The next attempt for the space shuttle Atlantis to launch with the European Columbus module is not likely until at least Feb. 2-7, depending upon key tests this week at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Kennedy Space Center managers have been asked by the shuttle project, however, to set up work flows here that could enable launch as early as Jan. 24.
Canadian aerospace supplier AvCorp Industries has improved productivity by a whopping 20% over the past year, but President Paul Kalil isn’t smiling. The sharp appreciation of the Canadian dollar has effectively wiped out those gains, sending AvCorp to what likely will be breakeven financial results for 2007. The company, which builds flight structures in British Columbia for Cessna, Bombardier and Boeing, is exploring options to move lower skill work to Mexico or Asia.
Surging demand for data from an international satellite constellation studying the interaction of clouds, aerosols and solar radiation and their effects on climate has planners examining how they can ensure the continuity of such information.
Gregory Bowles has been promoted to director from manager of engineering and manufacturing for the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.
A U.S. research and public education group says moves last year by the Commerce Dept. to relax some export control regulations under a new “Validated End User” (VEU) program have allowed two companies with ties to arms control regulation violators special privileges to bypass review for sales to China of sensitive technology that could be used for military purposes. The first, Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Company, is linked through a parent company to a separate subsidiary that was cited in 2006 for unapproved sales to Iran and/or Syria.
Nothing in aviation or space in 2007 represented a greater change in the status quo than China’s ascendancy to the first rank of space powers. China had proven its mettle four years earlier by becoming only the third member of the elite club of nations capable of flying humans in space. But in 2007, it accomplished two more feats, proving to the world that it’s a space player to be reckoned with across the board.
Cebu Pacific of the Philippines has firmed up options on four ATR 72-500s, taking its orders for the type to 10, all to be delivered in 2008-09. It retains options on four more.
Indonesian Transport Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal is opposing the purchase of European aircraft while the EU refuses, on safety grounds, to let the country’s airlines fly over its member nations. In the most recent Indonesian safety incident, Lion Air failed for two days to admit it owned a 3-meter “engine exhaust cap” found on a runway on Dec. 4. It said it didn’t realize it had lost the piece.
The Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) is broadcasting the FAI World GP (Grand Prix) Gliding Championships on Internet TV—a first for the international air sports organization. The event takes place Dec. 19-24 in New Zealand’s Southern Alps where The Lord of the Rings was filmed.
Boeing is to set up a U.K. military subsidiary, Boeing Defense Ltd. The move is at least in part a response to the U.K.’s Defense Industrial Strategy. The unit will coordinate Boeing’s overall efforts to win defense work from the British Defense Ministry.
Virgin Atlantic cabin crews will go on strike for two 48-hr. periods in January as a result of a pay dispute. The airline had offered a two-year deal covering a 4.8% increase in the first year, and a retail price index-linked raise in the second year. The airline says it will operate all but 12 of its flights during the four strike-affected days. The strikes are due Jan. 9-10 and 16-17. One inbound New York flight will also be canceled on Jan. 11 and 18.
Piaggio Aero Industries has raised two credit lines worth €220 million to finance its plant expansion and purchase tooling to build the P-180 Avanti at a more efficient rate.
The U.S. Navy last week grounded 39, or about 25%, of its P-3C surveillance aircraft. Structural problems are the root of the problem and they were discovered during a routine review of the fleet’s health. The fix, which could take up to 24 months, is replacement of the trailing edge of the wing between the two nacelles. In the meantime, the Navy is shuffling airframes to make up for 10 deployed P-3Cs that cannot fly. Meanwhile, the first Boeing P-8, a 737-based P-3C replacement, has been put on the production line.
Lockheed Martin is proposing a stealthy long-range cruise missile design to meet a British deep-strike requirement. The company already has U.S. government approval in place to provide technical data.
For the first time this year, Aviation Week & Space Technology asked its readers to recommend their favorites from the photo contest entries, at AviationWeek.com. They chose from the same 300-plus finalist entries that our judges reviewed. On these pages, you can see the most-recommended images from each of the contest’s four categories. To see all the finalists, go to AviationWeek.com/gallery.
The Australian government has formally accepted the first MRH90 multirole helicopters, its version of the NH90. The helicopters are being bought to replace Sea Kings for the navy and Black Hawks for the army and will now undergo more than a year of operational tests and evaluation.
To the relief of airlines, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters backed away from congestion pricing at New York Kennedy and Newark airports, but in its place she turned to caps on flight operations and eventual auctions of newly created slots. Beginning in the spring, peak-hour operations at JFK will be capped at 82-83 per hour, but Peters stresses that this won’t reduce capacity because airlines are voluntarily moving flights to other parts of the day. These caps will be extended to Newark to prevent airlines from shifting flights there from JFK.
There are constituent services, and there are constituent services on steroids. In a symbolic act of devotion to his Florida district, which includes Kennedy Space Center, Republican Rep. Dave Weldon is proposing legislation that would eliminate the coming gap in U.S. human spaceflight capability by keeping the space shuttle flying twice a year beyond its scheduled 2010 retirement, until replacement Constellation systems arrive.
Judges in AW&ST’s annual photo contest review and discuss prints of some of the 779 digital images that were submitted by 91 photographers for consideration in four categories. The judges were assisted by members of the AW&ST Art Dept. and Senior Editorial Administrator Norma Maynard. Senior Content Producer Michael O. Lavitt managed the web component of the contest.
Russia’s bold effort to consolidate what remains of its aerospace industry risks stagnating as bureaucracy and wildly optimistic market projections conspire to slow progress. A year after the creation of the United Aircraft Corp. (UAC), management is still wrestling with the organizational structure, is lagging behind its own initial timeline and has yet to solidify its industrial plans.
Air Force EA-18Gs? It sounds impossible, but maybe not. Industry and Pentagon sources say USAF has made little headway on its lingering electronic attack requirements. The service had been pursuing a standoff jammer based on the venerable, and powerful, B-52. But the program cost crept upward around $7 billion, too much in the Pentagon’s tight budget environment. Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, USAF’s military deputy for acquisition, acknowledges that some in the Pentagon are pushing the Air Force to buy Growlers designed for Navy requirements.
Budget carrier Skybus is doing what it set out to do, creating new markets with ultra-low fares, but the startup is facing a revenue-generation problem and will have to cut costs or face raising its ticket prices.
Bolstered by a big production contract for its Hellas laser obstacle avoidance system, EADS developers are planning an aggressive upgrade strategy to grow the device into a synthetic vision system for helicopter pilots. Eurocopter has just awarded a contract to EADS to buy 150 Hellas kits for NH90s, including those for Germany. The deal is valued at more than €50 million ($72 million). A French contract could follow.
