Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, a technically progressive, personally engaging former fighter pilot, is likely to be a willing and active participant in transforming the military to a smaller, more mobile, better integrated and information-intensive organization. President Bush was expected to nominate Myers, the current vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the Pentagon's top uniformed job late last week. Myers handled a series of tough assignments during the post-Cold War drawdown. Subordinates praise his laid-back management style and good humor.
The University of Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management has graduated its inaugural class of 21 executives who earned the Aerospace Executive Management Certificate after completing an MBA-style curriculum. The program is an initiative of the Ontario Aerospace Council (OAC) and the university. To ensure an industry focus, the curriculum incorporated recommendations of OAC's training committee, spearheaded by Bombardier Inc. The program is part of a broad initiative to help Canadian aerospace companies remain competitive worldwide.
GPS data aided Nascar in its investigation into the stock car racing crash that killed noted U.S. race car driver Dale Earnhardt during the Daytona 500 earlier this year. Data from a GPS receiver in Earnhardt's car was used to help determine the complex car and bodily loads that resulted in his fatal head injuries. The data, recorded at five times per sec., was utilized to compute impact velocity of the car with the wall, as well as the precise trajectory angle of impact.
FAA officials thought they had it right this time. After numerous tries and two federal court rulings saying otherwise, the agency finalized its prices last week for providing air traffic control services to ``overflights,'' commercial flights that fly through U.S. airspace but do not land or take off there.
Nearly six months late, Bush named his six members of the Presidential Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The law creating the panel set a Mar. 1 deadline for the appointments. The Bush appointees are: Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin, former astronaut and president of Starcraft Enterprises; Edward M. Bolen, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.; John W. Douglass, president of the Aerospace Industries Assn.; Neil de Grasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium; Robert Walker, congressman-turned-lobbyist, and Heidi R.
NASA officials have turned off a science instrument on the Odyssey spacecraft after it stopped operating as Odyssey continues cruising toward Mars for a scheduled orbit insertion Oct. 23. Project officials last week said no commands were being sent to the Mars radiation environment experiment (Marie) while an investigation team is formed to study the problem in detail.
A Carnegie Mellon University solar-powered robot has demonstrated a Sun-synchronous navigation concept that could be useful for long-term exploration of planets and moons. The idea is for the robot to track the Sun, monitor the electricity collected by its solar panel, and vary its energy expenditure to ensure it has enough to complete its assigned tasks. A robot named Hyperion used the Sun-tracking concept while exploring terrain on Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic last month.
Elbit Systems Ltd. recently paid $2.3 million for a majority interest in AEL, a Brazilian electronics company, which has a key role in the modernization of Brazilian air force F-5s. AEL will serve as Elbit's center for production and logistics support, as well as export of defense electronics products for Brazilian military programs.
USAF Gen. (ret.) Hansford T. Johnson has been sworn in as assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy for installations and environment. He was president/chief executive operating officer of EG&G Technical Services Inc.
Brian H. Corliss has become Northeast U.S. representative of the Frededrick, Md.-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. He owns Corliss Associates, a commercial aviation services firm, and is a director of the Aviation Assn. of New Hampshire.
Schiphol, the operator of Amsterdam airport and an investor in facilities such as Terminal 4 at New York JFK International Airport, is in negotiations to take a 30% stake in Malaysia's airport operations.
The first two of five Kaman SH-2G(NZ) Super Seasprite helicopters destined for service with New Zealand's navy have been delivered, with two additional aircraft to follow next month. The aircraft will be used in transport, surveillance and combat roles, and will operate on board the Royal New Zealand Navy's ANZAC and Leander-class frigates. The fifth aircraft ordered by the service should be delivered late next year.
There has been so much red ink in first-half results for 2000 in China that Beijing authorities have been warning management to shape up or else. But China Southern Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, said last week that its net profit attributable to shareholders was 210.5 million yuan ($25.4 million) for the period (see p. 44). Revenues were up 14.3% over the first half of 2000 to 8 billion yuan. Although China Southern bucked the trend, 2001 has been a rough year. Profits are off 42.1% from last year.
Russian flight operations with the International Space Station are again moving to the forefront now that the orbiter Discovery has returned to Earth. Illustrating the aggressive pace of the effort, for a time last week U.S. and Russian ground controllers and flight crews were managing four separate station program vehicles. This involved the ISS itself, along with the shuttle, a depleted 15,000-lb. Progress departing the station and a new fully loaded Progress approaching the ISS.
After 19 months of work, San Jose International Airport has opened a reconstructed Runway 30R/12L and taken bids on rebuilding and extending its companion, 30L/12R, to the same 11,000-ft. length. The projects are part of a $2-billion, 10-year expansion program that will include development of new passenger and cargo terminals, parking and Customs Service facilities, better freeway access and such airside improvements as added fuel storage.
In a benchmark test conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Gasl, a miniature, gun-launched, scramjet-powered hypersonic vehicle has produced net positive thrust in a free flight environment.
Lufthansa German Airlines has joined the long list of carriers trailing red ink, although the company insists it will finish the year in the black. The airline posted a first-half net loss of 43 million euros ($39 million), after earning 460 million euros a year ago. Operating profit also declined, to 105 million euros, versus 349 million euros in 2000. The negative result, which had been anticipated, came despite a 13.7% increase in first-half sales, to 7.8 billion euros, fed by a 10.7% rise in traffic revenues and a 27.8% surge in nonairline activities.
U.S. airlines' domestic traffic showed signs of improvement in July, but yields sank faster than ever and international traffic softened, according to data from the Air Transport Assn. Within the U.S., passenger volume was down 0.6% from July 2000, the sixth consecutive year-over-year drop, but the previous five decreases were larger. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), increased for the first time since January, and the load factor was the highest since July 2000.
USAF Lt. Gen. (ret.) James S. Clapper, Jr., has been named director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). Clapper, who was director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 1991-95, succeeds Army Lt. Gen. James C. King, who has headed NIMA since 1998 and who is scheduled to retire later this year. Joanne O. Isham, the CIA's deputy director for science and technology, has been appointed deputy director of NIMA.
The Snecma group's revenues in the first half also increased dramatically (40% to $3.09 billion) in the wake of consolidation moves covering Turbomecca and Hurel-Dubois. Despite the economy's slowdown, Snecma's outlook for this year's second half remains good, company executives pointed out.
Astrium has sold its spacecraft momentum/reaction wheel business to Stork Aerospace of the Netherlands. Divestiture of the business unit was mandated by the European Commission as a condition for approval of Astrium's creation last year.
Philip A. Dur has been named corporate vice president and president of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Ship Systems Sector, effective Oct. 1. He will succeed Jerry St. Pe, who plans to retire on Oct. 31. Dur has been vice president-program operations at the Northrop Grumman Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector (ES3) in Baltimore. Taylor W. Lawrence has become vice president/general manager of the Systems Development and Technology Div. of ES3, succeeding Kelly C. Overman, who has been appointed vice president-business development and strategy.
Myron Levy, who has been president of Herley Industries Inc., Lancaster, Pa., has been appointed CEO. He will succeed Lee N. Blatt, who will remain chairman. Howard M. Eckstein has been promoted to president from general manager of Herley Microwave Systems. John Kelley has been appointed president of Herley Commercial Technologies. He has been corporate senior vice president.
The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) design is proving to be even stealthier than the U.S. Air Force's requirement, say Lockheed Martin officials. The service dictated that a radar reflection from the new attack aircraft be no larger than that produced by a metal, golf-ball-size object. That result seemingly flies in the face of company and Air Force efforts to cut costs by permitting the JSF to have a larger radar signature than earlier-generation stealth aircraft.
The U.K.'s EH Industries hopes its EH 101 will be the winner in Japan's navy mine-sweeping competition to replace aging Sikorsky MH-53Es. The EH 101 is up against Sikorsky's H-92, the military version of the U.S. company's S-92. Japan bought 11 MH-53Es in 1986-91 and lost one in an accident. It is expected to buy 10 replacements, two of which are to be purchased before fiscal 2005, the end of the current five-year defense plan.
