Robin Salem has been named Itasca, Ill.-based senior vice president-strategy and business development for AirCell, Louisville, Colo. He was senior vice president-business development of Nomadix Inc.
PREMIER AIRCRAFT LLC, EAST ALTON, ILL., has been awarded an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the company's Falcon 50-4 Performance Upgrade that increases the Dassault Falcon 50's range, payload, cruise speed and time-to-climb. The STC converts Honeywell TFE731-3/3Ds to a TFE731-4-1C configuration that includes new exhaust nozzles and minor alterations to the nacelles and engine instrumentation. Downtime is about 14 working days. According to the company, range is increased by 300 naut. mi. at a cruise speed of Mach 0.80.
Reflecting changes within Britain's procurement and logistics organizations, Paul Drayson has been appointed minister of state for defense equipment and support. He was minister for defense procurement.
Selex Sistemi Integrati is emerging as a fulcrum for joint European active electronically scanned array radar development programs. Along with efforts on the Tornado, Typhoon and Future Lynx, the group is also looking at airborne early warning (AEW), naval and ground-based applications that are part of a collaborative program between Italy and Sweden. The aim of the joint program is to develop a family of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars suitable for air, land and marine uses.
Telesat Canada reported a 15% rise in net earnings for 2006, to $102.5 million, on operating revenues of $479 million (up 1%). However, operating cash flow dropped 6% to $217 million because of one-time charges related to executive compensation and a canceled initial public offering.
ASSOCIATED AIR CENTER IN DALLAS HAS DELIVERED a Boeing 757-200 to a commercial customer after installing a new interior. Associated Air Center is a Designated Completion Center for the Boeing Business Jet series.
The airline industry should rapidly devise a wide-ranging information strategy targeted at halting an exaggerated campaign against commercial transport nuisances, including the alleged climate change impact and waste of natural resources. A crucial deadline is approaching: In September, international organizations could determine new air transportation objectives during the general assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Federal agencies reportedly have impounded four ex-U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcats--three of them sold to aviation museums and a fourth given to the producer of the TV show JAG. The government has been arresting people involved in buying and exporting F-14 parts to Iran. U.S. officials say the fighters weren't properly stripped of military equipment when they were sold after retirement in the mid-1990s. Defense officials say the fighters should have been destroyed.
Intelligence collected and Hellfire missile attacks by U.S. Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are prompting insurgents in Iraq to change their tactics by trying--unsuccessfully thus far--to rely on movement for protection, according to intelligence analysts here.
Barbara M. Barrett, Martin C. Faga and Elon Musk have been elected to the board of directors of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation. Lon Levin, who is chief strategic officer of the Transformational Space Corp. and co-founder of XM Satellite Radio, was elected treasurer. Robert S. Walker continues as chairman. USAF Gen. (ret.) Thomas S. Moorman, Jr., who is vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, is vice chairman; and William F. Ballhaus, Jr., president/CEO of The Aerospace Corp., is secretary.
China, Japan and many other Asia-Pacific nations have this in common: they must achieve greater internal civil and military ATC cooperation if civil aviation is to continue to grow at current rates.
Boeing officials are considering the U.S. Air Force secretary's proposal to reduce production rate and extend manufacturing of C-17 transports. But, this option is not likely to balance the mismatch between constrained budgets and the potential for additional airlift requirements.
I respectfully disagree with your editorial position (AW&ST Feb. 26, p. 74) that Congress should not enact a passenger bill of rights because "treatment of passengers . . . is a customer-service question." In the same issue (p. 50), you report that Southwest Airlines "allows its people to evaluate each situation." Other airlines, of course, do likewise. Passengers have no firm knowledge of what to expect in an adverse situation and have to rely on the mercy, or goodwill, of airline staff.
Australia will maintain its full requirement for F-35 Lightning II fighters even as it confirms a plan to buy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets that previously looked likely to rob the Lockheed Martin aircraft of funding. The government has unexpectedly--and unusually--stepped in with A$6 billion ($4.6 billion) of supplementary funding for the 24 Super Hornets, which will be bought as temporary replacements for F-111 strike bombers now scheduled for retirement in 2010.
Consolidation at the aerospace supplier level continues at a brisk clip, as evidenced by last week's agreement by U.K.-based Meggitt plc to pay $1.8 billion for K&F Industries Holdings, a New York-based manufacturer of aircraft brakes and wheels. The combination of K&F with the Dunlop operation acquired by Meggitt in 2005 would position the company as the No. 2 aircraft brake supplier behind Goodrich Corp. If the deal receives shareholder and regulatory approvals, it will expand Meggitt's position in the U.S.
Inmarsat reported a 5% hike in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2006, to $332 million, driven by a 4% surge in mobile satellite service revenues. The company's new Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), which started last year, contributed $9.5 million of revenue as the number of active terminals increased by 28% to 7,119 units in the fourth quarter.
With the arrival of the first production Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Middle East last year, the program transitioned from a mere concept demonstration project to a fully operational weapon system supporting the Iraq war. Though the high-flying aircraft still has a lot to prove, operators are growing increasingly confident in its intelligence-gathering capabilities. But it has yet to demonstrate its ability to carry more advanced sensors, so commanders remain unwilling to fully transfer high-altitude reconnaissance missions from the venerable U-2.
NASA plans to reuse the main portion of the Orion crew exploration vehicle "where it makes sense," following a system requirements review (SRR) of the human-carrying U.S. spacecraft intended to pick up where the retiring space shuttle leaves off. "Based on the current design concept and level of understanding, the crew module portion of the Orion will be largely reused from flight to flight," says Helen Grant, program executive for the Orion crew module.
NASA says it will deliver its Fiscal 2007 operating plan to Capitol Hill "soon," and a couple of big shoes will drop once it does. The plan will detail how the agency intends to absorb a $545-million cut in its budget this year, and a lot of that money will come from sending robotic scouts to the surface of the Moon in advance of a human return there by 2020. Mapping is the top lunar-robotic priority, to be handled by NASA's 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and upcoming orbiter missions by India, Japan and perhaps China.
Finnair is bolstering its Airbus long-range aircraft fleet in conjunction with a decision to accelerate the phaseout of its MD-11s by 2010. The carrier says it is adding to its planned buy of Airbus's new twin-widebody, the A350XWB, and has become the first customer to sign firm orders for the type. The carrier now has 11 firm orders and four options. It also has committed to using Rolls-Royce TrentXWB turbofans. Finnair would get the first aircraft in 2014. Finnair also bought seven A330/A340-300s, although the mix hasn't been settled.
UPS has followed FedEx in canceling its A380 freighter, bringing to zero from 27 the backlog for that aircraft type and to two the number of customers to have walked away from the A380 program because of prolonged delays. But, ultimately, UPS's cancellation has more to do with bad customer communications on Airbus's side than delays. UPS was apparently willing to wait until 2012 for the aircraft, a three-year delay.
The debate over a single engine source for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) continues. After losing a bid last year in Congress to kill the alternative to Pratt & Whitney's F135, the Pentagon is back with a Fiscal 2008 budget request that again omits funding. The Defense Dept. believes it can save about $1.8 billion by dropping the General Electric-Rolls-Royce F136 engine. But Bill Storey, president of the Teal Group, predicts Congress will overrule that plan.
Lockheed Martin has rolled out its precision DAGR missile, which is designed for urban combat by limiting collateral damage. The 2.75-in. guided rocket is compatible with the larger Hellfire II missile.
