EADS is planning to build a final assembly facility for its Airbus A330 tankers at Mobile, Ala., about 2,000 ft. from a deep-water port that company officials say was the primary factor in their decision.
India is expected to see about $30 billion in investment in aviation-related infrastructure by 2010 to support its aviation boom, according to the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) at its first Aviation Investor Summit. Airport ground-handling, air traffic and navigation systems, overhaul and repair facilities, and training of manpower are the main areas likely for investment. CAPA Managing Director Peter Harbison said: "Human resources are reaching a crisis in supply.
Rolls-Royce is eyeing the U.S. Air Force Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV) program to supply engines to helo bidders--it is already on the V-22 with the AE 1107C. Rolls was shut out from the VXX U.S. presidential helicopter program in favor of General Electric. But the PRV politics aren't as sensitive as the presidential program, so Rolls officials believe they may have a chance this time around. Moreover, the program is large enough that it may warrant establishing a U.S. production site to meet U.S. content requirements established by Congress.
Shannon Alberts has become managing director of investor relations and Kris Kutchera managing director of applications development for Alaska Airlines. Alberts was managing director of board and shareholder services. Kutchera was vice president-information technology for F5 Networks. Marne McCluskey has been promoted to vice president from director of employee resources for Alaska Air Group subsdiary Horizon Air.
An expected denouement to the ugly management dispute that has plagued EADS for months, combined with a move by Dassault Aviation to sell its holdings in Thales, may be the spark needed to kick off the next phase of European defense and aerospace consolidation.
Regarding "Chopper Blues" (AW&ST May 30, p. 28), I piloted UH-1N Huey helicopters with the 1st Helicopter Sqdn., 89 MAW, Andrews AFB, Md., from 1983-86.
Europe's Mars Express orbiter is set to begin looking for underground aquifers and other features beneath the surface of the red planet following deployment of the final boom on its Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (Marsis) instrument. The instrument sent its first test signal to the surface on June 19 and is scheduled to complete checkout and begin scientific research on July 4.
After several years of deliberations among European Union member states on how to foster increased cooperation on military matters, the European Defense Agency formally opened for business at the beginning of this year. Backed by 24 EU states--Denmark opted out--the EDA has a broad agenda to become involved in shaping capabilities development, armaments efforts, research and technology spending, and matters related to the defense market.
The FAA has selected Thales for a 12-year, $60-million contract for the production of next-generation Category 1, 2 and 3 instrument landing systems. Three prototypes will be developed during the first phase, and 300 ILS 420 systems will be delivered over six years. Thales has provided ILS systems to the FAA for 40 years.
India has another low-cost carrier. InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd. says it will start operations in 6-9 months with New Delhi as its home base. The carrier has a firm order for 100 A320s, according to Airbus.
Engineers are cautiously exploring the terrain that the Mars rover Opportunity was stuck in for five weeks, seeking clues on how to avoid such traps in the future. After twirling and twirling its wheels in powdery soil, Opportunity finally gained good traction on June 4. It is now starting to carefully approach the trapping dune, named "Purgatory," with the instruments on the robot arm to understand thoroughly what they were stuck in. Officials don't expect the rover will continue its southward journey to the Erebus crater until at least late June.
Continental Airlines plans to double the number of first-class seats on its expanding Boeing 757-300 fleet to meet demand. The current nine-aircraft fleet will increase to 17 and the first-class cabin will be equipped with 24 seats instead of the current 12. Economy seats will shrink to 192 from 210. The first of the reconfigured aircraft is scheduled for completion this summer; the remainder, in 2006.
The multi-national consortium de- veloping an airborne ground-surveillance system for NATO expects to finalize its joint venture structure later this year and begin design and development in 2006, with the goal of fielding two 321s and three Global Hawk unmanned aircraft in late 2010. An integrated schedule that should harmonize development of the radar and remainder of the system is to be put before NATO for approval in October.
Boeing's board of directors has a short list of candidate chief executives from within and outside the company, but is still some months away from making its decision. The board can afford to wait because James Bell, the acting CEO and full-time chief financial officer, has done a "great job" of calming the turmoil that followed the resignation four months ago of Harry Stonecipher, Chairman Lewis E. Platt said. Stonecipher was forced out after e-mails surfaced revealing he had a personal relationship with a female company executive.
Although it switched airframe manufacturers, AirAsia kept CFM International as its engine supplier, ordering 120 CFM56-5B/Ps to power the 60 Airbus A320s it bought in March. The value of the sale is $750 million. AirAsia's current fleet of 26 Boeing 737-500s is under pressure as the Malaysia-based low-cost carrier continues to expand. "The business climate is incredibly healthy," says Chief Executive Tony Fernandes, noting only 6% of Malaysians, 1.5% of Thais and 0.8% of Indonesians have traveled by air. The carrier's first A320 is due in December.
For companies interested in the vast field of homeland security, it's a tricky proposition. The market appears massive, but airports and government customers still have no clear idea of the direction to take or of the tools necessary to take them there.
Four of Japan's foremost defense contractors accounted for 73% of the $8 billion in contracts held by the country's top 10 contractors during fiscal 2004. As it has for years, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries led the list, followed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric Co. (a separate company) and NEC. License-built aircraft, helicopters and missiles from U.S. companies comprised the bulk of MHI's work.
Meanwhile, EADS Astrium and Alcatel Space received a contract to undertake full development of a new bus for very large 12-18-kw., 6-8-metric-ton-class communications satellites. AlphaBus is to be on the market by 2007.
Aircraft parts produced by third-party manufacturers under the FAA's Parts Manufacturer Approval authority are growing in stature and will receive additional attention when the FAA issues a revision of Order 8110.42. The revision has been underway since federal officials met two years ago with the Modification and Replacement Parts Assn. (Marpa) and requested a dialogue on chief concerns of manufacturers. David Hempe, manager of FAA's Aircraft Engineering Div., says the revision will be written in plain language and offer expanded guidance and clarity.
Brian C. Voegele has been appointed chief financial officer of Offshore Logistics Inc., Lafayette, La. He was vice president-corporate planning and development for Transocean Inc.
A Russian capsule bearing 600 kg. (1,320 lb.) of microgravity experiments landed safely in Kazakhstan on June 16 after 16 days in orbit. The payload of the Foton M-2 vehicle included replacements for some European Space Agency experiments lost with the space shuttle Columbia, and on an earlier Foton mission that failed in October 2002 (AW&ST June 6, p. 17).
Mary Anne Stevens, a balloon pilot and instructor who is president of the Aero Club of Canada, has been named the representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale to the International Civil Aviation Organization. She succeeds Andre Dumas, who has retired.
A distant, diminished Sun sets behind the rim of the Martian crater Gusev in this Panoramic Camera mosaic from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Three filters on the camera combined to give a rough approximation of the natural colors on the planet, with the bluish glow in the sky roughly what a human eye would see but the redness at the perimeter mildly exaggerated. The rock outcrop "Jibsheet" is in the foreground, and the Sun appears about two-thirds of the size it would be on Earth. The crater wall is 50 mi. distant, across the Gusev floor.
Nick Frisch, who is director of flight training for Galvin Flying Services Inc. of Seattle, has been named to receive the National Assn. of Flight Instructors' Jack J. Eggspuehler Award. The award recognizes contributions to aviation education and training and is named for one of the NAFI's founders and a member of the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame.
