Three of the six Discovery-class mission proposals NASA wants studied in-depth would use scientific spacecraft already launched that have completed their primary missions. Two of the "missions of opportunity" picked for $250,000 concept studies would use the Deep Impact mother ship that blasted a hole in the comet Tempel 1 with a copper projectile, while a third would use the Stardust comet sample return spacecraft to take another look into that hole.
PLATINUM JET CENTER BMI HAS OPENED ITS NEW 34,000-sq.-ft. aviation and business facility at Bloomington-Normal Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Ill., offering charter, leasing, sales and maintenance services. The hangar is designed to accommodate a Boeing Business Jet based on the 737-700.
Regarding the article about the new airport in Tibet, "The Future of Navigation on the Roof of the World" (AW&ST Sept. 25, p. 52), the Chinese name for the airport site, "Linzhi," is a bad transliteration from Tibetan to Chinese to English of the name that is more accurately transliterated directly from Tibetan to English as Nyingtri.
Gol has exercised options for 20 more Boeing 737-800s, raising its total order to 87 aircraft. The fast-growing Brazilian carrier, which is expanding its routes to other South American countries, now operates 56 737s and plans to expand its fleet to 101 aircraft by 2012. Gol also took new options for an additional 20 737-800s.
Spain's largest airline expects to exceed many of the targets set last year in a major competitiveness initiative, although some challenging labor issues still need to be resolved. Iberia's management last week provided the first update to its so-called Directors Plan, which aims to ensure the airline's long-term financial viability in the face of increasing fuel costs and massive competition from low-fare carriers. The goal is to generate cost cuts and operational improvements valued at a combined €600 million ($762 million) per year.
Jonathan B. Penn in his Viewpoint (AW&ST Oct. 23, p. 78) recommends occupying "the principled high ground" of what amounts to unilateral nuclear disarmament to rein in the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran. His faith in the effectiveness of the international community is touching.
Stacie Suggs (see photo), who is the lead hardware test equipment engineer at the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif., has received the Community Service Award as part of the the Career Communications Group's 2006 National Women of Color Awards. Suggs was honored for her commitment to increasing the number of women and people of color pursuing studies in math and science.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Nov. 13-15--Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Nov. 29-30--Aeromart 2006, Toulouse. AVIATION WEEK MANAGEMENT FORUMS Nov. 14-15--CPI for Aircraft Maintenance, Phoenix. Dec. 5-6--Essentials of PBL Contracting Process, Washington. AVIATION WEEK SHOW NEWS
USN Rear Adm. (select) Peter J. Williams has been appointed executive officer for tactical aircraft programs at NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been assistant commander for logistics at Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River and will be succeeded by Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Shannon, 3rd, who has been the command's assistant commander for acquisition and operations. Rear Adm. (lower half) (select) Kenneth E. Floyd has been named director of the Aviation Plans and Requirements Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
Virgin Blue Airlines has ordered three Embraer 170 and 11 Embraer 190 jets and holds options for another six aircraft. The Brisbane, Australia-based airline is right-sizing its fleet and plans to operate the new aircraft in its domestic and South Pacific markets.
The U.S. Air Force's nascent plans for a cheaper jammer program for its B-52 fleet are being mauled, most recently by the Navy and Marine Corps in a high-level Pentagon meeting.
After discovering Navy and Air Force plans to cut and delay their portions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England called in senior leaders, including the service secretaries, to "re-energize" the military's dedication to the program and reassure international partners. Although the Navy never made public its proposal to delay production, the move had become known around the Pentagon well in advance of a meeting, planned in about four weeks, of the Defense Acquisition Working Group to discuss JSF.
The Pentagon is making the undersecretary of Defense for intelligence (USDI) responsible for deciding how to label information "For Official Use Only"--a restriction that exempts unclassified documents from mandatory release under Freedom of Information Act requests. In a Federal Register notice, the department says it "removes. . . and reserves" non-USDI guidance on marking unclassified material as FOUO. The reason: to "eliminate confusion" over who and what guidance to follow.
David A. Davis has been appointed senior vice president/general manager of the business aircraft division of New York-based CIT Aerospace. He was president/manager of the Specialty Finance Group Aircraft Div. of 1st Source Bank.
Your article "Small Yield, Big Bang" (AW&ST Sept. 25, p. 46) discusses methods of reducing the damage-causing "footprint" of weapons that will limit destruction to specific targets. One possible design improvement for any of these missiles or bombs would be a change in the fuze, as follows: Develop a long-distance proximity fuze that would, optionally, be set off 50-100 ft. prior to expected target impact, and connect the fuze to a highly inefficient detonator that would only cause an "enhanced deflagration" to blow the body of the missile/bomb apart.
The U.S. air traffic control system and Ford Motor Co. are in the same boat, says FAA Chief Operating Officer Russell Chew. They both have to reinvent themselves--and fast. While a lot of the planning for ATC modernization in Washington has focused on reinventing the system by 2025, Chew told ATC specialists at an Air Traffic Control Assn. conference that major improvements will be needed as soon as 2016. The good news is that a recent simulation exercise run by the FAA and Mitre Corp.
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EADS is continuing to remake Airbus, drawing it closer under its parent company, with more management reshuffling underway. Eurocopter chief Fabrice Bregier is moving to Airbus to take the position of chief operating officer, left vacant after the previous COO, Charles Champion, was dismissed. Bregier, who is replaced at Eurocopter by Lutz Bertling, reports to EADS Co-CEO and Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois.
RAC'S CHIEF COMPETITOR, CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO., REPORTED receiving orders for 115 new business jets worth more than $1 billion during the NBAA show. Combined with agreements made before the event began, to date Cessna has logged more than 160 orders in the fourth quarter. In addition, Bell Helicopter Textron officials say the company booked 10 orders, including agreements to buy new Model 429 and Model 430 aircraft.
The pouring of millions of dollars of new concrete to create a perimeter taxiway system around the runways will serve as a monument to the incompetence of the controllers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. "Give us more runways, and that will take care of the problem." So, a configura- tion similar to Denver's dual Vortac parallel arrival route system was added along with a fourth arrival runway. The result: 10-15-min. airborne delays became ground delays of the same length.
EADS plans to review its research and technology agenda with an eye toward assessing what work to bolster and what to shed. The effort could affect critical technology areas such as how the aerospace and defense company pursues vital composites work. The activity is part of a broader review at EADS to restructure its organization and better integrate its various units to improve efficiencies. The goal was developed this summer, but given added weight by the financial problems the company is facing as a result of Airbus A380 assembly delays.
I cannot believe the lack of humility the U.S. Missile Defense Agency has shown about the interceptor systems (AW&ST Oct. 9, p. 34) we now have in silos in Alaska and California.
Faced with the threat of increasingly sophisticated anti-ship missiles, the U.S. and Germany are preparing a major overhaul of one of their primary ship self-defense weapons.
Dahlia Sokolov has been promoted to staff director of the House Science subcommittee on energy. She succeeds Kevin Carroll, who is now working at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Johannes Loschnigg has been promoted to staff director of the House Science subcommittee on space and aeronautics. He succeeds Bill Adkins, who is now a space consultant. Sokolov and Loschnigg were members of the parent committee's professional staff.
