I was amazed by the quote at the end of the article "Watching, Waiting" (AW&ST June 6, p. 30): "Get the right people on the bus, then figure out [where to put them]." No project manager worth her/his salt would operate this way. And how is an airliner like a bus? An airliner may be analogous to a bus, but the whole company? And what do you do when all the "right people" want window seats in front? Wait until you've got them on board to work it out? Sure, but only if your goal is discontent.
USAF Col. (ret.) James DeFrank has been appointed Washington-based executive director for research and analysis of the Space Foundation, effective July 18. He has been deputy USAF director of public affairs at the Pentagon.
Lockheed Martin officials say its Joint Common Missile design has passed a subsystem preliminary design review. The missile, intended to replace eight existing weapons, offers a trimode seeker and multipurpose warhead to help identify and precisely strike targets, even when moving, in cluttered urban situations where friendly troops and civilians are present. The warhead has both a tandem-shaped charge for armored targets and a blast-fragmentation charge for structures. The missile also carries a semi-active laser, an imaging infrared sensor and a millimeter wave radar.
The aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul sector in Europe is seeing a flurry of activity with forces realigning to capitalize on the lucrative and growing business. In addition to high-profile teaming arrangements, most notably Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik for Airbus A380 support, the sector has realized a spate of mergers and acquisitions. Moreover, several large maintenance deals were announced at the Paris air show last month.
Aerion supersonic business jet designers (AW&ST June 13, p. 80) are missing a critical breakthrough needed for SSBJ travel--more fuel capacity. In the mid-1990s, I participated on an SSBJ design team. We designed an SSBJ very similar in range to the Aerion. Unfortunately in both cases, there was/is not enough fuel capacity to fly 5,500 naut. mi. supersonic nonstop across the Pacific--the major market segment for the SSBJ.
SITA SC and INS of Santa Clara, Calif., a provider of business and technology consulting services, have joined forces to provide transport industry-related companies with a wide range of information technology-related professional services and software. The stated goal is to help SITA's airline and airport customers cut costs, an objective most of them are pursuing aggressively in an increasingly competitive environment. Service will help airlines improve networks that rely on the Internet.
Stakeholders in Italian flag carrier Alitalia are slated to meet in the coming weeks to issue their verdict on the struggling carrier's latest restructuring plan. In order to cover losses accrued through the end of March 2005, Alitalia must reduce its capital from the current 1.42 billion euros ($1.71 billion) to a mere 291 million euros. This is after having already depleted its reserves in order to reduce the 2004 loss from 810 million euros to 575 million.
Robert Barron has been appointed vice president/chief operating officer of Dallas-based Kitty Hawk Aircargo Inc. He has been vice president-maintenance and engineering.
NASA scientists David Alexander and Michael G. Bosilovich have received Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Alexander is associate professor of astrophysics at Rice University in Houston. Bosilovich is a meteorologist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The awards honor the U.S.' "most promising young researchers within their fields."
L-3 Communications subsidiary Integrated Systems will provide the U.S. Navy with eight Special Structural Inspection Kits as part of the service's P-3 Sustainment, Modification and Improvement Program designed to extend the service life of the fleet of 150 airplanes. The kits will be used during intensive depot-level work that includes special structural inspection.
Chile's LAN Airlines has ordered 25 Airbus A318s and A319s, and has taken an option for 15 more of the single-aisle aircraft. The deal will cost LAN about $750 million, the carrier said. Aircraft deliveries will commence next year. The carrier already has A319s and A320s in its fleet, powered by IAE V2500s. An engine decision for the new aircraft hasn't been made. Pratt & Whitney hopes LAN's A318s will be the first powered by PW6000 turbofans.
How does the FAA create the National Airspace System (NAS) of the future? By getting a host of stakeholders to agree on key issues such as what parts of the aging infrastructure to retire, what the new system should look like and how to pay for air traffic control services.
The Argos HAL-2 (High-Accuracy Locator) transmitter has a reliable frequency stability making it possible to pinpoint to an accuracy of 1,000-1,300 ft. The VHAL-2 is fitted with an integrated GPS device to enable even more accurate pinpointing to within a few feet, while retaining the same overall performance as the HAL-2, according to the company. The system is used worldwide for locating and collecting data by satellite and is related to such systems as GPS.
Raytheon has won a multi-year contract from Boeing worth $580 million to provide active electronically scanned array APG-79 radars for U.S. Navy F/A-18E/Fs. The five-year contract involves 190 radars. The radar is to have longer detection ranges and the ability to produce high-resolution synthetic aperture radar maps. It also is to have enough resolution to detect very small targets at ranges great enough to attack them.
Russian and Kazakh workers at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, are continuing 27 years of stellar performance to prepare and launch Progress unmanned resupply spacecraft. The automated Energia Progress tanker/transports have been the critical logistics lifeline to the International Space Station while the U.S. space shuttle has been grounded. The checkout and launch of the Progress M-53/P-18 vehicle and its SL-4 Soyuz launcher are shown at Baikonur in mid-June. The cosmodrome is celebrating its 50th anniversary as the world's first spaceport.
Russia's new Express AM-3 satcom is undergoing checkout in geosynchronous orbit prior to going operational with communications services to Siberia and the Far East. The 2.5-ton Russian Satellite Communications System spacecraft was launched June 24 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on board a Khrunichev Proton booster with an Energia Block DM upper stage. The spacecraft will be parked over the Pacific Ocean at 140 deg. E. Long., where it will use 16 C-band, 12 K u-band and a single L-band system to provide voice, data and broadcast services.
After 2.5 years of tumultuous space program change following the loss of Columbia and her crew, NASA will begin the countdown July 10 for the planned launch of Discovery to return the shuttle program to flight July 13. "Based on a very thorough and very successful Flight Readiness Review, we are 'go' for launch," said NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin.
Virgin Atlantic Airways' business travel traffic figure was up by 26% in the 12 months to the end of February. Its load factor for this class was 56%, the highest since 2000. The airline is also recruiting an additional 1,500 staff over the next 18 months, predominantly in operations.
Secure Flight, the computerized airline passenger pre-screening program, may be a bit late getting off the ground because of budget cuts, the program's manager says. Already four months behind schedule, Secure Flight is supposed to roll out in mid-August with two yet-to-be-selected airlines. But budget woes are putting this target date "in very serious jeopardy," Justin Oberman tells a House subcommittee. The administration seeks $81 million for Secure Flight in Fiscal 2006.
Only days after BAE Systems completed the acquisition of United Defense Industries, it has received a $1.27-billion order for the remanufacture and upgrade of 500 Bradley armored vehicles for the U.S. Army.
Some friction is developing in Japan over delivery schedules and overpayments for U.S.-manufactured weapons systems. Japan's Board of Audit says that approximately $2.04 billion that the JDA has paid for procurement of U.S.-made systems through the Foreign Military Sales program has not been cleared for export. The board wants the agency to accelerate its claims for clearance, although the JDA reports it has repeatedly asked for U.S. action without success. The audit board says Japan has overpaid $93 million and wants refunds.
British airline passengers will be able to begin judging how "green" an airline is as part of an aerospace industry initiative aimed at addressing environmental concerns. By the end of 2005, airline signatories to the "Sustainable Aviation" strategy document have agreed to "common reporting of total carbon dioxide emissions, and fleet fuel efficiency." A further goal is to "inform passenger understanding of the climate impacts of air travel, including evaluating carbon offset initiatives."
Lockheed Martin has completed the first successful test flight of its Joint Common Missile controlled test vehicle (CTV-1) at China Lake, Calif. It is the first time the JCM has flown with a production-like rocket motor. The flight covered the maximum rotary-wing range of 16 km. (10 mi.). The missile is expected eventually to have a 28-km. range.
