Terry Bacola (see photo) has become general manager of the Little Rock (Ark.) Service Center of Dassault Aircraft Services. He succeeds Ken Root, who has been named maintenance manager. Root, in turn, succeeds Dennis Cockrell, who has become customer service manager. Cockrell was president of Dassault Falcon Jet subsidiary Midway Aircraft Instrument Corp.
The U.S. Army is planning to test the Raytheon Patriot Advance Capability-3 system on Nov. 11, the final trial for 2005. Testers will demonstrate a shoot-look-shoot scenario. Further testing is expected next spring.
The U.S. Energy Dept.'s National Nuclear Security Administration expects to award a new seven-year contract by Dec. 1 for the management and operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Two teams are competing for a first-term contract that could pay as much as $79 million a year, if all targets are met. Outstanding performance ratings could extend the pact to 20 years.
Bombardier Aerospace plans to "temporarily" suspend production of its 50-seat CRJ200 regional jet in January. Bombardier's 50-seat jets created the regional jet market in the 1990s, but demand has plummeted as airlines have migrated to larger RJs (AW&ST Dec. 6, 2004, p. 44). The Canadian aircraft builder says it will lay off 660 workers at facilities in Montreal and Belfast, Ireland, as part of 1,135 job reductions announced in August.
The chief scientist for the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC) says the destructive effects of new radar technologies are "truly transformational"--a longtime goal of the Pentagon's current leadership--and open "an interesting and flexible trade space to the military" for designing a new arsenal of nonkinetic weapons.
Top European airline officials are warning that the industry's development is being distorted by continued government meddling, although they quibble over which political interference is most nefarious. Executives for Air France, British Airways and EasyJet all blame government intrusion into the marketplace for harming air transport's growth. But in the same breath, they accuse one another of benefiting from these actions.
James K. Bass has been appointed president/CEO of The New Piper Aircraft Inc., Vero Beach, Fla. He succeeds Chuck Suma, who is now vice chairman. Bass was president/CEO of the Suntron Corp. of Phoenix.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ken Krieg tells House lawmakers he is withholding approval for two major programs to move into the design and development phase because their sponsor services have not fully funded the efforts. Krieg declined to identify them and wouldn't confirm or deny to reporters that they are the Marine Corps-led Joint Heavy Lift helicopter and the Navy's DD(X) future destroyer, which were among the few programs directly addressed during the House Armed Services Committee's acquisition reform hearing.
Computer programmers at NASA Ames Research Center have used images from the 1994 Clementine mission to create a 3D tour of the lunar surface at 66-ft. resolution. The download is at worldwind.arc.nasa.gov
Alaska Lt. Gov. Loren Leman has been elected chairman of the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace States Assn. He succeeds Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin, who remains on the executive board. Other officers are: secretary/vice chair, Vermont Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie; vice chairs, Lt. Govs. Catherine Baker Knoll of Pennsylvania, Cruz Bustamante of California and Jane Norton of Colorado; treasurer, Sandra Bast of Illinois; and state delegates Charles Clark of Ohio and Stephanie Wright of Delaware.
Pronal, a French manufacturer of bladder tanks designed to store and transport liquids, has developed new elastomer materials for use in manufacturing its onboard fuel tanks for helicopters and civil and military aircraft. The materials are highly resistant to hydrocarbons and additives and have an excellent strength/weight ratio, according to the company. The materials are effective in creating damage-proof tanks and for self-sealing tanks that prevent leakage into an aircraft if it's been hit by missiles.
USAF Lt. Gen. Maxwell C. Bailey, former commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command, is among the new members of the Kentucky Aviation Hall of Fame in Lexington. Also inducted recently were: USAF Lt. Gen. John B. Conaway, former chief of the National Guard Bureau; and two deceased pilots, Col. Vermont Garrison, a double ace from World War II and the Korean War, and USN Lt. Richard Caswell Saufley, who conducted pioneering work in ship-based aviation.
SAS Cargo has inked a deal with Sterling Airlines to take over the latter's freight-hauling capacity, which totals about 30,000 metric tons. SAS Cargo President and CEO Kenneth Marx notes that the Sterling network gives his company access to locations it didn't serve previously. The deal is also supposed to allow Sterling to focus more on its core passenger service. The move follows only a few weeks after SAS Cargo bought the general sales agency from Sterling Airlines.
NASA's Cassini Saturn probe took this image of Saturn's icy moon Dione as it approached its only planned close flyby Oct. 11, capturing the moon against the planet's northern hemisphere as viewed almost edge-on to the rings. The spacecraft was only about 39,000 km. (24,200 mi.) away at the time, headed for a 500 km. flyby. Dione's heavily cratered surface is distinguished by streaks across one side, reminiscent of the "tiger stripes" Cassini saw on Enceladus (AW&ST Sept. 12, p. 15).
How did AirTran Airways do in the third quarter? It's a matter of perspective. On the one hand, the fast-growing carrier logged record passenger volume, load factors and revenue, but fuel costs left it with a small loss for the summer months. On the other hand, it did better than the same quarter of 2004, even though fuel cost much more, and it believes capacity reductions will strengthen yields in the eastern U.S. throughout 2006. "We're a little upbeat here," CEO Joe Leonard said Oct. 27.
Two Thai Airways International aircraft were involved in mishaps on Oct. 26. An Airbus A340-600 with 253 passengers on board blew two tires on landing at Melbourne, Australia, in high winds. No one was injured. An A300-600 with 240 passengers on board skidded off the runway at Bangkok Don Muang Airport after touching down in heavy rain. There were no injuries.
Don't let naysayers with a bully pulpit sidetrack Performance-Based Logistics. PBL may be the Defense Dept.'s best hope of keeping increasingly complex weapons systems operational while ensuring military contractors don't lose their shirts supporting this national security imperative. PBL isn't rocket science, but the best ideas often aren't.
Europe's Venus Express mission has been postponed because of contamination under the payload fairing of its Starsem Soyuz/Fregat booster. The mission is now set for launch on or about Nov. 9.
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) Nov. 8-10--MRO Asia, Suntec City, Singapore. Nov. 14-16--A&D Programs & Productivity Conference, Phoenix. PARTNERSHIPS Nov. 10--Spanning the Globe of Airline Labor & Employment Law: A Workshop for Aviation Professionals. Crowne Plaza Hotel, New York JFK Airport.
Jazeera Airways, a privately-owned, start-up carrier in Kuwait, has accepted the first of four Airbus A320 transports and is preparing to launch low-fare service to destinations in the Middle East late this month. The A320s are configured for 185 seats in a single-class arrangement and are powered by CFM International CFM56-5 engines.
Brian Lash (see photo) has been named vice president-client relations for Midwest U.S. aircraft management customers for Cincinnati-based Executive Jet Management. He was an aviation consultant/assistant to the chairman of Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopoulos Inc. in Boston.
Gen. Hajime Massaki (left), chairman of the Joint Staff Council, sat for a rare interview at Japan Defense Agency headquarters in Tokyo Oct. 15 with Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief Michael Mecham (center) and Senior Space Technology Editor Frank Morring, Jr. Speaking through an interpreter (back to camera), Massaki outlined the new military command structure that Japan is adopting to bring it more in line with the approach taken by the U.S., its major ally in the tense region (see p. 37).
Jean-Marie (Jim) Pogu has been named senior vice president-marketing and sales for Aerospace Products International Inc., Memphis, Tenn. He was director of sales and marketing for the Hardware Products Group of Honeywell.
U.S. negotiators have accepted a Japanese proposal to build part of a helicopter runway inside Camp Schwab in Okinawa. This paves the way for the closure of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma AB. Noise complaints, fear of crime and congestion were long-time complaints against Futenma operations.
