Thai Airways International plans to lease 747-400s to two unnamed Star Alliance members during its low traffic season to help decrease maintenance costs. The airplanes will be painted in Star Alliance colors before they are leased. In related news, Thai is planning to introduce three flights daily in 2005 from Bangkok to San Francisco, Moscow and Johannesburg, South Africa, when the carrier takes delivery of eight new Airbus A340-500s and A340-600s. Thai also plans to introduce Bangkok-New York service six times a week.
Several of the Pentagon's next-generation missile defense tools are nearing key design milestones, setting the stage for the projects to progress to the flight test phase.
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NASA's managers have reorganized themselves to focus better on President Bush's deep-space exploration plans and "transform the way we do business," in the words of Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "We have to develop agility, as a means by which to respond more rapidly to changing events," O'Keefe said in outlining the new management structure.
A proprietary aircraft-painting preparation developed and sold by a small chemical company here has eased pollution-control problems for U.S. Air Force depots and other maintenance operations. Dubbed PreKote, the preparation is basically a mixture of alkali soap and a saline compound that promotes paint adhesion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found it is non-hazardous and non-toxic, unlike the alodine chromate conversion coatings that are also used to prepare aluminum aircraft skins for painting.
The French government will get 1.45 billion euros ($1.74 billion) from Snecma's newly completed initial public offering, which is significantly less than expected. The IPO was oversub- scribed, and 800,000 investors now own 35% of the propulsion group.
David Heydt has been appointed director of maintenance at Jet Aviation Teterboro (N.J.). He was Challenger and Global Express program manager for Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace.
The final scrub is underway of the massive software package running the battle management, command-and-control system that's responsible for linking the disparate elements of the U.S.' emerging missile defense shield.
Lockheed Martin has snagged a $13-million contract from the U.S. Air Force to buy two C-130H aircraft from the Italian air force and ready them for the Romanian and Colombian air forces by September.
Boeing has awarded Goodrich Corp. additional 7E7 production work by choosing it to provide the long-range mid-sized jet's proximity-sensing system. The award is Goodrich's fourth for the 200-250-seat aircraft.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Richard J. Rowe, Jr., who has been assistant commander for operations of the 82d Airborne Div., has become director of operations for the U.S. Northern Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
The European Space Agency has awarded EADS/Astrium an 80-million-euro ($96-million) contract to build a pathfinder satellite for Lisa, a joint ESA-EU gravitational wave observatory planned for early in the next decade. The mission is scheduled to be launched in mid-2008. Astrium also won a 61-million-euro award to build a microwave imaging radiometer for ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, which is scheduled to be orbited in March 2007 under the agency's Earth Explorer program.
Kris Ganase (see photo) has become president of Aviation Communication and Surveillance Systems of Phoenix, an L-3 Communications & Thales Company. He was executive vice president/chief operating officer. Ganase succeeds Joe Hoffman, who has been promoted to group vice president-strategic planning for L-3 Avionics Products.
Raytheon plans to ship three more exoatmospheric kill vehicles (EKVs) for the U.S. missile defense system to Boeing by the end of July, bringing the total to five for the initial defensive capability.
The U.S. Navy has begun modifying destroyer ships to have two ready to support the Pentagon's operational missile defense shield later this year. At the heart of the sea-based missile defense component is the Aegis weapon system. The initial activity concentrates on long-range detection destroyers, although soon the first of three enhanced cruisers capable of firing Standard Missile SM-3 interceptors should follow.
Ranch Capital, a San Diego company that invests in what it terms "distressed, bankrupt and other special situations," has purchased controlling interest--10 million shares--of Hawaiian Holdings, the parent of Hawaiian Airlines, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since March 2003. A newly formed Ranch Capital unit, RC Aviation, will take over Hawaiian Holdings' plan for reorganizing Hawaiian, and Holdings' CEO, John Adams, will resign. A team of Boeing Capital Corp.
Considering the lack of identified program funding and near-term fielding goal, it's surprising that most of the entries in the recent U.S. Air Force long-range strike request for proposals were new airframes such as a large X-45D unmanned combat aerial vehicle or FB version of the F/A-22 (AW&ST May 31, p. 28). Unfortunately, the Global Hawk, F/A-22 and F-35 programs have shown the excessive research, development, and operational test and evaluation cost and schedule risks of this approach.
A U.S. Navy P-3 Orion refurbished by L-3 Integrated Systems is flown at the company's facilities in Greenville, Tex., by Rear Adm. Michael Holmes. The aircraft is the first of 16 that will receive upgrade kits as part of the Navy's Enhanced Special Structural Inspection (ESSI) program, which is aimed at adding 5,000 additional flight hours to the airframe's service life.
Four Indian Jaguars and two newly inducted Ilyushin Il-76 tankers will be participating for the first time in Cooperative Cope Thunder from July 15-30 at the Eielson/Elmendorf AFBs' military ranges in Alaska along with aircraft from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. The exercise showcases multinational airlift operations combined with interdiction, personnel recovery, counter-air and close air support missions.
The Cassini/Huygens spacecraft is nearing Saturn and is to be captured into orbit on June 30 (see p. 56). Its narrow-angle camera took this approaching series of images on Nov. 9, 2003, and Feb. 9, Mar. 27, and May 21 of this year. On June 11, Cassini snapped pictures of Saturn's moon Phoebe (see p. 27). Images by NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.
Italian government and industry representatives see Boeing's win of the U.S. Navy's Multimission Maritime Aircraft as potentially opening the door to an international partnership that could meet Rome's long-standing need for new maritime patrol and airborne early warning aircraft.
Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard expects the Boeing 737-700s entering the fleet of AirTran Airways to serve as the chief instrument for another, broader transformation of the profitable, decade-old discount airline.
Like a well-prepared airline pilot, Fred Reid marked off his checklist for the "born in the USA" airline he's readying for takeoff in mid-2005--Virgin America, Richard Branson's U.S. low-fare carrier operation. "Raising capital . . . in process. Headquarters and operation base identified." Reid read off the items before the International Aviation Club in Washington last week.
The British Defense Ministry is further delaying a decision on key helicopter programs for Westland. A final decision on the Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter was expected late last year, but initially slipped by six months. The government now says a decision likely will come "early in 2005."
Piaggio Aero Industries is poised to boost the production rate for the P.180 Avanti twin turboprop to 36 aircraft per year by 2007 in a confirmation that the revamped company is headed for recovery. In addition, it seeks to revitalize the aging P.166 maritime patrol aircraft program by developing an upgraded version dubbed DP1.
