Under development today, the technologies selected as the recipients of Aviation Week's Technology Innovation Awards for 2004 are likely to pay dividends for years to come in new capabilities and improved efficiencies for aerospace manufacturing, aircraft maintenance and space exploration.
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Faced with regulatory challenges at home and in Australia, stiff competition and a global aviation environment that is hardly conducive to profits, Air New Zealand is putting on a brave face.
Arc Second's "indoor GPS" system uses a series of infrared transmitters and receivers scattered throughout the manufacturing facility to make exacting measurements and alignments in aerospace manufacturing environments. It is designed to replace laser measurement systems that work one-to-one with a target.
Bombardier Challenger-300 received its European certification last week, following earlier approval by Transport Canada and the FAA. The first of the corporate jets is expected to enter service in December.
America West Airlines, which confounded much of the airline industry last year by adopting a simplified, low-price fare structure, will challenge the biggest network carriers this fall and winter with low-priced, business-oriented nonstop service in what are currently high-priced transcontinental markets. On Oct. 26, America West will launch service between Los Angeles International Airport and two East Coast points, New York Kennedy and Boston. Service between JFK and San Francisco will begin Dec. 19, and Boston-San Francisco will follow on Mar. 1, 2004.
A decision on Swiss International Air Lines' future strategy appears imminent, after the company's powerful administrative board urged management to accelerate its restructuring program designed to keep the struggling airline in business.
NOT KIDDING Current and former Capitol Hill staffers say the enmity between U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Air Force Sec. James Roche dates back to the years when Roche was working for powerful U.S. Sen. Henry (Scoop) Jackson (D-Wash.) and McCain was a Navy captain detailed as congressional liaison. Some Boeing officials hope that when Roche moves to Army secretary--a transfer McCain is blocking--the senator's opposition to the Boeing 767 tanker lease will disappear.
This line of flame-retardant expandable plastic sleeves can be applied to a range of military and commercial wire and cable protection requirements. The Protecto FPE expandable sleeve is a flexible, woven polyester that provides fire and abrasion protection for wires and cables. Featuring expansion up to three times its normal size, this self-fitting sleeve remains round for application over components and connectors. It operates up to 125C, and meets UL 224 VW-1/FR-1 flammability requirements.
Germany's economy last week was declared officially in recession, which would seem to suggest Lufthansa could be in for continued turbulence in the remainder of the year; its first half was absolutely awful, with a net loss that was substantially wider than in the same period in 2002 (see p. 38). But the worst may be over for the German flag carrier, thanks to tighter control of capacity and operating costs, and the outlook may be brighter than it might otherwise seem.
In a program valued at $1 billion over a 30-year life cycle, General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) will provide CF680C2 powerplants for the C-X, Japan's tactical transport.
No doubt I was inspired to chose aviation as a career because aviation was in the news, in the theaters, on TV and on campus. Today the news is filled with murders, theaters show "terminators," TV is inundated with inane talk shows, and colleges are pushing brainless "basket weaving" courses to increase volume rather than promote quality. Both industry and government can do a great deal to reverse this trend by sponsoring aerospace-oriented films, TV programs and public school curriculum.
A seemingly innocuous FAA inquiry about the effect of airline bankruptcies on airports has touched off an airports-versus-airlines squabble like the two adversaries used to stage before Sept. 11, 2001.
The aerospace and defense industry is just beginning to adopt customer relationship management (CRM) software to automate support of its products and gain more control of the profitable aftermarket revenue stream.
Boeing may be able to demonstrate in less than two years that an F-15E, or similar two-seat strike design, could function as a mothership for fast, unmanned, stealthy aircraft sent ahead of strike aircraft to locate air defenses or verify the location of time-sensitive targets.
Angela Robinson has been named human resources manager and Dan Bailey avionics sales manager for Western Aircraft Inc., Boise, Idaho. Robinson was a human resources consultant, while Bailey was avionics sales and service manager for Berry Aviation, San Marcos, Tex.
Declaring "the damage already has been done," some airline industry observers last week expressed disdain for Delta's recent decision to stop funding bankruptcy-proof pensions for top executives, and predicted the special trusts will greatly complicate the carrier's efforts to obtain wage concessions from pilots.
To improve the resistance of combat aircraft to electro-magnetic interference (EMI), a brute force fly-by-light system impervious to large spikes of electrical energy is under development. The fly-by-light technology also cuts the weight of flight control systems, a critical factor in reducing the weight of unmanned aircraft, according to Oved Zucker, director of solid-state technologies for Advanced Technologies, a newly acquired business activity of BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems.
Honeywell has signed an agreement to provide the U.S. Navy with an aircraft integrated maintenance system for the Naval Air Systems Command CH-46E helicopter, deployed by the U.S. Marine Corps. Production for the four-year $15- million contract will be conducted at Honeywell's Chadwick facility in California. The system performs vibration analysis, rotor track and balance, engine setup and engine monitoring functions.
Down But Not Out U.S. airlines canceled more than 1,200 flights following the blackout in parts of the U.S. and Canada last week while Air Canada was forced to drop most of its 700 flights on Friday, Aug. 15, alone owing to unreliable power at its operations center.
EXPANSION PLANS In October, Air-India is scheduled to dry-lease two Boeing 747-400s and two Airbus A310s as part of an expansion that includes doubling its capacity to 20 flights a week to the U.S. by December. The 747s would serve Newark, N.J. Service would be reintroduced to Chicago via Frankfurt, and expansion targets include the carrier's first service to China. In related news, India Airlines, the country's state-owned domestic carrier, also is expanding. In December the airline plans to lease five Airbus A310s.
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The Museum of Flight opens its Birth of Aviation exhibition in Seattle Aug. 23 as part of the nation's centennial of flight honors. Besides historical exhibits from the Boeing and Douglas aircraft lines (including the Red Barn where Boeing started), the exhibit will include the Museum's extensive collection of Wright Brothers documents.
Mary L. Leopold has been appointed controller of the tactical systems unit of Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems, Eagan, Minn. She will continue as director of pricing.
