The emergence of the Transportation Security Administration has prompted some shifting in regulatory designations from the FAA to the TSA. Operators of general aviation, rotary and business aircraft won't find aviation security measures contained under Title 14 of the FARs anymore. Instead, they are included under Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations as TSA regulations. As can be imagined, the switch can cause some head scratching for operators needing to check the regulations.
U.S. major airlines' yields continued their slow recovery in May. As compiled by the Air Transport Assn., the average domestic fare (excluding Southwest's) was 9.5% less than the average for May 2001, the first time since July 2001 the year-over-year percentage decrease was less than double digits. Coach fares continue to come back faster than first and business class--they were down 9.6% and 10.2%, respectively. All three averages were down slightly from April 2002.
Bell Helicopters' selection of Thales to provide helmet-mounted displays for 280 U.S. Marine Corps helicopters could be a lucrative breakthrough into the American military market for the European avionics company. Thales will supply its TopOwl sight/display systems, which offer binocular 40-deg. visor projection along with Flir, symbology and night-vision-goggle capability, for 180 Cobra AH-1Z and 100 Huey UH-1Y aircraft to be upgraded by Bell. TopOwl weighs only 4.85 lb.
Fighters will be scrambled to intercept all aircraft in the Washington area that raise authorities' ``interest or are cause for concern,'' the FAA advises general aviation airports. The agency's June 24 alert came in response to ``heightened concerns'' by the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration after a Cessna 182 inadvertently flew within 4 mi. of the White House on June 19. Two F-16s from Andrews AFB intercepted the plane, en route from Massachusetts to North Carolina, but not until it had passed sensitive areas.
Pay close attention to themes that aerospace/defense executives like to talk about, and sooner or later they'll get around to how focused their companies are on execution, or the implementation of operating plans at the core of all business strategies.
An expert panel of the Council for Science and Technology Policy, a planning body headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has proposed streamlining Japan's space budget and concentrating on programs that enhance Japan's space industry and national security. The recommendation affirms an effort initiated a year ago by Koizumi to consolidate Japan's space agencies (AW&ST Sept. 3, 2001, p. 41).
Bell Helicopter is using a combined product from CIMx and Intercim to manage work instructions for engineering changes to the V-22 Osprey. CIMx Apps will provide Web-enabled manufacturing data management while Intercim will provide the electronic content for the supply chain management tasks. The first implementation at Bell is to provide multimedia work instructions. Later implementations are to include shop floor control, electronic data capturing, process visibility and reporting.
The U.S. Marine Corps is upgrading three KC-130F/R tankers with night-vision lighting this year, with 11 more to be upgraded through 2005. The corps also want to add moving-map avionics. The need for enhancements was underscored by an accident investigation into the Jan. 9 crash of a KC-130R in Pakistan. The incident was attributed to pilot disorientation.
Both houses of Congress moved key defense spending legislation late last week for Fiscal 2003, which begins on Oct. 1. The House cleared a $355-billion military appropriations bill by a vote of 413-18 (see p. 27) including a last minute amendment offered by Rep. John M. Spratt, Jr., (D-S.C.) that would shift $30 million to the Airborne Laser out of the space-based kinetic kill vehicle. The Spratt language is intended to keep ABL on schedule to attempt its first ballistic missile shoot-down in early Fiscal 2005.
David A. Powell has been promoted to vice president/chief information officer from director of information technology for the AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md.
Bombardier is using CaseBank Technologies Inc.'s SpotLight maintenance diagnostic software for Canadair Regional Jet and Q400 turboprop operators. SpotLight uses a case-based reasoning technology to guide users through troubleshooting operations.
Link Jaw, president of Scientific Monitoring Inc. of Phoenix, has been appointed director of compliance certification for the Machinery Information Management Open Systems Alliance.
Jim Rice has been named director of operations for L.J. Aviation, Latrobe, Pa. He was vice president-charter and management for the Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan.
In the run-up to the November NATO Heads of State Summit in Prague, officials on both sides of the Atlantic are exploring the notion of European NATO allies identifying a rapidly deployable ``strike force'' capable of being put in the field at short notice alongside U.S. forces. Geoff Hoon, the British Secretary of State for Defense, told the British Parliament's Defense Committee last week, ``There are certainly some emerging ideas. They have yet to be set out in detail.
A Boeing-led team has captured the award for initial development of a much-prized joint tactical radio system (JTRS)--worth up to $2 billion in just one of its five phases. The system eventually could replace most of the Defense Dept.'s 750,000 radios, many of which will not communicate with each other. The value of the ``cluster one'' work (for Army and Marine Corps ground systems and helicopters), if all the options are exercised, could total $7 billion for the team.
Australia initiated the first update to its strategic security white paper of last year. The review will focus on including terrorist activities and could adjust Canberra's procurement plans, although the government said it doesn't expect major divergences. The review is to be completed by year-end. In parallel, the Defense Ministry is assessing how it will deal with industry. For one, it is establishing ``company scorecards'' to see how contractors perform, and will use these findings when awarding new deals.
Ernest M. Snowden has been appointed director of business strategy and development and Tim Farrell director of advanced Hawkeye programs for the Bethpage, N.Y.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. Integrated Systems Sector's Airborne Early Warning and Electronic Warfare Systems. Snowden held a similar position with the AEW&EW Systems office in Arlington, Va., while Farrell was director of the platform systems integration and modifications capture integrated product team for the company's Joint-STARS program, Melbourne, Fla.
Top NASA managers are considering a two-step option for flying humans to orbit that would give International Space Station crews a U.S.-built lifeboat for emergency return to Earth as early as 2009 and two-way transport with the same basic vehicle a few years later. An early version of the crew transfer/return vehicle (CTRV) would be delivered to the ISS by a space shuttle or heavy lift Atlas V or Delta IV expendable rocket and left there for use in emergencies.
Khrunichev and Lockheed Martin have struck an agreement to cooperate on missile defenses, according to Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Armed Services procurement panel. Ukraine may also be a target for cooperation. The Pentagon just completed a reciprocal visit with Ukraine's military, says USAF Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the Missile Defense Agency.
An item in the In Orbit column in the June 24 issue (p. 35) incorrectly stated the launch time for the most recent Sea Launch mission. The Zenit-3SL lifted off at 6:39 p.m. EDT on June 15. It was the seventh successful launch for the system, and the fifth consecutive success. The Russian-built Block DM upper stage separated from the Panamsat Galaxy IIIC spacecraft 62 min. after liftoff, and the spacecraft signal was acquired 6 min. after that. The spacecraft continues to function nominally.
How do you measure the financial performance of the world's airlines as they make their way through the worst business environment the industry has ever faced? Very carefully. In any year, trying to identify the Top-Performing Companies among airlines differing in size, business model and competitive environment presents an apples-versus-oranges challenge. To deal with this, Aviation Week & Space Technology uses proprietary calculations by CSFB HOLT, a unit of Credit Suisse First Boston, to measure airlines' productivity, asset utilization and financial health.
European Union transport ministers have ratified a long-delayed plan to form the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It is scheduled to succeed the Joint Aviation Authorities in coordinating and further unifying the 15 member states' aircraft certification process, environmental and safety regulations.
Welcome in principle, President Bush's proposed homeland defense overhaul is getting a mixed reception for its potentially disruptive effects on wartime management, long-range national strategy and well-run counter-terror units. Although the White House plan to centralize 22 federal agencies and 170,000 employees in a new Homeland Security Dept. is widely considered an indispensable streamlining measure, the management problems arising from such a mammoth undertaking might last for decades, which has lawmakers worried.
Donald S. Garvett has been appointed vice president-planning and Jeff Jones staff vice president-technical support of Alaska Airlines. Garvett was executive vice president-strategy and planning at South African Airways, while Jones was managing director of aircraft engineering for American Airlines at its Tulsa, Okla., Kan- sas City, Mo., and Fort Worth facilities.
