Russia's Saturn/Lyulka engine design bureau and Central Institute of Aviation Motors concluded an agreement to participate in the development of Snecma Moteurs' all-new SM146 turbofan. The proposed SM146 would power the 55-85-seat regional twinjet jointly proposed by Boeing, Ilyushin and Sukhoi.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. completed the prototype Gulfstream V-SP on Aug. 14 at its Savannah, Ga., facilities in preparation for first flight late this year. The GV-SP is a specially equipped version of the Gulfstream V long-range business jet that will have improved takeoff performance because of upgraded, increased-thrust Rolls-Royce BR710 engines. The airframe also has undergone drag reduction work to increase cruise speed.
Orbital Sciences Corp. will develop a concept for the Boeing Co.'s alternative boost vehicle used for the U.S. missile defense system in a seven-month contract valued at $11 million. Contract follow-on would include completion of concept development flight test and production of 50 ground-based launch vehicles.
Initial cancer research is getting underway on board the International Space Station this week as the new U.S./Russian Expedition 3 crew begins at least four months aloft on the 132-ton outpost. Studies on the growth of ovarian cancer cells will be started by about Aug. 24 in the new Cellular Biotech Support System hardware being operated by Expedition 3 commander Frank Culbertson and cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin.
Northrop Grumman's Logicon division has been tapped by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop the Network Early Warning Systems (NEWS) capable of providing advanced warning of Internet-based attacks on Defense Dept.'s computers. ``This program represents the means to advance the current protect-detect-respond network defense strategy to a survivable strategy by anticipating attacks, assessing intrusions, and adapting defenses to counter the attack,'' said program manager Paul Zavidniak.
Jerry A. Krill has become head of the Power Projection Systems Dept. of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. He was head of air defense programs in the Air Defense Systems Dept.
Edward Nicol has been appointed CEO of Tenzing Communications Inc. of Seattle. He was CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways' catering companies in Asia and North America.
House aviation subcommittee chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) is annoyed about further delays in deploying the FAA's Airport Movement Area Safety System (Amass) program, and he let Administrator Jane Garvey know about it last week.
Aviall Inc.'s Services unit has been awarded 10-year $100-million worldwide aftermarket distribution rights by Honeywell for hydromechanical control products used on the Rolls-Royce T56-series engine. Aviall Services will handle supply-chain management including aftermarket part sales, marketing, order administration and additional management responsibilities.
The FAA last week conducted a mini-lottery to allocate 21 unused slot exemptions that became available at New York LaGuardia airport since the agency's initial ``slottery'' plan--a stopgap measure to ease LGA's capacity woes --went into effect Jan. 31.
SOFTWARE FOR THE SUCCESSFUL USE of controller-pilot data link communication (CPDLC) over the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network by American Airlines, with Maastricht Upper Air Control Center, was provided by Airtel ATN (AW&ST Aug. 6, p. 59). The company is an independent Irish software developer and supplier of data communications solutions for the aviation industry. Airtel ATN provided the key ATN data communications solutions for the Rockwell Collins avionics and for ARINC's ground network.
Passengers sweating out flight delays on the San Francisco-Los Angeles or New York-Washington shuttles might be forgiven quizzical stares if they were told the Gulf of Mexico was the nation's hot spot of flight activity. But the FAA's Gulf of Mexico Working Group presents a convincing nomination of the region for that title. The Gulf has more than 600 helicopters, mainly serving its oil drilling rigs, plus a lot more.
Dennis H. Jones has been promoted to president from chief operating officer/vice chairman of Commerce One, Pleasanton, Calif. He succeeds Robert M. Kimmitt, who is joining AOL Time Warner but will remain a director.
Embraer, which is enjoying a period of increased profitability, is beginning to note the effects of the global economic downturn in its civil aircraft sector. Since the Paris air show in June, some airlines decided to delay converting options to firm orders, according to the Brazilian manufacturer's CEO Mauricio Botelho. He stressed that no firm orders have been canceled, but said the company has revised its production schedule downward.
NASA engineers dropped a prototype aircraft designed to operate in the thin atmosphere of Mars from a helium balloon at 103,000 ft. in an Aug. 9 test of its aerodynamic performance. Researchers said it appeared that the unpowered prototype met its test objectives. A powered airplane is under study as a way to tele-explore large areas of the red planet.
NASA HAS SELECTED EMBRY-RIDDLE Aeronautical University as the winner of the National General Aviation Design Competition sponsored by the agency, FAA and U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The university's team was chosen for its cooperative work with SMA of France to install its SR305 turbocharged four-cylinder, 230-hp. diesel engine into a Cessna 182 Skylane. The SR305, which burns JetA1 fuel, already is certified in Europe. The modification is scheduled to receive FAA approval late this year.
SMITHS AEROSPACE WILL SUPPLY THE U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENSE with its generic health and usage monitoring systems (GenHUMS), for the Royal Navy's 90 Sikorsky Sea King helicopters. The system incorporates an integrated cockpit voice-and-flight data recorder with a health and usage monitor in a single box. It provides continuous checks of the performance of safety-critical components--such as engines, transmissions, bearings and rotors--and provides advance warning of potential equipment failures.
Regaining investor confidence after it's been shaken usually is an uphill climb for a management team, requiring successive quarters of painstaking work to deliver on promises to meet certain financial and operational goals.
CAE and Agusta have formed Rotorsim--a consortium focusing on helicopter simulation and training solutions worldwide for operators of AgustaWestland aircraft. CAE and Agusta own equal shares of Rotorsim. Westland, Agusta and CAE already are teamed with EHI, Boeing and Bell Helicopter Textron in competition for Canada's Maritime Helicopter Program, offering the EH 101 Cormorant. In related news, MD Helicopters Inc.
A Lockheed Martin/International Launch Services Atlas IIAS is scheduled to launch a National Reconnaissance Office payload into polar orbit from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., Aug. 25. The mission will be the first Atlas-Centaur to carry an NRO payload from Vandenberg, indicating the launch of a new class of spacecraft. Another Atlas IIAS fired from Cape Canaveral is set to orbit another secret NRO mission in late September or early October--only the second Atlas-Centaur to be used by NRO from the Cape.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL HAS RECEIVED FAA LEVEL D qualification for its new Cessna Citation CJ2 full flight simulator (FFS) installed at the company's Wichita, Kan., Cessna Learning Center. The center began operating a Citation CJ1 FFS earlier this year. In addition, the first FFS for Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s Premier I entry-level business jet has received Level C approval and is operating at FlightSafety's Raytheon Learning Center. Level D qualification is scheduled to occur after data from additional flight testing is received, according to the company.
