All Nippon Airways has reached an agreement with United Airlines for code-sharing on Boeing 777-200 flights from Kansai International Airport in the Osaka-Kobe region to Honolulu beginning in March. The two Star Alliance members currently code-share on Kansai-San Francisco flights. During the 24-hr. turnaround time on that service, United had been dispatching its aircraft from San Francisco to Guam, taking advantage of what used to be that island's popularity as a Japanese tourist spot. But Guam's appeal has waned, so United discontinued the practice.
Poland's decision to buy 48 new F-16 multirole fighters represents the country's largest military purchase, which U.S. government and industry officials believe could pave the way for the country to become a future buyer of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. After having lost several fighter competitions in the region, the F-16 closed last year by winning the largest prize available, a $3.5-billion deal to replace Poland's obsolete MiG-21 fleet of more than 75 aircraft.
UPS INTENDS TO INSTALL A NEW GPS WIDE AREA AUGMENTATION system (WAAS) receiver on its entire fleet of Boeing 757s and 767s by October. The FAA has certified the link and display processing unit (LPDU), manufactured by UPS Aviation Technologies, which is the first of its kind to receive the agency's blessing, according to the company. The LPDU is part of the correlated automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) and traffic alert collision-avoidance system (TCAS) display. The FAA plans to declare the WAAS signal operational late this year.
Here is yet another article on the push by EADS to penetrate the U.S. defense market (AW&ST Nov. 25, 2002, p. 31). On numerous fronts, EADS continues to try to entice U.S. defense decision makers with local production incentives, if selected. Enough is enough.
Tactical air transport crews learn how to survive missile and fighter attacks during a nine-day "Basic Course" run by the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center. Academics and part of the course's flight training is conducted from the Missouri ANG and USAFR school's headquarters at Rosecrans Municipal Airport near St. Joseph, Mo. Students and instructors then deploy to Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., for low-level training over desert mountains (see p. 46). Jim Haseltine photo.
BALL AEROSPACE & TECHNOLOGIES CORP. WILL DESIGN, develop and test an integrated antenna suite for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's communications, navigation and identification system. Each aircraft suite will consist of one S-band, two UHF, two radar altimeter and three L-band low-observable antennas.
BAE Systems and Finmeccanica are trying a resolve a last-minute controversy that is likely to hold up formation of a new joint electronics venture, Eurosystems, for at least two months. The dispute over the venture, which was supposed to be created by year's end, stems from Italian treasury ministry concerns about the respective stakes of the two companies in the venture.
DynCorp Technical Services will continue to maintain NASA aircraft under an extension of its contract with Johnson Space Center until Feb. 29, 2004. The Fort Worth-based outfit won a $26.7-million option on its Aircraft Maintenance and Modification Program contract to maintain, rebuild and alter NASA aircraft based at JSC; El Paso, Tex.; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Kennedy Space Center, and Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. The contract is worth $118.6 million to DynCorp if all options are exercised.
Expecting a rough ride for airline stocks over the next few months, analyst Sam Buttrick advises UBS Warburg investors to fasten their seat belts and buy the survivors. He likes the chances of four network airlines--Northwest, American, Continental and Delta. He includes them among solvent survivors whose fortunes are "to double or triple over the next two years."
Nellis AFB, Nev., is supposed to receive its first F/A-22 on Jan 17. It is the first of the stealth aircraft operated by Air Combat Command. The training base for the F/A-22 will be at Tindall AFB, Fla., while the first operational squadron will be located at Langley AFB, Va.
An 11th-hour hiccup tied to Germany's quest for supremacy in the Galileo satellite navigation system has once again blocked the long-awaited launch of this key project. European Space Agency member states are expected to meet next week to reassess the impact of the new dispute on the program's schedule.
Canadian Space Agency engineers have recovered Radarsat-1, which had been in a "safe and controlled tumble" after it lost the use of a backup reaction control wheel (AW&ST Dec. 23, 2002, p. 19). CSA's Satellite Operations Directorate developed a workaround to the pitch control wheel that uses the roll and yaw wheels and torque bars for pointing control. Images collected since the fix are "comparable" to those collected before the anomaly, CSA said.
United Airlines, which has been severely criticized for its high cost structure, subcontracts 10-15% of its $1.9 billion in maintenance, repair and overhaul work. That's large compared with many small- to medium-size operators' MRO budgets, and is based on where the airline can obtain the most competitive market rates and value, according to R. Gene House, managing director of United Services. "It's work for which we aren't as cost-competitive." United Services' labor rates are about $75 per hour.
John Grisik has been appointed president of the Aeronautical Systems business, Jack Carmola president of the Engine Systems Segment and Cindy Egnotovich president of the Electronic Systems business, all new sectors of the Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C. Tom Fitch has been named vice president/controller of Engine Systems. He held the same positions in the Landing Gear Div. Jerry LaReau has become Washington-based vice president-government programs for the Electronic Systems Segment. He was president of the Engineered Polymer Products unit, Jacksonville, Fla.
A Delta Air Lines pilot is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in Norfolk (Va.) General District Court this week on charges of violating a city code that prohibits a pilot to be under the influence of alcohol. The Delta pilot was suspended from service late last month after reporting for first officer flight duty at Norfolk International Airport with a blood alcohol level of 0.07%, according to the Norfolk Airport Authority.
Arianespace has delayed the launch of Europe's Rosetta comet rendezvous mission, initially set for Jan. 12, to allow an inquiry board formed to investigate the causes of the Ariane 5 EC-A rocket failure on Dec. 11 to present its report. Company officials said the delay, which is not expected to exceed a few days, was decided because the Rosetta launch vehicle, an Ariane 5 G-Plus, features minor modifications also introduced on the EC-A (AW&ST Dec. 16, 2002, p. 32). The report is due out on Jan. 6.
Four months after the cancellation of key Pentagon acquisition directives for being overly prescriptive and inimical to "efficiency, creativity and innovation," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has a draft version of the new rules in circulation for comments. Input from military leaders is due this week.
Bell/Agusta Aerospace Co.'s BA609 has begun six weeks of crucial systems tests that company officials expect will lead to first flight of the aircraft early next year. Bell Helicopter Textron Chairman/ CEO John Murphey said the BA609 trials represent a "new benchmark in aviation history." In his view, the aircraft "will revolutionize air transportation." Both engines of the first preproduction BA609 were started on Dec. 6 at Bell's Flight Research Center here, where a majority of the aircraft's test program will be conducted.
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO, which sells a digital radio broadcast service in the U.S. market, has teamed with Avionics Innovations Inc. to transfer the receiver technology to general aviation aircraft. Car owners already have access to subscriptions for Sirius. The AI-SSR receiver would be available early in 2003 and provide about 100 radio channels--60 of them commercial-free. The system would feature a conformal antenna designed for aviation applications and receive S-band downlinks from the Sirius geosynchronous satellite network.
The New Zealand government has approved the Qantas-New Zealand Airlines alliance (AW&ST Dec. 2, p. 25). Finance Minister Michael Cullen said Air New Zealand "would struggle to survive in the long term" if it faced a "war of attrition" with Qantas. Qantas' purchase of 22.5% of Air New Zealand's shares for $550 million will dilute the New Zealand government's ownership from 82% to 64%.
An experimental Sukhoi Su-35 fighter crashed during a test flight on Dec.19 about 80 km. (50 mi.) from the manufacturer's flight test base located at Zhukovsky. Test pilot Yury Vashuk safely ejected.
The U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Tullahoma, Tenn., has completed modifications to its H3 Large Arc Heater that will allow improved aerothermal testing of materials for hypersonic reentry vehicles (see photo). The facility will provide engineers with a high-enthalpy (changes in temperature/pressure conditions) flow field with more than twice the cross-sectional area of the older H1 arc jet at AEDC, according to Lt. Tim Burke, project manager.
The British Defense Ministry is considering an unsolicited offer from helicopter manufacturer Westland for another batch of its Merlin variant of the EH101 as it considers how to meet a capability shortfall in its medium- to heavy-lift capability. Westland, the U.K. arm of Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, is offering an enhanced version of the Merlin, the Merlin Mk3 Plus, with an improved lift capability and better hot-and-high performance. It has submitted a proposal covering a multiyear purchase of another 24-28 Merlins.
Aerojet gave a third test to the new solid rocket motor it developed for Lockheed Martin's Atlas V, hot-firing the 67-ft. booster for 95 sec. at thrust levels of 285,000-390,000 lb. The test was conducted Dec. 11 at the Aerojet facility in Sacramento, Calif. The boosters will add thrust to the planned AtlasV 500 series, designed to lift as much as 19,000 lb. to geostationary transfer orbit.
Larry Schwartz has become vice president-homeland security and president of the Navigation Products Group of L-3 Communications of New York. He had been vice president-business development.
