David H. Dittemore has been named president/chief operating officer of Ducommun Inc. of Los Angeles. He has been an independent consultant and was executive vice president/COO of Cytec Fiberite Inc.,Tempe, Ariz.
Aerojet reports it successfully completed manufacture and integration testing of a propellant management system and digital control interface unit simulator for Phase 1 of the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion engine development program.
The nearly $43-billion fiscal 2004 budget request from Japan's Defense Agency confirms the nation's new emphasis on meeting regional ballistic missile threats. A 0.7% increase over this year's spending, the 4.96-trillion-yen budget proposal includes the land- and sea-based missile defensive systems, the first installment in what is expected to be a 500-billion-yen effort by fiscal 2007 (AW&ST Sept. 1, p. 19). Program costs, including operations and maintenance, are expected to exceed 1 trillion yen ($8.9 billion) by 2011.
Long in the planning, China's ARJ21 regional jet has begun to arrive in the eyes of the nation's airlines and Western suppliers. The medium-range jet is China's most important civil aircraft program and is to start production at year's end. It is set to enter service in 2008. Officials said the commuter jet has received 35 orders--20 from Shenzhen Finance leasing Co., 10 from Shandong Airlines and five from Shanghai Airlines.
Six "aviation all-stars" have been named by U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to the FAA Management Advisory Council: Angela Gittens, Miami International Airport director; Alan R. Mulally, Boeing Co. executive vice president; David Neeleman, JetBlue Airways CEO; Robert L. Crandall, retired American Airlines CEO; Paul E. Shoelhammer, retired partner in Zuckert, Scoutt and Rasenberger; and Jim Smith, Newport News/ Williamsburg (Va.) International Airport executive director.
A short circuit on the primary power bus has caused Loral Skynet's Telstar 4 to fail, leading the company to declare the spacecraft a total loss. The spacecraft was an older Series 7000 model built by Lockheed Martin, which said it did not think the mishap was of a serial nature. The satellite, which was launched in 1995 and was due to be replaced by a more powerful unit in mid-2004, was insured for $141 million. All users have been accommodated on other spacecraft in the fleet.
India's cabinet has approved the nation's first trip to the Moon, a high-resolution imaging mission using a polar orbiter called Chandrayan-1. First announced by Prime Minister Atal Bahari Vajpayee on Aug. 15, India's independence day, the mission "is expected to be the forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions . . . including landing robots on the Moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the solar system," the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a statement following the cabinet's endorsement.
United Airlines reported profitable operations in August, its eighth month in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The carrier told its federal bankruptcy court it had net income of $68 million during the month, not counting $114 million in reorganization expenses, and operating income of $105 million. And these results weren't all from cutting costs; unit revenue was up 15% compared with August 2002. Cash increased $109 million to about $2.4 billion, and the airline satisfied the covenants of its debtor-in-possession financing.
Christina Alvord (see photo) has become vice president/general manager of General Electric subsidiary Middle River Aircraft Systems of Baltimore. She succeeds Mike Chanatry, who has been named general manager for sourcing for the GE Aircraft Engines Supply Chain Div. Alvord was manager of the GE Corporate Intiatives Group.
Laser-based infrared countermeasures systems are emerging as the Pentagon's preferred choice to protect civil airliners, although manufacturers of other devices aren't ready to give up on the potentially lucrative market.
China is ready for negotiations with Taiwan to launch direct flights across the Straits of Formosa that will include carriers from both countries, according to a spokesman for the China Civil Aviation Assn. Pu Zhaozhou was reacting to a Sept. 10 proposal by Tsai Ing-wen, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, who suggested regular air services should be initiated with Taiwanese carriers operating to Shanghai. "Airlines from Taiwan and China should have rights for the flights on an equal footing," Pu said.
When it comes to creating a common operating picture for homeland defense, the U.S. Defense Dept. is finding it a challenge to swim in the sea of civilian data as well as the military data it is used to dealing with.
This student-developed aerospike rocket engine lifted a 13-ft.-long test vehicle off the ground on Sept. 20, although the engine failed after "several seconds" of stable flight and allowed the vehicle to crash. Still, the short flight of the Prospector 2 was the first known to have used a liquid-fueled aerospike engine, which automatically adjusts its plume shape with altitude because it lacks a confining nozzle bell.
F-16 LINKS Two NATO E-3 AWACS flew from Geilenkirchen, Germany, to test the Link 16 data link system newly installed in F-16s modified for the Mid-Life Update program. The operation was conducted by the 416th Flight Test Sqdn. at Edwards AFB, Calif. Link 16 has been integrated into the F-16 to allow additional communications to other aircraft and ground facilities. The data provide improved awareness of combat situations that surround an aircraft.
Early in 1968, a bombing ban was finally lifted from the Plain-de-Jars region of Laos, and I was scheduled for my first A-1E Skyraider mission into that area.
Peter Parsinen (see photo), who is president of the Enstrom Helicopter Corp., Menominee, Mich., has been named to the board of directors of the Washington-based Helicopter Assn. International as airframe representative and co-chairman of the HAI Manufacturers Committee.
Antonio Macchia and Mario Mustilli have been appointed to the board of directors of Piaggio Aero as designated by Sviluppo Italia, the company's new state shareholder.
Giancarlo Crivellaro has been appointed general manager for political affairs and Paul Vandermoere general manager for communications for the Assn. of European Airlines. Crivellaro was general secretary of the European Cockpit Assn., while Vandermoere was director of corporate communications for Europe for Lufthansa German Airlines.
The aerospace industry is spending more than most manufacturing sectors on information technology and is placing a top priority on integrating legacy computer systems. In a survey of about 500 companies in 14 industry sectors, including non-manufacturing, the 33 aerospace companies surveyed reported their organizations spend about 4% of revenue on information technology (IT) per year. But aerospace is outspending general manufacturing companies by two to one (see chart). The survey was just released by AMR Research Inc. of Boston.
Todd Emerson has been named director of government and legal affairs for SkyWest Airlines. He was a lawyer in the Salt Lake City firm of Fabian and Clendenin.
SO FAR . . . Primaris Airlines, the Las Vegas-based startup that plans all-first-class domestic and international service at below-walkup-coach fares, received Transportation Dept. certification Sept. 24 for its initial domestic operations. In an earlier show-cause order that drew no opposition, the department authorized the carrier to operate its first six aircraft--a number Primaris intended to surpass after six months--but turned down certificate authority between the U.S. and London Gatwick, suggesting that it seek an exemption instead.
The future remains rocky for Swiss International Air Lines, even though the administrative board's decision last week to retain the company's independent status renewed some hopes that the airline could access fresh funding through a global alliance. After months of negotiations, the board opted to have the airline join the Oneworld alliance and conclude a bilateral alliance deal with British Airways (BA). A proposal by Lufthansa that would have integrated Swiss into its group of airlines and the Star Alliance was rejected.
BANGKOK ADDS 737-800 Thailand's most profitable private carrier Bangkok Airways has added another Boeing 737-800 to the two ordered this year. The carrier plans to lease two 737-400s from Boeing beginning in March and operate them until planned delivery of the -800s in 2005. The -800s will eventually be deployed on Bangkok's established routes to Xian and Gulin and on thrice-weekly flights to Jinhong, to be launched Oct. 28.
