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.
USAF Maj. Gen. James N. Soligan has been named incoming chief of staff at U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. He will succeed Maj. Gen. Jack Holbein, Jr., who will be retiring. Soligan was deputy chief of staff at United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea.
USN Rear Adm. (ret.) Jeffrey Cook (see photo) has been appointed vice president/chief technology officer for the Information & Electronic Systems Sector of BAE Systems North America, Nashua, N.H. He was director for research and development and had been vice commander of Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSN. operate nearly 10,000 aircraft, with business jets weighing less than 29,999 lb. the most popular type. According to the NBAA, members flew their jets an average of 425 hr. in 2002; utilization of piston-powered aircraft averaged 292 hr. while turboprops flew an average of 328 hr. Helicopters flew 216 hr. in 2002. Flight departments reported having an average of 2.2 aircraft.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 A400M engine selection plan draws fire 18 Galex ultraviolet telescope propelled into orbit 19 First preproduction prototype SJ30-2 business jet crashes WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 24 Agreement on agenda to re- solve Ariane 5 problems 25 Governments push satellite makers to merge 26 Russian Soyuz to the rescue of space station 27 Gyro failure puts Hubble on thinner ice 38 Unmanned X-45C will offer increased size and range
Most of Elliott Sclar's assertions about NavCanada in "Privatizing ATC Is a Bad Idea" are untrue (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 90). *NavCanada user fees have gone up and down but there has never been a "massive" increase. Even when the forthcoming increase is implemented, the fees will still be lower than when NavCanada took over the air traffic control system in 1996. The user fee passed on to the passenger will, on average, remain lower than the air transportation tax it replaced.
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' District Lodge 776 approved a three-year contract Apr. 27 with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth. The pact includes incremental wage increases, improved retirement benefits, and changes to medical and prescription drug plans. Workers, who had been on strike since early April, returned to the F-16 production line Apr. 28. An LMAC official said the strike will not adversely affect delivery schedules for the fighter.
General Electric's GE90-115B for the Boeing 777-200LR/300ER is the first of a new generation of engines being designed and tested to tougher standards that should enable operators to move beyond the current limitations governing extended twin-engine operations overwater.
Air Canada has locked in its $700-million in secured debtor-in-possession financing through GE Corporate Financial Services. Separately, discussions with the airline, a bankruptcy court-appointed monitor and union leaders concerning labor costs began last week.
Raytheon is carrying out modifications to its AIM-9X imaging-infrared guided missile to allow it to be carried internally on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Initial requirements were for the short-range missile only to be carried externally. The modifications also will allow the missile to be used in a lock-after-launch mode.
Ronald Hays has become chief financial officer of the Maritime Telecommunications Network, Miramar, Fla. He was CFO for BellSouth's Venezuelan subsidiary, Telcel CA.
The central role Airbus played in the decision by Air France and British Airways to end Concorde operations became fully apparent last week, with the press reporting comment attributed to Airbus Chief Executive Noel Forgeard that he would not support any initiative to see the aircraft operated by another airline. Virgin Atlantic Airways chief Richard Branson has been campaigning to be allowed to acquire and operate the BA aircraft. BA Chairman Lord Marshall, in response, said on Apr.
The FAA's proposal to require an easily triggered, uninterruptible hijack mode for airline transponders has drawn near-unanimous opposition. U.S. carriers and other organizations that could face the requirement say its advantages are exaggerated, its compliance schedule unrealistic and costs understated.
Kenneth Sunshine has become chief financial officer of Aurora Flight Sciences, Manassas, Va. He was senior vice president-finance/treasurer of the Orbital Sciences Corp.
American Airlines Capt. Roy I. Steele (Arlington, Tex.)
The top 45 executives of American Airlines were reported to be enrolled in a special fund that shields portions of their pensions from creditors in case the airline goes through a bankruptcy filing. While this is not a new idea for the airline executive, news of the fund was kept under wraps until a required filing the day after American employees were asked to vote to give up a significant portion of their wages. Does anyone wonder why employees mistrust management of the airlines?
Britain is considering shaving the number of Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft it purchases as part of a wide-ranging defense review. Such a move could have far-reaching ramifications for the four-nation program. The outgoing chief of the Defense Staff, Adm. Sir Michael Boyce, confirmed that preparation of the Defense White Paper included examining several so-called legacy systems in order to potentially reduce acquisition numbers. The government plans to publish the document during the third or fourth quarter of 2003.
In the Mar. 31 issue, you published two letters explaining how simple and obvious it will be to avoid future disasters similar to that of the space shuttle Columbia. Bill Ketchum proposed that we develop and build "an orbital turnaround operations facility with a capability for on-orbit maintenance," and Ray Peterson suggested taking two "Gemini capsule-sized lifeboats in the cargo bay."
