Alaska Airlines Capt. James K. Robinson has been promoted in the Alaska Air National Guard to brigadier general and chief of staff. He was commander of the 438th Air Expeditionary Group in Pakistan in Operation Enduring Freedom.
Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co.'s new Interference Fit Construction (IFC) heated parts are designed to withstand high process temperatures, such as applications that exceed the temperature capabilities of cast aluminum, according to the company. IFC heated parts are an alternative to milled groove or brazed assemblies, often used when temperature requirements exceed 450C. Watlow can customize heated parts into a wide range of shapes and sizes to meet most customer specifications.
Regarding the article "High Costs, Low Hopes" by Eiichiro Sekigawa (AW&ST Aug. 23/30, p. 37), in the mid-1980s I was on active duty with the U.S. Navy and part of a Pentagon assessment team that met with the Japan Defense Agency (JDA) regarding development of the FS-X fighter aircraft (now the F-2).
HONEYWELL IS HELPING TO OPTIMIZE SPACE on the CV-22 Osprey's instrument panel with a dual-mode instrument. When standby instruments are not required, the 5 X 5-in. liquid crystal display will present TCAS information. Honeywell will supply displays for 50 U.S Air Force Osprey tiltrotor aircraft under a contract with Boeing.
World News Roundup 18 U.S.-German Sofia engineers post first observations 19 It's down to the wire for employee concessions at US Airways World News & Analysis 24 Chute failure on NASA's Genesis leaves Sun samples shattered 26 Booster sites safe; manned flight in- frastructure takes hurricane hits 28 Trio of orders from DirecTV, other plans boost satellite industry hopes 29 USAF leaders focused on rebuilding atrophied airborne EW capabilities
The FAA is launching an international safety forum that it plans to make an annual event. Explaining the move, Administrator Marion C. Blakey notes that "there is major emphasis on the FAA's forecast conference each year in terms of economic drivers, traffic volume and patterns. It's all about the National Airspace System efficiencies. Yet there was no equivalent of what I consider the FAA's most important mission--safety."
Judith W. Northup has been appointed to the board of directors of Exostar, Herndon, Va. She is vice president/chief administrative officer of Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.
Graham S. Arnold (see photos) has become principal director of the Space-Based Infrared System within the Systems Integration Directorate of the Space Based Surveillance Div. of The Aerospace Corp., in El Segundo, Calif. He was principal director for systems acquisition support in the Office of the Chief Architect/Engineer. At the Chantilly, Va., facility, Stephanie B. Danahy has been promoted to principal director from associate principal director of the Geo-intell Systems Directorate in the Imagery Programs Div.
BAE Systems' Information and Electronic Warfare Div., Boeing's Phantom Works, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon will divvy up $4.7 billion over 15 years for engineering services to Advanced Technology Support Program III. The award is part of a continuing program to solve problems caused by obsolete, unreliable or underperforming electronics hardware and software, by developing advanced technology insertions for fielded systems. The program is being administered by the Defense Microelectronics Activity.
Michael Mecham (San Francisco), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Airbus is turning up the heat in the subsidies debate with the announcement that it intends to begin marketing a midsize 7E7 competitor next year, with full-scale development work to begin in 2006. CEO Noel Forgeard gave that comment early last week but provided no details, such as whether such an aircraft would be a new airframe or a derivative of the A330-200. He spoke in the context of the A380, which will be the world's largest commercial jet when it enters the market in 2006.
Damage to NASA Kennedy Space Center facilities from Hurricane Frances could delay the space shuttle's return to flight, but unmanned launch facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station fared better. Space managers at Kennedy and the Cape facilities to the south are concerned, however, that Hurricane Ivan, forecast to pass near the facilities this week, could wreak further havoc.
British Airways raised 430 million pounds ($765 million) from the sale last week of its 18.25% stake in Australian carrier Qantas Airways. The cash will be used by BA to repay part of its existing 5.6-billion-pound gross debt.
NASA has built its space shuttle return-to-flight plans around the idea that, if a shuttle is irreparably damaged during ascent, its crew can remain in the "safe haven" of the International Space Station until a rescue mission can be mounted using a second orbiter. Now the oversight panel set up to review how well NASA is adhering to the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board is taking a look at the safe-haven approach, mainly out of concern the agency won't be able to repair as much damage as originally hoped.
While looking at the Aug. 23/30 cover, I couldn't decide what upset me more: an Iraqi insurgent firing a shoulder-launched missile at a departing airplane and the photo of the aircraft after being hit, or the ability of the "photojournalist" (Jerome Sessini) to capture this terrorist attack.
Greg Crowe has become general manager of the Parker Aerospace Nichols Airborne Div., Elyria, Ohio, succeeding Mark Seidel, who has been appointed general manager of the Gas Turbine Fuel Systems Div., Mentor, Ohio. Crowe was general manager of the Aircraft Wheel and Brake Div., Avon, Ohio.
The French air force has performed the first firing of the AASM air-launched precision-guided munition from a Mirage 2000. Drop tests began in February. The 250-kg. (550-lb.) guided bomb is to enter service with the Mirage 2000 and Rafale/F2 strike aircraft in 2006 in its 10-meter accuracy version, and in 2008 in the metric variant (AW&ST July 19, p. 124).
The last of the original General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin Atlas-Centaur boosters powered by Rocketdyne MA-5A engines rocketed into history here Aug. 31. The mission marks the passing of the torch to a much different and newer Atlas design powered by Russian engines.
Japan Airlines will expand its links with Hainan Airlines, China's largest "independent" carrier, on Oct. 31 with code-share flights between Kansai International Airport in Osaka and Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan Island. Hainan Airlines is regionally and privately owned rather than being controlled by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Last November, JAL and Hainan opened the West China Express, a series of daily flights that connected JAL's services to Beijing with Hainan's flights to Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian.
A U.S. court has ruled that Air New Zealand is not responsible for a passenger's development of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) on board a September 2000 flight. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said documents indicate Adriene Rodriguez, a passenger on a flight segment from Los Angeles to Auckland, did not eat or leave her seat during the 12-hr. leg and slept for the 12-hr. duration. She collapsed on arrival and was diagnosed with DVT resulting in a pulmonary embolism.
Suzanne D. Patrick is the U.S. deputy undersecretary of Defense for industrial policy. She began her career in the Naval Air Systems Command and has had experience on Wall Street in aerospace finance. Warnings of the demise of the U.S. defense industrial base have been frequent, overstated--and false. It is time to dispel these myths.
Most Homeland Security Dept. visa security officers assigned to U.S. facilities in Saudi Arabia under 2002 legislation are untrained and lack needed skills, and their main activities involve entering visa application data uncritically into Homeland Security databases and duplicating State Dept. consular officers' work, the Homeland Security inspector general reports. One reason cited for the shortcomings is that Homeland Security made the work temporary duty instead of a permanent assignment, so training was minimal and turnover high.
The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon a $440-million contract for the extended-range anti-air warfare missile, designated the Standard Missile SM-6. The money will go to developing a weapon that combines the Standard Missile SM-2 Block 4 missile with a derivative of an Amraam seeker. The initial target set includes helicopters, fighters and land-attack cruise missiles.
I read the aviation security and safety articles in the Aug. 23/30 issue and wondered why the U.S. has this compulsion to share information with terrorists. They are smart and innovative and don't need help. Some information should not be shared. For example, I suspect the article, "Big Head- ache" (p. 57), which cites the success rate and limitations of the SA-7, and the increased kill probability of the Grail, would be of interest to terrorists. In "Cargo Conundrum" (p. 62), it was stated that the U.S.
ITT Industries has received $63.4 million for the first full-rate production contract for the ALQ-214(V)2 Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures radio frequency countermeasures system. The terms specify that ITT will deliver 19 units and spares for Navy F/A-18E/Fs. Deliveries should be completed by August 2007.
ROBINSON HELICOPTER CO., WHOSE R22 AND R44 HELICOPTERS are powered by piston engines, continues to gain market share against turbine-powered helos. In the first six months of the year, Robinson sold 80% of all piston- and turbine-powered helicopters produced in North America. In that period the Torrance, Calif.-based airframe manufacturer built 343 aircraft--a 54% increase compared with the same period in 2003, according to the Aerospace Industries Assn. Of these, 115 were R22s and the balance were four-place R44s.
