Aviation Week & Space Technology

Wall Street's reaction to Delta Air Lines' announcement that it plans to create an airline within an airline to compete directly against low-fare carriers (see p. 36) is best summarized in one word: "underwhelming." Last Wednesday, when the new "product" was unveiled, the stock finished the trading day at 10.49, down 68 cents.

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Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is attempting to offload some of its financial burden for building a fourth runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport, the country's key domestic hub and Asia's most-frequently used airport. Haneda's status as a "Class1" airport under Japanese law makes the central government responsible for maintaining and administering it. That means the ministry should have to pay all the costs of runway capacity expansion. But funding is tight, so the agency wants local government to foot 30% of the bill.

Past airline incidents assembled during the course of the NTSB's investigation of the American Airlines Flight 587 accident show that in rare but significant cases pilots have kicked the rudder from one stop to another, in a manner that exceeds the design and sometimes even ultimate loads on the tail.

Central/Southern US: (AL, AR, CO, IA, KS, LA, MO, MS, OK, TN, TX, UT), Central & South America: See Tom Davis above. Northwest US: (Northern CA, ID, MT, Northern NV, OR, WA), Western Canada: (BC, AB) See Bill Madden above. Western US: (Southern CA, Southern NV, AZ) Soulek & Associates; (818) 762-9988; Fax: (818) 762-9972; e-mail: [email protected] Midwest/Northern US (IN, KY, MI, MO, OH, WV, IL IA, WI, MN, WY, ND, SD, NE), Central Canada (MB, SK): See Chuck Talley above.

ENGINEERS WORKING WITH CAPSTONE tests in Alaska are hopeful that it will be possible to share an antenna used for communication with Iridium satellites for GPS reception as well. Prototypes have been tested in the laboratory that show promise for a shared use. Iridium provides excellent satellite communication in the Arctic and Antarctic, where geostationary satellites in their equatorial planes are not visible. In contrast, six Iridium satellite planes converge at the poles, giving redundancy and reliable communication, according to Capstone personnel.

The Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) roared aloft here Nov. 20 on a successful first flight that has propelled Boeing into aggressive new competition against Lockheed Martin and Arianespace for heavy commercial payloads while cementing the company's new hold on U.S. military launch operations. The 205-ft.-tall Delta IV lifted off at 5:39 p.m. EST on about 1 million lb. thrust from two powerful new Alliant Techsystems solid rocket boosters and the vehicle's new Rocketdyne RS-68 hydrogen-fueled engine.

Eduardo Angeles has become managing assistant of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Airport Div. that serves Los Angeles World Airports. He was chief attorney of public protection in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office.

Guenther Riegler has been named director of astrobiology and space research at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., effective in January. He has been executive director for science in the Office of Space Science at NASA headquarters. Riegler succeeds Estelle Condon, who is now associate director for astrobiology and space programs.

Thomas Q. Carney, head of the Aviation Technology Dept. at Purdue University, has received the William A. Wheatley Award from the University Aviation Assn. The annual honor is presented to a professional educator for more than 10 years of contributions to aerospace education. Royce Ann Martin, assistant professor of aviation studies at Bowling Green (Ohio) State University, received the V.L. Laursen Award, which honors an educator with at least five years' experience. The award honors a former Trans World Airlines captain. John P.

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Delta Air Lines, guided by the demands of passengers and the scent of low-fare carrier success, last week announced plans for a spring launch of a low-cost airline-within-the-airline. "Low-fare carriers represent a real threat to Delta, substantially more than hub-and-spoke competition," said Delta chairman and CEO Leo F. Mullin, noting that the discount carriers were making "significant inroads" during a period of "extreme financial duress for the industry."

Mark Seidel (see photos) has been appointed general manager of Parker Aerospace's Nichols Airborne Div, Elyria, Ohio. He succeeds Scott Ledbetter, who has been appointed general manager of the Gas Turbine Fuel Systems Div., Mentor, Ohio. Seidel was general manager of the Aircraft Wheel & Brake Div., Avon, Ohio.

Erin Pettigrew, (212) 904-6425; Fax (212) 904-3334

Space Hardware Optimization Technology Inc., a Greenville, Ind.-based company that develops and builds research hardware for the space shuttle and International Space Station, is selling space for experiments on a May 2003 flight of the shuttle Endeavour. The company's Advanced Separations Processing Facility, which last flew in 1998, uses experiment "cassettes" about the size of a lunch box that cost about $100,000 to fly.

In January, Alitalia and Air France are scheduled to complete a 2% cross-equity scheme to demonstrate the Franco-Italian partnership's strength. Italian carrier Alitalia is expected to invest an estimated 50 million euros ($50 million) to acquire a 2% stake in Air France, while the French flag carrier will spend about 22 million euros to buy a similar stake in Alitalia. In preparation for such closer ties, Alitalia Chief Executive Francesco Mengozzi recently joined Air France's board, and Air France Chairman/CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta became an Alitalia board member.

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Chinese space managers have tentatively set Jan. 1 as the launch date for the fourth test of an unmanned Shenzhou spacecraft. If the launch is a success, the flight is to be China's last major unmanned test before launch of the first Chinese manned mission in 2003. Meanwhile, Chinese electronics for the Double Star mission with the European Space Agency was tested in London last month with the European science hardware. The twin-satellite magnetospheric science mission is to be launched in 2003 on board Chinese Long March boosters.

IN ITS FIRST BIG ATC ORDER IN THE U.S., BarcoView has been selected to provide its ISIS 20 X 20-in. flat panel displays for controllers at the FAA's en route centers. The 2,048 X 2,048-pixel liquid crystal displays will replace aging Sony cathode ray tubes. The LCDs' lighter weight and smaller volume give more flexibility for installing ISIS, which can even mount on a swing arm. Seattle has received the first flat panels, and installation is underway at centers in Denver and Salt Lake City.

Prices for used business jets are beginning to stabilize after a 12-18-month buyers' market, despite the struggling U.S. economy, according to some original equipment manufacturers. Both Bombardier Aerospace and Cessna Aircraft are reporting an increase in buyer activity. The Washington-based National Aircraft Resale Assn. (NARA) is seeing a similar pickup. "The worst seems behind us, and now the market is showing signs of a slow turnaround," said NARA Vice President Susan Sheets.

Aeroflot Russian International Airlines is preparing to take delivery of 18 single-aisle Airbus twinjets in the next few years. In the longer term, follow-on orders could further boost the Europeans' share in the Russian carrier's fleet. Moreover, Aeroflot's decision is expected to significantly strengthen joint ventures involving Russian industrial groups such as the Kaskol engineering center and EADS, Airbus' parent.

It's a good idea for USAF to buy Boeing 767 tankers. It will help USAF to perform its duty and help Boeing in a time of weak market and ferocious unfair competition from heavily subsidized Airbus. Could it not also be a solution to complement USAF KC-10 tankers with converted MD-11s now parked in the desert? It could give a boost to their airline owners. Philippe Cauchi Montreal, Quebec

The CIA believes North Korea has had at least one or two nuclear weapons since the mid-1990s, using plutonium produced before 1992. But the spooks also believe Pyongyang could produce plutonium for 50 bombs a year by mid-decade. That assessment was given to Hill staffers last week and then obtained by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center here. The unclassified estimate notes that North Korea has a 5-megawatt reactor at Yongbyon and is building a 50-megawatt reactor at that site and a 200-megawatt reactor at Taechon. The three could produce about 280 kg.