Timothy C. Reis has become vice president/general counsel of Atlanta-based EMS Technologies Inc. He succeeds William S. Jacobs, who is retiring. Reis was assistant general counsel.
Thales reported first-half revenue of 4.8 billion euros ($5.86 billion), beating analysts' consensus estimate. The sector with the highest growth rate in the first six months was the air systems group, which boosted revenue by 13% compared with the first half of 2004. Missile electronics sales were strong, while air traffic control operations achieved 7% growth. The division's revenue reached 681 million euros. The two largest segments remained land and joint systems, with 1.1 billion euros in revenue; and aerospace, with 1 billion euros.
Jude Zimmerman has become interior manager for Elliott Aviation, Moline, Ill. He was interior and cabinet shop manager for Raytheon Aircraft Services in Houston.
Finnair revenue has increased 15.6% in the second quarter. That brings first-half revenue to 921.3 million euros ($1.1 billion), which represents a 12.1% boost over the previous year's first six months. Passenger capacity grew 7.9%, but load factor managed to keep pace, inching up to 71.9%. Unit revenue registered a 3.3% increase. Looking forward, Finnair expects a slight slowdown of capacity growth as it replaces larger MD-80s with smaller Embraer 170s, which are to enter service next month.
National Air Traffic Services, the air navigation service provider in Britain, posted its busiest month ever in July, handling 218,000 flights for a 6.5% increase from the same month last year. The average delay per flight was 38.7 sec., down from 41.4 sec. a year ago. Growth was strongest at the Manchester Center (up 5.6%). The London area control center recorded 175,000 flights, up 5%.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia is installing a new Aviation Information Regulatory System database to replace an aging system that tracks more than 35,000 pilots and engineers, 12,000 registered aircraft and several thousand aviation organizations.
James B. Comey has been appointed senior vice president/ general counsel of the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. He succeeds Frank H. Menaker, Jr., who will retire on Jan. 31. Comey has been deputy U.S. attorney general and was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. James M. Loy has been named to the board of directors. He is a former deputy Homeland Security secretary, administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
My husband Capt. Richard Krug and I are worried about how we are going to put our son through college after the pilot reaches age 60 in five years. I read with interest the Viewpoint by Dr. Jon L. Jordan, the FAA's federal flight surgeon, that age 60 is a point beyond which all kinds of neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders and cognitive functioning deficits can occur (AW&ST Aug. 8, p. 66).
Japan's Muses-C asteroid-sample-return spacecraft has spotted its target and is headed for a low-thrust rendezvous next month. That's a little later than originally announced (AW&ST Jan. 31, p. 18), but the spacecraft's star tracker and navigation software place it on target for the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa. One of the ion-powered spacecraft's three reaction control wheels has shut down because of excess friction, but controllers remain confident the backup two-wheel control system can complete the mission.
Investigators are focusing on dual-engine failure in seeking clues to the crash of a West Caribbean Airways MD-82 that killed 160 people. On Aug. 16, Flight 708 departed Tocumen International Airport in Panama City at about 1:00 a.m. local time with eight crewmembers and 152 passengers, bound for Fort de France (Martinique) Lamentin Airport. Most on board were tourists returning home after a week in Panama. (The charter flight was operated by a Martinique travel agency, Globe Trotters de Riviere Salee.)
The University of Southern California offers a master of science degree in system safety and security. The interdisciplinary graduate program combines courses from the USC Schools of Engineering and Policy, Planning and Development. With an emphasis on risk-based economic analysis, the curriculum is designed to meet the needs of those evaluating terrorist countermeasures and developing strategies to improve system safety and security.
San Antonio-based Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corp. (SSAC) has received FAA Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) for the SJ30-2 business jet, clearing the way for final flight testing that should lead to certification late this year. Five airplanes were built for the test program as well as two static and fatigue test articles. Completion of the TIA process came after company and FAA pilots evaluated the SJ30-2 throughout its flight envelope, including maximum operating speed of Mach 0.83 and dive tests to Mach 0.90.
C. Maury Devine has been appointed to the board of directors of FMC Technologies Inc. of Houston. She is vice chairman of Oslo-based Det Norske Veritas and a member of the board of directors of Independence Air Inc.
Bad people or bad things? On which to place the emphasis is the nexus of the debate on how best to protect the U.S. air transport system from terrorism (see p. 52). Yet people versus things is a false dichotomy. If there are any ironclad principles in fighting enemies who play by no rules, they are to deploy layered defenses and be flexible in responses as situations dictate.
The Transportation Security Administration has spent most of its explosives detection money on new machines to screen checked luggage, while relying on equipment at passenger checkpoints that some say is dated.
France and India are discussing the integration of modular air-to-surface weapons on the Indian air force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighter aircraft. Sagem Defense and Security, part of the Safran Group, is discussing an agreement with India covering the Armament Air-Sol-Modulaire (AASM) range of precision-guided weapons now in development for the French air force.
Tony Keane has been named executive director of Houston-based NACE International. He was chief operating officer of the Washington-based Optical Society of America.
A GE/Rolls-Royce team expects a $2.4-billion design and development contract as soon as next week for work on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's F136 engine. Pratt & Whitney is already working on its F135 engine.
The U.S. Air Force's Aeronautical Systems Command has selected L-3 Communications' Link Simulation and Training division to develop air crew training systems for the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. Link will design and build one trainer to provide initial operating capability late in 2006. Plans call for upgrading the Predator Mission Aircrew Training System (PMATS) early in 2007 to full operational capability to allow participation in USAF's Distributed Mission Operations simulation exercises.
Congress isn't buying the Transportation Dept.'s latest bid to shrink Essential Air Service (EAS) subsidies for airlines that serve small communities. The Bush administration proposed that in Fiscal 2006, EAS receive only the $50 million from FAA overflight fees mandated by Congress in 1996, eliminating a general-fund appropriation that added about $52 million this year. The House Appropriations Committee says this is "unrealistic," noting that the department asked for more money this year because several communities were at risk of losing air service.
Curt Armbruster has become director of security for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Sector, McLean, Va. He was director of security for the sector's TASC business unit.
Robey Lal has been named country manager in India for the International Air Transport Assn. He has been a member of the board of the Airports Authority of India.
Despite industry skepticism about the past year's Transportation Security Administration Registered Traveler pilot programs, the private-sector operator of the newest version, at Orlando, Fla., believes it will prove the concept quickly.
The National Transportation Safety Board's goal of preventing fuel tank explosions is laudable, but its proposed solution misses the mark, as discussed in "NTSB Urges Fuel Tank Action" (AW&ST July 11, p. 43). Inerting fuel tanks is not a practical solution for the real threat. The fuel itself already has been formulated to provide protection from a lightning strike or a random spark. The real threat of a fuel tank explosion comes from a missile or a bomb.
