Fay Gillis Wells, a pioneer aviator and journalist died last week. She was 94. An avid pilot most of her life, Wells was the first woman flier to parachute from an airplane to save her life in 1929. She covered the Soviet Union in the 1930s as a journalist and was allowed to fly Soviet aircraft. Wells was a White House correspondent from 1964-97. She was noted for her accomplishments in other fields, including boat interior design.
In a move designed to bring regional jet manufacturing to China before the country's official home-built airplane comes off the line, Embraer has signed an agreement to make the 37-50-seat ERJ 145 family in China. Embraer's joint-venture manufacturing partner will be Harbin Aircraft Industry (Group) Co., supported by the Hafei Aviation Industry Co.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Douglas Barrie (London)
Inter-agency conflict over the Pentagon's plans to penetrate, spoof and manipulate Iraq's computer networks are being resolved slowly, and they may not be smoothed out in time to fully exploit the military's non-lethal capability. Senior U.S. Air Force officials have complained for years that their forces can be used to kill people at crucial air defense, communications or command facilities with bombs, but they aren't allowed to "attack with ones and zeros," lamented a senior commander.
The Italian defense ministry is seeking to upgrade intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities by transforming two Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules 2 airlifters into signals intelligence platforms.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP Panel calls aging firefighting air tankers 'unsustainable' Issues report in aftermath of crashes and disintegrations last summer 20 First liftoff for reproduction Me 262A jet fighter Flight testing to begin next week 20 F-16s with conformal fuel tanks complete flight testing Designed to accommodate fighter's full flight envelope 21 WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS Israel to protect airliners; U.S. on the fence
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is privatizing the country's three biggest airports: Tokyo's Narita, which handles international flights, and Haneda, its huge domestic facility, as well as Itami, Osaka's popular domestic airport. The job is to be finished by fiscal 2004. One task that President Masahiko Kurono thinks is long overdue is to recognize that nobody calls Narita by its formal name, the New Tokyo International Airport, which bureaucrats chose.
The aerospace industry is in the throes of one of the longest and most severe downturns in its history. It's easy to blame a floundering economy and the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, for a sizable share of our troubles. But, like most complex problems, this one doesn't have a single cause or simple solution. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that many of our industry's wounds are self-inflicted.
The International Air Transport Assn. has entered Britain's airport expansion melee, with IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani arguing that London's Heathrow Airport should remain at the heart of any increased capacity. Bisignani spelled out IATA's views in a letter to British Transport Minister Alistair Darling. IATA identified three priorities: a third runway at Heathrow to be operational by 2012, a second runway at Stansted by 2014, and, depending on demand, either another runway at Stansted, or a second runway at Gatwick.
And, Peter Tor- vik, a consultant and former administrator at the Air Force Institute of Technology, will receive the J. Leland Atwood Award for his career as an aerospace educator.
The way in which U.S. major network airlines have been run through the years--starting with boards of directors who have failed to hold top management accountable for their actions --is the root cause of the financial crisis the carriers are facing. While that's where the buck stops, one would hope unions would recognize the disconnect that has developed between labor costs and productivity. To their credit, unions at the most troubled carriers are doing their part to help avert financial disaster.
With more than 700 airports accommodating approximately 20,000 commercial flights on any given day, the U.S. must find ways to secure a homeland that has more that 4,000 mi. of coastline, 7,500 mi. of land borders and 300 seaports. The country must also refine methods to inspect--or otherwise assure us of the contents of--the 2 million rail cars, 11 million trucks, and 6 million shipping containers that cross points of entry into the U.S. each year.
Transportation Security Administration officials aren't saying anything about what might be done to foil man-portable missile attacks on passenger jets, but the FAA and Pentagon have conducted extensive studies and found that remedies would be expensive and imperfect. President Bush is so concerned that man-portable missiles might be used against airliners that he is being briefed on the threat regularly.
Jan. 7-9--American Assn. of Airport Executives' Aviation Issues Conference. Hapuna Beach Prince Resort. Kamuala, Hawaii. Call +1 (703) 824-0504, fax +1 (703) 820-1395 or see www.aaae.com. Feb. 3-4--American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Defense Excellence 2003 Conference. Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington. Call +1 (703) 264-7500 or see www.aiaa.org/events/defense2003.
John M. McLucas, a former Air Force secretary and FAA administrator, died Dec. 1 in Alexandria, Va. He was 82. McLucas was a Navy radar operator in World War II. In 1950, he earned a doctorate in physics from Pennsylvania State University. McLucas joined the Defense Dept. in 1962 as deputy secretary for research and engineering and two years later, became assistant NATO secretary-general for scientific affairs. In 1966, McLucas was appointed president of the Mitre Corp. He became Air Force undersecretary in 1969 and secretary in 1973.
NASA headquarters lays down the law on those pesky foreign reporters who sometimes ask questions about programs like the space station that affect their own national space efforts. Henceforth, non-U.S. news media reps wanting to visit HQ will have to make a formal request for permission to do so at least four working days in advance. Before they can get inside NASA's rented space in Southwest D.C., they will have to reveal why they are visiting and provide passport, visa and employment information. By comparison, U.S.
Richard Ning has become Beijing-based sales manager for China and Andrew Rushton London-based sales manager for Northern Europe, Africa and Russia/CIS for Seattle-based FlightSafety Boeing Training International. Ning was an aircraft sales and marketing manager for the Boeing Co. in China, while Rushton was sales manager director of technical services for the airline total support business unit of BAE Systems Aviation Services in the U.K. Paul S. Isaacs has been named manager of the Manchester (England) Training Center.
Finnair Chief Executive Keijo Suila has been appointed chairman of the Oneworld Governing Board, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed David Turnbull, deputy chairman/chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways.
Regarding your editorial on steps to reform U.S. airlines (AW&ST Nov. 18, p. 82), I agree that the challenge for network carriers is greater than ever, but disagree with some of your proposed remedies.
Look for Israeli and American officials to put their heads together on initiatives in international treaties and arrangements for the protection of civil aviation. Noting that hijacking started on an El Al flight in the 1960s, then became a worldwide phenomenon, Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wonders aloud whether the same will happen with missile attacks (see p. 26).
