CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. IS DEVELOPING a 3D specification system that combines engineering data with options, cost and weight changes for a customer's airplane. The proprietary, interactive software gives customers a real-time visualization of the aircraft, says Cynthia Halsey, vice president for interior design, engineering and development. "Digital 3D systems for basic product specification applications are not new, but most current systems are on the Internet and are really digital product brochures.
NASA field centers get official word this week on the work packages they will handle as President Bush's exploration program moves ahead. Administrator Michael Griffin and Scott Horowitz, chief of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, will brief agency staff and reporters separately June 5 on the changes, which feature a shift of two key lunar-exploration efforts to Marshall Space Flight Center. Rep.
The long-awaited launch of a new telecom satellite is expected to breathe new life into Mexican satellite telecommunications operator Satmex--and its equity partner, Loral Space & Communications--after a three-year battle with bankruptcy.
Jet Airways has introduced India's first Airbus A330-200s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772Bs, taking its fleet to 55 aircraft. Equipped with Airbus's Less Paper Cockpit, Jet becomes India's first operator with that electronic document system. Initial services begin June 13 on thrice- weekly flights from Delhi to London Heathrow. Jet uses A340-300Es on the other four days per week.
The University of North Dakota will provide 20 cadets from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., with initial helicopter flight training this month at the UND Aerospace facilities at Grand Forks International Airport. A second group will begin training early in July. UND Aerospace has trained 100 cadets as part of a 2003 agreement with West Point.
Tokyo Narita International Airport is making a big leap toward more efficient connections and operations for airline alliances, thanks to a new concourse and one of the largest terminal reorganizations since the airport opened 28 years ago.
Airbus is striving to cut weight on its A400M military transport while increasing the aircraft's maximum takeoff figure by almost six tons to accommodate fuel. The aim is to drive down structural weight, in what industry executives describe as an "aggressive" effort. "We have a robust weight-reduction program, and it is on target," one Airbus Military executive says. Range and payload are contractually guaranteed, but this is not the case for aircraft weight, he notes.
Randy Davis has been named corporate controller for Spirit Aerosystems Inc., Wichita, Kan. He was corporate controller/chief accounting officer at Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.
Airbus's A340/A350 replacement, which is now in the definition phase, will fly Mach 0.02-0.03 faster than the initial A350 configuration, thanks to a better wing design, Airbus Chief Operating Officer Charles Champion tells the BBC's Hardtalk TV program. That would eliminate a performance deficit the aircraft had against the rival Boeing 787.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, whose uncommunicative ways make him no friends among reporters trying to cover the air campaign in Iraq and USAF issues since then, gets high marks from the chief U.S. ally in the war, the U.K. Like a fellow Texan, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, who directed the overall Iraq invasion, Moseley was knighted during a ceremony at the British Embassy in Washington, receiving the honorary title of Knight Commander of the British Empire and member of the Order of the British Empire.
SES Americom will use a Land Launch Zenit-3SLB-based booster to orbit its AMC-21 telecom spacecraft in mid-2008 under the sixth contract award for the Sea Launch spinoff. The Land Launch Zenits will begin operating from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, next year. In the meantime, the United Arab Emirates' Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. will again use Sea Launch to loft its latest satellite. The company soon will take delivery of Thuraya 3 from Boeing Satellite Systems, setting up a January 2007 launch campaign. Thuraya 3 will replace Thuraya 1, which covers Southeast Asia.
BAE Systems has delivered the first electronic warfare system for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is to include low-observable apertures and advanced countermeasures. It is composed of electronic surveillance and countermeasures hardware, with software upgrades to follow. The system is to provide next-generation threat identification, monitoring, analysis and countermeasures. The entire array weighs less than 190 lb., but integration of the hardware and software required more than 10,000 steps. BAE Systems is building and testing the initial 20 flight- ready systems.
Plans for European reconnaissance efforts could crystallize in the next few months as governments make important choices on platforms and surveillance sensors. There is a potential for international repercussions based on these decisions.
Chuck Enoch (see photo) has been appointed vice president-space systems for the Raytheon Co.'s Intelligence and Information Systems, Aurora, Colo. He was director of operations and support programs for IIS's National Systems.
OHB-System is betting it can parlay a lead role in an experimental European satcom program--and strong German government backing--into a place in the global satellite market.
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.
The Homeland Security Dept. is widening its search for ways to counter the threat of small surface-to-air missiles to commercial airliners--nearly three years after it rejected all but airborne jamming technologies. The department is slated to announce on June 26 its selection of responses to a solicitation it issued Apr. 14 seeking alternative approaches employing emerging technologies that "may have the potential for defeating" heat-seeking missiles known as man-portable air defense systems (Manpads).
Boeing is planning to roll out its first production CH-47F next week for the U.S. Army. The Army is modernizing its older CH-47D heavy-lift transports and purchasing new ones.
Germany's MTU Aero Engines expects to meet one of its key financial targets this year, with management projecting it will achieve its long-term double-digit earnings margin goal. The first few months suggest that target is in reach, but MTU must now make sure it can maintain the performance level through the rest of the year. Meeting the goal would be a huge boost for the company in its new, publicly traded form: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts sold its remaining 29.3% stake to institutional investors in January, completing the initial public offering process.
Boeing has completed vibration and acoustic tests of the first of three Wideband Gapfiller satellites at its El Segundo, Calif., facility. The tests established that the satellites can meet launch requirements for either the Boeing Delta IV or Lockheed Martin Atlas 5 launch vehicles. The first launch will be on an Atlas 5 in the second quarter of 2007. The second satellite switches to the Delta IV and the third returns to an Atlas.
Your article "Pilot Shortfall" overlooked a few key factors in the pilot pipeline equation (AW&ST May 22, p. 51). Nowhere did you mention the average starting pay for new-hire regional jet pilots or the average projected time to upgrade to RJ captain at most carriers, much less the estimated time to possibly make it to a major airline. You did mention the $350,000-per-year Delta captain of old.
WestJet admits that it engaged in corporate espionage by accessing a proprietary Air Canada employee web site, allowing executives to view sensitive flight information without Air Canada's consent. The Calgary-based low-fare carrier used codes of a former Air Canada employee to access flight data. Between May 15, 2003, and Mar. 19, 2004, the site was accessed 243,630 times, according to Air Canada (AW&ST Nov. 22, 2004, p. 38).
IN A NEW AGREEMENT, the Helicopter Assn. International and the FAA aim to improve communications, weather and surveillance capabilities for helicopter operators supporting offshore oil-platform operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The accord comes after four years of work by HAI's Helicopter Safety Advisory Committee calling for "sorely needed improvements" for rotorcraft operations in the gulf region, according to HAI. The proposal, however, must be approved by the FAA's Joint Research Council, which is scheduled to meet June 7.
Airbus and EADS want to be ranked as fully mature enterprises, but they are still on the learning curve. And they're making headlines because they failed to launch the right middle-of-the-market aircraft at the right time. There are no excuses for such an error.
Saab is buying Denmark's Maersk Data Defense in a $12.5-million deal that will expand the Swedish company's industrial presence in NATO member states. "We see this as part of our strategy to strengthen our Nordic profile and develop Saab into a Nordic defense company," says Saab Executive Vice President Kenth-Ake Jonsson. Saab hopes to use the command and control expertise at Maersk to expand both in military and civil markets. Maersk Data Defense sales are about $32 million.
