Pilots just need to drag a mouse along their planned route on a map, and PC-based MxVision Aviation Sentry will retrieve the appropriate weather, including radar images, satellite photos and forecast maps. The service can also monitor real time for lightning strikes and sound an alarm if they occur in a designated area. The service is available at www.meteorlogix.com. . . . The Beagle 2 Mars lander, part of the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission set for launch in May, is a joint project of several U.K.
In an historic move, Taiwanese authorities have lifted a 52-year ban on direct investments in mainland China by approving the application of Taipei-based China Airlines to acquire 25% of Shanghai-based China Cargo Airlines for $47 million. CCA is majority controlled by China Eastern Airlines. Taiwan's Eva Air could be next: it has secured a heavy maintenance contract from Shanghai Airlines for its 767-300 fleet.
Rene Flindt has become vice president-business development for Logistechs Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. He was Vancouver, British Columbia-based manager of rotable logistics and allotments for Air Canada.
AMR Corp. reported a third-quarter net loss of $475 million and warned of higher losses in the fourth quarter as chief subsidiary American Airlines moves to defer new aircraft deliveries and relegate dozens of existing aircraft to storage. ``Any way you look at them, these are terrible financial results'' coming in the wake of a shaky economy, persistent weakness in the revenue environment, rising fuel prices and escalating costs for airport security, said AMR Chairman/CEO Donald Carty.
A massive, 30,000-lb. ``Daisy Cutter'' replacement and other new weapon concepts are emerging to help U.S. forces defeat targets they haven't been able to destroy with existing conventional munitions. Although many of these efforts are still embryonic, the Pentagon appears to be on the verge of a revolution in weapons technology on a scale not seen since the 1991 Persian Gulf war.
After six years of continuing losses marked by a steady decline in its market share of outbound international traffic--20% through 2001--Air-India is ready to speed up the modernization of its fleet. The decision came last year when Air-India's (AI's) board, acting after a decade of inaction on the same issues, approved an ambitious plan to acquire 17 long-haul aircraft, paving the way for a five-year fleet expansion that is to begin in 2003-04. Air-India's last orders were placed in 1993.
ELECTRONICFLIGHT SOLUTIONS HAS DEVELOPED a special module to train pilots in the use of Honeywell's Bendix/King KGP650 enhanced ground proximity warning system. The training package includes instructional information on both Honeywell and Avidyne display units that are frequently used with the system.
The Russian space program suffered a setback last week when a Soyuz-U booster carrying a Foton-M1 microgravity capsule failed on liftoff. However, the blow was softened two days later when a Proton rocket launched the European Space Agency's Integral gamma-ray observatory without a hitch (see photo). One of the industry's most reliable launchers, with a flawless record since 1996, the Soyuz was carrying 44 experiments from ESA, the French space agency CNES and the German aerospace center DLR, as well as Russia, for a 15-day mission.
The aerospace market is more than ever beset by economic uncertainties. Looking beyond the ongoing downturn, U.S. attacks against Iraq would further boost gasoline prices and worsen the airline industry crisis, Snecma executives warned. In such an unstable context, the French government no longer plans to partly privatize state-owned Snecma in the short term. A plan to sell 25% of the company's shares is on hold, and no revised public offering schedule has been determined.
Northrop Grumman Corp. was notified last week that the European Union has approved its proposed acquisition of TRW. Northrop chief Kent Kresa expects the transaction to close before year-end.
The FAA, raising the bar on airline seat safety last week, is seeking to require that all passenger and flight attendant seats in Part 121 transport aircraft operations meet improved crashworthiness standards. The agency's Oct. 4 supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPR) sets new compliance requirements for FAR 25.562, known as the ``16g'' rule, which became effective June 16, 1988.
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting last week that he thinks the deadlines for passenger and baggage screening on Nov. 19 and Dec. 31, respectively, will be met. But it won't be easy because there is no appropriations bill for the new fiscal year to cover the rampup of spending over the next three months. And the funding allotted so far this fall for the Transportation Security Administration under the continuing resolution process won't be enough to get the agency through the rest of the calendar year.
Boeing Phantom Works is studying a giant 500-ft.-span ``Pelican'' cargo aircraft that would cruise in ground effect but be capable of flying above 20,000 ft. over land, carrying up to 2.8 million lb. of cargo. The project is an internal study for long-range transoceanic transport and is being promoted as an idea for the Army's Advanced Mobility Concepts Study, set for release in April.
The seventh intercept attempt for the ground-based midcourse missile defense program is slated for Oct. 14. The Orbital Suborbital Program target will launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., followed about 20 min. later by the launch of the interceptor from the Kwajalein Atoll missile range in the Marshall Islands. For the first time an Aegis ship, the destroyer USS John Paul Jones, will participate by gathering data on the target and interceptor. The ship's involvement was proscribed by the now defunct Antiballistic Missile treaty.
General Electric Aircraft Engines expects to reduce its 26,585-strong workforce by about 1,000 through layoffs and voluntary early retirements by year-end, owing to depressed commercial business levels. This is on top of the nearly 3,500 jobs the engine maker lost since October 2001 and the middle of this year. Company officials also warned that should the bad times continue as anticipated, another round of layoffs of as many as 1,200-1,800 employees could follow in 2003.
Crane Hydro-Aire is increasing production to build enough inventory of its fuel pumps to handle the effects of an airworthiness directive (AD) that requires removing and X-raying the pump. About 30,000 of the pumps are affected by the AD, installed on Boeing 747, 757 and 737-600/700/800/900 airliners. The inventory is needed particularly by smaller airlines that don't have a stock of spare pumps. When the pump is removed for inspection, the aircraft can't fly until it is replaced.
Bruce Harris has been appointed managing director for the Americas of Avioserv San Diego Inc. He is a director of United Airlines and was deputy CEO/chief administrative officer of the Star Alliance.
At least two U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit detected the brilliant infrared flash of a large (15-30-ft.-dia. meteorite) diving into Earth's atmosphere over the Mediterranean Sea June 6. While DSPs see about 30 such large meteorite events per year, this raised concerns because it occurred in the midst of an India-Pakistan nuclear crisis. U.S. officials point out this type of natural event could be mistaken for the start of a nuclear exchange.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission last week blocked the proposed combination of EchoStar Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics in a $16.2-billion deal. Reduced competition and a need for enforcement of a national pricing plan by regulatory authorities were cited as reasons for the government's stance. The companies can appeal the decision.
Charter airline delays to and from the U.K. showed significant improvement during the second quarter of 2002, compared to the previous period in 2001. According to British Civil Aviation Authority figures released late last week, on-time charter flight figures rose to 69% from 56%. The figures also showed a small improvement for scheduled airlines, with 75% of flights on time, compared to 74% for the previous 2001 period. Overall flight numbers were down 3% from the corresponding quarter for 2001.
Cessna Aircraft Co. received orders for 413 new business jets at the NBAA convention held last month in Orlando, Fla. Of these, 217 orders were for the Citation Mustang--an entry-level jet Cessna officials say will challenge sales of existing small jets as well as turboprop-powered aircraft such as the Beechcraft King Air series. The Citation CJ3, also introduced at the show, garnered 156 orders, and other models in the company's jet product line accounted for 40 orders.
France's plan to consolidate solid propellant production is delayed again. Snecma Propulsion Spatiale and SNPE's propellant businesses have not been able to merge into a 50/50 joint subsidiary as planned. The long-awaited agreement has not been terminated, but its implementation was disrupted by the catastrophic accident last year that destroyed AZF, a chemical group located next to SNPE's Toulouse facilities. SNPE's primary goal now is to relocate its Toulouse plant.
Boeing's first office in Glasgow, Scotland, will boost support to the U.K.'s Defense Ministry and initially concentrate on the Chinook fleet. Its mission is to produce and deliver high-quality technical updates and publication services, as well as to support the introduction of Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) to the Royal Air Force fleet. IETMs consolidate thousands of pages of technical data on laptop-type computers, speeding up trouble-shooting processes and maintenance procedures.
Sidestepping Justice Dept. opposition, the U.S. Transportation Dept. approved antitrust immunity, with strings attached, to allow Hawaiian and Aloha airlines to reduce capacity within Hawaii for a year. A tailored-for-Hawaii provision of last November's aviation security legislation permits immunity if needed to preserve air service within a state, and the two carriers applied July 31 because each had cut capacity as much as it was willing on its own and both were still losing money. Now, they will be allowed to agree on total capacity, month by month until Oct.
