Spanish firms Gamesa and Turbo 2000, owned by Sener and state-holding company SEPI, plan to form a company specializing in aerostructures and engine components. Gamesa will spin off its aeronautical business, whose customers include Embraer and Airbus, to the as-yet-unnamed company, while Turbo 2000 will contribute its 53% stake in engine maker ITP, a partner in the Eurofighter's EJ200 powerplant. Gamesa will have 59% of the new firm, which anticipates a staff of 3,000 and annual sales of 700 million euros ($615 million); and Turbo 2000, 41%.
JAPAN'S CIVIL AVIATION BUREAU HAS OPENED Haneda Airport near Tokyo to general aviation flights by providing 16 slots per hour between 1400-2059 UTC daily. Other flights will have to land at alternate international airports before flying to destinations in Japan. Applications should be filed by the 15th of the month prior to the proposed date of flight. Only Runway 16L/34R will be used during the operational time period. The slots are applicable to charter flights as well as international business aircraft operators.
The U.S. Justice Dept., which is examining Northrop Grumman Corp.'s proposed acquisition of TRW Inc., last week asked Northrop for additional information under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act. Northrop anticipated the request, and indicated it would promptly comply. It doesn't expect to encounter any significant antitrust issues in its pursuit of TRW.
The quality of U.S. airline performance showed an overall improvement last year--reversing a three-year downward trend, and consumer complaints declined by 30% compared with 2000, according to The Airline Quality Rating 2001. Prepared annually since 1991 by the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita (Kan.) State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute, the survey ``scores'' the 11 largest U.S. domestic carriers.
China's grand airline consolidation plan, drawn up last May and supposed to be completed by the end of this year, has run into opposition in the upper echelons of the government over strategy and timing.
The British Royal Air Force is struggling to clear a much-delayed, and sorely needed, reconnaissance pod into service in the run-up to potential deployments in the Persian Gulf region. Amid speculation that the Defense Ministry is considering deploying additional recce aircraft to the Middle East, the RAF is wrestling to bring its Reconnaissance Airborne Pod for Tornado (Raptor) into operation.
The Singapore prime minister revealed on Apr. 5 that five Jemaah Islamiyah militants who fled Singapore in January were planning to hijack an aircraft in Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand and crash it into Changi Airport. The Singapore group is part of a much larger regional terrorist network spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Mas Selamat Kastari, the suspected mastermind of the plot, was last seen in Indonesia, but his whereabouts are unknown. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the threat should be taken seriously.
The U.S. Air Force plans to replace the M-38 ejection seat in its T-38 trainers. The effort could involve changes to the cockpit, but shouldn't affect ongoing avionics and propulsion upgrades. The maximum functional ejection speed should be 550 kt. equivalent air speed with seat performance up to 50,000 ft. The seat should accommodate pilots weighing 103-245 lb., provide active leg restraints and, preferably, arm protection. The program would be for more than 500 aircraft with two seats each.
Jeffrey G. Postlethwait has been appointed vice president/general manager of the Semiconductor Products unit and Ralph M. Norwood vice president/chief financial officer of the Satcon Technology Corp., Cambridge, Mass.
Design and manufacturing engineers at Boeing are already working together on the Sonic Cruiser to take advantage of new production techniques that could be applied to the planned high-speed aircraft. In parallel with that effort, Boeing continues to expand its materials technology development team, recently enlisting the participation of its own Wichita Div. Officials there said they had to compete just like any outside organization to be included on the materials team.
European nations must invest more in defense, especially on strategic airlifters, tankers, intelligence gathering/sharing and precision munitions, says NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson. In town last week, he added that, to help the countries focus on trimming personnel while improving technology, he will roll out in November a series of ``specific actions . . . not guided by the market'' about how sustained modernization can be accomplished within the current $140-billion per year combined defense spending in Europe.
The Air Force is speeding development of a stealthy, secure radio that's at the heart of the Pentagon's next-generation ``smart'' tanker. Later, the system also is to be installed in surveillance and strike aircraft, ``smart'' transports and attack helicopters.
Boeing Co. reiterated its commitment to building the Sonic Cruiser in some form, even as the company continues to develop the business case and the airline industry wrestles with an uncertain financial future amid staggering losses.
Telenor Satellite Services has begun offering high-speed aeronautical data services using Inmarsat's Swift 64 broadband network. Telenor claims to be the first to offer the inflight 64-Kbps. services, known as Aero HSD, which allow corporate, government and airline customers to access Internet, intranet, e-mail, fax and video data with existing Aero H antennas. Two USAF and two business aviation aircraft have already installed Aero HSD, a company official said. Telenor also launched a new 64-Kbps. maritime service, called Fleet 77.
DELIVERIES ARE SLATED to begin in 2004 for the 12-15 Alenia Aeronautica/Lockheed Martin C-27J Spartan medium-lift transports that the Hellenic Air Force has committed to purchase and for another dozen of the aircraft that the Italian air force plans to procure. The Hellenic Air Force contract is expected to be signed by year-end and the Italian agreement by the end of this month. The Italian purchase would mark the beginning of the replacement program for the service's 38 Alenia G.222s, according to a company executive.
THE EUROPEAN UNION JOINT AVIATION AUTHORITIES have approved Learjet pilot training programs at FlightSafety International's Learning Centers in Tucson, Ariz., Wichita, Kan., Atlanta and West Palm Beach, Fla. The approval covers training for the Learjet 31A, 35/36, 45-, 55- and 60-series business jets. JAA officials also approved training for the Gulfstream IV, Gulfstream V and Hawker/HS 125-series jets, and Cessna Citation 500, 550, 560, 650 and 750 aircraft.
U.S. Army special operations forces believe that Afghanistan's high mountains and rough terrain could have thwarted several missions without the small force of MH-47Es to call on. But now senior Army officials have to wrestle with how to replenish and upgrade the special purpose helicopters that have come under heavy enemy fire in recent months.
Spain, Austria, Belgium and Sweden have expressed interest in joining France's Pleiades optical imaging system. Pleiades consists of a pair of small, 1-meter-resolution optical imaging satellites to ensure continuity with the existing Spot network starting in 2006-07. Sweden and Belgium each have a 4% share in Spot. Spain's interest could also cover Italy's CosmoSkymed X-band radar network, which is being developed in partnership with Pleiades. Italy will share use of Pleiades data under the partnership agreement.
Several issues brought up by the Flight 587 accident continue to bother American Airlines pilots flying the Airbus A300-600. One is the notion that only airplanes that have gone ``outside the envelope'' need to have special inspection of the vertical tail (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 47). Pilots point out that, as far as the documentation goes, Flight 587 was completely within the envelope when the tail came off.
Aerospace analysts have scoffed at the idea that EADS/Airbus can capture part of the U.S. Air Force ``smart tanker'' competition or that the service would operate a mixed fleet of aircraft. But top USAF officials insist that Boeing does not have a lock on the tanker business and contend that continued EADS competition is critical to the program's success. ``We sincerely want to make them a viable contender for future tanker business,'' said Marvin R. Sambur, the Air Force's acquisition chief.
Concepts basic to network-centric warfare and integrated battlespace can be used for homeland security, according to industry and government officials. Joanne Maguire, vice president for business development of TRW Space and Electronics, said the network-centric warfare construct ``could be really powerful'' for local governments in terms of coordination.
BOMBARDIER AEROSPACE HELD at FIDAE what its executives called the international debut of the upgraded Challenger 604 business jet. In addition to an avionics suite upgrade--to an enhanced version of the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4--called PrecisionPlus--which was incorporated last year, the Challenger 604 now includes a new Safe Flight Auto Power auto-throttle system, which reportedly takes advantage of PrecisionPlus features to deliver precise automated thrust and speed control throughout a flight.
The fight to keep a local airport open generally comes down to a volunteer group of local pilots taking on municipal officials who control land zoning around the facility. That's the scenario unfolding at one small airport in Maryland, where county officials will soon decide whether to add airport buffers to a developer's already approved basic plans for a 1,058-acre commercial and residential project that abuts the northern side of the privately owned Freeway Airport, one of four public-use airports in the county.
