Tough local competition and a year of SARS health concerns aren't deterring Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from sticking with its long-term expansion plans to be the region's preferred international hub.
Advancements in critical technologies being developed overseas could threaten the U.S. military's preeminence in important warfighting niches, according to a new Pentagon report. The Defense Dept. may lose its technology edge in active electronically scanned arrays (AESA), active hyperspectral imaging devices and maser precision clocks, asserts an extensive assessment compiled by the Pentagon's industrial policy division. Acquisition officials should try to rectify the shortfall, it says.
A long-stalled proposal to add the Rockot light launcher marketed by Eurockot to the Arianespace launcher portfolio may go ahead this year. The project was put on hold because of soft demand and the need to deal with more vital matters, most recently the Ariane 5 EC-A recovery program, according to Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall. However, improving market prospects--Eurockot was recently selected to launch the European Space Agency's Goce Earth Observer core mission--appear to have added new luster to the idea.
The European airline industry is watching the first alliance between low-fare airlines emerge, a move that, if successful, other carriers might follow.
Tracking systems that display the locations of coalition troops may have been the defining space-related technology of last year's war in Iraq. U.S. Army commanders said the radio-frequency-based systems "were the GPS of Operation Iraqi Freedom," equating the impact of "blue-force" trackers to that of GPS navigation systems during the first gulf war, according to Col. Kent Traylor, vice commander of the U.S. Air Force's Space Warfare Center (SWC) here.
Traditionally known as the "blue maneuvers book," this handbook complies with current practical test standards and regulations. This is the second edition of the company's publication of the "high-wing" version of the Visualized Flight Maneuvers series. A learning and teaching aid for instructors and students, it covers all maneuvers for private, commercial and flight instructor certificates--including the new maneuvers from the 2002 Practical Test Standards: steep spirals, and the 180-deg. power-off approach.
A new Malaysian regional carrier, Ked-Air, based in the northern town of Alor Star, plans to launch operations on Jan. 20 with three Fokker F-100s, leased from Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara Airlines. Chairman Sharyl Eskay Abdullah said the new regional's initial network would include Kuala Lumpur as well as Kota Baharu, Malaysia; Phuket, Thailand; and Medan and Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Ked-Air faces stiff competition from Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia on the Kuala Lumpur route, but the others are underserved.
BAA PLC reported that in December 10 million passengers used the seven airports it manages in the U.K., an increase of 6.2% over the previous year. And the holiday period was the busiest ever, with 3.6% more passengers than the year before. Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh and South- ampton experienced record traffic last year while Heathrow and Gatwick recorded figures lower than in 2000. North Atlantic traffic was up 2.1% while traffic to Europe rose 9.9% in December 2003 versus 2002.
Virginia Aviation and Machine officials are in contentious litigation with NOVA affiliate WGBH of Boston over insurance money to be paid for the crash of a 1911 Wright Model B at Warrenton, Va. In May 2003, Ken Hyde, head of the Virginia-based company and the Wright Experience effort, crashed the replica during a taxi test. The TV station is claiming lost potential attributed to the crash in the making of "Wright Brothers Inventing a Flying Machine" movie already aired on television, Hyde said.
The military transport market underwent a major change in 2003. For decades, European countries have failed to spend more than token funds on dedicated military lift. But in May, Europe's Occar (Organisation Conjoint de Cooperation en matiere d'Armement) arms agency signed the firm procurement contract launching production of the Airbus Military Co.'s A400M.
NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao has replaced William S. McArthur, Jr., as commander of the next two-man crew to board the International Space Station, after McArthur was diagnosed with a "temporary medical issue" that was not made public. Chiao, who was already training as McArthur's backup, will join Russian cosmonaut Valery I. Tokarev on the six-month Expedition 9 scheduled to begin in April.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 390 In face of losses, Delta puts pressure on pilots union 391 NetJets wants LR aircraft in European fleet to grow customer base WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 394 Scientists hail Bush Space plan; Congress is lukewarm 395 U.S. space goals move toward reality with mobile science ops on Mars 397 Rover health remained excellent; NASA says operations could last much longer than originally planned 400 USAF to up bomber presence in the Pacific, Europe
Japan's Aircraft and Rail Accident Investigation Committee continues to probe why the left landing gear of a Boeing MD-81 operated by Japan Air System collapsed during a landing roll at Tokunoshima airport on Jan. 1. A look at tire traces shows the left and right gear operating in parallel for about 2,100 ft. The left tire then veered to the right, indicating a collapse that bent the gear backward. Three of the 163 passengers on board were slightly injured. JAS inspected other MD-81s after the incident and found a 1-2 mm. crack on the landing gear of one aircraft.
The company has reduced the price of its high-voltage line of vacuum reed switches by 15%. They are designed to withstand high-voltage environments, whether used directly as a switch or first incorporated into a high-voltage relay device. Reed switches are magnetically operated components with contacts hermetically sealed in a glass capsule. Positioning a permanent magnet next to the switch or placing the switch in or near an electromagnet causes the contact "reeds" to flex and touch, completing a circuit.
The air cargo segment of the global airline industry generally did not feel the severe turbulence experienced in the passenger market during the past year, when the war in Iraq and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic led to steep declines in air travel. On the other hand, the situation could hardly be described as rosy. The demand for airfreight services is directly related to the health of the global economy, which has shown uneven growth in the new millennium.
Jon Ash, managing director of Washington-based Global Aviation Associates Ltd. airline consultancy, doesn't think the financial hit from the current aviation security situation will be that large unless cancellations and delays are repeated over a period of time. But that doesn't mean his clients are happy about how the situation is being handled by the U.S. One group of airlines he serves is "lying low on the issue" of sky marshals, but they aren't pleased with the requirement and will see how things develop. "At some point I suspect they will try to work with the U.S.
AIRCRAFT IN THE TORONTO AREA ARE BEING SCREENED for compliance with their clearance by Rannoch's AirScene System, which became operational the first week in January. The system provides real-time aircraft position and identification using surveillance data from six different radar systems, which feed a network of distributed displays and allow operators to analyze overflights as well as arrivals and departures at Toronto's airports. Users include downtown government offices.
The C500 tactile sensor can discern impressions or pressures on curved and angular surfaces. It is a thin, customizable, three-wire device that uses capacitive-based conformable pressure sensors to quantify applied forces. Designed for lab use or to be integrated into OEM systems, the C500 bends and forms to shaped objects such as the human hand, robot fingers, tool handles, joystick controls, pedals, helmets, mechanical joints, or feet. The sensor uses the company's proprietary "ConTacts" technology to create discrete tactile-sensing elements of less than 1 mm.
Ibis Aerospace has appointed Deep Blue Technology AG as a European distributor for the Ae270 Propjet. Based in Hallwil, Switzerland, Deep Blue will be responsible for sales and support of the single-engine Ae270 in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. Deep Blue has placed orders for nine airplanes and holds options for another five. In 1996 the company became a European sales representative for Bell Helicopter Textron, and has more than 135 personnel to handle sales, training, customer service, operations and maintenance.
For 11 customer service stations at its newly opened Admirals Club in the Los Angeles International Airport, American Airlines chose light- emitting diode strips from this manufacturer. Based on blueprints calling for recessed lighting around the marble counters, the company provided a modified (p/n BSD-1932-001s) version of its standard LED light strip module (p/n STP527-21W). The off-the-shelf LED light strip features 105 incandescent-white 5-mm. domed LEDs on a 27 X 0.75-in. printed circuit board.
Bucking the trend to "super-size" everything in America, BAE Systems has taken USAF's 20-year-old AN/USM-464 countermeasures tester for the B-52 and C-130 and redesigned it from a truck-towed 2,000-lb. behemoth into a small 174-lb. unit that can be carried by two people.
Alexey Komarov (Moscow), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
Russian aerospace industry officials are hoping that a lease deal by flag carrier Aeroflot for a new batch of Ilyushin Il-96-300s can breathe new life into this struggling long-range, wide-body transport program.
With a total of 60 orbital space launches conducted in 2001, 63 in 2002 and probably no more than about 60-65 in 2003, the world launch market is stuck in low gear. Three consecutive years of record low launch rates marks a clear trend, prompting speculation about whether this is now going to be the level of activity to which the industry must adapt.
British Airways is working with the U.S. authorities in an attempt to streamline the passenger approvals process which contributed to several delays on one of the carrier's flights to Washington, according to BA chief executive Rod Eddington. After boarding, passengers on BA 223 saw the departure delayed for up to 3 hr. on several occasions. Twice at the start of the year the flight was canceled.
The air campaign over Iraq in the spring of 2003 has again highlighted the growing role of precision-guided munitions on the contemporary battlefield. As a result, air-to-surface missiles continue to be the most dynamic area of missile development. THE STRIKE REVOLUTION
