A team of subcontractors from the U.S., Europe, Canada and Japan has been assembled by Boeing to develop Delta IV flight hardware and provide manufacturing technologies at its Decatur, Ala., plant. They include: * Boeing Rocketdyne Div.--RS-68 engine. * Alliant Techsystems--GEM-60 solid rocket motors. * Pratt & Whitney--RL10B-2 upper stage engine. * Honeywell/AlliedSignal--Avionics and gyros. * Snecma Moteurs--French company providing composite nozzle extension for RL10.
Jack Ellis has been appointed manager of the Orlando (Fla.) International Airport Learning Center and Chip White assistant manager of the St. Louis Learning Center for New York-based FlightSafety International. Ellis was manager of the Toledo (Ohio) Learning Center, while White was an instructor pilot for the Embraer 145 and DC-9 at St. Louis. Ellis has been succeeded by Ken Baggett, who has been promoted from assistant manager. Baggett, in turn, has been succeeded by Kyle Davis, who was promoted from regional marketing representative.
Airlines--especially majors in the U.S. and Europe--are facing an unprecedented array of troubles. The crisis is detailed in a special report that bgeins on p. 52. AW&ST editors outline possible remedies in an editorial on p. 82. Background photo by Joseph Pries.
US Airways Group Inc. is developing a contingency plan in case revenues become harder to generate because of a drop in air traffic in response to a U.S.-led war with Iraq, according to President and CEO David Siegel. As part of the plan, management is trying to determine how quickly the bankrupt carrier could reduce the size of its fleet below the 279 aircraft it currently operates. The airline would accelerate the retirement of mainline jets, replacing them with regional jets.
The F-22 has completed the first supersonic engagement of an aerial target. An F-22 flying at Mach 1.5 and 35,000 ft. altitude fired an AIM-120C Amraam against a target flying 15,000 ft. above it and approaching nose-on. The missile had no warhead, but telemetry of the Nov. 5 test showed it would have detonated within the lethal range of the target, the Air Force and Lockheed Martin said.
With a goal of putting an end to "the high-fares dominance," Ryanair executives are determined to create Europe's biggest airline by the end of the decade. The Irish carrier's traffic--about 13 million passengers in fiscal 2002-03--is expected to soar to more than 40 million passengers by 2010, according to the company's business model and growth forecast.
The Nov. 14 final submission date on the British Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) proposals over increases to air traffic control charges was marked by a not unusual critical blast from low-cost carrier Ryanair. The CAA proposals cover allowing the National Air Traffic Services to raise airline charges to offset lower than anticipated revue. Ryanair described the proposal as "anti-competitive," among other less flattering suggestions. A final decision from the CAA is expected by the end of this month.
Key European capability shortfalls will be featured high on the agenda at this week's NATO summit, with efforts to address military airlift and alliance ground surveillance needs. This week could see the emergence of a road map directing the creation of an airlift-equivalent of NATO's E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System squadron. Officials have also been trying to thrash out a last-minute compromise on the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) program, in the run-up to the summit.
John B. Lockwood has been appointed assistant vice president-tax for the Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn. He was vice president-taxes for the Dexter Corp., Windsor Locks, Conn.
Robert K. (Kelly) Ortberg (see photos) has been appointed vice president/general manager of air transport systems and Rose M. Donnelly vice president-manufacturing operations within Rockwell Collins Commercial Systems, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ortberg was vice president/general manager of communication systems within the Rockwell Collins Government Systems. He has been succeeded by Bruce M. King, who was director of air mobility, bomber and special mission programs. Donnelly was senior director of air transport manufacturing operations. John W.
Michael Schwartz has been elected chairman and Salvatore J. Miraglia, Jr., vice chairman of the board of trustees of the Ohio Aerospace Institute of Cleveland. Schwartz succeeds Patrick Parker, who is chairman emeritus of the Parker Hannifin Corp., also of Cleveland. Schwartz is president of Cleveland State University, while Miraglia is senior vice president-technology of the Timken Co.
There has been increasing political criticism here regarding the procurement of Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) and the government's failure to complete a purchase, even as human error is being cited in an increasing number of military crashes.
John Krings, a former U.S. assistant Defense secretary, is now lead American defense industry consultant for Defense Industries International of Los Angeles.
Orbital Sciences Corp. is conducting a series of wind tunnel tests of its Pegasus booster and NASA's Hyper-X research vehicle to determine loads on the booster's fin actuator systems in preparation for a return to flight status next year.
Trevor Cornwell has become vice president-strategy and business development for Bombardier Business Jet Solutions of Dallas. He will remain president/CEO of Bombardier Skyjet.
Mark Malkowsky (see photo) has been appointed senior manager for technical training for CAE SimuFlite at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. He was manager of technical training for Bombardier Aerospace.
Richard Lund has been appointed president and Jeff Hurst vice president-engineering for Jedco, Grand Rapids, Mich. Company owner Dan Szymanski will be chairman/CEO. Lund was president/CEO of Cade Industries, while Hurst was director of sales, marketing and business development for Woodward Aircraft Engine Systems, Rockford, Ill.
Few government-sponsored evaluations of security and anti-terrorism measures appear to include tabulations of their impacts on national productivity. The article on screening checked bags for explosives (AW&ST Oct. 14, p. 48) mentions costs to the federal government and operators of security equipment. It also quotes FAA calculations that value avoidance of fatalities. But lines of passengers seem to be economic throwaways.
The low-cost carriers' formidable ambitions, egged on by the traveling public's insatiable demands, are fueling the European airline industry's rapid transformation. Pressure from low-cost carriers recently forced executives of competing airlines to reassess long-term goals and determine new priorities. Although still worried by the economic downturn, they unexpectedly relegated the economy to a distant second behind concerns over competition from low-cost airlines. European carriers, however, have been less seriously hit by the downturn than U.S. airlines.
William G. Van Dyke has been named to the board of directors of Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis. He is chairman/ president/CEO of the Donaldson Co. and a director of Graco Inc.
The Interchangeable Virtual Instrumentation (IVI) Foundation was founded in 1998 to set software standards for instruments. These would make it simpler for test software to use different types of instruments from different vendors, and make it easier to replace obsolete instruments in long-lived test systems. Nowadays it can be tedious to connect an instrument to a PC, particularly dealing with the proper addresses, syntax and codes.
David Laks has become corporate vice president-homeland security program development and Charles Stuewe manager of the homeland security program for Signal Technology, Danvers, Mass. Laks was vice president/general manager and Stuewe product management director of the wireless group.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a contract worth $34.2 million to design a new radar antenna for the B-2 bomber. The company will integrate an active electronically scanned array (AESA) to improve radar range and resolution on the bomber fleet by the end of this decade. Raytheon is the principal subcontractor and is teamed with Northrop Grumman to build the radar for the new multi-sensor command and control aircraft. AESA radars are capable of simultaneously scanning, tracking and jamming.
