Poland will become part of NATO's E-3A AWACS program later this year, making it the 16th partner. Hungarian officers started flying as part of the AWACS team in July. The 17 alliance-owned aircraft are based in Geilenkirchen, Germany.
AirTran Airways is "working on a plan to reduce our growth in the 2007 and 2008 time frame," says Chief Financial Officer Stan Gadek. In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the carrier said a softening of demand started at the end of August and appeared to be continuing into September. Gadek attributed the trend to last month's terrorist arrests in England, Tropical Storm Ernesto and capacity additions on the East Coast. The company said it expects the year-over-year percentage growth of its third-quarter revenue to be in the low single digits.
Boeing's newest variant of the 737, the -900ER, has begun its flight test program with the goal of achieving certification next year. The inaugural, 45-min. flight took place Sept. 5 from Boeing's Renton, Wash., facility, piloted by company flight test pilots Capts. Ray Craig and Van Chaney. The flight test program, which will include a second aircraft, is to accumulate 235 hr., with another 210 hr. of ground tests planned.
Preston Bentley, a 26-year-old charter pilot, will attempt a 30-day, 48-state cross-country flight beginning Sept. 17 from the Blue Ash, Ohio, Air Show, in a donated Sky Skooter T-11. Bentley is honoring a cousin, Seth Bailey, who died in 2004 at age 21 from a rare disease, and is trying to raise $500,000 for the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati, which cared for Bailey during many visits to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. IndUS Aviation of Dallas donated the light sport aircraft.
Engineers from NASA and Lockheed Martin will spend the next few months nailing down design details on the Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV), working together for the first time now that the final whistle has blown on the competition to build the space shuttle replacement.
There seems to be a slight error in Craig Covault' s "A Qualified Go" article about concern over the space shuttle Atlantis's K u-band antenna bolts (AW&ST Aug. 21/28, p. 40). The article states: "Once the payload bay doors are opened, the device is deployed over the port side by a mechanism (see photo)." The photo is a beautiful representation of the Discovery's own similar K u-band antenna--deployed over starboard side.
British budget carrier Flybe has taken delivery of the first 118-seat Embraer 195 jet aircraft, the fourth and last member of Embraer's 170/190 E-Jets program to be fielded. Embraer 195 launch customer Flybe has ordered 14 aircraft and holds options for another dozen. Flybe will phase out the BAE 146 regional jets as the Embraer aircraft are delivered.
Why does Lockheed Martin insist on offering the C-130J for the Joint Cargo Aircraft competition when it is too much aircraft (AW&ST July 24, p. 36). How about redesigning the wing and mounting only two engines, removing some of the fuselage frames to reduce length and weight? Development costs should be minimal compared to those for an all-new aircraft, and commonality with the four-engine C-130J would reap cost and training benefits.
Korean Air is prohibiting use of Dell and Apple laptops with lithium ion batteries on its flights. The move follows Qantas's ban on Dell laptops. Korean cites the risk of an onboard fire and the policy of "safety first." No date has been given when the ban will be lifted. Apple Korea has said Korean Air was "overreacting," stating that no airlines in the U.S. have adopted a no-laptops rule. The FAA is now reviewing safety concerns of lithium-ion batteries on aircraft.
AT A RECENT FAA-SPONSORED ADS-B "INDUSTRY DAY," Honeywell touted the formation-flight system it built for the C-17 as one example of the company's leadership in ADS-B technology. Tom Henderson, the head of marketing for surveillance products, believes this system represents the "most precise and advanced ADS-B traffic surveillance application" flying today. (It entered service in June.) ADS-B data allow autopilot-coupled station-keeping with 4,000-ft. spacing along track and 500 ft. across track.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is preparing for tests next month of the Airborne Laser's tracking component, hoping to add to momentum from four hit-to-kill intercepts this summer of other missile defenses under development. As the Pentagon continues testing its array of anti-missile systems, Israel is rethinking its approach after Hezbollah successfully launched hosts of missiles and unguided rockets across the Lebanese border during the recent conflict there.
Bert Rutan, president and CEO of Scaled Composites, Mojave, Calif., has been named to receive the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' George M. Low Space Transportation Award. He is being recognized for development and successful flight demonstration of the first civilian spaceship, for sparking global interest in space tourism and for enabling commercial passenger suborbital spaceflight.
It doesn't take much for the threat of terrorism to dampen airline financial results, even when the threat is foiled. US Airways has revised downward its estimate of third-quarter unit revenue because of heightened alerts that followed the arrest of alleged bomb plotters in the U.K. The carrier said its August passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) was up more than 15% over that of August 2005, but this increase was 3-4 percentage points lower than expected.
Five years ago, Americans' sense that terrorism was a distant problem was shattered. In one horrific day, they realized they could become victims of this grotesque aberration of political expression just as easily as populations anywhere else. So it is appropriate to reflect on the progress the U.S. has made since 9/11 to protect its borders and citizens.
David A. Fulghum (Tel Aviv and Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
The fighting in southern Lebanon revealed Iran's willingness to supply sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah, and one of its ships was intercepted trying to do just that for Hamas in the Palestinian territories. A continuing series of tests has demonstrated Iran's growing arsenal of ballistic, tactical and sea-based weapons, and Western intelligence officials anticipate its fielding of locally built versions of fighter-launched, long-range, air-to-surface missiles. But the real fear is Iran's development of nuclear weapons. Once built, they would be easy to hide and export.
Fred Doyle (see photos) has been named head of the National Defense Solutions unit and Drew Crouch head of the Advanced Technologies and Products unit of Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Broomfield, Colo. Doyle was vice president-special programs, while Crouch was vice president-corporate strategy, relations and administration.
Two major shareholders of Stork are urging the conglomerate to focus all its efforts on building a Dutch aerospace company within a year. Paulson & Co. and Centaurus Capital, who together control 32.9% of the voting interests in Stork, are urging that the company sell its food systems, technical services and printing operations to fund the aerospace growth strategy. Stork has been in turmoil since early this year when management considered taking the company private for restructuring, only to have that effort fail.
Singapore Airshow, which has replaced Asian Aerospace, a biennial event for the past 25 years, has awarded a $38-million contract to Eng Lim Construction to build its new site in Changi North for its first event in 2008. BAE Systems, Boeing, EADS (including Airbus), Rolls-Royce International, ATI, Honeywell, L-3 Communications, United Technologies Corp., Bell Helicopter Textron, Saab, SIA Engineering, Sukhoi and anchor exhibitor ST Engineering have registered to participate.
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. is acquiring 10 Bombardier Q400s and creating a separate subsidiary to operate a traffic-feeding system to Frontier Airlines' Denver hub from at least 18 Rocky Mountain area cities. President and CEO Jeff Potter says the new carrier will be able to operate the PW150A-powered aircraft in Frontier-like livery more cost effectively than if it contracted for the service with an outside operator. The first aircraft will be delivered in May. Ten will be operational by December 2007, according to the schedule.
William O. McCabe (see photo) has formed The McCabe Group aerospace/ aviation consulting firm, Newark, Del. He is retired global managing director for aviation for the DuPont Co.
As Boeing's top airplane salesman, Scott Carson played a pivotal role in recapturing the lead in sales from Airbus, while making the 787 one of the hottest new jets ever launched. His next job: keeping one of the most dramatic corporate turnarounds of the decade on track.
Defense engineering company Meggitt's first-half results show revenue and profit up over the same six-month period in 2005. Revenue was £325.9 million ($610.4 million), up 10%. Aerospace business accounted for 76% of turnover. Civil sector sales rose by 17%, with military sales up 3%.
The July launch failure of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is likely to delay development of the heavier-lift Mk. 3 version, because engineers from the future effort must shift their focus. First launch of the Mk. 3 was expected in 2008-09, but at least a six-month slip can now be expected, says an Indian official. The Indian Space Research Organization hopes to have GSLV back in operation in 6-10 months. Developers are determining the root cause of the accident, linked to a sensor failure in an L40 strap-on motor that let it burn too long.
