Thomas D. Grunbeck (see photo) has been named vice president-sales and marketing for the Safe Flight Instrument Corp., White Plains, N.Y. He was a vice president of the Barnes Aerospace Group.
Japan Airlines and American Airlines are expanding their code-share agreement in April. JAL will start a code-share with American's daily one-way flights, effectively increasing JAL's one-way frequencies to 30 per week. On the Tokyo-Dallas/Fort Worth route, American will increase its code-sharing to 24 from 22 flights per week. The new flights expand the carriers' 1995 basic code-share agreement to 104 international and domestic routes and 1,400 flights a week.
An arbitration court at the International Chamber of Commerce will decide in May whether Alcatel Space should be awarded damages for termination of operational and alliance agreements early last year by Space Systems/Loral and its parent company, Loral Space & Communications, and if so, what the amount should be. Alcatel has filed for $350 million in damages. After finding Loral liable last year for certain breaches in the agreements, the arbitration court on Jan.
The Columbia tragedy offers a chance to reach a new consensus on how best to use the surviving space shuttles' unique capabilities, and how to begin switching to an alternate way to space. Frank Sietzen, Jr., president of the Space Transportation Assn., argues for deliberation rather than emotion in a Viewpoint on the Next Century of Flight on p. 54. The Next Century of Flight is a five-year Aviation Week multimedia initiative to explore the future of aviation and aerospace.
Jeffrey A. Reid has become vice president-information technology for Executive Jet Management Inc. of Cincinnati. He was information technology globalization leader for the services division of General Electric Aircraft Engines.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche doesn't blanch at reminding the acquisition community of its occasional technological timidity and ingrained conservatism. "I still have in my top desk drawer a memorandum from those who said [the Predator] wasn't ready for production, it was too risky to employ, it didn't work and it was unsuitable for war. It's fun to look at it every now and then." The unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft is in "great demand in every theater," he added.
BAE Systems has begun ground trials of its Seaspray 7000E active electronically scanned array radar. The 7000E has been designed to meet maritime helicopter radar requirements, but the company believes it will also be readily applicable for fixed-wing and unmanned aerial vehicle needs.
The U.S. Air Force has fine-tuned a proposed lease of 100 Boeing 767-200 refuelers in the hope of overcoming resistance from lease critics and getting a go-ahead for the deal. After more than a year of negotiations, a decision on whether the Pentagon will give the green light to the lease is anticipated in the coming weeks. Boeing CEO Phil Condit says he expects resolution of the issue this quarter. The topic is under intense scrutiny by the Defense Dept., says Pentagon acquisition chief E.C. (Pete) Aldridge, Jr., with a decision to come soon.
ROCKWELL COLLINS' PRO LINE 21 CONTINUUM avionic system has been certified for the Hawker 700 business jet, bringing to 14 the number of aircraft certified to use the system. The installation features five FDS-2000 liquid crystal displays, TCAS-4000-850 turbulence detection weather radar and dual AHRS-3000A.
DASSAULT AVIATION FLEW its new EASy flight deck avionic system for the first time late last month on a Falcon 2000EX. The 2-hr. 20-min. flight was completed without incident. The fully integrated cockpit management system is based on Honeywell's Primus Epic design.
Kent L. Statler has been appointed senior vice president-operations for Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He succeeds Herm M. Reininga, who is now senior vice president-special projects and is expected to retire later this year. Statler was vice president-manufacturing operations.
HONEYWELL'S 2003-07 FORECAST for civil helicopters projects North America to be the largest market for new turbine-powered models, accounting for more than 40% of new sales during the period. About 60% of these acquisitions would occur between 2005-07, with single-engine aircraft dominating the market. Europe is forecast to show "a pronounced increase" in sales during 2005-07, but pending regulations governing the use of helicopters over populated areas will affect how operators choose their next new aircraft, according to the survey.
Lee S. Kreindler, senior partner of Kreindler & Kreindler, a New York firm specializing in aviation disaster litigation, died Feb. 18. He was 78. Kreindler, who graduated from Dartmouth College in 1945 and Harvard Law School in 1949, was considered an expert in the field. Kreindler wrote the three-volume "Aviation Accident Law" and numerous law review articles on aviation law. He organized and led the 1966-83 fight to defeat the Montreal protocols to the Warsaw Convention and was involved in numerous precedent-setting cases.
Finmeccanica and Snecma are evaluating a joint bid for FiatAvio in an attempt to woo the aerospace and naval engine maker from under the eyes of the Carlyle Group, and other contenders may yet appear.
The lifting of U.S. sanctions has prompted Indian defense officials to cast a wider net as they look for foreign manufacturing partners to develop a military industrial base. Unlike their neighbor, China, the Indians aren't seeking self-sufficiency, although their goals include an export capability and the prospect of tapping their own huge labor pool to produce 70% of their own weapons systems, Defense Minister George Fernandes said at this month's Aero India, the nation's fourth international exhibition.
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EasyJet's takeover of British Airways subsidiary Deutsche BA (DBA) appears to be seriously threatened by a lengthy dispute with pilots regarding new work rules and pay, indicating yet another possible turn in the rapidly evolving German air transport market.
Just days after a spectacular recovery operation finished raising the European Space Agency's Artemis telecom technology satellite to its intended orbit, a potential operating budget shortfall is forcing the agency to consider leasing out all or part of the spacecraft's payload.
David Johnson has been named assistant vice president-technical operations for the Washington-based Aerospace Industries Assn. He was director of engineering management.
Kudos for recognizing the importance of hybrid rocket technology (AW&ST Feb.3, p. 50), and for the detailed coverage. One valuable feature of hybrid rockets that you did not mention is that they burn much more cleanly than solid rockets. With hydroxl-terminated polybutadiene-fueled motors, toxic species are removed by moving away from ammonium perchlorate solid oxidizer. As for paraffin, the main combustion products are even more benign: water and carbon dioxide.
With war clouds gathering over Iraq, U.S. vendors of higher resolution satellite imagery worry that the government will temporarily block their businesses. The companies' operating licenses allow the government to turn off service for national security reasons. During operations in Afghanistan, the military implemented a much more palatable form of "shutter control." It simply bought up all the problematic Space Imaging imagery. Since then, competitor DigitalGlobe has joined the fray, prompting fears the government no longer can afford to buy all the commercial spy pix.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper says he'd like small UAVs that can hover outside windows and fire small-caliber bullets and disabling gas inside. He also dreams of a stealthy, unmanned gunship far smaller than the AC-130 and armed with miniaturized laser and high-power microwave weapons. Meanwhile, Gen. Hal Hornburg, the Air Combat Command chief, cautions warfighters to eschew information operations for manipulating noncombatants' perceptions or playing around with the Internet.
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