ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP. and the University of North Dakota's UND Aerospace have reached an agreement whereby the university will assess pilot qualifications and provide supplemental training for customers buying the Eclipse 500 jet. The assessment is aimed chiefly at preparing pilots to enter training to obtain an FAA type rating to fly the airplane. Using facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., which also is headquarters for Eclipse Aviation, UND will provide Eclipse 500 customers with an independent, third-party evaluation of a pilot's skills.
Aeroflot, continuing to lead Russian network airlines in financial performance, reported operational revenues of $1.3 billion for the first nine months of the year, compared with $966 million for the same period last year. The carrier posted a net profit of $43.2 million compared with $17.3 million in 2001 and served 4.2 million passengers in the period, with the overall load factor increasing 2.4 percentage points to 69.5%.
Ralph Nilsson (see photo) has been named president of the Taunton, Mass., division of San Diego-based StratEdge. He was process cell manager and product marketing manager for Alpha Industries, Haverhill, Mass
DELTA AERO-TAXI, A EUROPEAN-BASED operator, has ordered seven Cessna Citation Mustang entry-level business jets for use in a new fractional ownership program to be located in Florence, Italy. The Mustang, introduced in September at the National Business Aviation Assn. show, is tentatively scheduled for FAA certification under Part 23 rules in mid-2006. Performance is projected to be a cruise speed of 340 kt. and a maximum altitude of 41,000 ft.
U.S. defense electronics giant Northrop Grumman and Germany's Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft have reached agreement over access to stealth technology, marking an important step forward in transatlantic arms cooperation.
New York-based Honeybee Robotics will begin work on a nuclear-powered drill to probe beneath the surfaces of Mars, Europa and other bodies under a $750,000 contract issued by NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets program. Based on recommendations from planetary scientists, the robotic drill would burrow hundreds of meters, and perhaps kilometers, below a lander on the surface in search of life or evidence of it.
The Prague Summit in late November was always important for the alliance, with the prospect of a further round of enlargement. Now it is the focus for major changes across NATO's agenda. You know the issues. Rather than list them, let me give you a glimpse of work in progress as we head toward Prague. First, enlargement. No numbers, no names for the moment. But I am happy that a sound consensus is emerging--a consensus that will strengthen NATO and contribute to the final end of artificial divisions in the Old World.
Beginning Jan. 2, American Eagle plans to become an all-jet airline in the Northeast U.S., terminating service of Saab 340-series turboprop aircraft. The eight 340s currently serving the region and maintained at Albany, N.Y., will be reduced to seven this month with further reductions due in December, according to Eagle President Peter Bowler. He said that as of Jan. 2 all routes will be flown by Embraer regional jets. In addition, the Saab maintenance base at Albany and pilot domicile at New York JFK International Airport will close.
There is a new Pentagon mission dubbed "deadly persistence." It is perhaps the most evocative manifestation of the sharp end of network-centric warfare, and is being conducted by the 80-kt. Predator unmanned aircraft armed with a pair of Hellfire missiles.
Policy advisers at the Transportation Dept. and Transportation Security Administration are working on unresolved privacy and legal questions with checked baggage screening that could pose major problems starting next year, according to one Transportation Dept. official.
Engineers are pleased with the results of camera tests on board NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which returned the first images of the probe's two targets Oct. 21. In a color composite (shown) of images collected with various filters, the southern hemisphere of Saturn is visible in summer sunlight, and the planet casts its shadow on its familiar rings. In the upper left of the image is Titan, Saturn's largest moon, its brightness relative to Saturn enhanced threefold for better visibility.
Sandia National Laboratories engineer Dick Jones took this photo of the new, turboprop-powered General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Predator B. The aircraft was flying near El Mirage, Calif., where CIA Gnat 750s and USAF Predator As were developed and made their early flights. Predator B will have six weapons stations (see p. 34). The expanding inventory of its weapons includes the 500-lb. Joint Direct Air Munition.
Boeing has selected the CsLEOS embedded operating system of BAE Systems for an upgrade of the autopilot flight control system panel, built by Controls, for U.S. Air Force C-17s.
Corrections: An item in the World News Roundup in last week's issue (p. 27) incorrectly stated the country that has chosen the Northrop Grumman AN/ALQ-135 radar jammer to protect its fleet of F-15K aircraft. The correct country is South Korea. Airbus partners, not the airframer itself, are the users of Vistagy's FiberSim software for the A380 (AW&ST Nov. 4, p. 21). Also, the image shown is of a generic inlet duct using Pro/Engineer software, not of the inlet on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The U.S. Coast Guard has selected the Eagle Eye tiltrotor developed by Bell Helicopter Textron to fulfill the tactical unmanned aerial vehicle element of the service's Deepwater program. Bell, which is part of a team led by Lockheed Martin, would supply 69 of the UAVs plus 50 ground stations. Up to four UAVs would be assigned to each of eight new USCG National Security Cutters and 25 Offshore Patrol Cutters.
The French Eutelsat payload for the first launch of the Boeing Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle is now atop the booster at Launch Complex 37 being readied for the planned 5:38 p.m. EST liftoff Nov. 16.
There seems to be no doubt about the impact of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's memorandum on "interoperability and connectivity" and his designation of a U.S. Navy admiral to dole out the monies.
Lonestar Propjets in Waco, Tex., has received FAA approval to install Walter M601E-11 turboprop engines in the Beechcraft King Air 90, A90, B90 and C90 general aviation aircraft in place of the original Pratt & Whitney PT6A-series. For the installation, the M601E-11 (751 shp.) is flat-rated to 550 shp., allowing faster climb to altitude and a cruise speed of 235 kt. at 25,000 ft., according to the company. The modifications include engines and five-blade Avia-Hamilton V-510 propellers. The $575,000 conversion will be performed at Waco or Smyrna, Tenn., facilities.
Following a gun battle with a North Korean spy boat in the East China Sea last December, Japan's coast guard says it will armor its helicopter fleet. The agency is seeking $49 million in fiscal 2003 for the program. Although details have not been released, installation of armor plates, bullet-proof glass and flares to deflect heat-seeking missiles are considered likely.
After revamping its business operations to climb free of debt, Malaysia Airlines says it's ready to start making over its first- and business-class cabins and improve inflight entertainment systems as a step toward regaining its global position. The carrier is now ready to begin talking about fleet expansion as well, including acquiring Airbus' A380s for Kuala Lumpur-London services. This expansion talk comes after the airline has moved a massive debt off its balance sheet through a government-backed restructuring tool.
The need to update its bilateral air service agreements with China and India is hampering Malaysia Airlines' expansion plans (see p. 42). MAS makes 17 weekly flights to five Indian cities and 24 to four cities in China. Director Mohammed Nor Yusef said that while the carrier is seeking increased services to all nine destinations, priorities are the doubling of daily services to Shanghai and Beijing and the establishment of daily services to Mumbai and Delhi, which are limited under the existing agreement to four times a week.
A landmark decision by the European Court of Justice could ultimately trigger a vast mutation of Europe's airline industry and transatlantic air services, although changes are unlikely to be felt for some time.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Frank Morring Jr. (Washington)
At least two bids have been submitted for the first part of NATO's $620-million Satcom Post-2000 program, a satellite-services buy that is scheduled to replace the organization's existing NATO IV milsatcom system.
HE FAA HAS CERTIFIED the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) for scheduled FAR Part 121 as well as private flight operations in the U.S., paving the way for deliveries to customers in North America. Airbus reports having 30 orders for the airplane, and 14 have been delivered. Of these, 12 are in service worldwide. By comparison, through the third quarter of this year, Boeing has delivered 73 BBJ business jets and 57 are in service with customers
Pentagon officials have quietly shifted the planned start for operations against Iraq from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5, and may slip them into early January. The Dec. 5 date marks the end of Ramadan, thereby avoiding military activity during the Muslim holy days, gives more time for finalization of a United Nations resolution on action against Iraq, and it allows time for an initial round of inspections in the search for weapons of mass destruction. It also segues well with a December call-up of U.S. reserve troops
