NASA recently selected FlexJet, Bombardier Aerospace Co.'s fractional ownership program, to provide a two-year test of fractional business jet services. This marks the first time that the U.S. government has utilized a fractional aircraft ownership program. The program provides NASA with a 12 share of a Bombardier Learjet 31A and a 1/16 share of a Learjet 60.
Victor L. Richey, Jr., who has been president/chief operating officer of ESCO Technologies Inc. of St. Louis, will be CEO, effective Oct. 1. Dennis J. Moore, who has been CEO, will continue as chairman until April 2003, when he is scheduled to retire. Richey will be succeeded by Charles J. Kretschmer, who has been vice president/chief financial officer. Kretschmer, in turn, will be succeeded by Gary Muenster, who has been promoted from vice president/controller.
Corporate America has become hawkish in the way it rents, buys and flies business aircraft, a development that has spawned competition between providers and continues to father innovative ``hybrids'' designed to bridge the gap between chartering and ownership. The good news for providers is that demand remains strong despite a 5% drop in business aviation overall this year compared with last. The downside is that savvy consumers are learning to shop around for the best deal, a movement that should increase competition and force providers to standardize charges.
U.S. government spending on commercial satellite imagery is about to jump by ``an order of magnitude'' as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) begins using commercial satellites as its main source of mapping data, a shift the industry expects will be worth several hundred million dollars over the next five years. The expected increase reflects a directive by Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet that classified reconnaissance satellites be used only in ``exceptional circumstances'' for mapping (AW&ST July 1, p. 25).
Australia has established two counter-terrorist units designed to respond to weapons of mass destruction and other incidents both at home and abroad. The Incident Response Regiment is designed to deal with chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive incidents, while the Tactical Assault Group is aimed at handling hostage-takings.
Ruag Aerospace will produce the Airbus A380 mega-transport's outer trailing edge under an agreement with Airbus' British arm to become a risk-sharing partner in the European program. In addition, Ruag is scheduled to produce wing leading-edge components. The Swiss company is manufacturing subassemblies for all Airbus commercial transports as well as the Boeing 717.
Competition is heating up in Hong Kong's air market. Cathay Pacific Airways has applied for rights to the lucrative Chinese markets of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen. That will put it in direct competition with Dragonair. A decade ago, Cathay managed Dragonair and the two carriers never competed on the same routes. But Dragonair's management has changed--along with Hong Kong's political landscape--after China's takeover from the British.
Program managers for military and intelligence space projects need some financial reserves to be able to quickly address technical problems that are bound to occur during major development efforts, says Peter B. Teets, the Pentagon space czar and NRO chief. He says he will look for reserves in program plans in the future. The NRO has tried budgeting reserves before, but in the mid-1990s got spanked by Congress for the practice when lawmakers were surprised to find that the agency had accrued oodles of unspent contingency funds.
Three instrument teams have been selected for a late-decade mission that will expand on the solar storm research of one of the European Space Agency's and NASA's most productive deep-space observatories--the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) that began in 1995. Called the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the new mission is due for launch in August 2007.
Delta and Northwest airlines announced on Sept. 5 ticketing policies that match US Airways' new treatment of nonrefundable tickets. The carriers will not accept such tickets for exchanges once the originally ticketed flight departs. They will continue to make exchanges, at a fee, before departure. Also, Delta will charge $100 for passengers traveling on most restricted fares to stand by for a different flight on the same day of ticketed travel.
The City of Newark's (N.J.) airport will get a new name--Newark Liberty International--and a new look under the terms of a recently extended lease between the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, operators of the New York region's airports. ``Liberty'' was added to the airport name in honor of those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to PA Executive Director Joseph J. Seymour.
The line of Adam Aircraft A500 twin-engine aircraft is being built faster and at lower cost than a comparable aluminum air vehicle, thanks to the combined impact of several key strategies--using a new carbon-composite material, committing to computer-aided designs that mesh with a paperless shop-floor manufacturing control system and fabricating all tooling in-house. The A500's airframe is constructed primarily of Toray, a relatively new epoxy pre-impregnated woven carbon fabric designed for aircraft applications.
All Nippon Airways has decided to initiate dedicated cargo services to China and South Korea using a medium-lift freighter, the Boeing 767-300F, rather than a more traditional heavy-lift choice. The choice of the 767 was influenced by the introduction of a new runway at Tokyo's Narita airport that doesn't lend itself to the heavy-lift operations that ANA's all-cargo subsidiary, Nippon Cargo Airlines, conducts with 747s. The second Narita runway is only 2,180 meters (7,152 ft.) long. So, already a long-time 767 operator, ANA has turned to it for freighter conversions.
United Arab Emirates is considering buying five used E-2Cs from the Pentagon under a contract that could reach $400 million. The deal would include upgrading the aircraft to the Hawkeye 2000 configuration, the latest version of the airborne early warning system.
Model CP500 AD/DC current probe features 500 amps RMS, 2MHz. bandwidth and the company's ``Probus'' connection to offer lower noise and fewer errors. By utilizing the Probus connection, the CP500 becomes the first high-current probe to plug directly into the oscilloscope without an external amplifier, according to the company.
This halogen-free, wire-reinforced thermoplastic hose is suitable for smoke removal, ventilation, heater/defroster and dust protection applications. Model HT-162 complies with ASTM E-162 and ASTM E-662 flame and smoke requirements for enclosed environments. Providing 4:1 compressibility, the hose is designed for vacuum and pressure applications to 24-in. Hg. and 25 psi, depending on size. Available in 10 sizes from 2-12 in. I.D., the hose operates continuously at -40F to 250F. It provides hydrolytic stability, and is fungus and abrasion resistant.
NASA has taken delivery of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) airborne telescope and plans to begin a nine-month process of installing it in a highly modified Boeing 747SP transport. Three major components of the telescope arrived at Waco, Tex., on board an Airbus Beluga cargo aircraft, and will be stored in a large hangar until they are separated into special kits for integration into the 747 airframe.
The second prototype of a Beriev Be-200 multipurpose amphibian jet made its first flight at the end of August and will enter a certification program soon. Meanwhile, the first Be-200 has completed a series of flight tests at hot-and-high altitude conditions, performing operations at 2,000 meters (6,560 ft.) MSL at the Sevan Lake, Armenia, site. During the tests, the aircraft took off from the water with one of two engines shut down, simulating an emergency takeoff situation. EADS and Irkutsk Aircraft Production Assn.
Reactions to terrorism, such as the USA Patriot Act, have increased the amount of data communications interception done by government agencies. Verint Systems (www.verintsystems.com) has improved the filtering in the tools it provides to analysts to separate ``actionable data'' from the streams of chaff. The tools are initially given topics of interest, then further self-learn from experience and user feedback. How does it all work?
Having set itself the lofty goal of removing satellite communication bandwidth constraints from the military, the Pentagon is establishing a new organization to lay the foundation for the effort and develop an architecture that should underpin future satellite and ground-terminal purchases. The creation of the Transformational Communications Office is the direct follow-up to a Defense Dept. assessment that existing programs won't deliver the required bandwidth for future operations and that new technology will be required.
U.S. warfighters have a one-shot, one-way, high-power microwave payload available for use on cruise missiles to fry enemy battlefield electronics like radars and computers. However, the Pentagon is reluctant to use such weapons without great need. There's hand-wringing about the maturity of antenna technology, a concern because beams of microwaves are hard to direct accurately. The other worry is that in cruise missile attacks, frequently some are lost or go astray. A few have been recovered fairly intact.
Boeing has delayed the first launch of the Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle at Cape Canaveral by 3-4 weeks to late October or early November to correct a launch software problem found during a countdown rehearsal with the vehicle fueled. The first flight was to have been Oct. 9. The problem involves the final series of software commands in the last minute of the countdown to configure the vehicle for ignition, said Dan Collins, Boeing vice president of Delta programs. Launch controllers tried five times without success to correct the problem during the Aug.
