David M. North (Sao Jose Dos Campos), David M. North (Gaviao Peixoto)
The first of Embraer's new 70-120-passenger aircraft, the EMBRAER 170, is due to enter service in the next several months. It introduces the Brazilian manufacturer's next family of transports, designed specifically for the regional and airline market.
MILITARIZED AIRLINERS Elta Systems and Israel Military Industries (IMI) are teaming to develop a military-like electronic warfare self-protection system for commercial airliners. The two partners hope to complete development of the Flight Guard system by year-end. The work is being supervised by Israel's Civil Aviation Authority. Flight Guard marries Elta's radar-based missile warning system with an IMI countermeasures dispenser. Both companies are drawing on work done for the Israeli Air Force.
It's about time at last to launch the replacement for the U.S. Air Force's aging fleet of Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The Boeing 767 tanker derivative seems to be the best aircraft to fill the requirements. If USAF really needs a backup, why not choose the 777? It would be foolish for U.S. taxpayers' money to buy European-built Airbus A330 tankers. It is a matter of jobs, common sense, security and pride.
Lawmakers are threatening to cut funding for the U.S. Air Force's F/A-22 fighter, largely out of frustration with the lack of progress in its development, particularly with software. In the first round of congressional action on the $400-billion defense spending measure for Fiscal 2004, Senate authorizers stripped two aircraft from the F/A-22 procurement request and approved the purchase of only 20. The committee fully funded the research and development portion of the Air Force's request.
Russian investigators studying Soyuz TMA-1 onboard data tapes believe the spacecraft could have shifted into a 9g ballistic mode during return from the International Space Station because of a combination of the reentry control system and software interactions that played against each other. Investigators also said it took search aircraft 2 hr. to find the ISS Expedition 6 crew because although there was 12 min.
HAULING THE FREIGHT Leasing company Ansett Worldwide has signed an agreement with Precision Conversions LLC of Portland, Ore., to convert two Boeing 757-200 passenger jets into freighters with options to convert additional airframes. Work on the first airplane is scheduled to begin late this year and be completed as a 757-200PCF late in 2004. It would have a maximum takeoff weight of 250,000 lb. Conversion of the second aircraft is scheduled for completion by the end of next year, according to Ansett Worldwide.
CONNECTING AT TORONTO When it opens Terminal 1 this fall, Toronto Pearson International Airport will debut SITA's next-generation airport/airline infotech management system. Called AirportConnect, it builds on SITA's Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) system, which airlines worldwide began using in 1984. SITA, the airline industry's biggest infotech service provider, has been migrating airports and carriers to Windows NT for some time.
The World Health Organization removed Toronto from its SARS travel-alert list. The WHO considered the transmission chain broken when no suspected cases had occurred in the city for 20 days, twice the incubation period.
The U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee last week unanimously passed the four-year, $59-billion FAA reauthorization bill that provides funding through Fiscal 2007 for aviation safety, security and infrastructure enhancements. The bill, dubbed "Flight 100" for the centennial of powered flight, will pick up where the current authorization, AIR21 (or the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act for the 21st Century) leaves off, when it expires this year.
BE PREPARED Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani believes terrorists will once again try to mount "unanticipated" types of attacks in the U.S. like the unexpected crashing of aircraft into buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. Here for The McGraw-Hill Companies Homeland Security Summit & Exposition, he recalled what a judge told him about preparedness when he was a young trial lawyer--spend 4 hr. preparing for every hour in the courtroom, then if something unexpected comes up at trial, the broad preparation allows you to think on your feet. So on Sept.
After months on hold, efforts to develop a next-generation Global Positioning System are moving smartly ahead, with the U.S. Air Force expected to release a request for proposals next month. Phase A contracts, worth $20-25-million and lasting 21-29 months, are to follow in September. They would help define requirements. First launch of a GPS III satellite is being eyed for Fiscal 2012, and possibly as early as Fiscal 2010.
Hawaiian Airlines CEO John Adams offered to step down and institute sweeping governance changes of the company in order to continue "the last mile of this marathon"--the restructuring of the airline under Chapter 11. Adams, who said he would accept the appointment of an examiner, asked Hawaiian's major aircraft lessor, Boeing Capital Corp., to abandon its request for an appointment of a trustee to oversee the case. The company, which filed for bankruptcy protection Mar. 21, was hoping to emerge from Chapter 11 in the fall.
The European Union Court of Justice ruling that the British government must relinquish its golden share in the British Airports Authority is raising questions about similar government holdings in U.K.-based defense aerospace companies. The court ruled the share acted as an investment block.
This integrated portable ground power unit was designed and built in Britain for the American and overseas aviation industry. The Powervamp APS unit combines two functions in a single, compact alloy and stainless-steel case. It is a power supply unit, delivering 28 volts of "clean" stabilized DC power for running onboard avionics and diagnostic systems; and it is a GPU using its own internal battery packs to provide up to 1,600 peak amps for starting helicopter or small turbojet or turbofan engines.
This series of lightweight ball valves is designed for critical, severe-service flight applications. The valve and actuator combinations meet precise weight and open/ close response time requirements. Design pressures cover an extreme range from 50-4,000 psi. These valves are qualified to meet stringent inflight shock and vibration demands. Many types of connections are available.
You stated that 53,000 GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions were dropped on Iraq during the war. This would seem to be consistent with the 14,000 sorties reported flown by USAF (AW&ST Apr. 21, pp. 18, 26).
Andrew B. Steinberg has been appointed FAA chief counsel and Louise E. Maillett senior counsel to FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. Steinberg was vice president/general counsel/secretary of Church & Dwight and has been chief legal and administrative officer for Travelocity.com, chief legal officer of Sabre and associate general counsel at American Airlines. Maillett was acting assistant FAA administrator for its Office of Policy, Planning and International Aviation.
HONEYWELL'S HELO The third pre-production Bell/ Agusta Aerospace Co. AB139 helicopter has completed about 300 hr. of flight testing with the Honeywell Primus Epic Integrated control and display system at Honeywell's facilities at Deer Valley Airport near Phoenix, Ariz. Tom Frazier, chief pilot at Honeywell, said the aircraft is performing well as tests are conducted on the flight control system, autopilot, displays, radios and the flight management system.
The fate of regional airlines--carriers that provide long- and short-haul services--is inextricably tied to their major airline partners. This special report examines how the regionals aim to achieve their basic goal--maintaining vital services to small communities--as they also strive to gain equilibrium and, ultimately, survival in a market not forecast to recover until 2006. Legislative challenges are spotlighted, as well as how the regional jet is an intrinsic part of industry recovery (p.
BUCKING TRENDS In spite of economic storms buffeting its largest resident airline (United), Denver International Airport (DIA) continues to show strong year-over-year passenger growth. The first quarter of 2003 logged a robust 5.6% increase in passenger totals over the same period a year earlier. That figure included a slight dip (1.6%) in March, reflecting the impact of a mid-month blizzard that closed the airport for 32 hr., as well as the war in Iraq, according to DIA's manager of aviation, Bruce Baumgartner.
June 16--Top 100 Stars of Aerospace, Paris (during the Paris air show). Sept. 16-18--MRO Europe, Cardiff, Wales. Oct. 14--Value Creation Conference. The McGraw-Hill Companies Headquarters, New York. Oct. 28-30--A&D Programs & Productivity Conference & Exhibition. Arlington (Tex.) Convention Center. Nov. 18-20--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition. Hong Kong Convention Center. Apr. 20-24--MRO Conference & Exhibition. Cobb Galleria Center, Atlanta. Partnerships
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.
