I once worked for a bureaucracy whose upper management was inclined to put out messages such as "there will be no more collisions at sea," and other inanities that contributed nothing to solving problems. The "Close Calls" article has a similar ring to it. Without question, horrific accidents require immediate action to prevent recurrence and determine responsibility. FAA and NTSB all too often respond with new regulations when someone did not follow existing ones.
The launch of the HEO-2 second Space Based Infrared System (Sbirs) High test payload is likely to occur from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on board a Lockheed Martin Atlas V currently scheduled for early April 2007. This will be the first launch of an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from Vandenberg. The mission is designated National Reconnaissance Office 28 (NRO-28), since the HEO-2 sensor will be carried aloft with an NRO host satellite, most likely an NRO data-relay satellite, as with the HEO-1 mission.
Airbus will appeal a French judge's decision holding the aircraft maker liable for damages in the 1992 Air Inter A320 crash in St. Odile which killed 87 people. The court dismissed charges brought by families of the crash victims against six individuals, but upheld liability against Airbus and Air France, which has taken over Air Inter. Air France has not determined yet if it will also appeal the ruling.
Three years after it began studying the complexities of a moving assembly line for its big twin-engine 777s, Boeing has begun the process at the company's wide-body aircraft headquarters in Everett, Wash., north of Seattle. The process will be phased in. Initially, the line is moving at 1.6 in. per minute, and only after the wing-body join is complete and the landing gear have been installed. So the moving assembly line is focused on systems installation, not the major structural buildup.
NATO member nations are likely to increase cost-sharing for alliance operations, the State Dept.'s assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, Daniel Freed, tells reporters. One impetus for spreading the burden is the experience of Spain, which was doing its NATO Response Force rotation in 2005 and bore most of the alliance's financial burden for Pakistan earthquake relief. If countries doing their rotations must cover all costs themselves, they might be less willing to participate, Freed says.
Boeing has found that once the Defense Dept.'s adaptation of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology for weapons systems moves past the concept stage it runs into some practical hurdles in design, development and certification. These obstacles range from suppliers' resistance to giving up proprietary data to the Pentagon to the FAA's concern about whether subsystems or components taken from a military jet for refurbishment can re-enter the supply chain in commercial service.
Lockheed Martin has lost its bid to be reinstated in the competition to provide the U.S. Army and Air Force with a Joint Cargo Aircraft. The program could involve up to 100 aircraft worth $5 billion. At least some participants say the decision turned on an Army demand for GATM (Global Air Traffic Management) system capability on the first aircraft. The company's plan was to add it at a later date approved by the Air Force. Lockheed Martin pitched the only four-engine design--a version of its standard body C-130J.
Hezbollah is incapable of penetrating and exploiting the Israeli army's tactical radio systems as it claimed it did during the recent fighting in Lebanon, say senior U.S. electronics industry officials.
Delta Air Lines plans to recall about 700 maintenance technicians next month. The move, following the recent recall of 200 furloughed maintenance workers, indicates the airline's Technical Operations division is strengthening at its core service business, the carrier says.
Swedish defense materiel organization FMV is extending cooperative work between Italy's Selex Sistemi Integrati, Elettronica and Saab on multi-function active electronically scanned array technology. The goal is to have a demonstrator ready by 2010. The new contract, covering the project's second phase, is aimed at defining the system's capability to perform radar, electronic warfare and communication tasks simultaneously. The research may grow into a future joint Italian-Swedish radar program.
Sichuan Airlines has chosen a Rockwell Collins avionics package including the 320-naut.-mi.-range WXR-2100 multi-scan radar for 12 Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft, with an option for 10 more. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in June 2007. The avionics package includes navigation and communications radio equipment. The agreement also covers Rockwell Collins Programmable Audio Video Entertainment Systems.
Petroleum Helicopters is the Sikorsky S-92's first fleet operator to attain 10,000 flight hr. PHI received the first two production aircraft in 2004 and currently flies six S-92s. Two more are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year. The company also operates S-92s for BHP Billiton, a petroleum and mining company in Australia.
Three months ago, Bank of America Securities analyst Robert Stallard upgraded his rating on Moog Inc. to "buy," saying a recent swoon had left shares undervalued and ripe for appreciation. Stallard's forecast was so on target that he recently lowered his rating back to "neutral," saying the stock--up about 25% since late August-- is now fully valued. "Moog is still in good shape," he says, but "further upside potential is limited."
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected Rockwell Collins to lead an industry and university team to develop advanced radio designs. The Analog Spectral Processors program would create revolutionary radio technology employing micro electromechanical systems. Its first application would be the Joint Tactical Radio System.
Australia's biggest domestic air routes are stagnant or shrinking, even as the country's domestic system enjoys robust growth, because proliferating budget airlines are bypassing the main hubs. Services linking the eastern cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane account for about 33% of Australia's traffic, but their collective business was down 1.3% in the fiscal year to June 30, according to the Transport Dept.'s annual aviation industry review.
Six Muslim clerics were removed from a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, detained by police, and questioned by the FBI and other federal agencies before being released at 11 p.m. without being charged. The six men were unable to continue their trip until the following day. US Airways reportedly asked airport police to remove the passengers after another traveler passed a note to the crew commenting on behavior described as suspicious. This behavior allegedly included cursing of U.S.
German aerospace center DLR will establish a space transportation institute in Bremen intended to provide the ability to develop complete space transportation systems. Annual funding is planned at €17.8 million. Johann-Dietrich Woerner will succeed Sigmar Wittig as head of DLR on Mar. 1. Woerner is president of the Technical University of Darmstadt. Wittig, who also chairs the council of the European Space Agency, is retiring after five years at the DLR helm.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. (ret.) Anthony R. Jones has been named vice president of the Training Systems and Services Div. of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' Support Systems business in St. Louis. He was deputy commanding general/ chief of staff for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, Ft. Monroe, Va.
Cessna Aircraft Co. officials will decide by mid-2007 whether to proceed with development of its Next Generation Piston airplane. Pending plans call for an 18-month development and certification program. Jack J. Pelton, president and CEO, says the proof-of-concept airplane introduced at Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s AirVenture 2006 "is meeting and exceeding expectations" and has accumulated more than 80 flight hr. It first flew on June 23. In other news, Cessna has delivered the 100th Citation Sovereign business jet.
Eurocontrol is entering a key phase of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative as ATC organizations and facilities are evaluated against common standards. The first ATC facility in Europe to meet these new requirements governs air traffic over four nations from its location in the Netherlands.
As Washington waits for the Baker-Hamilton and Joint Chiefs assessments of what to do next about Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld's resignation puts him in the bullseye for blame. Remember what George Tenet got when he resigned/was fired in July 2004 after seven years as CIA director? A handshake, a presidential Medal of Freedom and blame throughout the presidential election campaign for just about everything known to have been done wrong in the runup to the war. Now, Rumsfeld stands to be the lightning rod for Iraq.
The French defense ministry wants to learn more about small, unmanned aircraft and their potential applications. A 42-month study will examine topics such as employment of small UAVs in an urban setting, vehicle autonomy and guidance and control. Technological aspects would be evaluated via demonstration efforts. The French military is fielding hand-launched reconnaissance systems used by small units, but the study will look at the micro vehicle level.
Airbus has partnered with the University of Applied Science in Graz, Austria, to devise improvements to aircraft cooling systems. Engineers will try to develop advanced simulation tools to help determine where snow and ice accumulate in the systems, with the goal of eliminating the accretion. The research will improve cooling in existing airplanes and the devising of systems in future transports.
Networking will keep growing in importance for embedded systems software used by the U.S. military, says Inder M. Singh, chairman of Lynux Works Inc., San Jose, Calif. The company, with only 150 employees, has 18 years of experience developing computer operating systems for embedded applications, such as avionics and weapons systems. The software is becoming more complex and dependent on connecting to other systems through networks. "Safety, security and reliability" are key concerns for weapons systems and avionics developers designing real-time software, Singh says.
