SEA, the company operating airports at Milan, Italy, is preparing for partial privatization by summer's end. The Milan municipality now owns 84.5% of SEA capital, with the remaining shares held by other local government bodies. In the post-Sept. 11, 2001, economic climate, SEA abandoned its original plan to issue stock in the company and opted for a direct sale of a minority stake. Milan's mayor, Gabriele Albertini, had previously supported the sale of a 30% share, but a decision was recently made to offer 25.5%.
Canada's transportation minister certainly is not a pilot. His statement, "We want the individual to focus on being a pilot, not a law enforcement officer," shows his ignorance of the situation. Yes, pilots primarily fly, but they have autopilots and copilots to handle the aircraft in a cockpit threat. Further, sky marshals can be spotted and disarmed. Their guns, in the hands of terrorists, are a real threat to flights. An armed pilot behind a reinforced door is the last line of defense, on the way to a landing at a suitable airport.
Mario Larose (see photo) has been appointed vice president-custom electronics for CMC Electronics of Montreal. He was vice president-marketing for EXFO Electro-Optic Engineering.
For a thumbnail of just how challenging market conditions are in the business aviation sector, look no further than what's behind General Dynamics Corp.'s fourth-quarter earnings performance. It fell well short of Wall Street's expectations ($1.33 versus a $1.44 consensus), and the reasons can be traced right back to General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace business unit--the corporation's single largest source of profits.
James B. Frownfelter, who has been executive vice president/chief technology officer for the PanAmSat Corp., Wilton, Conn., has been appointed chief operating officer.
William H. Swanson, president of Raytheon Co. and former head of its $14.5-billion government and defense business, which includes missile systems, missile defense, surveillance, radar, sensors and vision enhancement equipment. Under his direction, from 1999 until last July, Raytheon Electronic Systems became the company's largest and most successful segment. Until his promotion to president and a reorganization that phased out ES, the segment was a model of financial consistency.
Bush administration space policy should be a lot clearer by the end of the month, after the Fiscal 2004 budget request and a couple of White House policy documents are available. As the first mission to benefit from the space nuclear power initiative soon to get underway with Fiscal 2003 funds, NASA planners have targeted Jupiter and its moons in the 2004 budget request.
Mar. 10-11--European Transport Leaders Conference. Landmark Hotel, London. Mar. 12-13--Toulouse Symposium. Toulouse (France) Congress Center. Mar. 27-28--Defense Budget Conference. Holiday Inn, Rosslyn, Va. Apr. 15-17--MRO 2003 & MRO Latin America. Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. May 6-8--Aerospace Defense & Finance Conference. Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York. May 14-16--Homeland Security Summit & Exposition. Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Va.
The British Defense Ministry has selected the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin for its Light Forces Anti-Tank Guided Weapon program. The 300-million-pound ($490-million) procurement will see the missile enter service in 2005, with 4,500 to be purcha
The European Space Agency says it is close to initiating series production of the ATV space tug, a key item of the International Space Station, as things continue to improve for the long-beleaguered orbital facility. A bid for the construction of eight automated transfer vehicles, which are to resupply the ISS with dry cargo and fuel and periodically reboost it to higher orbit, is expected within about a month, according to Joerg Feustel-Buechl, ESA's manned flight chief. The bidder will be EADS, which is developing the ATV under an earlier contract.
The first U.S. Air Force YAL-1A Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft demonstrated an aerial refueling capability behind a KC-135 tanker during a recent test flight in California. The Boeing 747 freighter was outfitted with an air-to-air refueling system during a two-year modification effort in Wichita, Kan. The aircraft is now at Edwards AFB, Calif., where its directed-energy weapons (lasers) and optical systems will be installed. The ABL is designed to destroy boosting ballistic missiles with a high-power laser (AW&ST Aug. 13, 2001, p. 55).
Pentagon plans to ramp up spending to $430 billion by 2009 from the roughly $380 billion being requested for Fiscal 2004 face a major hurdle--a ballooning federal budget deficit and, with it, debt payments. As the largest discretionary item in the federal budget, military spending is likely to become a target once policymakers again focus on deficit reduction, predicts Stanley Collender, a consultancy executive who tracks legislation. Reaching $430 billion also would require sustained defense spending increases that would run longer than any time in history.
Pentagon officials are enamored enough of the Predator-series unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft that they are adapting portable ground control stations to fit in C-130 transport and P-3 patrol aircraft. That would allow line-of-sight control of the UAVs without using satellite communications that can become overloaded with traffic during combat operations. The first of these units is being hastily assembled in an Air Combat Command C-130 by the quick-reaction Big Safari group in a program called Scathe Falcon.
Russia's plans to pursue limited upgrades of some of its Flanker fleet reveal not only a sorely required pragmatism in the upper echelons of its air force but also rivalries among Sukhoi's production plants. An upgraded Su-27 Flanker was flown from the Komsomolsk production organization (KnAAPO) at the end of 2002. However, the Irkut Corp. (formerly the Irkutsk production facility, known as IAPO) has also been developing a new avionics package for the aircraft.
Intelsat Chairman Conny Kullman says his company's offer for Eutelsat has not been withdrawn, despite political resistance in Europe and the decision of rival PanAmSat to pull out of the bidding. Kullman said he's still waiting for reactions to the offer from Eutelsat's main shareholders so that he can initiate due diligence, and reaffirmed that he's seeking full control, corresponding to "a bit more than 70%" of the shares. Although he said geographical fit remained important, his prime goal is to combine Intelsat's mainly phone and data traffic business with video.
Royal Air Force Flight Lt. Tony Gear, Flight Lt. Rob Green, Sqdn. Leader John Ardley and Sgt. John Carrigan, the crew of Rescue 137, for rescuing 18 fisherman from the French boat Le Perrain 250 mi. west of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The RAF crew fought 60-mph. winds and 40-ft. seas to winch the fisherman two at a time into the Sea King helicopter. The crew landed with 10 min. of fuel remaining after the 5-hr. mission. They are based at Lossiemouth, Scotland.
The conflict between homeland security and civil liberties reached aviation's professional ranks last week as the Transportation Security Administration and the FAA adopted regulations on withholding airman certificates from people found by the TSA to be "security threats."
Sales of new commercial aircraft may be in the doldrums, but Boeing sold a record 54 used commercial and executive jets last year worth $1 billion. "It was a pretty good year," Dinesh Keskar, who heads Boeing's used aircraft sales program, commented facetiously. Boeing's figures were spiked by the disposal of 24 717s formerly owned by TWA that American Airlines released after acquiring that St. Louis-based carrier. AirTran, the 717's launch customer, acquired them.
Gina Marie Lindsey, director of the Aviation Div. at the Port of Seattle, has been elected chairman of Washington, D.C.-based Airports Council International-North America for 2003. Members of the executive committee are: Patrick Graham, executive director of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, first vice chairman; Kent George, executive director of the Allegheny County (Pa.) Aviation Authority, second vice chairman; Steve Grossman, director of aviation of the Port of Oakland, secretary-treasurer; and Richard M.
European launch executives appear to be stepping up efforts to engineer the transfer of Ariane 5 launcher development responsibility from CNES to the European Space Agency. The behind-the-scenes maneuvering seems to have the backing of key contractors in the sector, including EADS, Snecma and Arianespace. However, ESA Director General Antonio Rodota is maintaining a prudent stance. "Let's not go too far, too fast," said Rodota, who in midyear will be replaced by ESA launcher director Jean-Jacques Dordain, a strong backer of launch sector reorganization.
he post he has held for nearly seven years, for a new position at the agency as senior civil engineer/national resource specialist for highway investigations. During his tenure, Black was the on-scene board member at a number of high-profile aviation accidents, including the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in New York.
John Thornton and Tim Hancock of the FAA, Capt. Brent Blackwell of American Airlines, John Burks of Arinc, James Grace of Rockwell Collins, and Computer Sciences Corp., for the implementation on Oct. 7 of the first U.S. domestic operational Controller Pilot Data Link Communications at Miami Center. This effort, dubbed Build 1, will be under test until October 2003. The system is aimed at easing radio frequency congestion and creating an efficient and safer ATC system with fewer delays.
Operators of Raytheon Beechcraft Models 1900, 1900C and D aircraft worked zealously to meet a Jan. 31 deadline for elevator system checks mandated last week under an emergency airworthiness directive, while the FAA ordered its inspectors to validate weight and balance programs and inspect cargo restraint systems for all 10-19-seat aircraft operated by Part 121 carriers.
