In a bid to quickly destroy elusive threats, U.S. Air Force researchers are considering the development of a category of weapons that would be lying in wait, ready to attack fleeting targets rather than having to wait for surveillance aircraft to detect them and call in a raid.
The FAA's recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) aims at harmonizing U.S. FAR Part 25 and European JAA (JAR-25) design standards for fuselage doors, hatches and exits on transport category aircraft. The rule outlines measures to ensure that fuselage doors remain secure at all times, and is expected to provide savings to manufacturers, who could avoid duplicate testing and reporting in meeting separate requirements. The NPRM stems from various transport accidents involving the opening of doors in-flight--including the Feb.
In response to Phillip Boughton's letter "Overworked, Underpaid" (AW&ST Dec. 2, 2002, p. 8), pilots are paid to perform a service that not everyone can provide. When the sky is blue, the wind is calm and there is unlimited visibility, anyone can basically go fly. Pilots are paid for the skill in getting an airplane safely to its destination by avoiding thunderstorms and in strong crosswinds and low visibility.
Senior management at AMR Corp. is convinced the company is facing a permanent shift in the airline revenue environment that will require significant cuts in labor and other costs if American Airlines is to survive.
A commercial remote-sensing order from the Pentagon's National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) could mean as much as $1 billion in business for two U.S. satellite operators over the next five years.
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The NTSB cited spatial disorientation last week as the probable cause of the Jan. 27, 2001, crash of a Raytheon Beechcraft King Air 200 (N81PF) near Strasburg, Colo. The board said the spatial disorientation was a result of the pilot's "failure to maintain positive manual control of the airplane with the available flight instrumentation."
Although it has not attracted major European and U.S. carriers, traffic at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) grew an encouraging 12.3% to 16.33 million passengers last year, making it the fastest growing airport in the region. The region's busiest airports have done well, evidence of Asia's relative strength, in contrast to weak performances at many European and U.S. hubs.
With the British government in the final throes of its selection of a prime contractor for its next-generation aircraft carrier, BAE Systems--one of two contenders--has announced 1,000 job cuts in its naval business sector. The majority--700--will be at its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in England, with a further 265 to be cut from the Clyde, in Scotland. BAE cited lack of work over the next four years as the reason, claiming timing had nothing to do with "the company's bid for the Future Aircraft Carrier prime contract." BAE is in competition with Thales for the contract.
Analytical Graphics Inc. has expanded a seven-year alliance with the Advanced Technology Group of Science Applications International Corp., giving the two a closer business relationship. AGI has worked with Huntsville, Ala.-based SAIC/ATG since 1995 to develop and offer the Missile Modeling Tools suite for realistic flight modeling of an array of missiles--and how to intercept them. MMT relies on Analytical Graphics' signature product, the Satellite Took Kit software.
The FAA's increasing dependence on congressional appropriations from the general fund spells trouble, according to Transportation Dept. Inspector General Kenneth Mead, and the agency needs to do a better job of controlling costs. The aviation trust fund gets its money from airline ticket taxes and thus has the same revenue problems as the airlines themselves, Mead notes. Meanwhile, the FAA's costs, especially for operations, keep growing.
Steven L. Messervy, U.S. Army assistant program executive officer for aviation and former project manager for aviation electronic systems at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., has received the National Defense Industrial Assn.'s Combat Survivability Award for Leadership. He was cited for his advocacy for aircraft survivability programs and for planning, developing and fielding all U.S. Army aircraft survivability equipment. Paul W.
As a captain for United Airlines, I must respond to Phillip Boughton's letter. He characterizes us as working in a "safe" environment. The first Americans murdered on Sept. 11, 2001, were pilots and flight attendants. Currently we have strengthened cockpit doors, have been trained on Tasers and been approved to carry firearms, and often carry plainclothes air marshals as passengers. A "safe" environment would not require any of these. This in addition to everyday high-altitude flight with exposure to copious amounts of radiation in thin recirculated air.
Textron Inc. has reported nearly a 50% drop in earnings per share and net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002. They were $131 million, or 95 cents a diluted share, compared with $257 million, or $1.81 a share, in the prior year. For the full year, however, Textron's income more than doubled, to $364 million, or $2.60 per diluted share, compared with $166 million, or $1.16 a share, in 2001. Revenues for the year decreased by 13%, to $10.7 billion.
While not surprised, I was saddened to read that Boeing has decided to shut down the Sonic Cruiser program (AW&ST Jan.6, p. 31)--this from the company that led the world in the development of large swept-wing military and commercial aircraft in the 1950s and established a new and highly successful trend everywhere.
The U.S. Coast Guard is reviewing its aircraft fleet mix with an eye on emerging homeland security requirements, but a senior agency representative argues that that shouldn't stand in the way of formalizing an agreement for a new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) next month.
Victorville Aerospace LLC, a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) center founded by former BAE Systems executives in Victorville, Calif., has acquired Impresa maintenance management software from Avexus Inc. Avexus will deliver Impresa as a hosted application. Dallas Airmotive has also chosen Impresa to manage MRO operations at all 16 of its facilities worldwide, where it will be deployed simultaneously over a one-year period.
Students and others nominated some 700 teachers last week in the first two days of NASA's new "Educator Astronaut" program, which aims to hire 3-6 qualified schoolteachers to train as astronauts for space shuttle missions. Barbara Morgan, backup to Teacher-In-Space Christa McAuliffe in 1986 and a full-fledged astronaut today, is set to kick off the program on a space station assembly mission this fall.
Standard & Poor's placed the credit ratings of American Airlines and its parent company, AMR Corp., on credit watch for possible downgrade last week, because of continuing heavy losses and diminishing sources of liquidity. American CEO Donald Carty has said the losses are "unsustainable" and could worsen if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq.
Japan's fiscal 2003 defense budget reflects its mounting concern over North Korea. The budget includes $2.2 million for the Technical Research and Development Institute's work on an unmanned high-altitude recon aircraft. The UAV is to have a 10-hr. patrol duration at 65,000 ft., and be equipped with an optical camera, infrared seeker and radar. Program development is expected to cost $16.2 million and be completed within five years. Key technologies slated: a new engine for high-altitude operations, and automatic takeoff-and-landing and collision-avoidance systems.
Procurement budgets for Japan's three military services have been set at $42.3billion for fiscal 2003 beginning Mar. 31, a slight dip (0.1%) from fiscal 2002. Forty-three aircraft will be purchased, six types each for the army (12 total aircraft) and navy (eight) and seven for the air force (23). In all, four fewer aircraft will be bought than in the current year. The navy will purchase an as yet-undesignated mine- sweeper/transport helicopter and seven Sikorsky/Mitsubishi SH-60K anti-submarine helicopters--the same as this year.
Dean Anderson (see photo) has become service center network director for the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Teterboro, N.J. He was liaison with fractional fleet operators.
