May 12-14—EBACE. Geneva. June 15-21—Paris air show. Sept. 23-24—MRO Europe. Hamburg, Germany. Nov. 2-4—A&D Programs. Phoenix. Dec. 2-3—A&D Finance. New York. Dec. 8-10—MRO Asia. Hong Kong. June 4—Business Aviation Security. Rosslyn, Va. June 16—Demonstrating the Value of Corporate Aircraft. New York.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. says it has enough information to start the decision-making process on an antitrust immunity application by Oneworld alliance carriers. This triggers a six-month deadline for a final ruling. Five airlines want permission to cooperate more closely on certain routes, and three—American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia—also want to form a joint venture to pool resources on transatlantic routes.
Northrop Grumman’s Bat line of small unmanned air systems is the UAS product line recently acquired from Swift Engineering, where it was known as KillerBee. Bat systems will have wingspans of 6.5 to 33.2 ft. Swift will continue to work on design refinement, flight test support and manufacturing. Product development will be managed by NorGrum’s Aerospace Systems.
If there is a cyberattack on the U.S., network specialists wouldn’t know where it came from, if it were really an attack or how to contain it. If the U.S. wanted to launch a cyberattack, there would be no policy to shape it, no laws to control it, and very little idea of its second- and third-order effects. That’s the opinion of group of high-level business, legal, scientific and military specialists who assembled a National Research Council paper “Technology, Policy, Law and Ethics Regarding U.S.
Blake Larson (see photos) has been named senior vice president of Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems/ president of ATK Space Systems and Mike Kahn Space Systems executive vice president, succeeding Larson. Kahn was executive vice president/general manager of ATK Launch Systems.
Seven astronauts are set to lift off next week on the final space shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, a mission delayed six months by a fortuitous failure on the orbiting observatory.
Articles in the Nov. 10, 2008, and Feb. 2 issues incorrectly listed the number of space shuttle flights at those points. STS‑119 was the 125th shuttle mission, and STS-126 was the 124th. The upcoming STS-125 will be the 126th shuttle flight.
Graham Warwick (Washington), Darren Shannon (London)
The unprecedented downturn in business aviation is starting to claim major casualties, but there are signs the market may be stabilizing after a frenzy of delivery defaults and order cancellations driven by the global economic crisis.
Robert G. Robinson’s letter “The Carbon Dioxide Circle” (AW&ST Apr. 20, p. 8) clearly explains that biofuels eliminate the problem of carbon dioxide caused by fossil fuels. However, an article in the Apr. 11 issue of The Economist (p. 81) reports the International Council for Science has concluded that using biofuels aggravates rather than ameliorates global warming. The cause is the nitrous oxide associated with farming the plants used for biofuels.
The former vice president of cargo sales in Europe for Martinair has agreed to plead guilty, serve eight months in jail and pay a $20,000 fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix cargo rates for international air shipments, the U.S. Justice Dept. said Apr. 29. Franciscus Johannes de Jong also has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. Fifteen airlines and four executives now have pleaded or agreed to plead guilty in the case.
There is no question that the U.S. Army has a requirement for an airborne armed reconnaissance platform. How the service eventually fulfills it though, will have far-reaching effects on the industry and the Army itself, depending on results of an analysis of alternatives (AOA) that could take up to two years to complete.
NASA will use part of the $1 billion in economic stimulus package funding it receives this year to advance a commercial route to the International Space Station for its astronauts. Acting Administrator Christopher Scolese tells Congress the agency’s Fiscal 2009 operating plan contains $400 million in stimulus funding for human exploration activities. That includes $150 million for what is known as COTS D—human-rated versions of the Commercial Orbital Transportation System cargo vehicles being developed with almost $500 million in NASA seed money.
Two key U.S. unmanned aircraft systems are embroiled in a heated debate over how the Pentagon can rapidly field surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities while sticking to traditional acquisition processes demanding rigorous testing.
Nettie R. Johnson has become corporate vice president-worldwide media relations for the Lockheed Martin Corp. , Bethesda, Md. She was director of communications for Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support, Orlando, Fla.
Gary K. Boekenkamp (see photo) has been appointed vice president-marketing, acquisitions and strategic business development for the Legacy Products Group of BBA Aviation , Chatsworth, Calif. He was vice president-strategy and business development for the BBA Aviation Flight Support Group. Honors and Elections
Turkey is finally inching closer to meeting a long-standing requirement for a new attack helicopter, with the pending first flight of a T-129 demonstrator this summer. The T-129 is an AgustaWestland derivate of its AW129, with Turkish modifications, that is produced in part with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). It is slated to be fielded in late 2013. The Turkish army is buying 50 of the helicopters, with an option for another 41. That contract, estimated at more than $3 billion, was finalized last year, after a source-selection announcement in 2007.
British Forces last week began the final withdrawal from their contingency operating base near Basra, Iraq, bringing a six-year combat deployment to an end. Apr. 30 saw a formal handover of authority ceremony, and all U.K. military will be withdrawn by July with the exception of up to 400 personnel who will remain to provide training support to Iraqi armed forces.
All Nippon Airways will overhaul its network, limit investment and undertake “the most ambitious cost-saving initiative in the history of the airline” in fiscal 2009, which began Apr. 1. The network plan includes replacing Boeing 747-400s with 777s on flights to Paris and Frankfurt. Cargo operations will emphasize use of Overseas Courier Service and other partnerships.
China’s new national helicopter champion, Avicopter, will take an increasingly demanding approach to international cooperative projects as it seeks to build an independent brand rivaling the likes of Eurocopter and Sikorsky. Future joint helicopters will have to fit into Avicopter’s own emerging product lineup, says President Wang Bin. And his company’s own technological development path will dominate its approach to business, with foreign cooperation playing only a supporting role.
Your article “Building Green” contains gushing accolades for a green Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified aircraft hangar (AW&ST Apr. 20, p. 63). “This project is proof that the bottom line in green construction is black,” says John Picard, an architect and environmental consultant who works with Shangri-La Construction. May I see the economic analysis? How about the acquisition and maintenance cost of solar panels that will produce “110% of the power requirements” over 30 years?
The third prototype of the Sukhoi Su-35 variant of the Flanker was destroyed Apr. 26, following an incident during taxi trials, at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur manufacturing site, prior to first flight.
Reflecting the continuing tempo of operations in Afghanistan, the British Defense Ministry is extending an urgent operational requirement with Thales to sustain Hermes 450 operations until the company’s Watchkeeper system enters service in 2011. The Hermes 450 contract began in July 2007, with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support provided in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The “fly-by-the-hour” agreement covers the air vehicles and training to operate and maintain the system, along with contractor logistics support.
Sikorsky Aerospace Services has opened a regional spare parts stocking facility with Times Aerospace Korea at Gimpo Aerospace Industrial Complex. The Trumbull, Conn.-based company handles the aftermarket business of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. The new facility, near Incheon and Gimpo International Airports, will receive, stock and ship parts to support the VX/H-92 helicopter, flown by South Korea’s air force. A mix of civil and commercial rotorcraft, including the S-61, S-76 and S-92, will also be supported.
USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael A. Hamel has become senior vice president-corporate strategy and development of the Orbital Sciences Corp. , Dulles, Va. He was commander of the Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center and Air Force PEO for space.
