NASA officials here are evaluating the possibility of using its two high-altitude WB-57Fs for tracking future shuttle launches and recoveries to look for shuttle damage encountered during liftoff or in flight. The effort, still in its early stages, is in response to the Columbia accident last year, as well as subsequent investigations. Whether the tragedy could possibly have been avoided if the extent of launch damage was known by crew and NASA officials is being examined.
This year may prove to be a turning point for the still-underfunded U.S. Coast Guard Deepwater modernization program as Congress debates speeding it up because aging ships and aircraft are failing.
As Senate and House conferees continue to struggle toward agreement on a Fiscal 2005 budget plan, it becomes more and more likely that NASA's funding for the upcoming fiscal year will be handled as a continuing resolution. Even if the conferees agree on a budget resolution, it is unlikely to contain enough funds to meet demand in the veterans, housing and independent agencies spending bill that includes NASA.
USN Capt. (ret.) Louis Lalli has been appointed director of the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems office in Norfolk, Va. His last naval position was Norfolk-based chief of staff to the commander of Naval Air Forces in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
Canada's Telesat has picked EADS Astrium to build a second Anik communications satellite, and Internation-al Launch Services (ILS) to put it in geostationary orbit. Based on the Eurostar E3000 satellite bus, Anik F3 would be launched in 2006 to provide C-, K u- and K a-band service over North America from 118.7 deg. W. Long. Telesat reserved a Russian Proton rocket with a Breeze M upper stage through ILS to launch the 4.6-metric-ton satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Among the major subjects that writers and editors explore in this week's edition of Aviation Week & Space Technology are the blossoming of Boeing's new 7E7 business, courtesy of launch customer All Nippon Airways (see p. 26), and the future of the U.S. aerospace/defense industry workforce (see p. 50). The two multi-story reports might seem unrelated, but there is an important connection.
Joel Berkoukchi and Grant Skinner (see photos) have been appointed group vice presidents for the Airbus and Boeing military business units, respectively, of Paris-based Messier-Dowty. Berkoukchi was vice president-programs for the Airbus unit, while Skinner was president of Seattle-based Messier-Dowty USA.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] May 10-13--Allied Aerospace's Fourth International Symposium. Shelter Pointe Hotel & Marina, San Diego. Call +1 (619) 683-8900 ext. 113 or see www.alliedaerospace.com May 10-13--National Defense Industry Assn.'s 2004 Joint Services Small Arms Systems Section Annual Symposium, Exhibition & Firing Demonstration. Alexis Park Hotel, Las Vegas. Call +1 (703) 247-2587 or see www.ndia.org
For a fast track to a heavy-lift vehicle as discussed in "Kick Start" (AW&ST Mar. 15, p. 30), NASA should consider dusting off its own work on Shuttle-C, a vehicle in which an engined cargo module replaces the orbiter and delivers several times the current shuttle's payload.
Valuair, Singapore's first privately owned carrier, is scheduled to begin operating May 5 with two flights daily to Bangkok, followed on May 7 and May 10 by one flight daily to Hong Kong and Jakarta, respectively. A Valuair representative said the airline would concentrate on daily flights to primary cities instead of secondary leisure destinations. The carrier already has indicated it would use Sri Lanka as a springboard for flights to India (AW&ST Jan. 12, p. 40), with service to Manila, and Guangzhou, China, high on the list of future destinations.
About 1,000 Delta Air Lines pilots furloughed after Sept. 11, 2001, may be called back to work. A Delta Air Lines Pilots Assn. (Dalpa) spokes- man said the revenue passenger mile (RPM) "trigger" for setting a furlough recall schedule has been met. As of Apr. 29, Dalpa had informed airline flight operations management and requested a response. The Dalpa spokesman said an arbitration ruling relative to a no-furlough clause drew a snapshot of pre-Sept. 11 passenger traffic levels and said when those levels returned, pilots could be recalled.
The U.S. government is asking Japan to put ground-based radars for ballistic mission defenses at an unspecified number of sites, not as a defense upgrade for Japan but to help the U.S.
Dirk Locascio and Darren Peisley have been elected to the board of directors of the Universal Air Travel Plan Inc. Locascio is United Airlines' director of passenger revenue accounting, while Peisley is general manager of distribution for Qantas Airways. Reelected to two-year terms were: Shigeyuki Kamei, director of passenger marketing and international affairs for Japan Airlines; Patrick Diemer, managing director of AirPlus International; Ralph Keiser of UATP; and Oliver King of British Airways. UATP General Counsel Patricia N.
Boeing's long-term credibility as a commercial airframer--questioned after cancellation of the Sonic Cruiser and 747X programs--was restored in one fell swoop last week with All Nippon Airways' huge order for the 7E7. The timing was particularly opportune. With the epitaph now being written for the 757 program, and the 767 flying on fumes while the U.S. Air Force tanker program wends its way through its particular travails, Boeing now has a 250-seat product it can use to plug the yawning hole in the middle of its portfolio.
Kerry Skeen, chairman/CEO of Independence Air/Atlantic Coast Airlines, has been named 2004 CEO of the Year by the George Washington University's Executive Master of Business Administration Program. Administrators of the Ashburn, Va.-based program cited Skeen for having grown Atlantic Coast Airlines from a turboprop operation with a few dozen employees into the new Independence Air, which will be creating what is expected to be the largest low-fare hub in the U.S. in Northern Virginia.
Douglas Barrie (London), David A. Fulghum (Washington)
The British Defense Ministry intends to use classified UCAV research as leverage in negotiating a collaborative program, almost certainly with the U.S. The U.K. is now engaged in high-level contacts about participating in a U.S. unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) program, potentially along the lines of its involvement with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The U.S.' Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) project is the focus for its UCAV work, and covers the Boeing X-45 and Northrop Grumman X-47 air vehicle demonstrators.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 20 French OK allows full-scale development of Jason-2 21 New concerns surface about push for U.S. nuclear secrets 21 U.S. wants radars placed in Japan for mission defense 22 NTSB probe prompts new airtanker safety questions WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 26 ANA's order for 7E7 will push others to get on line 28 Dreamliner may remain the 7E7, or then again . . . 28 Boeing restores market con- fidence with launch of 7E7
Iraqi air force pilots could be taking to the air again before the end of the year as part of a U.S. effort to rapidly buy and field new surveillance aircraft to monitor some of the country's critical infrastructure. The Pentagon wants to acquire at least eight manned fixed-wing surveillance systems, although it has told industry representatives it may purchase as many as 16 aircraft. The first could be delivered to the Basra International Airport as early as August.
Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corp. has taken a majority share in the Yakovlev Design Bureau with a 75.5% stake in the company. Irkut comprises the Irkutsk aircraft production site, along with Beriev, and avionics companies. The acquisition of Yakovlev will provide Irkut with more design resources, as well as the former's Yak-130 advanced jet trainer program. Yak is also involved in design and development of unmanned aerial vehicles, which Irkut identifies as a growth area.
Donald Koranda, who is president/CEO of the Washington-based National Aeronautic Assn., has received the annual George M. Skurla Outstanding Alumni Award from the Florida Institute of Technology. The award is named for the late retired chairman/president of the then-Grumman Aerospace Corp.
Europe's aerospace trade groups are unifying. The Aerospace and Defense Industries Assn. of Europe (ASD) will be jointly established in Brussels by the European Assn. of Aerospace Industries (Aecma), the European Defense Industries Group and Eurospace/Assn. of European Space Industry. ASD will represent more than 800 companies with combined annual revenues of about 100 billion euros ($120 billion), association officials said. BAE Systems Chief Executive Mike Turner will be ASD's first president, while Aecma's Roger W.
Air France officials expect to expand the airline's capacity in Asia by 25% over the next five years. "Asia is the fastest growing region," says Vice President Jean-Louis Pinson, head of the carrier's Asian operations. "The economies are improving and people have become more affluent." The expansion began in February and has centered on China, with new service to Guangzhou. In addition, Air France will add capacity to Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai this year and has applied for rights to serve Chengdu beginning in 2006.
The worldwide military maintenance, repair and overhaul market--consisting of depot and field repairs--is worth approximately $51 billion, according to one of the first valuations of that particular industry. The global commercial MRO market, by comparison, is worth $34-37 billion--pushing the combined value of commercial and military MRO to more than $85 billion.
Formal and informal surveys of U.S. aerospace professionals continue to indicate "people issues" remain high on the list of management and employee concerns. In general, progress is being made, but leaders are continually challenged to eliminate unflattering perceptions of the industry and build a next-generation technical workforce. In surveying U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) companies for this report, several trends emerged:
