Diane G. Dempsey has become director of small business relations for BAE Systems' Rosslyn, Va.-based customer solutions business. She was senior manager of the Supplier Diversity Program for the Computer Sciences Corp.
Cameras on board the Bigelow Aerospace Genesis I commercial subscale inflatable space module, which was launched on July 12, are imaging both the interior and exterior of the spacecraft as ground controllers in Las Vegas prepare this week to activate a NASA Ames Research Center biology experiment inside.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. WILL USE THE FIRST Citation Mustang lightweight jet built at its Independence, Kan., facility as a demonstrator beginning in December. The twin-engine airplane (Serial No. 0003) flew for the first time June 15, logging 2 hr. 20 min. Cessna is using the prototype and Serial Nos. 0001 and 0002 in the certification program, and FAA approval is scheduled for late this year. Mustangs 0004-0015 are under construction at Independence. Cessna has orders for more than 240 Mustangs and plans to deliver the first customer airplane in early 2007.
Signing up two U.S. congressional delegations is better than one. That's at least what L-3, Alenia Aeronautica and Boeing seem to think as they push the C-27J in the battle for the U.S. Army/Air Force Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program.
Memphis, Tenn.-based Aerospace Products International, a provider of distribution and supply chain services, has opened a distribution and logistics center at London Luton Airport. The site marks API's first dedicated operation in Europe. The First Aviation Services Inc. subsidiary will supply parts for European customers through the Luton facility, as well as pre-position parts on a third-party basis for Gulfstream.
Britain will take a further step in securing a multibillion-pound program with Saudi Arabia based on the Eurofighter Typhoon in the next few weeks, with the U.K. defense minister's visit to that kingdom to sign further accords. The overall agreement will be concluded by the fourth quarter of this year. Defense Minister Des Browne will visit Saudi within the next month, according to government officials, though no further details were disclosed.
Lockheed Martin says the Proton booster, which the company markets with Khrunichev through International Launch Services, will return to service Aug. 5 carrying Eutelsat's HotBird 8.
Ken Beedle has been appointed London-based director of international communications for the Northrop Grumman Corp. He was communications manager for Europe and Africa for Halliburton subsidiary KBR.
USN Capts. Townsend G. Alexander, Steven R. Eastburg, Kenneth E. Floyd, Charles E. Smith and Scott H. Swift have been nominated for promotion to rear admiral (lower half). Alexander is commanding officer of NAS North Island, Calif., while Eastburg is a deputy program executive officer at NAS Patuxent River, Md. Floyd is chief of staff to the commander of Naval Air Forces in the U.S. Pacific Fleet, North Island, Calif., and Smith major program manager for aviation and ship integration for Naval Air Systems Command at NAS Patuxent River.
Testing will begin in August on a 50-ft. section of a center wing box for the 787. Composed of composite elements provided by Boeing, Mitsubishi and Fuji, the test piece measures about 17 ft. from the front to rear spars and 50 ft. from the aircraft centerline to the tip of the structure. At 55,000 lb. and 4 ft. deep at its thickest point, it represents about two-thirds of the span of the full wing.
Libyan carriers are buying aircraft again now that the country's relations with the West have begun to improve. Tripoli-based Afriqiyah Airways has signed an agreement to buy six Airbus A320s, three A319s and three A330-200s. Options include five narrowbodies and three A330s. EADS will also help the carrier build a maintenance services and training center facility at Tripoli. Afriqiyah plans to operate the A319s/A320s to 17 destinations in Africa and the Middle East, and the A330s to southern Africa, Asia and Europe.
Dassault Aviation is entering the final phase of certification testing for the Falcon 7X, with flight trials of an improved software and production-representative aircraft about to begin in order to wrap up this phase of the program before December.
Several industry officials here tried to explain Boeing's $350-$500-million writeoff of charges for its 737-based Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft being developed for Australia and Turkey. The program's problems will result in an 18-month delay for Australia and two years for Turkey, the countries say. The schedules are being renegotiated to find savings. Those with insight into the program say electromagnetic problems with the Northrop Grumman-built, active electronically scanned array radar have been resolved and it is operating at full power.
Douglas Barrie, Michael A. Taverna and Robert Wall (Farnborough)
The British Defense Ministry is issuing an urgent operational requirement (UOR) that may yet result in the acquisition of the General Atomics Predator B for operations in Afghanistan.
Southwest Airlines' service at Washington Dulles Airport will begin Oct. 5 with 12 daily nonstop round trips to four points-- Chicago Midway (seven departures); Orlando, Fla. (two); Tampa, Fla. (two), and Las Vegas (one). The Midway flights will compete with United Express nonstop service operated by Mesa Airlines. United, American and US Airways serve the Dulles-Chicago O'Hare market nonstop. US Airways also operates nonstops in Southwest's other three new markets, while United serves Las Vegas and Orlando from Dulles and AirTran Airways operates to Orlando.
HELICOPTER ASSN. INTERNATIONAL HAS PLACED its First Responder Program database online. The program is designed to locate rotorcraft resources for use during emergencies stemming from national security situations or natural disasters. The database gives emergency response agencies the ability to identify and coordinate vertical lift assets. HAI President Matt Zuccaro says his organization is encouraging operators worldwide to participate voluntarily in the program.
Mike Bennett has been promoted to general manager from assistant general manager of Signature Flight Support's fixed-base operation at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Mark Ronald, BAE Systems Inc. CEO, last week was presented with Aviation Week's John Curtis Sword by Tom Henricks, Aviation Week president. The sword was presented to Ronald during the Society of British Aerospace Companies' Farnborough International ceremony in London. The sword is awarded biennially in recognition of a notable contribution to Anglo-American aerospace cooperation. Ronald has had a distinguished career in the defense and aerospace sector and has been instrumental in crafting the company's growth in the U.S.
Sukhoi is hedging against possible delays in Russia's fifth-generation fighter program and trying to bolster a production site by pushing continued development of the Su-27M2 variant of the Flanker. Internally designated the Su-27M2, the project is known for export as the Su-35. While the outer mold-line is very similar to the basic Flanker--including the absence of canards--internally, the aircraft is nearly completely new. It will use several of the systems that may also be applied on Sukhoi's fifth-generation fighter program, the T-50.
The Senate Appropriations Commi- tee has approved an amendment to the Transportation Dept.'s Fiscal 2007 spending bill that would prohibit the department from issuing a rule allowing foreign ownership of airlines.
The selection of Tianjin as an A320 factory was an important checkoff on a list of things-to-do that began last December when Airbus announced it was thinking of establishing an assembly line in China. The move signals the European airframer's confidence that it has found the right market for its first foray in manufacturing outside Europe (AW&ST Dec. 12, 2005, p. 31). A formal decision isn't due until September.
Paul Morrison has become Eastern U.S. sales manager for Aitech Defense Systems Inc., Chatsworth, Calif. He was field application engineer for Radstone Technology.
