EADS is restructuring its military business, with the creation of the Defense & Security Systems Div., partly reflecting its failure to establish a new home for its military aircraft business. EADS had been looking to use its military aircraft business as the core of what it dubbed the European Military Aircraft Co. Intended to be initially a joint venture with Italian industry, this failed to come to fruition.
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. (ret.) Arthur K. Cebrowski, director of the Office of Force Transformation at the Pentagon, has led the effort to define "network-centric warfare" and advance it to wide acceptance within the Defense Dept.
Scott Galdi has been named president and Christine M. Amos executive vice president of Atlantic Aviation Flights Services Inc., Teterboro, N.J. Galdi was executive vice president and Amos senior vice president of The Air Group Inc.
In a major development, the Columbia accident board is now focusing on the separation or fracture of a wing T-seal as a scenario that could have opened a 1-in.-wide vertical slit in the orbiter's leading edge where reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels are joined together end-to-end. The fracture or separation of an RCC panel also continues to be examined, investigators said.
Aviation Week & Space Technology's Laureates Hall of Fame recognizes all of the Laureates winners selected by the magazine's editors since 1988. Each year, the current Laureates are added to the Hall of Fame following the award ceremony. The Hall of Fame display--featuring the Laureate Trophy, Legends plaque and a listing of the members who have been inducted to date--is on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. AERONAUTICS/PROPULSION Pierre Baud Laurent Beaudoin
John Tomblin has been named interim executive director of the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita (Kan.) State University. He has been director of research and development. Tomblin succeeds Skip Loper, who has been interim director and will remain associate vice president-research. Succeeding Tomblin is James Locke, an associate professor of aerospace engineering. Dale Cope has become manager of the Aging Aircraft Research Laboratory. He was a senior structural engineer for Boeing.
Although air and space power were profound contributors to ousting the Saddam Hussein regime from Iraq, they could be big losers in Washington's budget wars. Senior Air Force and space leaders appear to be concerned that lawmakers and citizens will not appreciate the important--but relatively low-profile--contributions made by airmen and space professionals during Gulf War II, because they were not as visible as ground forces.
BALLOONING BUDGET The Navy's plan to more closely integrate tactical aviation with the Marine Corps may have done much to reduce the service's modernization challenge in the fighter arena, but it does little in other communities. For non-fighter aircraft "there is a bow-wave ahead of us that is impressive," warns Vice Adm. Joe Dyer, who heads the Naval Air Systems command.
Regarding the letter from Gareth Williams of the European Space Agency (AW&ST Mar. 31, p. 6), yes, "the current GPS system is controlled by a single country"--the one that paid for it and now depends on it while fighting a war. Of course, Williams is right about why the rest of the world should not "use a system so compromised by the political and military whims of the U.S." Williams also wrote: "America is the sole superpower in our world, but it does not rule the world."
Bryan T. Moss has been named president of Gulfstream Aerospace, reporting to General Dynamics Corp. Chairman/CEO Nicholas D. Chabraja. Moss, who had been vice chairman of Gulfstream since 1995, succeeds Bill Boisture, Jr., who retired. Before he joined Gulfstream in 1995, Moss was president of the Business Aircraft Div. of Bombardier Aerospace since 1992.
TIME TO DIET Almost all tactical aviation programs reach this point somewhere in their lives, and now the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is running into weight problems. When Lockheed Martin projected the weight of the aircraft, it found it to be about 2% above target at the preliminary design review point. But Tom Burbage, the company's JSF general manager, said the weight is still below the not-to-exceed level where performance would be affected, particularly for the short takeoff vertical landing version.
In the end, the Fiscal 2003 Iraq war supplemental came close to what everyone expected in the way of airline and airport relief. But it demands something in return--limits on executive compensation, and a General Accounting Office analysis of carriers' attempts to make themselves profitable again and repair their balance sheets. The $3.8-billion aid package, adopted Apr. 12 after resolving differences between House and Senate bills, provides:
USMC Lt. Gen. (ret.) Frank Libutti has been nominated as undersecretary for information analysis and infrastructure protection in the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. He is deputy commissioner for counterterrorism in the New York Police Dept. and former special assistant for homeland security in the Defense Dept.
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Despite the travel downturn due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the war in Iraq, Thai Airways International firmed plans last week to order five A340-600s and three A340-500s for delivery in 2005-06. In a potentially big win, industry sources report that Japan Airlines is ready to order its first Airbus transport--the A380. How many and when has not been disclosed.
SHORTER WEEK Lufthansa said it plans to introduce shorter work hours for ground staff starting in mid-April in anticipation of a worsening outlook that's expected to lead to an operating loss for the first quarter. The airline declined to provide figures, but Uwe Weinreich, an analyst with HypoVereinsbank, estimated the loss could reach 300 million euros ($324 million).
Now that moving-map displays are available to reduce runway incursions, the airlines are so strapped for cash that they can't afford to invest in highly capable systems to navigate on the airport surface. And the FAA and industry are engaged in a heated debate about a more affordable version of the display.
Continental Airlines reported a loss of $221 million in the first quarter as weak passenger revenues, soft bookings and rising fuel prices combined to give the nation's fifth-largest carrier its first bloody nose of the year. The Houston-based airline was "severely impacted" by the war in Iraq, bad winter weather, the escalating cost of fuel, and the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that decimated Asia traffic, said Gordon Bethune, chairman/CEO. He said fuel costs alone rose 63.7% ($135 million) compared with the same quarter in 2002.
Airbus still believes it can weather growing market uncertainties and preserve a stable rate of deliveries. However, executives of the European manufacturer acknowledge they are considering actions to take in case commercial transport deliveries decrease further.
Bill Fife, who is vice president/aviation business line manager for DMJM+Harris of New York and former general manager of aviation planning and technical services for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has received a certificate of appreciation from the FAA Eastern Region. For the past 15 years, Fife has chaired a Peer Review Group of Airports within the U.S., Canada and U.K., which offers airport owners and consultants the opportunity to exchange information and discuss issues and solutions to challenges.
A hybrid rocket engine with self-pressurizing oxidizer is one of the keys to low cost for Scaled Composite's SpaceShipOne. A hybrid engine sprays oxidizer into the long case holding the rubbery fuel and, unlike normal solid rocket motors, can be shut off by closing the oxidizer valve. Because the fuel is separate from the oxidizer, it is not a hazardous substance, eliminating the expensive precautions required for solid rockets.
Steve Lee has been promoted to senior vice president/chief financial officer from senior vice president-marketing and business development of Signature Flight Support, Orlando, Fla. John (Cy) Farmer has been promoted to vice president-operations from vice president-Southeast U.S. He succeeds Doug Crowther (see photo), who has become vice president-Eastern U.S. David Vaughan has been promoted to vice president-sales and marketing from vice president-Western U.S.
USN Cdr. Timothy J. Block has been appointed commanding officer of Carrier Airborne Sqdn. 121 at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. He succeeds Cdr. Thomas J. Quinn, who is now assistant air officer on board the USS Ronald Reagan. Block was executive officer of VAW 121 and will be succeeded by Cdr. Jeffrey L. Bay. He has been action officer in the C4 Directorate of the Joint Staff.
AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, averted filing for bankruptcy protection last week following a last-minute voting extension that resulted in the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) approving pay concessions of $340 million.
A new kid has moved into the low-fare carrier neighborhood. On Apr. 15, Delta Air Lines launched service of its low-fare subsidiary, Song, from New York JFK International Airport to West Palm Beach, Fla., with a Boeing 757-232. Airport neighbor JetBlue Airways is likely sizing up the competition.
