John M. Doyle and David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
The hint of a lifeline is being thrown out by U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to General Electric, Rolls-Royce--and even British Prime Minister Tony Blair--over the alternative engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Wynne, appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, said: "If we had an extra dollar, would [the F136] be one place that we would look to spend it? Yes."
This year and next will be critical to how air traffic control is conducted in the U.S. for decades to come, and aviation "alphabet groups" are girding for battle. The issues are weighty and being mulled by all aviation stakeholders in Washington.
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) Apr. 5-6--U.S. Defense Dept. Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. Apr. 25-26--MRO Military Conference, Phoenix. Apr. 25-27--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix. May 16-17--MRO Military Europe, in conjunction with ILA air show, Berlin. Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China.
India has increased its Fiscal 2006 defense budget by 7.2% over last year, bringing it to $20 billion. Of that, $8.5 billion, or 42%, has been set aside for acquisitions. The biggest prospective buy is 180-200 multirole fighters.
Great Britain's Cranfield University is teaming with Dubai Aerospace Enterprise to establish an aerospace institute in the Middle East with the goal of accommodating 8,000 students by 2015. Cranfield will provide support for a range of subjects leading to master's and doctorate degrees. The new institute would be located at Dubai's Jebel Ali Airport City.
Vexcel Canada, an Ottawa-based remote sensing company, has used 10-year-old data from ESA's ERS-Tandem mission to map elevations on Baffin Island and elsewhere in the territory of Nunavut with unprecedented accuracy, demonstrating the long-term utility of space-derived data sets. Vexcel has produced 21 digital elevation model map sheets of Nunavut as part of a Canadian government effort to update its geographic data on the mostly Arctic territory.
The European Space Agency's Earth observation program board has OK'd construction and launch of a new CryoSat ice-measurement mission to replace the one lost in an October 2005 Rockot booster mishap. The go-ahead will allow the start of contracting and pre-launch scientific validation campaigns for the mission, which is intended to measure land and sea ice with unparalleled accuracy. The ESA ministerial summit in December assured a green light for the new mission--to be launched in March 2009--by deciding to hike the agency's science funding.
NASA is studying a hybrid Mars orbiter that would combine science instruments and a communications relay to support future missions to the red planet. Launch of the as-yet-unnamed spacecraft would come in 2013, meaning development would have to begin in earnest in 2007 or 2008, according to Doug McCuiston, NASA's director of Mars exploration. Study teams for the current early phase of planning are looking at the best balance between science and communications on board the spacecraft.
In a close vote, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization selected Taieb Cherif of Algeria for a second term as ICAO secretary general over William R. Voss, director of the Air Navigation Bureau and the U.S. nominee. Cherif received 19 of the 36 council votes. Voss, a former air traffic controller, garnered 17. Officials say Voss's performance, after a short, five-week-long campaign, indicates that ICAO reform, backed by the U.S. and the U.K., has strong support in the council.
In an orchestrated change of command, Japan Airlines Chief Executive Toshiyuki Shinmachi has stepped down in favor of a hand-picked successor, the airline's 58-year-old chief financial officer, after a drumbeat of dissent by board members and senior airline officials.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank is proceeding with the planned sale Mar. 13 of a Boeing 737-400 it recovered from Air Nauru for nonpayment of a loan. Air Nauru is the airline of the Southwest Pacific island Republic of Nauru. It was Exim Bank's second aircraft repossession in 15 years. An official says the bank has received 80 expressions of interest in the "as is" condition, cash-only sale of the 737. IBA Group Ltd., which inspected the aircraft in early February, found it to be in good shape, though a C check is due.
Every time I read about something like the Cessna 560 Citation that went off the end of the runway at an airport in California (AW&ST Jan. 30, p. 18; Aug. 8, 2005, p. 42), or the Airbus A340-300 at Toronto with the same fate albeit less tragic, I ask myself: Why don't aviation authorities require video cameras on both ends of runways? Security cameras are not expensive and are virtually everywhere. Two cameras on each end of the runway--one on each side, pointing toward the opposite end--could record approaches and touchdowns.
Lockheed Martin has conducted the ground launch of a medium-range guided test vehicle using its Hellfire Junior missile. It is the company's offering for the U.S.'s Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II requirement. The Eglin AFB, Fla., test was to demonstrate safe launch and separation, stable flight and performance of the seeker.
Air France Cargo will shift one of its three weekly flights from Paris to Houston northward to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport beginning Apr. 1. The Boeing 747-400F will make a stop each Saturday at Mexico City before flying on to DFW. France accounts for 17,400 tons of cargo annually at DFW and the new service will raise that number by 7,800 tons, according to Air France Cargo.
Louis F. Koch has been promoted to vice president from director of human resources for Dallas-based Aviall Inc. Joseph Y. Lacik has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-information services for Aviall Services.
EADS Astrium's Infoterra unit, which will operate Germany's 1-meter-resolution TerraSAR-X synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, says more than 10,000 farmers operating on 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres) of farmland are using a satellite-based precision-farming system developed with Arvalis, a leading French agricultural institute. The Farmstar system has helped farmers cut nitrogen fertilizer use by 10-15 kg. per hectare in 70% of the farms covered.
Flight-testing has begun for the Captor active electronically scanned array radar program designed for the Eurofighter Typhoon. The radar is fitted to a BAC-111 testbed. The Typhoon now has the Captor mechanically scanned antenna radar.
This week, Aviation Week & Space Technology debuts a revamped Market Focus page that has been in the works since last summer (see p. 11). Our stock table has been simplified and expanded, with an emphasis on new listings of airlines and aerospace/defense companies from Europe and Asia to complement the broad list of U.S. stocks you're used to seeing.
ATA Airlines is teaming even closer with code-sharing partner Southwest Airlines now that Indianapolis-based ATA has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Seats on ATA flights are available through Southwest Airlines reservations and at southwest.com as well as ATA reservations and ATA.com. Southwest is emphasizing ATA's flights to Hawaii, which Southwest does not serve. ATA's business plan calls for 56% of revenues from charter operations and no expansion until 2007-08. A $12-million operating profit is expected for this year.
The sizzling pace of Heli-Expo signals a new round of growth in the civil helicopter sector as demand for vertical-lift services drives sales and operational tempos ever higher. The three-day event, held here last week, drew more than 16,000 people and 520 exhibitors to the Helicopter Assn. International's annual meeting. HAI President Matt Zuccaro says the helicopter business is bustling with activity and will spark growth this year in all segments.
The next 12 years won't be easy for U.S. carriers. There'll be some pain, some gains--but in the long run, airlines will emerge in a stronger economy and enjoy increased demand.
Growing interest in enhanced vision technology and airport security demands have led a small French engineering company to try to adapt a system it's developed for the automotive market to aerospace.
The Pentagon is taking another look at an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft design that it rejected more than 10 years ago in favor of Northrop Grumman's popular Global Hawk. The newest version of the single-engine Global Hawk, the RQ-4B, will carry a 3,000-lb. payload and generate extra electrical power to run a combination of radar, electro-optical/infrared and signals intelligence sensors. But that's not enough for the power-hungry sensors the Defense Dept. now wants to put into the sky.
