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).
Frank McKenna has become president of Space Transport Inc., McLean, Va., which is a successor to the Lockheed Martin's Corp.'s share in International Launch Services Inc. He was vice president of ILS.
Meanwhile, Aviation Maintenance and Engineering Corp. (Ameco) in Beijing, has signed its first contract to overhaul Airbus A320 landing gears (see photo). The contract went to China Zhejiang Airlines. In the past, the component services division at Ameco, a partnership between Air China and Lufthansa, has concentrated on Boeing 737 landing gears. And while Ameco broadens its services portfolio, it isn't forgetting its core airframe work. It recently celebrated the first anniversary of overhauls of some of United Airlines' 777s.
Burkhard Zachewicz (see photos) has become head of marketing and sales and Lutz Neugebauer director of Technology Center Aviation at Claas Fertigungstechnik, Beelen, Germany. Zachewicz was manager for several Airbus projects, while Neugebauer was Boeing 787 program manager for Brotje Automation.
The first of 12 C-27J Spartan tactical transports is officially in the hands of the Italian air force, after having completed test activities at the Practica di Mare center. A second model is to be delivered for acceptance testing in December, and the remainder by 2008. The first aircraft is to be assigned to the 46th Air Brigade in Pisa. The initial C-27J will not become operational in Italy immediately, but will be "diverted" to the U.S. where it will undergo an evaluation campaign as part of the Pentagon's competition for a Joint Combat Aircraft.
Germany's court of appeals has cleared the acquisition of full control in Astra Playout Services (APS) by SES Astra, denying a complaint filed by competitor Eutelsat in early 2005.
France, Germany and Spain are discussing a new European unmanned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance program to replace their aborted EuroMALE initiative, and hope to have an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding for the project signed by year-end. The MOU would permit the launch of an 18-month risk-reduction phase, presumably under the leadership of EuroMALE prime contractor EADS.
Stock sales may not be on the table yet, but venture capital and serious public money is finding its way into the nascent U.S. commercial spaceflight industry. Human-spaceflight entrepreneurs attending the Wirefly X Prize Cup competition here report more receptivity from venture capitalists and bankers as they seek backing for rockets that are finally clearing the paper-and-powerpoint stage and becoming real hardware.
Theodore McFarland has become vice president-technology practice at Edward W. Kelley and Partners in Chicago. He was vice president-marketing for International Launch Services and had beenpresident of Hughes Electronics Japan.
The U.S. Air Force has issued refined guidance to Boeing and a Northrop Grumman/EADS North America team, both bidding for a contract to build refueling tankers. During meetings Oct. 24 at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, program executive officer Lt. Gen. John Hudson announced the addition of a key performance parameter to refuel tiltrotor aircraft, and clarified the cargo-carrying requirement. The tankers must be able to haul at least six 463L pallets and at least 50 passengers. There is an objective threshold to carry more passengers and cargo, as well.
