To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Sept. 27-29--SAFE Assn. Symposium (Safety, Survival and Flight Equipment). Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City. Call +1 (541) 895-3012 or www.safeassociation.com Sept. 28-30--Seventh Global Aviation Information Network World Conference. Hilton Bonaventure, Montreal. Call +1 (202) 267-9740, fax +1 (202) 493-4950 or see www.GAINweb.org
Finmeccanica and Alcatel S.A. expect to conclude due diligence on a pair of planned space ventures this month, but final negotiations on a defense electronics venture to be created by Finmeccanica and BAE Systems remain stalled.
Thales is shipping the first A380 inflight entertainment systems to Airbus in Toulouse, France, for installation on a flight-test aircraft that is due to be completed in July. The 550-seat Thales TopSeries i-5000 system, under development for four years, has been tested at a laboratory in Irvine, Calif. Similar systems in the series are flying on 50 aircraft, including the A330. An A380 version is expected to cost $8 million per aircraft.
The Netherlands is looking to buy Standard Missile equipment under a U.S. foreign military sales contract that could reach $70 million. The deal would cover 55 SM-2 Block IIIA missiles, and an equal number of Mk.13 canisters and other equipment.
Steven J. Hill has been named president of Boeing Business Jets. He succeeds Lee Monson, who has become vice president-sales of Boeing Commercial Airplanes for the Middle East and Africa. Hill was business director of Boeing Aircraft Trading.
The chairman of the State Commission last week said terrorist acts caused the Aug. 24 crashes of a Siberian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154B and Volga Aviaexpress Tu-134, according to Russian news reports. The commission is leading the investigation of the two crashes that killed a total of 90 people. Traces of hexogen, which is in the RDX family of plastic explosives, were found at the crash sites, and two Chechen women, one on each aircraft, are believed to have carried the explosives on board.
If US Airways shuts down, likely beneficiaries are Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways, according to Philip Baggaley, credit analyst with McGraw-Hill Companies subsidiary Standard & Poor's. He expects those low-cost operators to move into key East Coast airports, acquire slots and expand into many domestic and some Caribbean routes. The shaky financial condition of legacy competitors would preclude them from such investments, he says, but US Airways' traffic would divert to Delta, Continental and American airlines.
Drew Baker (see photo) has been promoted to president from vice president-marketing and repair development for Bearing Inspection Inc., Los Alamitos, Calif.
Despite efforts by NASA to downplay the issue, European Space Agency managers are expressing concern that a Russian decision to refocus scarce space resources on research and development may lead to a logistics snag at the International Space Station. They also fear NASA's proposed schedule for launching ESA's Columbus module could brake the impetus in Europe for future space exploration.
Although chances of keeping to the original schedule and budget for Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system are increasingly remote, planners still expect to start services by decade's end--and will benefit from experience with a precursor system to boot. Rainer Grohe, executive director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking, which is managing the demonstration/validation phase and overseeing the search for a concessionaire to deploy and operate the system, acknowledged that meeting the initial 2008 service start deadline will be difficult.
Scandinavian carrier SAS is hoping to move on the acquisition of a regional jet fleet by around the end of 2005, dependent on improving financial performance. SAS plans for a regional jet purchase have previously been delayed by cash issues, but senior company executives are underscoring the need to introduce a regional jet as soon as realistically possible.
Jim Swartz, who is director of corporate safety for Delta Air Lines, has been named by the U.S. Labor Dept. to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. He will advise the Labor and Health and Human Services secretaries on occupational safety and health programs and policies. Swartz also is past president of the National Safety Council's Air Transport Section's Executive Committee.
The House aviation subcommittee unanimously approved an omnibus aviation security bill that includes measures previously outlined plus major recommendations in the 9/11 commission's final report.
Mark J. Flavin has become vice president-government operations for Armor Holdings Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. He was director of government operations for the AM General Corp.
Aerojet has revealed the successful hot-fire testing of a flight-weight solid propellant Throttling Divert and Attitude Control System on July 28 in a simulated SM-3 mission scenario at its Sacramento, Calif., headquarters. It is proposing TDACS to Raytheon Missile Systems and the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency for lateral maneuverability of the SM-3 Kinetic Warhead.
Kenneth J. Paul has been named vice president-sales of Max-Viz, Portland, Ore. He was head of original equipment manufacturer sales and marketing for S-TEC Meggitt Avionics.
Chances are dimming for passage of a bill to streamline licensing of commercial suborbital spaceflights as the clock runs down on the current session of Congress. The bill (H.R. 3752) would firm up the definition of a suborbital launch vehicle and the policy that FAA's space experts, not its aircraft and aviation regulators, would issue licenses. Critical to entrepreneurs hoping to spawn a "space tourism" industry, the measure also would make it clear that paying passengers are participating in experimental flight and they waive rights to sue should anything go wrong.
BAE Systems remains on the acquisition warpath in the U.S., but all indications are it has little intent in continuing to pursue crafting a mega-merger with a U.S. prime contractor. The U.K.-headquartered defense and aerospace manufacturer last week moved to further strengthen its North American operation with the proposed $595-million purchase of government information technology provider DigitalNet at $30.25 per share.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert T. Dail has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and to deputy commander from director, J-3/4, of the U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
The Snecma group reported an 8.1% rise in revenues for the first half of the year, to 3.3 billion euros ($4 billion), and an 8% rise in operating earnings to 250 million euros. Net income surged 64% to 120 million euros but orders fell to 2.3 billion euros, excluding maintenance, repair and overhaul, from 2.4 billion euros a year earlier.
Robert Fordree has been appointed London Heathrow Airport-based general manager-commercial for the U.K. and Ireland and Adrian Ajayi key account manager for Menzies Aviation's cargo division.
Roy Griffins has been named director-general of Brussels-based Airports Council International. He succeeds Philippe Hamon, who has retired. Griffins was U.K. director-general of civil aviation.
David L. Hayes, Director of Certification Programs (Air Line Pilots Assn., Herndon, Va.)
Congratulations to Douglas Barrie and Robert Wall for their excellent overview of Manpads (Man-Portable Air Defense System) and government and industry efforts to address the threat to commercial transport aircraft (AW&ST Aug.23/30, p. 57). To better ensure safety and security in commercial aviation, stakeholders in the aviation industry need to better manage their limited assets, to provide the 9/11 commission's "layered defenses" strategy of prevention, protection and response.
M. Natarajan has been named scientific adviser to the defense minister of India and director general of the Defense Research and Development Organization. He succeeds V.K. Atre, who has retired.
The House appropriations panel also wants the FAA to tighten the reins on sick leave, noting that the agency average is 11.2 days per year, nearly 20% higher than the rest of the government's. Investigating hotline complaints at five locations, the Transportation Dept. inspector general finds evidence of a scam--which may or may not be widespread--in which Controller A requests sick leave, Controller B is brought in on overtime to keep the position filled, and Controller A then shows up. Under the NATCA contract, A and B both work and get paid for the full shift.
