China is planning its first international maintenance, repair and overhaul exhibition for Oct. 15-18, 2002, in Xiamen, the southern coastal city that has become one of the country's busiest MRO centers. Called the International Aviation Maintenance Equipment and Technology Exhibition, the show's sponsors include AVIC I&II, China's state-owned research and manufacturing organizations formerly known as Aviation Industries of China, but now called China Aviation Industry Corp.
Richard L. Murdock has become director of quality systems and compliance and Bob Minnis director of engine certification programs for Superior Air Parts Inc. of Dallas. Murdock was director of manufacturing certification services for New Piper Aircraft Inc. Minnis was vice president-engineering for Consolidated Fuel Systems.
Joseph P. Clayton has been appointed president/CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio of New York. He was vice chairman of Global Crossing. Clayton succeeds founder and chairman David Margolese, who has resigned as CEO.
Delta Air Lines' passengers from the U.S. will soon be able to board TGV high-speed trains at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport that will connect them to French provincial cities such as Lille, Lyons, Nantes and Poitiers. Delta and TGV Air, an SNCF French railways subsidiary, last week concluded a code-share agreement covering eight French destinations. A train station is located below CDG's Terminal 2. Last year, TGVs carried 80 million passengers on SNCF's domestic route system.
The Czech Republic ordered 24 JAS 39 Gripen combat aircraft valued at about $2.7 billion. First delivery is planned for 2005. The Czechs required Saab and BAE Systems, which are jointly promoting the JAS 39 in export markets, to offer a generous offset program that could amount to as much as 150% of the procurement spending's value. The JAS 39 is powered by a Volvo Aero RM12, a derivative of General Electric F404 produced in Sweden.
Bombardier Aerospace and Raytheon Co. will split a potential $780-million order for new business jets from Avolar. Letters of intent call for the UAL Corp. business-aviation subsidiary to purchase 57 Learjets from Bombardier and 25 Beechjets from Raytheon.
Robert J. Einhorn has been appointed senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is former assistant U.S. secretary of state for nonproliferation.
George N. Tompkins, Jr., a partner in the aviation group of Washington law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis, has been named to the board of the International Institute of Air and Space Law, Leiden, Netherlands. c For additional information on companies and individuals listed in this column, please refer to the WORLD AVIATION DIRECTORY published by the McGraw-Hill Aviation Week Group. For information on ordering, telephone U.S. ONLY (800) 257-9402, outside U.S. (609) 426-7070 or Fax (609) 426-7087.
Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) will be the centerpiece of military reforms triggered by operations in Afghanistan, say senior Pentagon and aerospace industry officials. Even President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who have become notorious for military pronouncements which lack detail, are beginning to nod in the direction of new investments.
Boeing announced plans to cut another 1,000-1,500 employees at its Ridley Township, Pa., rotorcraft production facility near Philadelphia. The latest action will cause employment at the facility to fall to 3,500-4,000 by mid-2004, Boeing said. Lower production rates for the V-22 tiltrotor Boeing builds with Bell Helicopter Textron and fewer international sales for the CH-47 Chinook are prompting the layoffs.
Navies from India and the U.S. were scheduled to complete combined search-and-rescue operations in the Arabian Sea on Dec. 17, the prelude to an unprecedented level of military contact between the two countries, according to defense officials in New Delhi. The initial priority will be to keep sea lanes of communication open in the Indian Ocean region to assure safe passage for oil tankers sailing out of the Persian Gulf.
Incoming Administrator Sean O'Keefe has made clear he's ready to clean up the fiscal mess that developed at NASA under the leadership of Daniel S. Goldin. He and his White House masters should be careful not to confuse that mess with the priceless national asset they have been entrusted to safeguard.
Of all the small-cap defense contractors that stand to benefit from the U.S.' renewed commitment to military preparedness, Alliant Techsystems would seem to be as well positioned as any.
Restructuring in the U.S. satellite industry is generating new opportunities for fast-growing SES Global to mesh together its far-flung network of operating companies and to mold it into an efficient worldwide system.
SAS Scandinavian appears set to take control of its Norwegian rival Braathens. SAS is offering NOK27 ($3.00) per share to Braathens shareholders and has agreed to buy KLM's 30% stake in the airline for around 34 million euros ($30.1 million). The deal has been under discussion for months and was renegotiated following the recent industry downturn. SAS has lowered its offer from NOK35 per share, while Braathens renegotiated lease terms with its lessors and plans to return six Boeing 737s. The carrier had a net loss of NOK757 million ($84 million) in the third quarter 2001.
An aggressive test program for the 115,000-lb.-thrust derivative GE90-115B engine, for which General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) is claiming a gas turbine power record, will aggregate a total of 15,000 endurance cycles, nearly the equal of test cycles for the baseline engine.
Asian airlines are facing the prospect of increasing commercial pressures, with the economic effects of Sept. 11 pushing them into their worst crisis since the Asian economic downturn, and industries in Europe and North America on the verge of even more consolidation.
Although it restarted operations smoothly, Delta Air Transport, bankrupt Sabena Belgian World Airlines' regional affiliate, is still far from winning the confidence of travelers. Average load factor in late November remained a weak 30% on DAT's 150 daily flights. To boost demand, the carrier has begun offering a flat 150-euro ($133) fare for roundtrips between Brussels and 28 European destinations. DAT is encountering fierce competition from major carriers such as Air France and independent short-haul carriers such as Antwerp-based VLM Airlines.
BarcoView has signed a work order to provide Skyguide (formerly Swisscontrol) with 70 ISIS flat panel liquid crystal displays for air traffic control system upgrades at Zurich and Geneva.
Companies often have powerful software, such as computational fluid dynamics or structural analysis codes, that are so complex that only a few specialists have the time to learn how to use them. To make these tools available to a broader audience, AEA Technology has devised the Enterprise Accessible Software Applications (EASA) program (www.easa.aeat.com). It creates graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are accessible via network browsers.
Bob Spagnuolo's 1956 blue and white Piper aircraft, lightweight and slow, would probably fail miserably as a weapon of mass destruction. The fabric-covered steel-framed tail dragger, topped off with 36 gal. of 100-octane low-lead fuel, two guys up front and as much baggage as will fit in the back, weighs in at less than 1,800 lb., takes off at 60 mph. and cruises at only twice that. The tiny craft works well as a gift delivery device, however.
