A Canadian supplier has won an expanded role in Boeing's 777 program. Heroux-Devtek last week was awarded a 10-year, $106.8-million contract from Goodrich to supply landing gear components. The Montreal-based company plans to revamp its Kitchener, Ontario, facilities to accommodate the work.
Observations of the comet 9P/Tempel after NASA's Deep Impact mission suggest that comets are composed primarily of dust held together by ice, rather than of ice contaminated with dust, as previously thought. Scientists have determined this on the basis of readings from ESA's Rosetta spacecraft, which observed the comet/spacecraft impact from a distance of about 80 million km. on its way to a 2014 rendezvous with the comet 67P Churymov-Gerasimenko.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
Europe and the U.S. will launch space missions this week intended to shed light on climate change on Earth, but from two very different perspectives. Set to lift off on Oct. 26 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, atop a Starsem Soyuz/Fregat rocket, the European Space Agency's Venus Express mission is intended to refine terrestrial models of planet-warming mechanisms by studying the greenhouse effect evident on our nearest planetary neighbor.
RUSSIAN DEFENSE Minister Sergei Ivanov's three-day visit to India last week to observe joint Indian-Russian army and naval maneuvers included an agenda with some items that weren't so visible. They included signing a long-delayed agreement on intellectual property rights and promoting the sale of Mikoyan MiG-29s to fulfill India's requirement for 126 multirole combat aircraft.
Connexion by Boeing has concluded a week-long campaign to demonstrate the feasibility of inflight mobile phone use on commercial airliners. The flights on board a 737-400 testbed allowed passengers to access the Internet and four channels of live TV as well as roaming cell phone service. Connexion expects the offering to be introduced as early as 2006, regulatory approval permitting, on the 120 daily flights on which its equipment is now installed--part of an accelerating move toward cabin wireless services (AW&ST Oct. 3, p. 45).
UNITED STATES Editor-In-Chief: Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. [email protected] Managing Editor: James R. Asker [email protected] Assistant Managing Editor: Michael Stearns [email protected] Senior Editors: Craig Covault [email protected], David Hughes [email protected] NEW YORK 2 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10121 Phone: +1 (212) 904-2000, Fax: +1 (212) 904-6068 Senior News Editor: Nora Titterington
SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORP. HAS SIGNED a 20-year deal with Rockwell Collins, with a potential value of $100 million, for avionics, simulators, training and support of the S-92 for the Canadian Maritime Helicopter Program. The equipment includes an integrated cockpit, a Rockwell Collins EyeHUD helmet-mounted display and two level D-equivalent full-flight simulators.
SN Brussels Airlines has upgraded communications systems in its 38 aircraft so pilots can obtain data from the European Aeronautical Information Services Database. They will be able to access weather reports and other information including Notices to Airmen.
LOCKHEED MARTIN IS NOW THE OFFICIAL OPERATOR of the FAA's 58 automated flight service stations (AFSSs) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Since Feb. 1, when the company won the $1.7-billion public-private outsourcing contract, more than 1,700 employees transitioned from government service to Lockheed Martin. Some AFSS employees have taken early retirement and 300 have been hired by the FAA. In the initial phase, Lockheed Martin will operate existing FAA legacy equipment and facilities.
U.S. and European efforts to overhaul their respective air traffic management systems are about to receive a push with important funding commitments that will start the long process of turning the multi-billion euro/dollar plans into reality. Nevertheless, efforts on both sides of the Atlantic still face huge budget challenges and a fair share of skepticism.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: e-mail: [email protected] Oct. 31--PBS "American Experience" film "Race to the Moon." See www.pbs.org/americanexperience Oct. 31-Nov. 1--Technology Training Corp. Military Radios Conference. Holiday Inn on-the-Bay, San Diego. Also, Nov. 7-8--Military RFID Conference. Holiday Inn Rosslyn, Arlington, Va. Call +1 (310) 563-1223, fax +1 (310) 563-1220 or see www.ttcus.com
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency may be flight-testing an air-launched propane-powered rocket in 2-3 years as part of its Falcon concept to quickly and cheaply put 1,000 lb. of payload into orbit. The novel Quick Reach I rocket was designed and may be built by the AirLaunch consortium of companies. AirLaunch and Darpa were in continuing negotiations last week and a company official expects a positive outcome soon.
Italy and France finally appear poised to sign off on a deal for an initial batch of cruise missile-carrying frigates. The Italian government agreed last week to provide close to 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) for the first phase of the 11-billion-euro, 27-ship Fremm/Renaissance frigate program. Funding will be provided through a series of 15-year loans to be floated in 2006-08. This will cover the purchase of two initial frigates, associated R&D activities and a basic logistics support package.
An item in News Breaks on a Japanese subscale test vehicle for a supersonic transport (AW&ST Oct. 17, p. 18) incorrectly stated the cruise Mach numbers typical of modern commercial transport aircraft. The correct numbers are Mach 0.82-0.85. Also, the wing design on the test article is different from what was used on the Anglo-French Concorde and Soviet Tu-144 supersonic transports.
Not only does the new chief intelligence officer at the Homeland Security Dept., Charles Allen, have to convince federal, state and local agencies to play nice; he also has to persuade units of his own department to share intelligence.
The V-22 is the most complex, least intrisically safe aircraft to be built by serious industry. It has been a disaster technically, financially and ethically. The V-22 is kept aloft by politics, and nothing else. It has killed more people in its engineering development phase than any other aircraft, a segment that has not been completed 40-plus years after it began.
BAE SYSTEMS WILL PROVIDE a continuous-wave Doppler radar to the U.K.'s Aberporth Test and Evaluation Range operated by QinetiQ for the Defense Ministry. The $2-million order is the first for the new radar that relies on commercial components to minimize life-cycle costs. The U.S. Defense Dept. is evaluating a pre-production unit.
Boeing and the Ford Motor Co. have allied with Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., to conduct nanotechnology research. Nano-composites, specialty metals, thermal materials, coatings and sensors will be explored. Financial support has been pledged for three years.
The first Japanese-built Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 turboshaft engine has been delivered by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which is assembling and supporting the aircraft and engines under license for Japan's EH101 maritime helicopter fleet. The first EH101 and engine set earmarked for the Japanese fleet, built by AgustaWestland and RRTM, was delivered this year.
The U.S. and British civil aviation authorities have inked a bilateral deal for collaborative evaluation of flight simulators. The agreement will allow the FAA and the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to assess in each other's stead. This could considerably reduce the extent of qualification work the CAA has to carry out in the U.S., and cut down on duplicated efforts. The European Aviation Safety Agency supports the effort and its eventual goal of becoming a European Union-U.S. accord.
Alitalia, in what is considered a last-ditch effort, unveiled yet another business plan in its bid for solvency. The new scheme is being submitted to the banks that have indicated they would back a 1.2-billion-euro ($1.43-billion) capitalization effort, now slated for early November. As part of its survival strategy, the Italian flag carrier has also secured a $485-million loan from a U.S. bank. This new money is likely to be used to pay back a previous state-guaranteed bridge loan of 400 million euros from a German bank, which is set to expire at year-end.
Stephen E. Frank has been named to the Northrop Grumman Corp. board of directors in Los Angeles. He is retired chairman/president/CEO of Southern California Edison and was executive vice president/chief financial officer of TRW.
A maritime receiver, normally used to identity commercial surface shipping, is being evaluated on board U.S. Navy early warning aircraft to see if the technology can help safeguard military vessels. An Automatic Identification System (AIS) which transmits data about a ship's name, type, location and destination, is being evaluated as a tool for combat identification and fleet situational awareness on board E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft.
NavCanada's revenues for fiscal 2005 were $964 million (C$1.135 billion), up from $852 million the year before. Air traffic grew by 5% and customer service charges by 7.9%. Operating expenses for Canada's private air navigation service provider were $842 million or 5.9% higher due to rising salary and pension costs.
