Craig Sinclair has been appointed senior vice president-operations and technical for Air New Zealand. He has been chief information officer and succeeds Bill Jacobson, who has resigned.
A fatal midair collision over southern Germany on July 1 was the result of a complex interaction of human factors and technical shortcomings, according to the investigating German agency the Bundesstelle fuer Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU). The collision involving a DHL International Airways Boeing 757-200 and a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 killed 71 people.
US Airways has issued the winter schedule with which it will implement its earlier-announced 13% capacity reduction. Overall, weekly departures will decrease by a lesser percentage than capacity--down 305, from 3,785 to 3,480. More than one-third of the impact will be at the carrier's hubs. Pittsburgh will drop to 414 departures per week from 495, Charlotte to 462 from 494 and Philadelphia to 390 from 399. Nearly all the cutbacks at Charlotte and Philadelphia involve mainline jet service, but turboprops account for 42% of Pittsburgh's falloff.
The FAA says aircraft arriving or departing New York airports from Sept. 11-13 could experience delays due to special flight restrictions and procedures in place for commemorative ceremonies and a United Nations meeting. In addition to possible rerouting or holding of flights, passengers will be required to stay in their seats for the first or last 30 min. of the flight, the same procedure already in place at Washington Reagan National Airport.
Trade officials continue to push for a negotiated settlement to a dispute over alleged American tax subsidies, despite a World Trade Organization ruling entitling the European Union to impose $4 billion in retaliatory sanctions against the U.S. But U.S. aerospace executives are concerned that remedies proposed to meet WTO obligations could affect the industry's competitiveness.
The company's line of miniature position transducers expands with the Series D60, D61 and D62 family of digital output position transducers that offer measurement ranges of up to 43 in. Applications are found in machine control and robotic control. The products use a stainless steel cable wound around a threaded machined aluminum drum; the bearing-mounted drum is mated to an incremental encoder that translates linear position information to a digital electrical signal.
Malaysia's proposed buy of 18 F/A-18Fs could total $1.5 billion, the Pentagon said last week. The contract, which has yet to be finalized, would include 18 APG-73 radars, 39 F414-GE-400 engines, 18 AN/AL:R-67(V)3 radar warning receivers, 18 ALE-47(B)2 countermeasures dispensers and 12 ALQ-214(V)2 Idecm systems.
Sidney E. Fuchs (see photo) has been appointed vice president/director of the TASC Intelligence Operations unit of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Sector, Herndon, Va. He succeeds Ronald E. Szabo, who has resigned. Fuchs was director of professional services at Rational Software, McLean, Va.
Industry pundits who predicted a few years ago that the market for fractional ownership of business jets would remain robust in a U.S. economic downturn were wrong--but not by much, as it turns out. The sale of shares generally has held up remarkably well, considering the turmoil that has wracked financial markets and hammered corporate profits in the last 24 months, according to several major providers.
The battery-operated recorder with Ethernet interface is designed for recording blast and shock data. With rechargeable batteries and solid-state memory, the unit 5871 will record three channels of transducer data at 2 million samples per second in the face of 50g shock on any axis. The Ethernet interface is used for programming and debriefing of recorded data. Multiple systems may be installed on a LAN to support the larger number of channels typical of explosive, impact and pyroshock tests.
European scientists unveiled an advanced weather satellite to U.N. delegates and political leaders last week, highlighting the potential contribution of space systems to predicting extreme weather phenomena and climate change. The 2-metric-ton satellite, built by Alcatel Space and orbited by an Ariane 5 on Aug. 28, is the first in a new generation of geostationary spacecraft--dubbed the MSG series--intended to replace the Meteosat family that has served Europe, Africa and Asia for the past quarter century.
Delta Air Lines Technical Operations has won a 10-year, $1-billion contract to provide shop visit maintenance for the General Electric CF34 engines that power Atlantic Southeast Airlines' and Comair's Bombardier regional jets.
The FAA released new Practical Test Standards for the Private, Commercial and Certified Flight Instructor Airplane (single-engine, multi-engine, land and sea) certificates. Last updated in 1997, the new standards recently became effective. This marks the first time the FAA has written and released the three test standards concurrently, which helps maintain harmony of content and consistency in maneuver descriptions. The PTSs guide students, instructors and FAA-designated examiners through check rides.
Rockwell Collins has been selected by Sikorsky Aircraft to provide displays for the U.S. Army's fleet of more than 1,200 Black Hawk UH-60M helicopters. The 20-year contract is valued at up to $225 million.
Eurocopter, an EADS subsidiary, seeks to establish closer links with the U.S. with the hope of acquiring more military business in North America. Theoretically, Bell Helicopter Textron, Boeing Military Aircraft and Sikorsky Aircraft--all competitors of the Europeans--are viewed as potential partners, according to Eurocopter Chairman/CEO Jean-Francois Bigay. ``Our product ranges complement each other more than they overlap.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is rewriting the rule book on acquisition. Late last week, he canceled two key directives that shape the defense acquisition system, criticizing them as ``overly prescriptive'' and inimical to ``efficiency, creativity and innovation.'' He issued interim guidance and directed officials to prepare revised documents within 120 days.
Embraer is counting on FAA certification and initial deliveries to Chicago-based corporate charter operator Indigo to make its Legacy supermidsize business jet, now just entering service, as successful as its regional jet program. The Brazilian manufacturer has several U.S.-bound units of its Legacy Executive model lined up for delivery pending reception of an FAA airworthiness certificate, expected to be announced at the NBAA show. Derived from the Embraer 135 regional jet line, the Executive twinjet seats up to 18 passengers and can fly 3,100 naut. mi.
What's the optimum balance between product reliability and affordability? Aerospace companies of all sizes have wrestled with that question for years, and Raytheon Co. believes it has enough experience in ``reliability engineering'' that it can offer its expertise for hire. Working through its Reliability Analysis Lab (RAL), the company has started marketing consulting services aimed at helping other organizations determine the right mix.
The business aviation community is in a state of flux as it learns to adapt to operations in an environment that has changed significantly since Sept. 11. In conjunction with the National Business Aviation Assn. convention being held this week in Orlando, Fla., Aviation Week & Space Technology editors examine the industry's status, the impact of federal security requirements on daily operations and denial of access to key airports.
The company is offering NRG Damp, a sound-damping and vibration-reducing composite material comprising two or more metallic substrates surrounding an engineered viscoelastic core. The material functions through micro-shear deformation of the viscoelastic core, which dissipates vibrational energy. Applications are in quieting and reducing vibration in racks, chassis, enclosures and other components. NRG Damp material may be formed by stamping, drawing, bending or roll forming with no loss of performance and no delamination, according to the company.
When British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke at a luncheon in late 1942 on whether the end of World War II was in sight,he said. ``This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.'' As we commemorate the first anniversary of the tragic events of Sept. 11, Churchill's statement aptly applies to the U.S.' war on terrorism. While the U.S.
Taiwan is slated to boost its missile inventory under proposed sales of 182 AIM-9M short-range air-to-air missiles and of 449 AGM-143 Hellfire missiles for use from AH-1W Cobras and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The AIM-9M foreign military sale is estimated at $36 million, while the Hellfire deal is pegged at $60 million.
Eurocorps, a joint fighting unit formed by Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg, admitted three new members to its high command last week in the first phase of a plan to expand the unit to 13 nations. The new members--Greece, Poland and Turkey--will be followed by Austria and Poland. Italy, like the U.K. and the Netherlands, will send a liaison officer to the unit, which is to become the command structure for Europe's Rapid Reaction Force, to be formed next year.
