David M. Risley has been appointed to the board of directors of the Vari-L Co. of Denver. He is senior vice president/chief financial officer of La-Z-Boy Inc. and was vice president-finance/chief financial officer of Aeroquip Vickers Inc.
A new sensor is emerging for the Global Hawk UAV that could address two of the Pentagon's most pressing problems: detecting humans trying to hide in caves and offering an alternative to the Space-Based Infrared System-Low that has come under fire in Congress.
Ronald Allen, former CEO of Delta Air Lines, has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
Flight frequencies between the U.S. and the U.K. fell more than 20% in the weeks following Sept. 11, but are projected to rebound within 6% of last summer's levels by July 2002, according to a filing made by American Airlines and British Airways to the U.S. Transportation Dept. The carriers are applying for immunity from antitrust laws as part of their proposed alliance. According to the filing, service frequency in 40 market combinations did not decline and is forecast to remain at the same level through next summer.
John Daegele has become vice president-science and technology of TRW Inc. of Cleveland. He succeeds Pete Staudhammer, who is scheduled to retire Dec. 31. Daegele was director of indium phosphide programs at TRW Ventures.
The FAA has lifted restrictions on so-called ``enhanced Class B'' airspace put in place around 30 major U.S. cities following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The action restored visual flight rule privileges for general aviation pilots and businesses throughout the country and also lifted or reduced the size of no-fly zones in Washington, New York and Boston.
FedEx Corp. reported better-than-expected financial results for its second fiscal quarter that ended Nov. 30. Including a $116-million federal grant compensating it for losses stemming from terrorist attacks in September, the company logged $433 million in operating income and $245 million in net income on $5.14 billion in revenues. Domestic package volume was down 10% year-over-year and international volume was down 6%, but company officials expect a rebound in the third quarter. In addition, work for the U.S.
When President Bush sought to reassure fliers in a speech at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sept. 27, more than a few eyebrows raised in aviation circles as he posited ``technology to enable controllers to take over [a] distressed aircraft and land it by remote control.'' It's not always easy to tell the boss he has a farfetched idea, but there are diplomatic ways.
President Bush established a presidential emergency board Dec. 20 to recommend contract terms in United Airlines' stalled negotiations with the International Assn. of Machinists, which represents its mechanics. The mechanics had authorized a strike and would have been free to walk off the job Dec. 21 in the absence of presidential action. Bush acted to avoid travel disruptions during the holidays. The board will have 60 days to develop a finding, and United said it and the union will ``continue intensive efforts to conclude a new contract'' during that period.
The auxiliary power unit in the tail of the American Airlines Flight 587 wreckage was found to be in good shape, with no signs of burst, fire or hot air leaks. But tests will be conducted to measure how APU operation heats the carbon composite fin of the Airbus A300-600R, which fell off in flight Nov. 12. The maintenance log shows that the yaw damper and a pitch trim control would not engage during a preflight check on the morning of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The computer controlling these functions was reset, which resolved the problem.
The malfunction of an attitude control reaction wheel in the Hubble Space Telescope will delay launch of the orbiter Columbia on its planned Hubble servicing mission--by at least two weeks--to late February. The extra time will allow the ground checkout of a replacement reaction wheel assembly, its integration with the rest of the servicing hardware already at the Kennedy Space Center and extra training for the STS-109 crew for installation of the hardware. The flight had been scheduled for a Feb. 14 liftoff.
Aloha and Hawaiian airlines plan to merge. The new carrier would be led by Greg Brenneman, a former president of Continental Airlines, and operated by Aloha Holdings Inc. The deal would include Aloha subsidiary Aloha Island Air, which operates independently. Pilots for both carriers met last week to discuss integrating seniority lists. Aloha and Hawaiian pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. The two airlines are experiencing financial problems stemming from the downturn in tourism following terrorist attacks in September.
Tour operator Thomas Cook plans to create a new Belgian-based charter airline to serve Egypt, the Canary Islands and other destinations in the Mediterranean region. The company, formed by the merger of Lufthansa affiliate C&N Touristik and British charter carrier Thomas Cook/JMC, already operates as a major tour business in Belgium. It had previously considered buying bankrupt Belgian airline City Bird, but was repelled by harsh conditions imposed by bankruptcy courts.
Textron Inc. has sold its Composite Material Products business, a unit of Textron Systems, to Specialty Materials Inc., a subsidiary of Fiber Glass Industries of Amsterdam, N.Y. Composite Material Products manufactures engineered materials such as continuous boron and silicon carbide filaments to the aerospace, defense, industrial and sports markets. The sale is part of Textron's broader strategy to gradually divest noncore assets.
Pratt&Whitney Aftermarket Services recently signed a 10-year agreement with Japan Air System Co. Ltd. (JAS) to provide a fleet management program for the airline's PW4074-powered Boeing 777-200s. The agreement covers 18 engines and has an estimated value of $204 million. The full-scale overhaul and maintenance work will be performed at Pratt&Whitney's Cheshire, Conn.-based Engine Center. JAS was the first Japanese airline to purchase and fly the PW4000 engine.
The Pentagon's decision to kill the Area-Wide ballistic missile defense program opens the door for competitors to propose a new approach to enable the Navy to eventually field a point-defense missile shield. The program cancellation is good news for other Pentagon projects that stand to receive some of Area Wide's money. High on the list is the Airborne Laser project, which is slated to get about $70 million this year alone. Another beneficiary would be Aegis radar improvements that aren't related to ballistic missile defense.
Streamlining of Air Force headquarters--which starts immediately--is designed to eliminate duplication, speed decision making and improve business processes, says Air Force Secretary James Roche. He put a finer point on the effort by noting a focus on improving ``global reconnaissance and strike capabilities.'' A major change will be the establishment of a new deputy chief of staff for warfighting integration, a post that will highlight the growing importance of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), especially as related to the war on terrorism.
Officials of troubled French independent airline Air Lib are contemplating a last-ditch attempt to halt massive revenue losses: turning the airline into a U.K.-inspired low-cost carrier. Deregulation in the European Union already has generated no-frills airlines in the U.K. and Ireland, but the concept has not found acceptance in France and Western Europe. Air Lib's executives plan to court potential investors and convince bankrupt Swissair Group (its previous owner) to pay up to $500 million associated with an earlier withdrawal arrangement and alleged damages.
The Starshine 2 satellite launched from the shuttle orbiter Endeavour Dec. 16 is being visually tracked by thousands of students around the world in a major educational program to measure atmospheric density. The 86-lb. spacecraft is covered with nearly 900 mirrors that will produce bright flashes visible on Earth during sunrise and sunset. When deployed from a Hitchhiker canister over the South Pacific, a nitrogen tank inside the sphere fired to rotate the spacecraft at 5 deg. per sec. to establish precise flash rate.
Congress has decisively approved a $317.47-billion defense appropriations bill for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, including a last-minute boost to long-range airlift. With the war on terrorism spotlighting the Pentagon's chronic shortage of intercontinental transport capacity, lawmakers gave the Air Force permission to lease 107 new Boeing 767s and four 737s for 10 years, at an estimated cost of $20 billion over the decade.
Yves de la Serre has been named chairman/CEO of Europe Star, a London-based joint subsidiary of Loral Space&Communications and Alcatel Space. He succeeds Alain Roger, who has retired.
After months of uncertainty, European nations have given a conditional green light to a huge joint tactical airlifter purchase and endorsed further consolidation of Europe's missile sector. Eight countries last week inked an agreement authorizing the acquisition of 196 A400M transports from Airbus Military Co. (AMC), ending rancorous debate within the governments of two of the nine original partners--Germany and Italy--about whether to fully honor initial commitments to the program.
