The last two C-141 Starlifter transports in the U.S. Air Force inventory were retired last week from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire AFB, N.J. The Lockheed-built aircraft entered service in 1965 and accumulated more than 10.6 million flight hours in service with more than 30 squadrons with 10 active duty USAF, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units.
Former astronaut G. David Low has been named vice president of the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Technical Services Div., Greenbelt, Md. He succeeds Richard Hicks, who will become semi-retired and an adviser on existing contracts and new business opportunities. Low was vice president/deputy general manager of Orbital's Advanced Programs Group.
Northrop Grumman wins the contract for the E-10A's battle management command and control (BMC 2) package, but only after some threatening language to contractors from the Air Force's acquisition chief, Marvin Sambur. The program has turned into a test case of the service's heightened antipathy to disingenuous low-cost bids. Sambur told all three bidders--Lockheed Martin/Raytheon and Boeing also competed--that if their price was much lower than the service's estimate, it would be seen as a risk to the program, not a benefit.
The Transportation Security Administration has been testing of several types of explosives detectors that could be used at passenger checkpoints at airports. The 9/11 commission, in its final report, also noted the need to improve checkpoint security.
Struggling for survival, national flag carrier Alitalia is considering pulling out of its alliance with Air France, and ending its involvement in SkyTeam. Gianfranco Cimoli, the Alitalia chairman and instigator of the review, is understood to be dissatisfied with the alliance's results, traffic, and profit distribution.
Scott Crislip has been appointed president for helicopters of Rolls-Royce North America Inc., Chantilly, Va. He succeeds Stuart Mullan, who has resigned. Crislip has been vice president for Mission Ready Management Solutions.
As the Boeing 7E7 and Airbus A380 are two aircraft that are the first commercial transports to be designed and launched post-Sept. 11, 2001, have the manufacturers and airlines thought about building these aircraft with no cockpit doors to the cabin? Why couldn't these planes be designed with segregated cockpits with their own entry doors? They would negate efforts to use aircraft as flying weapons.
Regarding NASA plans to attach a pro- pulsion module to the Hubble Space Telescope so it can be deorbited at the end of its service life (AW&ST Aug. 16, p. 32), why not use a propulsion unit large enough to transfer the HST to a servicing orbit. The space shuttle then could reach HST for the planned repair mission and abort to the International Space Station in case of shuttle damage? Ideally, the shuttle crew could then install a propulsion unit that will take HST back to its present orbit with enough propellant left to deorbit or return to the servicing orbit.
I loved Thomas B. Martin, Sr.'s "Recipe to Save Airlines" (AW&ST Aug. 23/30, p. 6). The airlines could save money by eliminating cabin decor, meals and inflight entertainment. In fact, why not eliminate seats, pressurization and cabin heating? If you're not tough enough to fly standing up, take the train.
The U.S. Air Force is probing the aerospace industry for its concepts for a new class of armed, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, called Hunter-Killer. But most of the aerospace industry's responses--from Northrop Grumman, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Aurora Flight Sciences and Lockheed Martin--remain shrouded in mystery.
General Electric has received FAA certification of the CF6-80C2 engine for the U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy modernization program. First deliveries to Lockheed Martin are due this month, with flight testing late next year.
Northrop Grumman illustrator Kent Rump portrays an unmanned derivative of the Proteus research aircraft that is just completing a Hunter-Killer mission while a second armed UAV, in the background, arrives as a relief aircraft. The U.S. Air Force is asking for concepts from the aerospace industry for a relatively inexpensive UAV--$10 million or less--that can stay aloft for a day and strike with precision while operating at medium to high altitudes (see p. 46). A key concept for U.S. contractors is that the system be fully exportable as an aid to foreign sales.
Snecma Chairman/CEO Jean-Paul Bechat says the French engine maker does not plan to invest in General Electric's GenX, which is intended for the Boeing 7E7, given large commitments in new powerplants for the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380, A400M airlifter, Russian Regional Jet and other programs. However, Snecma could be a subcontractor, he said.
Four Los Alamos National Labora-tory employees were fired and seven others given written reprimands, demotions, salary reductions or suspensions without pay last week. These actions stemmed from the loss or misplacement of computer disks in July, as well as a laser-related injury (AW&ST July 26, p. 15). Concern about the lab's security and safety "culture" led Director G. Peter Nanos to order a complete shutdown of lab activities. Some have been reinstated, but many critical nuclear-related functions are still on hold.
After last week's display at the U.S. Maritime Security Expo in New York, the CX-3800M, a mobile cargo X-ray screen unit manufactured by L-3 Security and Detection Systems, is starting a showcase tour of the U.S. The mobile scanner is billed as enhancing the ability of screening personnel to identify cargo threats. It provides a high-resolution image of the contents of loaded trucks, automobiles and shipping containers. The company claims a throughput of more than 20 trucks per hour and the capability of penetrating up to 10.6 in. of steel using a 3.8-MeV.
Patricia Luebke, who is editor of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn.'s monthly publication Flight School Business, has received the Jack J Eggspuehler Award from the National Assn. of Flight Instructors for her contributions to aviation education. The award is named for one of NAFI's founding fathers and a long-time past president. Luebke also is a media relations expert for Sporty's Pilot Shop and is a contributing editor for the Aircraft Electronics Assn.'s Avionics News and Women In Aviation's bimonthly magazine, Aviation for Women.
Sandia National Laboratories researchers are analyzing U.S. Navy carrier air wing flight operations, maintenance and support functions, searching for ways to improve performance. The project's goal is to cut personnel by 10-30% via better use of onboard technology, while also lightening overall workload per sailor. Findings would be implemented on the service's next-generation aircraft carrier by 2013-14.
Airbus has completed the first inflight test of GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) personal telephones on board an A320 flight-test aircraft. Functional testing involved simultaneous use of different GSM phones for voice communications and text messaging. Airbus aims to offer personal mobile telephone service on board commercial airlines by 2006.
Russian producers of titanium will have to compete on a more-level U.S. playing field now. President Bush recently eliminated a special tariff exemption that had allowed VSMPO, a Russian supplier of wrought titanium products, to import metal items free of customs duties since 1998. As a result, VSMPO had secured more than 60% of all wrought titanium imported to the U.S., according to Timet, a Denver-headquartered titanium producer. The company had petitioned the government to drop Russia's wrought titanium from the Generalized System of Preferences program.
Michael Caisse, who is engineering director of All Weather Inc., Sacramento, Calif., has been named to the Expert Team on Surface Technology and Measurement Technique of the Geneva-based World Meteorological Office's Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation. The group evaluates instrumentation in varying environments, recommends observing methods and provides information on new technologies and systems for measurement of surface meteorological variables.
Eutelsat reports strong growth in revenues and earnings for the 2003-04 fiscal year, bucking an industry-wide trend in the satellite operations sector. The Paris-based operator chalked up consolidated revenues of 760.2 million euros ($927 million), a 6.3% increase over the previous year, confirming first-half results. The improvement was smaller than the 8.6% increase a year ago, but larger than the 5% predicted, excluding extraordinary items.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. applauds moves in both houses of Congress to add Fiscal 2005 funds for the FAA to start hiring additional controllers in advance of the expected wave of retirements later this decade, but the appropriations subcommittee that engineered the add-on in the House bill, currently on the floor, isn't fully in sync with the union. The panel considers its addition, $9 million to hire and train about 120 controllers, no more than a short-term move to get things started.
