John W. Booher (see photo) has become vice president-strategic planning for the Nashua, N.H.-based Information and Electronic Systems Integration Sector of BAE Systems North America.
China Eastern Airlines is to launch a passenger service to Moscow beginning in May. The airline will fly four or five times per week from Shanghai to Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.
Keep the inflight cell phone ban--that's the vote of 63% of 702 participants in a poll sponsored by the Assn. of Flight Attendants-Communication Workers of America and National Consumers League. Between Mar. 28-Apr. 2, Lauer Research Inc. interviewed the mix of frequent and occasional fliers. Results released Apr. 7 found that 78% believed cell phones might distract passengers from hearing life-saving instructions in an emergency.
Canadian Auditor General Sheila Fraser in a report to Parliament last week pointed to weaknesses in air transportation security among other flaws in the implementation of a 2001 anti-terrorism initiative by the government. The $1-billion acquisition and installation of explosives detection systems at Canada's airports and increased hiring of air security inspectors are being implemented, the report says. And while the screeners are checking passengers and bags without any major problems, Fraser says there are no system-wide performance standards.
A pair of projects to permit airline and business aviation passengers to use cell phones in flight appear to be moving closer to their objective. Last week, OnAir, a joint venture of SITA, Airbus and Tenzing, revealed at the Aircraft Interiors Exposition in Hamburg, Germany, that it had selected the Airbus facility at nearby Buxtehude to develop and certify an onboard cell phone system for commercial use. The move reflects Airbus' desire to expand its role in defining cabin configuration (AW&ST Apr. 4, p. 46).
NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSN. PRESIDENT ED BOLEN says remarks made by FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey and other agency officials at the annual FAA Forecast Conference held recently in Washington hinted at the possibility of another campaign aimed at collecting user fees from general aviation. Later, during a panel discussion on general aviation, Bolen responded to Blakey's concerns and questioned whether an attempt to impose user fees on the industry is justified.
As if they haven't suffered enough, here's a thought to make airline CEOs shudder: oil at $105 a barrel. It's possible, according to a new Goldman Sachs report, which says oil supplies are so tight that one major disruption in production could trigger a "super spike" in prices. The last such spike occurred in 1979-80, when they climbed to what would be nearly $90 a barrel in today's dollars.
The contest for the NTSB seat vacated this month by Carol Carmody is dividing Massachusetts Democrats, roughly between Sen. Edward Kennedy and everybody else. Sen. John Kerry and the Massachusetts House delegation support Paul McCarthy, a former Delta Air Lines captain who chaired the Air Line Pilots Assn. accident investigation board and was the primary interface between ALPA and the NTSB. A letter from 32 House Republicans also circulates on Capitol Hill on McCarthy's behalf.
Now that measures to control airline congestion at Chicago O'Hare Airport will continue through this summer and into the fall, the FAA is ready to nudge the facility one step closer to a stable high-density operating regime. In a rulemaking launched Mar. 25, the agency proposes a "blind-auction" system for the sale and purchase of landing opportunities at the busy midwestern hub, and it is considering use-or-lose provisions as well.
Inmarsat says it has deployed two key elements on its first EADS/ Astrium-built Inmarsat 4 broadband satellite, which was launched on Mar. 11. The elements were a Northrop Grumman AstroMesh deployable reflector and Snecma PPS350 plasma thrusters. The spacecraft is expected to enter service later this spring.
India will launch Italy's Agile satellite as the sole passenger on its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) early next year. The first of the Italian Space Agency's Small Scientific Missions, Agile will scan one-fifth of the sky for gamma ray sources in the 30-MeV.-50-GeV. range. India will receive $10 million for the launch, according to G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
The FAA is offering an online Human Factors Awareness Course. Initially developed for the agency's system acquisitions support staff, the goal of the 10-module course is to promote an understanding of human factors in system design development and implementation. Joan Baulerlein, director of aviation research and development, points out that safety and capacity improvements are dependent on building a national aviation system that's technically sophisticated as well as "human-centered." An awareness of the role of human factors offers benefits throughout industry.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Dennis C. Moran, who has been director of information operations, networks and space in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, has been named vice director for command, control, communications and computer systems for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. He will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Jeffrey W. Foley, who has been director of United States Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla. Moran succeeds USN Rear Adm. Nancy E.
Europe has taken the first step toward bringing Argentina into the Galileo satellite navigation system. The European Commission last week asked the EU Council to authorize the beginning of formal negotiations with Argentina to become a partner in Galileo. Argentina made an official request to join Galileo following bilateral talks in December and informal talks at the EU-Latin American summit in May 2004. Mexico, Brazil and Chile are discussing doing the same. Also interested in Galileo, the EC says, are India, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia.
An Advanced Training Systems International TA-4 makes contact with a variable-speed refueling drogue during recent tests with a U.S. Air Force MC-130 Combat Talon II. The system is designed for air-to-air refueling of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Twelve test sorties were flown by ATSI pilots to characterize the drogue's operating characteristics. The drogue and refueling program is managed by USAF's Special Operations Forces Systems Group at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
The first Airbus A380 was slated to be handed over to the manufacturer's flight test department late last week--an indication that the mega-transport's maiden flight could occur in the next 10 days. Engine ground tests will be followed by system verifications and taxi runs at increasing speeds on Toulouse Blagnac Airport's main runway. Although Airbus officials declined to comment on timing of the first flight, A380 serial No. MSN01 is expected to be in the air by May.
When Precision Conversions began work on transforming three Boeing 757-200 passenger aircraft into freighters, company officials never would have imagined the schedule slipping so far that they would end up having to buy one of the airplanes to assuage their customer.
The new XTAR-EUR X-band communications satellite will be demonstrated for the U.S. military soon, now that it has completed checkout in orbit. Spain's defense ministry will be first to use the satellite, which is operated by a joint venture of Loral Space & Communications and Spain's Hisdesat public/private communications satellite consortium. Known as XTAR LLC, the Rockville, Md.-based venture plans to lease eight 72-MHz. X-band transponders on Spain's planned Spainsat once it is orbited toward year's end.
The Cessna Citation CJ2+ (Model 525A) prototype business jet made its first flight Apr. 2 in Wichita, Kan. Test pilots Don Alexander and Jon Cooper flew the airplane for more than 2 hr. checking basic handling qualities, systems operation and engine operating characteristics. The CJ2+, which will replace the CJ2, is powered by two Williams FJ44-3A-24 engines equipped with dual-channel, Full Authority Digital Engine Controls, and will feature advanced Collins Pro Line 21 avionics.
Opening Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) once again to general aviation operations is not just an idea whose time has come. It is one that is long overdue.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris and Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany)
A pioneering German-Russian mission, set to begin testing this week on the International Space Station, aims to demonstrate the ability of robots to perform in-orbit servicing and repair tasks, saving valuable astronaut time and permitting work on satellites where manned intervention is not possible.
Robert Wall (Paris), Michael A. Taverna (Salon de Provence, France)
The French defense ministry is in the early stages of defining an unmanned aircraft project for the navy and army that could spark a fierce competition between rival drone makers. The French military procurement agency (DGA) is expected to issue a request for proposals this month for a vertical takeoff/landing UAV system (VTUAV). It follows a preliminary round of information requests last year intended to eliminate "noncredible" candidates.
NATO could take an important step toward building a ballistic missile defense shield later this month when the acquisition chiefs of member countries meet and discuss efforts on various alliance initiatives. High on the agenda for the purchasing representatives will be ironing out details for a new NATO effort to field a system by 2010 that would integrate the missile defenses of different alliance members into one system. The goal is to ensure protection of deployed NATO forces against theater ballistic missiles.
An International Civil Aviation Organization effort to curb runway incursions on a global scale is gaining momentum as the FAA puts the finishing touches on a computer-based model that will allow all incidents to be classified in terms of severity (A, B, C or D) automatically.
Inspired by effective cost-cutting drives at airline passenger divisions, air cargo executives are seeking ways to enhance revenues and reduce costs. They are turning to new technology for help, and this tightly managed sector appears to be verging on a new era.
