Aircraft Spruce & Specialty is the only agent in the U.S. with the full line of H3R Halon and Halotron1 fire extinguishers for use in aircraft cockpits and cargo areas. The products range from 14 oz. of agent for pilot bags to 150-lb. wheeled units for flight-line ops. The colorless, odorless gas will not transmit electrostatic shocks to avionics or affect pilots' vision, according to the company. The units meet EPA standards. Aircraft Spruce West, 225 Airport Circle, Corona, Calif. 92880 or www.aircraftspruce.com. 9 on www.AviationNow.com/aps
Ray O. Johnson has been named senior vice president/chief operating officer of Modern Technology Solutions, Alexandria, Va. He was senior vice president/general manager of the Advanced Concepts unit of the Science Applications International Corp.
A European airline is likely to be the launch customer for Ericsson's passenger-cabin cell phone service before year-end, according to executives of the Swedish company.
After a year of fretting about which bidder will have the right to tender for deployment and operation of the Galileo satellite navigation system, Europe will now sit down and talk with both of them.
CAE AND THALES HAVE WON CONTRACTS FOR A380 full-flight simulators. Thales will supply a simulator for the new jumbo jet to Malaysia Airlines, its second order after being selected by Airbus A380 launch customer Singapore Airlines. The Malaysian unit will rely on Thales C2000X technology and an Evans & Sutherland LaserWide system to produce high-performance visual effects. It will also use a motion system that consumes one-third less power than current types. CAE will provide a next-generation full-flight simulator to Qantas.
The Pentagon simply can't afford its existing system for developing and operating unmanned aircraft, so the services must find a new formula for getting the increasingly popular technology to the warfighter, say top military and industry officials. For example, the Navy's UAVs are budgeted for 12,000 flight hour per year, but they actually operate at three times that rate, says Rear Adm. Tim Healy, program executive officer for strike weapons and unmanned aviation.
Iberia Airlines has opted for CFM56-5B turbofans to power the 30 additional Airbus A320-family aircraft the carrier ordered earlier this year. Deliveries will stretch from 2006-08. Options could extend deliveries until 2011.
Former Royal Air Force pilot Raymond T. Holmes, who gained fame by ramming a German Dornier Do-17 bomber to prevent an attack on London's Buckingham Palace during World War II, died June 27 of cancer. He was 90. The incident that made Holmes famous occurred Sept. 15, 1940, when he flew his Hawker Hurricane into the bomber after expending his ammunition while engaging other German bombers in the raid. Holmes had to bail out at 350 ft. and yet avoided injury.
Lufthansa has cleared another hurdle in acquiring Swiss International Air Lines, with 91.2% of minority shareholders offering up their stock at a purchase price of CHF 8.96 ($7) per share. AirTrust, a holding company created to facilitate the Lufthansa/Swiss deal, now has 98.7% of all of Swiss' shares. The airlines are still waiting for European Union competition authorities' blessing.
USN Rear Adm. (lower half) Bruce W. Clingan has been appointed deputy director of the Air Warfare Div. in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) in Washington. He has been commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, Bremerton, Wash. Rear Adm. (lower half) Alan B. Hicks has been named program director for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense in the Missile Defense Agency. He has been deputy for surface warfare for the Combat Systems/Weapons Div. of the Office of the CNO. Hicks will be succeeded by Rear Adm. (lower half) (selectee) Nevin P.
Japan's unfortunate history of accidents continues to blot its transportation safety record. Recently, fragments of a Pratt & Whitney PW4090 high-pressure turbine blade were found inside the engine after a Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300 made an emergency landing at Kansai International Airport following an inflight shutdown on a flight from Tokyo to Naha, Okinawa.
World News Roundup 18 U.S. Army slated to select winner of helicopter competition this month 19 Deep Impact pair of spacecraft set to hit and observe comet 9P/Tempel 1 19 Dutch use new ability to transmit im- agery during combat operations 20 New penetration of Washington air- space by general aviation aircraft 20 Obituaries for RAF pilot of WWII fame, lead designer of spacecraft crawler World News & Analysis
The prospect of terror in the skies was seared into the consciousness of every air traveler nearly four years ago, and the reality is that threat is unlikely to go away in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, world. That point was driven home on June 4 in Boston.
The White House has nominated the Air Force's top uniformed acquisition official, Lt. Gen. John Corley, to be the service's next vice chief of staff. USAF often promotes operators fresh from a major command or duty in the field to its top slots. In this case, Corley has been working in the acquisition office for the last five years. The move is being interpreted as an effort to raise the level of oversight needed to repair USAF's scandalized acquisition system.
French procurement officials may be about to steal a page from the U.S. Congress and initiate a tanker modernization program that effectively shuts out competition from overseas.
NASA is right to begin final preparations for launching the space shuttle Discovery next week. Even though the agency has not met all of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommendations for returning to flight, Administrator Michael D. Griffin is correct when he says the post-accident work has reduced risk to an acceptable level. It's time to go fly.
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A Beech King Air 350 (right) was forced to land at Winchester (Va.) Regional Airport after it penetrated restricted Washington airspace, causing evacuation of the U.S. Capitol and White House.
Kenneth J. Disken has been named senior vice president-human resources and a corporate vice president of the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. Disken was vice president-human resources for Lockheed Martin Electronic Systems.
HONEYWELL HAS RECEIVED THE FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CERTIFICATE for its Runway Awareness and Advisory System (RAAS) in Europe. RAAS gives pilots audio warnings and reminders of aircraft location, such as which runway it is on. The European Aviation Safety Agency has approved it for use on the Learjet 31, 35, 36, 55 and 60 series aircraft, while French regulatory authorities have approved it for the Boeing 777.
United Air Lines Corp. in May reported an operating loss of $21 million and a $93-million year-over-year fuel expense hike. In May 2004, UAL had an operating profit of $9 million. Unit costs for the mainline increased 6% on 1% lower capacity, however, excluding fuel. Unit costs decreased 3% year over year, while mainline passenger unit revenue increased 1%. At the end of May, the company had $2.6 billion in cash (including $957 million in restricted cash). The cash balance increased $143 million in May.
Military Editor Amy Butler flew the latest version of the Boeing Hornet during the Paris air show. She and company test pilot Steve (Bull) Schmidt departed Le Bourget for a hop over the French countryside. During the flight in the F/A-18F Super Hornet, the pair executed several high-performance maneuvers including a 49-deg. angle-of-attack demonstration. Under Schmidt's tutelage, Butler flew a series of standard maneuvers, including an inside loop and aileron roll.
Aimed at its crew transfer vehicle concept, Transformational Space Corp. has made three drop tests of a technique to properly align space launchers after they are released from an aircraft. The launcher is carried horizontally, then dropped and tugged to rotate vertically by a lanyard on the nose. The rotation is stopped by a parachute, leaving the rocket in a vertical attitude for a few seconds ready for ignition.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has received FAA certification for the Citation CJ1+ business jet after 200 flights totaling 400 hr. The CJ1+ is an upgraded version of the CJ1 and features more powerful Williams FJ-44-1AP engines with dual-channel full authority digital engine controls, a 100-lb. increase in maximum gross weight, an instrument flight rules range of 1,285 naut. mi. and a Collins Pro Line 21 avionics system that uses three 8 X 10-in. active matrix color displays, two air data computers and includes a flight management system with a performance database.
The House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Coast Guard gives the agency until July 14 to submit a detailed plan for Deepwater, the program to recapitalize its aging fleet of ships and aircraft. The mission has widened since September 2001 to include maritime homeland security duties not envisioned when Deepwater was proposed in 1998. Last year, Congress demanded a revised plan with the Fiscal 2006 budget request, and delays in compliance so angered House appropriators that they cut the $966-million request to $500 million.
