Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries expect to sustain losses as the ripple effect of postponed deliveries for Boeing's 767 and 777 programs take effect among suppliers, although they have received no word of a drop in delivery plans. The three produce fuselage panels, doors and the wing center section and other wing components representing about 20% of the airframe structural value for the 777. They produce a major portion of the fuselage for the 767.
George Fernandes has returned to his post as India's defense minister following a video expose in March that showed various senior politicians, generals and civil servants accepting bribes to push a nonexistent handheld thermal imaging camera for the infantry. Reporters posed as arms dealers for the fictitious product. Fernandes stepped down ``on moral grounds.'' External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had been holding the position on an interim basis. He said Fernandes is ``the right person'' for the job due to increased sensitivity in the Middle East.
The U.K.'s Customs and Excise Agency made its largest cocaine seizure ever from an aircraft last week, approximately 500 kilos, whose street value officials estimated at 32 million pounds ($46.4 million). The seizure occurred under cover of darkness after six large bags were dropped from a Boeing 707-323C on a remote part of the runway at the U.K.'s Southend Airport. Customs officers seized the cargo aircraft, secured the cocaine and arrested six men. Five were crewmembers, but the sixth individual's affiliation was undisclosed.
Jeffrey Gotschall has been appointed chairman of Sifco Industries of Cleveland. He succeeds Charles H. Smith, Jr., who has retired but will remain a director. Gotschall will continue as president/CEO.
But ARC does like the prospects of global logistics softwarehouses such as Savi Technologies Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., which got its big break making asset management tracking software for the U.S. military. The services realized they couldn't keep track of all the cargo boxes sent to the Middle East for the Persian Gulf war (see photo). Most recently, Savi has combined ``smart'' physical seals with its tracking software so that shippers can be assured cargo hasn't been tampered with while it's waiting to be loaded.
Boeing Co. may discontinue production of the 717 owing to weak demand and because the line isn't economical. The company also has delayed completion of the development program for the long-range 777-200LR for 18 months due to weak sales of the new model coupled with the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The aircraft was to have entered service in January 2004. Boeing only has three firm orders for the transport.
Behind the scenes of the U.S. air campaign in Afghanistan, signs are emerging of intelligence limitations and shortage of some key munitions. Despite a large intelligence collection effort before air strikes began Oct. 7, U.S. planners are still finding new targets as the air war unfolds. ``The terrain is brutal,'' which makes it harder to find elusive targets, said one official familiar with the intelligence effort.
Charles S. McLeran has been promoted to executive vice president/chief operating officer from vice president-flight operations and standards of TAG Aviation USA Inc. of San Francisco. Mark Spindler has been appointed vice president-employee services and Dave Huntzinger director of safety. Spindler was senior director of corporate services for Gap Inc., and Huntzinger was vice president-safety for America West Airlines.
Computational biology is a hot topic in computerdom, and NASA's Center for Computational Astrobiology and Fundamental Biology (www.cca.arc.nasa.gov) is at Ames Research Center, next to the supercomputing horsepower. Astrobiology broadly covers the origin and evolution of life in the universe, but the NCCAFB also investigates space genetics, which characterizes the structural, genetic and protein signatures of cells in space.
Of the many proposals to enhance aviation security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., none may be more controversial than arming aircrews. To explore the pros and cons, Aviation Week&Space Technology turned to two veteran airline captains. On the left, Tracy W. Price, who flies Boeing 737s for a major carrier, argues in favor. On the right, Roger Waldman, a U.S. citizen who flew for Air Canada, argues against firearms on the flight deck.
Logicon Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman's Information Technology (IT) sector, signed a new contract with the NATO C3 Agency (NC3A) on behalf of participating NATO members. Since September 1997, Logicon Europe has been providing one of its IT products to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, as the core component of the Maritime Command&Control Information System (MCCIS). MCCIS is integrated by NATO support staff and includes commercial off-the-shelf products as well as NATO-developed applications. It's installed in every NATO maritime headquarters.
Airservices Australia's new control center here, and an identical one in Melbourne, have set a new global standard for efficient oceanic and continental air traffic services. The centers control aircraft in about 11% of the Earth's airspace, covering portions of the Indian and Pacific oceans, all of the Australian continent, and a sizable chunk of Antarctica. Brisbane handles 40 sectors (six oceanic) and Melbourne 51 (two oceanic). They also provide some terminal services, and, together, process approximately 5,000 flights a day.
Rich Iudice (see photos) has been appointed director of flight operations and Tom Major director of maintenance and flight administration for the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Teterboro, N.J.
The opening round of the allied attacks in Afghanistan showed little that was overtly new or unusual, but there is promise of innovation in the war on terrorism over the next year as new funds appear, say defense officials.
General aviation groups are pleading for the Bush Administration to tell them: What has to be done to get VFR operations restored in 30 major metropolitan areas? Thousands of aircraft are still grounded because of undefined security concerns. Flight schools and maintenance shops are about to go bankrupt, the GA groups complain. They can only keep guessing (and proposing, via the FAA) what might satisfy the National Security Council, just to hear ``not good enough,'' or ``don't bother us now.'' Says the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.'s Edward M.
At the start of big conflicts, someone usually dusts off the platitude that the first casualty of war is truth. Ritually intoned, this wisdom is promptly forgotten. The adversaries proceed to their fate, which was aptly limned by a Russian chessmaster who said, in an observation that befits war as well as the chessboard, ``All the mistakes are there, just waiting to be made.''
Although the Taliban doesn't have sophisticated air defenses and has seen most of its systems destroyed during the first few days of the air campaign, some of the remaining low-altitude surface-to-air missile systems target U.S. pilots where they are most vulnerable, electronic warfare officials fear.
Bombardier Aerospace recently launched its PrecisionPlus upgrade for its wide-body Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet, improving the aircraft's operating efficiency and performance capabilities. Developed by Rockwell Collins as an enhancement to the 604's Pro Line 4 avionics suite, the upgrade automates both Vspeed calculation and thrust setting as primary information and offers 3D display of the aircraft's flight plan. The newer technology has received certification from both Transport Canada and the FAA.
Phil Soucy has become director of media relations for BAE Systems, Farnborough, England. He was director of public relations for BAE Systems North America, Rockville, Md. Soucy has been succeeded by John H. Measell, who was manager of public information for the Information and Electronic Warfare Systems unit, Nashua, N.H.
James Weiland has become senior vice president-national accounts of the Forward Air Corp., Greeneville, Tenn. He was senior vice president-sales and has been succeeded by Craig Drum, who was vice president-national accounts.
A key witness in a telephone hoax that triggered a hijack scare in India on Oct. 4, Alliance Air employee Shahnawaz Wani, 24, died two days after being interrogated by police and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (AW&ST Oct. 8, p. 20). His father said the death was of natural causes. Police say he was questioned as a witness, not a suspect.
Jody Tedesco has been named chief operating officer of Denver-based Space Imaging. She was senior director of strategic planning of Seagate Technology, Longmont, Colo.
This software from Jet-Care International is one of the very first online aircraft engine monitoring packages that give users a detailed picture of an aircraft engine's status. Data can be networked throughout a maintenance department and its presentation customized for each user as an e-mail. Use of the Engine Condition Health Online (ECHO) software package is expected to provide important safety and economic benefits through early diagnosis of powerplant problems.
