Aviation Week & Space Technology

Airbus is being forced to respond to Internet-circulated pictures of A380 tow tests, which show the landing gear carving grooves in the asphalt during turns sharper than normal limits. Reaction pushed the company to issue a letter to "airline focal points" on July 19.

The way is clear for an extravehicular activity at the ISS next month, following a 30-min. flight to shift the station's Soyuz lifeboat from the airlock the crew will use. Expedition 11 Commander Sergei Krikalev maneuvered the Soyuz from the Pirs docking compartment to the nadir port on the Zarya module on July 19. He was joined in the Soyuz by Flight Engineer John Phillips during the maneuver, which took the capsule 82 ft. away from the Pirs and 45 ft. along the length of the station.

The British Defense Ministry is reconsidering a decision to ax its C-130K Hercules fleet in 2012, and instead may pursue a life extension for some aircraft, in part to meet special forces needs. The alternative is to earmark some of its C-130Js for the role.

Fred George, senior editor of Aviation Week & Space Technology sister publication Business & Commercial Aviation flew one of the Eclipse 500 flight-test aircraft and reported it in the July 2005 issue of B&CA. A condensed version of that article follows. We strapped into the left seat of serial No. 109, the third flight-test aircraft and the one Eclipse will use primarily for avionics and electric system certification. Terry Tomeny, Eclipse Aviation director of flight-test engineering, occupied the right seat as pilot in command.

Adelle M. Pierce and Michael A. Young have become co-chairs of Arinc Engineering Services (AES), Annapolis, Md. They succeed Frederic J. Jacoby, who is retiring. Pierce has been vice president of the AES Defense Systems Engineering Unit, while Young has been vice president of the AES Aircraft and Weapons Systems Unit.

More than ever before, today's commercial aircraft and weapons systems are the end product of significant customer input. Gone are the days when OEMs presumptuously put into production what they thought the market needed. From Puget Sound to Toulouse, from Montreal to Sao Jose dos Campos, customers are serving as risk-sharing partners with engineers and designers--often on-site--throughout the development process.

The U.S. Navy is beginning to introduce a slew of upgrades to the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to ensure the aircraft will be part of the Pentagon's emerging network-centric warfighting environment. The networking functions are only the latest element of the project's spiral development program. These are intended to allow the aircraft to form the backbone of an integrated force that will eventually include the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs).

The British Defense Ministry, faced with emerging requirements and the lengthy in-service delay of a key unmanned aerial vehicle program, is pushing for an interim system, along with armed long-endurance platforms.

NASA's Office of Inspector General says the agency is complying with recommendations on concerns that "the space shuttle program has not formally assessed the risk of aging and damaged wiring in accordance with [formal] Risk Assessment Procedures." But concerns remain, the IG said. A wiring problem was one option being assessed in Discovery's propellant sensor problem (see main article).

Air Canada is expanding its North America route schedule and providing more point-to-point services as its new regional jets are delivered. Effective Dec. 17, regional subsidiary Air Canada Jazz will start daily nonstop service with 75-seat CRJ705s between Vancouver and San Diego, as well as three-times-daily nonstops between Abbotsford (B.C.) and Calgary. On Dec. 1, the mainliner will provide daily nonstops with the 93-seat Embraer 190 between Calgary and Newark Liberty International Airport as well as from its Toronto hub to Abbotsford. On Dec.

Vought Aircraft Industries is looking forward to production after delivering the first elongated wing for the RQ-4B Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The delivery is a major step forward after a frustrating year for the program, which has suffered cost overruns due, in part, to delays in wing design.

SITA Information Networking Computing of Geneva will provide Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport a Wi-Fi network that will allow laptop and cell phone use anywhere in the airport. In 2004, Hartsfield-Jackson, which has earned the title of busiest airport in the world for seven years, handled about 84 million passengers. Under the $5.4-million contract, SITA will establish the Wi-Fi and cellular phone infrastructure and manage the network for one year (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2004, p. 74). Operations are to begin before year-end.

Gradual recovery of legacy-airline pricing power and continued vigilance on costs overcame fuel prices, delivering small and fleeting profits to American Airlines and Continental Airlines in the second quarter of 2005. Delta Air Lines, however, continued to see red.

Prem Shanker Goel, who has been director of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Satellite Center in Bangalore, has become secretary of ISRO's Ocean Development Dept. He succeeds Harsh K. Gupta, who has retired. M. Annamalai has been appointed director of the Satish Dhawan Space Center. He was associate director and succeeds K. Narayana, who has retired.

James R. Parker has been named to succeed Donald O. Barber, when he retires July 31 as senior vice president of air operations of FedEx Express. Parker has been vice president.

The World Trade Organization in Geneva has formally taken up the respective cases filed by the U.S. and European Union over alleged subsidies to commercial airplane makers. A Dispute Settlement Board is now being set up to hear the case. Initial hearings are set for later this year, but a ruling won't come until next year at the earliest. Brussels and Washington say they are still open to discuss and try to resolve the matter outside the WTO, although no serious talks are slated.

Nigeria plans to have its grounded G.222s back in operation within the next 24 months, following a fleetwide revamp by Alenia Aeronautica. The $74.5-million contract will see Alenia overhaul the Nigerian air force's G.222s, with the airframes subject to a stripdown. One of the five aircraft to be returned to service will, given the state of the airframe, first be returned to Italy.

Even though the European Union hasn't lifted its arms embargo against China, but is only considering it, the Pentagon says damage already has been done. The U.S. military tells lawmakers that the EU debate to remove restrictions in place since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown "may have prompted Russia to expand the range of systems it is willing to market to China," in order to preempt new competitors.

Astronomers have their first relatively close look at Saturn's tumbling moon Hyperion, and it has given them something to anticipate in September when NASA's Cassini probe returns for a much closer view. Images collected in mid-June show the tiny moon pocked with craters that give it the appearance of a natural sponge. That's appropriate, because at only 102 mi. on its longest axis, Hyperion is so small that its gravity doesn't crush it into a sphere, leaving it with voids that give it a density only 60% that of water ice.

A technique not often associated with low-cost, low-fare carriers--yield management--is behind profitable second-quarter operations at JetBlue Airways and America West Airlines.

Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems & Sensors has won a $124-million, three-year contract to upgrade the first of four Japanese Kongo-class destroyers with Aegis ballistic missile defense weapon system upgrades. This involves integration of the Aegis system and upgrades to the ship's vertical launching and command and control systems. The award is a follow-on to a 2003 Foreign Military Sales agreement with the Japan Defense Agency. The U.S.

Cockpit doors slam shut for 60-year-old Part 121 transport pilots under the FAA's "Age 60" rule adopted in 1959. But U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) and U.S. Rep. James A. Gibbons (R-Nev.)--both pilots--are proposing legislation that would extend the mandatory retirement age to 65. Pilot groups and medical authorities testified last week before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation aviation subcommittee about the pros and cons of an age extension.

The British Atomic Weapons Establishment is to receive a 1.05-billion-pound ($1.84-billion) upgrade over three years to ensure it can continue to maintain the U.K.'s Trident warheads. The government also is considering a successor warhead, as part of broader work on a future nuclear deterrent.

Jacques Chauvet (see photo) has been promoted to vice president-Falcon customer service for the Eastern Hemisphere, based in St. Cloud, France, for Dassault Aviation. He was deputy vice president. Chauvet succeeds Claude Frey, who has retired.

Russia is fortifying itself to face competition in the Indian defense market from U.S. rivals that are savvy about after-sales service. To improve its image in that sector, Russia is launching a joint venture in Mumbai called Rosoboronservice India to provide after-sales warranty work on Russian naval and air force equipment. Besides India, the company also expects to serve Russian equipment buyers in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia.