GOING ADS-B Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., plans to acquire Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) from UPS Aviation Technologies and install the system in more than 100 training aircraft at the university's facilities in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach. ADS-B provides pilots with increased awareness of air traffic, weather and terrain, according to ERAU.
Russell D. Turner (see photo) has been appointed head of Phoenix-based Honeywell International Engines, Systems and Services, effective June 1. He has been president/CEO of Houston-based Boeing subsidiary United Space Alliance.
WRONG DIRECTION A disturbing, costly turn of events in "rocket science" is that, statistically speaking, commercial communications satellites have become less reliable in recent years, a new study finds. Satellite insurers had their worst year ever in 2001, with claims of $2.2 billion, compared to $550 million in premiums, according to data compiled by Airclaims. The insurers lost money in 2000 and barely made a profit in 1999. And in 1998, the underwriters paid out twice as much as they took in. The new study, by Frost & Sullivan, delves into the details.
Loral Space & Communications Ltd. reported a first-quarter net loss of more than $48 million on a 36% drop in revenue, compared with the same period last year. In the first three months of 2002, Loral posted a $896.3-million net loss, which included an $876.5-million charge related to goodwill. Some analysts believe the heavily leveraged company will be unable to avoid another Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
A criminal investigation into suspected overbilling by Japan Aircraft Manufacturing Co. (also called Nikoki or Nippi), Japan's sixth largest aerospace manufacturer, has put its parent, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, under a cloud as it works on two of the nation's largest defense programs.
Roberto Macedo has been named president of Brazilian airline Varig. He had been head of the sales department. Macedo succeeds Manuel Guedes, who resigned in April.
Your editorial "American Airlines Execs: Greedy, Stupid or Both?" rings true for many companies (AW&ST Apr. 28, p. 58). I have worked for the aerospace industry for over 35 years at some of the largest defense companies. All have the "American Airlines attitude." They aver that workers are the company's greatest asset. Yet, they do not even give them adequate cost-of-living increases. No wonder we have unhappy workers with a "don't give a hoot" attitude.
BRICK AND MORTAR FlightSafety International plans to build a full-service learning center at Farnborough Airport, near London, with initial training scheduled to begin next year. According to the company, the facility will allow operators of business aircraft to train on advanced simulators and training systems, which would be approved by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). Construction of the training center is part of a five-year program by TAG Aviation to transform Farnborough into a major business aviation hub in Europe.
Brazilia's Embraer is nearing certification of the first of its family of new regional jets. The EMBRAER 170 is scheduled for Brazilian, European and U.S. approval this summer. The seven aircraft in the flight test program have accumulated more than 1,700 hr. since first flight in February 2002. The 70-78-seat 170 is to be followed in operation by the 175, the larger of the series, the 195 and the 190. The 170/175s are powered by General Electric CF34-8E turbofan engines. First delivery of a 170 is planned for Alitalia this summer. Embraer photo by Cassio Vasconcelos.
In response to the letter by Hy Chantz (AW&ST Apr. 28, p. 6), the V-22 has taken "40-plus years to capitalize on XV-15 and other tiltrotor technologies" because it is fundamentally a bad idea. The best measure of the elegance of an engineering proposal is the relative ease of implementation. Despite 40 years and barrels of money, tiltrotor technology has killed more than one person for every aircraft built.
Edward F. Crawley, professor and head of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Dept. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va. He succeeds Jack L. Kerrebrock, who is also at MIT and has retired from the board.
Intissar Durham has become head of the Project Management Div and Joyce Sloss head of the Residential Acquisition Div. of Los Angeles World Airports. Durham was manager of LAWA's Residential Soundproofing Div., while Sloss was manager of LAWA's Small Business and Job Opportunities Center.
SARS FEARS IN RUSSIA To avoid the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Russian State Service of Civil Aviation (GSGA) is advising that all Russian carriers suspend sales of flights to China. The ministry of transportation said air services with China could be blocked entirely, although only a single suspected case has been reported thus far. Most Russian airlines have already decreased or even canceled flights to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan owing to very weak demand.
The House reauthorized appropriations last week for the NTSB for Fiscal 2003-06. The bill authorizes $73.3 million this year, $78.7 million for 2004, $83 million for 2005 and $87.5 million for 2006. Funds are to be appropriated as necessary to maintain the NTSB emergency fund at a $6-million level. The reauthorization also allows for expenses related to the NTSB Academy: $3.3 million this year, $4.9 million for 2004, $5 million for 2005 and $5.2 million for 2006.
Lloyd Welch Pogue died of renal failure on May 10 at the age of 103. He began his career as an attorney in Boston, Paris, New York and at the Civil Aeronautics Board in Washington. He became chairman of the CAB in January 1942. In that role, Pogue was the U.S. representative to the Chicago International Civil Aviation conference where, in 1944, the framework for post-war international civil aviation operations was laid out. He left the CAB in 1946 to found a law firm, now known as Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, one of the largest law firms in the world.
FRIEND AND FOE Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Raytheon may have decided to cooperate on the development of the U.S. Air Force's E-10A Multi-sensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A), but that doesn't mean they aren't still fiercely competing for other elements of the very same project. The Air Force this year is competing the battle management element of MC2A--and Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon are on separate teams. The relevant request for proposals is due late this month.
The U.S. Coast Guard has decided to procure two CASA CN-235-300M aircraft to be equipped as the service's Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the first of about 35 that may be ordered under the Integrated Deepwater System program. The two aircraft will be delivered in early 2006 and outfitted with a yet-to-be-defined suite of sensors including maritime patrol radar and Flir. The subsystem vendors have not yet been selected.
A story on the role of U.S. space assets in the war in Iraq incorrectly stated the satellite links used by Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (AW&ST Apr. 28, p. 50). Global Hawks communicate through satellites equipped with Ku-band transponders, not Milstar satellites.
Lockheed Martin has flight tested a new bomb guidance kit to provide improved accuracy to a GPS-guided weapon without adding a seeker. The system, tested on a 1,000-lb. weapon fitted with a range-extending wing kit, uses a two-way data link to receive target updates from Joint-STARS or other platforms. The design is part of Lockheed Martin's entrant in the Air Force's 250-lb.-class Small Diameter Bomb competition, where it is competing with Boeing.
Brazil's Embraer blamed weak civil aircraft demand for a decline in net profit for the first quarter ended Mar. 31. It totaled $59 million, or 8 cents per share, compared with $76 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Deliveries in the quarter dropped by nearly a third, to 23, in the first three months of this year, versus 30 in the year-ago period.
ATC SYNCHRONICITY Boeing Air Traffic Management is set to deliver its first work package May 23 to the Eurocontrol Experimental Center (EEC) for its effort to introduce a system for airports, air traffic control centers and aircraft operators to synchronize their traffic flow in real time between airspace sectors. Called Project Cames (Cooperative ATM Measures for a European Single Sky), it focuses on operational procedures and is aimed at avoiding traffic overloads and maximizing system productivity.
SEA PLANES Even prior to the Iraq war the Navy was showing interest in lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles, but the war certainly boosted the case for those dirigibles, says Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, commander of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command. One of the big war lessons is the need for an intermediate logistics capacity, faster than 20-kt. ships of today (or even the envisioned 30-kt. "fast" transports), and with more cargo-hauling capacity than the Air Force's largest airlifter, the C5.
AgustaWestland last week picked Bell Helicopter Textron as its U.S. partner to build the EH101, should the companies be successful in competitions for either a new presidential helicopter or a follow-on U.S. Air Force combat search-and-rescue rotorcraft.
UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, wants the U.S. bankruptcy court overseeing its case to approve a settlement that would restructure the carrier's debts to General Electric Corp. GE has $1.9 billion in leases and other financing with the airline.
With the last big battle fought and won in Iraq, the short attention spans of Wall Street and Main Street are already shifting from nightly tales of high-tech weapons and heroic exploits to concerns about the domestic economy and other pressing issues. The Pentagon, however, is focusing on "lessons learned" which will ultimately direct future spending to programs that were the "poster children" of the war, such as unmanned vehicles, smart munitions and network-centric warfare enablers.
