The Gulfstream 550's FAA certification has been validated by the Joint Aviation Authorities, and the European Aviation Safety Agency has issued a European type certificate. This will allow the ultra long-range business jet to be certified and registered in 37 European and neighboring countries. Also last week, a G550 established record times for flights between two transatlantic city-pairs by flying from Washington Dulles airport to Berlin Templehof airport 3,780 naut. mi. away in 7 hr.
China is on the verge of announcing that it will select women to join its astronaut corps. But the government has orchestrated it to make it appear that instead of a thoroughly thought-out move by the Chinese Communist Party, it is the idea of the All-China Women's Federation springing forth with International Women's Day celebrations, marked Mar. 8 by the United Nations. Things don't work that way in China.
David A. Fulghum (Ramstein Ab, Germany, and Tallis Ab, Iraq)
A crucial shortfall in the global war on terrorism is the inability of the U.S. military to share information--in particular a common picture of air, ground and sea activity--around the world with a delay of only a few seconds. A common or single, integrated air picture would let operational commanders or intelligence analysts, for example, follow the flight of a suspicious aircraft as it moves across international borders or from one theater to another.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION is proposing new security requirements for domestic and foreign repair stations that operate under FAA FAR Part 145 regulations. The Aviation Reauthorization Act signed by President Bush last year directs the TSA to conduct security audits of all foreign repair stations within 18 months.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) Mar. 25-26--Defense Budget Conference. Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, Va. Apr. 19--FAA/JAA Regulations: Collision or Harmonization, Atlanta, www.aviationlearning.com/mro And, Apr. 21-22--Blended Training Solution Experience, Atlanta, www.aviationlearning.com/mro Apr. 20-22--MRO USA/MRO Latin America/MRO Military. Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta.
The first of as many as 50 twin-engine MD Explorers for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is flown on a test flight by company pilot Mark Friskel northeast of MD Helicopters' headquarters in Mesa, Ariz. The Explorer has been chosen by the DEA as its latest law enforcement aircraft and is capable of flying a variety of missions. It has a cruise speed of 136 kt. and VFR range of 400 naut. mi. with fuel reserves. The U.S.
AirTran Airways will end its regional-service program this summer, substituting its own Boeing 717 aircraft for 50-seat Canadair regional jets operated by Air Wisconsin Airlines. Flying as AirTran JetConnect since November 2002, Air Wis currently feeds AirTran's Atlanta hub using 10 RJs in 14 markets. AirTran CEO Joe Leonard says Air Wis "lived up to their operational and financial promises," but dissolution of the partnership reflects two changes--the collapse of short-haul business after Sept.
Israel-based Elbit Systems' Skylark miniature reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (shown), a 4-kg. (8.8-lb.) air vehicle with 90 min. of battery-powered endurance, was confused in a caption with Rafael's Skylark UAV, which is also made in Israel, in the Feb. 23 issue (p. 5).
NASA's top budget officer doesn't see much choice for the U.S. human space program as it steers away from the space shuttle and International Space Station to President Bush's long-range exploration agenda. According to comptroller Steve Isakowitz, Bush's plan was designed to make the exploration program sustainable over the long term by avoiding a big bill due years after Bush has left office. Isakowitz tells the NASA Advisory Council the philosophy holds even if Bush isn't reelected in the fall. "What is the alternative here?" he says.
The growing price tag associated with the Boeing 747-based Airborne Laser is raising some eyebrows in Congress. Spurred by a draft GAO report, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) is expressing consternation over what he called $2 billion in cost overruns even before the first shoot-down attempt. Kadish says the overruns reflect the high-level of technical complexity of ABL. Moreover, he told lawmakers that integration problems involving the laser, optics and aircraft make it hard to predict when the first intercept would occur.
Joseph Hrezo has been appointed director of cargo sales for Le Bas International, San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was manager of charter development for Menlo/Emery Worldwide.
A second straight month of record growth in passenger traffic at Denver International Airport is representative of increases across the U.S., fueling concerns about the return of airport congestion this year. A total of 3,088,125 passengers used DIA in January, the first time the Denver market has ever topped the three-million mark, and 11.1% higher than the same period a year ago. December was Denver's busiest for that month, as well, boosting DIA's 2003 growth to 5.2%.
Steve Falteisek, Lisa Rice and Patrick Zimmerman have been named application development engineers for the MRO, military and OEM segments, respectively, for the 3M Aerospace and Aircraft Maintenance Div., St. Paul, Minn.
The National Academy of Sciences will reassess a decision by NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe to cancel a final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope and also examine other non-shuttle related Hubble life-extension moves. That reassessment is coming in the wake of a Senate subcommittee request for a more narrowly focused shuttle servicing study--which O'Keefe rejected--and a judgment by Columbia Accident Investigation Board Chairman Harold Gehman, that O'Keefe's earlier decision may not necessarily be an open-and-shut case.
Paul Bevilaqua (see photo), chief engineer of Advanced Development Projects at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Fort Worth, has received Design News magazine's Engineer of the Year Award. He was credited with playing a leading role in creating the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter concept by inventing the shaft-driven lift fan and showing how it could be used to design a family of short-takeoff/vertical landing and conventional variants of the same aircraft.
Unmanned stealth aircraft, directed-energy weapons and computer attack are or will become staples in the arsenal of U.S. Air Forces in Europe. They are part of the equation that will let the U.S. close bases in Europe, cut the number of troops there, and yet retain the ability to strike swiftly anywhere in the world.
Peter Turner has been appointed vice president for Asia-Pacific for International Aero Engines, East Hartford, Conn. He succeeds Robert Watson, who has returned to Rolls-Royce plc. Turner was director of business development for corporate aircraft at Rolls-Royce North America Inc.
The Air Force has given full-rate production approval to Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, after it completed a problematic operational test phase. The service this year plans to buy 240 missiles at a cost of $404,000 each. USAF is asking to buy 360 Jassms next year.
Airbus U.K. has run into difficulty over its plans to deliver the wing for the Airbus A380. The British Environment Agency has refused to approve Airbus' request to dredge a nearby river which would allow barge access. The wing would then be shipped to France by sea.
Boeing's drive for systems commonality on the 7E7 will extend--for the first time--to include common attach points for engine types so customers can, theoretically, switch engines from different manufacturers within 24 hr.
Samsung Thales has won a follow-on 470-million-euro ($580-million) contract to supply search and track hardware for Batch 2 of South Korea's K-SAM short-range air defense system.
Matt Hartnett has become vice president-preowned sales for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He has been a sales executive for O'Gara Aviation and was vice president-preowned aircraft sales for Bombardier Aerospace.
After a decade of research and testing, Eurocopter says it is close to introducing technology that will make it possible to use helicopters under all weather conditions, substantially increasing their cost-effectiveness and reducing safety risk.
Phillip Woodruff, a senior FAA manager, has been named to receive the 2003 Frank G. Brewer Trophy for aerospace education from the Arlington, Va.-based National Aeronautic Assn. He was cited for his work as an aviation and space education adviser and program director, and in fostering partnerships among government, industry and education. Woodruff's efforts have led to the creation of aviation education programs in every state, including more than 100 Aerospace Education Resource Centers for teachers and more than 100 Aviation Career Education Academies for youth.
