Steven J. Cortese has been named senior vice president-Washington operations for Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis. He was vice president-programs and budget in the Washington Operations office of the Lockheed Martin Corp.
China's vast appetite for maintenance, repair and overhaul services will be satiated a bit with groundbreaking for an MRO facility managed by Shanghai Airlines, Shanghai Airport Co. and Boeing at Pudong International Airport. The two-phase project is expected to be finished in late 2008 and include two double-bay wide-body hangars totaling 520,000 sq. ft. The project's investment level is $85 million, of which Boeing will front 60% and the other partners, 15% each.
Bombardier plans to produce more turboprops than regional jets next year, cutting its production rate of CRJ700s and -900s to 50 a year, down from 75, due to declining demand. But production of its popular Q400 turboprop will expand, with 65 Q-Series aircraft expected to be delivered in the next fiscal year, up from 50. Bombardier says it will eliminate 1,330 jobs as a result of the lower RJ production.
Andy Nativi (Genoa), Michael A. Taverna (Le Bourget)
MBDA is considering further development of its Marte antiship missile, including the possible introduction of a dual-mode seeker, satellite navigation and a two-way data link. The company has just completed qualification test-firing of the latest Marte, the Mk. 2/S, helicopter-launched version for the Italian navy. A road map for further enhancement, particularly to support the missile's use in the littoral environment, is now under consideration. MBDA was touting Marte at the Euronaval exhibition last week.
Contemporary trends in human factors research have focused on organizational issues in commercial aviation accidents. Recent published research in aviation, space and environmental medicine, and the International Journal of Aviation Psychology, highlights the role that organizations play in promoting a safety culture in high-risk systems. The ongoing issues of delays and political maneuvering at Airbus are causes for major concern. The recent resignation of Airbus's CEO reflects a lack of leadership at the top.
ROCKWELL COLLINS INTRODUCED A NEW GPS-4000S WITH Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) capability at the NBAA show, allowing pilots to use the system for primary navigation en route and during approaches. It will be available early next year with FMS-linked approach capability, with vertical guidance coming online toward the end of 2007. And the company has come up with a light version of its satellite TV system, dubbed Tailwind 300, that will cost less than the Tailwind 500 it is derived from and provide DirecTV programming for super-midsize and larger bizjets.
Prof. A.U. Krishnamurthy (Vaughn College of Aeronautics, New York, N.Y. )
You recently provided in-depth explanations of the problems delaying development and deliveries of the Airbus A380. Problems of weight and fuel consumption are obviously well known. Being the heaviest fly-by-wire aircraft ever designed, the designers seem to ponder adopting the Boeing 777 concept of software in which the pilot has little overriding capability on the computer, especially during landing.
The need for large, light, active, electronically scanned array radars has left designers grappling for answers in some of the less explored corners of microwave technology. Raytheon, for example, has panel array concepts using moduleless architecture that mounts components directly to an electrically insulating PCB substrate designed to connect the transmitter/receiver chipsets. The result, company researchers contend, is a lighter array that's cheaper to manufacture.
On Nov. 23, the International Civil Aviation Organization is scheduled to codify Age 65 as the worldwide standard for retirement of airline pilots. This reflects the practice in nearly all countries of retiring their airline pilots at 65, an older age or an age based on fitness and personal choice.
The two-year delay of a dozen Airbus A380s that Chairman Margaret Jackson calls "frustrating" is prompting Qantas to delay a fleet realignment. The Sydney-based carrier isn't saying which aircraft will be kept in service longer, but since the A380s were to serve long-haul routes such as to London and Los Angeles, the expectation is that its Boeing 747-400s will be kept flying longer than expected.
Paul Dellinger has been appointed director of environmental health and safety for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He was safety and environmental manager for technical operations for Delta Air Lines.
German President Horst Kohler has refused to sign a law that would have largely privatized the country's federal aviation safety agency (DFS). He argued the regulation violated the German constitution, which makes aviation safety a federal responsibility, although he indicated he's not opposed to privatization if the law were amended. Politicians have now indicated they will look for a way to make the process compliant with the constitution and restart the process. The federal government would have retained 25.1% of DFS in any case.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) is set to keynote NASA's announcement of a final space shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, based on the continued good performance of the shuttle fleet under modifications made in the wake of the Columbia accident. With external tank foam-shedding issues raised by the disaster apparently resolved after two clean flights, NASA is going ahead with plans for a Hubble mission in 2008, probably in the spring.
Both the Senate and House have urged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to continue funding of the wide-area surveillance active, electronically scanned array radar designed for the now unfunded E-10 surveillance aircraft. The lawmakers' letters noted long-term congressional support for the E-8 Joint Stars aircraft and the "quantum increase in capability" that the new radar would provide.
MARKET FOCUS Analysts mixed on appreciation of Lockheed Martin stock 11 NEWS BREAKS Cessna's Light Sport Aircraft flies for first time 16 Boeing opens swing tail on its 747 Large Cargo Freighter 17 Airbus plans to start producing single-aisle aircraft in China in 2009 17 USAF issues refined guidance to bidders for refueling tanker 18 DMSP spacecraft undergoing final preparations for Nov. 4 launch 18 Dassault seeks launch customer for Falcon 900 maritime patrol aircraft 19
Rhino Linings USA and High Impact Technologies have jointly created a protective lining for use in U.S. military vehicles. Known as BattleJacket, the multilayer lining acts as a self-sealing skin that forms a complete seal around a puncture, thereby reducing the threat of explosion from bullets that penetrate fuel tanks. BattleJacket is also being used to protect rail tank cars, pipelines, marine vessel fuel tanks and above-ground petroleum storage facilities.
Dassault Aviation is in talks with several countries to find a launch customer for its newly unveiled Falcon 900 maritime patrol aircraft. The company previously had marketed the aircraft in a maritime surveillance application, in use by the Japanese coast guard, but now is taking the next step with a weaponized version that also could perform antisubmarine-warfare missions. The aircraft would be able to deliver torpedoes carried on underwing pylons and drop sonobuoys.
The National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC) at NASA/Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif., is scheduled to restart testing by February 2007 after three years of inactivity. The facility will be operated by the Tullahoma, Tenn.-based U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, as a remote operating location dedicated to fixed- and rotary-wing testing. The tunnel's set of eight vanes, which direct airflow generated by the fan system, have been inspected and repaired.
Program and financial performance are taking center stage at Eurocopter, as the helicopter maker tries to meet growing aircraft delivery demands and achieve profitability goals, all while searching for cost efficiencies to help offset the Airbus-induced cash crisis at their joint parent, EADS.
Full radar service is now being provided by the Irish Aviation Authority covering the Northern Oceanic Transition Area. The full service will allow air traffic controllers based at Shannon to provide improved routings and earlier transitions to optimum cruise levels. The service began Oct. 26.
Europe is aiming to apply network-centric thinking to aeronautics research in the hope of opening the door to more innovation. "For the first time, we will start with a problem and attempt to determine what technologies can contribute to its resolution, similar to the capabilities-driven approach developed by the military," says Francois Quentin, senior vice president for aerospace at Thales and president of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (Acare).
A Boeing KC-767A built for the Italian air force has extended its fifth-generation, fly-by-wire refueling boom's telescoping tube for the first time in a test flight. As soon as the aircraft finishes FAA flight validation, it will return to Italy for the start of the air force's flight test program.
Edward Miyashiro (see photo) has been named vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Ariz. He was Naval Weapon Systems product line vice president. Miyashiro will be succeeded by Frank Wyatt, who was deputy for operations. Bruce DeWitt has been appointed vice president-Precision Engagement strategic business area. He has been program manager for Tomahawk and strike weapons advanced development. Donald McMonagle has become vice president-quality and mission effectiveness.
President Bush's new U.S. space policy is due for some rough treatment from Democrats in the final two years of his administration, regardless of the outcome of next week's mid-term election. "We may claim [space] effectively as our own dominion, to the exclusion, when we wish to exclude others, of all others," is how former Vice President Al Gore characterizes the policy, which is heavy on national and homeland security and claims the right to deny access to space to others if U.S. interests warrant (AW&ST Oct. 16, p. 21).
