"GAIN"-ING MOMENTUM The sixth Global Aviation Information Network (GAIN) World Conference is scheduled for June 18-19 in Rome. Steve Predmore, chair of the GAIN steering committee, said the conference will focus on sharing of safety information between airlines as well as exploring solutions to technical, legal and economic challenges facing carriers around the world.
Vicki Bretthauer (see photo) has been appointed president/chief operating officer of DHL Airways Inc. She had been interim CEO/senior vice president-operations. Ray Lutz has been named vice president-business development and strategic planning. Steve Rossum has been promoted to executive vice president/general counsel and head of business transactions from senior vice president-corporate finance/general counsel. Phil Wegescheide has been promoted to vice president-finance/controller from senior director of financial planning and analysis/controller.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Lufthansa Technik has bought half the equity in Airfoil Services Sdn Bhd (ASSB) from MTU Engines. Formerly known as MTU Maintenance Malaysia, the company will focus on repair of low-pressure turbine blades for the CF6-50, CF6-80, CFM-56-3 and V2500 engines. ASSB, located near Kuala Lumpur, overhauls compressor blades for the V2500. The new business arrangement expands ASSB's base to include customers of Lufthansa Technik's Engine Parts & Accessories Repairs operation.
Each year, Aviation Week & Space Technology gives special awards of recognition to young people who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and academic skills, and have chosen to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace. These are the people who will take over where today's leaders and visionaries leave off. Outstanding cadets at the service academies, with a demonstrated interest in aviation, receive Breitling Aerospace watches, courtesy of Breitling USA. This year's Outstanding Cadets are:
OBITUARY: W. Brandt Goldsworthy, a pioneer in the fabrication and application of composites, died from complications following cancer surgery, on Apr. 3 in Torrance, Calif. He was 87. Goldsworthy's wide-ranging work included devising methods to make composites from lunar soil, development of pultrusion techniques, composite tape placement on the V-22 tiltrotor, designing the Convair flying car, creating machinery to build tapered fishing rods, making composite 155-mm. shells for the Army and helping to develop the Chevrolet Corvette.
The French government has agreed to increase funding for European Space Agency programs and transfer engineering responsibility for launcher development from national space agency CNES to ESA, while transforming its Mars Sample Return project into an ESA effort. The government also acknowledged it may sell some or all of its holdings in the Arianespace launch company.
HIP, HIP, ARRAY! Astrium has opened a fully integrated solar array facility in Ottobrun, Germany, that will allow activities related to production of arrays, testing and inspection to be located under one roof. The 14,000-sq.-ft. building includes three parallel assembly lines for panels and halls for integration that are sized to accommodate up to six solar wings, each measuring 23 meters (75 ft.) in length. The new facility is capable of developing and producing a full array in 12 months.
Delta Air Lines, facing what CEO Leo F. Mullin described as the greatest financial crisis in its history, reported a $466-million net loss in the first quarter, or $3.81 loss per share. Excluding unusual items, which included $27 million in pension benefits as a result of workforce reductions, the airline posted a net loss of $426 million or $3.49 per share.
Apr. 27-30--75th Annual American Assn. of Airport Executives Conference & Exposition. Los Angeles Convention Center. Call +1 (703) 824-0500, fax +1 (703) 820-1395 or see www.airportnet.org Apr. 29-30--Air Cargo Management Group's First Air Cargo & Freighter Aircraft Workshop. Elliot Grand Hyatt Seattle. Call +1 (206) 587-6537 or e-mail [email protected] Apr. 29-May 1--National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. & Air Line Pilots Assn. Conference. Doubletree Hotel, Denver. Call +1 (800) 266-0895, ext. 4846 or see www.natcadc.org
TARGETING ROSETTA The European Space Agency favors a fallback scenario that would send its Rosetta comet mission toward Churyumov-Gerasimenko in February 2004. That option--one of three identified late last month for further study (AW&ST Mar. 31, p. 17)--has already been inscribed in the Ariane 5 launch manifest, and "is the most likely scenario," according to ESA science director David Southwood.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO.'S THIRD PRE-PRODUCTION HAWKER Horizon recently completed a flight lasting 7.6 hr. to check operation of various airframe and engine systems. In addition, pilots and flight engineers validated performance projections and evaluated navigation and communication equipment as well as autopilot function. The mission covered 2,227 naut. mi. Plans call for making another flight of longer duration to demonstrate the business jet's range capability of 3,400 naut. mi.
THE NUMBER OF GENERAL AVIATION ACCIDENTS DECLINED to 1,494 in 2001--the lowest since 1938. According to the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Nall Report published by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn., there were 298 fatal accidents, with takeoff and landings accounting for 58% of all pilot-related events. Loss of control was the chief reason for more than 30%. The second leading cause was wind. The fatality rate in takeoff accidents was 20.5%, while fatalities during landing accounted for only 1%.
In the midst of the 100th anniversary year of the Wright brothers' first flight and adverse effects on aerospace from the war in Iraq and an economic downturn in the U.S., some industry leaders are looking to better days ahead. That's the message several of them delivered during Aviation Week & Space Technology's 15th annual Laureates Awards dinner last week at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum here.
Each Laureate Award winner from 1988-2002 automatically has become a member of the Laureates Hall of Fame. But what about the Laurels winners selected prior to 1988? To ensure the Legends of the past are remembered in Aviation Week's Hall of Fame, each class of inductees now includes the current year's winners and a number of legendary achievers selected by Aviation Week & Space Technology editors. This year, the following legendary Laurels winners from the past have been selected for induction into the Hall of Fame.
ITT Industries will modify GPS IIF satellites with two new transmitters and associated components, improving jam-resistance through proprietary multiplexing techniques that boost transmission signal strength. Under a contract potentially worth $31 million from Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the award to ITT's Aerospace/Communication Div. covers upgrades to 12 GPS Block IIF spacecraft. The upgrade--due for completion in 2008--is similar to ITT modifications being done on eight GPS Block IIR systems.
Virgin Atlantic is offering to fly relief supplies to Iraq, and has informed the British government it is willing to reintroduce scheduled air service, which has been suspended between Britain and Iraq since 1990.
KEEPING SECRETS In an unprecedented move, the U.S. government has classified the orbital parameters of Japan's first two reconnaissance satellites launched together Mar. 28 on an H-2A booster. Since 1983, the U.S. has classified the orbits of its own reconnaissance spacecraft, but has always published the orbital elements of non-U.S. military satellites. The two Japanese spacecraft--an optical imaging satellite and an imaging radar spacecraft to monitor North Korea--are in similar orbits, about 490 km. (304 mi.) high, inclined 97.4 deg. from the equator.
PHONY CAPITALISTS? The airlines have worn out their welcome in Congress, at least in the view of the House Appropriations Committee's ranking Democrat, David Obey (Wis.). "In my belief, the airline industry is composed of let-us-pretend capitalists," Obey complained during House passage of Iraq war supplemental appropriations that included $3.8-billion in aid for the carriers (see p. 59). "Every couple years, they come to the Congress for another bailout, and I think that instead of pretending that they are independent business operations . . .
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE HAS LAUNCHED SKYJET EUROPE--a new charter program that charges customers a fixed hourly rate only for the hours flown and without incurring the cost of repositioning the airplane for a flight. Users pay the same price for trips of the same length regardless of point of departure and destination, according to the company.
Rather than wait 10 years to develop the next reusable launcher, why not go for a vehicle that combines the low cost of an Apollo-style capsule and reusability of the shuttle? Capsules are a proven technology and relatively cheap. The largest cost of the vehicle is on the inside: controls, radios, seats and computers. These expensive components can be designed for reuse.
A caretaker crew of two is set to lift off for the International Space Station late this week, and while U.S. and Russian space experts are satisfied the pair can safely operate the ISS for now, the path that will keep the station flying into 2004 is far from clear.
John J. McDevitt, who has been Louisville, Ky.-based vice president-air operations for UPS, has been promoted to membership on the Management Committee to coordinate the company's evolution as a provider of supply chain services. He has been succeeded by Jovita Carranza. She was president of the Miami-based Americas Region and, in turn, has been succeeded by Stephen Flowers. He was head of operations for France, the Benelux countries and Switzerland.
David W. Hockersmith has become chief information officer of Seko Worldwide, Itasca, Ill. He is a former president of the Airforwarders Assn. and founder of Trans-Soft Inc.
