Growing the Growler In preparing the start of the EA-18G "Growler" electronic attack aircraft's development, U.S. Navy and Boeing officials are trying to remove remaining impediments that could delay fielding of the electronic warfare system by 2009.
Samuel J. Pearlstein has been named managing director/senior equity research analyst for Jefferies & Co., Short Hills, N.J. He was a managing director/senior research analyst at Wachovia Securities Inc.
FAST CHECKOUT LINE Seven satellites planned for launch in calendar 2003 to replenish military constellations would roughly double the number orbited in recent years. And thanks to a combination of refined procedures, operator innovations and much new technology, these platforms are being checked-out in record time, says Lt. Col. Carl Block, deputy commander of the 50th Maintenance Group at Schriever AFB, Colo. For example, a GPS IIR navigation satellite launched Mar. 31 finished its checkout and was turned over to the 2nd Space Operations Sqdn. in 11 days.
News that the first group of pilots allowed to carry handguns were sworn in last month is not welcome in Europe. Not only do handguns have no place in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, but we should remember that American pilots seem to have problems differentiating friend from foe. How long before we read about the first "friendly fire" incident on a U.S. airliner? Pilots should be left to do what they're employed to do: fly the airplane.
William P. Fricks and Jay L. Johnson have been appointed to the board of director of General Dynamics, Falls Church, Va. Fricks is a former chairman/ CEO of Newport News (Va.) Shipbuilding, while Johnson is president/ CEO of Dominion Delivery and Dominion Telecom.
Bombardier Inc. has posted a 59% drop in net income to $80.7 million, or 5 cents a diluted share, for the first quarter ended Apr. 30, compared with $197.2 million, or 14 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues also declined, to about $4.9 billion. Bombardier Aerospace reported a $7-million loss, versus $158 million in operating income in the year-ago period. Revenues essentially were flat, at $2.4 billion. Business aircraft represented just 25% of deliveries in the company's first quarter, versus 43% and 53%, respectively, in the prior two quarters.
President Bush and NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson have nominated U.S. Navy Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., as the new Supreme Allied Commander-Transformation. Giambastiani will continue to serve as leader of the U.S. Joint Forces Command (AW&ST May 26, p. 76). Allied Command-Transformation will replace Allied Command Atlantic and help NATO adapt with a more flexible structure as well as ensuring it benefits from JFCom's work on transformation.
Elliot Sclar, who wrote the Viewpoint "Privatizing ATC Is A Bad Idea" (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 90), and I agree that safety is important. Elsewhere we differ. Sclar clearly does not have to use the present system to be profitable. Other countries' forays into alternatives to non-federalized ATC should make us aware of the pitfalls, not make us afraid of the journey. I'm all for saving money, but presently there is no concern that any aviation activity show profitability or, more appropriately, efficiency.
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) June 16--Top 100 Stars of Aerospace, Paris (during the Paris air show). Sept. 16-18--MRO Europe, Cardiff, Wales. Oct. 14--Network-Centric Conference. Washington. Oct. 28-30--A&D Programs & Productivity Conference & Exhibition. Arlington (Tex.) Convention Center.
U.K. aerospace supplier Cobham plc plans to buy Northrop Grumman Corp.'s life-support business, which Northrop inherited when it purchased Litton. Cobham will pay $73 million for the operation, which reported 2002 revenues of $43.7 million.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Air Canada CEO Robert Milton, in his first public speech since the carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, offered his view of the airline industry of the future. Three distinct groups of airlines are evolving: low-cost carriers, fundamentally restructured legacy carriers, and the "walking dead"--those carriers who continue to cling to outdated models. Milton's airline is transforming into a low-cost model, slashing costs and providing more and more customer self-service features, such as check-in kiosks, and web ticketing.
Making Flight EASy Neck and neck with the Gulfstream/Honeywell PlaneView in the race to be the first to market with a Windows-like, PC-type cockpit will be Dassault's EASy.
BIDDING BAN Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport banned NEC Corp. from participating in project bids for a two-month period. The ministry's decision was rendered because of a failure of the NEC-developed air traffic control system that wreaked havoc on Mar. 1: A 1-hr. breakdown affected more than 1,600 flights and 300,000 passengers. The ministry claims the manufacturer was aware of the system defect, but had not alerted the transport authority.
Europe Off to Mars Europe is poised this week to set out on its first mission to Mars, kicking off a new round of solar system exploration that will also take it to the Moon, the asteroid Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Venus, Mercury and Titan. The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter/lander is due to lift off from the Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Cosmodrome on June 2, atop a Starsem Soyuz/Fregat rocket. The Fregat version was developed with ESA funding for ESA's Cluster 2 satellites, launched in mid-2000.
Michael Redenbaugh (see photos) has been named CEO of Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter Textron. He succeeds John Murphey, who has become chairman emeritus. Redenbaugh was vice president/general manager of Honeywell Propulsion Systems and acting president of Honeywell Engines, Systems and Services. He also has been vice president/general manager of Honeywell's Military Helicopter and Industrial Engine business.
TOOL TIME A metal-cutting technology acquired by Cincinnati Machine from bankrupt Swedish firm Modig Machine Tool AB offers a low-cost alternative for producing aerospace parts including stringers. A $7-million order was placed from an unnamed airframe subcontractor for three pieces of equipment that employ the new system. Two high-speed cutting spindles are attached to a rotating drum to cut long, thin parts, avoiding expensive fixturing. Relocation from Cincinnati to Hebron, Ky., is planned for this summer.
Ulrik Svensson has become chief financial officer of Swiss International Air Lines. He succeeds Thomas Hofmann, who has left the company. Svensson was managing director for finance.
Gregory Hall has been named senior vice president-maintenance and engineering for United Airlines. He succeeds Ron Utecht, who has retired. Hall was vice president-line maintenance.
Satellite Power The British Defense Ministry is working on a classified next-generation intelligence system that will allow it to more fully exploit its access to U.S. space-based satellite reconnaissance imagery.
ARMY UAV The U.S. Army is buying three General Atomics I-GNAT unmanned aircraft under an $8-million contract. The first of the aircraft is to be delivered to the service next May. The UAV is supposed to aid the Army in determining how best to employ UAVs as it revamps its force structure under its "Objective Force" concept. I-GNAT carries a 200lb. payload or can stay airborne for 50 hr. The UAV also is used by the CIA.
SOLAR SYSTEM SLICE The Mars Global Surveyor orbiter turned away from the Red Planet May 8 and used its well-exercised camera to capture six other celestial bodies in a single frame. Taking advantage of an alignment in the orbits of Earth and Jupiter, MGS delivered an image that included the two planets, plus the Moon and three of Jupiter's four Galilean satellites--Callisto, Ganymede and Europa.
Virgin Atlantic Airways is pouring cold water over speculation it might be the target of a bid by archrival British Airways. Suggestions that ongoing discussions between Virgin Atlantic and BMI might prompt British Airways (BA) to attempt a block by bidding for Virgin were met with derision from that carrier's senior management.
ASTAR IS BORN The expected new owners and management of DHL Airways have selected another name, Astar Air Cargo Inc. (pronounced A-Star), for the cargo and express carrier (AW&ST May 26, p. 51). The "improved" moniker will become effective June 30 when the $57-million buyout of DHL Airways, led by John Dasburg, former CEO of Northwest Airlines, is scheduled for completion. Dasburg said the name stresses the cargo carrier's revised operating plan.
