Boeing's first 777-300ER flight test aircraft and General Electric's 747 propulsion testbed fly in formation over Washington state. The 777-300ER is powered by two 115,000-lb.-thrust GE90-115B engines, and the flying testbed is fitted with one of the powerplants on its port wing. Flights of the GE90-115B on the 747 concluded last week (see p. 50). Certification of the GE90-115B-powered 777-300ER is expected in early 2004. Boeing photo by Joe Parke.
NICMOS NEWS A team of European and U.S. scientists has used the revived Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph (Nicmos) on the Hubble Space Telescope to reinforce recent findings about when the first stars formed. A team headed by Germany's Wolfram Freudling examined three quasars some 12.8 billion light-years distant with Nicmos and found large amounts of iron, which is formed when stars explode as supernovas.
HOLD UP Defense Minister George Fernandes has told a U.S. House of Representatives delegation of India's concern that two years after approving Israel Aircraft Industries Phalcon airborne early warning and control system radars for sale, Washington has yet to give clearance for the supply. Washington gets into the act because the Phalcon uses U.S.-made components. Last year, the Indian air force completed specifications for the project--a joint venture between Israel, Russia and India--that includes mounting the Phalcon and Greenpine radars on an Iluyshin IL-76 platform.
It's time for a thorough, unbiased study of the recirculated air demands for trans- and intercontinental flights. Years of complaints from passengers and flight attendants about air quality on long-range flights have been dismissed as trivial or proven inconsequental to health problems.
STICKY PROBLEM NASA and Boeing are studying whether the post-Columbia delay in International Space Station assembly might ultimately hamper deployment of the station's big solar arrays once they reach orbit. At issue is whether to return the remaining sets of 240-ft.-long arrays to Boeing facilities in California for deployment tests, or keep them at the Kennedy Space Center where they have been awaiting launch to the station.
The trend that began with the U.S. quickly emptying Turkey and Jordan of its warplanes and troops after the end of fighting in Iraq is accelerating as part of the effort to solve two nagging Pentagon problems--local opposition to U.S. troops abroad and the associated cost of keeping them there.
Eric A. Mendelson, president of the Flight Support Group of the Heico Corp., Hollywood, Fla., has received the Outstanding Achievement in Aviation Maintenance Award from Aviation Week's Overhaul and Maintenance magazine. He was cited for his "innovation in growing the acceptability and availability of aftermarket replacement parts" to help the commercial airline industry reduce its maintenance costs. Also, Jurgen Weber, chairman of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, was honored with the L.
CAUTION AND WARNING The Pentagon should consider delaying continued low-rate production of a key helicopter electronic warfare program, says the Defense Dept.'s inspector general (IG). The Army and Special Operations Command (Socom) have been developing the Suite of Integrated Radio-Frequency Countermeasures (SIRFC) to protect various rotorcraft against radar-guided air defense missiles.
BANKRUPTCY COURT A U.S. bankruptcy judge has cleared ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Ltd. to buy a 54% stake in the Globalstar L.P. low-Earth-orbit communications satellite network for $55 million, pending regulatory approval, as the Loral-led "Big LEO" emerges from Chapter11 protection. Loral Space & Communications, Qualcom Inc., Globalstar bondholders and other creditors will split the remaining equity in the company, which fell victim to the same inflated market expectations that claimed fellow LEO pioneer Iridium (AW&ST Feb. 25, 2002, p. 95).
Leif Andersson has been appointed vice president-sales and customer service of the Aircraft Service International Group, Orlando, Fla. He was operations director for North America of SAS Scandinavian Airlines. Andersson succeeds Kevin Worley, who is now vice president-marketing and business development. And, Worley succeeds Dan Sellas, who has become vice president-operations.
William B. Scott (Colorado Springs), William B. Scott (Olney, Tex.)
The U.S. Forest Service and other government agencies are facing the imminent 2003 wildfire season with 25% fewer retardant-delivery large air tanker aircraft than in 2002, and a diminished budget for helicopter and single-engine air tanker contracts. The agencies have formulated a skeletal plan to modernize the nation's aerial firefighting fleet, but funding remains questionable.
Jeff Scime has been appointed vice president-operations for Avexus Inc. of San Diego. He was director of North American professional services for Sybase Inc.
NASA's Galex ultraviolet telescope is sealed into the nose shroud of its Orbital Sciences Pegasus XL during preparations that led to successful launch of the $71-million spacecraft Apr. 28 off Cape Canaveral. The 609lb. Galex spacecraft is the first NASA satellite designed to survey the formation of galaxies in the ultraviolet wavelength. Total cost of the spacecraft and booster is $94 million. Orbital Sciences' Stargazer L-1011 launch aircraft dropped the satellite over the USAF Eastern Range about 100 mi.
NASA managers and space shuttle engineers are beginning to work on some of the tasks they expect the Columbia Accident Investigation Board will recommend, hoping to get a leg up on the board's report for as quick a return to flight as possible.
Jim Amador (see photos) has been named Southeast U.S. sales director for narrow-body business jets and Jeff Loichinger mid-Atlantic sales director for Bombardier Aerospace of Montreal. Jim Bunke has been appointed Midwest U.S. sales director for wide-body aircraft.
William D. Hall, former editor of Aerospace Daily, died Apr. 14 from lung cancer, at home in Alexandria, Va. He was 77. Hall retired in the early 1990s after leading the newsletter since the late 1960s. He had worked at United Press International at several locations before moving to Washington. Aerospace Daily is a product of the Aviation Week group and The McGraw-Hill Companies.
6, 8 Correspondence 10 Who's Where 12-13 Market Focus 15 Industry Outlook 17 Airline Outlook 18-19 World News Roundup 21 In Orbit 23 Washington Outlook 56 Inside Business Aviation 61 In Defense 62-63 Classified 64 Contact Us 65 Aerospace Calendar
Due in part to budget concerns, the Transportation Security Administration last week said it will cut its 55,600-airport screener workforce by 6,000--half of them by May 31 and the remaining 3,000 positions by Sept.30.
SALES OF USED AIRCRAFT IN THE U.S. ARE DISMAL and the outlook for the remainder of this year and beyond is equally bleak. "It's the worst market I've seen in 30 years," said Rick Engles of aircraft brokerage company Vance & Engles, based near Washington. He estimates that 40% of the international business jet and turboprop fleet is up for sale, but buyers are almost nonexistent. Prices for used aircraft in all segments are continuing to fall as the market approaches what Engles calls "stagnation." He blames the weak economy for the industry's troubles.
MARKED FOR LIFE Lockheed Martin implemented a certified parts program for the C-130 Hercules aircraft. Selected parts manufacturers will be authorized to apply a unique and distinctive hologram to each structural part they make. According to David J. Posek, president of Aircraft & Logistics Center, the use of the hologram became necessary with the proliferation in the market of C-130 parts with the unauthorized use of the company's data and part numbers.
Ibis Aerospace's Ae-270 utility/business aircraft is scheduled to obtain FAA certification by the end of the year, with first delivery planned for early 2004. The Texas-based company and its main partner, Czech manufacturer Aero Vodochody, have inked firm orders for 67 aircraft and options for an additional six. Taiwan's AIDC is also participating in the program. Five Ae-270 prototypes have now flown. One is seen in tests in the Czech Republic (above).
U.S. Air Force Space Command is proposing to field a small inventory of special-purpose Minuteman IIIs while starting development of a long-term replacement of the intercontinental ballistic missile force.
Robert Isom has been appointed senior vice president-customer service of Northwest Airlines. He succeeds Dirk McMahon, who has left the company. Isom was vice president-international and has been succeeded by Fred Deschamps, who has been promoted from Pacific division director of finance and administration.
Michael Mecham (San Francisco), William Dennis (Kuala Lumpur)
Asian carriers have weathered recession and terrorism, but the mysterious severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus is another matter. It threatens to erode the financial reserves of many, and has disrupted network operations for all. Asian heads of government met in Bangkok last week to map strategy as carriers continued damage-control measures to their already weakened schedules. Meanwhile, frightened passengers are skirting common routings if they choose to make transcontinental flights.
The Boeing X-45B unmanned strike aircraft program is being restructured in mid-stride to meet the needs of both the Navy and the Air Force, its original customer.
