Edward H. Phillips (Dallas), Pierre Sparaco (Paris), Michael A. Taverna (Paris)
The global commercial helicopter business is flat, and prospects for growth this year are few as operators struggle to cope with rising costs and security issues that threaten to blunt opportunities for expansion.
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BAE Systems has sold a 25% share in space firm Astrium, along with its part of U.K. military communications satellite venture Paradigm, to EADS. Troubled BAE took a substantial loss on the two moves, which it explained by saying that "space is not our core business."
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington)
Iraq has test flown an unmanned aircraft with unrefueled 500-km. range, bought rocket motors to boost its ballistic missiles to prohibited ranges, built at least 18 trucks for manufacturing biological weapons and continues to hide contraband items in cars that are continually driven around the country, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told members of the United Nations Security Council last week.
U.S. Navy Cdr. William C. McCool, 41, was on his first space shuttle mission, as the pilot. A native of San Diego and the son of a Navy/Marine veteran, he was second in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a bachelor's degree in applied science. He also held master's degrees in computer sciences from the University of Maryland and in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He was an EA-6B pilot, TA-4J and EA-6B test pilot. His assignments included the advanced capability program for the EA-6B.
If you enjoyed the U.S.-Europe aircraft noise regulatory fracas that culminated in 2001 at the International Civil Aviation Organization, you'll eagerly await international deliberations on engine emissions in 2004. Ed Stimpson, U.S. ambassador to the 188-member standards-setting body, predicts a reprise of the market-incentives-versus-government-controls debate, this time pitting U.S. preferences for voluntary action and emissions-trading schemes against Europe's reliance on taxes and fees.
The U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. (LMSSC) are evaluating the effects of electric propulsion thruster plume ions on microwave signal propagation in AEDC's 12-volt vertical space test chamber (see photo). William J. Meyer, design engineer for LMSSC in Sunnyvale, Calif., hailed the tests as groundbreaking. They centered on a BPT-4000 Hall Thruster using gaseous xenon, which offers improved performance compared with chemical-based thrusters used for satellite station-keeping and orbital transfers.
Kirby Ikin has been named the Sydney-based senior vice president-risk management for the Orbital Recovery Corp. of Washington. He is a member of the Australian government's International Space Advisory Group and is chairman of the U.S.-based National Space Society.
David Mitchell has been named vice president/general manager of the Contractor Logistics Support unit and Duncan Koerbel vice president/general manager of the Aircraft Maintenance, Modifi- cation and Upgrades unit of Lockheed Martin Aircraft & Logistics Centers, Greenville, S.C. Mitchell was director of KC-135 life cycle customer support operations for the Boeing Aerospace Support Center in San Antonio. Koerbel was a vice president at Fairchild Dornier in Germany.
The military is kicking off a much anticipated effort to fill one of the most visible spots at the White House. The Naval Air Systems Command has formally unleashed the competition to replace Sikorsky's VH-3D presidential helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Sqdn. 1 (HMX-1). The existing fleet is reaching the end of its life, so the Marines want to field at least an initial capability by 2007-08. A full operational capability should be available 5-6 years later. U.S.
General Electric is claiming a world record for thrust generated by a gas turbine engine. The company says its GE90-115B reached 127,900-lb. thrust during final certification tests at the company's Peebles, Ohio, facility. First flight of a Boeing 777-300ER powered by GE90-115Bs is planned later this month.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Wagner has become deputy commander of the United States Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Va. He succeeds U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Martin J. Mayer. Wagner was commander of the Army's Southern European Task Force (Airborne), Vicenza, Italy.
Writing about the Columbia tragedy may be a bit more painful for us than it is for other journalists. Some on our staff count people involved in space flight among their close friends and have been writing about the technology and operations for decades. Senior Editor Craig Covault has covered NASA and space exploration for more than 30 years, from Washington, Paris and in recent years Cape Canaveral. Frank Morring, who grew up in Huntsville, Ala., has been reporting on space for 20 years.
Inside North America, call Edith Roman Associates, Inc. at: (800) 223-2194; Fax (845) 620-9035. Outside North America call The Prospect Shop at: 020 8481 8730; Fax: 020 8783 1940
Arianespace will delay the phaseout of its basic Ariane 5 booster and study the possible introduction of an interim model to tide it over until the upgraded EC-A version becomes available.
Charles R. Howell, 4th, has been appointed CEO of Great Lakes Aviation Ltd. Douglas G. Voss, who had been chairman/CEO, will remain chairman. Howell was chief operating officer and had been president/CEO of Corporate Airlines.
The new owner of Fairchild Dornier's 30-seater 328JET program aims to restart production in the summer and sees significant potential for the aircraft in the airline and non-airline markets. Avcraft Aviation, a small Virginia-based company specializing in aircraft completion and maintenance, completed an agreement with Fairchild Dornier's administrator, Eberhard Braun, in late January, after months of negotiations over financial and legal details.
Airlines represented by the Air Transport Assn. will ask President Bush to release oil from the strategic petroleum reserve and Congress to enact a "holiday" from aviation taxes if and when the U.S. goes to war in Iraq. Carol Hallett, in her final meeting with reporters as ATA chief, and successor James May, in his first, said carriers also may seek immunity from antitrust laws in order to coordinate capacity reductions if war causes a collapse in demand, as expected.
Craig A. Saddler has been named head of finance and business operations for the Boeing 7E7 mid-sized development program. He was chief financial officer for the Boeing Shared Services Group. Michael J. Cave has become senior vice president of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services. He succeeds Michael B. Bair, who has been named senior vice president of the 7E7 program. Cave was CFO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Robert J. Pasterick has been promoted to succeed Cave from vice president-finance/controller.
Space shuttle thermal protection and external tank foam insulation have both undergone significant changes during the 22 years of shuttle operation, yet both continue to create maintenance headaches and safety concerns.
Iberia Airlines, which reported a net income of 159.8 million euros ($172.5 million) for 2002, recently committed to purchase nine Airbus A340-600s to replace the nine Boeing 747s in its fleet. The first three aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2004, five in 2005 and another in 2006.
