The British Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week lambasted the Defense Ministry over its "woeful performance . . . in procuring defense equipment, and its inability to follow its own, broadly sensible, procurement rules." The PAC was looking at procurement performance as detailed in the National Audit Office's Major Projects Report 2004.
The FAA is upgrading beacon interrogators on three radars that serve the Washington Center Air Route Traffic Control Center in Leesburg, Va., earlier than planned after "target jumps" began to occur on air traffic controller displays. Aircraft identifications will remain in place, but target blips will disappear from the ATC screen for several radar sweeps, according to the FAA. The initial Leesburg problem was caused by radio frequency interference (RFI) that was investigated but could not be isolated, FAA officials say.
Five of China's aerospace leaders and luminaries were recognized for their achievements at the first International Aviation Laurate Awards dinner held in Beijing on the eve of Aviation Expo. International Aviation Group decided to recognize the leading contributors to aviation in the tradition of its U.S. partner, Aviation Week & Space Technology.
David Asai has been named chief financial officer of Independence Air. He was vice president/controller/assistant secretary. Asai succeeds Richard Surratt, who has resigned.
CESSNA RECENTLY TRAINED ITS 1,000TH CUSTOMER in the operation of Garmin's G1000 integrated avionic suite. The company trains up to 30 people each week in the factory-authorized training program, using 11 flight instructors. The three-day course, taught at Cessna's facilities in Independence, Kan., includes classroom lecture, instruction in the G1000 simulator and flight time. The G1000 package integrates flight, navigation, communication, terrain, traffic, weather and engine systems information on two 10.4-in. color, liquid-crystal, active-matrix displays.
Delta Connection carrier Skywest of St. George, Utah, has revised a contract Delta Air Lines held for 18 Bombardier CRJ200s that was the result of its purchase of Atlantic SouthWest Airlines. It will add four firm orders and convert the package to CRJ700s, with a list price value of $798 million. The deal confirms a previous options contract SkyWest held for 80 CRJ700s.
Bankruptcy filings by U.S. airlines have complicated efforts by Bombardier to secure orders for its new "C-Series" regional jet, but company leaders insist they're still targeting a fall launch of the 110-130-seat aircraft program. Undaunted by a number of critics who warn the $3-billion aircraft and engine project is financially risky and could trigger a bruising battle with Boeing and Airbus, Bombardier executives continue to negotiate with engine supplier Pratt & Whitney Canada and talk with potential customers.
Raymond F. Petty has been appointed president/chief operating officer of Ottawa-based Gallium Software Inc. He held senior management positions at BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman and Smiths Industries.
The Massachusetts Port Authority apologized to passengers for delayed flights on Oct. 10 and 11 caused by a malfunctioning radar system, which caused an increase in air traffic separation. The FAA isolated the problem to a radar antenna and replaced it on Oct. 11 with one borrowed from an airport in Bangor, Maine.
The space shuttle era is over. NASA has committed to retiring the shuttle by 2010 as a key part of the Vision for Space Exploration, the new (2004) U.S. policy for human and robotic space exploration. The plan was made with the expectation that the three remaining orbiters could carry out the flights needed to complete the International Space Station (ISS) and that a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) could be operating by 2014. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin now hopes to advance that date by several years, but budgets may limit his ability to do so.
The Taurus cruise missile joint venture between EADS and Saab has received a contract to start building 43 of the KEPD 350 air-to-ground weapons to be used on Spanish F/A-18s and Eurofighter Typhoons. EADS and Saab hope to parlay the order into export deals with other F/A-18 users.
Bombardier Aerospace executives are peeved with the Aerospace Industries Assn. of Canada for inviting Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia to address its annual conference. The outspoken Aboulafia opined that plans by Canada's biggest aerospace company to develop the new 110-130-seat "C-Series" jet were ill-conceived and could mark "the end of the Canadian aerospace industry as we know it" if the program fails.
The U.S. military can remain at an air base in Kyrgyzstan to support anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan, say U.S. and Kyrgyz officials. In a joint statement, the officials said coalition forces would remain in Kyrgyzstan "until the mission of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan is completed.'' In addition to U.S. forces, Danish, Dutch and Norwegian aircraft have flown missions out of Ganci AB. Neighboring Uzbekistan has asked the U.S. to leave its air base there.
Investors in aerospace stocks should keep a close eye on the economic picture in Asia. With most U.S. airlines mired in red ink, the Asia-Pacific region has been the underpinning for this year's strong rebound in orders for commercial aircraft and components. Asian carriers have accounted for about half of airline orders this year and make up 34% of the backlog for large aircraft, according to JPMorgan airline analyst Joseph B. Nadol, 3rd. By contrast, a recent Merrill Lynch study concluded that U.S. carriers could account for just 5% of aircraft orders this year.
USAF Brig. Gen. Paul G. Schafer has been named special assistant to the deputy chief of staff for air and space operations at USAF Headquarters in Washington. He has been director of the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force/chief of staff of the Executive Action Group.
Airbus is aiming at having 100% of A350 supplier contracts denominated in dollars and is trying to use the new aircraft to advance other critical elements of its supply chain management strategy. The coming months are going to be critical to the A350, and second- and third-tier suppliers, as Airbus puts together its contractor team. Before month's end, the aircraft maker plans to name the builder of the new twin widebody's landing gear, with Safran's Messier-Dowty and Goodrich in the running.
In "Better 'Bomb Truck' " (AW&ST Sept. 5, p. 58), there is a claim that the B-2 is ". . . stuck with one launcher and one weapon type." The B-2 can carry up to four different weapon types per rotary launcher and carries two launchers. The B-2 also can carry the Smart Bomb Rack Assembly, which allows the bomber to carry up to 80 individually guided weapons at once. The ability to carry more than one weapon type on the SBRA must wait until the B-2 can carry more than one smart weapon with 14-in. lug spacing. The Mk-82 JDAM is the only such weapon the B-2 carries.
Two Chinese astronauts were scheduled to parachute back to Earth over the weekend after continuing their shakedown of the Shenzhou spacecraft during five days in orbit.
Gulf Coast area airports damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will be receiving federal grants to fund repairs under legislation recently passed by the House. The bill, introduced by Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and passed by the Senate last month, gives the Transportation Dept. the authority to use millions of dollars in existing federal development grant money for emergency repairs to damaged public airports in Alabama, Louisiana, Missis- sippi and Texas.
Former Portuguese-colony Macau is to launch its first yet-to-be-named budget carrier by Macau Eagle Aviation Services in June 2006. Moving away from traditional narrowbodies used by neighboring budget startups, it plans widebodies for medium- to long-haul routes in the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. The carrier expects to derive 25% of its revenue from cargo. Macau's expansion of its casino sector will provide a large potential customer base, according to Tom Wong, business development director.
As India heads into its peak travel season through next February, airline travelers are expected to see fares fall because the market has become Asia's new hot spot for legacy and budget carriers alike. Consider Malaysia Airlines. It's introduced daily flights to New Delhi from Kuala Lumpur, up from four times weekly, and cut its fares to $310 round trip from $500.
U.S. aerospace and defense companies are in more trouble than any other industry when it comes to science and technology education, according to retired Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Norm Augustine. This is because they can only hire U.S. citizens with clearances to work on Defense Dept. contracts, but foreign nationals earned 59% of the engineering Ph.D.s awarded in the U.S. in 2003. Augustine led a comprehensive National Academies study of U.S. commitment to science and technology education, research and development, which found, among other things, that the U.S.
The Turbomeca/Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Ardiden 1H turboshaft engine, intended for India's Dhruv helicopter, has completed its first bench run. Flight tests on the engine (known as Shakti in India) are to begin in July 2006. The Dhruv is set to enter service in March 2007 with Indian forces.
Larry Evans, President (Orange County Space Society, Lake Forest, Calif.)
The space shuttle fleet will be retired in the next few years. There is no reason to ground the fleet now and stop all human spaceflight until a new vehicle is built, as discussed by Rick Schreiner (AW&ST Sept. 5, p. 6). This attitude is typical of many after the foam-shedding incident on the flight of STS-114 and does nothing to bring the future closer.
