Delta Connection's Comair, the U.S. pioneer of small jet operations, is counting on the 70-seat CRJ700 to inject new flexibility into the critical drive to meet shifting market demand while managers are looking for cost improvements of at least 14% over the 50-seat CRJ200. Comair took delivery of its first CRJ700 late last month, belated a year by the pilots' strike that sidelined the carrier for 89 days.
Robert Monetti has an intense interest in aviation security, particularly when the topic turns to preventing terrorist acts. Monetti's son Richard, then 20, and 269 others were killed Dec. 21, 1988, when an improvised explosive device in a bag--checked luggage not matched with a passenger--brought down Pan Am Flight 103 on the town of Lockerbie, Scotland.
NASA Langley Research Center is teaming with Utah State University to develop a special heat sensor to help scientists evaluate variations in climate. The Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere device would be installed on remote-sensing satellites to measure long-wave radiation emitted from Earth, particularly from water vapor and clouds. The sensor is set to be tested in 2005 on a stratospheric balloon at an altitude of more than 100,000 ft. The project, part of NASA's Instrument Incubator Program, is managed by the Earth Science Technology Office.
The U.S. Navy's Space Surveillance System upgrade contract has gone to Raytheon. The company will install S-band radio transmitters and receivers on the system known as the Space Fence, replacing the existing VHF devices. The ground-based system is used to track satellites flying over the U.S. The upgrade will allow it to detect 5-cm.-size objects; currently, 30-cm. sizes can be detected. The contract could grow to $396 million through 2010.
Mooney Aerospace Group has contracted with Flight Training Inc. to provide instruction for pilots buying a new Mooney. The four-day course will be taught at Mooney's facilities in Kerrville, Tex., or at Flight Training's headquarters in San Antonio. The training applies to the Ovation, Bravo and Eagle2 aircraft models.
Planetary scientists at the California Institute of Technology have spotted an icy Kuiper Belt Object half the size of Pluto, raising the possibility that other large planetoids await discovery at the edge of the solar system. The nearly 1,300-km. (800-mi.)-dia. object was given the name Quaoar, a creation god of the Native American Tongva tribe. The Hubble Space Telescope tracked and measured Quaoar, the most distant body in the solar system to be resolved by a telescope (see images).
Britain is beginning to consider holding onto its fleet of C-17 strategic airlifters once the lease expires, rather than return the aircraft to manufacturer Boeing as U.K. government officials have long opined. C-17s were leased in 2000 by the British defense ministry to meet an airlift shortfall underscored by the 1998 Strategic Defense Review (SDR). The aircraft were intended to provide an interim lift capability until the much-delayed A400M airlifter finally becomes available.
In an about-face, Germany's RapidEye has selected MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates to supply and launch a constellation of imaging satellites and provide associated ground equipment. The two companies will also work together to complete financing for the $100-million system, which will be operated by RapidEye and benefit from an undisclosed amount of German government funding. The U.K.'s Surrey Satellite Technology U.K. had been expected to win the space segment contract, with the ground segment going to a separate contractor (AW&ST Feb. 18, p. 21).
Israel is preparing to declare its second Arrow missile defense battery operational. The location will be north of Tel Aviv at the Ein Shemer air base. The first Arrow battery is south of Tel Aviv at Palmahim air base. Deployment of the Israel Aircraft Industries system was delayed because of residents' concerns about the health effects of the powerful L-band Green Pine early-warning and fire-control radar. The compromise is to keep the radar off during peacetime, but on during crises.
The FAA's efforts at building a faster, better, sleeker ATC system were apparent with last week's debut of Controller Pilot Data Link Communications at Miami Center and word that Required Navigational Performance special approaches at San Francisco International airport are a month away. Both efforts are aimed at reducing congestion and delays to meet growing demand that in the next 20 years is expected to outpace the capacity of the current ATC system. THE FIRST CPDLC system in the world became operational at 7:38 a.m. Oct.
British Secretary of State for Defense Geoff Hoon plans to unveil the government's strategy document on defense industrial policy on Oct. 14. The policy document will, among other issues, address future procurement strategy.
Terry D. Stinson, former CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron, has been appointed chairman/CEO of Xelus Inc., Rochester, N.Y. Stinson, who has been a Xelus director, succeeds Mike Fabiaschi.
Greece is about to finally sign off on its procurement of C-27J tactical airlifters and may embark on a new round of negotiations covering the purchase of 60 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft. C-27J industry partner Finmeccanica/ Alenia Aeronautica anticipates contract signature during November. ``We expect to sign the contract with the Greek Ministry of Defense before the end of November, and deliveries could start in 2004,'' Giorgio Zappa, Alenia Aeronautica's chairman, said.
The first of five Bombardier Q400 turboprops was delivered last week to Japan Air Commuter, a Japan Airlines subsidiary, as a replacement for 50-seat YS-11As. Configured in a 74-seat layout, the initial aircraft will be based at Kagoshima.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China certified the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. G200 business jet, clearing the way for it to be owned and operated in China, according to the company. Formerly known as the Galaxy Aerospace Galaxy, the G200 is capable of flying 3,600 naut. mi. without refueling, allowing nonstop Beijing-Anchorage flights.
By MICHAEL A. TAVERNABy DOUGLAS BARRIE ( BORDEAUX LONDON)
French and British defense officials are convinced that there is still ample scope for cooperation with the U.K. on aircraft carrier programs, despite a British decision to buy short takeoff/vertical landing (Stovl) versions of the F-35 for its own future carrier requirements. French officials noted that the choice remained compatible with French needs, because the U.K.
The NTSB is recommending that all helicopter pilots conducting commercial, passenger-carrying flights possess an instrument rating if they fly in areas where low-light or snow-induced white-out conditions can occur. The recommendation calls for pilots to demonstrate their instrument skills during initial and recurrent training as required under FAR Part 135 rules, and that operators have an approved training program. The safety board officials also recommended that the FAA require radar altimeters in helicopters flying commercial missions in potential white-out areas.
It is always intellectually energizing to meet with students and educators on the best approach for motivating students to believe that taking science, math and technology courses is ``cool.'' While this aspect of education has been the focus of a long-term debate, the speed of technology advances and need of the aerospace industry for engineers, scientists and technically competent managers has made the issue much more timely.
USAF Col. Susan Helms, who is chief of the Space Control Div. at Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo., has won the Outstanding Achievement Award of Washington-based Women in Aerospace. She flew on the space shuttle Atlantis on Mission STS-101 to deliver and repair hardware for the International Space Station. Other recent honors presented by WIA are: Outstanding International Award, Supriya B. Ganguli, corporate vice president of the Science Applications International Corp., McLean, Va.; Outstanding Leadership Award: USAF Brig. Gen.
Senior officials of the National Business Aviation Assn. said discussions earlier this month with James M. Loy, acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), failed to make significant progress toward restoring access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which has been closed to general aviation since last year's terrorist attacks. John W. Olcott, NBAA president, said he is confident that Loy recognizes NBAA ``as a valuable resource'' for liaison with the TSA.
The House appropriations committee has followed its Senate counterpart in providing funding for the Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission the administration didn't want. The $105-million funding is part of the $15.3-billion Fiscal spending level the panel is proposing--a $300-million increase over the White House request. It would also provide $40 million for a Europa mission--not in the Senate bill or budget request--and uphold the administration's request for funds to run shuttle operations.
A ``new'' U.S. Strategic Command was activated on Oct. 1, combining the resources and missions of both U.S. Space Command and the long-standing, nuclear-oriented ``old'' Strategic Command. The blended unit is favored to assume previously unassigned missions such as global strike, and could become an overarching integrator for information operations and missile defense. After 17 years as the Pentagon's joint military space entity, U.S. Space Command (USSC) ceased to exist as a separate organization on Oct. 1, its flag folded and cased.
India and Pakistan, nuclear-capable rivals that came close to war four months ago, have staged tit-for-tat missile trials, increasing regional tensions. Pakistan tested its nuclear-capable Shaheen I medium-range ballistic missile Oct. 4 and Oct. 8. The missile, described as being indigenously developed, was fired off the Somyami coast. The Shaheen has a range of 700 km. (435 mi.). The ITAR-TASS news agency cited a Russian arms official as saying that both Pakistan's Ghauri and Shaheen missiles are ``carbon copies'' of North Korean and Chinese equivalents.
Mark A. Skoda has become CEO of Nextjet Technologies of Dallas. He was president of i2 Technology's FreightMatrix and head of its logistics solutions practice.
NASA and the Defense Dept. have revamped the Partnership Council responsible for coordinating technology development for civil and national security space activities, a move that may augur reshaping of NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI). The panel of high-ranking government space officials has been expanded and now includes former astronaut Ronald M. Sega, director for defense research and engineering, who will be responsible for folding NASA efforts such as SLI into his office's broader National Aerospace Initiative (NAI).
