Belgian carriers SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express plan to merge and are looking at a major expansion on long-haul routes. This is only the latest step in the consolidation of the Belgian air transport sector. The decision also means that for the first time an airline set up by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, Virgin Express, will disappear.
The U.S. government is forecast to spend $93 billion on information technology in Fiscal 2011, up from $75 billion this year, according to a study by Input, a market analysis company in Reston, Va., that tracks spending in this sector. But this five-year outlook still represents a slowdown in the rate of growth in federal spending for IT. For example, spending requests for Fiscal 2007 increased only 0.5% from the budget enacted for the previous year.
EADS has begun flight testing of its refueling boom, using an Airbus A310 as a surrogate for the eventual A330 application. The three-year development program led to an initial series of flight trials that concluded Mar. 30 at EADS CASA's site in Seville, Spain.
Goodrich Corp. will use the first engineering drawings of the 747-8 released by Boeing, to develop a forging block to make parts for the aircraft's body landing gear, and a titanium supplier in China will use another image to order material for underwing fittings.
Russian Satellite Communications Co. will boost its failed Express-AM11 satellite into a graveyard orbit to prevent its destruction from making the orbital slot at 96.5 deg. E. Long. usable. RSCC declared AM11, a 2-kw., 30-transponder satellite launched in April 2004, a total loss. Prime contractor NPO PM blamed an orbital debris or meteoroid impact for the failure, which knocked out the thermal control system and caused the spacecraft to veer out of control.
FAA forecasters are bullish on cargo, now as in the past few years. In fact, they are more bullish than they seem to be. In 12-year aviation forecasts it issues annually, the agency estimates percentage growth in U.S. airlines' cargo traffic during each of the first two years of a 12-year period, then turns to projections of average annual growth for the remaining decade. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, those 10-year annual averages were 4.5%, 5.1% and 5.1%, respectively.
Renton, Wash.-based Aviation Fleet Solutions (AFS) and Pratt & Whitney have jointly developed a noise-reduction system for JT8D-200-powered MD-80 aircraft (see photo). QuietEagle, designed by Pratt and licensed to AFS for MD-80s, has been certified by the FAA and meets all Stage 4 and International Civil Aviation Organization Chapter 4 noise standard requirements. Noise levels are to be reduced by as much as 6 dB., according to AFS, and the first units are to be ready for delivery in May.
Portuguese flag carrier TAP has trimmed losses for 2005 to 9.9 million euros ($12.1 million). The airline suffered because fuel costs came in 93 million euros higher than the budget.
David A. Fulghum, Robert Wall and John M. Doyle (Washington)
The U.S. Air Force's nascent Long-Range Strike project, which underpins the hopes of much of the U.S. aerospace industry, is breaking into separate missile and aircraft efforts. Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley says the intermediate phase of the service's Long-Range Strike (LRS) effort is dividing into at least three segments.
Denmark, Ireland and Sweden have signed an agreement with Thales to jointly procure upgrades for air traffic management systems, notably to meet requirements of the Single European Sky initiative. Each operates Thales Eurocat ATM systems.
Ronald D. Sugar, chairman/president/ CEO of the Northrop Grumman Corp., will be the sole 2006 honorary member of the Dearborn, Mich.-based Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Named to receive the Eli Whitney Productivity Award is Carolyn Corvi, vice president/general manager for airplane production of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, who will be cited for "accomplishments in improving capability within the broad concept of orderly production."
Engine-maker NPO Saturn has begun tests of the Al-55I turbofan, which is intended to power the Indian HJT-36 intermediate trainer. The 5,000-lb.-thrust-class engine will first be built at the Ufa Engine Building Assn., before transitioning to India for license production around 2010. Flight acceptance tests are slated for mid-2007.
Air cargo gateways continue to grow in the U.S., both in shipments and in facilities, but the many-faceted upheaval in the airline industry has left some small and midsize airports and even the occasional hub with plenty of room on freight pallets.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration plans a pilot program using backscatter X-ray technology at airports later this year. The technology has raised privacy concerns because of the revealing imagery it presents of persons screened. Other problems that have to be worked out, says TSA Administrator Edmund (Kip) Hawley, are the equipment's "fairly large footprint at the checkpoint" and slow rate of speed in scanning travelers.
Airborne electronic attack--including the increasingly sophisticated tasks of jamming as well as psychological and information operations--is in turmoil, with the U.S. Air Force and Navy in a quandary about having aircraft in place to fly these critical missions between now and 2014.
After months of on-and-off-again discussions, Alcatel plans to merge its space and secure communications activities into Thales in what is expected to trigger a new round of aerospace and defense consolidation in Europe.
The Air Force is investigating the crash of a C-5B transport that came down short of the runway at Dover AFB, Del., on Apr. 3, breaking into three pieces without exploding. All 17 people on board survived. "We got our 17 people back safe, that's the primary thing," said Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, during a seminar here Apr. 4.
FL Group of Iceland has sold its 16.9% stake in EasyJet, barely two years after becoming a shareholder, saying it expected growth in the share price to slow down. The 140-million- euro ($170.8-million) profit will go toward new investments in Northern Europe, including airlines, the company said. Investments in Icelandair, Finnair, Sterling and Maersk Air are not expected to be affected.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is considering an autumn trip to China, following a renewed invitation from the China National Space Administration. Luo Ge, one of two vice administrators at CNSA, reopened his agency's invitation to the top U.S. civil-space official during an Apr. 3 drop-in on Michael O'Brien, assistant administrator for external relations, and NASA didn't say no. "An invitation has been extended," says Dean Acosta, Griffin's press secretary.
Astrobiologists stung by cuts in NASA's science budget hope to find common cause with well-funded human space explorers as they hunt the heavens for signs of extraterrestrial life. U.S. astronauts are already joining their academic counterparts as they explore extreme environments on Earth for evidence of life's adaptability that can guide exploration on Mars and elsewhere. The astronauts go along for the training, primarily, although some of the sensors and equipment astrobiologists are developing for terrestrial work may find its way into space, too.
Thales has received contracts in China for 11 Doppler-VORs for en-route navigation, 20 distance measuring equipment units for en-route and approach procedures and three instrument landing systems to be installed at airports in 13 cities, including Hong Kong, Linzhi (in Tibet) and Xi'an, as well as the southeast training center for the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The company has provided 100 DMEs, 50 DVORs and 30 ILS systems to China in the past five years.
Exploring all the moons that have a possibility of life would be a better use of funds than trips to the Moon and Mars. The chance to discover life is true exploration and science. The web hits of recent missions are proof positive of public interest. Human missions should be international endeavors due to costs and the relationships they create and maintain. Even a common transport design would allow the International Space Station to earn its name and be used to its utmost.
EADS Space has acquired a 49% stake in the London Satellite Exchange, a clearing house for spot market satellite capacity, in particular for government users. EADS is an important customer of the exchange, notably for France's Astel S milsatcom program (AW&ST Jan. 2, p. 58).
China still lags 15 years behind the U.S. and Russia in space program developments, but could catch up in 10 years with enough funding from the government. Huang Chunping, who leads manned launcher programs, made the assessment to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a major Communist Party planning organization. The fact that his statements were aired publicly by the government-controlled Xinhua news agency may suggest a spending boost is at least under consideration.
Bracketing important markets, Southwest Airlines will begin service at Washington Dulles Airport this fall, announcing the move as AirTran Airways launched service at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. Southwest asked for two gates at Dulles, which would support about 20 departures per day, and will announce initial routes and prices this summer.
