Qantas and Airbus think they may have set a distance-without-landing record of 16,910 km. (10,484 mi.) on the delivery flight of the airline's second Airbus A330-200. With 16 crew and passengers on board, the aircraft (VH-EBB) flew directly from Toulouse to Melbourne, in 20 hr. 4 min., landing Dec. 25. According to Airbus, the A330 was fully fitted in standard configuration and had a maximum takeoff weight of 152,600 lb.
Concerning the recent article on American Airlines Flight 587 (AW&ST Nov. 25, 2002, p. 44) and a handful of recent letters (AW&ST Dec. 16, 2002, p. 8), some clarifications and corrections need to be made.
This year, Airbus is scheduled to deliver more commercial transports than Boeing, the crowning achievement of three decades of hard engineering work, relentless marketing campaigns and, of course, massive investment partly funded by taxpayer money.
Lufthansa has begun a three-month demonstration of the Connexion by Boeing broadband Internet access package with the system installed on a 747-400. The trial system uses two phased array antennas, but the production model will use a single mechanically steered array mounted in a bubble radome.
Correction: In the article "China Southern Extending IT Services to New Partner" (AW&ST Dec. 23, 2002, p. 43), the ownership of Sabre was cited incorrectly. The company is 100% investor-owned, and its stock is publicly traded.
Israel's first astronaut and a complex array of commercial and basic research experiments, including those from Israel, Europe, China and Japan, have begun a 17-day space mission on the shuttle Columbia following launch here Jan. 16, under heavy security against potential terrorist attack. That security included F-15 fighter patrols over Kennedy Space Center and central Florida supported by AWACS, Army Avenger surface-to-air missile systems cued by specialized ground radars, and robust sea and ground forces, including heavily-armed helicopters.
A day after Pakistan said its army's new strategic force command had received a nuclear-capable international ballistic missile, India test-fired this single-stage, short-range Agni-I surface-to-surface missile from a mobile launcher on Wheeler's Island in the Bay of Bengal. The 15-meter tall (49-ft.) Agni uses solid propellant and has a striking range of 700 km. (438 mi.). The 12-metric-ton vehicle is seen as a bridge between India's Prithvi-II (with a 250-km. range) and the Agni-II, which can hit targets at 2,000 km. An Agni-III with a range of more than 3,000 km.
Many aircraft are equipped with warning systems to point out nearby aircraft and mountains; nevertheless, operators worry that there may still be crashes because these systems are operated beyond their limitations or undone by human intervention. As a result, researchers have this year tested an improved system that combines traffic and terrain avoidance and compensates for field of view limitations. These features are expected to provide aircrews with earlier warnings and more options for avoiding or extricating themselves from perilous situations.
FiatAvio is expanding its role in the MRO market. It has contracted with Air Dolomiti to support its fleet of ATR turboprops by providing PW127E maintenance and support services. The contract, worth an expected 40 million euros, covers 10 ATR-42-500s and six ATR-72s for five years. FiatAvio is providing similar services on the PW120 family of engines for a number of Mediterranean operators as well as for PW100s for China Xinjiang Airlines and Alitalia Express.
Let the food games begin. America West earlier this month tossed the first morsel with the launch of a three-week trial program of selling food, from snacks to chicken Kiev, to coach-class customers. Northwest Airlines last week started a pilot food program offering gourmet sandwiches and salads on about 12 of the airline's domestic flights. Now Cardinal Technologies and Sabre Holdings have cooked up a joint offering: "Carry-on Cuisine," a meal-order service for business and leisure travelers, which last week began a trial run at Washington Reagan National Airport.
EADS has targeted the turnaround of its space activities as one of four top priorities in 2003. The European aerospace and defense contractor lost 100 million euros ($106 million) on its space business during the first nine months of the year, and expects to lose money again in 2003 and 2004, said Co-CEO Philippe Camus. The aim is to be back in the black by 2005. Antoine Bouvier, who heads EADS' launch vehicle/satellite affiliate Astrium, said the company is retrenching so it can be profitable with an output of just two commercial spacecraft per year.
The FAA is requiring initial and repetitive inspections of new and installed Stage 1 high-pressure turbine rotor disks in GE CF6-80A engines. The action stems from the uncontained failure of an HPT disk on an Air New Zealand Boeing 767-200 Dec. 8 that led to an emergency landing. There are about 3,400 -80A and -80C2 engines in service, according to GE.
The 11th and final Boeing section of the 356-ft.-long integrated truss for the International Space Station has been delivered to the Kennedy Space Center from the Johnson Space Center in Houston for launch to the ISS in about a year. Designated Starboard 6 (S6), the hardware has been used as a qualification unit. The final 45-ft.-long, 13-ton section was delivered by NASA Super Guppy aircraft in two sections, the main truss and a spacer. The final truss section is part of about 110,000 lb. of new station hardware in preparation at KSC for launch over the next year.
In addition to a defense budget request that is expected to be on the order of $394 billion for Fiscal 2004, Congress is preparing to receive a request for an approximately $20-billion Fiscal 2003 supplemental to cover unpaid bills, says Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. But that's not all: the supplemental amount doesn't cover potential operations in Iraq. One Pentagon official noted the Defense Dept. already is quietly working on a second spending request that would be made later in the year.
The British government aims to secure an inside track on U.S. missile defense efforts, covering full "insight" into the development program, and the possibility of U.K. industry participation. Bringing to an end months of speculation on the British government's position on missile defense efforts, Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon last week stated the government's "preliminary" intent was to respond positively to Washington's request to use a U.K.-based radar for missile defense purposes.
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Ireland's defense ministry has awarded to Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft a $43-million contract covering eight PC-9M Advanced Turbo Trainers and a training and logistic support package. The PC-9Ms are scheduled to be delivered next year.
Russia's leading airlines are strongly criticizing the Russian industry's inability to develop competitive commercial transports and offer efficient product support.
United Technologies Corp. has reported a 54% increase in both net income ($533 million) and earnings per share ($1.06), for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, compared with the same period a year ago. For the full year, earnings rose 15%. Revenues for the fourth quarter and full year were up 3% and 1%, respectively.
Lygo Shoots Back Adm. Sir Raymond Lygo, K.C.B. The Book Guild Ltd. 566 pp., Hardcover, 18.5 pounds ($30.00) Adm. Lygo has written a fascinating book for anyone interested in British naval aviation from the 1940s on, the workings of the British Admiralty and the aerospace industry from an insider's view. Adm. Lygo began his estimable career as a Royal Navy Spitfire pilot and finished his professional journey as managing director and CEO of British Aerospace, now BAE Systems.
Continental Airlines lost $109 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 and $451 million for the year, and senior officials predict further bloodletting throughout 2003 as yields remain weak and fuel costs rise.
The Italian government is mulling whether to deploy a helicopter squadron in support of army forces it will soon commit to operations in Afghanistan. The army is to send a regimental battle group to Bagram, Afghanistan, to carry out counter-Taliban operations in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Units will conduct patrol and surveillance operations.
