Sleek little S-band satellite radio antennas seem to be sprouting on more and more automobiles in the U.S. these days, signalling that the maturing communications satellite industry has at last found a meaningful new application. Yet the popularity of what the industry calls digital audio radio service (DARS) doesn't necessarily mean a bigger market for the satellites that make it go.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes has named Jim Morris as vice president of engineering and manufacturing, succeeding Hank Queen, who is retiring. Morris previously headed supplier management for BCA. Carolyn Corvi has been named to a new position as vice president and general manager of airplane production with authority over all existing aircraft programs. Mark Jenkins, formerly head of supply management and production under Corvi, will succeed her as vice president/general manager of 737 production. Steve Schaffer replaces Jenkins.
The EC has given the regulatory green light for BAE Systems and Finmeccanica's revised Eurosystems deal. The two companies are splitting up the AMS joint venture, while Finmeccanica is taking a 75% stake in a combined avionics company, with the remainder initially held by BAE.
At Nellis AFB, Nev., AW&ST Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., (left) prepares for a demonstration flight in a Lockheed Martin F-16D flown by Maj. Jeremy Sloane, USAF Thunderbird No. 7 and the team's current operations officer. Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief William B. Scott (right, back seat) taxis in a Boeing F/A-18B piloted by Lt. John D. (J.B.) Allison, Navy Blue Angel No. 7 and this year's show narrator, at Naval Air Facility El Centro (Calif.).
Ronald L. Worley, Jr., has been appointed director of sales for Rolls-Royce Spey/Tay Programs for Dallas Airmotive. He was OEM account director for Rockwell Collins.
Tyco Plastics & Adhesives' aerospace tape for seam sealing in aircraft cargo compartments, Polyken 296FR, offers seam sealing and repair of cargo compartment liners including covering pins and rivets where high adhesion and flame resistance are critical, according to the company. The tape passes Boeing, Airbus, U.S. and European flame retardant content testing, and meets Boeing Material Specification BMS 5-146 covering requirements for cargo liner joint-sealing tape.
An Embraer-dominated joint venture with EADS has received the green light from Portuguese, German and Italian regulators to buy OGMA, the Portugal-based maintenance organization. The Airholding joint venture was named in December to lead the privatization of OGMA. The Portuguese government retains a 35% stake. Embraer controls 99% of Airholding, although t
Gabriel Lafferranderie has been named to receive the first Hubert Curien Award from the Paris-based Eurisy Assn. The award honors accomplishment in outer space and is named for the first president of Eurisy. It is an association of European and other international space agencies and focuses on the promotion of space applications in everyday life. Lafferranderie is a former legal adviser to the European Space Agency and is chairman of the European Center for Space Law.
Grant C. Aufderhaar (see photos) has been appointed principal director of the System Performance and Exploitation Subdivision of the Reconnaissance Systems Div. and Thomas G. Darone principal director of new imagery systems in the Imagery Programs Div, both at the Chantilly, Va., facility of The Aerospace Corp. Aufderhaar was principal director of the Concepts and Applications Directorate in the Advanced Technology Div., while Darone was systems director in the Advanced Technology Div.
The return of Japan's H-IIA launcher to service late last month puts Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on track to take over management of all aspects of the launcher family's development program by year's end. The Japanese space agency JAXA and its predecessors had relied on Rocket System Corp., a Mitsubishi-led consortium of 30 companies formed in 1990, to market the H-II rocket family. Although RSC enjoyed early success, signing up 30 potential launches, the business evaporated when the Delta II-class H-IIA suffered a string of launch failures.
Ruud Kleinendorst has become Netherlands-based European representative for Aero Pneudraulics, Harbor City, Calif. He was director of marketing and sales for Reckon Aircraft.
Thales has completed first field trials of a high-speed radio demonstrator to integrate tactical land units and sea forces into network-centric environments. The software radios are intended to allow robust data, video and voice communications at 2-6-Mbps. transmission rates over dozens of miles.
Current Position: President and CEO, GE Transportation (formerly GE Aircraft Engines) Age: 48 Pros: A true outsider with a strong aviation background. Accomplished manager. As an engine supplier to Airbus, has insights into Boeing's top competitor. Cons: Believed to be happy at GE.
Patrick Dempsey has been appointed president, Timothy Haller vice president-operations for OEMs and Paul Cestari group controller, all for Barnes Aerospace, Windsor, Conn. Dempsey was group vice president-operations, while Haller was manager of the West Chester (Ohio) Div. Cestari was director of internal audit for the parent Barnes Group Inc.
Software glitches have waylaid U.S. Air Force launch preparation plans for a critical payload in the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High early missile warning constellation. The second payload for the nearly $10-billion system, a staring infrared sensor in a highly elliptical orbit (HEO-2), was planned for delivery last month to be integrated for launch with a classified primary satellite. Now a spokesman says Lt. Gen. Brian Arnold, the Air Force's program executive officer for space, plans a final review on the matter in May.
Raytheon is now planning to begin flight tests of its dual-mode radar installed on the Bombardier Global Express in mid-2005 for the British Airborne Stand- off Radar (Astor) program. The first radar-equipped aircraft, which will be known in British service as the Sentinel R Mk1, is undergoing ground tests at Greenville, Tex.
India's largest domestic carrier, Jet Airways, which recently received permission to operate international routes, will start flights to Singapore, London and Kuala Lumpur in April, and to New York via Brussels by the end of May. The carrier is said to have recently leased three A340s from South African Airways and three 737-800s for its Southeast Asian routes. Meanwhile, competitor Air Sahara, in preparation for its international flights to London, has launched a new corporate identity.
NTSB reports indicate the captain's decision to cross-feed fuel during approach may have led to an engine flameout and subsequent crash of an Air Tahoma Convair CV580, which was operating as a DHL Express flight from Memphis to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport (CVG). Shortly after midnight on Aug. 13, 2004, during final approach to CVG, the aircraft impacted a golf course in Florence, Ky., about 1 naut. mi. south of the airport (AW&ST Aug. 23, 2004, p. 45). Documents in the NTSB docket show that during descent to the runway and about 30 min.
NetJets and Lufthansa are planning a hub feed and point-to-point travel network that will add a new twist to the trend toward combining business and airline aviation operations. Operating trials are to be held over the next six months, with a target group of passengers. If considered successful, the program will be introduced in the second half of the year.
Rockwell Collins has agreed to acquire Northrop Grumman's Teldix GmbH. unit, a military avionics products and services company located in Heidelberg, Germany. The value of the transaction is $94 million with Rockwell Collins assuming some liabilities and paying $22 million cash. Teldix logged $90 million in sales in 2004. This will be the first Rockwell Collins acquisition in Europe and will boost the company's employment there by 40%. Teldix equipment is on the Eurofighter and Tornado aircraft as well as NH90 and Tiger helicopters.
SINO SWEARINGEN AIRCRAFT CORP. HAS COMPLETED static testing of the SJ30-2 business jet, including ultimate wing loads, cabin pressurization and landing gear drop tests. The San Antonio-based company is projecting FAA certification of the twin-engine airplane in the second half of this year. Officials say the SJ30-2's 12-psid. pressurization system will be capable of providing a sea-level cabin altitude at a cruising altitude of 41,000 ft.
The FAA medical exam is a "medical check-ride" and a potentially grounding event, according to the company. Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) can discover conditions or issues which require extensive documentation prior to the issuance of a medical certificate. FAA regulations require AMEs to defer the application to the FAA Medical Certification Div. in Oklahoma for processing, which can cause considerable delay. Pilot Medical Solutions offers a confidential precertification assessment.
J. Walter Faulconer has become business area executive for civilian space for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. He was head of business development for space exploration for the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.
The scheduled date for deploying Germany's SARLupe military reconnaissance spacecraft is shifting to the right. Last week, prime contractor OHB System, said the program will be delayed for a year or more beyond its previously scheduled spring 2005 launch. OHB imputed the delay to an unspecified change in the technical specifications by the German defense ministry, saying it would likely result in an increase in the value of the overall contract, but refused to provide details.
