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.
U.S. low-cost carriers knew that rival network carriers would eventually lower their labor costs to a competitive level, but that day is coming sooner than many expected, forcing LCCs to delve into the contentious world of labor concessions.
Nuclear submarine Ekaterinburg has launched a Sineva ballistic missile, which was converted into a launcher to carry the Compass-2 scientific satellite for Earth observation. The satellite, however, suffered a malfunction of its stabilization system just after being placed in orbit. Initial assessments indicate the payload will have to be scrap- ped. It was intended for ionosphere analysis in forecasting earthquakes.
Diamond Aircraft Industries plans a flight demonstration of its five-passenger D-Jet at EAA Airventure Oshkosh July 24-30. The new entrant in the very light jet market first flew on Apr. 18.
Developing an engine with all the power and flexibility to fly supersonically and then land a stealthy, bomb-carrying fighter vertically is proving to be a tough proposition for all the propulsion companies involved.
The European Space Agency has agreed to provide funding to extend the mission of the venerable Soho solar observatory, allowing it to be used in combination with five new spacecraft due to join the international solar fleet over the next two years. The additional money will extend the operation of Soho, which was launched in 1995, from April 2007 to December 2009. Japan's Solar B is to be launched this year, along with NASA's Stereo twins. ESA's Proba-2 will follow in September 2007 and NASA's Solar Dynamics Orbiter in 2008.
Anita Beier has become senior vice president/controller and Tim Carnahan vice president-financial operations, of Washington-based Intelsat. Beier held the same positions at US Airways. Carnahan was an executive with ShopRite Supermarkets Inc.
Turbomeca is opening a support center in Malaysia and reinforcing an existing facility in Manila, set up in 1998, to be closer to the 110 operators it serves in the Asia-Pacific region. The Malaysia office, to be located in Kuala Lumpur, is scheduled to open mid-year. Turbomeca's Asia-Pacific network includes a support center in Singapore and a field rep office in Macau.
Pilot shortfalls as forecast are an echo of the past. In 1993 the FAA convened a panel of experts to look at the supply of pilots and aviation maintenance technicians into the 21st century. Their conclusion was similar to that of the Fltops.com study--foretelling a shortage of both specialities by 2010.
ESA has downselected six candidate projects for its next Earth Explorer core mission, which is to be launched in the first half of the next decade. The projects concern forest biomass; air pollutants; processes linking trace gases, radiation, chemistry and climate; global photosynethesis; the place of regional carbon dioxide fluxes in the global carbon cycle; and the hydrology of cold regions. The first core mission, the Goce Earth gravity field and ocean circulation experiment, is to be orbited next year.
Russia, which pioneered and then abandoned robotic exploration of the Moon after loss of the Space Race and collapse of the Soviet Union, is starting the development of its first lunar mission in 30 years. The ambitious flight, entering initial design, will include a lunar orbiter that, under the current plan, will also simultaneously deploy 13 probes across diverse regions of the lunar surface.
At its Renton factory south of Seattle, Boeing is assembling the first of its 737-900ERs, which incorporate a flat rear pressure bulkhead, optional fuel tanks and additional emergency exit doors to create a 215-seat long-range competitor to the Airbus A321. The 180-215-seat aircraft is set for an Aug. 8 rollout, followed by a five-month flight test/certification program that begins in September. As with all 737s, the fuselage is manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, Kan., and the CFM56-7B powerplants by CFM International.
Gecas (General Electric Commercial Aviation Services) has ordered cockpit door surveillance systems for India's Go Air A320 aircraft from California-based Global ePoint's Global Airworks division. The U.K.'s First Choice Airways has also placed surveillance system orders for two of its Boeing 767s.
GKN Aerospace has delivered the first of six "hand-layed" ship sets of composite wing spars for the Airbus A400M military transport aircraft. The composite spar sets are being sent to the Airbus U.K. site at Broughton. After the first six sets, GKN will shift to an automated manufacturing process for the remainder of the production run.
