THE DIAMOND AIRCRAFT DA42 TwinStar made its first flight Dec. 9 at the company's facilities in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Company owner/CEO Christian Dries said the airplane is aimed at the light piston segment of the general aviation market, including multi-engine training. He said JAA certification is tentatively scheduled for late in 2003, followed by FAA approval in mid-2004. Two Thielert Centurion 1.7 engines, that can burn either Jet A1 or diesel fuel, power the all-composite DA42. Dries projects fuel consumption would be about 10 gal./hr. at 180 kt.
Jerome F. Lederer has received an honorary doctorate in safety science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz., in recognizion of his "unparalleled achievements in aviation safety." The 100-year-old Lederer was founder of the FSF, first director of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board Safety Bureau and director of safety for NASA. He also was the subject of a special issue of the FSF's Flight Safety Digest for August-September 2002.
Robert Thibodeau has been appointed vice president-engineering for Avexus Inc. of San Diego. He was senior director of product management for software applications at QAD.
Mark Van Tine has been named president/chief operating officer of Englewood, Colo.-based Jeppesen, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Horst Bergmann, who has been president/CEO and will be chairman/CEO until retiring May 1. Van Tine has been executive vice-president.
At what point does national security outweigh the public's right to know? Air Transport Assn. President Carol Hallett last week suggested that the fight against terrorism is being undermined by information that is flowing too freely. "The leak of aviation security information is excessive," she told a gathering of aviation and aerospace industry professionals at the Wings Club in New York.
The bulk of New Zealand's air force, which has recently beenstripped of its combat wing and fast jet capabilities, is being consolidated at a single base over the next four years. Whenuapai AFB in Auckland will be closed and assets shifted to Ohakea AFB to be near the primary army base at Linton. Six Orion patrol aircraft and five C-130 transports will be among those making the move. The P-3s are being upgraded, as is the country's combat helicopter force.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO.'S Premier I business jet has been certified by Denmark and Israel, bringing to eight the number of countries granting approval to the aircraft. Company officials anticipate certification from Ireland, Brazil and Italy by the end of this year, followed by nine other countries in 2003, including China, Japan, France and the U.K.
The first preproduction Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co. BA609 civil tiltrotor is parked on the tarmac at Bell Helicopter Textron's Flight Research Center in Arlington, Tex., prior to beginning engine runs earlier this month. BAAC test pilots are completing 50 hr. of systems tests before the aircraft is cleared to make its maiden flight early next year (see p. 48). BAAC photo by Sheldon Cohen.
Russia, for so long the focus of U.S. defense technology interest in the Soviet era, may appear to have fallen by the wayside as Washington has emerged as the global superpower, but it could yet turn out to be an active participant in the network-centric world.
Controllers have halted imaging operations on Canada's Radarsat-1 while they work on the spacecraft's faltering attitude control system. The second of two pitch momentum wheels was taken off line Nov. 27 when it began displaying signs of excessive friction and heating, the same problem that shut down the primary momentum wheel in September 1999.
China Southern Airlines has begun installing its Sabre AirOps fleet management software system at the operating bases of China Northern Airlines and China Xingjiang Airlines, which it has taken over as part of an airline consolidation ordered by Beijing's top political leaders.
Apparently expecting to need some replacements, the U.S. has ordered 140 improved tactical air-launched decoys and support equipment worth $21.5 million from Israel Military Industries. In combat, these powered decoys are used to fool enemy air defenses into exposing themselves to attack by coalition forces using anti-radar weapons.
The European Space Agency is expected to confirm this week that its member states endorsed a council decision giving final approval to funding the Galileo satellite navigation system.
While the Pentagon forges ahead--some might caution rashly--with its network-centric warfare efforts, those European countries that are following at all are taking an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, path.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Alan Mulally was expected to say late last week that the Mach 0.95 Sonic Cruiser program has been shelved. It would have competed in the 200-250-seat class market now filled by Boeing's aging 757 and 767s and Airbus' A300/A310 products. Customers have responded positively to the idea of a new aircraft in that seat range, or slightly larger, but favor operating efficiency over speed because they doubt passengers will pay to fly faster.
To purchase Aviation Week & Space Technology on CD-ROM, call toll-free (U.S. only): (800) 257-9402. From outside the U.S. call: (609) 426-5526; Fax: (212) 904-3748
Boeing is expanding on a series of 3-4-day airline training courses on maintenance and airline safety procedures with offerings for cabin and ramp crews. Called the Boeing Safety Management System, the course series is split into two modules, an on-site training program that combines the company's Procedural Event Analysis Tool (PEAT), which has been around for several years and has been used by some 65 airlines worldwide, with a new Cabin Procedural Investigation Tool.
Laurent Schneider-Maunoury (see photo) has been appointed vice president-operations of Messier-Dowty, Velizy, France. He succeeds Guy Giard, who plans to retire at year-end. Schneider-Maunoury was director of the Creusot facility that manufactures low-pressure turbine disks.
The Galileo spacecraft has finally started transmitting stored science data from its last flyby, after Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers were able to revive the crippled tape recorder.
British government officials have confirmed the U.K. has the ability to place undercover, armed police officers on commercial passenger flights. While the government was unwilling to discuss details, implicit within the statement is the suggestion "air marshals" are now, or will soon be, deployed on some flights.
