Mohamat Youssouf has been appointed director-general of Asecna, Africa's flight safety agency. He succeeds Ousmane Issoufrou Oubandawaki. Youssouf was head of Asecna's strategic studies.
Ronald B. Woodard, former president of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group and current chairman of Magna Drive Inc., has been named to the board of directors of the AAR Corp., Wood Dale, Ill.
Bombardier's Global 5000 business jet arrives at the Farnborough air show after a nonstop flight from San Francisco at a cruise speed of Mach 0.85. A shorter and modified version of the Global Express, the Global 5000 is scheduled to receive certification in September and enter into service by year-end. Air show coverage begins on p. 26. Mike Vines photo.
K. Kasturirangan--a member of the Indian Parliament, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies--has become the 11th person and first Asian in 48 years to win the Brock Medal from the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. The medal honors contributions to those fields. As chairman of ISRO, Kasturirangan envisioned the concepts of spatial data infrastructures in support of the development and use of high technology for social purposes.
India and Russia have signed a protocol to boost cooperation in space, including joint development of a global navigation system and launching a Russian spacecraft on Indian-made rockets. The agreement also covers joint development of equipment for Earth probes; research in electric engines for spacecraft and for building a space-based solar observatory to study X-ray radiation. Russia has also indicated an interest in joining India's Chandrayaan lunar project.
Russian and Ukrainian airframers are poised to join China as a bona fide threat--at least in selected markets--to regional aircraft giants Bombardier and Embraer, provided financing questions can be fully resolved.
SaabTech has won a $2.2-million contract for adaptation and flight trials of the BOL countermeasures dispensing system for the Royal Australian Air Force's F/A-18 Hornets.
QUALCOMM AND AMERICAN AIRLINES ARE EXPLORING ways for passengers to use commercial cell phones inflight for air-to-ground communication. In a recent 2-hr. proof-of-concept flight, representatives from government and the media used commercial Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) third-generation cell phones to place and receive calls and text messages from friends on the ground. For the test flight from Dallas-Fort Worth, the aircraft was equipped with an antenna in the front and rear of the cabin to transmit cell phone calls to a small in-cabin CDMA cellular base station.
World News Roundup 18 Bell testing tailfin designed to cut noise and workload 20 Lord Robertson receives Aviation Week's Curtis Sword 21 Finmeccanica plans to finish acquisi- tion of AgustaWestland sector soon 21 Multiple companies make news at the Farnborough air show Farnborough 2004 26 Airbus posts more sales, Boeing negotiates 7E7 contracts 28 As Airbus grows, Boeing insists it's time to reexamine subsidies 29 Airbus and Tenzing challenge Connexion by Boeing
Singapore Changi Airport's new terminal dedicated to low-cost carrier operations will be ready by 2006, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. The terminal initially will be able to handle 2.7 million passengers annually, and its operating costs will be in keeping with low-cost carriers' business models. The terminal will be a single story without escalators, people movers or aerobridges. However, it will offer shuttle bus services to Changi's other terminals, money exchange services, duty-free shopping and food concessions.
Boeing has selected Goodrich Corp. to supply the main landing gear for a follow-on order of F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The contract is valued up to $80 million from 2006-11. Also, Goodrich has contracted with BAE Systems to provide the ice detection system for conventional, carrier and short take-off vertical landing versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
By Robert K. Parmerter Twin Beech Society, Staggerwing Museum Foundation, Tullahoma, Tenn. 567 pp., Hardcover ($69.95) 730 photographs (350 in color) The Beech Model 18 is one of the most famous commercial monoplanes ever built. Designed by engineer Ted Wells and his small staff in the mid-1930s, the Model 18 was Beech Aircraft Corp.'s second product after the classic Model 17 biplane with its trademark negative stagger wing configuration.
Pierre Sparaco (Farnborough), Michael Mecham (Farnborough)
Airbus' top executives are convinced that the airline industry's downturn is coming to an end and, despite fragile short-term sales expectations, are planning for better times. Boeing and the major engine manufacturers agree.
AgustaWestland's new midsize 6-7-seat utility helicopter, dubbed Grand, is scheduled to obtain certification by the end of the year in preparation for initial deliveries in mid-2005. Company executives say they already have an undisclosed number of firm orders from European and U.S. customers. The planned production rate is an average of 15 aircraft per year.
The Thai government is considering the existing Bangkok International Airport (BIA) in Don Maung for discount carrier operations after the city's new Suvarnabhumi Airport opens in September 2005. According to Chaiwat Mahithiphark, deputy general manager at BIA, the Ministry of Transport and Airports of Thailand is expected to make a decision in the first quarter of 2005. Even if Don Maung becomes a discounter's hub, carriers will still face a 20% increase in landing charges the ministry is applying to recoup its two-year refurbishment of Don Maung, he said.
David A. Fulghum (Farnborough), Douglas Barrie (Farnborough)
The U.S. will field a disposable, air-launched high-power microwave weapon capable of producing catastrophic damage to electronic devices such as computers within 2-4 years, depending on spending levels approved by legislators.
THE FRENCH LAGARDERE group's alleged plan to sell its 15% stake in EADS and focus on publishing businesses is "pure speculation," according to a German industry official.
Senior Editor Craig Covault (left) discusses the planetary exploration payoff expected from the Messenger mission to Mercury with Robert Gold. He is the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory payload manager for the spacecraft, which is undergoing final checkout in an Astrotech clean room at Cape Canaveral. Messenger is scheduled for launch Aug. 2 on board a heavy version of the Boeing Delta II (see p. 58).
The Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of two U.S. nuclear weapon design labs, suspended all activities in mid-July following a security-related incident. The unusual action was taken by lab director G. Peter Nanos to "ensure this laboratory operates safely and meets our national security obligations," he said. Missing Classified Removable Electronic Media (CREM)--computer disks--are the central concern, but safety breaches contributed to the shutdown decision. Lab officials aren't saying what was on the CREM, but implied it was critical secret information.
John B. Wright, 2nd, has been appointed vice president/general counsel/ secretary of the Triumph Group Inc., Wayne, Pa. He succeeds Richard M. Eisenstaedt, who has retired. Wright was a partner with the Philadelphia law firm of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll. Terry D. Stinson has been named to the board of directors. He is chairman/CEO of Xelus Inc. and was president/CEO of Hamilton Standard and chairman/CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron.
Keith Wolken (see photo) has become president of SMS Holdings subsidiary PrimeFlight Aviation Services, Nashville, Tenn. He was chief operating officer of SMS.
Pakistan has begun receiving 26 Bell 412EP helicopters and support equipment to help fight the war on terror. Nine aircraft were delivered last month. The first two were bought from operators and quickly put into service for training, according to Bell. The remaining aircraft will be delivered in the next 10 months.
