Anthony J. Reardon, who has been president of Ducommun AeroStructures, also will be president/chief operating officer of Los Angeles-based Ducommun Inc. and president of Ducommun Technologies. John J. Walsh, who was president of Ducommun Technologies, will be the corporation’s vice president-strategy and technology.
Chinese airline growth seems to be moderating in response to government controls announced in August. The country’s carriers transported 185.19 million passengers in 2007, 16% more than a year earlier. That’s a bit slower than the 16.7% growth seen for the first half of the year. Within the 2007 figure, passenger numbers rose 18.6% for international routes and 15.7% for domestic services. Cargo volume was up 13%, to 3.95 million tons.
France has named a team of Thales and Sabena Technics to provide the avionics upgrade for the air force’s C-130 Hercules airlifters. The goal is to modernize 14 C-130s. Upgrades in air traffic management systems are driving the French, and numerous other C-130 users, to pursue the enhancements. The industry team will devise the avionics package and build upgrade kits that will be installed at the military depot facility at Clermont-Ferrand.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials insist they are already well underway to addressing shortcomings in military performance during the 2006 Lebanon war that gain renewed attention with the publication of an independent commission’s review of the conflict.
Malmo Aviation is extending its lease on nine Avro RJ100s. The long-term lease extension will see the Swedish carrier, which is part of Braathens Aviation, continue to operate the BAE Systems Regional Aircraft RJ100 until the second half of the next decade. Routes covered from Malmo’s main hub at Stockholm’s Bromma airport include Gothenburg, Malmo and Umea. The airline is also considering a service between Bromma and Lulea.
In May, Air Canada, through its regional affiliate Jazz, plans to add four new daily nonstop routes in an ongoing effort to expand its U.S.-transborder network. On May 1, Washington National-Ottawa service is to start, with Jazz flying 50-seat Bombardier CRJs. On the same day, flights to the carrier’s Toronto hub begin operating from Austin, Tex., with Bombardier CRJ700s, and from Richmond, Va., with Dash 8s. On May 15, Chicago-Calgary service is to commence using Embraer 190 aircraft.
Gary Vroman (see photos) has been appointed president of Ladish Forging , Cudahy, Wis. He was vice president-sales. Douglas Roberts has been named general manager of sales and marketing. He was international sales manager and will be succeeded by Rodney Pergolski, who was senior sales engineer.
Scientists who waited 33 years for a new look at the planet Mercury will have plenty of work in the years ahead, digesting the take from the first flyby of NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (Messenger) spacecraft.
U.S. Navy and Boeing officials are pondering a third multi-year contract for 170 additional F/A-18E/F Super Hornets (2010-13) that would bring the cost of each aircraft down to $49.9 million. Right now, the Navy is in the midst of its second multi-year buy (2005-09) of 210 of the strike fighters at $53.8 million each. Underlying the new funding initiative is an ongoing debate about one-seat strike aircraft (the E model) versus two-seaters (the more expensive F model), with a weapon systems officer in the back that also would drive up Navy manpower costs.
Iris recognition technology has been introduced at the U.K.’s Manchester Airport to manage employee access to restricted areas. An iris recognition camera system photographs the eyes of everyone passing through the restricted area and compares the unique images to ones held on record. Installation is scheduled to be completed by this summer.
Lance Griffiths (see photo) has been appointed radome design engineer for MFG Galileo Composites , Sparks, Nev. He was senior engineer in radio-frequency design for L-3 Communications in Salt Lake City.
Lufthansa and TUI have agreed to merge their low-fare carriers Germanwings and TUIfly. The group aims to harmonize schedules in mid-2009. Separately, Lufthansa is calling its new cargo affiliate AeroLogic. Ownership is split between the German group and DHL and is focusing on Asian routes.
The article “Alitalia Takeover Talks” (AW&ST Jan. 7, p. 37) was a great review of the confusing Alitalia (AZ) situation. But I found it counterintuitive that with the proposed revamp of the AZ route network, the focus is on Rome so Milan’s only AZ flights to North America would be through New York. This January’s timetable showed AZ service from Milan to Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Newark and Toronto, while Rome surprisingly had only flights to Newark. Presumably, Milan’s heftier business traffic is the reason for flights to more North American gateways.
Airbus keeps shifting to the right the prospective in-service date of an A320 replacement, but company engineers are starting to more clearly define the technologies they favor for the new design. The aircraft, being worked on under the A30X label, will not feature a radical new configuration, says Louis Gallois, CEO of Airbus-parent EADS. Instead, the layout will be driven largely by the engine technology that Airbus selects.
British Airways is trying to head off any attempt by U.K. airport authority BAA to delay the introduction of tighter “customer service quality targets” at Heathrow. Last week, the Civil Aviation Authority held hearings on the BAA airport tariffs review. British Airways is seeking improved performance from the airport operator to help support the carrier’s push to improve punctuality at Heathrow.
The Boeing-National Reconnaissance Office imaging radar spacecraft that failed shortly after launch creating a falling debris risk indicates that trouble within the NRO Future Imagery Architecture (FIA) program has spread to the radar side of the highly secret project. The debris could impact anywhere between 58.5 deg. N. and S. Lat. in late February or early March.
NASA’s plan to put an outpost at the Moon’s south pole may need reevaluating after detailed mapping data comes in from the fleet of lunar orbiters in operation or on the way. Early radar interferometer data collected with the Goldstone Solar System Radar in California shows the terrain around the Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole is much more rugged than previously understood, with peaks in the 6,000-meter (19,685-ft.) range and slopes as steep as 25-35 deg.
AirTran Airways’ recent push into the Milwaukee market is just the first phase of its ambitious expansion plans for this year, as the low-cost carrier continues to defy the industry’s conservative growth trend.
Snecma is entering the final phase of testing on a core demonstrator that is expected to provide the French engine maker with an entree into the business jet market.
Bombardier is planning to increase output of its regional jets to levels not seen in five years, in response to a sharp rebound in orders as it begins production on its new 100-seat CRJ1000. The company’s assembly line outside Montreal has just ramped up production to one jet every four days from one every five. Plans call for output to reach one aircraft every three days by September, matching the previous regional jet (RJ) production peak in 2003, when Bombardier was still filling orders placed before the industry’s post-2001 downturn.
USAF Lt. Col. James Kromberg flew the production prototype F-35A Lightning II on Jan. 30, becoming the first military pilot to fly the Joint Strike Fighter. Kromberg flew the airplane on its 26th flight from Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Fort Worth. He flew the F-35 to 12,000 ft. and checked handling qualities at up to a 15-deg. angle of attack.
Boeing’s KC-767 conducted its first night refueling mission Jan. 26, including 11 contacts with an F-15E as well as transfer of fuel midair. A platform headed for Japan’s self-defense force carried out the mission.
British Defense Ministry officials and European industry executives are expressing reservations over the latest A400M schedule, with some worrying it could mean further slippage of in-service dates. Already the Royal Air Force has again had to revise its withdrawal plan for the C-130K, that the A400M will replace.
The Pentagon is adding funding in its Fiscal 2009 budget for a project to boost electro-optical (EO) surveillance in Iraq, but debate continues about which solution will ultimately be the best for the requirement. An undisclosed sum was recently added to the forthcoming budget, which will be sent to Congress Feb. 4, via the Intelligence Program Decision Memorandum (IPDM), according to Defense Dept. officials. The IPDM, a classified document, is assembled annually and outlines funding changes for intelligence programs under the Pentagon’s purview.
By most financial measures, 2007 was a very good year for Boeing. Net income was up 84% from the previous year on an 8% gain in sales. Cash flow grew 28%, to a record $9.6 billion, and debt was pared by 14%. Two years of record commercial aircraft orders have pumped up backlog by 60% to a record $327 billion—the equivalent of five years of revenue. And those orders are dispersed globally, lessening the company’s reliance on the shaky U.S. airline industry.
