General Atomics Aeronautical Systems officials have regularly denied the existence of the company's new, all-jet Predator C, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that's designed to compete with Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk for very long-endurance, high-altitude missions. However, Washington-based officials say Pratt & Whitney has won a secret competition to supply the engines for the Predator C, which is under construction and is to be rolled out later this year.
Russian military ground controllers are completing the in-orbit checkout of three new Glonass navigation spacecraft launched on board a Proton K booster on Dec. 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Glonass system is Russia's version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). The launch brings the number of Glonass spacecraft in service to 11, with a planned final constellation size of 24 satellites. One of the new spacecraft is a modernized version with a seven-year design life, while the other two are standard Glonass designs with three-year service lives.
A Ukrainian Earth-resources radar spacecraft, that is also to conduct earthquake-detection studies from space, is burning valuable propellant to achieve a proper orbit, following the early shutdown of the upper stage of its Ukrainian Cyclone booster. The Sich 1M satellite was to have been placed into a 397 X 422-mi. orbit, where it would record electromagnetic emissions from earthquake zones. But the spacecraft is using about two years' worth of its three-year propellant supply to climb to the proper altitude because its upper stage cut off about 60 sec.
NASA and the Pentagon will have to squeeze funds for new space launch vehicles out of their already strained long-term budgets, and there is no deadline for building them. The long-awaited White House space transportation policy, put on hold in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, concedes that there are "technical and budget obstacles" to fielding new launch capabilities "in the near term." Instead, it calls for a "sustained national commitment" to launch-technology development that could lead to "a decision in the future to develop such capabilities."
World News Roundup 16 U.K. adding research on effect of wind-turbine farms on ATC radar 17 France to create aerospace 'agency for innovation' 18 Airfield hole causes extensive damage to landing MC-130 World News & Analysis 20 More cuts may loom for U.S. defense modernization programs 23 Military helos help ease airport con- gestion during tsunami relief efforts 25 Commercial satellite imagery guides tsunami relief, reconstruction work
India-based Air Deccan in the next five years will take delivery of 30 72-seat ATR 72-500 twin-turboprops. In addition, the low-fare regional carrier will acquire three used aircraft and three 44-seat ATR 42-500s. First delivery is scheduled for May. The order, signed on Jan. 6, is expected to revitalize the Franco-Italian manufacturer. ATR has had weak sales in the last few years and in 2004, secured firm orders for only 12 aircraft. Air Deccan and ATR plan to establish a training center and product support unit in Bangalore.
James C. DeLong, director of aviation for the Louisville (Ky.) Airport Authority, has been named to receive the ACC's 2004 Aviation Award of Excellence. He held similar positions at Denver and Philadelphia international airports. DeLong will be cited for "exemplary service and dynamic leadership in the airport management, airport association, federal agency and research arenas for more than three decades."
It's no surprise the Europeans see a need to quickly compete with the Boeing 7E7. I never understood what the Airbus brain trust were thinking. Why build something bigger than the 747 when that assembly line is building freighters? It's no wonder Boeing chose not to compete with a behemoth of its own. Even if they split that market 50/50 with Airbus, it would take Boeing decades to sell the same number of that aircraft as they have 747s.
An Italian airline/utility operator is leading the drive to introduce the Russian Beriev Be-200 twinjet amphibian into the Western market as part of an ambitious expansion of its fire-fighting, passenger and maintenance services. Privately owned Aeroservices flew a Be-200, leased from manufacturer Irkut, in operational trials in Sardinia last year. The aircraft, operated by a mixed Russian-Italian crew, logged close to 90 hr. over a 40-day period.
Michael Javery (see photos) has been named vice president-operations and Dan Ferrari director of business development at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A new Eumetsat satellite service network designed to enhance the dissemination and analysis of weather, climate and Earth observation data could serve as a basis for a future disaster-warning system.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport regained control of 24 of the 28 gates it had leased through 2009 to Delta Air Lines and launched an incentive campaign to find another airline to use them. Delta, which is dismantling its hub at DFW and reducing departures from 258 per day to 21 as of Feb. 1, will get $7 million from the airport as reimbursement for terminal improvements and costs to consolidate its operations at its four remaining gates.
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. Mar. 30-31--Avionics Expo & Conference. Amsterdam. Apr. 19-20--MRO Military Conference. Also, Apr. 20-21--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition. Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Dallas.
In the world of commercial aviation, Air France-KLM--now a unified airline, for all practical purposes--is achieving what most of its major North American counterparts can only dream about: profitable growth.
An MC-130 from the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (Socom) was damaged heavily at an airfield in northern Iraq after it landed on a runway with a large construction hole.
The U.S. Air Force grounded its B-1 fleet after the nose gear of one bomber collapsed. Inspections of all 67 aircraft were to be completed in a few days. The collapse occurred after a 28th Bomb Wing B-1 crew landed safely at a "deployed location," taxied to the parking spot and shut down the four engines, USAF officials said.
Japan's H-IIA medium-lift rocket is to return to service next month, after more than a year in hiatus, to launch the Space Systems/Loral MTSat-1R multipurpose satellite.
How refreshing to read a balanced letter by Karl Kettler about the Boeing-Airbus debate (AW&ST Nov. 15, 2004, p. 6). People complaining about "unfair" competition should research their facts better. Boeing ignored Airbus for years as a nobody. Each product developed by Airbus was put down by Boeing as not needed in the market. Boeing, proven wrong each time, became nothing more than a whining giant as its market share declined.
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Michael T. Strianese has been appointed chief financial officer of New York-based L-3 Communications, effective Apr. 1. He will succeed Robert V. LaPenta, who will be retiring as president/CFO. Chairman/CEO Frank Lanza also will be interim president. Strianese has been senior vice president-finance.
Larry E. Williams has become president/chief operating officer of Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc., St. Paul, Minn. He was vice president-business development for AmSafe Aviation in Phoenix.
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, the two digital audio radio service outlets in the U.S., both posted better-than-targeted sales in 2004, bringing the total number of pay-radio subscribers they serve to more than 4 million. Washington-based XM, which delivers its signal through two geostationary satellites and a network of repeaters, beat its goal of 3.1 million subscribers by the end of the year.
Joan Sullivan Garrett, chairman/CEO of MedAire Inc., has been named vice chair of the board of governors of the Washington-based Flight Safety Foundation. She has served on the foundation's Corporate Advisory and Fatigue Countermeasures committees, and has chaired the Oxygen Committee.
John Fontanella has been named vice president-supply chain services and Bob Goodman director of supply chain services and radio frequency identification specialist for the Boston-based Yankee Group. Fontanella was vice president-supply chain services at AMR Research, while Goodman was director of professional services at GenuOne Inc.
