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
Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein turned up the pressure on his pilots union and announced a "full strategic reassessment of our business plan" as the company reported a third consecutive year of $1 billion-plus losses.
President Bush's call for a national push to Mars via the Moon has excited scientists who want to pick up where Apollo 17 left off, as well as the contractors who would build the program's new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). But on Capitol Hill the politicians who ultimately must make it so worry that the election-year timing and the sheer scope of Bush's proposal will make it difficult if not impossible to realize. "The big question is what this is going to cost," said one, in the face of a presidential statement long on vision and short on details.
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. 8-9--European Transport Leaders Conference. Merrill Lynch Headquarters, London. Mar. 10-14--Toulouse Symposium. Toulouse (France) Congress Center. Mar. 25-26--Defense Budget Conference. Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, Arlington, Va. Apr. 20-22--MRO USA/MRO Latin America/MRO Military. Cobb Galleria Centre, Atlanta.
BIZJET INTERNATIONAL SALES AND SUPPORT, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik, has completed a new $5-million test cell for the Rolls-Royce Spey and Tay engines at its Tulsa International Airport facility in Oklahoma. The test cell business would serve operators of Gulfstream II, III and IV business jets. Bizjet President/CEO Jim Stoecker said the cell is scheduled to receive FAA certification by the end of this month and begin test operations for Spey engines in March. Testing of Tay engines would follow later, he said.
Japan's fifth startup carrier is set to launch in 2005. Star Flyer said it would begin services from Tokyo's Haneda airport to the new offshore airport at Kitakyushu near Fukuoka when the airport opens in October 2005. Its goal is to use 120-150-seat aircraft to operate 6-12 flights daily. Since the airport is to be open 24 hr., some of those flights might be scheduled at midnight or in the very early morning hours. Fares are projected to be slightly below those of major carriers.
382-383 Market Focus 385 Industry Outlook 387 Airline Outlook 389 In Orbit 390-391 World News Roundup 393 Washington Outlook 413 Inside Business Aviation 416 Inside Avionics 420 In Review 434-435 Classified 437 Contact Us 438 Aerospace Calendar
As part of a broader technology relationship, Washington and New Delhi have agreed to expand cooperation in civilian space projects, as well as civil nuclear programs and high-technology trade, the White House says. It's been just over two years since the U.S. and India embarked on a course to strengthen ties, setting the stage for defense deals, as well. For instance, India is buying P-3 maritime patrol aircraft under the U.S. foreign military sales program. The two nations will also open a dialogue on missile defenses.
Civilian space cooperation and an expanded "dialogue" on missile defense are among the items included in a new bilateral agreement between the U.S. and India. Also included in the effort to strengthen ties and help stabilize South Asia are cooperation in promoting high-tech trade and on the civilian uses of nuclear power, according to a White House announcement.
Diversified Technologies has introduced a line of high-voltage solid-state electronics to replace switch-and-voltage regulator tubes and crowbars in radar transmitters that employ vacuum electron devices (VEDs), or RF tubes. The PowerMod solid-state radar upgrades can be retrofitted into existing cabinetry. Featuring >.01% pulse-to-pulse stability, the upgrades have exhibited a mean time between failure of up to 50,000 hr., and are available as field-installable kits. Diversified Technologies, 35 Wiggins Ave., Bedford, Mass. 01730.
These plasma flame spray tapes withstand heavy-duty grit blasting, offer protection for overspraying and splashing, and resist intense heat and abrasion. The two-ply tapes save cost and time by eliminating a second taping operation when multiple layers are needed, according to the manufacturer. They provide heat resistance, high adhesion and ease of removal without leaving adhesive residue. They have applications in HVOF, metal or ceramic plasma spraying, and grit blasting. CS Hyde Co., 1351 N. Milwaukee Ave., Lake Villa, Ill. 60046.
Air Canada, in an effort to maintain minimum cash balances during its restructuring, has drawn C$300 million ($232.8 million) from the first tranche of its DIP financing facility provided by GE Capital Canada. It will be used to increase reserves in seasonally weak periods as well as fund one-time aircraft lease payments resulting from completion of restructured leases.
The Model AP240 and AP235 dual-channel reconfigurable analyzer platforms have a sustained sequential recording (SSR) firmware capability that enhances the analyzers' ability to acquire, store and transfer sequential waveforms to a host PC at high sustained trigger rates. The products are suited for applications where fast sequential or burst-style repetitive signals (or pulses) are being acquired and recorded, including signal intelligence, synthetic aperture radar, ultrasound, radar, lidar and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.
The FAA has chosen Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) as a Center of Excellence (COE) for composite and other advanced materials for aerospace applications. The NIAR, working with the FAA as well as other university partners in the U.S., will tackle problems such as damage tolerance of composites, joining of composites, crashworthiness and creation of new materials using nanotechnology, according to Gerald Loper, associate vice president for research at NIAR.
HONEYWELL IS CHANGING THE DESIGNATIONS of its new turbofan engines for business and commercial aircraft. According to the company, the first engine to be redesignated is the AS907, now known as the HTF7000. It powers the Bombardier Challenger 300. Other reclassifications include HTF for turbofan engines, HTP for turboprop and HTS for turboshaft powerplants.
After 30 months of negotiations, eligible voters among Mesaba Airlines' 844 pilots in the next few weeks will cast ballots to ratify or reject the tentative contract agreement reached on Jan. 11 between management and the Air Line Pilots Assn. Union leaders scheduled events to inform members about the contract. They would only say last week that the contract allows the pilots "to move forward in their careers" and grants management the latitude to grow the company.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. HAS RECEIVED FAA PROVISIONAL certification of its Model 680 Citation Sovereign business jet. Company officials said full certification would be obtained by the end of the first quarter, followed by initial customer deliveries in the second quarter. Cessna has orders for more than 100 Sovereigns. The aircraft has a range of more than 3,000 naut. mi. and a maximum speed of Mach 0.80.
After two years of depression in the business jet market, it's natural to begin scanning the horizon for change. Unfortunately, there are few signs of a return to prosperity for what had been the best aviation growth sector in decades. The worst news concerns used aircraft availability and pricing. Reports show just over 2,000 turbine-powered business aircraft are on the market, out of a total fleet of about 13,300. Pricing also remains soft, with many airplanes selling at an average 20% less than their 2000 peaks.
Next month the European Commission's (EC) competition directorate expects to make its long-awaited decision on whether the financial support provided Ryanair by Brussels South Charleroi Airport is an illegal subsidy. An "illegal" decision promises to engender dramatic service changes as well as strong industry protests. Multiple European city pairs could be terminated.
CompuScope 1220 was designed for ultrasonic testing, SONAR and LIDAR imaging system applications. The card combines 12-bit resolution with a range of externally clocked sampling rates required for tightly integrated systems. The system addresses the need for a digitizer that is capable of being externally clocked at frequencies as high as 20 MHz. and as low as a few kilohertz. The CompuScope 1220 provides two input channels, 12-bit vertical resolution, 20-MS/s simultaneous sampling rate, 10-MHz. bandwidth on most input ranges, external triggering and external clocking.
More signs are emerging that commercial aftermarket demand is improving as air traffic demand recovers and airlines are able to justify increased flying hours.
The Spring-Line stainless steel ATX shields are designed to provide shielding against EMI leakage through the multiple back panel I/O connector ports typical of ATX form factor motherboards. They install via integral clips into chassis configured to ATX specifications, and the company offers a range of configurations to accommodate different aperture layouts. The ATX shields are stamped from 0.010-in. stainless steel to fit standard Intel ATX specifications, and custom designs are available. The shields are high-speed tooled in 1/2 hard temper stainless steel.
Hit by severe budget constraints and evolving threats, Germany plans to go forward with planned cuts in operations, especially for air force units, but confirmed it would not pare back on previous procurement commitments.
Already operating with little schedule margin as it rushes to field its national missile defense system in the late summer, Pentagon officials encountered a setback in the first hardware test of the year. The Jan. 9 first flight test of Lockheed Martin's ground-based interceptor was a success, but the mock payload didn't separate. Although not a primary test objective, the failure of the mass emulator to separate is more critical than the performance of the Lockheed Martin booster. The Pentagon decided to use an Orbital Sciences Corp.
The Air Force's consistent preference for tactical combat aircraft continues to weigh against the entire concept of the manned strategic bomber. New bomber development programs are nowhere in sight, and even the existing fleet is under budgetary pressure. Nevertheless, the U.S. bomber fleet's continuing strong performance in recent overseas operations will go a long way toward strengthening the case for maintaining this capability.
