James E. Schuster has been elected chairman for 2005 of the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. He is chairman/CEO of Raytheon Aircraft Co. Schuster was vice chairman of GAMA and chairman of its Security Issues Committee. Succeeding Schuster in both positions is Dean M. Flatt, president/CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems. Other committee chairmen are: Safety Affairs Committee, Robert A. Barrett, president of PerkinElmer Fluid Sciences; Technical Policy Committee, Peter G.
Bill Dane (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
U.S. rotary-wing aircraft manufacturers have been losing ground on their own turf to a determined onslaught by Eurocopter in recent years and this campaign, which previously has been limited to the commercial sector, is now being extended into the military market. Further, Eurocopter is being joined by NH Industries and AgustaWestland, which also are vying for lucrative U.S. military contracts.
Raymond Jaworowski (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
The market for fixed-wing military trainer aircraft is intensely competitive. This is especially true in the advanced jet trainer segment, where several new and existing models are vying to fill a number of upcoming requirements.
The 2005 Source Book spans the world of aerospace, as seen in this cover design by the AW&ST Art Dept. with photos supplied by Boeing, Bombardier Aerospace, Eurocopter, Getty Images, Piaggio Aero, Joseph Pries and Raytheon Aircraft. Inside this 10th anniversary volume, there are analyses on a wide variety of aerospace topics; specification tables for civil and military aircraft, spacecraft, missiles and aerospace electronic systems; profiles of prime contractors and major manufacturers; and fleet and operational data for major, regional and cargo airlines.
On Oct. 26, 2004, the NTSB released its findings that AA 587's crash was due primarily to the "unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs" applied by the First Officer (FO). While reviewing the data this would appear to be what caused the separation of the vertical stabilizer. There is no denying that the rudder moved to its travel limits each time the FO applied rudder during the event. What may not be understood by all is that the Airbus A300 rudder pedal moves about 2 in.
Starting with one of the more complex parts, Boeing has completed the first full-scale prototype of a one-piece composite fuselage section for the 7E7 using methods intended for economical aviation manufacturing. "The question is not technical viability, but how to manufacture it at commercial cost," says Boeing vice president Walter B. Gillette, who heads engineering, manufacturing and partner alignment for Boeing.
Boeing and U.S. Air Force investigators are focusing on the design and performance of propellant measurement sensors, their associated circuits and software in the early shutdown of the liquid strap-ons and core booster during the first flight of the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle Dec. 21. Such performance-related measurement avionics and software have been key suspects since the vehicle's first-stage elements cut off early during the development flight (AW&ST Jan. 3, p. 23).
Catherine Guillouard has become vice president-finance of the Air France Financial and Economic Affairs Div. She succeeds Frederic Gagey. Guillouard has been general manager for human resources and change management policy.
Now that they have achieved a sustainable 50%-plus market share, the Europeans' primary goal is to further enhance Airbus' profitability. The 555-seat A380, scheduled to be rolled out this week, is expected to play a major role in Airbus' quest for growth and shareholder value. On Jan. 11, it added United Parcel Service (UPS) to its customer list.
Several of Great Britain's airlines ended 2004 on an upbeat note. In December, low-cost carriers EasyJet and Ryanair reported 28% and 9% passenger traffic growth, respectively, compared with the last month of 2003. In addition, National Air Traffic Services recorded a 4.9% rise in the number of operations for the year, to more than 2.18 million.
Caroline Boren has been named managing director of corporate and strategic communications for Alaska Airlines. She was an executive with public relations consulting firm Waggener Edstrom. Patricia M. Bedient has been appointed the board of directors. She is vice president-strategic planning for the Weyerhaeuser Co.
The Air Transport Assn. wants the Transportation Security Administration to set up procedures now, not in the indefinite future, for air travelers to challenge derogatory information about them in the agency's secret databases. The plan has been to wait for the final version of the Secure Flight (formerly CAPPS-2) screening program, for which the TSA has promised such relief. Moving it forward won't be easy--the ATA comments are directed at a rulemaking in which the TSA exempts sensitive passenger data from privacy legislation safeguards.
Nordic Satellite AB has purchased a Lockheed Martin A2100AX spacecraft as its planned Sirius 4 direct-to-home and interactive satellite. Set for launch in the first half of 2007, Sirius 4 is to serve Scandinavia, other European areas and Africa from an orbital slot at 5 deg. E. Long. The spacecraft will carry 52 K u-band and two K a-band transponders.
The Deep Impact spacecraft, designed to blast a stadium-sized crater into comet Tempel 1, is a million miles from Earth this week, beginning a commissioning phase that will use Earth's Moon and Jupiter to calibrate the vehicle's imaging and optical navigation systems.
Snecma and Sagem will report sharply increased sales for 2004, with further growth predicted in the years following, as the two French aerospace contractors prepare to merge. But the chances for expansion of space activities through acquisitions appear mixed.
British Airways is to drop its services to Saudi Arabia on Mar. 27. The airline flies four times a week to Jeddah, and three times a week to Riyadh. BA says the routes are no longer profitable, although there have also been previous security concerns.
Inventory Locator Service reports that 2004 was a big one for its ILSmart.com marketplace. Subscribers searched for 29 million aviation, defense and marine parts--up 6% from 2003. Another growth area was maintenance, repair and overhaul services, with searches reaching 800,000 hits--up 10% from the previous year. ILS officials attribute the boost to the launch of an MRO Services search function with an enhanced request for quotes capability, average pricing and turn-time features. The company is carrying 53 million line items representing more than 5 billion parts.
Snecma managers are urging European space leaders to consider transforming the Vinci cryogenic engine project into a technology demonstrator, in the event further development funds are not forthcoming. Vinci was begun in the late '90s to provide a further boost in liftoff capacity and an in-orbit reignition capability to the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. It was targeted for a 12-metric-ton Ariane 5 ECB heavy-lift launcher to be introduced later in the decade (AW&ST June 14, 1999, p. 88).
Although Air Force acquisition chief Marvin Sambur admits that his "head rolled" and he resigned his post because of the fiasco over leasing aerial tankers, he says there was, in fact, no scandal and, except for one person, no wrongdoing. "Why am I being looked at as the greatest crook?" he asks in a session with reporters during his last week on the job.
Penetration trials of the Raytheon Paveway IV precision-guided bomb on order for Britain have recently been successfully carried out. The tests took place at the Energetic Materials Research and Test Center in New Mexico, and were intended to prove the robustness of the warhead. The Paveway IV was selected by the Royal Air Force in 2003, in preference to the Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition, to meet a requirement for a precision free-fall weapon.
Lockheed Martin received a $10.7-million contract from Boeing to provide the Gunship Multispectral Sensor System for the U.S. Air Force's AC-130U fleet. The program value could grow to $35 million. The device integrates third-generation infrared sensing technology with image-intensified low-light TV cameras and a suite of lasers. It is a variant of the Hawkeye Target Sight System now being tested for the Marine Corps' AH-1Z attack helicopter.
Greece will receive the first of its 12 C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters by the end of January. The aircraft's first flight was in mid-December. Acceptance trials of the Lockheed Martin/Alenia Aeronautica C-27J will run until March, before it is flown to Greece. Greek air force personnel are already in Italy undergoing training for the aircraft. Courses started in August and the first pilots, ground crews and technicians have already completed conversion.
Kenneth Rattray, a diplomat from Jamaica and ICAO delegate who made major contributions to civil aviation law as a leader of several key meetings convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization, died Jan. 3 after a long illness. In 1998, Rattray received the ICAO's top honor, the Edward Warner award, for his many contributions to the development of civil aviation worldwide.
A pending multi-billion-dollar takeover of Amadeus Global Travel Distribution by two private equity firms demonstrates continued confidence in the survivability of the traditional computer reservation system business model, and growing investor interest in the aerospace sector.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Jan. 25--Post 9/11 Security Impacts on Air Traffic Control and Aviation Air Traffic Control Assn./FAA/Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Defense and Industry Security Symposium. Renaissance Washington Hotel. Call +1 (703) 299-2430 or see www.atca.org
