The current KC-135R is a more efficient tanker than the KC-767 and A330-200 tanker candidates in terms of the ratio of the maximum takeoff weight (MTO) to operating weight. The ratios are approximately 2.7 for the KC-135, 2.4 for the KC-10, 2.1 for the KC-767 and 1.9 for the A330-200. This metric is more relevant for fuel offloads up to 1,000 n.m. from departure.
Mike Cox has been appointed interim director of public affairs and advertising at Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth. He succeeds Carl Harris, who has retired.
The U.S. Air Force is starting to plan an engine upgrade for its A-10 fleet to support a wide-ranging weapon system enhancement that only recently began flight testing. After years of clamoring for more power for the venerable ground-attack aircraft, Air Force program officials are now preparing a $160-million, three-year development initiative that would provide a kit upgrade for the aircraft's General Electric TF34-100 engines. Field installations are slated for 2009. The Air Force plans to modify 356 A-10s and purchase 65 additional spare kits.
Raytheon Systems Ltd. has completed development and demonstration of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) ground station that will put it in the thick of competitions for the advanced satellite navigation system in Europe and around the world. ADS-B is a system that promises revolutionary changes in the way air traffic control surveillance is conducted. A stationary ADS-B ground station is expected to cost about half of what a rotating ground radar sensor does.
Cessna Aircraft Co. delivered 897 airplanes in 2004--179 Citations, 64 Caravans and 654 piston-powered units. Sales for the year totaled $2.5 billion, and the order backlog as of late last week was worth $5.4 billion.
U.S. and European scientists say that serendipitous satellite observations of the tsunami that struck Southeast Asia on Dec. 26, 2004, suggest a global alert system could be feasible.
The science instruments on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are the most advanced sensor suite ever launched on a planetary mission, says JPL project manager Jim Graf. The sensors cover the full wavelength spectrum from the ultraviolet to the visible and infrared into imaging radar bands. The instruments are:
French armaments agency DGA plans to impose penalties on Eurocopter because deliveries of Tiger attack helicopters are behind schedule. DGA Chief Executive Francois Lureau stressed last week that the helicopters themselves are now performing as required. However, the end-to-end system "has not performed satisfactorily" due to "complex" software glitches. These problems have made it impossible for the agency to complete Tiger acceptance, which had initially been set for mid-2004. He declined to disclose the amount of the penalty payment.
Singapore Airlines' operating profit declined 10% in the quarter ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, thanks to a $285-million increase in fuel costs. But quarterly net profit increased 26% to $476 million, bolstered by gains from investments and aircraft sales. The airline says it expects financial fallout from the recent tsunami to be minimal.
The Feb. 17 opening of Chubu, the new Central Japan International Airport in Nagoya, is prompting Japan Airlines and Korean Air to expand code-sharing flights between Japan and South Korea. They are currently operating individual flights from Nagoya's Komaki Airport, but when Chubu replaces it they will begin code sharing. They already share flights from Seoul to Komatsu, Niigata and Sapporo, but the new arrangement will nearly double the number of weekly flights they offer to 64.
Jacqueline Gish (see photo), who is director of directed-energy technology and products for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, has been elected a Fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society. She has been credited with leading the company's research efforts in chemical physics, chemical oxygen iodine lasers (COIL) and solid-state lasers. Gish's team has demonstrated the highest power supersonic COIL, and her U.S. Air Force-sponsored program demonstrated the first basic hydrogen-peroxide flow during lasing.
China's granting of "approved destination status" to Canada signals the astronomical growth in tourism expected between those nations in the next 20 years. The next step will be a round of aviation bilateral talks scheduled in spring 2005 that is to expand current limitations of 14 flights per week for each country.
NASA may be able to reduce the number of planned space shuttle flights below the 28 it now estimates will be required to complete the International Space Station. At a meeting of ISS partner agency chiefs in Montreal Jan. 26, the heads of agency endorsed the final six-person station configuration they tentatively approved last July and agreed that if this configuration can be reached with fewer flights, so be it.
EADS says its Russian R&D coordination facility, open for a little more than a year, has initiated more than 30 research and technology contracts, and has another 40 projects under evaluation. The center, opened in October 2003, focuses on flight physics, chemical engineering, surface technology and structures, as well as information technology and software design. EADS notes that its Airbus engineering base, home to more than 100 Russian engineers, has spawned another 30 research projects.
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Planetary scientists plan to use the instruments on NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter in future flybys of Titan to answer questions raised by Europe's Huygens probe. In particular, they hope to discover whether the dark, flat areas on the moon's surface are liquid or quasi-liquid methane seas.
AHK Air Hong Kong will use GE Engine Services to provide maintenance and overhaul operations for GE CF6-80C2 engines that are powering the airline's Airbus A300-600 General Freighters. The carrier, a 60/40 Cathay Pacific Airways/DHL Express partnership, is flying four of the freighters and will receive another four this year and in 2006. They serve regional routes in Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan.
Alcatel and Finmeccanica were poised late last week to announce the merger of their space activities. The combined company, which has been in discussion for more than a year, will be a global leader in satellites and space infrastructure, with 2.2 billion euros ($2.86 billion) in annual revenues.
French analysts are monitoring Star Airlines, a Paris-based charter operator. Formed in late 1994, it has now been profitable for four consecutive years, is steadily expanding and is expected to play an increasing role in the flag-carrier-dominated French market. In the 2003-04 fiscal year ending Oct. 31, Star carried 972,000 passengers, and its revenues soared 22% to 184 million euros ($240 million). The independent carrier operates two 364-seat Airbus A330-200s and four 180-seat A320s.
An important element in exploration planning, the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is prepared at a Lockheed Martin facility near Denver for launch in August. Note the scale of spacecraft and its center-mounted instrument group, including the large black "HiRise" high-resolution imager. The advanced sensors are expected to find water-related landing sites for future Mars missions (see p. 48). Lockheed Martin photo by Patrick H. Corkery.
Boeing has sold 10 737-800s valued at $650 million to Flugleidir Icelandair Group for lease to other carriers outside Iceland. Deliveries are to start next year. The strategy is to grow the parent company outside its home base.
The Thermal Emission Imaging System (Themis) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter produced this false-color image of dust-covered ice near the planet's north pole. The instrument, which combines 10 infrared channels keyed to the signatures of water and ice, and five visible-light channels, can penetrate atmospheric dust but loses its sensitivity if surface dust is present. In this image, the blue at top represents what may be newer ice, with relatively low dust contamination, while the ice depicted in orange is older and dustier. The image, from 80.6 deg. N.
Lawmakers may try to boost defense spending above the White House's Fiscal 2006 budget request. But financial pressures and the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) that is unfolding in parallel with the budget debate could complicate congressional deliberations.
