Airbus has scheduled for May 18 the first visit of the A380 to London Heathrow, which is slated to be the first European airport to handle the mega-transport. The A380 will undergo gate and other compatibility checks like those carried out at Frankfurt and several Asian airports, and planned for New York JFK. At Heathrow, the aircraft will park at Terminal 3's new Pier 6, which has stands for up to four A380s.
Serious organizational issues within the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), compounded by the dismissive attitude of Congress, suggest that a new aviation agency for aerial firefighting may be the only answer. This agency should be created from the current USFS divisions or branches, and staffed by quality people. Since NASA apparently intends to close the Dryden Flight Research Center, its talented workforce could become the new agency's engineering authority and aviation research arm.
Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) has added 10 737s, valued at $675 million, to the 20 aircraft it purchased last May. The new order includes 10 options and 10 purchase rights. SALE's first 737s are to begin arriving in 2009.
China's 6,000-lb. Remote Sensing Satellite-1 is undergoing checkout in a 375-mi. near-polar orbit following launch on board a Long March 4B Apr. 26 from the Taiyuan launch center. The spacecraft will be used for land and agricultural surveys. It is one of 18 Earth remote-sensing satellites China plans to launch over the next 10 years.
The Defense Dept. is tackling "lean" again in a drive to improve the life-cycle readiness and costs of its weapon systems, but this time its vow is to keep its focus on the "customer"--the war fighter.
Lockheed Martin's board of directors discussed the company's planned United Launch Alliance (ULA) with Boeing during a meeting Apr. 27, but did not decide to pull out of the deal because of laggard government approval. "We expect further discussions with the customer about the approval process as we attempt to bring ULA to closure," the company said in connection with the pending arrangement, which would see its Atlas V and Boeing's Delta IV produced in the same Decatur, Ala., factory.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has given A330-200s and -300s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 772C engines approval for 180-min. ETOPS. Air China will take the first aircraft fitted with the engine type this month. The 772C features design changes for increased takeoff and maximum continuous thrust for better performance in high-altitude/hot-day conditions.
NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has decided to return its Boeing B-52H drop aircraft to the USAF Air Combat Command, without it ever having been used to make an operational drop. The decision was made in February without being publicly announced. Dryden received the B-52H in 2002-03 after a roughly $10-million modification, replacing its venerable B-52B, which had become increasingly hard to maintain (AW&ST Aug. 20, 2001, p. 70). The B-52H was to first drop the X-37 reusable launch vehicle demonstrator, but that task was last fulfilled on Apr.
Midwest Airlines is in talks with Airbus and Boeing about buying A320s or 737s to replace its fleet of MD-80s and may make a decision later this year, CEO Tim Hoeksema reports. The airline has 12 MD-80s in service and wants to replace them and add a few more aircraft for growth. Hoeksema says new aircraft will be more fuel-efficient with longer ranges.
FAA certification and initial deliveries of Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s Hawker 4000 super-mid-size business jet are anticipated later this year, as the company begins deliveries of the Hawker 850XP and boosts production of the Premier IA to meet demand.
Globalstar has closed a deal for $400 million to finance the launch of eight spare spacecraft for its existing low Earth orbit mobile satellite constellation, upgrade of the ground system and development of a next-generation hybrid terrestrial/satellite network.
When Boeing CFO James Bell announced first-quarter earnings a year ago, he was cautiously optimistic that the company's floundering commercial aircraft business was finally on the mend. "The recovery is taking place and it's gradual," he said.
It isn't just retired generals taking potshots at civilian leadership these days. Gen. Peter Schoomaker, Army chief of staff, is very unhappy about rumblings in the GOP wonkery that new budget reductions for the service might mollify taxpayers worried about Bush administration deficits. While he doesn't agree with his former colleagues' complaints about the way Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has conducted the Iraq war, Schoomaker says he's "not just accepting the fact that there will be a $25-billion cut" in Army spending.
Philip Saunders has been named vice president-sales, marketing and loyalty for the Frankfurt-based Star Alliance. He was executive vice president-commercial of SN Brussels Airlines.
Aviation Week & Space Technology remembers pilot's pilot A. Scott Crossfield as an engineer, pioneer and icon, in a tribute on p. 62. Among the late Crossfield's aeronautical feats were breaking the Mach 2 barrier while flying the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket in 1953, and piloting the space-capable North American Aviation X-15 to Mach 2.97 on Nov. 15, 1960. He stands in his flight suit with the X-15 in the background in this AW&ST file photo. See related story on p. 21.
Socata officials are aiming to achieve above 15% growth in revenue for the second year in a row and, in a related activity, are planning to aggressively boost output for their latest product, the TBM 850 turboprop.
Remy Maitam (see photo) has been named vice president-customer services for Messier-Dowty, Velizy, France. He succeeds Daniel Gruaz, who has retired. Maitam was vice president-sales and marketing for aftermarket services.
The 154-ft.-long Lockheed Martin external tank for the next space shuttle mission--finally placed vertically on its two solid rocket boosters--is now also better positioned for any final modifications before the orbiter Discovery's scheduled attachment by mid-May. Final wind tunnel tests will determine whether such modifications are made. Engineers want data on the effect on tank components of airflow changes without the hydrogen protuberance air load ramp. The ramp was removed to eliminate a source of potentially dangerous foam debris (AW&ST Apr. 24, p. 31).
BAE Systems, in partnership with Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, has been selected by the U.S. Army for a $96-million, two-year program to develop and demonstrate Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II. Production could begin next year. The system is to be a lightweight guided weapon for use against soft and lightly armored targets, and in urban operations to curb collateral damage.
Strong demand for both airline transports and business jets is creating slot-availability bottlenecks that are starting to hamper discussions between airframe makers and their bizjet customers. With Airbus and Boeing quickly filling up their order books, high-end corporate operators are having to wait longer to be assured of aircraft availability. Explaining the market predicament to potential customers has been an overriding issue for the two airframers in recent months, notes one industry executive.
The story entitled "Tank Tussle" (AW&ST Apr. 24, p. 66) misstated the estimated cost of retrofitting a transport aircraft with a flammability reduction or ignition mitigation system. The cost is $140,000-220,000 per aircraft.
I agree with Larry Roberts's comments in favor of using the C-17 as a tanker-transport (AW&ST Mar. 27, p. 8). There is the flexibility to roll on extra tanks on pallets for the tanker mission, and roll them off for cargo or troops. The boom could be mounted on an exchangeable aft cargo door. Russia seems to have beaten the U.S. to that point, with a tanker based on the Ilyushin Il-78 (AW&ST Feb. 26, 1996, p. 44).
Airbus and Boeing face some tough decisions in the coming weeks on their rival A350 and 787 products, although the European aircraft maker may have more at stake as it addresses questions about the path ahead on its next-generation widebody. After coming under sharp airline criticism for its A350 and A340 strategy, Airbus is assessing how to respond. "We should not become nervous, but we have to discuss how to continue with the A340 and A350," Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert says. "We are listening very closely to our customers" to sort out the A350, he adds.
