STRETCHING THE MINUTEMEN The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) is facing a potential loss of 80% of its air defense resources in September. Air National Guard (ANG) personnel comprise most of Norad's quick-response forces, and many of them were called up after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. By regulation, they are limited to a two-year activation. Units flying combat air patrols (CAPs) over the U.S.
The article "Fretting About Frax" (AW&ST May 26, p. 70) should have stated that the U.K. and French transport ministries would not recognize fractionally owned aircraft as private, despite the introduction of new FAA rules for such aircraft under Part 91.
BLACK-FLAGGED Germany and France will not participate in next year's U.S. Air Force Red Flag exercise. Contrary to the way it may look, USAF insists it isn't being vindictive and merely punishing Paris and Berlin for their opposition to the war in Iraq. Slots available to international participants were curtailed due to increased U.S. requirements, Pentagon officials maintain. Germany will participate in a Red Flag exercise later this year, having secured the slot last year before the international fracas occurred.
CAPTAINS' REQUEST In a SARS-prevention effort, the 1,200 members of Japan Airlines' captains' union requested late last month that the airline, along with government health and transport ministries, suspend flights to and from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. To compensate for loss of revenues on these routes and to increase aircraft utilization rate, JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are promoting travel to non-SARS-afflicted resort destinations, such as Hawaii.
RETURN TO FLIGHT The focus of activity in the aftermath of the Columbia accident is shifting to Washington, where NASA headquarters faces growing scrutiny on a number of fronts. The accident investigation board is settling into D.C. quarters in hopes of producing a report before Congress heads off on its August recess. The board plans one final public hearing to probe management, policy and budget issues at NASA, as well as an interview with former Administrator Daniel S.
New Kid on the Block Thales Avionics is banking on its pioneering role as supplier of the first interactive cockpit for a major civil transport to help carve a niche that has proven largely elusive in the business and general aviation market.
AUSSIE SAM Saab has won a $42.5-million contract from the Australian army for new air defense equipment. The short-range air defense system deal includes Saab Bofors Dynamics-built RBS70 man-portable laser-guided missiles, Lockheed Martin portable search and target acquisition radars and a tactical command and control system (TaCCS). Deliveries to the 16th Air Defense Regiment of the Royal Australian Artillery are to be completed by January 2006.
THE ENVIRONMENTALLY DRIVEN TRANSITION TO REMOVE LEAD from electronics is reanimating an old threat to reliability--tin whiskers. These single-crystal, electrically conductive hair-like structures grow from pure tin surfaces. In the mid-1980s, USAF discovered whiskers inside tin-plated lids of hermetically sealed hybrid circuits when investigating reliability problems with the then-12-year-old APG-63 radar system (AW&ST June 30, 1986, p. 65). Tin-lead alloys suppressed whisker growth.
Stephen J. Gambone has been appointed senior vice president/chief financial officer of Keystone Ranger Holdings Inc., West Chester, Pa. He was controller/chief accounting officer for the Teleflex Corp., Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Gambone succeeds James McCaughan, who has resigned.
If Boeing wants to recapture its dominance as a commercial airliner manufacturer with the 7E7, it needs to include one small change: a non-recirculating air conditioning system. Yes, it will hurt fuel efficiency, but it will become the aircraft of choice, even at a higher cost, for most travelers.
Air Canada has reached tentative agreements with all of its unions except the Air Canada Pilots Assn., which is considering the company's latest proposal. The offer is consistent with the cost-savings target set by the carrier, according to company officials. Cost reductions in the agreements reached as of late last week were obtained primarily through productivity improvements, including job cuts and wage rollbacks. The agreements are subject to member ratification.
B-2A SPIRIT SIM L-3 Communications' subsidiary Link Simulation and Training will upgrade pilot and maintenance training programs for the U.S. Air Force's B-2A Spirit stealth bomber. The chief improvement will focus on simulating the airplane's Link-16 Center Instrument Display/In-Flight Replanning System to provide technical and operational improvements to the bomber's tactical data link capabilities. According to the company, this is part of a continuous upgrade initiative aimed at maintaining concurrency with the B-2A's weapons system.
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.
