With recession at home, war in the Middle East and a tourist-stopping disease from Asia already slowing things down, it may seem odd but some of the biggest names in software are expanding their product lines for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul operations.
John E. (Jack) Riley, the NASA Mission Control commentator who described the Apollo 11 crew's first steps on the Moon, died Apr. 17 of cancer in La Porte, Tex. He was 78. Riley was one of several NASA Mission Control commentators--the "voices of Apollo"--who broadcast Apollo mission events around the world. He joined NASA in 1959 and spent 33 years with the agency. Riley was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom as part of the Apollo 13 team.
Joel M. Chusid has become Pasadena, Calif.-based managing director of sales and marketing for the Americas for China Eastern Airlines. He was vice president-sales and marketing for American Eagle.
ON TO PLUTO NASA has cleared Southwest Research Institute and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to begin building the New Horizons probe and related ground equipment for a January 2006 launch to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. The move marks a turnabout for the Bush administration, which like its predecessor tried to kill New Horizons only to see it gain unrequested funding from Congress (AW&ST May 20, p. 64).
Boeing had a net first-quarter loss of $478 million on revenues of $12.3 billion, reflecting the fact that strong performance in defense wasn't enough to offset fewer airliner deliveries, a drop in value of assets acquired and a need to shore up the company's financing arm.
May 5-8--Aerospace Medical Assn.'s Annual Scientific Meeting. Convention Center, San Antonio. Call +1 (703) 739-2240, ext. 106 or see www.asma.org May 6-8--American Helicopter Society International Annual Forum & Exhibition. Phoenix Civic Plaza. Call +1 (703) 684-6777 or see www.vtol.org May 7-8--Royal Aeronautical Society Flight Simulation Group Conference: "The Impact of Computing Advancements on Flight Simulators & Training Devices." Hamilton Place, London. Call +44 (207) 670-4353, fax +44 (207) 670-4349 or see www.aerosociety.com
Raytheon Co.'s Daniel P. Burnham will retire on July 1, relinquishing his job as chairman and CEO and passing the baton to William Swanson, who is president. After several months of soul-searching, which he initiated with the board of directors, Burnham said he decided that it was time "to go smell the roses with his wife." He is 56. "Decompression" will be his first order of business. After that, he would like to serve on several boards, which more than likely will be the extent of his involvement in the aerospace/defense industry.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. a seventh contract to provide aft fuselages, wing leading edge flaps, most of the left-hand wing boxes, stores management systems and various avionics equipment for Japan's F-2 close air support fighter. The $160-million contract covers eight aircraft and brings to 65 the total number that Lockheed Martin has supported.
BLENDED WING The Air Force's E-8 Joint-STARS wing, a "blended" organization of regulars and reserves, should be the "model" for changing the balance between active duty and reserve forces, says Thomas F. Hall, the assistant Defense secretary for reserve affairs. Such a reorganization would keep deployment demands--eight mobilizations in the last 11 years--from falling on the same people in every emergency. "Hundreds, not thousands" of positions would be shifted between the reserve and active duty forces.
Russia and Indonesia have signed an agreement on weapons sales and cooperation in defense and space, which is intended to fill a gap in supply following a decision in 1999 by the U.S.--the traditional source of equipment for Indonesia's armed forces--to cease supplying military hardware. The accord initially will provide for the delivery of two Sukhoi Su-27 and two Su-30 fighters this October.
AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS LIFTED The FAA has lifted some of the more stringent airspace restrictions that it placed around U.S. cities on Mar. 18 in response to a heightened terrorist threat level. Under Notam 3/2974, New York and Chicago airspace limitations will revert to those in effect prior to Mar. 18 (AW&ST Mar. 24, p. 35). The more severe requirements for Washington airspace remain active.
Sikorsky Aircraft has selected the Silicon Graphics (SGI) Origin 300 compact supercomputer to support engineering modeling on the Comanche helicopter and other programs. Sikorsky runs Fluent computational fluid dynamics simulation and visualization software on SGI Octane2 workstations and Origin 300 server.
Susan Baer, general manager of Newark Liberty International Airport for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and former manager of its LaGuardia Airport, has received the New Jersey State AFL-CIO's Business Award.
SAS SAYS YES TO MOBILE PHONES Scandinavian Airlines is the first airline to allow use of certain mobile phone functions inflight. Passengers must have a phone with "flight-safe mode" capability. When it is switched on in that mode, the phone does not send or receive signals that would impair flight safety. No phone calls are allowed, but passengers may write notes, edit documents, play games, listen to music and take photos with a built-in camera.
Honolulu-based Aloha Airlines is installing Boeing's Enterprise One software to manage airplane configuration and modification information, spare parts tracking, maintenance programs and warranties for the carrier's 737 aircraft. Aloha is the second customer for the software; Royal Brunei Airlines was the first.
MORE SIRTF DELAYS NASA has again delayed launch of the Space Infrared Telescope (SIRTF), this time to August at the earliest, amid further concerns about a Boeing/Alliant Techsystems solid rocket booster on the Delta II launcher. Originally the mission was slipped from mid- to late April in the hope a paperwork review could clear the issue (AW&ST Apr. 21, p. 17). But now engineers are worried that several delaminations of carbon material in the nozzle of one of the Delta's large 46-in.-dia. solids pose a real risk to the flight.
Attempting to mend fences with Washington, French President Jacques Chirac has said France is open to the possibility of a NATO role in Iraq. The comment, made in a phone conversation with President Bush on Apr. 15, was followed by French statements suggesting NATO take charge of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, and that U.N. sanctions against Iraq be suspended.
For analyst John Walsh, who specializes in tracking fleets and manufacturing demand, airlines are in the midst of "mad pricing disease" as they try desperately to generate passenger demand. In that regard, the liquidation of a major carrier might help the industry by shifting capacity, he told Aviation Week's MRO 2003 conference. But Air Transport Assn. chief economist David Swierenga said overcapacity won't be cured by having a carrier fail.
Mary M. Glackin has been appointed assistant administrator for program planning and integration of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She was deputy administrator of NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service.
BIGGEST BIRD Space Systems/Loral has completed static load testing at its Palo Alto, Calif., production facility on Ipstar-1, which at 14,900-lb. launch weight is called the world's largest commercial communications satellite. The spacecraft is being built for Shin Satellite of Thailand and is due for launch in early 2004. Ipstar-1 has 84 spot beams and a total throughput capacity of about 40 Gbps. It will serve as many as 80 million users in an area covering a large portion of Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
The global airline industry, and especially the carriers serving the Asia-Pacific region, faces a new threat to economic health in the form of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This one may turn out to be more damaging than anything that has happened since Sept. 11, 2001.
Richard Dixon has been appointed vice president/human resources officer and Kathy Fox vice president-operations of Ottawa-based Nav Canada. Dixon was vice president-human resources for CN Rail, while Fox was assistant vice president-air traffic services.
PASS THE PANINI, PLEASE United Airlines last week joined the growing list of airlines conducting a test of "food for a fee" service. On Apr. 21-26, United offered food for sale to customers on economy flights that normally do not include meals. Passengers will get two meal choices, a breakfast for $7 and lunch and dinner choice for $10. Food types include grilled turkey panini.
Rudy Dominguez has been named president/chief operating officer and Oscar Hasan vice president-sales and marketing of Viva Airlines, a subsidiary of the Auxer Group, Traverse City, Mich.
Georg Midunsky has become project manager/managing director-elect of "Yellow Cargo" of Lufthansa Cargo, effective July 1. He has been vice president-sales for the Americas. Midunsky will be succeeded by Jurgen Siebenrock, who was vice president-handling for the Americas. Succeeding Siebenrock will be Klaus Holler, who has been head of the Lufthansa Cargo Center Frankfurt. In turn, Holler will be followed by Hjoerdis Gensar, who has been general manager for inflight-international at LSG Sky Chefs in Frankfurt.
