The mechanism whereby carbon dioxide contributes to the warming of the Earth's surface is well understood. The same cannot yet be fully said of the effects and implications of the other by-products of the combustion of aviation fuel.
USN Rear Adm. (lower half) Michael R. Groothousen has been appointed commander of Standing Naval Maritime Group Two, Naples, Italy. He has been assistant deputy commandant for aviation of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Space Systems/Loral has been selected to build a new satellite for EchoStar, which continues to raise capacity to meet strong TV demand. SS/L said the unit would employ its 1300 series satellite bus, but otherwise provided no details. It was the company's fourth order of the year. SS/L is also thought to have won the right to build up to five EchoStar spacecraft previously awarded to Lockheed Martin (AW&ST Apr. 3, p. 36). How- ever, company officials declined to comment on how many, if any, of these units have been transferred to SS/L.
Tom Curtis has been named senior director in the Aviation and Portfolio Group origination team at the Republic Financial Corp., Aurora, Colo. He was general manager for service solutions for GE Aviation.
Craig P. Coy has been named president/chief operating officer of the Homeland Security Group of New York-based L-3 Communications. He has been CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority. Mark D. Simon has been named vice president/general counsel of L-3's Power and Control Systems Group. He will continue as vice president/general counsel of L-3's East Div.
OHB affiliate MT Aerospace said it had received a 55-million-euro follow-on production order for liquid hydrogen/oxygen tank components for the Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher. The order followed contracts for composite payload adaptors and vehicle equipment bay structures to EADS Astrium. The awards are part of a 30-booster production contract issued in 2003.
I read with interest Edward H. Phillips's excellent pilot report "Skyhawk Soldiers On"(AW&ST June 26, p. 52). However, the Phillips report also reminded me of something that I find troubling and hard to understand.
Vistagy of Waltham, Mass., known for Fibersim, a composite structures software widely used in the automotive and aerospace industries, has a new tool--EnCapta. Several of Boeing's composite suppliers, including Alenia and Kawasaki, have employed Fibersim in computer-aided designs (CAD) for the 787. The new series of specialty design-and-manufacturing tools that reside on EnCapta's commercial-off-the-shelf platform capture, structure and communicate non-geometric design data, such as parts and fasteners, essential to complete a product definition.
The European Aviation Safety Agency is preparing for a significant expansion of its responsibilities and trying to assess the potential personnel and budget implications. The European Parliament last week began discussion on a proposal to broaden EASA's authority only 2.5 years after the agency's creation. A finalized legislative package isn't anticipated until late this year, at the earliest, but is expected to lead to EASA expansion in 2008.
Amy Butler (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London), Robert Wall (Paris)
These are lofty times for military helicopter builders, and not just in the U.S., where a buying spree in recent years has shaken up the rotorcraft world by allowing offshore companies, namely EADS and AgustaWestland, to snag significant orders. Purchasing in other countries is also robust, with Australia recently upping its order for NH90s, the U.K. finally committing to the Future Lynx, and Turkey downselecting to the Roovialk and A129 for its future attack helicopter mission.
Alfred Grasso has become president/CEO of the Mitre Corp., McLean, Va., following the retirement of Martin C. Faga. Grasso also will remain director of the Defense Dept.'s Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence Federally Funded Research and Development Center. At Mitre, Grasso has been senior vice president/general manager of the Washington C 3 Center. He has been succeeded as general manager by David H. Lehman, who has been senior vice president-information and technology. Louis S.
A growing constellation of advanced climate-research and operational weather satellites, many linked by the Internet, promises better understanding of global weather patterns and improved local forecasting. The same space systems that helped storm-watchers warn U.S. coastal residents in the paths of last year's devastating hurricanes are gaining the capability to warn of impending floods and the deadly landslides they trigger.
Virgin America's application for certification as a U.S. airline is "substantially complete" and can move forward, the U.S. Transportation Dept. said July 12. The action follows more than six months of wrangling between Virgin America and opponents over filing more data than was in the company's original application last Dec. 8, and over access to confidential information kept out of the public record. The department set deadlines of Aug. 2 for filing answers to the application and Aug. 16 for replies.
Sept. 28-29--Integrated Asset Management & Inventory Solutions, Dallas. Nov. 14-15--Lean/Six Sigma for Aircraft Maintenance, Phoenix. December--Essentials of PBL Contracting Process You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only)
Budget and technical realities have led NASA to put its once-ambitious space nuclear power plans on a slow track, but developments in solar power generation should allow new scientific probes beyond Mars to operate without nuclear energy.
USAF Brig. Gen. Kay C. McClain has become deputy director of strategic plans and future systems/deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel at the Pentagon. She was commander of the Joint Task Force on Sexual Assault Prevention and Response in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Brig. Gen. Stanley T. Kresge has been appointed deputy director for policy and planning at United States Northern Command Headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colo. He has been commander of ACC's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid, Qatar.
An engine compressor stall has marred the V-22 Osprey's first overseas deployment. The incident caused one of two MV-22s on its way to the U.K. for the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough air show to undergo a precautionary engine swap in Iceland with an engine sent ahead to the U.K. to support the deployment. The other V-22 flew ahead to Britain without incident.
Boothroyd Dewhurst's new version of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) software contains iterations of both modules in the integrated DFMA suite: Version 9.3 and Concurrent Costing Version 2.2. The software guides engineers through simplifying a product design, then estimates assembly labor and part manufacturing costs, according to the company. The software isolates the major cost drivers associated with a range of choices for manufacture and finishing.
Technology is the answer. At least that's the prevailing view in the air transport sector as industry officials grapple with increasing demands for "greener" flying.
Tragedy or bathos, there is an undeniable morbid fascination watching a multibillion-dollar company spill blood over strategic missteps. Only weeks after the Airbus A380 claimed a record for escape chute deployment, top management was also making for the emergency exit, voluntarily, or otherwise.
When Henry Hyde retires from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of the year, Congress will be losing one of its strongest advocates for keeping a tight rein on the transfer of defense technology overseas.
USAF Lt. Col. (ret.) Peter M. McCarthy (Helotes, Tex.)
As a retired military and active major airline pilot, I take exception to the critical remarks by Karl Sutterfield about the Constellation project (AW&ST June 19, p. 7).
You note one of the recommendations for NASA's aeronautics program made by a committee formed by the National Academies of Sciences (AW&ST May 22, p. 23). There are some other intriguing recommendations, such as "the portfolio should be closely aligned with the core competencies of the NASA research centers." If, as many believe, the research centers do not have competencies in areas relevant to future needs, this recommendation is a recipe for technological stagnation.
