Boeing has wondered if the early part of the year would bring a slowdown in 787 buyers. But as its orders and commitments crested the 400 mark, Singapore Airlines says it wants to join the queue with a firm order for 20 787-9s and purchase rights to 20 more. When signed, the SIA order would lift Boeing's count to 423 orders and commitments from 31 customers. Boeing has not formally acknowledged the order, but officials were jubilant on hearing the news.
THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ASSN. OF ALEXANDRIA, VA., IS joining with the FAA, Defense Dept. and Aerothai to hold a civil/military air traffic management conference in Bangkok from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1, 2007. Aerothai is the ATC and aeronautical radio provider in Thailand. The organizers are aiming for high level civil and military participation from throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Many ATC specialists see a need for closer cooperation between military and civil aviation organizations to maximize the efficient use of limited airspace.
Stephane Guerin has been appointed vice president/chief financial officer and Danielle Poudrette senior vice president-business strategy of Air Canada Technical Services. Guerin was CFO of Rolls-Royce Canada Ltd. He succeeds Pat Iaconi, who is now vice president-corporate development. Poudrette was vice president-corporate initiatives for Air Canada. Mark Swearingin, who was executive vice president-Eastern operations, is now executive vice president-airframe maintenance.
Xiamen Airlines has selected the Rockwell Collins WXR-2100 multi- scan weather radar for 15 Boeing 737-800s and five optional aircraft. The airline also will have a full suite of Rockwell Collins communications and navigation equipment and antennas installed. The radar automatically detects thunderstorms from up to 320 naut. mi. off the nose of the aircraft.
BAE Systems is to implement changes to its pension system to tackle its 3.1-million-pound deficit. These include a one-time contribution from the company of 1.086 billion pounds in cash and assets, paid over a 10-year period. Employees will see changes to benefits that reduce the company's liabilities.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] June 25--Wheels, Wings and Water Festival to benefit the Civil Air Patrol. St. Cloud (Minn.) Regional Airport. Call +1 (320) 253-6400. June 27-29--The Aerospace Corp.'s Spacecraft and Launch Vehicle Dynamic Environments Workshop. Ayres Hotel, Hawthorne, Calif. Call +1 (310) 336-1816 or see www.aero.org/conferences/sclv
SAS Technical Services will close the aircraft maintenance base at Sola near Stavanger, Norway, effective Aug. 31. A commission early this month, recommended concentrating maintenance operations at main airports in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The company says 265 employees at Sola are affected. The company is implementing a program to assist those affected to find employment. Each will receive wages to the end of the year. Those older than 59 are guaranteed continued employment in SAS Group.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, plans more laser communications experiments after establishing a three-minute link between its Optical Inter-orbit Communication Engineering Test Satellite "Kirari" and a mobile ground receiver fielded by the German Aerospace Agency, DLR. The experiment took place June 7 with the receiver at Oberpfaffenhofen. It followed the first bi-directional optical communication experiment last March with a Japanese station supplied by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology.
A U.S. Air Force C-17A cargo aircraft dropped its heaviest load yet--65,000 lb.--in a test of the proposed Quick- Reach concept for the Falcon Small Launch Vehicle development effort. Working with USAF and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, AirLaunch dropped the dummy launch vehicle from an unmodified C-17A over Edwards AFB, Calif., at 29,500 ft. above mean sea level and a speed of 330 kt. QuickReach would use a liquid oxygen and propane vapor pressurization propulsion system to deliver small satellites to orbit.
In a novel arrangement that Sita hopes will become a template for similar programs with other aircraft manufacturers, Airbus will enlist the Geneva-based consortium to manage the 1,400 software programs flying on the A380.
French armaments agency DGA has contracted with Rosoboronexport to test the suitability of Russia's Mi-26T helicopter for meeting a future French heavy-lift rotary-wing requirement. The 56-metric-ton Mi-26T can lift a 20-metric-ton load, but has outdated avionics and is expensive to operate and maintain. The 12-hr. trial, which is to take place in France next year, could help spawn a joint Mi-26T upgrade. But France is also studying the possibility of participating in a transatlantic CH-53 spinoff in cooperation with Germany and the U.S. (AW&ST Jan. 23, p. 26).
In a bid to forestall the rapid onset of demand for new single-aisle aircraft, Airbus by year-end hopes to unveil a package of A320 family upgrades that aim at boosting operating efficiencies by up to 5%. The enhancements span a range of features and could culminate in an improved aircraft being fielded in 2008--some could be retrofit to in-service Airbus narrowbodies. U.S. low-cost carrier JetBlue has been a driving force behind the design changes, asking for improved performance for coast-to-coast operations, according to a propulsion industry official.
Bell Helicoper Textron and United Aerospace Workers Local 218 are negotiating a new contract. Union members rejected an offer made earlier this month because of changes to health-care provisions. As of late last week, workers remained on the job without a contract.
Jim Jamieson has been named senior vice president-engineering, operations and technology for Chicago-based Boeing. He has been senior vice president/chief technology officer. Succeeding Jamieson as CTO will be Bob Krieger, who was president of Boeing Phantom Works.
USAF Gen. (ret.) John Michael Loh (Williamsburg, Va.)
Your editorial "Engine Diversity Will Pay Dividends" (AW&ST June 5, p. 58) supports an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with three basic arguments: *Insurance against showstopper problems at Pratt & Whitney. *Insuring a competitive propulsion industry for future programs. *Fostering innovation in propulsion technology. However, all three arguments suffer from faulty premises and flawed logic.
The USS George Washington will become the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be deployed in Japan following its acceptance by the mayor of Yokosuka as a replacement for the Kitty Hawk, the U.S. Navy's oldest active carrier. The Navy announced the replacement last October but the mayor had opposed the plan until the Japanese Foreign Ministry interceded, telling him of the carrier's safety and making it clear that there was no chance of a conventionally-powered carrier replacing the Kitty Hawk. She is to arrive in May or June 2008.
On-demand air-taxi venture DayJet has announced the first five cities it will serve: Florida's Boca Raton, Gainesville, Lakeland, Pensacola and Tallahassee. DayJet plans to launch its commercial service in the fourth quarter with 10 Eclipse 500 very light jets. The company plans to expand to 16 additional locations in the southeastern U.S. within a year, targeting communities with little or no scheduled air service.
First, House opponents of the Transportation Dept.'s proposal to relax its interpretation of airline foreign-ownership laws succeeded in attaching an amendment to the Fiscal 2006 war supplemental bill that would have delayed action by the department by four months. That amendment was stripped from the supplemental in the legislative conference to reconcile differences in the House and Senate bills. Now, the opponents strike again, this time winning a Fiscal 2007 appropriations-bill amendment that would bar action through the entire fiscal year, until Sept. 30, 2007.
A380 production problems aren't the only challenge Airbus faces when it comes to the mega-transport. Operational issues surrounding the aircraft's entry into service, along with reducing current separation limits, remain hot topics. The latter are the result of an ongoing debate over the strength of A380 wake vortices compared with other aircraft, with regulators initially imposing a large, 15-naut.-mi. in-cruise separation distance and a 10-naut.-mi. separation in final approach between the aircraft and one in-trail.
The Cathay Pacific-Dragonair-Air China deal has created a powerful airline grouping that some fear is a monopoly that will lead to a battle among global alliances to align carriers. Following months of speculation, the carriers last week agreed on a new ownership structure: Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, a premium long-haul carrier, will take over the outstanding shares of Hong Kong's second-largest airline, Dragonair. Under the agreement, Cathay also doubles its stake in Air China to 20%, while Air China gets a 17.5% share of Cathay.
Dave Cacci has become president/ chief operating officer of the Zero Gravity Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He succeeds Peter H. Diamandis, who will remain chairman/CEO. He has been president/COO of the New York-New York Hotel and Casino, and executive vice president of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, both in Las Vegas.
Southwest and American Airlines, and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), along with the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, have agreed to seek legislation that would repeal the Wright Amendment. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly says repeal will allow the carrier to reinvest in Dallas Love Field, its "hometown" airport. American CEO Gerard Arpey said a compromise will allow the airline, which operates out of DFW, to refocus on its turnaround plan. The 1979 law was designed to foster growth at DFW by limiting commercial operations at Love.
The Cargo Loader, a 118-ft., 1-in.-long specialty transport vehicle, will haul composite fuselage and wing assemblies to and from Boeing's 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter. The freighter will ferry composite wing and fuselage sections to Boeing's 787 final assembly line in Everett, Wash. The first of six loaders was completed last week by TLD, a specialty manufacturer in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Airbus Germany will lead an industry team looking for ways to cut the development time of major projects--from satellites to radars, unmanned aircraft and advanced electronics. Israel Aircraft Industries is the technical lead in the effort that also involves Airbus France, DaimlerChrysler, Bosch, Saab, Telelogic and Esterel Technologies. The EC is funding the Speculative and Exploratory Design in Systems Engineering Integrated Project.
The Senate Armed Services Committee's $1.2-billion cut from F-35 Joint Strike Fighter procurement in the Fiscal 2007 defense authorization bill would delay the program "significantly," increase future costs and risk losing support of international partners, the White House Office of Management and Budget says in a policy statement. The panel cites program delays (AW&ST May 15, p. 31) and also directs the Dept. of Defense to use a fixed-price contract for each increment of production.
