The global aerospace business is about much more than just sales, revenues and profit margins. It's also about people, institutions, innovation and political nuances. In this issue, we introduce "A European Perspective," a biweekly essay by Pierre Sparaco--Aviation Week & Space Technology's former Paris-based European bureau chief--to examine these and related topics, and assess their influence on the industry. Sparaco is a veteran aerospace reporter, editor and author of several books, including a prize-winning history of the Concorde.
PrivatAir of Switzerland will launch wet-lease business-class-only nonstops Oct. 30 for KLM between Amsterdam and Houston. KLM, a SkyTeam partner, currently serves the market with a daily 747 flight, plus a second widebody on selected days. Operating six days per week, the 44-seat Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) will replace the second aircraft. PrivatAir will provide the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, while KLM will market and sell the service and provide business-class amenities, such as catering and inflight entertainment.
China's increasing military capabilities concern both the U.S. and Japan, but for different reasons. The U.S. is worried about "what we felt to be an out-sizing of Chinese military capabilities, and, more problematic, the lack of transparency" as to the real size of China's budget increases, says Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs. But deteriorating relations between China and Japan are more troubling still.
AIRSERVICES AUSTRALIA PLANS TO RELEASE a request for proposal this month for up to 1,500 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems for general aviation aircraft. The government-owned corporation wants avionics companies to develop a system costing about half the price of current products. The RFP is the latest step in Australia's push to provide ADS-B nationwide next year.
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works --perceived as lagging rivals Boeing and Northrop Grumman in the unmanned aerial vehicle field--is secretly developing a stealthy, long-endurance unmanned aircraft for penetrating deep inside hostile airspace to collect intelligence.
Another piece of the Pentagon formula for electronic attack is falling into place as the U.S. Air Force gets back into the tactical jamming world and the Navy begins to phase out its expeditionary EA-6B squadrons.
Computer simulations of the effects of liquid water bursting onto the surface of Mars suggest gullies imaged by the Mars Global Surveyor were formed by that process. Images of the south-facing wall of Dao Vallis show gullies that taper off well before they reach the valley floor, leaving little or no debris at their lower ends.
Brian Dunne has been named executive vice president/chief financial officer of Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. He was CFO of Aer Lingus. Dunne succeeds Rob Peterson, who has become executive vice president-finance/ CFO of Aeroplan. Greg Cote has been named senior vice president-corporate finance and strategy. He was senior vice president of Ernst and Young Corporate Finance.
RANNOCH CORP. IS SUPPLYING its AirScene system for flight tracking at the Ohio State University Airport, home to 230 aircraft. The facility accommodates about 115,000 operations per year. The Mode-S multilateration technology will track aircraft in the terminal area as well as to and from the airport surface. Ohio State currently has limited flight-track coverage because it's located too far away from an ATC radar. Tracking aircraft more accurately would improve airport officials' ability to respond to noise complaints and improve noise abatement compliance.
The impact of Katrina on U.S. aviation was immediate and could last for weeks to come. Some analysts believe canceled flights, loss of revenue and rising fuel costs may push at-risk carriers through the doors of bankruptcy court. The Category 4 hurricane blocked the flow of oil from refineries and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to drive up oil prices that had already spiked to $70 per barrel. It mercilessly snuffed out airport operations, destroying navigation, runway, communications and surveillance equipment.
A first-class cabin upgrade for Malaysia Airlines' 747-400 fleet includes flat horizontal bed designs, with an ottoman feature that allows couples to dine facing each other. To suit their moods, passengers can electronically control the slatted window shades. The upgrade was initiated on flights from Kuala Lumpur to London in April. With the fifth (out of 17) -400 completing its retrofit in September, the new services will be introduced on the airline's U.S. destinations to Los Angeles (via Taipei) and Newark, N.J. (via Stockholm).
Six years ago this week, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) rocked the aerospace industry by choosing Boeing to build its next generation of secret imaging satellites, bypassing Lockheed Martin, the decades-long incumbent on the program.
Brian R. Wolff took this photo of a U.S. Air Force 3rd Wing F-15C at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, showing its Raytheon APG-63(V)2 active electronically scanned array radar containing thousands of tiny transmitter/receiver modules. The array has been intentionally fuzzed to prevent counting of the modules. Such radars can not only find small or stealthy objects, but also produce jamming or upset of enemy electronic systems when properly focused (see p. 50). Larger arrays are being built that could damage electronic components.
Maxcor Inc., a New York-based holding company, is investing in the machine tool sector. Maxcor acquired Unova's Cincinnati Lamb Group and its international operations in April for $60 million. In recent weeks, Maxcor stated its intention to acquire ThyssenKrupp MetalCutting and its holdings in Europe, Brazil, South Korea and the U.S.
India's plan to shoot down commercial aircraft that appear to be a threat to national security is raising eyebrows from skeptics who doubt the country will be able to reach such a decision in real time. The policy was announced following a report critical of India's handling of a 1999 Indian Airlines A300.
Lockheed Martin's first award-fee milestone on the Aerial Common Sensor program came and passed Aug. 1 without a single dollar changing hands. A year after beating out Northrop Grumman for a contract to design and develop the next-generation signals-intelligence collector for the U.S. Army, the company earned a $0 award fee. The Army still is reeling from the realization that Lockheed Martin's chosen aircraft, the Embraer ERJ 145, is too small.
A year after delivering its first FAA-certified PAC 750XL to a North American customer, New Zealand's Pacific Aerospace has formed a joint venture with Mecachrome of Canada to assemble the single-turboprop utility aircraft for the North American market. Mecachrome is working from kits at its base at the Mirabel airport near Montreal and displayed its first assembled aircraft at the recent AirVenture show in Oshkosh. The 750XL is configured for sport jumping with a large side door (shown is a jump in New Zealand) and has found four U.S. customers among skydiving operators.
Brian McKeon has been appointed chairman of Paris-based Thales-RaytheonSystems Ltd. He succeeds Terry Heil, who has retired. McKeon will continue as vice president-command and control systems for Raytheon's Network-Centric Systems.
Jack Pelton, who is chairman/president/CEO of the Cessna Aircraft Co., has been named vice chairman of the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. He will continue as chairman of the Flight Operations Policy Committee. Alan Klapmeier, who is president/CEO of the Cirrus Design Corp., was appointed chairman of the Security Issues Committee. The GAMA board of directors elected six new board members: Robert J. Gillette, president/CEO, and Tim Mahoney, president for business and general aviation, both of Honeywell Aerospace; Martin V.
Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc. is the new name for Allison Advanced Development Co. of Indianapolis. The company develops and demonstrates advanced technology for power systems.
THE JOINT TACTICAL RADIO SYSTEM (JTRS) and the Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS) will account for nearly $2 billion of the $2.74-billion U.S. military airborne communications market over the next decade, according to Forecast International. MIDS, a system used in Afghanistan and Iraq to transmit real-time reconnaissance and targeting data, will alone account for $1.16 billion of the total spending. MIDS suppliers include ViaSat Inc. and Data Link Solutions, a Rockwell Collins/BAE Systems joint venture.
Joy Banerjee (see photo) has become West Coast U.S. sales manager for Lufthansa Cargo. He has been manager of sales steering for the Western and Southern U.S., Central America and the Caribbean.
The first production model of South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic advanced trainer was rolled out in ceremonies at Korea Aerospace Industries' Sacheon factory last week. The rollout came 22 months after the company received an order for 100 trainers from the South Korean air force. KAI is co-producing the T-50 with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.
Boeing and Rockwell Collins say they've designed a flight deck for the 787 that will require minimal training for 777-rated pilots while introducing technical improvements. Standouts include dual head-up displays and Electronic Flight Bags as standard features.
A General Atomics Aeronautical Services Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle is expected to arrive in Arizona later this month to help patrol the U.S.-Mexico border for illegal aliens, drug smugglers and terrorists.
