With Chapter 11 restructuring costs joining high fuel prices to mask its financial performance, Delta Air Lines still posted improved results for 2005. The overall numbers weren't pretty (see table). And Delta's mainline unit costs increased 15.7% in the last three months of 2005, its first full quarter under bankruptcy protection, compared with the same period in 2004. But excluding fuel and what the carrier terms special items--the latter totaling $453 million, mainly in bankruptcy, restructuring and pension charges--these unit costs dropped 7.1%.
UltraCell Corp.'s fuel cell power source of portable electronic devices has twice the energy density of lithium batteries, according to the company. The methanol fuel cell technology uses a revolutionary micro reformer to generate fuel-cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution. The system has the power density of a hydrogen fuel cell but uses low-cost methanol fuel in a compact package. The 40+-oz. power unit is about the size of a paperback. The technology was developed by UltraCell as a prototype for the military.
Harvey Clough (see photo) has been appointed president of Janos Technology Inc., Keene, N.H. He was president/ chief operating officer of Energy Sciences Inc., Wilmington, Mass.
W. Ralph Basham has been nominated as commissioner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit of the Homeland Security Dept. He was chief of staff for the Transportation Security Administration.
Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center are running initial wind-tunnel tests on the human space launch vehicle that will replace the space shuttle, while trainers at Johnson Space Center have certified the first 11 astronauts selected after the Columbia accident shifted focus in the space program to the post-shuttle era. Since December, Marshall's Aerodynamic Research Facility has run 66 tests on a 16.5-in.
Program officials for the A400M European military airlifter hope to close a deal with Chile to buy three of the transports before mid-year. South Africa and Malaysia already have joined the program. Moreover, program officials project 200 total export orders for the airlifter in the next 20 years, more than doubling sales to the seven core customer states, which have committed to acquiring 180 A400Ms.
Pentagon requirements for engine makers are tough: more range, speed, endurance and altitude--and all for less money. The trouble is, the military services articulate how they actually want to field those capabilities.
As India's blips intensify on aerospace's radar screen, they highlight the transformational nature of the Asia-Pacific market. In the early 1990s, China's vast potential for purchasing commercial aircraft was the big news. Gradually, U.S. and European original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers offered support services, often with Chinese partners.
Planners at NASA have private hotels, filling stations, utility networks and transit systems on the Moon in mind as they invite U.S. industry to help write a "decadal lunar exploration strategy" this year.
Britain, working under a blanket of secrecy, has been test-flying an unmanned combat air vehicle demonstrator since late 2003 as part of a broader technology initiative to develop its next-generation of long-range deep-strike platforms. The BAE Systems Raven low-observable unmanned combat air vehicle design first flew on Dec. 17, 2003--100 years to the day after the Wright Brothers--a date selected in part to reflect the significance of the event for the company's future strategy.
James Gilbert, former editor and publisher of Britain's Pilot magazine, who was admired for his defense of private flying and his piloting artistry, died Feb. 14 in London after a long illness. He was 70. Although poor eyesight denied him a pilot's slot in the Royal Air Force, Gilbert flew aerobatics in competitions, movies and air shows. He also wrote several books on aviation. After a stint with Flying magazine, Gilbert in 1972 purchased the nearly defunct Pilot. He transformed it into a popular, profitable and award-winning periodical, which he sold in 2001.
Lockheed Martin has restructured its internal P-3 activities and plans to take on a greater support role for the maritime patrol aircraft. The goal is to ensure that international users can maintain their operations even after the U.S. Navy retires the last system late in the next decade.
Airbus in the coming weeks will examine two different types of wingtips that may be applied to the A320 single-aisle family to improve performance. On longer flights, those devices can improve fuel-burn, although they usually mean a drag penalty on short hops. The devices will start to undergo flight testing on Airbus's A320 development aircraft next month, and JetBlue will use one of its aircraft to participate in trials. Boeing already offers winglets on some 737s.
Elizabeth D. Iversen (see photo) has become vice president-mission assurance for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector. She was vice president-worldwide process excellence for Johnson & Johnson.
Kathleen M. Thomas has been appointed vice president-learning and development for the Northrop Grumman Corp. in Los Angeles. She was director of leadership and organization development for the company's Newport News (Va.) Sector.
After coming under heavy fire for almost two years for under-equipping troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army leaders think the numbers show the situation has improved. As part of their budget presentations, they lay out how in a number of areas, from body armor to unmanned aircraft, things have changed. But more is yet to come. For instance, the Army notes that in September 2003 none of its fixed-wing aircraft had self-protection gear and many helicopters were only in the process of receiving it. A year ago, all aircraft had basic electronic warfare packages.
Campbell Grinder Co. has introduced its first vertical landing gear grinder. The company has a history of grinding some of the largest existing landing gear through the use of dual grinding heads, one for I.D. and one for O.D.; an automatic live center and steady rest; part probe and the capability to grind the gear in a vertical orientation to utilize the effects of gravity. By placing the landing gear in a vertical orientation and spinning it, the company claims it has attained speed and accuracy never before achieved for a part of this magnitude.
Sukhoi's civil aircraft offshoot, SCAC, and Thales have inaugurated a joint Software Development Center in Moscow, dedicated to writing the code for the Russian Regional Jet's (RRJ) avionics package. Thales, the main contractor for the RRJ's avionics development and integration, will provide tools and training for Sukhoi's software specialists, and aid in the international certification of the software package. The center began operations last week.
A European team has developed a computer model that makes it possible to predict cloud formation and distribution on Jupiter's moon Titan. Based on observations from the U.S. Cassini orbiter, the European Huygens probe that landed on Titan in January 2005, and Earth-based observations, the new general circulation model will enable scientists to predict cloud distribution for the complete Titan year and provide a theoretical benchmark for future observations.
Following a cash crunch, Nepal has canceled an order for two Chinese 50-seat MA60s for VIP use. The Chinese aviation industry, which hopes to sell at least 300 MA60s to foreign buyers by 2020, has introduced a buy-two-get-one-free scheme. Although it is said that 100 potential buyers in 24 countries have been identified, only Zimbabwe has taken advantage of the three-MA60 deal to date.
With the dust hardly settled on Singapore's fighter competition, manufacturers are already battling for the republic's various trainer needs. The activity is symptomatic of comparatively robust procurement among the major players in the region, China aside.
Egypt is putting Raytheon's Rolling Airframe Missile on its new Fast Missile Craft, making it the fifth customer for the weapon system, joining South Korea, Greece, Germany and the U.S. Navy. The RAM Block 1A missile will be the ship's main self-defense weapon, with cruise missiles, helicopters and aircraft in its target set.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Post say their joint-venture international cargo airline, ANA & JP Express, will begin operations in August. The deal was initiated last October after Japanese voters approved privatization of Japan Post. Three ANA Boeing 767 freighters will be used initially, with four more to be added by October 2008.
India's new interest in exporting weapons systems is prompting it to explore Latin American as a market--and that puts Chile's Fidae International Air Show higher on India's priority list than this week's Asian Aerospace 2006 in Singapore.
