EADS has rolled out the first of six of its A310 multi-role tanker transport aircraft for the German air force, but must wait longer than anticipated to find out the fate of its bid for a similar British requirement. A decision on the U.K. procurement, was expected this week, but has been delayed until January at least. EADS is leading the Airtanker team offering an A330-200 MRTT for the U.K., rather than the A310. The other bidder--Tanker & Transport Service Co., a consortium that includes BAE Systems, Boeing and Serco--is proposing a Boeing 767 tanker derivative.
MRC Bearings is offering precision-finished silicon nitride rollers to the open market in addition to continuing to support internal aerospace hybrid roller bearing needs. The company has developed a pilot plant with the capability to machine a range of roller sizes in small- to medium-size volumes to a range of precision tolerances. Potential uses include bearings suitable for applications requiring high speed, rigidity and high-temperature capabilities.
John Marshall, who is vice president-corporate safety and compliance for Delta Air Lines, has been appointed to the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. It is expected to advise NASA on safety issues regarding operations and missions and will be involved in the space shuttle's return to flight.
Union pilots at Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines are proposing a merger of the regional subsidiaries as a cost-cutting measure to parent Delta Air Lines. They also asked Delta to approve the joining of the two Air Line Pilot Assn. unions into a single bargaining group. A Delta spokesman said, "no comment." Comair ALPA President J.C. Lawson, 3rd, said a merger would remove redundancies and result in cost savings that Delta and the wholly owned subsidiaries are seeking. "We have two of everything," he said.
"It is not easy to describe the battlefields on which the U.S. military will find itself in 25 years because it is impossible to identify with any certainty the opponents it will face, but it is possible to identify with some confidence certain trends." GENERAL TRENDS
Kevin Wright (see photo) has been named vice president-strategic new ventures for the Aerospace Group of Crane Aerospace and Electronics, Lynnwood, Wash. He was vice president of the Aerospace Group of SITA.
Twenty-five years from now there should be a permanent settlement on the Moon with commercial operations producing helium-3 for a growing terrestrial fusion electrical power industry. Hydrogen, oxygen, water and food also would be produced for a second-generation, permanent International Space Station, operated largely by NASA, or a replacement agency, as a research facility for the National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Science and Technology and other world-class research entities. The ISS would be a tourist destination of major interest.
Eclipse Aviation Corp. has signed an agreement with Hampson Industries plc in the U.K. to build the empennage of the Eclipse 500 lightweight jet. Hampson's Aerospace Fabrications and Assemblies Div. will be responsible for the work.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants (AFA) is gaining the strength of numbers in its coming merger with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) effective Dec. 31. The AFA, largest of the cabin attendant unions, has 50,000 members, though 10,000 have lost their jobs since 2001. The CWA represents 700,000 employees. The AFA board last October recommended merging the AFL-CIO unions, believing the AFA could use the collateral support and take advantage of opportunities not available to a single-craft union.
L-3 Communications Integrated Systems has delivered the 16th and final E-6B aircraft to the U.S. Navy following conversion of the fleet to conduct missions previously performed by the E-6A Tacamo and the EC-135 Airborne Command Post. The E-6Bs have been modified with battle-staff positions and a missile launch control system for U.S. land-based ICBMs. The first E-6B entered service in October 1998.
Man's dreams of flight have always been linked to propulsion. Icarus used feathers attached with wax to his flapping arms, Alphonse Penaud employed rubber bands to power his revolutionary models, and Samuel P. Langley--at least for his early subscale flying machines--used steam.
Regarding Richard Chrenko's letter "War Rubs Many the Wrong Way" (AW&ST Nov. 10, p. 6), there are not many higher callings than the defense of one's family and by extension of one's country. Some take that calling and lay their lives on the line in the military. Others can do a task equally as essential--that of designing and building the best tools to enable the safe and efficient operation of defense.
K. Stuart Shea (see photo), vice president/executive director of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space and Intelligence Unit, Herndon, Va., has been named to the National Commission for the Review of the Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community. The 12-member commission, established as part of the 2003 Intelligence Authorization Act, is scheduled to submit its findings by Sept. 1, 2004.
AgustaWestland said it has completed a move to raise its share in its joint venture with Bell Helicopter Textron, Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co., from 45 to 50%. Agusta also increased its share in the venture's 609 civil tiltrotor program to 50% and assumed responsibility for flight-testing the second 609 prototype. The company also said it would deliver the first jointly developed AB139 medium-twin to Italian operator Elilario this week, and plans to hand over another 10 next year. Separately, Agusta said it had delivered its first Super Lynx 300 to Oman on Oct. 25.
General Electric is investigating the inflight shutdown of a GE90 powerplant on an Air France 777 traveling from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Rio de Janeiro. The shutdown occurred on Nov. 22 when Air France Flight 442 suffered an engine surge over the Atlantic. The aircraft diverted to Fortaleza, Brazil, about 2 hr. flying time away. It then landed safely.
Antitrust officials will investigate Mesa Air Group's dogged efforts to acquire Atlantic Coast Airlines, and a federal court is to decide by Dec. 20 whether to issue a preliminary injunction against any further takeover attempts. In a two-day hearing Dec. 9-10, ACA and Mesa parties presented testimony that will help U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction against Mesa's takeover activities. Her decision is expected no later than Dec. 20.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 Force cuts lurking in British Defense white paper 19 Explosion in C-17 engine just after takeoff from Baghdad 19 EADS rolls out A310 multi- role tanker transport WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 NASA to Boeing: 'Deemph- size' X-37 orbital vehicle 23 Tests aimed at collecting data applicable to X-37 reentry 24 Lockheed Martin snags huge missile defense deal 25 Pentagon budgeteers attack E-10 multisensor C2 aircraft
United Airlines is the latest victim in the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s roundup of carriers that fail to satisfy legal and regulatory obligations to wheelchair-bound passengers. Settling what the department termed "a significant number of apparent violations" during April 2000-September 2002, United admitted no fault but agreed to pay $1.1 million in lieu of civil penalties that might otherwise be imposed, thus avoiding litigation.
The U.S. Army has capped the Future Combat Systems contract with its Boeing/Science Applications International Corp. lead systems integrator team at $14.78 billion through Fiscal 2011. The Boeing/SAIC team beat out General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin for the job, which will define the "system of systems," including manned and unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, that will shape the army of the future at a total production cost initially estimated at $40-60 billion (AW&ST Mar. 18, 2002, p. 32).
One can't track the development of unmanned aircraft for quite 100 years unless some of the Wright brothers' early aerodynamic test designs that were flown like kites are considered. But certainly the tale of UAVs can be traced to flying bomb experiments that began in World War I.
USCG Adm. (ret.) James M. Loy has been sworn in as deputy Homeland Security secretary. He was administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and had been commandant of the Coast Guard. USN Adm. (ret.) David Stone has been appointed acting TSA administrator. He has been its deputy chief of staff and was federal security director at the Los Angeles International Airport.
Perhaps because they anticipated complaints about skirting international rules on government subsidies, Boeing executives have a ready answer to the fact that the 7E7's foreign suppliers may be eligible for backing from their own governments. "It's their capability to do the job" that accounts for why they were chosen, 7E7 team leader Mike Bair says. "Where they get money" to support their own development costs "hasn't gone into influencing the decision" (AW&ST Nov. 24, p. 36).
Bombardier said Austrian Airlines has exercised options on two Q400 turboprops for the fleet of its Tyrolean Airways subsidiary. The 70-seat aircraft are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2005. It retains an additional two options. The aircraft will operate under the Austrian banner as part of a largely Bombardier fleet that includes 12 50-seat Q300s and 13 50-seat CRJ200 regional jets as well as six Fokker 70s. The deal is valued at $42.2 million.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to do the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency one better on high-altitude airships. MDA has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to devise a system that could stay at 70,000 ft. for up to a year. Darpa wants to do the same, but with a much more ambitious goal: rather than merely carry a sensor, the mega-blimp would be a sensor. The 50-meter (164-ft.)-dia., 150-meter-long airship would have a structure that doubles as a radar array, says Darpa director Tony Tether.
