U.S. military aircraft won't be the only notable absence at this year's Paris air show; participation by the U.S. aerospace/defense industry also will be dramatically smaller than in the past. A growing number of contractors are deciding to send far fewer representatives, and at least five major players won't be there at all. While official explanations vary across a wide spectrum--from cost containment to security concerns--lingering tensions between the U.S. and French governments in the wake of the Iraq war most definitely are playing a big role.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week lifted a travel advisory recommending that people not visit Singapore, after no new cases of SARS were reported there for more than 20 days, more than twice the incubation period for the disease. However, the center did keep a less restrictive "travel alert" in place for Singapore reminding passengers there may be SARS in the area and to avoid places like health care settings where it might be transmitted. However, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong are still under advisories recommending against travel there.
The threat of terrorist attacks or politically motivated incidents at remote nuclear missile sites has prompted U.S. Air Force security forces to modify their response tactics when alarms indicate an intrusion. They now expect to arrive on the scene prepared to use lethal force immediately--no questions, no negotiations.
COLUMBIA'S HOPELESS SITUATION The space shuttle Mission Control center at the Johnson Space Center has completed a detailed analysis that shows no viable reentry trajectory changes or other extreme measures, such as throwing 31,000 lb. of equipment and fluids overboard, could have lessened heating enough on the orbiter's damaged left wing to allow the vehicle to have reentered the atmosphere safely.
Despite EADS' big first-quarter loss, executives say new contracts and strict financial discipline should bolster efforts to remain "on track" and achieve healthy results. The cross-border company's revenues dropped 14% from a year ago to 5.52 billion euros ($6.34 billion). Earnings before interest and taxes plunged 59% to 130 million euros, while the quarter's net loss was 93 million euros.
CRS BULLETPROOFING In a tit-for-tat move, British low-cost carrier EasyJet last week said a lawsuit had been filed in the U.S. courts by BulletProof Technologies, the developer of the carrier's present CRS (computerized reservation system) software against Navitaire, a previous CRS provider to EasyJet. The company claims Navitaire is attempting to block U.S. distribution of the software at the heart of the airline's CRS. Navitaire is already pursuing a claim through British courts that the BulletProof CRS infringes copyrights held by the former company.
THE LTN-101E GLOBAL NAVIGATION AIR DATA inertial reference system Northrop Grumman is developing for the Airbus A380 will replace traditional laser gyros and silicon accelerometers with fiber-optic gyros and MEMS silicon accelerometers, and will use Green Hills Software's real-time operating system. A Northrop Grumman autonomous integrity monitored extrapolation algorithm will integrate inertial and GPS measurements.
Jeff Roberts has become executive vice president-aviation training and Nick Leontidis executive vice president-customers for Toronto-based CAE. Roberts was executive vice president-business aviation training, while Leontidis was executive vice president-commercial aviation training.
Passenger surveys told the sad story, said Richard W. Cordell, senior vice president of airport customer service for Delta Air Lines. Passengers were fed up with long lines at airports. "We really had no choice," Cordell said. "We had to change the airport experience. We needed to eliminate hassle at the airport."
Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have signed a long-awaited agreement to cooperate on the Air Force's Multisensor Command and Control Aircraft (MC2A) intended to replace the fleets of E-8 Joint-STARS, E-3 AWACS and, potentially, RC-135 Rivet Joints. Formalizing the business arrangement clears the way for the Air Force to award the team a contract as early as this week.
May 18-21--Regional Airline Assn. Convention. Phoenix Civic Plaza. Call +1 (202) 367-1170 or see www.raa.org May 19-20--Technology Training Corp.'s Sixth Annual Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Conference. Holiday Inn on the Bay, San Diego. Call +1 (310) 563-1223, fax +1 (310) 563-1220 or see www.technologytraining.com June 3-4--Boeing MD-11/MD-10/DC-10/KC-10/KDC-10 Fleet Team Conference. Westin Long Beach (Calif.). Call +1 (562) 436-3000
Kenneth H. Fitzgerald is one of five new members of the board of directors of Toronto-based KnightHawk Inc. He is a chartered accountant. The other new directors are: Timothy J. Armstrong, vice president/corporate counsel of Jetport Inc., Hamilton, Ontario; John Lokker, CEO of Neal Traffic Services Ltd.; D. Kent Sillars, president of Vesta Properties Ltd.; and Cameron G. Belsher, a partner in the firm of Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy, Barristers & Solicitors.
NASDA, ESA VALIDATE LINK Japan's National Space Development Agency and the European Space Agency have successfully tested a S/Ka-band satellite link between ESA's Artemis geostationary technology satellite and NASDA's Adeos II Earth observation spacecraft (below). The full-loop exercise followed successful tests of Artemis' Ka-band image transmission capability in February and a test of the spacecraft's optical link last year (AW&ST Mar. 31, p. 12).
Barely weeks after its inaugural flight, Swiss-based startup Club Airways is already contemplating additions to its new membership-type corporate shuttle network. The airline, which began operating in February, provides twice- daily round trips between Geneva and Paris Le Bourget, London Farnborough and Cannes Mandelieu on the French Riviera to individual or corporate members, using Learjet 45s provided by Bombardier Flexjet Europe. Up to a dozen additional city pairs are being considered, officials said, including routes from Geneva to Frankfurt, Milan and Munich.
I take issue with David Connolly on the subject of "upgrading" FAA pilot certificates (AW&ST Mar. 31, p. 6). *First of all, they are not licenses or identification. The pilot certificate is like a diploma from the FAA, notifying you what aircraft the agency considers you qualified to operate and, like a diploma, has no need of photos.
Steven J. Cortese has been named vice president-programs and budget, Gregory R. Dahlberg vice president-legislative affairs and Jon Malay director of NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration programs for the Lockheed Martin Corp., Bethesda, Md. Cortese was majority staff director for both the Senate Committee on Appropriations and its subcommittee on defense appropriations. Dahlberg was minority staff director of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, and Malay was trained in oceanography and meteorology in the U.S. Navy.
ESA MARS PROPOSALS Scientists have until mid-May to submit payload proposals for a Mars rover to be deployed by ExoMars, a sample return mission planned by ESA under its Aurora planetary exploration program. Opportunities to participate in the rover payload, dubbed Pasteur, are open to investigators from all countries, provided the team includes scientific organizations from at least three European countries and the team coordinator is based in an ESA member state (www.spaceflight.esa.int/users/pasteur).
ROCKWELL COLLINS KAISER ELECTRONICS will deliver 300 joint helmet-mounted cuing systems to the Navy for F/A-18s and USAF for F-15 and F-16s in the next 18 months. The helmet-mounted display system gives pilots flight and weapon symbology for head-up, eyes-out-of-the-cockpit operation of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons. This $30-million low-rate initial production-3 (LRIP-3) contract is expected to be followed by a full-rate production award later this year.
INDIAN METSAT OPERATIONAL India's Insat-3A meteorological and communications satellite is going operational by mid-May, having successfully reached its geosynchronous orbit parking position at 93.5 deg. E. Long. south of the Bay of Bengal. Built by the Indian Space Research Organization, the 6,600-lb. Insat-3A was launched by Arianespace Apr. 10 and its solar sail deployed Apr. 14 as it drifted to its orbital slot. ISRO reports successful testing of the satellite's charge-coupled-device camera and very high-resolution radiometer. The VHRR has a resolution of 1.24 mi.
In a hopeful sign, Australian Airlines is opening services to Bali, the Indonesian resort bombed by Al Qaeda-linked terrorists last October that killed more than 200 persons, the bulk of them Australian tourists. The carrier, a tourist-oriented subsidiary of Qantas, will begin services from Sydney at the end of June, along with flights to the Malaysian state of Sabah. Qantas began picking up its Bali services in February.
Pamela Huggins has been promoted to vice president/treasurer of the Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp. from vice president/controller of Parker's Filtration Group. She succeeds Timothy Pistill, who is now chief financial officer.
By almost any measure--operating earnings, revenue, return on invested capital, cash flow generation--the first quarter provided an impressive display by many of the aerospace/defense industry's small-capitalization companies of knowing how to leverage their strengths.
EasyJet has signed a production/service agreement with the Goodrich Corp. to manufacture wheels, brakes and services for 120 A320 aircraft on order and another 120 on option.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has posted an increased net loss of 416 million euros ($478 million) for fiscal 2002-03 and plans to cut 3,000 jobs in an effort to return to profitability. The airline wants to reduce its unit costs by 10% and annualized costs by 650 million euros beginning in March 2005. "The current industry environment is unprecedented, and we believe the revenue environment has permanently changed," President and CEO Leo van Wjik said. "Our yields are decreasing and our cost base does not currently compensate for this development."
DHL BUYOUT STATUS Negotiations are continuing for the full acquisition of DHL Airways by Chairman and CEO John Dasburg and his backers, but completion could be weeks away. The buyers say the acquisition, though friendly, does involve a business dealing between buyers and sellers, Deutsche Post (which owns under 25%) and a U.S. citizen, William Robinson. Dasburg's buyout is regarded as a counter play to allegations by express package rivals that DHL Airways is controlled by foreign interests, an issue before U.S. Transportation Dept. Judge Ronnie Yoder (AW&ST Apr.
