Korean Air has been in dogged pursuit of fortifying its economic strength for decades. Despite South Korea's ever-present security concerns, it has succeeded in creating a no-nonsense image, perhaps better known for the freight it hauls than the passengers it pampers.
At the request of the U.S., Japan's police agency is studying the feasibility of placing plainclothes air marshals on board Japanese airliners. They would fly on routes to and from the U.S. Implementation of the plan is likely, but it could take some time while the marshals are trained, an agency official said.
Dassault Aviation's ultra-long-range business jet, the 7X, is one of a lineup of advanced aircraft models expected to help spur renewed demand in the currently soft business aviation industry. The aircraft has been performing simulated flights on Dassault's Falcon Simulation Bench since February 2003, with chief test pilot Bill Kerherve at the controls. It is scheduled for first flight in the second quarter of 2005 and certification in the second half of 2006 (AW&ST May 10, p. 52).
In a novel program to convert used airliners to business jets, Fokker Services is working on detailed engineering of an auxiliary fuel tank for the Fokker 100 to give it the range sought by customers of high-end corporate aircraft. The program, called the Future 100 Executive Jet (F100EJ), was launched last year at the Dubai air show (AW&ST Jan. 5, p. 45). The F100EJ is part of a larger project aimed at keeping F100 airframes flying, in either airline service or corporate conversion.
Lockheed Martin has tested a unitary warhead as an enhancement to its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System. The test, conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., demonstrated guidance, control, fuzing and detonation. The weapon is designed to provide high accuracy with minimum collateral damage.
Japan's Space Activities Commission still isn't sure what caused the power failure that prevented the Japanese space agency JAXA's Nozomi Mars surveyor from entering its final orbit. It turns out the timing wasn't right for the prime suspect, a solar flare once thought to have damaged critical circuitry. The SAC, Japan's highest-ranking space advisory group, has been analyzing the mission since the loss of a crucial fuel-line heating system prevented the satellite's positioning rockets from firing in time to make an orbital insertion late last year (AW&ST Dec.
James Hughes-Hallett, who is chairman of Swire Pacific Ltd., John Swire & Sons Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific Airways, is scheduled to become chairman of John Swire & Sons Ltd. London at the end of 2004. He will succeed Sir Adrian Swire. Hughes-Hallett will be succeeded by David Turnbull.
New Mexico will host an annual international X Prize Cup competition aimed at stimulating development of commercial spaceplanes and public support of space travel. A follow-on to the one-time $10-million Ansari X Prize competition, this event will pit reusable launch vehicles against each other, recalling 1930s-era air races that accelerated the development of aircraft technologies. An X Prize Cup exhibition is planned for the summer of 2005. The first competitive Cup launches may occur at White Sands Missile Range in mid-2006 under a cooperative agreement with the state.
Meanwhile, U.K. travel operator MyTravel says it plans another restructuring, on top of one already implemented last year, to cope with continuing poor performance. MyTravel lost a record 913 million euros ($1.1 billion) in 2002-03, on sales of 4.2 billion euros. Nevertheless, management insists that results over the first half of this year, combined with more than 180 million euros in expected cost savings, will enable it to post a profit by 2005.
GKN Chairman Sir David Lees confirmed last week that the British company is discussing the sale of its 50% stake in AgustaWestland to Finmeccanica. According to industry sources, a deal for the helicopter maker could be reached as soon as next month and may be announced at the Farnborough air show in July.
Gulfstream has cut the time it takes to assemble and complete a business jet by about half during the past decade, and the company says it is still driving to improve manufacturing efficiency.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] June 3-4--Los Angeles Chapter-Assn. of the U.S. Army Symposium: "Space Support and Global Operations." Westin Long Beach, Calif. Call +1 (714) 446-4899 or see www.ausa.org/glac
Los Angeles International Airport will be making short-term changes to accommodate the super-jumbo Airbus A380, but nonetheless it will disrupt the operations of other aircraft. LAX has evolved to routinely accommodate Boeing 747 jumbos but the extra size of the A380 is enough to require physical changes and operational restrictions.
Air Canada has adjusted fares due to record-high fuel prices. Fares on domestic short-haul flights will increase by C$7 ($5) and C$10 on long-haul flights. Fares on U.S. transborder short-haul flights will increase by C$14 and C$28 on long-haul flights. A C$6 fuel surcharge will be added to each segment of international flights. The hikes affect all travel on Air Canada, Jazz, Zip and code-share flights and begin May 28 for domestic and international flights. The surcharge on U.S. transborder flights took effect May 20.
Orbital Sciences Corp. demonstrated its new GQM-163A Coyote supersonic sea-skimming target in a flight test at the U.S. Navy test range in Southern California on May 18. The 18-ft. missile, which uses a decommissioned MK 70 solid rocket motor to achieve supersonic takeover speed for its four-inlet, solid-fuel ducted rocket ramjet, met all of its primary test objectives. The GQM-163A is capable of flying about 50 naut. mi. at less than 20 ft. above the waves, simulating a supersonic cruise missile for Navy ship defenses.
Security-inspired procedures for issuing U.S. visas--"inefficient, lengthy and opaque"--threaten to limit the international flow of scientific and technical knowledge and training and, in the near term, hold back the war on terrorism, leaders of 25 science, engineering and education organizations tell the State and Homeland Security Depts.
Gulfstream's parent, General Dynamics, recently reported that the business jet maker has logged two good quarters in a row with interest picking up "across the board" and momentum expected to continue.
Faced with a big yawn, or worse, from Capitol Hill over President Bush's deep-space exploration plan, the White House is opening up a little after four months of public silence. John Marburger, 3rd, the presidential science adviser, calls in reporters to push the program his boss announced Jan. 14. "I believe that vision is sustainable as a vision, and I don't care how long it takes," Marburger says.
Kuka Controls GmbH., a German industrial robot manufacturer, is offering a University Research Support Program to provide software licenses for qualified educational institutions. Normally, licensed real-time extension software programs CeWin and VxWin will go to qualified universities. Requirements include a suitable project or syllabus; a scientific, engineering or computer sciences curriculum; and lab facilities with prerequisite equipment. Applications are due by July 31.
Thomas Arnsmeyer and David Nastase (see photos) have become vice presidents in the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Sector, Herndon, Va. Arnsmeyer will head security and infrastructure solutions and Nastase IT services and solutions in the sector's Federal Enterprise Solutions unit.
Vincent Baglio has become general manager of Herley Industries' Farmingdale, N.Y., operation. He was engineering director for Smiths Aerospace Electronic Systems-Long Island.
