Defense Minister George Fernandes tried to dispel apprehensions about the Indian air force's continued use of MiG21 fighters as advanced jet trainers by taking a flight in one earlier this month. But the supreme commander of the armed forces, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, appeared unconvinced. He reportedly is appealing to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for help in replacing the aircraft.
Airborne Express and flight crewmembers of the Teamsters Union last week completed a tentative, five-year contract that includes significant wage increases, improved scope language and job protections. According to the union, language on scope and successorship was the biggest issue, in light of proposed merger talks between Airborne and DHL (see p. 19).
NAUTICAL OFFSET China's Jinling Shipyard has launched a roll-on/roll-off vessel that will allow Airbus to carry A380 fuselage and wing sections from facilities in the U.K., Germany and Spain to its final assembly site in Toulouse, France. The 508-ft.-long ship is to be delivered in March 2004. Chinese companies have already delivered more than $500 million worth of hardware to Airbus since the European company began collaborating with businesses in China in 1985.
COURT DATE France's public prosecutors reviewing Air Lib's collapse have begun proceedings against Jean-Charles Corbet, the ill-fated independent carrier's former chairman/CEO. Despite bailout funding ratified by then-Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot and ADP Paris airports authority's unprecedented decision to momentarily forgive Air Lib's landing charges, the carrier collapsed in an ocean of debt, and ceased operations.
AVIONICS MANUFACTURER AVIDYNE has completed demonstration and initial flight-testing of its NEXCOM VDL Mode 3 radio. The panel-mounted radio, which is capable of both voice and data communications simultaneously, is designed to satisfy future technical requirements of general aviation aircraft, according to the company. NEXCOM is the FAA's proposed future radio system intended to meet ever-expanding demand for communications. The analog/digital system eventually would replace VHF/UHF radios, and provide data link communications as well as security features.
SWEET HOME ALABAMA Just weeks after Boeing apologized publicly for using purloined Lockheed Martin documents in its Delta IV marketing, a top official of the company has been forced to apologize again for the action of "friends" who may have insulted "Southern sensibilities." The incoming general manager of Boeing's Decatur, Ala., plant, Phil Marshall, sent a formal letter of apology to the employees at the plant, following a non-Boeing-sponsored going-away party thrown by his friends in Pueblo, Colo., where he was a manager at Boeing's Pueblo plant.
Joe Wilding has been promoted to vice president-advanced development from lead engineer, John Hamilton to vice president-marketing from Western U.S. sales manager and Bill Mermelstein to vice president-propulsion from head of propulsion subsystems, all for Adam Aircraft Industries Inc., Englewood, Colo. Bruce Leadbetter has been named to the board of directors. He is a partner in the Beta Capital Group of Dallas and an owner of Dalfort Aerospace and Triton Aviation Services. Leadbetter was a member of the board of directors of Galaxy Aerospace.
Hipolito Mendes Pires of Heliavia has been elected chairman of Aportar--the Portuguese Assn. of Aircraft Operators. Other officers are: vice president, Fernando Pinto of TAP; and board members, Joao Ribeiro da Fonseca of Portugalia, Jose Miguel Costa of Omni and Tomaz Metello of EuroAtlantic Airways.
Thai Airways International has formalized a fleet modernization plan that's long been in the works by agreeing to purchase 17 new aircraft--eight Airbus A340-500/ 600s and nine Boeing 747-400s. At the same time, it is heeding the call of many in Southeast Asia by setting up a low-cost domestic carrier with potential linkages throughout the region.
In an effort to exploit leading-edge technologies that could complement its own, Raytheon will be working hand-in-hand with IBM for the next five years to design custom semiconductors and systems for a broad range of military applications.
Science instruments on the two Mars Exploration Rovers have passed their initial post-launch tests based on 200 megabits of telemetry received last month, except for the Mossbauer spectrometer on the MER-2 "Spirit" spacecraft (AW&ST July 14, p. 34). All 10 cameras on each spacecraft performed well, as did the alpha particle X-ray spectrometers and miniature thermal emission spectrometers.
Capt. Edward Davidson has been appointed director of safety of the International Air Transport Assn. He was director of flight safety, government affairs and quality control at Northwest Airlines.
Reporting an industry-worst loss of $623 million in the second quarter, United Airlines nonetheless remained optimistic about its attempts to reduce costs under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and took heart in what CEO Glenn Tilton described as a "particularly positive trend" in unit revenue.
An Su-27 and Su-27IB (forefront) take to the air from the Russian air forces' Aktubinsk flight test center. The Su-27IB is apparently edging closer to service, but the tactical fighter replacement for the basic Flanker remains a decade or more away. Photo by Sergei Skrynnikov.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 20 First 'official' rollout of RQ-4A Global Hawk 21 Last Boeing Stratoliner heads for retirement at Smithsonian WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 26 Record crowds, deals at Osh- kosh made for a standout show 26 South Korea F-15 specialized for air, sea and ground conflict 30 Indian authorities weigh MiG-21 trainer safety issues 30 U.S. digs up MiG warplanes hidden in the desert of Iraq 32 Japan's navy angles for eight 13,500-metric-ton-class carriers
BIG BIRD BLOCKADE The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reaffirmed its long-standing commitment: Big birds, don't even think of landing at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport. The move is timely. The FAA has proposed a national policy regarding airport access restrictions based on weight, and the public commentary period on the proposal ends this week. Many airports have denied access to large aircraft, citing that weight would cause damage to runway pavement. The FAA's proposal examines whether such action is a "reasonable" restriction.
Air Canada, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Apr.1, in the second quarter reported an operating loss of C$270 million ($193.8 million) before reorganization items. This compares with a C$62-million operating income in the same period last year. Revenue and traffic declines, primarily related to severe acute respiratory syndrome, continued in the second quarter. Total operating revenues were down C$600 million or 24% year over year. There was a shortfall of $127 million or 63% in Asian passenger revenues.
The first Antonov An-140s are about to enter service in Iran as sales of the Ukrainian-designed twin turboprop ramp up, driven by a state-backed financing and after-sales support program.
Based on a review of Boeing's and Airbus' order books, UBS analysts have concluded that both commercial airframe manufacturers appear covered for the 2003 deliveries they have forecast (300 for Airbus and 280 for Boeing), and that they are "mostly covered" for projected 2004 deliveries (300 for Airbus and 275-290 for Boeing). However, UBS believes that both companies could be hit with deferrals and cancellations, especially in 2004 and 2005, because the airline industry remains so weak.
A year after two aging air tankers and five crewmembers were lost to wing failures, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has unveiled a strategic plan to modernize the nation's aerial firefighting fleets. If properly funded by Congress, the plan should significantly improve aircrew safety and wildland fire-suppression efficiencies.
GLOBAL TEAM Boeing Launch Services, Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have formally agreed to loosely align their launch services and marketing so that a customer can switch between members if flight delays by one member of the alliance threaten the customer's satcom schedules. The arrangement, to involve Boeing's Sea Launch, the Ariane5 and Japanese H-IIA, has been under discussion for some time.
Kirsten Lear and Tom Wolfman have become directors of imports and brokerage, based in Phoenix and New York, respectively, for BAX Global, Irvine, Calif. Gilbert Salas has become import product strategy manager. Lear was international import operations manager at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) facility and Wolfman director of national import operations, both for Eagle Global Logistics. Salas was import brokerage manager of LAX for Danzas AEI. Pavel Novak has become managing director in Prague.
Elements of Russia's defense and commercial aerospace industry are making some progress, albeit painfully slow. Another fifth-generation fighter effort is getting underway, this time with Sukhoi rather than MiG in the lead. MiG, meanwhile, is trying to push ahead with series production of the Tupolev Tu-334 regional airliner. Both in the military and commercial sectors, Russian industry continues to face demanding challenges.
Declan Hartnett has become Shannon, Ireland-based senior vice president/region manager for Europe for GE Capital Aviation Services, Stamford, Conn. He succeeds Paul Barton, who has resigned.
Don't look now, but Continental Airlines carried more passenger traffic in July 2003 than it did in July 2001--before the September 2001 terrorist attacks--and is close to passing Northwest to become the fourth-largest airline in the U.S.
