PAD ABORT Lockheed Martin has completed wind tunnel testing on its Pad Abort Demonstrator (PAD), a $53-million testbed project designed to simulate the stresses an Orbital Space Plane crew would face escaping from a launch failure.
Jeffrey McCrindle has been named Eastern U.S. and Canada sales director, based in Landover, Md., for Analytical Graphics Inc. He was head of business development for U.S. Air Force and Army programs.
AirTanker, one of two teams competing for a $20-billion British Defense Ministry tanker/transport contract, has carried out 2 hr. of proximity flight trials using its proposed tanker platform, the Airbus A330-200, and a Tornado aircraft. Meanwhile rival-bidder Tanker Transport Service Co. might consider reengining its candidate aircraft, the Boeing 767-300ER, with the Rolls-Royce Trent should it be selected.
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POKER RUN AirTran Airways is scheduled to launch Dallas/Fort Worth-Las Vegas service on Feb. 11 with two daily nonstop round trips, threatening yields in that market. AirTran officials said walkup fares would start at $219 one-way compared with $358-760 from incumbents America West, American and Delta. Business class would cost $249. The carrier already serves DFW and LAS from Atlanta and DFW from Orlando, and on Nov. 19 plans to begin flying DFW-Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
Peter Dunsford has become regional vice president-northern Europe for International Aero Engines, East Hartford, Conn. He was commercial executive for Europe for Rolls-Royce and succeeds Peter Cork, who has returned to Rolls-Royce.
FLINCHING FIRST Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz accepts a "take it or leave it" deal from a key senator that lets the Air Force lease 20 Boeing KC-767A tankers and buy another 80 through the normal acquisition process. In a letter late last week to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) and other congressional leaders, Wolfowitz writes that the Pentagon is committed to adding $2.4 billion in Fiscal 2008-10 and another $1.4 billion in Fiscal 2012-13 to the funding profile for the tankers.
Gregory W. Kennedy has been appointed vice president of the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport hub of Atlantic Southeast Airlines. He was field director of airport customer service at Delta Air Lines' hub in Cincinnati.
William B. Scott (Missoula, Mont.; Chico, Calif., and Abbotsford, British Columbia.)
As the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) launches upgrades to the nation's firefighting airtanker fleet, it faces a disturbing fact: Private companies operating those aircraft are on the verge of financial collapse. Some may not be able to stay in business, let alone buy modern platforms.
The recent spill of 250 liters of nitrogen tetroxide at Cape Canaveral is an event worthy of note (AW&ST Aug. 18, p. 24). In recent years, it has been highly fashionable to suggest that we need to develop new "green" or non-toxic propellants, and that NTO should be cast aside. This recent spill caused no deaths or injuries and relatively little damage to any hardware. Certainly NTO is toxic, but it is rather docile and predictable.
DISCONNECTED In February 2004, Southwest Airlines will close three reservations centers at Dallas, Little Rock, Ark., and Salt Lake City, leaving six centers to handle phone reservations. The 1,900 workers at the sites will be offered jobs at the remaining facilities at Albuquerque, Chicago, Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and San Antonio, according to James Parker, vice chairman and CEO. He said the closures stem from a "steady decline" in call volume as travelers increasingly book flights online.
Arthur Mauro has been elected chairman of the Winnipeg Airports Authority. He is chancellor of the University of Manitoba and was a member of the board of directors of the then-Canadian Airlines. Mauro succeeds Sandy Hopkins. Otto Lang was reelected vice chairman. He is a former minister of transportation for Canada.
ARIANE BACKUP Arianespace has transferred a launch for the first time under a mutual backup agreement concluded earlier this year with Boeing Launch Services and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (AW&ST Oct. 20, p. 17). The DirecTV 7S direct broadcasting satellite will be orbited by a Sea Launch Zenit instead of an Ariane 5 booster as planned. Arianespace was unable to guarantee a launch slot in the first quarter of next year because of a scheduling conflict with the Rosetta comet mission.
Russia's Irkut plans to put some of its shares on the market in a move that could have important implications for future consolidation of the Russian aerospace and defense sector as well as the industry's integration into the international market. The Irkutsk, Siberia-based company will put 20% of its shares into an initial public offering on the Moscow stock exchange in March, and follow with a second offering for an undisclosed amount in London a year later. The IPO will seek to raise around $100 million.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has been asked by U.S. Northern Command to develop a map of the United States made up of satellite images with a resolution of one meter. Commercial satellites are contributing to the effort, which would help speed responses to terrorist attacks. Classified "National Technical Means" satellites have been used as well.
Reports in Singapore say the French government has officially offered Singapore a role in codeveloping an advanced RBE-2 active-array radar for the Rafale, and to make available French training facilities, if the Rafale is selected for Singapore's combat aircraft requirement. The reports were attributed to the French defense ministry's strategic affairs director, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. The Rafale was shortlisted along with the Typhoon and F-15 last month (AW&ST Oct. 20, p. 19).
With it unlikely Qantas will prevail in its attempts to take a 25% share in Air New Zealand, CEO Geoff Dixon has cited only "narrow opportunities for us to go forward the way we would like." Giving the annual lecture recently of the Asia Pacific Aviation Media Assn. in Singapore, Dixon said, "We've had two regulatory authorities say they don't agree with it. One's got to learn to occasionally take a deep breath."
RRJ LANDING AWARD Snecma subsidiary Messier-Dowty received a contract valued at approximately $400 million to provide the integrated landing gear system for the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ). The award is based on a projected market for 600 aircraft. Messier-Dowty will be responsible for managing design and production of the integrated RRJ landing gear system except the braking system, for which the airframer plans to retain control.
Edward S. Taft has been named senior vice president-human resources for the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md., effective Jan. 1. Maryanne R. Lavan has been appointed vice president-ethics and business conduct, effective immediately. Taft has been vice president-human resources services and will succeed Terry F. Powell, who is scheduled to retire. Lavan was vice president/general counsel for the Electronic Systems unit. She succeeds Nancy Higgins, who is now executive vice president-ethics and business conduct/chief ethics officer of MCI.
Lofty equipment aspirations and base financial reality will confront some of Europe's main defense players with critical choices over the coming months. Following in the wake of Germany's budgetary woes (AW&ST Oct. 13, p. 26), Britain and Italy are now struggling with defense-expenditure dilemmas. Rome is being forced to curtail and delay acquisition programs, while in London, the ministry is grappling with both short- and long-term financial difficulties.
ARABIAN EXPRESS Air Arabia, the United Arab Emirates' third national airline and the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East-North Africa region, has begun initial service from Sharjah to Bahrain, the Persian Gulf's financial and banking hub. The current fleet of two Airbus A320s will be doubled early next year. Air Arabia will fly to Bahrain; Muscat, Oman; Kuwait; Tehran, Iran; Beirut, Lebanon; and Damascus, Syria; and plans call for the airline eventually to serve Amman, Jordan; Cairo, Egypt; Isfahan and Shiraz in Iran, as well as Yemen, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The various responses to the pros and cons of engine articulation have omitted what became a solution 30 years ago: the tilt wing. This concept avoided "hammering" the wing with the propeller downwash, and allowed variable wing tilt positions for STOL and VTOL. Because engines and wing tilted together, no complex articulation gear was required, and the wing was almost fully blown for added performance. This concept flew as the Canadair CL-84 for many years, and its performance in many aspects is still unrivaled.
The Russian government has dismissed the head of MiG, Nikolai Nikitin. The state-owned company is the country's second-largest combat aircraft manufacturer. The ostensible reason was the company's failure to meet the production timetable on the Tu-334 regional jet. As of late last week, no successor had been appointed. Vladimir Barkovsky, Nikitin's deputy, has taken over day-to-day oversight in the interim.
Exclusive parts-distribution deals with large customers are expected to pay big dividends for Aviall Inc., which racked up 12.4% higher sales in the most recent quarter.
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