A B-1 bomber rolls almost inverted over the U.S. B-1s were used to attack air defense and possible tactical ballistic missile sites in western Iraq even before the offensive began late last week (see pp. 22-28). In addition, B-52 units were being shifted out of Britain to bases nearer the battleground. The ground offensive began less than a day after the initial limited air attacks.
How has aviation benefited me? Quite simply, it gave a kid with modest prospects the chance to dream big, and then to see many of those dreams come true. Aviation also introduced me to terrific people, ideas and opportunities I could never have imagined.
Armed with creditor acceptance and bankruptcy court confirmation of its reorganization plan, US Airways pressed on last week to emerge from bankruptcy protection by Mar. 31, the target it set when it filed for Chapter 11 in August.
The Lagardere group could be forced to revise its long-term aerospace/defense strategy following the death of its founding father. Tycoon Jean-Luc Lagardere, who passed away on Mar. 14, in four decades transformed Matra, a midsize French missile producer, into a worldwide company with 13.2 billion euros ($14 billion) in annual revenues. He was succeeded by his son Arnaud.
To address demand for interconnection systems that operate in hostile environments, the company has expanded its line of electro-ceramic products. Ceramic-to-metal seals are designed for applications where electrical circuits must pass through containment walls and are subjected to high temperatures and pressures with voltages up to 50 KVA, such as in satellites and radar power supplies. The products provide for long-term hermetic reliability, high-temperature operations and resistance to radiation. Hermetic units range from 0.5-11+ in.
China's largest carrier, China Southern Airlines, posted a net profit of $77 million on a revenue base of $201 million for fiscal 2002, a 69% improvement over 2001. Passenger traffic was up 4.3% but cargo was the big star, growing 27%. Capacity grew 16%, but yields were off 10% due to increased competition on both domestic and international flights. Growth in its home market pushed load factors to 73%.
Astronomers in France, Arizona and Switzerland have discovered a 124,000-mi.-long tail of atomic hydrogen extended from an extrasolar planet 150 light years from Earth. The planet, HD 209458b, has already given researchers their first look at the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet with Hubble Space Telescope measurements taken as its orbit crosses the side of its star facing Earth (AW&ST Jan. 14, 2002, p. 434).
A powerful spring snowstorm forced hundreds of flight cancellations and stranded thousands of passengers at Colorado airports Mar. 18-19. Denver International Airport (DIA) kept runways open through Mar. 18, but persistent heavy snowfall, high winds and limited visibility precluded takeoffs and landings. The airport closed at 1:30 a.m. Mar. 19, stranding approximately 4,000 passengers. Later that morning, an outer layer of the terminal's tent-like, Teflon-covered fiberglass roof tore along a seam, a victim of accumulating snow.
Aviation has been at the center of my life since birth. My first waking moments found me at my mother's side as she watched my father and his fellow Army Air Corps pilots fly from the grass field in front of our quarters at the old Luke Field, then located on Ford Island in the middle of Pearl Harbor. It was 1929, and the aircraft were the World War I Liberty-powered deHavilland DH-4, the Curtiss NBS-1 bomber and the Loening OA-1C amphibian.
Continental Airlines will lay off more employees and cut its operating expenses by half a billion dollars by 2004 as senior management struggles to cope with rising costs and a persistently weak revenue environment. "Our industry is in crisis and I believe we are facing unprecedented turmoil," said Gordon Bethune, chairman/CEO of the Houston-based carrier. He announced Mar. 19 that the airline must achieve significant cost reductions "to permit us to be a survivor" during the prolonged financial trauma that is adversely affecting all major U.S. carriers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a Defense Ministry plan to form a professional army to improve combat readiness for modern warfare. To implement this, 167,000 volunteers will be hired from January 2004-07 to fill high-readiness units. The Pskov Airborne Div. should be fully staffed by professional soldiers by year-end, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said.
Former senior executives of bankrupt Swiss aviation conglomerate SAir Group soon may face legal charges such as negligence and falsification of documents. Legal authorities for the canton of Zurich last week froze bank accounts of three former executives who played key roles in the aviation concern during the last years of its existence. At the same time, investigators are deciding whether the executives can be held personally liable for damages and costs in Switzerland's biggest corporate bankruptcy.
Officials of the Allied Pilots Assn., which represents pilots at American Airlines, last week said the union is committed to working with management at AMR Corp.
When David North invited me to comment on what aviation meant to me and what future challenges may lay ahead, I was greatly flattered. However, the more I thought about the invitation, the more I realized that it was actually a two-part piece. For me, aviation has been partly a romantic love affair from childhood, and partly a lifelong fascination with the advancing technology it represents.
The company is licensed as a Canadian Service Provider of aviation life rafts made by Goodrich's Aircraft Interior Products Div., and is responsible for life raft sales, repairs, overhauls, deployment testing and recertification. The agreement covers all Goodrich-manufactured four-, eight-, 10- and 12-person aviation-approved life rafts. The company will provide sales and service to all corporate aircraft operators, completion centers, FBOs and charter companies.
Eager to broaden its scope in the trainer market, Korea Aerospace Industries is expanding its KT-1 turboprop line to include an advanced cockpit option, an attack training version and a forward controller or close-air-support version. The expansion program follows the pattern KAI is using in its T-50 advanced jet trainer, which it is developing with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. The supersonic T-50 is now in flight testing and is expected to start deliveries to the Korean air force in 2005 (AW&ST Feb. 24, p. 24).
Network-centric warfare (AW&ST Jan. 27, p. 50) may be in its embryonic stage, but it has made great progress in inventing acronyms, kinky offbeat words and phrases, and off-the-wall ideas to qualify with the best of the bozo concepts that have been hatched at the Pentagon or elsewhere inside the Beltway.
The American public is ready to accept the use of UAVs for carrying cargo, such as FedEx or UPS, according to a public opinion poll conducted by a Boeing employee. The poll was formulated before military UAVs were commonly in the news and was given to a random sample of 50 men and 50 women. Responses showed a greater acceptance when the questionnaire educated the public as to risks and benefits. Public acceptance of UAVs for carrying passengers is many years away, but may occur eventually, according to the report.
Douglas E. Lavin has been named assistant FAA administrator for international aviation and Sharon L. Pinkerton assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning and environment. Lavin was vice president of the American Express Portfolio Management Group. Pinkerton was transportation counsel to U.S. Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House aviation subcommittee.
The future of DBA, one of the largest European no-frills carriers and a major competitor of Lufthansa in its home market, looks increasingly uncertain, following EasyJet's decision not to acquire the airline from parent British Airways.
The U.S. bag of new technological tricks isn't empty yet, and for the conflict in Iraq the Air Force is fielding a UAV that can jam enemy communications or spoof them with authentic-looking or -sounding messages from their leaders.
This TV-quality mobile video transmitter uses existing wireless networks to deliver compressed MPEG 4 streaming video transmissions via the Internet. The Ranger 350i can record video and audio while transmitting live video via cellular, satellite, wireless LAN and other networks. Applications include law enforcement, military and commercial security. The system can remotely monitor airports and other sensitive locations without the need to install fiber-optic networks.
It's hard to believe that when Stanley [Kubrick] and I started work on 2001: A Space Odyssey in April 1964, the more far-out planners in the U.S. aerospace industry hoped to be on Mars by 1984. So we were both worried by the possibility that our hoped-for movie might suffer from instant obsolescence . . .
US Airways was set to begin a two-week food test Mar. 19, becoming the latest carrier to join the chow wagon. Coach passengers on certain nonstop flights, which up until now did not offer meal service, will have a choice of a breakfast for $7 or a lunch/dinner for $10.
