Israel has accepted its first three AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters from Boeing as part of a sweeping program to either modernize existing Apaches or purchase new models. The Israelis have assigned an AH-64D-I designation to the helicopters, which were purchased under a combination U.S. Army foreign military sales agreement and direct commercial purchase contract with Boeing. That process allows Boeing to make "several undefined changes" directly with the Israel Air Force.
RAYTHEON HAS "GONE HOLLYWOOD" by teaming with Treadle & Loam, Provisioners, a computer display company. Treadle & Loam developed some of the concepts for devices used by characters in Steven Spielberg's 2002 science-fiction film, Minority Report. Now life is imitating art. During the 21st National Space Symposium, the two companies unveiled a new technology called the Integrated Gestural Environment Tool. It allows a glove-wearing user standing within sensor range to point in order to sort through visual displays of data.
Comair's new contract with its 1,000 flight attendants contains planned wage increases and provides economic relief to the airline by creating a B-scale wage for 350 new hires, starting June 1. The agreement with Local 513 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters positions the wages of current attendants at the top of the regional airline salary ladder. After the 2006 increase, veteran attendants will be earning $45 an hour, while pay for rookies will be 20% lower during the five-year contract period.
The French defense ministry has formed a team to study ways of reducing costs and lead times for military hardware maintenance. In recent months, the defense ministry has identified ways, such as outsourcing, to improve the operational readiness of defense units, which, despite considerable effort, remain unsatisfactory (AW&ST Nov. 1, 2004, p. 19). The team, headed by former Rafale manager Alain Roche, will submit an action plan this summer with the aim of obtaining sharply improved cost/delivery performance by 2008.
ROCKWELL COLLINS IS WORKING on an enhanced vision system for the Boeing Business Jet, and Boeing is studying whether to develop its own, so there could be two EVS options for the BBJ. The infrared imagery would be displayed on Rockwell Collins Flight Dynamics head-up displays, which are already flying on BBJ versions of the 737. Although the 737 next-generation series aircraft are also equipped with the Flight Dynamics HUD, there's no plan yet to offer enhanced vision on the commercial version of the jet.
Mike Romito (see photos) has been appointed group vice president-marketing for Parker Aerospace, Irvine, Calif. He also will continue as vice president-customer support. Bob Dickie has been named vice president-business development and government logistics for worldwide military customer support and Rich Gucciardo account executive for Embraer programs. Ed Feick and Mark Flohr have become commercial business development team leaders for fuel, powerplant and distribution, and hydraulics and flight controls, respectively, for Customer Support Operations.
Southwest Airlines increased its operating revenue 12.1% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2005 while holding its operating cost increase to 8.3%. It increased its fleet by seven aircraft and capacity by 10.1%, even as it reduced the number of employees by 1.7%. Southwest's load factor rose by 1.2 percentage points, and its average fare grew 2.1%. But the carrrier would have lost money if it weren't for its fuel-hedging program, the most successful in the industry.
The signing of the U.S.-India open skies aviation agreement will provide more flights, lower fares and a ray of hope for ailing U.S. carriers looking at lucrative international routes to cover losses on their domestic service. At least that's the hope expressed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta at the signing here last week. "This agreement will stimulate new passenger and cargo services [and] new partnerships . . . to the benefit of our . . . citizens," he said.
Long-sought goals in robotics, improved launchers, high-speed-aircraft research and planetary exploration remain at the center of a 20-year vision statement for JAXA, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
A Boeing team has concluded 1,300 hr. of high-speed wind tunnel tests at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., of the U.S. Navy P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA).
Arcane legal issues at one of Moscow's airports may have far-reaching ramifications for the entire industry unless adequately addressed. Domodedovo is likely to become the largest of the city's airports this year, but an agreement governing a critical element of its operation is in limbo following a February ruling. At issue is a Russian court decision to void an infrastructure lease between private airport operator East Line Group and the Russian government.
Thales International India (TII) is moving ahead with maintenance and after-sales services for spares to support all Thales equipment inducted in the military in the past 50 years through local sourcing. Radars, inflight cameras and thermal imagers, installation of vehicles and shelters (for radars), and software production in cooperation with private companies will all be achieved in-country.
Regarding your editorial on the relative positions of the U.S. and EU on selling arms to China (AW&ST Mar. 7, p. 62), the position taken by the EU to lift the embargo, and its attempt to justify its position, demonstrate that the EU ignores obvious risks to make temporary commercial sales.
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.
An Air Force experimental rendezvous satellite is undergoing checkout after being launched into polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Apr. 11 by an Orbital Sciences Minotaur rocket. Late last week, all systems were working as anticipated, an Air Force official said.
World News Roundup 22 International Space Station crew in the midst of handover operations 23 Fuel hedging brings another prof- itable quarter for Southwest Airlines 24 Israel accepts its first three AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters World News & Analysis 28 Griffin lifts off at NASA with calls for speeding shuttle replacement 30 Civil-military space cooperation may get big boost under Griffin 30 Europe reduces next Mars mission, still hopes for sample-return role
The European Aviation Safety Agency and Joint Aviation Authorities have certified the midsize-cabin Cessna Citation Sovereign business jet. It now can be certified and registered in 25 countries that adhere to EASA regulations and 10 other European nations that abide by JAA rules. FAA certification was granted in June 2004.
With competition for scarce funds heating up, space scientists are proposing to downscale Europe's Aurora space exploration effort, at least in the initial years. The move raises questions about European participation in a proposed U.S.-led exploration initiative. Aurora was kicked off in 2001 with the task of establishing a road map to follow up the European Space Agency's Mars Express and Smart-1 lunar exploration missions. It has since been given a broader mandate covering all future exploration activities, under the manned spaceflight directorate.
Ronald Tiersky is right when he says the struggle about Boeing and Airbus, or between Europe and the U.S., is about culture (AW&ST Mar. 28, p. 66). What we have to do is find a common language, because that is what culture differences are about: misunderstanding (although I agree that in this case it is about politics as well).
Lufthansa Technik believes it will be hard to achieve last year's profit margins in the current fiscal year because the worldwide MRO market continues to suffer from overcapacity and price pressure.
With all eyes watching Airbus and the A380 inching toward its first flight, which is slated to occur before month's end, Dassault Aviation is quietly sneaking toward the first flight of its new aircraft, the 7X Falcon Jet. The long-range business jet is expected to complete its first flight by early May.
A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300 undergoes a scheduled maintenance check at the carrier's Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Technical Operations Center. Although the global maintenance, repair and overhaul industry continues to recover from the ramifications of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, finding new ways to cut costs without sacrificing service remains a daily challenge (see p. 52). In the wake of rising fuel expenditures, price pressures from the airlines are relentless as MRO providers struggle to balance customer demands against economic realities.
Alloy Surfaces of Chester Township, Pa., has opened a second plant for the production of special materials decoys used by U.S. military aircraft to decoy man-portable air defense systems. Company officials say demand for the decoys have tripled over the last three years as U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps aircraft equipped with the system have been flying in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A Thales-led team will supply a full self-protection suite for Belgium's fleet of 11 C-130H transports. Thales will provide a CATS-100 radar-warning receiver; Terma of Denmark, the advanced countermeasures dispenser and Early Warning management system; and Belgium's Barco, the situational-awareness display. Portuguese contractor Ogma will perform the four-year retrofit project, which will integrate the aircraft's existing infrared missile-warning capability.
Pilatus logged 2004 profits of $5.9 million, up from $4.2 million in 2003, on the strength of a 6.4% increase in sales. It sold 83 aircraft. The U.S. was the largest market, with 48.7%. The strength of the Swiss franc against the dollar hurt profit margins, as did increases in material costs. In 2004, the company also received certification of its new PC-21 trainer, despite the setback suffered in January when one of two prototypes crashed. Series production of the trainer is to begin this year, although no customers have been named.
