Luiz Kaufmann has been appointed to the board of directors of Brazil-based GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes. He succeeds Ana Vigon Tabar. Kaufmann is also chairman of the Fleet One's board, a director of Medial Saude and CEO of Primesys Solucoes Empresariais S.A.
Howard Hughes, Aviator by George J. Marrett Naval Institute Press 258 pp., Hardcover ($27.95) Retired test pilot and writer George J. Marrett offers an illuminating and interesting sidelight into the adulthood of the late Howard Hughes by chronicling that eccentric life in terms of the aircraft he loved.
Stuart Boulton has become managing director of DRS Tactical Systems and head of U.K. and European operations for DRS Technologies Inc., Morristown, N.J. He was executive vice president of the Aerospace Solutions unit of Spirent plc.
382 Correspondence 383 Who's Where 384 Market Focus 386 Industry Outlook 387 Airline Outlook 388-390 World News Roundup 391 In Orbit 393 Washington Outlook 419-421 In Review 424 Classified 425 Contact Us 426 Aerospace Calendar www.Aviationnow.com/awst FREE TO SUBSCRIBERS For the complete current issue, archives and more, go to: www.Aviationnow.com/awst
Snecma boss Jean-Paul Bechat says an initial 60-million-euro recapitalization for Arianespace last month is likely to be enough to meet foreseeable near-term capital requirements. "We don't think a further operation is necessary," he says, pooh-poohing earlier remarks by Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall that the possibility of a follow-up capital injection is under study (AW&ST Jan. 10, p. 38).
Welcome to the 10th edition of Aviation Week & Space Technology's Aerospace Source Book. This year's volume brings you--even more than in the past--the information and analyses that can help you understand the global aerospace industry of today and likely prospects for business, commercial and military aviation and space.
John W. Cosper has become deputy director of the capital improvement program for the Miami-Dade Aviation Dept. He was a project engineer for Hanscomb Faithful and Gould of Dallas.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, while not slated to be operational until 2011, is already having its Pratt & Whitney propulsion system refined for a potential 10% increase in thrust from the main engine. This would likely be accompanied by an associated power boost from the Rolls-Royce lift fan. The combination would allow more aggressive low-speed maneuvering or greater payloads.
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) Feb. 16-17--World Aerospace Symposium/Toulouse. Pierre Baudis Toulouse Congress Center, Toulouse, France. Apr. 19-20--MRO Military Conference. Also, Apr. 20-21--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition. Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Dallas. May 24-25--Homeland Security Summit & Exposition. Washington.
The Battle of Mogadishu: Firsthand Accounts from The Men of Task Force Ranger Edited by Matt Eversmann and Dan Schilling Presidio Press/Ballantine Books 221 pp., Hardcover ($25.95) Personal accounts of war experiences make for gripping reading and memorable moments. This book, containing stories of six members of Task Force Ranger, confirms that each in his own way experiences his own kind of war.
A team of engineers at NASA/Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., are evaluating a new way to bring improved weather information to pilots and forecasters in the U.S. The team has designed the Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (TAMDAR) that automatically senses and reports atmospheric conditions at altitudes below 25,000 ft. NASA is installing the sensor in dozens of regional airline transports operated by Mesaba Airlines.
China has accepted a proposal to allow direct charter flights across the Taiwan Strait during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays. This will be the first time since 1949 that direct commercial services will operate across the strait. The proposed charter services are being viewed as a step toward eventual resumption of regular air services.
Mark Cowell and Andrew Dardine (Forecast International/www.forecastinternational.com)
Over the next 10 years, a healthy production market for new aircraft and an active modernization segment will be the catalysts for global growth in military avionics. An estimated 4,300 fighter/attack/trainer aircraft are projected to be manufactured. In addition, roughly 5,500 military rotorcraft and special-mission military aircraft are planned to be produced, bringing the total of new potential platforms worldwide to nearly 10,000.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines is in the throes of transforming itself into the second legacy carrier to adopt a low-cost, low-fare model. The carrier just introduced simplified fares system-wide (AW&ST Jan. 10, p. 13). And last week more steps in its makeover were revealed. Beginning Jan. 31, Delta will eliminate one cabin crew position on certain flights and aircraft. Boeing 767ER cabin crew will be reduced to seven from eight; 777 crew, to nine from 10. In addition, on Apr.
The U.S. Army will spend $549 million to build 17 all-new Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, the largest Chinook order since the mid-1980s. Deliveries are to begin in September 2006 and continue through 2008. The Army's new acquisition plan increases the CH-47 fleet to 513 from 463 and modernizes all CH-47Ds to F-model standards in addition to buying at least 55 new CH-47Fs.
China's second manned space flight has been tentatively scheduled for September, according to Huang Chunping, who helps lead Chinese mission planning. As expected, the mission will involve two Chinese astronauts who are to remain aloft for five days, where they will use the Shenzhou's VI spacecraft's orbital module as well as its launch and reentry module. During China's first manned mission, astronaut Yang Liwei stayed in the descent module throughout the 21-hr. flight.
Publisher's Letter 11 1. Outlook/Specifications 15 Outlook Overview 19 Military Aircraft Outlooks: Fighter/Attack 20 Bombers 25 Transports 26 Trainers 29 Top 25 U.S. DOD Procurement Programs 32 Top 25 U.S. DOD RDT&E Programs 33 --Military Aircraft Table 34 Commercial Aircraft Outlook 52 Freighter Aircraft Outlook 57 Commercial MRO Outlook 60 --Commercial Aircraft Table 62
Edward H. Phillips (Aviation Week & Space Technology)
The maintenance, repair and overhaul business is experiencing a slow but fragile recovery as competition heats up between airline shops, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent providers to give their customers faster turnaround times while keeping a tight rein on costs.
Heather Jeffery has been appointed general manager of public affairs for Australia-based Virgin Blue. She was group public affairs manager in Australia for Ansett and Air New Zealand.
The Scaled Composites team's X-Prize win is a praiseworthy triumph of innovation and inspiration. However, I am dismayed by the unreasonable comparison leveled at NASA by X-Prize competitors and others touting the presumed superiority of private enterprise over a lumbering NASA bureaucracy. NASA's many projects, involving myriad U.S. contractors and foreign partners, need lots of manpower and expensive test facilities.
The European Space Agency says cost cuts necessary to nail down its 2005 budget will keep it from participating in this year's Paris air show, set for June 12-19. ESA has been a mainstay of the space pavilion at the Paris event, but the need to pare some 70 million euros ($92 million) in operating costs to free up critical funds for the Galileo satellite navigation system and the Aurora space exploration program forced the agency to forgo this year's show, managers said. However, ESA will be present for the second time in a row at the Moscow air show, scheduled for Aug.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta last week announced the aviation community's first formal guidance on laser encounters. The FAA's Jan. 11 Advisory Circular 70-2 outlines the laser warning-reporting system as well as laser-protective measures for flight crews.
Ball Aerospace & Technologies has finished building the spacecraft bus for the prototype of a new generation of U.S. military/civilian weather satellites, and says it remains on track for the scheduled launch next year. Vibration and thermal-vacuum tests for the modified Ball BCP 2000 commercial spacecraft bus have started, and Ball expects them to be completed on time in March. Instruments for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite are to be integrated during the summer.
