Northwest Airlines is taking its concerns over pending pension legislation directly to Washington. The airline is scheduling two round-trip DC-9 charter flights for July 18, one from Minneapolis and the other from Detroit, and lining up volunteers among pilots and other employees. It also has waived pass fees for other Washington-bound flights in its network. CEO Doug Steenland will lead the lobbying effort.
Atmospheric scientists are looking to take advantage of a large pool of potential sensor platforms--the aircraft themselves--to examine the impact of commercial aircraft emissions.
Avio has garnered a five-year, 20-million-euro contract to support Alitalia Express's 10 PWC100-powered fleet ATR 42/72 regional aircraft. The award includes an option for a two-year extension.
France's Safran plans to leverage its position as propulsion and equipment supplier for the U.S. Army's new Light Utility Helicopter to reinforce its beachhead in the American defense sector. The decision in favor of Eurocopter's EC145--coupled with the earlier choice of the AgustaWestland EH 101 to replace the presidential VIP fleet--is expected to open the door for procurement of European rotorcraft by U.S. government agencies. And Chairman/ CEO Jean-Paul Bechat says Safran plans to step up its American investment plans in consequence.
Lansmont Corp.'s portable, self-powered environmental recording instrument, the Saver 9X30, offers a 25-channel acquisition platform. It captures, categorizes and quantifies potentially hazardous shock, vibration and atmospheric conditions within a given product's in-use and/or transport environment. This information can be applied to damage prevention efforts, assessing overall damage liability and for achieving regulatory compliance, among other uses.
Raul Rizo-Patron has been named vice president-corporate development and Jim Marshall vice president-human resources for the Mesa Air Group Inc. Rizo-Patron was head of mergers and acquisitions and private investments for the Phelps Dodge Corp., while Marshall was vice president-human resources at ValueOptions of Arizona. Carlos Bonilla and Richard Thayer have joined the board of directors. Bonilla is senior vice president of the Washington Group, while Thayer recently retired as a managing director at J.P. Morgan Securities.
Increased Russian space program funding is sparking a renaissance in overall astronomy and astrophysics missions here, in addition to planetary mission development. In the latter case, the Russians are planning a lunar penetrator mission by 2012. Also scheduled is the launch of a sample return to the Martian moon Phobos in 2009 (see p. 154). The revival is having a direct impact on Russian technology development and luring younger engineers back to the space program.
NASA is closing in on a prime contractor for the Crew Exploration Vehicle. Project Manager Caris (Skip) Hatfield says the source selection board has wrapped up its final round of questions to teams headed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman/Boeing, and the teams are updating their final submittals in response. After that, the board will complete its final report for Exploration Systems Deputy Associate Administrator Doug Cooke, who will make the final decision based on the report and advice from a separate team of experts that he's assembled.
AIR FRANCE HAS SELECTED THE HONEYWELL Runway Awareness and Advisory System. RAAS is a software option to the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System that provides aural alerts to pilots on the airport surface. For example, the system reminds pilots what runway they are entering. Then, if they believe they are taxiing onto 31L when they are actually taxiing onto 31R, their error will become apparent. The system is designed to help reduce runway incursions and other serious hazards on the airport surface, and is already being used by several major airlines.
Airbus's first Corporate Jetliner Center in the U.S. opened July 10 at the manufacturer's Miami training facility. The 1,500-sq.-ft. center contains offices as well as a full ACJ cabin mockup. The ACJ family of aircraft includes the A320 Prestige and A318 Elite. Airbus trains about 3,500 airline personnel yearly at the facility on five simulators, four for the A320 series and one for the A330/A340. In addition, it has five maintenance/flight-training devices.
Krishna Saraswat has joined the technical advisory board of TiaLinx Inc., Irvine, Calif. He is professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University.
Right up front, let's set the record straight: Export controls are about national security. It comes first, and everything else--including business--comes second. But keeping America's military technology from falling into the wrong hands and allowing exports to friendly countries--including sharing technology with close allies--are not mutually exclusive.
Todd Petersen (see photo) has been appointed vice president-marketing for Columbia Helicopters, Portland, Ore. He succeeds Jon Lazzaretti, who will work on special projects. Petersen has been a Columbia marketing representative and project manager.
The following comments and complaints were made to the British Defense Manufacturers Assn. over U.S. export legislation and governance. The examples date from the signings in London and Washington in February 2000 of the Declaration of Principles until earlier this year. In effect, they chart the path of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) waiver, from its much trumpeted launch, to its unalloyed failure. All of the remarks are from companies working in the defense aerospace market.
John P. Howitt and Ray Warman have joined the New York law firm Clifford Chance US as a partner and counsel, respectively. Both were with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker in New York. Howitt will lead Clifford Chance's aircraft finance practice in the U.S., while Warman will participate. Warman also was senior vice president/associate general counsel at GE Capital Aviation Services Inc.
It's been eight years since the U.S. Congress switched responsibility for overseeing exports of dual-use spacecraft and components from the Commerce Dept. to the State Dept., but the ensuing regulatory snarl hasn't been resolved over that time.
David Guadalupe has been promoted to associate from senior project engineer in the Aviation Services Group of Hoyle, Tanner and Associates, Manchester, N.H.
3M Aerospace has introduced two new field maintenance kits for military helicopters. These are geared to repair and help prevent erosion to ensure a quick return of the aircraft to service. The rotor blade protection kit 8999K11 was developed to provide long-lasting protection from damage caused by sand, rain, moisture ingression, ultraviolet light, insects and other airborne particles. Polyurethane protective tape 8663HS matte black, a key component of the kit, can serve as an alternative to repainting rotor blades, according to the company.
Robert Wall (Paris and Geneva), Douglas Barrie (London)
How do you make aviation environment-friendly? Don't fly. That appears to be the view of some of the more extreme--and increasingly vocal--environmental activists looking to rein in the air transport industry, particularly in Europe.
EADS Defense & Security is regrouping all of its Paris-area facilities at a single plant in Elancourt, west of the capital, as part of an ongoing push for lower costs and greater efficiency. The plant, which previously belonged to Thales, will house the division's defense electronics, communications, unmanned aerial vehicle, homeland security and test equipment businesses, along with its Netcos battlefield laboratory.
Alan M. Foonberg (see photo) and Diana M. Johnson have been promoted to principal directors in the Communications and Networking Div. of The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, Calif. Foonberg was systems director for Mission Operations Systems within the Transformational Satellite Communications System. Johnson was director of the Communication Systems Engineering Dept. Ranwa N. Haddad (see photo) has been appointed principal director in the Navigation Div. She was principal engineer in the Navigation Div. Rufus A. Fulton, Jr.
Alenia Aermacchi is to overhaul and upgrade Nigeria's MB-339A jet trainers under an $84-million program. Twelve aircraft were delivered in the 1980s, but in recent years the fleet has been all but grounded as a result of maintenance and support problems. The Italian company is carrying out a similar program aimed at returning to operational status Nigeria's G-222 tactical transport aircraft.
USAF Maj. Gen. Kenneth M. DeCuir has been named vice commander of Air Combat Command (ACC) at Langley AFB, Va. He was director of air and space operations at ACC Headquarters at Langley and will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Roy M. Worden, who has been director of operational plans and joint matters/deputy chief of staff for air, space and information operations at the Pentagon. Worden, in turn, will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc, who has been commander of ACC's 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad AB, Iraq. Maj. Gen. Vern M.
Iridium Satellite says the installed base has more than doubled to 7,500 aeronautical terminals in the past year, with an average of more than 300 terminals being added monthly. "Much of our current growth is in helicopter fleets, especially air ambulance and rescue services," says Executive Vice President Don Thoma. But Iridium is also gaining sales from commercial carriers that want the company's connections on long-distance, overwater routes for safety reasons. Passengers also are using the services.
