British Airways and Virgin Atlantic executives believe they could combat dire industry conditions more effectively if European regulators gave them more relief on airport slot restrictions. But the European Union decision-making process—coupled with EU parliamentary elections on June 7—make it unlikely that any such relief would arrive in time to allow meaningful capacity reductions.
Starting June 1, visitors to the NTSB web site will be able to access accident investigation public dockets. The move follows legislative and executive mandates aimed at improving use of electronic media to build “a more transparent government,” according to the safety board. To view the list of dockets, organized by transportation mode, go to http://www.ntsb.gov/Info/foia_fri-dockets.htm
Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are encouraged by tests showing the left middle wheel on the stalled Spirit Mars Exploration Rover is operating normally. The testing on Mars was aimed at determining whether the problem is associated with the wheel itself rather than a loss of traction or grounding on a rock. Operations with Spirit were suspended May 7 when signals showed the left middle wheel was jammed, while the other wheels apparently were dug into the surface up to their hubs. Last week JPL commanded 1- and 4-deg.
A Boeing 737-300 involved in a stall during an approach to Bournemouth (England) Airport was in revenue service for 11 days before investigators determined the seriousness of the event during a check of the aircraft’s Quick Access Recorder data. U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) final report, published May 21, reveals details surrounding the Sept. 23, 2007, “serious incident” at Bournemouth. The 737, operated by ThomsonFly, was on approach to Runway 26 when the autothrottle disengaged, for undetermined reasons, with thrust levers in the idle thrust position.
About $18.5 billion has been authorized to buy armed, fast-moving vehicles built by General Dynamics that will fit into an MV-22, CH-53, MH-47 or CV-22 rotorcraft. The contract from the U.S. Marine Corps is for 70 full-rate production, internally transportable vehicles to serve as expeditionary, high-mobility, weapons-capable platforms to provide ground units with the same mobility as the maneuver elements they support. Work is to be completed by mid-2010.
With the help of NASA’s Aqua satellite, researchers have performed the first global analysis of the health of ocean plants. Using Aqua’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis), scientists observed the fluorescent red light emitted by phytoplankton in the open ocean and assessed how efficiently the microscopic plants are converting sunlight and nutrients into food, using photosynthesis. The team’s full findings appear in the May edition of the journal Biogeosciences.
FlyDubai, the low-fare Dubai-based startup, received its air operators certificate from the local General Civil Aviation Authority late last month, clearing the way for service to start June 1. The first flight will be between Dubai and Beirut. The network will quickly expand to include Damascus, Amman, and Alexandria, Egypt. FlyDubai, a sister of Emirates, will operate Boeing 737-800s and plans a fleet of 50 aircraft.
Textron Defense Systems’ Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) smart munition system has completed flight tests at Eglin AFB, Fla., the last step to full qualification for the production units assembled at the new plant in Oklahoma; the new line is now fully qualified.
Scott Thompson (Tysons Corner, Va.), James W. Thomas (Tysons Corner, Va.)
Last year set new records for A&D industry revenues and profits. However, 2008 was marked by two distinct periods: strong profitability was achieved in the first three quarters, while the fourth quarter was shadowed by a gathering storm of the intensifying global financial crisis and a crippling strike at Boeing. Although new profit records were set, aggregate Top-Performing Companies scores decreased modestly in 2008 overall, indicating the peak of the current cycle may have occurred during the third quarter. The decrease is attributable primarily to two factors.
Before the U.S. Air Force officially chooses a C-27 variant as its next gunship, why not consider the Basler BT-67? A cost analysis between the two might yield some surprises. The airframe is rebuilt, turboprops are installed, and Basler gunships are already in service. It could be called the “Super Puff” after the original AC-47 Puff the Magic Dragon.
2009 FIVE-YEAR MOST IMPROVEDREVENUE BETWEEN $250 MILLION-$1 BILLION AVERAGE SCORE TOTAL 5-YEAR SCORE Rank COMPANY DATE SCORE IMPROVEMENT 1 GenCorp Inc. Nov.
Harry Hohmeister has been appointed CEO and Holger Hatty chief commercial officer of Swiss International Air Lines . Hohmeister was a member of the board of directors of affiliate Lufthansa Passenger Airlines. Hatty was head of strategy, alliances and holdings, network management, information technology and purchasing for Lufthansa Passenger Transportation. Peter Gerber has been named to Lufthansa Cargo’s executive board to be labor director and head of finance and human resources. He has been senior vice president-corporate industrial relations and social security.
The French government wants Europe to start building momentum for the development of the next-generation heavy-lift rocket to replace the Ariane 5 so the new system can be fielded before 2025.
Raytheon and the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Information Assurance and Security (CIAS) will partner on research for new and improved cybersecurity approaches. Raytheon will fund the 10-year effort that involves 21 CIAS faculty working on computer security and information assurance projects, addressing such issues as password breaches and intrusion detection. Along with funding, the company will bring its more than 30 years’ experience in this field to the table.
It appears affordability has become the key driver for the Obama administration when it comes to defense spending, and additional program cuts may be likely during the quadrennial review, notes James McAleese of McAleese & Associates. The 2010 Pentagon budget request and supplemental “Overseas Contingency Operations” request favors the Navy, while flat-lining the Army and Air Force, the analyst and Pentagon consultant points out.
L-3 Communications says it will appeal a federal jury’s decision to award Lockheed Martin $37.3 million in an intellectual property dispute over data relating to the P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Lockheed won the verdict in U.S. District Court in Atlanta May 21. The jury decided Lockheed is due $30 million for L-3’s misuse of trade secrets and $7.28 million for breaching nondisclosure agreements related to its work on the maritime patrol aircraft.
With international standards soon to be published for radio-frequency identification of parts on aircraft, airlines are coming to grips with how to use the new technology that both Airbus and Boeing are planning to deploy on their latest widebodies. A working group has been set up to take the available standards and develop specific real-usage cases, from the perspective of airlines and maintenance providers, in order to develop guidelines for introducing RFID technology into service.
June 8-9Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lean Advancement Initiatives “Architecting Future Enterprises.” Also, July 13-15—LAI Lean Academy Short Course. Both in Cambridge. Call +1 (617) 258-7628 or see http://lean.mit.edu June 15-19Simtech 2009: “Simulation, Concepts, Capability and Technology.” Adelaide (Australia) Convention Center. See www.siaa.asn.au/simtect/2009/2009.htm June 15-21—Paris air show. Le Bourget. See www.paris-air-show.com
June 10—Webinar: Capitalizing on Raw Material Aggregation. July 16—Demonstrating the Value of Corporate Aircraft Management Forum. New York. Aug. 5-6—Required Navigation Performance Management Forum. Dallas. Aug. 12-13—Program Risk Management Forum. Washington. Sept. 22—Green Europe. Hamburg, Germany. Sept. 22-24—MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition. Hamburg. Oct. 6-7—Human Capital and Talent Acquisition/Labor Management Forum. Chicago.
Meanwhile, a $38-million contract to build weapons that can fry electronics and attack computer memories as part of a cyberattack has been awarded to Boeing Phantom Works. The company is to develop and test—on the ground and in the air—a nonlethal, high-power microwave (HPM) airborne demonstrator weapon for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s counter-electronics high-power microwave advanced missile project (Champ). The three-year Champ project is to be the first demonstration of an HPM counter-electronic aerial weapon.
The U.S. Air Force says it has high confidence the first new Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite will launch as planned in late 2014, mitigating the possibility of a gap in timing and navigation data for users worldwide.
