Pilots at reorganizing Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are reviewing agreements approved by officials of their respective Air Line Pilots Assn. units that propose substantial contractual revisions. A courtroom showdown was averted when Delta's management and the union reached a tentative interim agreement that calls for a wage reduction of 14% and a pilot cost reduction of 1%. The agreement also would end a program, set up last year, that would allow pilots who took early retirement to return to the cockpit.
Unveiling a grand defense industrial strategy, the British government is signaling that the Joint Strike Fighter will be its last manned combat aircraft and that it will launch an unmanned combat air vehicle technology demonstrator in 2006.
After 14 years of development, the U.S. Air Force has declared the stealthy F-22 ready for combat, and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley says the first foreign deployment of the twin-engine fighter to the Pacific could come as soon as next spring.
In the midst of sunny, near-term financial forecasts (see p. 24), Aerospace Industries Assn. (AIA) CEO John Douglass sees policy clouds on the horizon. The association has given up for now on reform of export control rules and will instead try to make the current system work better, shooting for commitments on reform from presidential candidates in 2008.
The International Air Transport Assn. (IATA) expects the airline industry to return to profitability only in 2007, as U.S. carriers expect overall losses to continue next year and Europe's airlines will come under more intense cost pressure with fuel-hedging positions expiring.
Neil A. Armstrong Homecoming Badge issued on Sept. 6, 1969, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Civil Air Patrol Cadet ID Card issued by the War Dept. when the CAP was under jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Guard badge worn by an officer of the U.S. Army Air Corps Police during World War II. TWA pin that was given out to young riders in the sky. American Legion medal from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1932. Note the monoplane flying over the Brooklyn Bridge.
The number is so impressive for a commercial jet that it's easy to confuse it with the thousands of Air Force bombers this factory once rolled out: Spirit Aerosystems has completed the 5,000th 737 fuselage.
Best of Best, Patrick H. Corkery, Littleton, Colo. Corkery has been shooting marketing and communications photography for Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver since 1980. A journalism graduate of Northern Illinois University, his work has appeared in many Lockheed Martin publications, as well as those of outside companies. Corkery's work has appeared many times in magazines and newspapers including on several Aviation Week & Space Technology covers.
The European Space Agency has issued a launch contract to Arianespace for the Herschel/Planck twin astronomy mission. The award--the sixth of the year for Arianespace--will see the mission, which has been plagued by severe cost overruns, orbited on an Ariane 5 in the first quarter of 2008, instead of late 2007 as planned.
The British Defense Ministry has acquired a significant number of late-model Russian-manufactured shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles for countermeasures development and trials purposes.
General Dynamics Corp.'s deal to buy fast-growing Anteon International Corp. could alter the landscape in the defense information technology (IT) business, creating a new top-tier challenger to powerhouses such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC).
The contractor competition for the new GOES-R Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellite series was misidentified as the existing GOES-N project led by Boeing (AW&ST Dec. 12, p. 50). An article in last week's issue incorrectly stated the revenue increase at Hexcel during the first nine months of the year (p. 27). Hexcel's revenues were up $80 million, or 10%, from the same period a year ago.
Grasshopper Aviation's Maule of Wasilla, Alaska, cruises over the Knik Glacier during a sightseeing flight last April. Rich Hulina, Sioux Lookout, Ontario
The fatal shooting by federal air marshals of a passenger acting erratically in Miami has some observers wondering if the tragedy might provoke unintended consequences among travelers or terrorists. Edmund (Kip) Hawley, head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), says the passenger wasn't a terrorist and his death was "regrettable," but the air marshals acted as they were trained. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) says the incident shows that "such threatening conduct will not be tolerated." Though the passenger was unarmed, Rep.
Eurocopter will help develop a new utility helicopter for South Korea, barely a week after nailing down a deal to build a new-generation medium-lift helicopter with China. After a multi-round bidding process, the South Korea government settled on Eurocopter to aid Korean Aerospace Industries in design and development of the 8-metric-ton Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), the main product of the Korea Helicopter Program (KHP). The EADS subsidiary beat out AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter Textron in the final round; Boeing and Sikorsky were eliminated earlier.
Don Ackles "Prop" Watercolor and Ink 13 X 11 in. Jean Barbaud "Bat out of Hell P-38" Ink and Watercolor 14 X 10 in. Ardell Bourgeois "On Guard for Thee" Oil 18 X 24 in. Hank Caruso "A Cut Above the Rest" Ink and Prismacolor 14 X 11 in. Tom Cronley "Banished in Beeville" Oil 30 X 18 in. Chas Downs "A Grumman J2F-5 Duck Waits at Pax River" Acrylic 30 X 18 in. Ron Hart "Amelia's Mystery" Pastel and Oil 19 X 25 in. Virginia Ivanicki "The Architects of Heaven: Rising" Oil 20 X 60 in.
Members of the International Air Transport Assn. and Star Alliance, fed up with high airport fees and rising ticket distribution costs, plan to take aggressive steps in 2006 to keep those expenses in check.
Twenty-two main rotor blades spin as Pave Lows escort the U.S. President from Prestwick Airport, Scotland, last July. Derrick Stamos, Mildenhall, England
A Franco-Indian oceanography mission will help ensure continuity of altimetry data critical for predicting large-scale weather phenomena like tropical storms. System and mission responsibility for the 400-million-euro ($470-million) OceanSat mission will be shared by the Indian Space Research Organization and French space agency Cnes.
