Loral will buy a half-interest in the Aptstar-V satellite its Space Systems/Loral unit is building for APT Satellite Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong, while the Chinese company has dropped a requirement that the satellite be launched on a Long March rocket. Loral will pay $115 million ``in increments'' through 2008 for its share of the C- and Ku-band hybrid platform that is scheduled to enter service to Asia in the third quarter of 2003. Loral's portion of the satellite will be designated Telstar 14.
Russian and Chinese aviation authorities caused a major crimp in trade between the countries with the ban of Russian charter freight operations to Chinese airports last month in response to unsafe overloading practices, an accident and many incidents. Only regular freight carriers were permitted to continue scheduled service after charter flights were abruptly halted on Aug. 6. Authorities have since started a major revamping of the China-Russia air trade, leading to a case-by-case resumption of flights.
Ross Terrazas has been named Dallas-based military marketing manager for Crane Aerospace. He was business development manager for airborne power for Unitron Inc. of Dallas.
The British Defense Ministry's investment approval board has come to no firm conclusion on whether the government should buy the short takeoff and vertical landing or aircraft carrier (CV) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, according to industry officials. Although Stovl was seen as the preferred option, some panel members also backed the CV model. Secretary of State for Secretary Geoffrey Hoon is slated to make a decision in the coming days.
With the successful flight of a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket Sept. 18, the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral marked the 100th consecutive launch where range instrumentation didn't cause a postponement. Col. Mike Lehnertz, vice commander of the 45th Space Wing, which manages Eastern Range operations, says it's a ``myth'' that range problems cause an inordinate number of scrubs at the Cape. ``It's been more than three years since problems with range instrumentation scrubbed a launch,'' Lehnertz says.
Funding shortages are putting the U.S. Air Force's supply of critically needed airborne targets for testing modern air-to-air and other weapons in jeopardy. The service is trying to replace both its QF-4 full-scale targets and the BQM-34 and MQM-107 subscale targets, but efforts are being hobbled by a lack of money. The stockpile of subscale targets could run out by 2006, while Air Force officials expect to face a shortage of full-scale models about 2004.
David Jennings (see photo) has been appointed director of aftermarket services for Dunlop Aerospace, Coventry, England. He was general manager of the Rolls-Royce disk manufacturing facility.
Although D.C. street demonstrations over the weekend were primarily targeted at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, aerospace companies weren't exempt. Among the objectives of an ``anti-capitalist scavenger hunt'' promoted by infoshop.org, ``your online anarchist community,'' were contractor ads in Washington's subway system. ``Remove defense contractor ads from Metro system--50 points each,'' the scavenger hunt rules urged.
Sergio Vetrella has been appointed for a second term as president of the Italian Aerospace Research Center, CIRA. He is a professor of aerospace systems at the Engineering University of Naples and a senior academic member of the International Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Aviation Week & Space Technology reports on select new products in the monthly Aerospace Products & Services (AP&S) section. The most forward-thinking of the items are nominated for the annual Technology Innovation Awards program, and a panel of seven judges from the private sector and military services chooses the most deserving. The Sixth Annual Technology Innovation Awards will be presented Oct. 1 at the Aerospace Expo 2002 conference and exhibition in Los Angeles.
1. Miniature space ground link system transponder, Naval Research Laboratory 2. Solid-State Mission Data Recorder, Teac Airborne Video Products 3. Spacecraft Attitude Control With Optical Star Tracker, Boeing Satellite Systems 4. AirForce 400 air plasma cutter, Hobart Welders 5. Spectrum 375 CutMate air plasma cutter, Miller Electric Mfg. Co. 6. Corrosion-inhibiting poly film bags for packaging metal components, Daubert VCI 7. Spring-Fast grommet edging to prevent electrical wire chafing, Device Technologies 8.
Air Jamaica last week became the Air Transport Assn.'s first Caribbean-based member. With its 20 Airbus aircraft fleet, the carrier offers more than 360 flights weekly between the Caribbean and U.S. East and West Coast destinations.
Lagging air traffic management in Europe's congested airspace is benefitting from some respite in the depressed post-Sept. 11 environment. Aircraft movements in Eurocontrol's 31-member states area dropped an average 4.2%, a decline providing momentary relief and cutting flight delays by as much as 41%. Eurocontrol officials add that the successful implementation, in January, of reduced vertical separation also contributes to smoother operations.
The U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Tullahoma, Tenn., is proceeding with a $10.4-million upgrade program to increase the center's test simulation capabilities for aerodynamic and propulsion work from subsonic speeds to Mach 8. Key modifications include a high-temperature/high-pressure burner that will increase temperatures up to 4,420F and pressures up to 2,800 lb./sq. in.
The U.S. Commerce Dept. is trying to lend a helping hand to American companies at AirShow China, set for Nov. 4-10 in Zhuhai. The department's aerospace office is sponsoring an ``aerospace products literature center'' at the show and promising its trade specialists will generate international leads for companies whose promotional literature is distributed. There is a $600 registration fee and a deadline of Oct. 16. The e-mail contact at the Commerce Dept. is [email protected].
This new line of programmable AC and DC power systems is targeted at product test and evaluation applications in defense, avionics and industrial markets. The MX Series line consists of models ranging in output power from 45-135 KVA. Housed in an enclosure that moves on integrated casters, the product provides single-phase or three-phase output modes for AC, or one to three outputs for DC use.
The company's newly updated catalog is available on compact disk, and has been revised to incorporate the latest in no-moving-part wind sensing technology, which include Sonimometer, a microprocessor-based signal conditioning, wireless communication offering; and WeatherView data display software, which is now compatible with most personal digital assistants. The catalog also contains the company's latest demonstration software, technical notes and spare parts lists.
INMARSAT LTD.'S SWIFT64 HIGH-SPEED, inflight communications service is operational on 75 business and government aircraft worldwide, according to company officials. Introduced in April, Swift64 provides passengers with e-mail capability and access to the Internet as well as videoconferencing connectivity. The system is capable of handling 64 Kbps. of data and is compatible with Inmarsat antennas installed on 1,400 business aircraft.
Top airline executives and House aviation subcommittee members, worried about how a war against Iraq would affect commercial aviation in the U.S., speculated last week about ways the government might help. War concerns surfaced throughout the subcommittee's hearing on the airlines' financial condition. The U.S. shouldn't go to war, but ``realistically, that decision has been made,'' said former chairman John Duncan, Jr., (R-Tenn.).
The Boeing Co. will acquire full interest in FlightSafety Boeing Training International (FSBTI), subject to U.S. and German government regulatory approvals. The joint venture with FlightSafety, which was formed in 1997, offers flight and maintenance training for 100-seat-plus aircraft. The new Boeing subsidiary will be renamed Boeing Training International, remain headquartered in Seattle and maintain its current management team. FlightSafety is to continue to offer simulators, training devices, facilities, support services and personnel.
The FAA was poised to issue an airworthiness directive late last week calling for immediate action involving potentially faulty crankshaft bolts installed by Textron Lycoming in a variety of engines primarily powering Piper and Cessna aircraft. The agency would require inspection and replacement of suspect bolts installed on at least 1,000 engines produced by Lycoming from 1996-98. In addition, the U.S. NTSB is investigating the bolt failures as well as the company's quality control processes involving the parts.
US Airways switched equity sponsors last week, accepting a $240-million post-bankruptcy investment offer from the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) in place of its original $200-million deal with Texas Pacific Group. Presenting its new plan Sept. 26 to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the carrier said RSA will restructure its $340-million in US Airways' aircraft-backed debt, and provide all $500 million of debtor-in-possession financing to get US Airways through its Chapter 11 restructuring, which began Aug. 11 and is on track to end in the first quarter of 2003.
Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries will manufacture flight controls for the U.S. Air Force's Lockheed Martin C-5 cargo transports. New tooling will be built to fabricate wing flaps, leading-edge slats and elevator panels, in preparation for the manufacturing process set to begin in the second quarter of 2003, according to the Air Force. Initial deliveries are to start late in 2003 and continue through 2004. Additional orders will extend deliveries through 2009.
THE FAA HAS ISSUED A PRODUCTION CERTIFICATE to Tiger Aircraft for the company's Tiger AG-5B light airplane. A company official said nine airplanes are in service, and 30 will be built this year followed by 90 in 2003. Typically equipped price for the Tiger is $219,500. Based in Martinsburg, W. Va., the company is financed chiefly by investors from Taiwan. c DATA LINK PROVIDER ARINC and ground service provider Air Routing International have teamed to offer Arinc Direct to business aviation operators.
American Airlines CEO Don Carty, fresh from congressional testimony on the financial plight of U.S. carriers, last week reassured Wall Street analysts that his operation is ``reengineering everything we do'' to survive and return to prosperity. American's main objective is to achieve a permanent structural cost reduction of at least $3 billion over the next several years to return costs to competitive levels.
