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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.
The British government and industry are attempting to inject impetus into a joint strategic aerospace program by reshuffling top management, while the launch of possibly two demonstrator projects is eagerly awaited. The government last week announced it is setting up a leadership council to drive forward the recommendations of its Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team (AIGT) report.
To no one's surprise, a team headed by the Air Traffic Alliance (Airbus, Thales and EADS) will lead Europe into the 21st century with a makeover of its air traffic management system. It seems inconceivable that a team led by the premier civil and military aerospace companies in Europe could possibly have lost such a bid, and in fact no one has revealed if there was even another team bidding on the project. BAE Systems of the U.K., Indra of Spain and Selex Sistemi Integrati of Italy are also on the Sesame team that won.
India and Ukraine will cooperate in space research under a memorandum of understanding reached during a visit to Dnipropetrovsk by Indian President Abdul Kalam. The agreement renews a collaboration that dates to the Soviet-era launches of India's Aryabhat, Bhaskar-I and Bhaskar-II satellites as India's space program was getting under way in the mid-1970s.
UNITED STATES Editor-In-Chief: Anthony L. Velocci, Jr. [email protected] Managing Editor: James R. Asker [email protected] Assistant Managing Editor: Michael Stearns [email protected] Senior Editors: Craig Covault [email protected], David Hughes [email protected] NEW YORK 2 Penn Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10121 Phone: +1 (212) 904-2000, Fax: +1 (212) 904-6068 Senior News Editor: Nora Titterington
The European Commission is widening the scope of an inquiry launched in October 2003 concerning zero-interest state loans the Italian government has provided to national aerospace companies to help finance research and development. The review now encompasses every civil program financed since November 2002. The EC wants to determine if projects were eligible for the aid they received and if the loans have been repaid.
The market for turbofan engines is projected to generate $165.9 billion during the period 2005-14, when 53,514 engines could be manufactured, according to a study conducted by Forecast International. Growth in the new Very Light Jet segment of the business jet market is expected to continue during the period and Pratt & Whitney's PW600-series engine is poised to be the "major benefactor," according to Will Alibrandi, Aero Gas Turbine analyst.
Michael A. Dornheim (El Mirage Dry Lakebed, Calif.)
People have long dreamed of perpetual flight, and the tipping point was reached earlier this month when a solar-powered drone stayed aloft for 48 hr. It showed that enough energy could be stored during the day to fly the aircraft at night, for at least several days. All that's needed are small, near-term improvements in technology to tip this feat into flights lasting reliably for months. One application, albeit much harder, would be as a radio tower in the sky, giving line-of-sight access across a city.
The Swedish military wants to buy a tactical unmanned aircraft system to support its expanding European security commitment. The procurement initiative that should unfold in the coming months makes Sweden the latest of several European countries to enter a UAV renewal cycle. After having bought tactical UAV systems in the 1990s when those started to gain popularity with Western militaries, several countries--such as France, the U.K. and now Sweden--are looking for replacement systems that better fit future needs.
Airbus has raised list prices across its product line. The prices, which typically are above what airlines actually pay, increased about 3% on average. For the new A350-800, the list price has gone up to $158.6 million from $153.5 million. The most expensive aircraft, the A380, now commands a list price of up to $302 million.
L-3 Communications has received an order to provide two high-energy X-ray cargo inspection systems for use at New Bangkok International Airport in Thailand.
General Atomics has received a $30.8-million USAF contract for Predator ground stations, including two equipped to control multiple aircraft and six containerized digital control segments. U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are limited to six orbits because there are only six "cockpits" available at Nellis AFB, Nev., from which the Predators are controlled during the combat operations. The company also captured a $72.7-million contract add-on for accelerated delivery of 17 MQ-1L Block 10 Predators, support equipment and spares.
Thales and EADS have concluded long-term cooperation deals with French defense R&D agency Onera and France's national science research organization CNRS, respectively--part of a growing trend in Europe toward integrating industry, government and academic research efforts. The Thales/Onera agreement will cover airborne systems, ground radar, weapon/missile systems, optronics and air traffic management. EADS and CNRS will work on materials and structural engineering, electronics and onboard systems.
Lufthansa Systems and Garuda Indonesia have launched Lufthansa Systems Indonesia, a joint venture to develop IT solutions for the airline industry in Southeast Asia. Garuda Indonesia will be the first airline in Asia to use new programs developed by Lufthansa Systems for inventory, revenue management, pricing, reservations, check in and crew deployment.
NASA settles--from the top--a touchy issue that has divided the panel overseeing its plans to start flying the space shuttle again. Administrator Mike Griffin says the shuttle Discovery will fly with existing thermal protection repair capabilities, regardless of whether it meets the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) recommendation of what is "practicable." "We're going to have to sign up to launch Discovery and Eileen Collins and her crew without having met that recommendation because we can't," Griffin tells the Space Transportation Assn.
The SaM146 engine being developed for Sukhoi's Russian Regional Jet could be offered for Bombardier's new C-Series transport line, which is having trouble finding an engine maker willing to fund the project, but it might run up against power limitations (AW&ST June 20, p. 29). Michel Dechelotte, Chairman/CEO of Snecma-Saturn engine venture PowerJet, which is developing the SaM-146, said in Paris that the engine will be certified at 17,500 lb.
The chances of nailing down contracts for demonstration/validation and operation of the Galileo satellite navigation system by year-end appear to be improving, although national rivalries that have threatened to derail the process continue to simmer.
