Paramount Airways plans to buy 10 Airbus A321s with an option for another 10. The Chennai, India-based carrier would use the jets to serve international destinations from South India. In addition, Turkish Airlines intends to order seven A330 wide-body aircraft including five -300s and two -200s that feature a higher maximum takeoff weight and a range of up to 7,200 naut. mi. The airline will operate the A330-300s on high-capacity, medium-haul routes, while plans call for the -200s to operate on the long-haul Istanbul-New York route.
Measat 3a, a Malaysian communications satellite that was damaged in a crane accident at Baikonur Cosmodrome last August, reached its geostationary transfer orbit Sunday after launch from Baikonur on a Land Launch Zenit 3SLB rocket June 21. Liftoff came at 5:50 p.m. EDT, sending the 2,366-kg. (5,216-lb.) spacecraft on the first step of its flight to a final operating position in the geostationary orbital slot at 91.5 deg. E. Long. Based on the Orbital Sciences Corp.
The threatened disappearance of Boeing-led Sea Launch has the space sector, already under pressure from booming satellite demand, scurrying for fallback solutions.
General aviation advocates are lauding a recent report from the Homeland Security Dept. Office of Inspector General (OIG) that concludes their aircraft present “only limited and mostly hypothetical threats to security.” The 31-page report also states that “the current status of GA operations does not present a serious homeland security vulnerability” and that “the steps general aviation airport owners and managers have taken to enhance security are positive and effective.” It noted that general aviation accounts for 77% of all flights in the U.S.
Norman Liu has been named president/CEO of GE Capital Aviation Services . He succeeds Henry Hubschman, who will be chairman. Liu has been executive vice president-commercial operations.
Now that its flight has begun, a full array of observatories is standing by to take pictures of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (Lcross) when it slams into the bottom of a crater on the Moon’s south pole on Oct. 9. Lcross was lofted piggyback with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on an Atlas V 401 from Kennedy Space Center on June 18. LRO is preparing detailed maps for an eventual manned landing site; Lcross will look for evidence of water ice and hydrogen on the lunar surface.
John Crichton, who is president/CEO of Nav Canada, has received the annual C.D. Howe Award from the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute , honoring his contributions to the country’s aviation industry over more than 30 years. Crichton was cited for helping to shape the modern foundation of air transportation in the Canadian north and his role in the privatization and modernization of Canadian’s civil air navigation system, which helped establish Nav Canada.
Marc Viggiano (see photos) has been promoted to chief operating officer from senior vice president/chief strategy officer of the Sensis Corp. , East Syracuse, N.Y. Viggiano has been succeeded by USN Vice Adm. (ret.) John G. Morgan, Jr., who was deputy chief of naval operations for information, plans and strategy.
The seven nations participating in the A400M program will have an extra month to work out a plan for renegotiating the airlifter contract, following an informal defense ministers meeting in Seville, Spain, early last week.
“It’s time to put the Osprey out of its misery,” says House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.). Following a critical report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Towns called for a halt in production of the tiltrotor aircraft. The Bell-Boeing V-22 has been in hot water before, and many of the deficiencies cited in the May GAO report are acknowledged by the Marine Corps.
Walt Havenstein has resigned as president of BAE Systems Inc. to become CEO of the Science Applications International Corp., effective Sept. 21. USMC Gen. (ret.) Anthony Zinni, a member of the BAE Systems Inc. board of directors, will be chairman and acting president and CEO.
Obituary: Sam B. Williams, chairman of engine manufacturer Williams International, which he founded in 1955, died at home in Indian Wells, Calif., on June 22. He was 88.
Douglas Barrie (London), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
Political timing and a timely evaluation will be determining factors in whether Japan manages to avoid further delay in its F-X fighter competition—with a narrowing window of opportunity over the coming months.
BAE Systems has landed a $33.6-million contract for low-rate initial production of the ALE-55, which is part of the Navy’s Integrated Defensive Electronics Countermeasures system that provides fighter and strike aircraft with electronic defenses against radar-guided missiles. The ALE-55 converts radio-frequency signals to light that is transferred to a transmitter in a towed decoy that jams pursuing missiles. This Lot 5 contract will increase total deliveries of towed devices to 473.
Archie Dickey was correct regarding the efficacy of plastic “scarecrow owls” in preventing bird hazards at airports (AW&ST June 8, p. 14). Years ago, some non-pilot “suit” at my airline came up with the idea of affixing plastic owls on top of the Jetways at one of our hubs. Shortly thereafter, we were taxiing into a gate and observed a live bird perched serenely—you guessed it—right on top of the faux owl’s head.
Chinese light aircraft manufacturer Yuneec International is conducting initial flight tests of its electric-powered E430 light airplane and plans to display and demonstrate the single-engine aircraft at the Experimental Aircraft Assn.’s AirVenture 2009 show July 27-Aug. 9 in Oshkosh, Wis. Test pilot Shun Xun flew the composite E430 on its initial flight June 12. It has a wingspan of 45.2 ft., length of 21.9 ft. and a maximum takeoff weight of 946 lb. The propulsion system features an electric motor producing 40 kw. (54 hp.) at 2,450 rpm.
I have to take issue with Paul Nash’s comments about “sexual tension” in the cockpit. As a male pilot I had the privilege of flying Boeing 727s with a female captain whom I was dating. She was one of the better pilots with whom I have flown. In the six months we flew together, it was agreed from the outset that it would be business-only in the cockpit. Lumping female pilots into the context of “. . . pilot-stewardess stories” does a disservice to both pilots and flight attendants.
Following an initial delay, the U.K. has swapped out its Harrier GR9s for Tornado GR4 strike aircraft to support operations in Afghanistan. The most recent Harrier unit to be deployed, 1(F) Squadron, was due to leave on June 26. Harrier units have been in theater for the past five years in support of operations in Afghanistan. More than 8,500 sorties have been logged.
John S. Slattery has become head of Dublin-based Greenstone Aviation Ltd. He was a co-founder/managing director of RBS Aviation Capital in the Americas.
On May 7, the U.S. Air Force Accident Investigation Board (AIB) released a report on the gear-up landing of a C-17 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on Jan. 30. The AIB concluded the crew was at fault for not lowering the landing gear.
The U.S. Navy is attempting to resolve payload and other hardware development issues with its new mobile telecom satellite system so the first unit can be made available to meet urgent military demand.
Lt. Col. Park Ha-Sik, chief of operations and exercises for the South Korean air force’s Operations Command, organized and planned the first participation of a South Korean unit in a Red Flag exercise last August at Nellis AFB, Nev. The unique opportunity was linked to the delivery of six new F-15K Slam Eagles at Boeing’s St. Louis facility. After a month’s training at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, members of the detachment won accolades for their flying and maintenance skills.
Geoff Dixon, former managing director/CEO of Qantas Airways, has been named to the board of advisers of New York-based Seabury Aviation & Aerospace . Other new members are: Bryan Moss, president emeritus of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.; Ralph Robins, former executive chairman of Rolls-Royce plc; and Douglas M. Steenland, former CEO of Northwest Airlines.
Gen. David Richards, the British Army’s next chief of the general staff, used a Royal United Services Institute conference last week to begin the Army ground- work for what is an inevitable defense review. The comment that will likely draw the most attention of the other service chiefs is: “I must emphasize that I am not advocating the scrapping of all our aircraft and tanks to the point that traditional mass armored operations, for example, become an attractive asymmetric option to a potential enemy.
