U.S. CARRIERS' COMPLAINT The U.S. Transportation Dept. has approved a complaint against the government of Argentina and three Argentine airlines--Aerolineas Argentinas, Air Plus Argentina and Southern Winds--alleging that U.S. carriers must pay Buenos Aires airport charges that are about three times those imposed on Aerolineas. The airlines that brought the complaint--American, United, FedEx and UPS--said Aerolineas won judicial relief from a government decree increasing the fees. The complainants asked the Transportation Dept.
U.S. lawmakers, returning from a week-long break, have their hands full with aerospace-related provisions, including one to strengthen the U.S. industrial base, which is coming under sharp attack from Pentagon and industry officials who fear its protectionist clauses could cause long-term damage.
Japan's cabinet-level Space Activities Commission has approved plans for the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science to make the 2010 Bepi Colombo Mercury mission series its third big planetary program over the next decade. The first budget request is for fiscal 2004; the total is expected to reach 13.5 billion yen ($112 million).
The High Speed Flight Technology Demonstrator-2 (HSFD 2) quarter-scale model of Japan's unmanned Hope-X mini-shuttle crashed July 2 after being released from a stratospheric balloon some 21 km. (13 mi.) above the European Space Agency's Esrange test site in Sweden.
Titan Corp. has received a $32.9-million contract modification by the U.S. Air Force's Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass., to integrate four near-real-time intelligence broadcast systems into a single integrated, interactive service architecture for the Defense Dept.'s joint service Integrated Broadcast Service program.
NASA and Boeing raced the calendar last week to fix debonded insulation on a Delta II Heavy booster in time for it to launch the $400-million Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B) mission, before the launch window to the red planet closes on July 15. Just as in the Columbia accident, aerospace materials processes and problems (in this case with an adhesive and cork insulation) are major players affecting a critical NASA mission.
PAPER-FREE JOB HUNT Applying for a pilot's position by printed resume and job application is passing into aviation history. Of the 118 airlines monitored by FLTops.com, 97 do not require paper applications or resumes. They offer some method of electronically submitting information. Some 25 airlines provide an interactive web page and an online submission form. Louis Smith, president of the Atlanta-based CyberCompass Corp., which owns FLTops.com, said signatures are applied to documents at a much later stage in the hiring process than in the past.
Sukhoi Design Bureau has a three-track plan for development of military aircraft, says general director Mikhail A. Pogosyan. Through 2006, the company will concentrate on modernization and further development of the Su-27 and Su-30 family, a line currently led by the Su-30MK that's being exported to India and China.
Hans-Peter Kohlhammer (see photo) has been named director-general of Brussels-based SITA. He has been a director of Thyssen Telecom, executive officer/president of GTS Business Services Western Europe and CEO of Grundig.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 16 Japan's Hope-X mini-shuttle model crashes during test 17 Testing to mate standoff weapon with B-1B begins WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 20 Classified unmanned recon aircraft used in Iraq 22 London favors Washington for UCAV technology 23 U.S. House mulls reshaping international aerospace ties 24 Navy OKs low-rate produc- tion of EA-6B project 25 Britain casts a watchful eye over Typhoon, JSF figures
Carlyle Group and Finmeccanica have concluded an agreement covering the purchase of the aerospace business of FiatAvio from parent company the Fiat Group.
JSF DOWN UNDER Australia's GKN Aerospace Services and Northrop Grumman have signed a contract for the design, analysis and manufacture of metal and composite components for the center fuselage section of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (Northrop Grumman is a part of the F-35 team led by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.). The work is a key element of the aircraft's 10-year systems development and demonstration phase. Australia has invested up to $150 million in the JSF program.
American Airlines furloughed 3,123 flight attendants last week, including 1,768 former TWA employees based at the airline's St. Louis hub. The balance had been stationed at various other bases. In addition, American laid off 105 pilots in June and 272 pilots July 2 (all TWA employees), and is scheduled to release a mix of 202 TWA and American pilots in August.
Europe's aeroengine industry remains excessively fragmented and should be consolidated to boost efficiency and competitiveness, according to Avio executives. Avio is FiatAvio's new name.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Defensive Systems Div. will provide its Litening advanced targeting system capability to support U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers. The $16.3-million contract, from Air Force Materiel Command's System Program Office, covers 10 Litening Advanced Targeting pods, the retrofit of 47 extended range pods to Litening Advanced Targeting status as well as additional upgrades and services.
UNLOCKING MYSTERIES The need for more capable spy satellites or better human-intelligence collection are usually tops on the list of what the CIA needs to do a better job. But it looks like the agency is realizing that sometimes good old thievery is still the way to go. Or so it seems.
Scott A. Brockman has been named chief financial officer of Memphis (Tenn.) International Airport. He was vice president-finance and administration of the Tucson (Ariz.) Airport Authority.
Celebrating what CEO Joe Leonard called "a great time to be buying airplanes," AirTran Airways ordered 50 new 737s last week, optioned 50 more and ordered additional 717s as well--at least 10 and as many as 14. Under a delivery schedule not quite nailed down, the low-cost Atlanta carrier will receive its 737s at a rate of about one per month, starting next June.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plans to inaugurate on Sept. 1 an Amsterdam-Baghdad route, served four times per week by a Boeing 767. Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines, KLM's U.S. partners, are assessing whether the Baghdad route could be operated under a code-share agreement.
DUAL DISPLAYS Adam Aircraft will install the Avidyne FlightMax Entegra avionics suite in its new A500 business aircraft, which is tentatively scheduled to receive FAA certification this year. The Entegra system features two 10.4-in. diagonal high-resolution displays that serve as primary flight displays for the pilot and co-pilot. According to Avidyne, each unit has its own integrated, solid-state air data and attitude heading and reference system.
With the 100th anniversary of manned, controlled, sustained flight in full swing, Aviation Week & Space Technology honored its Top 100 Stars of Aerospace on June 18 with a gala dinner at Paris' historic Salle Wagram. The ranked Top 100 list, which was revealed during the dinner, published in the June 23 issue of AW&ST and posted on the web at www.AviationNow.com/Top100, represents those people selected by professionals from around the world, by majority vote, as the most important, influential and intriguing individuals in the history of aerospace.
Every now and then, some well-meaning member of Congress will advance a cockamamy idea that takes on a life of its own--an idea that would almost be laughable if it weren't for the possibility that it could actually become law. Such is the case with the House of Representatives' version of the Fiscal 2004 defense authorization bill (H.R. 1588) in which Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has inserted various "buy American" restrictions (see p. 23).
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) Sept. 16-18--MRO Europe, Cardiff, Wales. October--Network-Centric Conference. Washington. Oct. 28-30--A&D Programs & Productivity Conference & Exhibition. Arlington (Tex.) Convention Center. Nov. 11-13--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition. Bangkok Intercontinental Hotel.
The movement of U.S. forces to the Middle East in time for the invasion of Iraq was possible only because, for the first time, units and equipment were broken into modules and moved independently within the mobilization plan. This logistical innovation helped to speed deployment and compensate for the growing shortage of transport and tanker aircraft, said U.S. Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, chief of U.S. Transportation Command.
The U.S. Navy has given the green light to low-rate production of the EA6B Prowler Improved Capability III project, with the first upgraded aircraft to be delivered in 2004.
