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.
of British Aerospace Companies/A.T. Kearney study into the impact of Sept. 11 on the commercial sector business model. The report--the findings of which were released Sept. 18--argues that ``long prior to Sept. 11, traditional operators were financially very fragile,'' with early 2001 already showing a softening in passenger demand. The main effect of the tragic events of Sept. 11 for the commercial sector was ``an acceleration of existing trends.'' Aircraft demand is expected to recover in 2004, with the supply chain rebounding later that year or in 2005.
There was a time when aerospace and defense companies were in the news for corrupt practices and a failure to adhere to a code of ethics for business activities. This was the time when senior company officials would tell their sales staffs to ``go out and get the aircraft order any way you can''--a mandate that often led to bribery. Around the same time, the defense industry was living in a cost-plus environment, and this magazine regularly reported on procurement contract abuses and the high cost of toilet seats, hammers and other items for military products.
Charla K. Wise, vice president-engineering for the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., has received the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award of Washington- based Women in Aerospace. Wise was recognized for her 27 years of experience in program management and engineering on military aircraft programs. She heads an engineering workforce of more than 8,000 employees assigned to the F-16, F-22, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, C-130J, F-117 and U-2 programs.
Nejib Ben-Khedher has been named managing partner of Sabre Consulting within the Airline Solutions Div. of the Sabre Holdings Corp., Southlake, Tex. He was vice president-sales and account management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Ben-Khedher has been succeeded by Vinay Dube, who was vice president-flight scheduling products. Walter Jacobs has become vice president-sales and account teams in North America. He was vice president-product management for crew and cargo solutions.
Ibis Aerospace has not terminated development of the baseline Ae270 aircraft powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A turboprop engine (AW&ST Sept. 16, p. 48). Instead, the company has ``shifted certification and production plans to give priority to the higher-performance PT6A-66A-powered version of the AE270,'' according to a company representative. Certification of the Ae270 by Czechoslovakia is scheduled for October 2003, followed by FAA approval in December of that year.
The newly reelected German government is taking some significant foreign policy steps, but so far leaders haven't made progress addressing pending European military procurement decisions or repairing relations with Washington that frayed because of differences on Iraq policy. In the aftermath of the election, German government officials have emphasized they are not about to change their position on Iraq.
The new Alcatel Spanish Hispasat 1D satcom launched Sept. 18 on the Atlas IIAS (see item above) has three large antennas built by Spain's CASA as part of an offsets program with Lockheed Martin for Atlas V hardware. When Spain awarded two Hispasat launches to Lockheed Martin, it did so with the proviso that the U.S. company would include a role for Spanish industry in the Atlas V program.
