USN Adm. (ret.) Vern Clark and USAF Gen. (ret.) Gregory S. Martin have been named to the board of advisers of Whitney, Bradley & Brown Inc., Vienna, Va. Clark was chief of naval operations, while Martin was commander of Air Force Materiel Command.
The U.S. Army is starting preparations to relaunch development and acquisition of a new intelligence aircraft, and is putting out feelers to see what industry might be able to offer. As the service goes through this exercise, which is expected to lead to a development contract around 2009, it is increasingly clear the Army will go it alone, and that efforts to shoehorn the service's requirements with those of the U.S. Navy's into a single aircraft will no longer be pursued, suggest industry officials.
An article on the NASA/ Canadian Space Agency CloudSat mischaracterized the spacecraft's cloud-profiling instrument (AW&ST May 8, p. 26). It is a millimeter wave radar.
I agree with much of Jon B. Kutler's View- point entitled "Contract Overruns: New Relevance for an Old Playbook" (AW&ST May 29, p. 66). Huge contractor profits on major wea- pons development is a scandal waiting to be pounced on by the press. When told the "best and final" on the F-22 development contract might generate huge overruns, I remember a former Lockheed CEO's response: "We make profits on overruns!"
As an experienced airline pilot and graduate student studying safety systems, I have issues with R.E.G. Davies' rebuttal correspondence entitled "Minor Failure in A380 Wing Test" (AW&ST Apr. 10, p. 6B).
Privately owned engineering company Larsen and Toubro is building satellite-tracking instrumentation-grade radars for the Indian Space Research Organization with basic design and technical assistance from ISRO's Radar Development Center. The radars, capable of tracking space launches, will be located at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in South India.
The European Commission has launched a three-year project to enhance the dependability of information systems used in air transport and other applications. The three-year 9.3-million-euro project, to be coordinated by Thales, aims to permit the early detection of malfunctions, rapid containment of incidents and quick reconfiguration of systems so critical services can be sustained or resumed using special modeling and simulation tools.
The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite by Ann Finkbeiner Viking Press, Apr. 6, 2006, Hardcover, 336 pp., $27,95, ISBN: 0670034894 Anyone closely following the progress of national security technology knows the interplay between the military and science community is often an odd one. The stereotypical frumpy clothing of the academic compared with the strict dress rules of the military uniform is just the most outward incarnation of the underlying clash between the two cultures.
Cessna Aircraft Co. plans to display a concept Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) at the Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s AirVenture show next month. Company Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton says LSA is one of the fastest-growing segments in general aviation, and Cessna "could bring unique capabilities to this exciting market." Cessna will survey attendees and their reaction to the airplane during the show. Results will help determine whether Cessna enters the market. A decision could be made early in 2007.
The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, which oversees U.S. secret intelligence photos and satellite imagery, plans a formal ceremony this week to transfer the authority of the director, USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) James Clapper, but who will take over remains an open question. No successor to Clapper has been named, although wagging tongues say the top candidate is the director of naval intelligence, Rear Adm. Robert Murrett. Lawyers at the agency are sorting out the authorities that can remain with the acting deputy from those that may have to shift to the Defense Dept.
EasyJet is increasing the size and scope of its schedule from London's Gatwick Airport. The low-cost carrier will begin a three-times-daily service to Glasgow, Scotland, in October. It is also increasing frequencies on six of its European routes from Gatwick.
Airbus still needs to give the official go-ahead for a single-aisle final assembly line in China, but with the site-selection of Tianjin, coupled with strong demand for the A320 family, it is highly likely the European aircraft maker will be adding assembly capacity for the first time overseas. The Chinese government and Airbus late last week identified the Tianjin Binhai New Coastal District development zone as the location for the proposed site, should an ongoing study, due to conclude in September, determine that this is feasible.
Researchers analyzing gravity data collected by the U.S./German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) spacecraft believe they have discovered the site of an ancient meteor impact that once wiped out almost all life on Earth. Hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet in the area south of Australia known as Wilkes Land, the 250-million-year-old crater measures 300 mi. across, suggesting it was caused by a meteor as big as 30 mi. wide.
Boeing's Conical Scanning Microwave Imager/Sounder (CMIS) sensor is a casualty in the government's efforts to stabilize cost on its next-generation polar-orbiting weather satellite system. The Pentagon tells Congress it will remove the sensor--one of 13 originally planned for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (Npoess).
Jana Viskova has become manager of communications at CSA Czech Airlines. She succeeds Jitka Novotna, who will be on leave. Viskova was director of external communications for CzechInvest.
Embraer is devising an extensive range of enhancements for its 170/190 regional jets to boost operational flexibility and safety, now that the basic certification of the family of aircraft is nearing completion. But beyond expanding the customer base and capability of its larger RJs, Embraer also is making upgrades to the older family of aircraft, even while it continues to push ahead with growing its business jets portfolio.
United has stopped expanding its low-fare Ted operation because CEO Glenn Tilton wants to keep the unit flying in line with its original business plan of serving only leisure routes.
Bankers, unable to bridge the billion pounds or so price difference between BAE Systems and EADS over the value of the British defense company's 20% share in commercial-aircraft giant Airbus, will now weigh in to help resolve the dispute.
Tad Frysinger has been appointed executive vice president-product development for Denver-based Federation Software. He was chief architect at the Zenodata Corp.
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) Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China. Oct. 24-26--MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition, Amsterdam. Nov. 13-15--Aerospace & Defense Programs, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Oct. 31-Nov. 5--Airshow China, Zhuhai. www.airshow.com.cn July 17-23--Farnborough air show.
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While an integrated approach is arguably more complex than a federated avionics architecture, Smiths Aerospace's top technical marketer, Gerry Vossler, says the trade-offs allow the benefits to outweigh the risks. Risk: An integrated architecture has multiple systems, or functions, inside the same electronics box. This increases the number of applications, their interdependencies and suppliers.
What goes around, comes around. As China regained political control of Hong Kong in 1997, Swire Pacific, the majority owner of Cathay Pacific Airways, relinquished its controlling interest in Dragonair and turned over management of that regional carrier to China National Aviation Corp. (CNAC), a division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. There was even talk then about how "the Chinese" would find a way to drive out Swire as majority owner of Cathay.
David Hughes's article on the C-5B mishap at Dover AFB, Del. (AW&ST Apr. 10, p. 32) had an inaccurate number. The empty weight of a C-5A/B is about 375,000 lb., not 330,000. As a longtime C-5 pilot, a typical Rota, Spain, mission would involve 100,000 lb. of cargo with a ramp fuel load of about 225,000 lb. for an estimated gross weight of 700,000. I was assigned at Dover AFB the night of the 1983 incident. Magnificent flying prevented a catastrophe. (The reader is correct--Ed.)
Russia will buy the thrust vector control-equipped MiG-29OVT under the terms of the government's latest proposed military spending, which puts a greater emphasis on enhancing the military's combat potential.
