French and Russian industry executives are betting that PowerJet, a new joint venture of Snecma Moteurs and NPO Saturn, will give them a major foothold in the commercial engine market. The 13,500-15,400-lb.-thrust SaM146 turbofan, which will power Sukhoi's 60-95-seat Russian Regional Jet (RRJ), is scheduled to obtain European Aviation Safety Agency and Avia Register certifications in June 2006. Last month, Siberian Airlines signed the RRJ's launch order, and additional sales are expected to be inked in the next few months (AW&ST July 26, p. 33).
Leroy Keith has been appointed technical, operations, safety and security programs director of Washington-based Global Aviation Associates Ltd. He was technical director of the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines.
Star Alliance members Lufthansa Cargo and US Airways are joining freight operations on select routes between U.S. and European cities. Under the agreement, Lufthansa will begin marketing US Airways' cargo capacity on those routes starting in September; it will expand its handling of US Airways' freight through the summer of 2005. European markets involved are Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Manchester, Rome, Glasgow, Dublin and Shannon. In the U.S., the markets are US Airways strong points at Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C.
American Mojave Aerospace Ventures Team plans to make the first flight toward the Ansari X-Prize on Sept. 29 by flying its SpaceShipOne rocket glider to 100 km. (328,084 ft.) altitude, carrying the pilot plus the weight of two passengers. The flight has to be repeated within two weeks with the same craft to win the prize.
With the successful launch of Telesat Canada's Anik F2--the second of the year for Arianespace's basic Ariane 5G booster--the European launch firm is now turning to the planned mid-October relaunch of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA version. The mission, to carry the XTAR milsatcom spacecraft for the Spanish government, will be the first of two ECA qualification missions ordered following the aborted maiden flight in December 2002. CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall says Arianespace also plans to orbit a fourth Ariane 5 in December carrying France's Helios 2 surveillance satellite.
Diana Reardon has become senior vice president/chief financial officer of the Amphenol Corp., Wallingford, Conn. She has been vice president/controller/treasurer. Reardon succeeds Edward Jepsen, who is expected to remain with the company on a project basis and join the board of directors.
The Pentagon has given the V-22 program the green light to prepare for operational testing that will precede next year's full-rate production decision. But during the review last month, acting Pentagon acquisition chief Michael Wynne also instructed the Defense Contract Management Agency to oversee efforts to improve quality control at Bell Helicopter Textron after concerns were raised. V-22 managers also are supposed to ensure the tiltrotor will be able to communicate with other systems on the battlefield.
Canada's choice of the S-92 for its maritime helicopter gives Sikorsky a long-needed military reference customer, but the jury is still out on whether or not the contract will impact high-profile helo competitions in the U.S.
Raytheon Systems Ltd. has been selected by the British Defense Ministry for the first phase of the army's Joint Effects Tactical Targeting System (Jetts). The project is viewed as a key building block in the ministry's Network Enabled Capability. Jetts is intended to provide the computer support environment for the army's indirect fire platforms. The initial phase is valued at 10 million pounds, with the follow-on manufacturing phase at 300 million pounds.
Lord George Robertson, left, the 15th biennial winner of the John Curtis Sword, examines the award with Kenneth E. Gazzola, Aviation Week's executive vice president/publisher, at the Society of British Aerospace Companies' recent Farnborough International Dinner (AW&ST July 26, p. 20). The award, sponsored by Aviation Week & Space Technology and named for its former U.K. marketing director, recognizes contributions to Anglo-American aerospace cooperation. Robertson was NATO secretary general from 1999-2003 and U.K. secretary of state for defense from 1997-99.
EasyJet executives claim the Air France/Alitalia alliance will distort market forces and decrease competition. The British company has asked the European Court of Justice to invalidate the arrangement.
An International Launch Services Proton Breeze M is scheduled to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the night of Aug. 4-5 with Hispasat's Amazonas telecom satellite on board. The EADS Astrium-built spacecraft, which is 20% owned by Brazil's Telemar, will double Hispasat's capacity (AW&ST July 19, p. 154).
The second Chinese/European Space Agency Double Star magnetospheric spacecraft is being checked out in polar orbit this week following liftoff on a Chinese Long March 2C booster July 25 from the Taiyuan facility south of Beijing. The flight marks China's 35th consecutive successful satellite launch since 1996. A similar Double Star was launched last Dec. 29 into equatorial orbit.
Michael L. Austill (see photo) has been named managing director of avionics systems for BAE Systems North America's Platform Solutions Sector, Johnson City, N.Y. He was its vice president-aerospace controls.
Boeing has raised its earnings-per-share estimates for this year and next, building them around a strong defense business and recovering commercial airplane market. Total company sales for the second quarter were $13.1 billion, with first-half revenues of $26 billion. Net earnings for the quarter were $1.2 billion, versus a $670-million loss last year. The earnings-per-share outlook for this year was increased to $2.25-2.45 (from $2.05-2.25) and for 2005 to $2.35-2.60 (from $2.2-2.45).
European aerospace industry revenues and profits are increasing thanks to an improving business environment, a trend confirmed last week by EADS' and Rolls-Royce's results for the first half of 2004. EADS' earnings before taxes and interest increased 66% to 985 million euros ($1.19 billion). The European group's revenues increased 12% to 14.6 billion euros, including 10.2 billion euros generated by Airbus. EADS has an 80% stake in the commercial transport manufacturer while BAE Systems owns the remaining 20%.
European Space Agency officials say startup of the subsurface sounding radar on the Mars Express orbiter is now likely to be delayed until the end of the nominal two-year scientific mission, in late 2005, because of uncertainties related to deployment of the radar's long folding boom. Scientists had hoped for a green light this autumn to switch on the radar, which is intended to search for the presence of underground aquifers that are thought to hold most of Mars' elusive water supply (AW&ST July 19, p. 49).
General Electric and Rolls-Royce expected late last week to begin a second round of runs with their first F136 powerplant, this time aiming to break in seals, check out mechanical systems, and overspeed the engine to 103% corrected fan speed. The JSF alternate engine, built in the conventional takeoff and landing configuration, was first run on July 22 for a total of 1 hr. 17 min. At that time, two engine starts were conducted and sufficient steady-state data were collected at idle speeds to verify the powerplant's stability and low vibration levels.
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The corporate jet market is resurging and steady sales gains are predicted, according to business aircraft manufacturers in attendance at the Farnborough air show. There were fewer corporate aircraft on the static display line and even fewer company officials willing to discuss business flying this year than in previous Farnborough or Paris air shows.
UPS is a great company. I admire its employees professionally, have worked with them on a business level and use their services frequently. I know my driver's name, and his home phone number.
The Northwest Airlines' pilot group is proposing an exclusive pay and benefits system for pilots of 70-seat aircraft that could alter the historic career paths to the cockpit.
Allen Hoyt has been named vice chairman/CEO and John Earl line services manager for Western Aircraft, Boise, Idaho. Hoyt was head of aircraft sales at Western, while Earl was general manager of JetCenter South, Gulf Shores, Ala.
Andrea Molinari has become CEO of Volare Group carriers Volare Airlines and Air Europe. He was CEO of the Lauda Air parent Livingston Aviation Group and succeeds Vincenzo Soddu. Molinari has been succeeded at Livingston by Claudio Calabi.
