I saw the comments by Neal Chrism on the first Boeing 767 as adapted for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Airborne Surveillance Testbed program (AW&ST Mar. 20, p. 8). I got to see VA1 at the Victorville, Calif., boneyard in 2004 and took this picture. It would be a shame if this plane is cut up and not saved for the history it has created.
U.S. lawmakers are vying to show who loves the endangered C-17 Globemaster III more. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) is recommending $227.5 million toward advance procurement for more of the heavy lifters in Fiscal 2008. Last month the full House agreed to appropriate just $100 million for the Boeing C-17, which is slated to cease production in 2008 (AW&ST Mar. 27, p. 38).
The U.S. Army is seeking a radar for a Predator-B-class unmanned aerial vehicle that will have foliage and ground-penetration capability. The Tactical Reconnaissance and Counterconcealment-Enabled Radar program would comprise three systems that should be developed, built and tested in 30 months. The radar is intended to provide near-real-time intelligence--with on-the-ground processing--and have an imaging capability.
Brazil's main international airline, Varig, is facing an imminent cash shortage that could lead to the grounding of more aircraft or even the entire fleet. Varig last week asked the Brazilian government for financial support, either through additional loans or a temporary waiver on payments due the state-owned airport authority and fuel supplier. Brazil's airport company Infraero gave the airline until late last week to resume payments for ground-handling services and landing fees.
Flag carrier Aeroflot has devised a fleet plan that calls for replacement of its inventory of obsolete, Soviet-made aircraft by 2015. The strategy would see Aeroflot operate Russian Regional Jets as well as Western aircraft. Aeroflot recently firmed up its decision to buy 30 95-seat RRJs, with an option for 20 more (AW&ST Apr. 3, p. 20). In the mid-size, single-aisle sector, Aeroflot plans to expand with Airbus A320s, with 30-35 expected. Long-haul flights will be operated with Boeing 767s.
The rules governing financing support for the export of commercial aircraft are being rewritten to head off a potential battle at the World Trade Organization. What's at stake is trying to maintain a level playing field between countries that help subsidize the sale of aircraft made in their country through export loan guarantees.
A Boeing 747 freighter is front-loaded on the ramp operated by Swiss-based Panalpina at the Port of Huntsville, Ala. Panalpina started a trend toward inland cargo gateways in 1991 at the Huntsville-Madison County Airport. Fuel surcharges and airline reorganization have caused shifts that are placing more cargo into traditional gateways (see p. 42). Panalpina/Port of Huntsville photo.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has begun delivery of 42 Skyhawks to the Civil Aviation Flying University of China. Half of the fleet is equipped with Garmin G1000 glass cockpits while the remainder feature analog instrumentation. Students will learn to fly in the Skyhawks before transitioning to Citation CJ1 business jets. In addition, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has ordered 16 Skyhawk SPs with G1000 avionics.
Test pilots have flown the third 767 for modification to an Italian air force tanker from Boeing's Everett, Wash., facility to the Aeronavali Modification Center near Naples. The first KC-767A is undergoing flight test and aerial refueling certification in Wichita, Kan. The 767 will also be a candidate for the new U.S. Air Force tanker program, for which a request for information is expected in the next couple of weeks, says the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Michael Moseley.
Maryland-based ViaSat has landed a $57-million contract from Boeing to supply a ground-based beam-forming system for Mobile Satellite Ventures, a hybrid geostationary Earth-orbit network that is slated to enter service at the end of the decade. The contract includes $15 million in options.
Boeing has named Intelleflex Corp. of San Jose, Calif., to provide silicon chips for the radio frequency identification (RFID) "smart labels" that will be required of all suppliers for the 787 program. The FAA's approval of passive RFID data storage and collection labels for parts and components allowed Boeing and Airbus to lead the RFID bandwagon. The labels bring more descriptive power of the use history and characteristics of a part than a basic bar code.
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee wants to boost Defense Dept. research, development, testing and evaluation by $382.63 million under the latest emergency supplemental bill. About $320 million would go to classified efforts. The White House has only asked for a total of $67.13 million.
The merger of government-owned Air India and Indian Airlines is likely to be completed within a year, according to Minister of Civil Aviation Praful Patel. The combined entity--a name has not been selected--will have a combined fleet of about 130 aircraft. However, the merger may well experience turbulence due to overstaffing at both airlines. The government is likely to face union protests regarding layoffs, just as it did in the modernization efforts at Delhi and Mumbai airports. That means the one-year merger completion period could be optimistic.
The growing dissension surrounding a 2004 airline accident in Egypt is troublesome: It clearly indicates that flight safety remains a highly emotional topic in some countries. National pride, cultural differences, attempts to give cockpit flight crews absolution or a negative attitude toward foreign investigators can seriously hamper investigation teams' efforts to impartially determine causes.
The letter from Lee Gaillard about the Airbus A380 wing test (AW&ST Mar. 6, p. 6) demands a response to what he describes as serious issues. Indeed, the serious issues are representations made in his letter.
To improve regional air connectivity, private companies in India will soon be allowed to develop airports in towns with populations of more than 250,000. The effort, in turn, is expected to promote air travel and boost the sale of regional aircraft. Embraer's managing director for the Asia-Pacific region, Bruce Peddle, says India's requirement in the 30-120-seat category is projected at 165 aircraft worth about $4 billion in the next 20 years.
Mr. Van Winkle, the Transportation Security Administration will see you now. The TSA is having trouble hiring and retaining part-time workers (see p. 40), but Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) wonders if the hiring process might be part of the problem. "We have a staffer in my office who actually applied for a part-time position with TSA back when he was in college.
The U.S.'s military services are dreaming up requirements for munition capabilities that are spurring some creative thinking among weapon system developers for new and updated designs. Both the Air Force and Navy are starting to sketch plans for future air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, with the goal of filling niches that were left unaddressed during the last decade when the Pentagon undertook a surge of weapons-buying programs.
Frontier Airlines is now reorganized as a Delaware corporation as Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. Officials say the reorganization is a practical step that provides it with new flexibility under Delaware law to respond to developments in these "tumultuous times." As examples, a company official says the new status will ease the way toward an acquisition, if that's the airline's intention, or in case it wants to set up a separate operation in Mexico to handle its operations there. Common stock began selling Apr. 3 on Nasdaq under the symbol FRNT.
Chineta K. Davis (see photo) has been named vice president of Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector. She was vice president of the company's Norden Systems, Norwalk, Conn.
Chicago Midway Airport's application for FAA funding to install an EMAS or Engineered Material Arresting System has met with a "two thumbs-up" from the Air Line Pilots Assn. ALPA President Duane Woerth noted that runway overrun hazards have been a "particularly resistant" safety problem. EMAS materials, a combination of concrete and energy-absorbing substances, are laid in runway overrun areas, so the wheels of transport aircraft will sink into the surface. This allows aircraft to come to safe stops, generally with no major damage to the aircraft or danger to passengers.
Bill Strauss, Jay Apt, M. Granger Morgan and Daniel D. Stancil
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission began soliciting comments in December 2004 on proposed regulations that would permit the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices (PEDs) on board commercial airline flights. Last summer, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure noted that "the FCC hopes to issue a final ruling in 2006, stating that its ultimate objective is to allow consumers to use their own wireless devices during flight."
Gretchen Burrett (see photo) has been appointed director of safety for U.K.-based National Air Traffic Services. She has been its head of safety and performance improvement. Burrett succeeds Fergus Cusden, who has become general manager of London Luton Airport.
Boeing recently sponsored a three-day conference in Seattle of Vietnamese and U.S. universities aimed at achieving international standards in Info Tech and aviation through curriculum and cooperative information exchanges and training programs. One agreement was to promote accreditation equivalency for engineering and technology through the Baltimore-based Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
