GERMAN/RUSSIAN RESEARCH The German space agency (DLR) has given the Munich-based Kayser-Threde company the go-ahead to develop a new plasma research facility for the International Space Station. Russia's Research Institute for High Energy Density and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research are also involved in the project. Plasmas are extremely high temperature gases that have industrial applications as well as being a key area of research into basic physics.
10 Correspondence 12-13 Who's Where 14-15 Market Focus 17 Industry Outlook 19 Airline Outlook 20-21 World News Roundup 25 Washington Outlook 23 In Orbit 62 Inside Business Aviation 64 InReview 65-66 Classified 67 Contact Us 68 Aerospace Calendar
What sad times we live in when readers such as Chris Davis of Leander, Tex. (AW&ST July 7, p. 6) use the fact that European/Russian Block population is not growing at a rate larger than the U.S., to justify his statement that the European/Russian Block will not catch up technologically. He should recall where most of America's "technological leaps" originated. History is littered with projects and technologies developed in Europe that "suddenly" get terminated and reappear in the U.S.
TEJAS GOES SUPERSONIC Tejas, India's light combat aircraft (LCA), made its first supersonic flight in late July while on its 94th sortie, powered by a General Electric GE404 engine. Wing Cdr. Vikram Singh took the technology demonstrator to a targeted speed of Mach 1.08 at 36,000 ft. during the flight from Bangalore. "Over the next two years we will concentrate on weaponization and integration of systems," LCA Program Director M.B. Verma said.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Aug. 18-21--U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Assn., National Defense Industrial Assn. and Air Defense Artillery Assn.'s Sixth Annual Space & Missile Defense Conference. Von Braun Center. Huntsville, Ala. Call +1 (256) 533-6986 or see www.smdconf.org
Hairy Buffalo is reemerging from the Navy's nursery for advanced avionics projects in a new skin. The flying testbed, dedicated to introducing new time-critical targeting capabilities into network-centric warfare, has been an elderly P-3 patrol aircraft; but to expand its flexibility, the sophisticated payload is being containerized and sized to function from C-130E, H and J aircraft.
Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems will build two prototypes of an upgraded version of the Navy's E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft under a $1.9-billion system development and demonstration contract awarded Aug. 4 by Naval Air Systems Command (AW&ST June 16, p. 176; Oct. 7, 2002, p. 60). If production is approved, the Navy may buy 75 or more new airframes, a company official said. The prototypes are to be delivered in 2007, and initial operational capability is projected for 2011.
USN Rear Adm. Henry G. Ulrich, 3rd, has been nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as commander of the Sixth Fleet and commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe, Gaeta, Italy. He is director of the Surface Warfare Div. in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY Industry "turned the corner" in June, according to Giovanni Bisignani, International Air Transport Assn. director, although he cautioned that results were "well below" June of last year. Preliminary figures show an 11.8% drop in international passenger traffic compared with the same period in 2002. Asia-Pacific, severely hit by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, had the biggest traffic decline, 35.8%. For the first six months, overall passenger traffic was 7.1% below 2002. Traffic fell 11.1% for North American carriers and Asia-Pacific, 15.6%.
Michael Thomas has become executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Management and Data Systems, King of Prussia, Pa. He was head of the division's Imagery and Geospatial Solutions business. Thomas succeeds Stanton D. Sloane, who has been promoted to president of M&DS.
William Gates' letter (AW&ST July 28, p. 6) suggests a BWB 7E7 that could be impractical and costly. The complex curvature of a BWB precludes the extremely convenient 'stretch and shrink' feature inherent in the conventional configuration. The latter permits the baseline body to accommodate to an airline's route structure and passenger load, with a minimum of structural changes forward and aft of the respective wing attachments. If desired, the wing area and span could also be changed as needed by maintaining the same wing-body attachment stations.
NASA has selected the $325-million Phoenix Mars north polar lander concept as the winner of its Mars Scout program for low-cost missions to the red planet. The mission, set for launch in 2007 and a landing in May 2008, will use the Mars 2001 Surveyor lander that had its mission canceled when NASA's Mars south polar lander crashed during landing in 1999.
YUAN IN THE CROSSHAIRS A Congressional coalition determined to preserve the U.S. manufacturing base sees the undervaluation of China's yuan as a target of opportunity. The group, headed by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.), asks President Bush to persuade the Chinese government to float its currency and let market forces determine its value. The yuan, pegged to the U.S.
Tom Anderson has been promoted to senior vice president-technical operations and aircraft programs, Tim Claydon to senior vice president-sales and business development and Al Spain to senior vice president-operations, all for JetBlue Airways. All were vice presidents. Vicky Stennes has been named vice president-inflight experience. She was managing director for inflight customer service for Delta Air Lines.
Patrick Fenton, vice president/chief technology officer of Nov- Atel Inc., Calgary, Alberta, has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Navigation, in recognition of professional contributions to the advancement of navigation through technology, management, practice and teaching. Fenton was chosen for contributions to GPS, including work on advanced receiver architecture and designs, multipath reduction, digital signal processing techniques and technical publications.
THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE is scheduled to take delivery of three new Cessna 172R Skyhawks in the third quarter, expanding its fleet to nine airplanes since deliveries to the Iowa university began in 1999. The Skyhawks will be used chiefly for primary and instrument flight instruction, according to the university's aviation department. In other Cessna news, sales of the Caravan turboprop-powered utility aircraft have "surged" since the company offered a special $75,000 discount on unsold airplanes late in the first quarter of this year.
Air Chief Marshal Brian Burridge has become head of the U.K. Royal Air Force Strike Command. He succeeds Air Chief Marshal Sir John Day, who will be leaving the service. Burridge has been deputy commander and will be succeeded by Air Marshal Glenn Torpy.
JAPANESE COMMERCIAL SPACE Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has handed over operations of the 5-metric-ton Optus C-1 satellite it built with Space Systems Loral to Singtel Optus Corp. of Australia. The satellite was launched in June by an Ariane 5. In addition, engineers at Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries are fighting a weight problem on the second stage of Japan's G-X medium-size launch vehicle, but they predict a successful "diet" to counteract the problem. The 800-kg. (1,760-lb.) weight gain is the result of stiffening of a fuel tank.
Michael J. Dyment has been appointed executive vice president of New York-based international aviation consulting firm SH&E. He was vice president of the transportation and travel practice of A.T. Kearney Inc.
Airbus has opened a new engineering center in Moscow that is expected to reinforce already tight ties between parent firm EADS and the Russian aerospace industry.
SIERRA LEONE STARTUP TransAtlantic Airlines, a startup carrier in Sierra Leone, has applied to the U.S. Transportation Dept. for a foreign air carrier permit for scheduled and charter service between Freetown, Sierra Leone, and two U.S. points, New York JFK International and Baltimore-Washington International airports, using wet-leased Airbus A330 aircraft. Flights to JFK and BWI would make intermediate stops in Banjul, Gambia, and Dakar, Senegal, respectively, where passengers would disembark, pass through security and reboard.
Joseph Furnish has been named senior vice president-engineering and program management, Scott Pitcher director of analytical engineering and advanced design, Alan Schwartz vice president-supply management and William Moreu director of airworthiness and certification, all for the Safire Aircraft Co., Opa-Locka, Fla. Furnish was vice president-technical staff at Raytheon/Beech Aircraft, while Pitcher was a technical manager at the Northrop Grumman Corp.
CONCORDE SET FREE Technical experts probing the crash of the Air France Concorde near Paris on July 25, 2000, no longer dispute the findings of the BEA accident investigation bureau. Police seized the Concorde that was destined for the Toulouse museum to facilitate the eleventh-hour investigation demanded by French judges who disagreed with the BEA (AW&ST July 21, p. 15). After completing additional research, the experts acknowledged that the left landing gear's missing spacer was not believed to be a contributing factor in the accident.
The CAE Tropos visual system on Korean Air's CAE-built Boeing 737-NG full-flight simulator has received Level D certification--the highest level performance rating for flight training--from the Korean Ministry of Transportation. The FAA, the Canadian Ministry of Transport and the European Joint Aviation Authorities already have certified the system.
