Charles Somerville has become manager of the Mooney Product Services sector of the Mooney Airplane Co., Kerrville, Tex. He was finance manager. Rich Lueckenotte has been named controller and Dan Apel an advanced projects engineer for Mooney Airplane. Apel was a senior engineer for parent company Mooney Aerospace Group, Long Beach, Calif.
RESHUFFLE UNDERWAY Triumph Group Inc. has announced a major realignment of its operations, including the designation of its Metals Group as a discontinued operation at the end of last month. The company's Structures Group and Control Systems were combined, as were the Operational Components Group and the Gas Turbine Services Group. In addition, Triumph Aftermarket Services Group will be expanded to include two companies, Advanced Materials Technologies and Aerospace Technologies.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 18 JetBlue orders 65 A320s, takes options for 50 more 19 SARS may delay Cathay Pa- cific's use of rights to China WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 22 World's airlines face an even more elusive foe in SARS 24 European carriers increas- ingly worried about impact 26 Canadians call 'stay-home' advisory an 'overreaction' 28 IATA fears losses from SARS could top $10 billion 36 Row over engine threatens to further delay A400M
Low-cost carriers continue to play a key role in Airbus' aggressive quest for sustained sales, defying the long-lasting crisis that has endangered several mainline carriers. JetBlue Airways late last week signed a firm order for an additional 65 A320s and optioned another 50 aircraft.
Bombardier Aerospace said U.K-based FlyBE (formerly British European) has placed a firm order for 17 Q400 turboprops valued at $362 million, with options for 20 more. The deal is worth up to $818 million. Deliveries of the 78-seat aircraft are to begin this quarter.
SIA GROUNDS THREE A340S Capacity demand restraints have prompted Singapore Airlines to ground its three remaining Airbus A340-300s, which were due to be phased out at year-end. Its nine remaining A310s are to be phased out in June, five months ahead of schedule. SIA originally had 17 A340s and 23 A310s. The A340s were replaced by Boeing 777s; SIA is still searching for a midsize aircraft.
BAE Systems Platform Solutions has delivered the first Vehicle Management Computer (VMC) to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth. The VMC will be installed for testing in the F-35 Vehicle Systems Integration Facility that simulates all systems of the airplane. The F-35 is designed to have three interconnected VMCs, each capable of managing digital flight control, hydraulic, fuel and electrical systems independent of the other two, providing triple redundancy.
After more than three months of negotiations to finalize Poland's purchase of 48 F-16 Block 52s from Lockheed Martin, the two parties signed an offset agreement that essentially closes the $3.5-billion deal. Under the terms, Lockheed Martin commits to more then $6 billion in offsets. The effects of the offsets should net Poland several billion dollars more in economic benefits, Lockheed Martin officials said.
The new U.S. owner of the 328JET program plans to focus on improving service for the existing fleet of 200 aircraft but could resume production of the twinjet in Germany as early as this summer. AvCraft Aviation CEO Ben Bartel said that since his company took control of the former Fairchild Dornier program five weeks ago, he has identified about 150 new prospects for the 328JET. He cited this as a testament to the aircraft's popularity despite the shutdown of production caused by the Fairchild Dornier bankruptcy.
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products has selected BAE Systems to develop the laser guidance system for the U.S. Army's advanced precision kill weapon system Block I program, under a $26.7-million agreement.
HOW GOETH UNITED, GOETH DIA With Denver International Airport's future inextricably linked to United's, the Denver City Council Airport Commission has been giving some serious "what-to-do?" thought in the event of the airline's liquidation. Pullout of the airline, which accounts for 36% of the airport's traffic, would have deleterious side effects. The commission said its plan in the event of potential liquidation would aim to mitigate the impact of United's departure.
Thomas C. Kennedy has become senior vice president/controller of Northwest Airlines. He succeeds Hiram Cox, who is now chief financial officer of the Central Parking Corp. Kennedy has been appointed vice president-financial planning and analysis.
Tom Henderson has become vice president-strategic business development for ASI Entertainment Inc. of Seattle. He was vice president-business development for Thales In-Flight Systems.
FIRST FLIGHT The first preproduction prototype of Cessna Aircraft Co.'s Citation CJ3 made its initial flight Apr. 17 from McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kan. Pilots Dan Morris and Russ Williams flew the twin-engine jet for 1.7 hr., checking stability and control, landing gear operation and engine/airframe systems including dual-channel, full authority digital engine controls for the Williams FJ44-3A engines, and upgraded Collins avionics. Cessna has 160 orders for the CJ3, which is designed for single-pilot operation and has an IFR range of 1,664 naut. mi.
The British Royal Air Force is beginning to consider the implications of its use of precision-guided weaponry in the Iraqi conflict, both with the intent of replacing expended inventory and with regard to future air-to-surface needs. "Operation Telic," as Britain dubbed its involvement, saw the RAF operational debut of several weapons, including the Storm Shadow cruise missile and AGM-65G Maverick, as well as the deployment of a low-collateral-damage bomb.
It became all too clear to the world's airlines last week that the sometimes fatal severe acute respiratory syndrome that surfaced in China late last year also poses a threat to the economic vitality of an already battered and bruised industry. So far, just 4,400 "probable" cases of SARS have been recorded worldwide and about 260 deaths, but the fear of contracting SARS has affected millions of people and prompted the majority of travelers to the most affected areas to cancel or postpone their trips.
The letter in which President Bush was called a "brain-dead draft-dodging coward" is highly excoriating and offensive to all of us that highly respect the man that brought respect back to the office of the presidency (AW&ST Apr. 14, p. 6). Bush is the President of the U.S. He should be respected by even you and your staff in not printing these types of inflammatory statements. I appreciate different opinions, even contrary ones that oppose my points of view. It is repugnant to me to see this printed in a periodical that I have respected.
MONEY WORRIES NASA has some missionary work to do on two of the big-ticket items in its Fiscal 2004 budget request, and not just on Capitol Hill. David Radzanowski, who oversees NASA spending in the White House Office of Management and Budget, tells a Women In Aerospace symposium it may be "a couple of years" before OMB gets a handle on the total cost of Project Prometheus, a space nuclear power effort, and a little less than that for the manned Orbital Space Plane. "Where we are now is we don't know the cost," Radzanowski says.
Organized labor has every right to be infuriated with the senior management of AMR Corp., the parent of American Airlines, for the back room wheeling-and-dealing to make sure the company's top 45 people were financially protected in case of a bankruptcy filing. All this was going on at the same time as the executive suite gang was pressuring thousands of lower-level employees for cuts in wages and benefits that will diminish their quality of life.
BREAKING CAMP Japan's Rocket System Corp. will be disbanded when the H-IIA launch program is transferred from the National Space Development Agency to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 2005. RSC was formed in 1990 to market the H-II by 30 Japanese companies involved in the launcher's development, including MHI as the prime contractor. By the mid-1990s, it had received 30 launch reservations, but all were canceled after the H-II suffered repeated failures. Now, with the H-IIA upgrade in place, MHI is negotiating with Hispasat Corp.
To understand why the likes of JetBlue Airways Corp. strike terror in the hearts of Delta Air Lines and other large legacy carriers unfortunate enough to have to compete head-to-head against the New York-based operator, look no further than JetBlue's performance in the quarter ended Mar. 31. "The operating margin says it all," Merrill Lynch analyst Michael J. Linenberg said.
Two squadrons of Pioneer unmanned aircraft operating in Iraq feature a new sensor suite that allowed the system to better support the march of the 1st Marine Div. from Kuwait to Baghdad. The sensor payload provides users with a color daylight television feed and an improved forward-looking infrared picture. The payload enhancement "made a huge difference," said Lt. Col. Robert Rice, commanding officer of VMU-2. Both sensors also have much better magnification levels than the ones that were replaced.
ANTENNA RANGE FOR CHINA Astrium will supply a compact antenna test range to the Chinese Academy of Space Technology that it says will be the largest facility of the type ever to be installed. The 12-million-euro ($13-million) system, to be furnished through EuraSpace--a joint venture of Astrium and the China Aerospace Corp.--will serve geostationary Earth-orbit satellites from 1-100 GHz. It is to enter operation in 2005.
MAINTENANCE PROGNOSTICS Boeing will use Air France, American Airlines and an as-yet unnamed Asian carrier to provide inflight testing of its Airplane Health Maintenance data-monitoring and prognostic service before formally introducing it next year.
