The Homeland Security Dept. is testing technologies and procedures to find the best ways to secure air cargo carried in the belly of passenger aircraft, but the Government Accountability Office says the department still needs to develop a risk-based strategy for air cargo arriving from overseas. The GAO also says the department's Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection need to communicate better with each other, and analyze security practices of the air cargo industry and foreign governments because they might learn something new.
Chicago's Midway Airport is moving nine explosives detection systems from the lobby ticketing area and networking them with conveyor belts to create an in-line baggage screening system/ticket counter link. The Transportation Security Administration provided hardware and staffing for the $42-million project, according to the city's Aviation Dept.
Although the first aircraft has yet to be delivered, Dassault Aviation management is planning to expand production of its very-long-range Falcon 7X corporate jet to keep up with strong demand.
THE EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY has certified Universal Avionics' Vision 1 synthetic vision system (SVS). It enhances situational awareness in the cockpit by showing pilots the path of the aircraft over a 3D model of terrain ahead regardless of the weather. Vision 1 is certified by the FAA for use on Part 25 transports such as the Boeing 737. The launch customer is Airwork New Zealand in Auckland, which is installing Vision 1 on its 737 freighters. The system is also certified in the U.S. for use on smaller Part 23 aircraft (AW&ST Jan. 29, p. 58).
The NTSB has determined "pilots' inadequate planning, judgment and airmanship" during performance of a turn maneuver as probable cause of the Oct. 11, 2006, accident that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.
Delta Air Lines ended its bankruptcy reorganization on Apr. 30 with a prediction from Gerald Grinstein, soon to be its former CEO, that it will be "a fierce competitor in a tough industry."
David A. Carlson's letter (AW&ST Mar. 12, p. 6) misses a very key point in the heated tanker competition. It's not how much fuel and cargo one airframe can carry. If that were the case, the U.S. Air Force would be looking at Boeing 747s or Airbus A380s. Those aircraft can carry much more fuel than any other airframe.
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport's "end-around" Taxiway Victor was completed Apr. 26 as the latest installment of the airport's $6-billion improvement program. The $42-million taxiway will speed 700 aircraft arriving each day on Runway 8L/26R in getting to their gates without having to cross the nearby parallel Runway 8R/26L, used predominantly for takeoffs. This 4,200-ft.-long, end-around taxiway is on the approach side of Runway 8R and dips 30 ft. below the level of that runway.
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) have long been recognized as an impediment to the export of commercial space hardware. U.S. manufacturers complain bitterly that they lose business to overseas competitors because of State Dept. delays in licensing exports for satellites and other hardware under ITAR. But the problem extends into scientific cooperation as well. A panel of scientists testifying on NASA's budget (see p.
As trade barriers have broken down across the globe, the modern air cargo industry has evolved. Air carriers serve as the nerve system of globalization moving mail, packages and materiel to every corner of the world. The group of air carriers known as integrators--FedEx, UPS, TNT and Deutsche Post World Net--have spread their reach through consolidation (see pp. 47-54) to meet needs of shippers, carrying time-definite overnight packages, cargo and offering a variety of delivery options. They have created logistical systems to further support their customers.
Readers interested in the prospect of the mandatory age for pilot retirement being raised to 65 from 60 will find "In-Flight Medical Incapacitation and Impairment of U.S. Airline Pilots: 1993-98" illuminating. This 30-pp. FAA report identifies 39 incapacitations during 85,732,000 airplane revenue flight hours, and relates them to their causes and to pilot ages. Insert DOT/FAA/AM-04/16 into a search engine to access.
The U.S. faces a coming "desert" in robotic space exploration and needs to funnel more money into NASA programs that support the young scientists and engineers needed to conceive and develop missions for the coming decade.
European aerospace interests have been buzzing this spring with the possibility that NASA may turn to the Safran Vulcain rocket engine for the upper stage of its Ares I crew launch vehicle if it can't develop the Apollo-heritage J2-X for the job. The European LOX/ hydrogen engine has comparable performance to what is hoped for the J2-X, a derivative of the Saturn V upper stage engine, and while it isn't human-rated it has a lot more run time than what is basically a new Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne development. Officials from the U.S.
Government-owned Air India and Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) are to legally merge by June 2007. At that time, the name of the merged carrier and at least three of its top officials will be announced, according to Air India Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas. A cargo subsidiary is also part of the plan. Air India has received its first Airbus A310 converted freighter to be used on the Kerala-Gulf sector. Another A310 is undergoing conversion with six more to follow. Some Boeing 747-300 combi aircraft are also to be converted to freighters.
On his day job, William C. Livingston is a solar astronomer at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, specializing in sunspot magnetism and other topics. But he's also an amateur photographer, with what is perhaps a natural inclination to point his camera at the sky. For several years he's been turning his lens on the ring of geostationary satellites above the Equator. This image, stretching from Galaxy 13 at 127 deg. W. Long. to Galaxy 3C at 95 deg. W., shows 34 satellites in all.
The first export order of Dassault Aviation Rafale fighters is in its final stages. Morocco is the expected buyer. French industry officials note that all the required technical and pricing information has been provided, and finalizing the deal is up to the king of Morocco. What's unclear is when the monarch will give the green light.
Southwest Airlines' unit costs increased 0.23 cents year-over-year to 8.92 cents per available seat mile during the first quarter of 2007, and all but one hundredth of a cent of the hike was divided equally between fuel and maintenance. Fuel cost growth amounted to 4.8% while the maintenance increase was 23.4%, and the latter will continue for a while, the carrier says in a quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Test footage from China's air systems development center is providing valuable insight into the air force's air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons programs. The imagery includes drop-tests and live firing of China's PL-12 active radar-guided air-to-air missile from a J-11B, China's domestically produced version of the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. Also shown were two variants of the KD-88 tactical air-to-surface missile, and a test-firing of what could well be a YJ-91, a Chinese-manufactured adaptation of the Russian Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton).
The Airbus A330 order book is growing. India's Jet Airways has taken delivery of its first A330-200. The international airline in October 2005 ordered 10 -200s, which it plans to operate on regional and long-haul flights. The airline already operates A340s and two leased A330s. Fly Asia Xpress, which plans to operate long-haul budget services under the brand of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, has ordered 10 A330-300s and holds options on five, and is hoping to operate 25 aircraft within five years. Deliveries are due to begin in September 2008.
Aurora Flight Sciences has won a contract from the U.S. Navy to develop a low-cost, degradable taggant that can be dispersed over a wide area by an unmanned aircraft. Taggants are materials that, for example, can use chemical and physical markers to detect explosives, in this case improvised explosive devices (IED). The team will have to develop the taggant and a design for a sensor system that can detect changes in the taggant distribution area, quickly and accurately.
Australia has signed contracts worth $2.4 billion for 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets and support systems. Further support contracts and others covering weapons will be signed later this year. The country has budgeted $5 billion for all expenses in owning and operating the aircraft over 10 years as replacements for its larger and longer-range F-111 strike bombers. They are due to be retired in 2010 as the Super Hornets become operational.
It's no surprise that U.S. carriers Delta, Hawaiian and US Airways have already started to court the U.S. Transportation Dept. to secure authority to serve China next year because the potential for traffic growth in that country far surpasses that of any other country in Asia.
Sikorsky has been awarded a $73.7-million contract for repair, overhaul and modification of the main rotor heads and gearboxes and other components on CH-53E, MH-53E and CH-53D heavy-lift helicopters.
