Pemco Aviation Group will use Kellstrom Defense Aerospace for provisioning, sourcing and supplying parts and services in support of Pemco's C-130 maintenance contracts for the U.S. Coast Guard, Air Force, Navy and others.
Pierre Sparaco (Toulouse), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Suppliers in Europe are hoping that recent Boeing decisions to use European know-how for several key systems on the proposed 7E7 Dreamliner, including the landing gear, signal a policy of true global sourcing for the U.S. manufacturer, similar to that adopted by Airbus.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 Radar tag designed to reduce battlefield fratricide 19 Changes in Russia could af- fect aerospace, defense WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 Comanche fund-juggling gambit could unravel 24 Pentagon trying to avert clos- ing of NASA wind tunnels 25 U.S. concerns grow about having to face exports in war 26 Hubble servicing mission may win reprieve 29 Microcracks could delay shuttle another nine months
Honeywell forecasts that 2,350 new civil helicopters will be delivered worldwide in 2004-08 as light single and intermediate twin-engine aircraft offering new technology prompt growing demand. Two-thirds of the new aircraft are expected to enter corporate, law enforcement and emergency medical services operations. Honeywell expects sales to rise 8% this year and 6.8 % for the five-year period through 2008 compared with 1999-2003.
Nick Tzannetakis has become chief technical officer and Peter van Vooren sales and marketing manager for Noesis Solujtgions, Leuven, Belgium. Tzannetakis was product manager for Optimus software for LMS International, while van Vooren was international sales manager for Cosmos.
USN Rear Adm. Thomas E. Zelibor, Jr., has been named director of global operations for the U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, Neb. He has been deputy for command, control, communications and computers integration and policy/deputy communications and information officer in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol and Coast Guard helicopters are all now in one government agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where each has a role in spotting terrorists, apprehending them and countering attacks.
The Pentagon's Inspector General has found that the U.S. Air Force Satellite Control Network has incurred almost $60 million in cost overruns and two years in schedule delays. The IG further found that at the time of contract award, Honeywell falsely stated it had an earned value management system in place. The IG told the Air Force to seek financial remedies from Honeywell.
Sikorsky has made a key change to its S-92 helicopter to improve its competitive position in the race to supply the next presidential helo, the V-XX. The company has added 58 in. to the aft cabin, in a move to largely offset the size advantage of its competitor, the US-101. The modification comes basically without weight or cost penalty, says Jeff Pino, senior vice president for business development. Eliminating the ramp and replacing it with a rear door generated the weight offset for the additional structure.
WestJet will install Honeywell/Thales MCS 4000 satellite communications systems for crew and passengers on five new Boeing 737s and retrofit them on 91 of its 737s. The work will proceed through 2007. The MCS 7000 system has been selected by Pakistan International Airlines for its 777-200ER/LR and -300ER aircraft.
Finland's Patria Industries and Sweden-based GSE Partners will jointly establish turboshaft engine repair and overhaul facilities. The joint venture will support RTM322 engines, which power Finland's NH-90 transport/frigate helicopters.
The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer made a successful first flight on Mar. 5, and constructor Scaled Composites is now working to activate the cabin pressurization system for the second flight. The 1.5-hr. flight operated from Scaled's Mojave, Calif., airport facility and was flown by Jon Karkow, the company's GlobalFlyer project engineer as well as test pilot.
European helicopter operators are moving to reorganize and reinforce their trade association so it can have greater impact on law- and rule-making, and promote rotorcraft industry interests more effectively.
Exostar has generated a community of 12,000 suppliers and buyers for its SourcePass electronic marketplace during the past four years. But it's discovered that some users, especially on the supplier side, feel a bit lost in terms of how to be consistent winners in the world of electronic auctioning. So Exostar has turned to London-based e-Three to provide training and support for its users. E-Three's first seminar in London late last year drew interest from 20 U.K.
The U.S. Army in Iraq will evaluate several types of air-inflated towers to lift surveillance and communications to greater height. This should improve the sensors' line-of-sight, thereby reducing the troops' vulnerability to surprise attacks. The devices' shipping containers serve as bases for the towers that come in 32-, 64- and 100-ft. heights. Inflation takes 4 min. or less using cold air blowers. The current production towers mount infrared and visible light cameras.
In an unexpected move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed his cabinet and revealed a radical government reorganization that is likely to have major consequences for the aerospace, defense and aviation sectors.
In "Comanche Performing Well" (AW&ST Feb. 23, p. 7), Col. Michael Cantor, project manager of the Comanche Project Office, and Michael Blake--Boeing Sikorsky program director in the Comanche Program Office--wrote: "The program is within cost, on schedule and meeting all key performance paramenters. Four aircraft are in production and a fifth will join the line shortly. By 2005, the first engineering and manufacturing aircraft will be in flight test. . . . The program is performing well. . . .
Gravity Probe B, the often delayed, $700-million experiment designed to test Einstein's general theory of relativity by measuring the predicted tiny deflection of spinning gyros caused by Earth's rotation, is now set for liftoff from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 10:09 a.m. Apr. 17 on a Boeing Delta II. A Dec. 6, 2003, launch was scrubbed after noise was detected in the output channel from one of the spacecraft's four high-precision gyros.
Marc Gonzales has been appointed director of government affairs and Robert Dibblee managing director for state and local government affairs of the Washington-based Air Transport Assn. Gonzales was an aide to U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.), while Dibblee was Western U.S. director of government and public affairs. Paul McGraw has been promoted to managing director for airspace management from director for airport capacity. Dibblee succeeds Roger Cohen, who has been named vice president-regional affairs for the Frederick, Md.-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn.
Britain's Beagle 2 Mars lander is being touted as the basis of a generic program for the European Space Agency, but advocates face thorny financial and political hurdles. With the fate of the Beagle 2 yet to be determined, British academics and industrialists are vigorously attempting to sustain the program, promoting the need for follow-on missions.
German engineers have completed taxi testing of the Phoenix reusable launch vehicle (RLV) atmospheric prototype, towing the winged craft to release at speeds as high as 150 km./hr. (93 mph.) in preparation for upcoming drop tests. The 1,200-kg. (2,640-lb.) prototype demonstrated that it could use GPS data to correct its path on the runway, automatically finding its way back to the runway centerline at Lemwerder Airport, near Bremen, from as far away as 5 meters.
Top priority for the U.S. House of Representatives' Science Committee this year will be a review of President Bush's new space exploration policy, with the results to be incorporated in a NASA reauthorization bill. In its annual "views and estimates" document, the committee majority states it has not reached a position on the long-term plan, and complains that because NASA and the Bush administration have left so many questions about the policy unanswered, the committee "cannot yet evaluate" whether NASA's Fiscal 2005 budget request is appropriate, too high or too low.
A revamped--but not necessarily reinvigorated--Alitalia management team is looking to craft a fresh reorganization plan in an attempt to overcome union opposition and save the flag carrier.
