The prototype of an armed reconnaissance variant of Kazan Helicopters Ansat light utility helicopter was shown for the first time at MAKS 2005. The Ansat 2RC has a tandem cockpit. The front cockpit displayed at MAKS was a mock-up. Kazan is touting the reconnaissance/attack version to potential customers. Russia has selected the trainer version as a light trainer helicopter.
Nav Canada, the air navigation service provider in Canada, says the traffic it handled grew by 4.5% in May and 6.3% in June compared with the same months a year ago. For the fiscal year that ends Aug. 31, traffic is up 5.2%.
More than 90 nations and states have banded together in 16 regional organizations to provide safety oversight and implement ICAO's standards and practices. The nations and states delegate oversight functions to these organizations but retain final authority. Fully Functional ACSA (Aeronautical Safety for Central America Agency): Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua *COSCAP-SA (South Asia): Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Delta Air Lines' $425-million agreement to sell Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) to SkyWest Inc. may keep the third-largest U.S. carrier out of Chapter 11 reorganization, but its prospects are highly uncertain and, at best, its brush with bankruptcy will be the closest yet.
U.S. finance and leasing company CIT Group is buying $2.2 billion worth of Airbus aircraft, including a commitment to take five of the yet-to-be-launched A350-800s. The firm order portion covers 24 A320-family aircraft, which would be delivered in 2007 and 2008. The A350s, the order for which will have to be firmed after the expected program launch next month, would be delivered in 2012 and 2013.
British Aerospace's Chairman Dick Olver's plea for lifting U.S. technology controls begs the question, what can BAE Systems bring to the table (AW&ST July 25, p. 66)?
James F. Pitts (see photo) has been appointed corporate vice president of the Northrop Grumman Corp. of Los Angeles and president of its Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector, effective Oct. 1. He will succeed Robert P. Iorizzo, who will retire. Pitts has been vice president/general manager of the sector's Aerospace Systems Div.
Pending flight tests of directed infrared countermeasures on commercial aircraft will help the Homeland Security Dept. determine whether military laser systems can be modified for airline operations.
MIG will re-christen its MiG-29M/M2 the MiG-35, at least for its entrant into India's fighter competition. The aircraft will feature the three-dimensional thrust vector nozzle now being trialed on the MiG-29M OVT. The MiG-29M OVT first flew in 2003, and a full-scale flight test program is underway.
Aviation security and safety is all about protecting travelers and serving the needs of a global economy, but as the attacks of 9/11 showed, terrorists can lurk in the crowd of people boarding planes. So as safety officials work to improve a good record as air traffic increases, security officials seek to balance efforts to keep bad people and bad things (explosives and weapons) off aircraft. Special report begins on p. 52. Photo by Dynamics Graphics Inc.
Brian See (see photo) has been promoted to vice president-mission assurance for Alliant TechSystems, Edina, Minn., from president of ATK Mission Research.
In your editorial on the future of cell phones in flight, you were so right to say the industry should tread carefully on this subject (AW&ST July 18, p. 58). I spent close to 40 years in the aerospace industry and traveled to what seemed like most of the companies. These flights were between 30 min. and 14 hr. The last thing I needed was someone on a cell phone near me. I spent the time eating, working on my laptop or snoozing. A cell phone conversation would have interfered with them all. However, I have a solution.
Commercial airports just won't learn and so we have the Air France Flight 358 runway overrun. When I served in the U.S. Air Force, at every Strategic Air Command base that I was stationed, the runways were equipped with a simple aircraft arrest system. It consisted of two huge anchor chains on both sides of the runway connected by a spring-loaded arrest wire lying across the runway that was triggered by the tower (it could just as well be triggered in the cockpit) if controllers saw a potential overrun problem.
Leadership of NASA's Science Mission Directorate will have a strong Earth sciences bent following appointment of two veterans in the field to top positions, while the Space Operations Mission Directorate will see continuity in key roles. Administrator Michael D. Griffin named two-time astronaut Mary Cleave to be associate administrator in charge of the science directorate, and Colleen Hartman as her deputy. As expected, he also appointed International Space Station Program Manager William H. Gerstenmaier to replace William F.
Continental Airlines is on a pilot hiring spree, topping the list of seven of the 15 U.S. major carriers that have added to crewmember ranks this summer. Continental hired 60 pilots in July and plans to hire an additional 60 this month, 44 in September and eight per week thereafter, based on a recent survey by FLTops.com, the pilot career web site. Two pilots recently recalled by Continental came from JetBlue Airways, which hired 32 pilots in July and plans to add 58 in August. Other carriers that are in the hiring mode are AirTran, FedEx, Southwest, UPS and Alaska.
Clair Frankson has joined Volga-Dnepr's international sales team, based at London Stansted Airport. She was senior operations controller for Gold Air International.
The letter by Peter Trapp was comical. To hammer inexperienced pilots due to their incompetence is typical of our bureaucracy. In the same issue you reported in "A Glass Act" (AW&ST July 25, p. 53) on a Middle Tennessee State University program in which pilots from Day One become systems operators "light years from traditional training" to "meet or exceed current Practical Test Standards at an affordable price," where they earn an integrated private pilot/instrument license.
Remington Technologies' Eye Ball R1 is a 360-deg. wireless mobile display system designed for tactical law enforcement operations. According to the company, it can be used for surveillance, as well as for search and rescue, ceiling and attic investigation, and stairwell or hallway clearing. The device can be rolled, tossed or dropped, lowered by a wire, or attached to a pole or spike. It has near-infrared illumination up to 9 yd., captures video up to 25 yd. and audio up to 5 yd. Streaming video can be transmitted up to 200 yd. The omnidirectional camera rotates at 4 rmp.
An article on p. 20 of the Aug. 15 edition misstated a participant in an upcoming Australian unmanned aerial vehicle demonstration. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems will participate.
QinetiQ's Ferroguard is a metal detector designed to protect access to public areas. Mounted on a wall or used as a portable stand-alone system, it detects ferromagnetic material (iron and steel) contained in most metal weapons, such as firearms and knives. The sensitivity of the detector can be adjusted for a low false alarm rate for non-ferromagnetic objects, such as coins, and, as a passive system, it has no effect on electronic devices such as pacemakers and mobile phones.
John Happ has become senior vice president-marketing and planning and Bill Schuyler director of schedules for Frontier Airlines. Anne McCollum has been promoted to senior director of reservations and customer support from director of reservations. Happ was senior vice president-marketing and sales for ATA Airlines, while Schuyler was director of schedule planning for JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways.
The U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) next month is scheduled to begin tests aimed at collecting air data, inlet performance, pressure loads, and stability and control testing for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Komy Co.'s FF Mirror Air has been chosen as standard equipment for overhead stowage bins on the Airbus A380. The flat-surfaced convex mirror, which is already in service on Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by airlines worldwide, now has a variation specifically designed for the mega-transport. It is generally installed inside the bins above seats and enables passengers to scan for items left behind after they remove large baggage. Flight attendants also use the mirrors to make a quick, efficient search for suspicious articles tucked inside the bins.
Jeffrey Yaker has been named vice president-sales and marketing of Firth Rixson Ltd., Sheffield, England. He succeeds Alan Erickson, who is retiring. Yaker has been general manager of Firth Rixson, FMI.
