If the U.S. airline industry could trim seating capacity by 6-7%, the decline in supply would boost revenue per seat by 10%, according to W. Douglas Parker, chairman/president/CEO of America West Airlines. Parker told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce at a seminar in Washington that America West has been in crisis mode since 10 days after he was named CEO on Sept. 1, 2001. Parker says a 7% capacity cut industry-wide wouldn't be huge but it would be enough for his airline to post a $250-million profit instead of last year's $100-million loss.
The Aviation Technology Group Javelin two-place civilian jet is expected to begin taxi tests at its Englewood, Colo., final-assembly base within 2-3 weeks, according to ATG officials. Electrical system and ejection-seat ground checks were being conducted last week. The first Javelin will be an unpressurized demonstrator, limited to "high transonic" speeds and dedicated to performance, handling qualities and systems testing, according to George Bye, ATG's CEO. Ultimately, the company plans to build and certify a family of Javelin-type aircraft under FAR Part 23.
The first Bombardier Global 5000 long-range business jet entered service with a customer based in the Middle East. The twin-engine jet will be flown on both intercontinental and transcontinental missions through Asia and Europe. The airplane was completed at Bombardier's facilities in Montreal, where eight other Global 5000s are nearing completion, according to Bombardier Aerospace. In the past 30 days, Bombardier has received orders for three more airplanes from launch customers in New Zealand, Brazil and Honduras.
Howard Benedict, the award-winning dean of U.S. space writers, who served 37 years with the Associated Press, much of it at Cape Canaveral. died of natural causes Apr. 25 at home in Cocoa, Fla. He was 77. Benedict also was the AP's White House correspondent during the Ford administration. Benedict opened the AP's Cape Canaveral bureau in 1959 to begin coverage of the growing U.S. space program. He wrote thousands of news stories about U.S. space achievements and failures.
A looming French "no" vote on the European Union's constitutional treaty threatens to thwart a nascent push to integrate and broaden Europe's military space program, just as it appears to be gathering steam. Such an ominous development would be ironic, because France has been the leading proponent for a stronger military space agenda and has recently appeared to be winning converts.
The MBDA Brimstone air-launched anti-armor missile was finally accepted for service by the British Royal Air Force at the end of March. The millimeter-wave guided missile's entry into service had been delayed by a mixed bag of technical problems, and the availability of suitable Tornado aircraft for initial integration tests. A final series of Defense Ministry test firings were carried out in the U.S. prior to the missile's being cleared for service entry. These included ripple firing of three missiles from a single aircraft against several armored targets.
World News Roundup 18 MDA head cites problems that led to abort of a silo-based interceptor 18 Javelin two-place civilian jet expected to begin taxi tests in 2-3 weeks 18 NASA pushes shuttle's return to flight into summer 19 Britain plans major upgrade for E-3D Sentry early warning aircraft 20 Aerospace companies report another round of robust earnings 20 First flight for prototype Cessna Citation Mustang business jet World News & Analysis
After a three-year restructuring plan, Gulf Air recorded a $4-million profit in 2004--a year ahead of when it was predicted. It had a $53-million loss in 2003.
Honeywell has licensed its patented technology for liquid crystal displays to Sharp Corp. LG. Philips, NEC and Samsung Electronics, among others, are licensees. Honeywell actively sells licenses to its intellectual property and is suing 34 other electronics companies in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., for what it alleges are infringements on this same LCD patent.
I was pleased that Boeing and Hamilton Sundstrand finally discovered that eliminating an entire secondary power system (bleed air) was a way to save cost, weight and space while improving reliability and reducing maintenance cost (AW&ST Mar. 28, p. 47). Now it is time to look at the real need for a hydraulic system. Today the all-electric airplane is a reality but many engineers refuse to recognize it. Virtually all unmanned aerial vehicles are all-electric and much simpler in concept than large manned aircraft.
Europe is considering liberalizing defense trade within the European Union, but political and military officials first face a long list of questions from governments used to nationalistic buying practices. The open market measure in the military sphere would keep in place rules that permit governments to exclude foreign bidders, albeit in a more controlled way.
8-9 Correspondence 10 Who's Where 12 Market Focus 15 Industry Outlook 16 Airline Outlook 17 In Orbit 18-20 World News Roundup 23 Washington Outlook 71 Classified 72 Contact Us 73 Aerospace Calendar
Regarding the article "China Showdown" (AW&ST Mar. 7, p. 20), the U.S. having to defend itself against European weapons is nothing new. In 1953, I was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where the MiG-15 that a North Korean pilot flew across the 38th Parallel was being examined. The aft section was off and the centrifrugal-flow jet engine was on a stand. The nameplate read "Rolls-Royce Nene."
France's Syracuse 3A military communications satellite will be shipped for a late May or early June Ariane 5 launch, DGA says. The flight, initially set for April, has been put off because of payload delays.
Sebastien Candel of Ecole Centrale Paris and Institut Universitaire de France is among the 30 new fellows named by the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
A master negotiator and diplomat, Assad Kotaite has been associated with the International Civil Aviation Organization since 1953. He has been the gentle overseer of aviation technical developments furthering the safety and security of aviation for nearly all of his professional years.
Yevgeny Zvedre (top, right), senior counsel for the Embassy of Russia in Washington, accepts a Laurel Legend Award on behalf of Rostislav A. Belyakov, who oversaw the development of Russian fighter aircraft at the Mikoyan Design Bureau. Former AW&ST Editor-in-Chief David M. North (top, center) presents the award as AW&ST's Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., looks on. America's first women astronauts (center) receive Laurel Legend Awards. They are (from left) Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Anna Fisher. Not shown are Sally Ride and the late Judith Resnik.
Israel and France are planning a joint multispectral imaging mission intended to expand Israeli know-how in microsatellite technologies while serving as a precursor for Europe's planned Global Monitoring for Environment and Security network.
The Pentagon expects to finish drawing its long-awaited land-attack weapons road map by this summer. Look for it to highlight vulnerability in the ability to hit small, moving targets. The problem could be offset by cutbacks in an overabundance of weapons designed to hit fixed targets. Furthermore, the Pentagon is reassessing its approach to joint weapons. Within the past few years, three joint weapons have either lost their "jointness" owing to a service pullout or been terminated. In December, the Pentagon killed the Army-led Joint Common Missile for financial reasons.
Insurance industry insiders are warning that toughening U.S. arms control regulations could lead to increased oversight of the space insurance industry and further project delays.
John W. McGill argues that the Boeing 787 fuselage cross-section is uncompetitive with Airbus because it provides nine-abreast seating in the back (AW&ST Apr. 4, p. 6). The wider cross-section was selected because of its impact in the front where market share is determined on long-haul routes. The Airbus A350 will offer 3 in. less seat width up front than the 787, making for an inferior first-class product. While McGill is correct that economy passengers don't like middle seats, their spending habits show they will tolerate quite a lot.
London Heathrow this week is scheduled to go live with the Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS). Passengers without a European Union passport and who travel regularly through the airport volunteer to have their iris patterns scanned and stored in a security database. The patterns are unique, similar to fingerprints, and serve as positive identification. A registered passenger would stop for an iris scan at special automated gates. If the scan matches the information in the database the traveler proceeds through the gate.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) May 10-11--Net-Centric Operations Conference 2005. Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington. May 24-25--Homeland Security Summit & Exposition, Washington. Oct. 18-20--MRO Europe. Estrel Hotel & Convention Center, Berlin. Nov. 8-10--MRO Asia, Suntec City, Singapore.
Canadian Forces Gen. (ret.) Jean-Michel Comtois (see photo) has been named vice president-military aviation for Canada-based CMC Electronics Inc. He has been vice president-government and public affairs.
Iraq insurgents, at least some of whom are believed by U.S. military officials to possess sophisticated, Russian-built SA-16s and possibly SA-18 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), shot down an Mi-8 cargo helicopter at 2 p.m. local time on Apr. 21 about 12 mi. north of Baghdad during a flight to Tikrit. The attack killed at least nine people. It's not yet known if the helicopter was shot down by a SAM or an unguided rocket-propelled grenade of the type that destroyed several U.S. military helicopters in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
