Anna Schaefer has become vice president-finance/chief accounting officer of Northwest Airlines. She succeeds James Mathews, who is now controller of ADC Telecommunications. Schaefer has been managing director of accounting.
Bell Helicopter Textron has opened an 82,000-sq.-ft. overhaul and repair facility in Roanoke, Tex., near Fort Worth. The $20-million structure will be used chiefly to support Bell helicopters operated by the U.S. military, including the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior and AH-1W Cobra that are experiencing high levels of activity in Iraq and Afghanistan. The facility also will support maintenance, overhaul and repair of components for the V-22 Osprey, according to Bell officials.
In "New Heights for Bizav Bash" (AW&ST Nov. 14, p. 40), Edward H. Phillips writes that "[t]he airlines say the FAA should charge all users the same fee for operating within the NAS [National Airspace System], regardless of aircraft type or passenger capacity." The airlines' resurgent enthusiasm for "equitable" user fees is a smoke screen. What they want is a NAS paid for by anyone other than themselves, so they can sell tickets at prices that hide the cost.
The final report of the 9/11 Commission gives the U.S. government poor marks for aviation security. The report found few improvements in passenger screening since initial changes right after the terrorist attacks. Testing of the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) computerized, pre-screening program for airline passengers has been delayed, preventing final implementation, the report said. Secure Flight is scheduled to begin rollout with two airlines in early 2006.
Plans to merge U.S. civil and military weather satellite operations have complicated U.S.-European talks on sharing weather data. With Eumetsat's Metop polar-orbiting network nearing deployment, the European weather-satellite operator is seeking to seal an agreement with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on conditions that would permit denial of data from the network, which is part of the agencies' Joint Polar System initiative.
Al Romig, deputy director for integrated technologies and systems at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M., has received the National Materials Advancement Award from the Federation of Materials Societies. The award recognizes capabilities in advancing the effective and economic use of materials and the multidisciplinary field of materials science and engineering generally. Romig overseees development and engineering activities that provide science, technology, systems and expertise in support of U.S.
The article "Jamming Jam-Up" (AW&ST Nov. 7, p. 32) goes to show we have a made a complicated situation much worse. My frustration is not with the amount of different frequencies that are clobbering the airwaves, it's with the enormous cost of what we are doing to combat improvised explosive devices. Has there been an analysis on how much it costs to jam an IED?
Pratt & Whitney's F135 team has completed the engine that will power the first flight of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The first flight test F135 engine will be delivered to Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth plant later this month and will be installed in the first flight test JSF aircraft early next year. The engine will be the exclusive powerplant for the F-35's first flight, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2006.
NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA are looking to repeat their joint success on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) with a follow-on flight that would piggyback on other spacecraft to create a constellation of eight or more platforms.
The FAA has issued its first Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the Eclipse 500 very light jet, allowing the $1.4-million aircraft to enter formal FAA certification testing. Eclipse Aviation President and CEO Vern Rayburn says the company expects to "start the production line" in January.
An editorial last week incorrectly stated that Japan's Hayabusa is the first interplanetary spacecraft to use ion propulsion. JAXA's spacecraft used ion propulsion to make a slow rendezvous with an asteroid, but other spacecraft have used ion thrusters for interplanetary travel. The initial honors go to NASA's Deep Space 1 technology demonstrator mission, which was launched in October 1998. Its science mission focused on flybys of the comet Borrelly and the asteroid Braille.
Iran's seventh C-130 military transport crash since 1986 demonstrates the need for vast safety improvements in an air- space system clogged with poorly maintained, aging aircraft.
The outlook for the Russian Regional Jet is gradually brightening, with serious customer interest slowly growing, or so it seems. The Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Co. achieved an important breakthrough last week, capturing an elusive Aeroflot commitment for the new aircraft type. Russia's flag carrier inked a firm order for 30 RRJs, making it the first firm customer among airlines for the project.
Britain will increase the initial number of Hawk 128s it plans to buy, with the Defense Ministry and BAE Systems now pushing to resolve outstanding contractual issues by the end of the first quarter of 2006. Originally, the Defense Ministry announced it would purchase 20 Hawk 128 advanced jet trainers, and take options for another 24. However, Defense Ministry officials are now in final discussions with BAE over a production contract covering an increased number of aircraft--an initial purchase figure of 30 has been suggested by some industry sources.
Critical questions about whether a hurricane is about to intensify and how strong it will become are being solved with data from the U.S./Japanese Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM). An ability to forecast rapid intensification remains the "Holy Grail" of hurricane forecasting.
As Boeing heads toward a record year in orders, Morocco's Royal Air Maroc has made official its July commitment to add four 787-8s to its fleet. The engine order goes to General Electric for the GEnx. Deliveries are set for late 2008. The national flag carrier is playing a big role in expanding Morocco's appeal as a tourist destination and the new aircraft are to be used to open additional Middle East and African routes. Royal Air Maroc's order raises total 787 sales to 241 aircraft from 25 carriers.
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European space scientists worry that they will be forced to pare back or cancel a major science mission--even if they obtain a funding boost at the Berlin ministerial summit this week--because of parsimonious disbursements in past years.
The University of Maryland has won a $2.1-million grant from the U.S. Defense Dept. to develop a web-based interactive supply chain system for the military. Under the 12-month demonstration project, the university will design a secure supply network capable of locating and acquiring relacement parts for F/A-18 Navy fighter jets and arranging to deliver them on an as-needed basis.
US Airways has signed a contract to buy 20 Airbus A350s. The carrier first committed to the aircraft in May, as part of a broader deal in which Airbus is to provide a $250-million investment loan to the combined entity of America West and US Airways. The powerplant is yet to be decided, but the airline has plenty of time, since it won't take delivery of the first A350 until 2011.
Once again, the future of aerospace/defense transatlantic collaboration is in danger as the Joint Strike Fighter program approaches a new round of multinational negotiations scheduled for early this month.
Richard Dolbeer and Colin Drury have won the FAA's 2005 Excellence in Aviation Research Awards. Dolbeer is coordinator of the Aviation Safety and Assistance Program for the U.S. Agriculture Dept., while Colin Drury is Distinguished Professor and chairman of the Industrial Engineering Dept. at the University of Buffalo, N.Y. They were recognized for their work in airport wildlife hazard mitigation and aviation maintenance human factors, respectively.
China startup East Star Airlines has committed to buying 10 Airbus A320s as well as leasing a mix of 10 A319s and A320s from GE Commercial Aviation Services. Deliveries of the leased aircraft are set to commence in the second quarter of 2006 to allow the Wuhan-based carrier to start revenue service in May. The off-the-line aircraft are slated for delivery in 2009-10. CFM International CFM456s will power the aircraft.
USAF Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Deppe has been named commander of the 20th Air Force of Air Force Space Command (AFSC)/commander, Task Force 214 of U.S. Strategic Command at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyo. He has been director of logistics and communications/chief information officer/chief sustainment officer at AFSC headquarters, Peterson AFB, Colo. He will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Lanning, who has been special assistant to the AFSC commander.
U.S. network airlines know it is in their best interest to keep aircraft flying more hours during the day, but many don't know that saving as little as 30 min. of ground time and improving utilization could mean the difference between profit and loss.
