PATRICIA J. PARMALEEPIERRE SPARACO ( NEW YORK PARIS)
Avions de Transport Regional's sales executives are seeking to regain attention in the U.S. and, after an eight-year interlude, expect to conclude new orders in the next few months. The Oct. 31, 1994, crash of an ATR 72-212, American Eagle Flight 4184, near Roselawn, Ind., in icing conditions, had a dramatic impact on ATR's ongoing North American sales campaigns and seriously tarnished the twin turboprops' image. It resulted in eroding confidence in twin-turboprop aircraft types, which were gradually replaced via an emerging preference for jets.
This research and education project focuses on designing, building and testing a safe, practical, two-place general aviation airplane powered by DC electricity from fuel cells and advanced rechargeable batteries. The Electric Plane (E-Plane) will be designed to have a range of 250 mi. on a single charge. Advanced Technology Products is leading the program, with funding from the not-for-profit Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology Education (FASTec), as well as from NASA under the Revolutionary Aeropropulsion Program.
The photo on p. 23 of last week's issue was published in error. A photo of Czech-built Aero Vodochody L-29 trainers should have run, not BAE Systems Hawk trainers.
USAF Col. (ret.) Col. Al Allenback (see photo) has become executive director of the Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters, Maxwell AFB, Ala. His last USAF position was wing commander for Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex.
Air Canada last week introduced its redesigned Executive First international business-class service, which includes individually prepared meals. The product is available on the carrier's European services and will later be introduced on flights to Asia, Australia and South America, and next year on Canadian and U.S. services. In January, Air Canada plans to start reconfiguring Executive First cabin seating to 60-in. pitch throughout its 51-aircraft long-haul fleet.
Fiscal 2003 begins Oct. 1 under a stopgap funding bill, with regular appropriations nowhere near congressional approval for many government agencies. The leaders of the House Appropriations Committee vented a bit last week as they cleared their last bills to join the logjam on the House floor. Congress' budget system ``totally collapsed'' this year, said Chairman Bill Young (R-Fla.), because the House and the Senate never agreed on a single set of totals.
American Airlines, as part of its effort to lower distribution costs, last week launched its EveryFare Program with initial partners TQ3 Maritz Travel Solutions and the Corporate Travel Management Group. Under the new arrangement, traditional travel agencies in the U.S. and Canada will be able to sell fares previously only available on low-cost distribution channels such as Orbitz and the carrier's Web site. In exchange, the cost of global distribution system (GDS) booking fees shifts from American to the agency.
Two relatively unheralded developments--defenses against stealthy cruise missiles and directed-energy weapons for aircraft--are objects of major interest for the Pentagon. There were broad hints about emerging technologies from those who are working on these advanced concepts for military use and were able to show their wares at this month's Air Force Assn. convention here.
In December, NASA bigs plan to start trying to figure out how much more space station they can afford. Administrator Sean O'Keefe tells the NASA Advisory Council the agency's Fiscal 2004 budget will include adequate funds for the ``U.S. core complete'' configuration, plus the European and Japanese modules, confirming his earlier predictions of sufficient funds. Now agency managers will pick among options for more hardware that might support additional crew beyond the three planned, including a way to rescue more crew than the present three-seat Soyuz vehicle affords.
RepliSet from Struers is a replicating system for non-destructive testing and engineering inspection. It is designed to transfer the microstructure of a surface to replica media, and produces an exact 3D copy of an engineering surface. The replica is subsequently analyzed off-site under laboratory conditions. Replicas can be taken of metallic materials and most other solid materials like ceramics, plastics, glass and concrete. There are no size, shape or thickness limitations.
A Minuteman III was launched Sept. 19 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as part of USAF's Force Development Evaluation Program to test reliability and accuracy of the ICBM. Two instrumented dummy warheads hit targets 4,200 mi. away in the Kwajalein Missile Range after a half-hour flight. The 7:31 p.m. twilight launch timing caused the Sun to illuminate the upper exhaust trail against a darkened sky as wind shear twisted the trail around. An upper stage is seen burning as a bright dot with a broad, faint high-altitude plume.
Last year, Interstate Electronics Corp. (IEC), a division of L-3 Communications, shipped its first selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM)-based Global Positioning System receivers to Raytheon Missile systems for the U.S. Army's Excalibur program. These systems provide navigational guidance to the flight control system of the 155mm Army artillery projectiles. The shipment represented the world's first SAASM-based guidance system able to withstand the 15,000g acceleration firing from a gun, according to the company.
Swissair successor Swiss International Air Lines is facing a rough ride toward profitability, beset as it is with high start-up costs, the economic downturn and unresolved agreements regarding alliances and pilot wages. Swiss posted a massive CHF447-million ($300-million) loss on revenues of CHF1.7 billion in the first six months of the year. The airline flew 5.2 million passengers, achieving a 66.1% seat load factor. In spite of the large loss, CEO Andre Dose stated that the airline was doing better than expected in its initial business plan presented in late 2001.
The U.S. Marine Corps is looking for a vehicle for long-distance reconnaissance patrols in different environments. The hitch is that the vehicle must fit inside the service's CH-53 medium-lift helicopter. It also has to run on diesel fuel. Also, Marines are interested in being able to equip the transport with M-240G and MK-19 machine guns. The vehicle also should be fast enough and have adequate range to stay ahead of regular combat troops.
The judges for Aviation Week's Sixth Annual Technology Innovation Awards bring broad experience in aerospace and defense. They are: Dee Andrews is a human factors expert and technical director of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Warfighter Training Research Div., Mesa, Ariz. Anthony Broderick, safety consultant for manufacturers, airlines and governments, retired from the FAA as associate administrator for regulation and certification. Dan Griffith, senior certification test pilot for the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority, logged more than 5,200 hr.
Volga-Dnepr has launched a project to build a full-flight simulator for the Antonov 124-100 Ruslan freighter, in cooperation with Era of Pensa, Russia. Scheduled for delivery in December 2003, the unit will be based at Volga-Dnepr's Ulyanovsk, Russia, training center and will be the only dynamic simulator available for the outsize airlifter. The project follows moves earlier this year to complete development of a modernized An-124M model and to acquire a tenth aircraft (AW&ST July 29, p. 43).
The company is expanding its enhanced mini-ACE Mil-Std-1553 component offering with the introduction of a ball grid array (BGA) package referred to as the Micro-ACE. Claimed for this product is the smallest footprint of any 1553 integrated terminal in the industry and the first of its kind offered in a BGA package. Going from a 1-in.-sq. gull lead package to a 0.8-in.-sq. BGA requires 35% less real estate on the card, opening up possibilities for multiple 1553 channels and other high-density applications.
U.K. airship manufacturer Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is hoping it can strike a deal with bankrupt German competitor Cargolifter to set up a European airship company developing vessels for the passenger transport, cargo and military surveillance roles. The company is in ongoing negotiations with the administrator before an important Cargolifter creditor meeting scheduled for Sept. 27. ATG is proposing a series of airships, but needs more funding to realize its plans, and could make use of Cargolifter's giant airship hall in Brand, Germany.
Ibis Aerospace's Ae270 Propjet has accumulated one lifetime or 20,000 simulated flight hours of stress and fatigue analysis in structural testing, as part of its certification process by the Czech Aviation Authority. This prototype entered flight test July 25, 2000, at the Aero Vodochody facility in Prague. The second prototype entered flight test July 11, 2000. Combined, the aircraft have 250 flight hours on 256 flights. The Ae270 has a derated 850-shp.
The Society of British Aerospace Companies has voiced criticism over the government's choice of the U.S. Carlyle Group as the strategic partner for its partially privatized defense labs, Qinetiq. SBAC President Gordon Page said its ``reservations . . . have been ignored.'' In seeking a strategic partner the British government had suggested it did not want this to be a defense company. Page noted, ``It begs the question of when is a defense company not a defense company? The obvious answer? When the Defense Ministry chooses it as a partner.''
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot achieved a net profit of $47 million in the first half of this year on sales of $663 million. The airline carried 2.5 million passengers during the period with load factor averaging 66.6%. Aeroflot officials expect profit for the year to reach $75-80 million. The carrier's financial welfare resulted from management efforts to improve efficiency, revise its route structure and cut unprofitable destinations.
