L-3 Communications/Thales venture ACSS says its combined air traffic and terrain avoidance system, T 2CAS, will be certified for all Airbus aircraft by year-end, and for the A380 ultra-widebody by January 2005. T 2CAS is to be approved for A330/A340 long-haul fleets in October, and for short/medium-range models in November. It is already certified for retrofit on Boeing 737s, but there are no imminent plans for type certification, company officials say. The first retrofit for a business jet--Cessna Citation 560--is due later this month.
Italian air traffic control agency Enav has approved 850 million euros ($1 billion) in new outlays in 2004-06 to finance airport and ATC safety and operating improvements. The plan calls for spending 125 million euros on area control centers, 270 million euros on radio navigation equipment, 360 million euros on radar, satellite navigation and communications hardware and 25 million euros on calibration systems.
Germany has completed automatic landing trials of its Phoenix experimental reusable launch vehicle (RLV). Initial trials, at the Northern European Aerospace's test range at Vidsel, Sweden, on May 8 and May 13, involved a straightforward flight path lined up with the runway centerline (AW&ST May 24, p. 17). During the final test flight on May 18, engineers offset the flight path by 100 meters (328 ft.) with respect to the runway axis.
Has anyone calculated the effects of the roller-coaster ride for those sitting outboard on the blended-wing body during turns or flights in turbulence? Seems like moving up and then down several feet continuously, while maneuvering for approach, would be a thrilling experience most passengers would prefer to avoid.
Companies seeking contracts from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) are finding a receptive audience for ideas leading to near-term applications, but a cool one for longer range research. "There's a lot of money for short-term [technologies], very little for medium-term and nothing for long-term," says an aerospace researcher. Those who land Darpa contracts are under the gun to show rapid progress, though. Each project must pass quarterly reviews dubbed "TetherGates" conducted by Darpa chief Anthony J. Tether.
NASA is getting ready to roll out a new organization chart in response to recommendations, due this week, from the presidential space exploration panel headed by former Air Force Secretary Edward (Pete) Aldridge. Insiders look for the new exploration systems office to assume line authority over spaceflight, biological and physical research and aerospace technology, reflecting the agency's redirected focus. Space and Earth science will merge on the theory that Earth is "a card-carrying member of the Solar System too," in the words of one agency adviser.
SN Brussels Airlines is convinced that the German civil aviation authority's decision to close Berlin Tempelhof is a mistake. The airport, which is located significantly closer to the city's center than Schoenefeld and Tegel, is well-used by business travelers and generates limited environmental nuisances.
Singapore's Aviation and Electronics Support will represent France's Elta Electronics in the Pacific Rim, under an agreement covering Elta's product range of aircraft distress beacons.
Armor Holdings Aerospace & Defense Group and EADS Sogerma Services have concluded a business partnership covering aircraft armor protection and flight crew seats.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington)
The U.S. Navy's Multimission Maritime Aircraft program will be in the spotlight this week as Boeing and Lockheed Martin find out which company will supply the platform. However, several Pentagon officials insist that activities in the shadows hold the key to the program's success. The most important elements of MMA, say Pentagon intelligence officials, may turn out to be the products derived from the maritime patrol system, such as gathering enemy signals, analyzing communications networks and finding the weak links that allow computer attacks.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO.'S NEW CITATION XLS business jet is scheduled to enter service in a few months. The first production airplane rolled off the assembly line in Wichita, Kan., in April and will be delivered this summer, followed by initial deliveries to European customers in the third quarter of this year, according to the company. The XLS is an upgraded version of the Citation Excel, which it replaces in Cessna's business jet product line. The XLS has an additional 150-naut.-mi. range and cruises 34 kt. faster than its predecessor at maximum operating altitude.
Continuing to expand its role in aviation security, Smiths plans to apply for certification of an advanced X-ray machine with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration this summer. The TSA is clearly interested in Smiths Detection's checked-baggage screening equipment, at least for possible use in scanning stowed bags on trains. On June 7, a three-week pilot program started with Smiths' explosives detection tomography system (EDTS) in the baggage handling room at Union Station here.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 16 EasyJet and Ryanair rebut fears of investors 17 Delta pilots in new retire- ment application spike 18 Titan shareholders OK pro- posed merger with LockMart WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 New course for F-35 could include delay in fielding 23 Analysts looking again at enhanced MMA design 26 Pentagon drafts heavy-lift rotorcraft requirements 26 Iraq war strains USMC budget, helicopters 28 Transatlantic helicopter com- petition enters next round
The European Union is due to award a pair of follow-on studies later this month aimed at furthering know-how in specific areas of aircraft onboard integrated modular electronics (IME). The awards, in answer to a second call for proposals under the EU's Sixth Framework R&D program issued on Mar. 31, will concern high-data-rate onboard optical transmissions and air-to-ground communications, in particular multiconstellation receivers capable of handling GPS and Galileo nav data as well as communications data streams.
Joette Schmidt, who is vice president-customers and inflight services for America West Airlines, has received the J.J. O'Neill Leadership Development Award from the International Inflight Food Service Assn.'s Educational Foundation. The $22,500 award for executive-level education was underwritten by LSG SkyChefs. Schmidt was cited for developments at America West, "including the innovative buy-on-board food service program."
Lockheed Martin began field installation of its avionics modernization program kits on C-5 transports at Dover AFB, Del., on June 5. The Air Force plans to modify all 112 aircraft in the fleet over the next few years. The retrofit project replaces analog systems with digital displays, and the communications and navigation systems needed to comply with changing air traffic system requirements. Seven Honeywell 6 X 8-in. flat-panel, color, liquid crystal displays will be installed; six for the pilots on the front panel, one on the flight engineer's panel.
Kevin Connell (see photo) has been appointed H-1 Program Director for Bell Helicopter Textron of Fort Worth. He was executive director of commercial programs. Connell succeeds Chris Becker, who has resigned.
Continental and Northwest Airlines, long-time business partners of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, have confirmed they plan to join SkyTeam. Late last week, they submitted requests to the alliance's governing board.
Safire Aircraft Co. suspended operations last week until officials can secure new financing. President/CEO Camilo Salomon said financial agreements already reached with investors were scheduled to be in place by May of this year, but the discussions have "encountered some unforeseen setbacks" that will "slightly delay" closing the deal. Salomon, however, still expects financing to be available this month.
Moving under one roof, Star Alliance is looking at developing exclusive terminals or terminal areas providing joint airport facilities including ticket sales offices, check-in counters, lounges and transfer and baggage services to ease connections for customers and reduce duplication of investments. Star Vice President of Products and Services Lee Hock Lye says plans to provide input and support the long-term development program at Los Angeles airport are on.
After a last-minute change in its layout, local noise opposition has been quieted and the way cleared for construction to begin next year on a fourth runway at Haneda, Tokyo's perpetually congested domestic airport. The May 25 deal involved a compromise struck by the transport ministry with leaders in Tokyo, 14 surrounding cities and the Chiba prefecture that involves repositioning the new 2,500-meter (8,200-ft.) runway.
Ralph Kunz (see photo) has become vice president-maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the Keystone Helicopter Corp., West Chester, Pa. He was vice president-marketing and sales for ACRO Aerospace, Richmond, British Columbia.
NASA's Aura mission, to be launched June 19, will be just the second element in a six-satellite constellation, funded by the U.S., France and Canada. It's intended to improve our understanding of weather and climate change mechanisms, and our ability to predict and affect their long-term impact.
Michael Mecham (Nagoya), Eiichiro Sekigawa (Tokyo)
Japan, which is about the size of California, has not developed a two-city equivalent of Los Angeles and San Francisco as international gateways. Instead, the air services of this country of 128 million--3.5 times the size of California--are dominated by just one city--Tokyo.
