The Eastern European air transport market is bracing for a surge in growth--and competition--as 10 new countries from Eastern and Southern Europe enter the European Union.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 US Airways downgrade may put Embraer order at risk 19 Boeing shows off 7E7 livery on 737-700 bound for Berlin 20 Italian government seeks plan to avoid Alitalia demise WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 24 NASA facing big changes to meet Bush space goals 25 Mars exploration officials mulling latest jackpot 26 Europe to supply big part of NATO's telesatcom services 30 Boeing names ethics officer to ease contract tensions
Gulfstream Aerospace officials expect FAA certification of the G450 business jet in the third quarter this year, followed by customer deliveries in second-quarter 2005. Since beginning the certification program one year ago a fleet of four G450s have logged 1,250 hr. of flight tests. In parallel with certification, the company's flight ops personnel are conducting evaluations with FAA and the European JAA to determine if the ultra long-range G550, smaller G450 and Gulfstream V are sufficiently similar in operation to allow a common type rating.
Don't look for any forays into new markets from the rapidly growing AirTran Airways, at least through 2004. Even though U.S. domestic traffic continues to climb, Joe Leonard, CEO of the Orlando, Fla.-based discount carrier, says, "The second half of this year is going to be very dicey. We think this is a very good year to hunker down." One reason: Money-losing network carriers are expanding capacity. Delta, for example, is adding 8%--an amount equivalent to all of AirTran's capacity, Leonard says.
As Boeing launches its 7E7 development program and Airbus continues with the A380, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) says it's time once again to "look seriously at a trade case" on claims that European government subsidies for its aerospace giant are illegal and distort markets.
Brian Pearce has been named Geneva-based chief economist and David Mawdsley as Montreal-based safety director of the International Air Transport Assn. Pearce was with the Forum for the Future's Centre for Sustainable Investment in the U.K.
THE FOURTH PRE-PRODUCTION Hawker Horizon business jet has joined three other Horizons in Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s certification program aimed at achieving FAA certification and deliveries by the end of this year. The fourth airplane flew Apr. 29 from Beech Field east of Wichita and will be used to complete FAA Function and Reliability testing. David Riemer, vice president for product development and engineering, says the fourth airframe "represents the final production configuration" of the aircraft.
Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher says a review of the books at Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) turned him from a potential hatchet man for the venerable spacecraft house into an enthusiastic booster. "When I first started the [BSS] review, I expected to start looking for a way to shut this thing down, or just meet our commitments and evacuate," Stonecipher said during a teleconference with financial analysts on Apr. 28. As Hughes Space & Communications, before it was bought by Boeing in 2000, the group sold more satellites than the rest of the world combined.
Regarding your editorial "A Trail Of Clues"--also known as "The Grail of the Clueless"--I am surprised by your inability to recognize a shared responsibility between the various administrations over this issue. It is also disturbing that you do not recognize Condoleezza Rice as having kept Richard Clarke on staff to maintain continuity in counterterrorism. Your perspective on this issue--especially your closing paragraph--is obviously in the camp of those who want to blame the Bush administration for the whole event. Please stick to technology and business.
Peter Nagy (see photo) has become general manager of Ladish Co. subsidiary Stowe Machine, Windsor, Conn. He was general manager of TECT's Newington, Conn., operation.
Regional carrier operations will play a bigger role in the growth of the world airline market, predicts Embraer in a 20-year forecast for the 30-120-seat commercial jet aircraft segment. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer issued the 2004-23 forecast last month at the Regional Aircraft Assn.'s 2004 convention in St. Louis, the theme of which was growth and myriad challenges. Embraer looked at 30-120-seaters because the segment is "underrepresented" and becoming increasingly important to industry.
Surin M. Malhotra has been appointed president of the Heico Corp.'s Inertial Aerospace Services Inc., Hollywood, Fla. He was president of the Norco Inc. subsidiary of the TransTechnology Corp.
An electron-multiplication phenomenon using semiconductor nanocrystals could lead to new solar cells that produce as much as 35% more electrical output than current-generation cells. When solar cell materials absorb a photon, a single "exciton" is generated--a bound state of negatively charged electron and positively charged hole. Electrical current is produced when an exciton undergoes charge separation. However, Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists Richard Schaller and Victor Klimov found that when 10-nanometer-dia.
New travel document-reading equipment installed earlier this year by Australian Customs at all international airports already has detected four people trying to enter with false passports, according to a government official. The government also has confirmed to the Melbourne Sunday Age that terror suspects are trying to obtain false Australian passports. The New Zealand Herald has reported that the national government will request that an overseas web site selling New Zealand and Australian passports be shut down.
Pratt & Whitney Canada has completed the first run of its PW610F development engine, at 900 lb. full takeoff thrust. The PW610F is the smallest member of PWC's new 900-3,000-lb.-thrust PW600 engine family. The PW610F is to undergo flight trials on the manufacturer's testbed in August. Albuquerque, N.M.-based Eclipse Aviation Corp. selected the powerplant for its twin-engine Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet. Deliveries of the first prototype engines to Eclipse are to begin in early December, according to PWC. Engine certification is expected in the first quarter of 2006.
Raytheon's making inroads at the Pentagon with its concept for a lock-on-after-launch (LOAL) mode for AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles. First proposed a few years ago, the company recently received a $5.3-million USAF contract for a utility evaluation with up to six captive flights. The work will include integrating a digital weapon link, GPS/INS and UHF radio to the missile. The LOAL feature could become critical for Maverick, since it would be needed if the missile is used on the internal-carriage F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
David Ford has been promoted to president/chief operating officer from senior vice president-technical services of the Keystone Helicopter Corp., West Chester, Pa.
Lockheed Martin has snagged another $236.6-million contract for heading up work for Pentagon misdef command, control, battle management and communications capability activities. This brings the total received by the company's Integrated Systems and Solutions division to $499 million. The contract, which covers Apr. 1, 2004-Dec. 31, 2005, funds implementation of several command-and-control facilities, including U.S. Northern, Strategic and Pacific Commands.
The Snecma propulsion group is forging ahead into a new era: It will be partially privatized by the end of next month. Nicolas Sarkozy, France's minister of economic affairs, last week confirmed that an initial public offering is being prepared for late June. This will cover 100,000 shares or 25% of the state-owned company's capital. The 25% stake is valued at 1.6-2 billion euros ($1.92-2.4 billion).
Delta Air Lines, in code-share with China Airlines, is back in Taiwan after a nine-year absence. As of May 1, Delta's code appeared on China Airlines flights to Taipei from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and New York-JFK. Starting on June 22, it will appear on Seattle-Taipei flights. Delta also is looking at expanding code-share to include destinations beyond China Airlines' Taiwan base, to other cities in southeast Asia including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok.
Julius Maldutis' observations about aircraft commonality are on the mark, but the historical reality is quite different (AW&ST Mar. 22, p. 66). When most major carriers acquired their current fleets, flexible range aircraft for domestic operations--such as the Airbus A320 or Boeing737-800--were not available. The earlier startups were equally limited and often under-capitalized.
Technological challenge ranks No. 1 in considerations by aerospace/defense professionals when looking at employment opportunities. Provided that compensation is similar and disregarding geographic location, professionals ranked technological challenge as the No. 1 issue in an Aviation Week electronic survey conducted on aviationnow.com in 2001 and in focus groups in 2002 and 2003.
The European Space Agency and Russian Federal Space Agency are exploring the possibility of making Russia a full member of ESA. ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain said last week such a move could be dictated by the growing need to foster joint strategies in the space area. Russia and ESA recently stepped up collaboration in the field of launchers, and each is interested in joining a new international Mars/ Moon exploration program. A recommendation is due by the end of the year.
Cargolux Airlines has ordered a Boeing 747-400 for delivery in October 2005, citing increasing demand for services. The Luxembourg-based operator took delivery of its 13th 747-400F last week in Seattle.
