled.
