FINANCIAL RELIEF FOR GENERAL AVIATION operators affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will have to wait until Fiscal 2005 to receive any funding. The 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill did not include $100 million earmarked for general aviation in the Vision 100 Century of Flight Reauthorization Act. Instead, the money was diverted to meet other needs. A large number of flight schools, air taxi operators, and business and general aviation pilots were adversely affected by airspace and flight restrictions imposed by the U.S. government after the attacks.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) soon plans to test the "registered traveler" concept at a major U.S. airport. TSA officials decline to name the test airport or others that may be included in the program in the future. However, Washington Dulles International is under consideration, according to an airport official. Under the program, volunteer travelers would register for a background check designed to rule out any connections to terrorists or terrorist activity. The volunteers would still be required to undergo physical screening during the test period.
The House defense appropriations panel has approved $416.1 billion for the Pentagon, including $25 billion as a down payment on Iraq costs for Fiscal 2005. It fully funds the Air Force's request for 24 F/A-22s and boosts C-17 procurement to 15 airlifters from 14. The panel also included $100 million for the eventual acquisition of KC-767 tankers. The Joint Strike Fighter funding request was reduced by $204 million because of schedule delays.
THE SOFT MARKET FOR NEW BUSINESS JETS is forecast to continue for another two years before swinging upward again to a peak in 2010. According to a report by The Teal Group, this year's jet sales will fall to their lowest level since 1997 before resuming long-term growth beyond 2006. Teal aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia is projecting production of 6,413 new jets worth $91.7 billion during the next 10 years. He expects Gulfstream Aerospace to rank first in market share, followed by chief competitor Bombardier Aerospace. Cessna Aircraft Co.
As the U.K. Defense Ministry ponders its choice of prime contractor of either Thales or Northrop Grumman for its Watchkeeper reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, further details are emerging of the latter bid. The U.S. manufacturer is proposing to include the army's remaining Phoenix UAVs alongside the Ranger vehicle to provide an initial capability in 2006. The Fire Scout rotary-wing UAV would enter service toward the end of 2008.
I believe Paul Lipps was referring to the Airbus A320 crash at the Habsheim air show, near the French-German border in 1988, not at Paris (AW&ST May 17, p. 6).
Michael Mecham (Singapore), Neelam Matthews (Singapore)
With an eye on portions of the map where its member airlines are largely absent, the Star Alliance is set to add new connections into South America and Africa by bringing in TAP Air Portugal and South African Airways as full members.
William H. Swanson, chairman/CEO of the Raytheon Co., has been named by President Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. NSTAC provides analysis and recommendations to the President on policy and technical issues related to telecommunications, information assurance, infrastructure protection, and other national security and preparedness concerns.
India's state-owned Space Applications Center, which conducts space applications research, has ordered six of Sweden's Digital Visions DVNR 501 BitSaver transmission pre-processors. BitSaver is the second generation of transmission pre-processors, which allow providers to reduce the bit rate required to transmit broadcast quality television channels over satellite, cable and terrestrial network systems.
Carrying out a presidential executive order, the FAA has barred indefinitely scheduled-service aircraft of airlines owned or controlled by Syria from landing in or taking off from U.S. territory. Overflights still are permitted, as are landings in emergencies or charter operations for official Syrian government business. The executive order requiring the ban cites Syrian support for terrorists, attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, and occupation of Lebanon.
Refurbishing antique KC-135s won't solve the real problem, which is out-of-production spare parts. Just finding the correct old drawings is a major challenge, let alone a vendor to handcraft parts on short notice. Meanwhile, crews have to work around the clock, cannibalizing the flight line.
Auditors from the U.S. Transportation Dept. inspector general's office have entered the long-simmering staffing argument between the FAA and its air traffic controllers' union on the side of--both.
Mounting safety concerns surrounding charter operators are giving credence to the government's plan to create a quality seal. It would be awarded to unquestionably "safe" airlines. Next month, Transport Minister Gilles de Robien plans to submit his scheme to the European Union's (EU) ministers council in an initiative paving the way for cross-border action. In the shorter term, France expects to establish a domestic seal, dubbed Blue Ribbon label, to help in removing unsafe operators from its market.
The British Defense Ministry's Combined Aerial Target System procurement is being delayed, with some industry executives suggesting a decision may not emerge before 2005. A selection had been expected by early to mid-2004. Funding pressures, as well as the impact of a wider program review, has forced the project into a holding pattern.
Production issues concerning a scavenger tube in the General Electric GE90-115B engine prompted two inflight shutdowns on a predelivery Boeing 777-300ER quality assurance test conducted on an aircraft ordered by Air France. A GE official explained that a supplier had changed production methods and unwittingly introduced too much moisture into the scavenger tubes, which caused them to collapse under pressure. Seven engines delivered to Air France were affected and are being retrofitted with improved tubes.
Joe Mersereau has been named vice president/ general manager of the General Technology Corp., Albuquerque, N.M., a subsidiary of Crane Aerospace & Electronics. He held the same posts at the Signal Technology Corp., another Crane subsidiary.
A panel of experts from the European Union, the European Space Agency and other bodies met last week to assess the security dimension of their future common space policy. The meeting, part of a series of initial policy gatherings that followed the entry into force of an EU-ESA cooperation agreement on May 28, was aimed at defining how space resources can help address border control, crisis management, humanitarian missions and terrorism. The panel will report by year's end, with recommendations for the first joint European space plan to be proposed in early 2005.
Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox has been appointed deputy commanding general/chief of staff of the U.S. Army Accessions Command, Ft. Monroe, Va. He has been deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Space Command/deputy commanding general for operations of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.
As it pursues an initial order for some 50 7E7s from China's top four airlines, Boeing says state-owned China Aviation Industry Corp. I and II (AVIC I, AVIC II) will produce parts and assemblies for the mid-sized aircraft, which is to debut in 2008. AVIC I's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Co. is to supply the aircraft's composite rudder. A Boeing official said technology for the rudder was not subject to U.S. export control regulations.
U.S. Marine Corps aviation is in a crisis with both heavy-lift and attack helicopters out of production and numbers beginning to fall from combat losses and hard use in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Akron, Ohio-based Castle Aviation is the launch customer for the all-cargo Saab 340 twin turboprop. The conversion kit was recently developed by Saab Aircraft Leasing.
United Airlines reached agreement with a coalition of its unions on reductions in medical and life insurance benefits for retired employees. The deal settles a conflict between the airline and the unions in which the carrier sought bankruptcy court approval for unilateral cutbacks. The agreement appears to reflect a considerable concession by United. In a bankruptcy court filing last month, the carrier said $57 million per year, or about $400 million over seven years, was at issue (AW&ST May 31, p. 26).
The Army and Navy are proving once again that nothing spurs cooperation more than tragedy. The Army is likely to send some of its air defense personnel from Ft. Bliss, Tex., to the Navy Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon, Nev., to participate in Navy training drills with Navy aviation forces, says Rear Adm. Matthew Moffet, the center's commander. The move is in large part the result of last year's shootdown of a Navy F/A-18 by a Patriot air defense battery during the Iraq war. There are other signs the services are starting to integrate operations better.
Bell Helicopter's XworX is embarked on a design and modification effort to deal with a heating problem encountered on the Marines' fleet of H-1s (AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys), specifically, AH-1Z exhaust systems and aging AH-1W tailbooms. By turning the exhaust system on the H-1's twin General Electric T-700 engines, the infrared heat signature on the aircraft will also be reduced, says a Bell official, boosting combat survivability. XworX is an amalgam of several organizations that have been generating and developing ideas at Bell for years.
The U.S. Navy is considering an upgrade of its T-45Cs with a synthetic tactical fire-control radar for improved training of naval flight officers or Air Force navigators. The system is supposed to be able to mimic air-to-air and air-to-ground modes, and include real beam ground mapping, synthetic aperture radar and pulse Doppler single-target track modes. The schedule calls for the first items to be test-ready by 2006-07 and to work in conjunction with T-45C upgrades to the multifunction displays and mission display processor, also due around that time.
