India said last week it tested an Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile, the PJ-10, on June 12 that may have Mach 2 capabilities at a test range in Chandipur in eastern India. Ministry of Defense officials said the missile, also called Brahmos, has a range of 280 km. (175 mi.) and is intended for sale to the Indian and Russian armed forces. Officials also indicated it would be marketed internationally. Developed jointly by India's Defense Research and Development Organization and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia, the PJ-10 uses a Russian engine and Indian guidance system.
British low-cost carrier Go will challenge Ryanair and Aer Lingus on the market between Ireland and Scotland. Go said it will begin flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Dublin starting in September. The London Stansted Airport-based airline plans to increase its fleet to 18 737-300s from 13 this year. Go was sold last month by British Airways to The 3i Group, a British venture capital firm.
Supporters of the B-1B bomber have declared war on a U.S. Air Force proposal to cut and reallocate the fleet, contending the plan would incur significant costs, rather than generate savings.
Jean-Marie Jacquet has become head of the Messier-Bugatti Aircraft Braking Div. He succeeds Pierre Fabre, who is now president of Cincinnati-based CFM International. Jacquet was head of the Foundry Production Unit at Snecma Moteurs' Gennevilliers, France, plant.
Fueled by a strong economy and continued buildup of the U.S. commercial and executive aircraft fleet, pilot hiring in the U.S. is running at full throttle. Airline jobs are particularly hot, with carriers hiring 17,000 new pilots last year, setting a record high for the fifth year running. It's the best of times for aviators in search of a career hauling passengers and cargo or teaching other pilots to fly.
Lowering the accident rate for commercial airlines in this decade will require the uninhibited sharing of protected safety data between all carriers and the elimination of recurring ``killer'' events that can lead to fatal accidents.
Larry Zellman (see photo) has been appointed technical director of Howmet Aluminum, Darien, Conn. He was a materials technology program support engineer for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle.
You will not see a JetBlue pilot toting a 50-lb. black chart bag to the aircraft. But you will see a laptop in hand. The airline's growing fleet of new Airbus A320s is nearly paperless--the aircraft manuals are electronic, as are systems information, weight and balance, the MEL (minimum equipment list) and most aeronautical charts. A pilot applicant's computer skills are not physically tested, said Mike Barger. He is director of training at JetBlue, the carrier that began operations from New York JFK International Airport in February 2000.
Crew resource management is the most important skill pilots have to master as they climb the ladder from a commercial rating to a job in the right seat of a regional airline, and simulators are at the heart of that training, according to FlightSafety International.
Edouard Perez (see photos) has been appointed senior vice president-engineering and David Quancard vice president-production of Arianespace. Perez was vice president-production and Quancard deputy industrial director.
NASA may get extra funds to cover part of its shortfall in the International Space Station program, but only if it can convince the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee that it won't be throwing good money after bad and the White House demonstrates it will shoulder some responsibility for fixing the funding problem.
Joseph H. Lubenstein has been named president of the Kaman Aerospace Corp., Bloomfield, Conn. He succeeds Walter R. Kozlow, who has retired. Lubenstein was vice president-quality for Pratt&Whitney, East Hartford, Conn.
J. Veronica Biggins has been appointed to the board of directors of AirTran Holdings. She is a senior partner of Heidrick&Struggles International in Atlanta.
It's clear that pilots sometimes make mistakes in the cockpit, and researchers say they probably always will. So why not remove those all-too-human operators and replace them with computers? After all, that's what Northrop Grumman recently did with the Global Hawk, a sleek transport-sized aircraft that earlier this year flew nonstop from California to Australia and back with no pilots on board.
Boeing has signed an agreement with Alenia to jointly develop and produce a tanker/transport version of the 767 for the Italian air force. An international market version is expected to follow. The selection by the Italian Defense Administration provides Boeing with its first order for the aircraft. The company was competing against EADS, which offered the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker/Transport.
The Air Line Pilots Assn., concerned at the growing diversity of initial and recurrent training at airlines, will soon sound a clarion call for ``one level of training.'' The group outlined to Aviation Week&Space Technology what it considers the top 10 training issues requiring industry attention and solution: -- Setting one level of training for airline pilots.
Even as the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment is preparing to sell a major share of equity in Air India and Indian Airlines, the government is expected to assure that they will retain their bilateral traffic rights for at least seven years after privatization, rather than see them go to rival private carriers. A final draft of a proposal that would ``guarantee the use of existing bilateral traffic rights'' of both airlines is to be put before the cabinet soon.
Boeing has revealed more details of its proposed Sonic Cruiser Mach 0.95 aircraft, as it seeks to address questions in Europe about its environmental impact.
Marie-Louise Watkins has become general manager for customer service and Richard Hepburn general manager for business products of U.K.-based Menzies World Cargo.
In a serious failure for Arianespace, the European Space Agency and Japan, an Ariane 5 placed both the ESA Artemis advanced communications spacecraft and the Japanese BSAT-2b television broadcast satellite into improper orbits July 12. The combined cost of the spacecraft approaches $1 billion. The flight marked the third Ariane 5 mission that has had serious problems, a factor that could affect its market prospects and future insurance rates.
Royce S. Caldwell has been appointed to the board of directors of the Sabre Holdings Corp. of Fort Worth. He is retired vice chairman of SBC Communications Inc.
China Southern Airlines has begun second-phase implementation of IBM IT management for its aircraft maintenance documentation services, part of a $2.7-million document management contract that meets the Air Transport Assn.'s ATA2100 electronic data exchange standard. . . . IBM Japan will handle systems development, infotech operations and other services for Japan Airlines under a 10-year, $664-million outsourcing agreement beginning this month. Initially, JAL will hold a 51% equity stake in the partnership, called JAL Information Technology Co.
The Republican-controlled House has forewarned the Pentagon against budget-busting in Fiscal 2003-07, declaring that Social Security and Medicare are absolutely untouchable and will not be raided to pay for major defense hikes. In a bipartisan rebuff, the Republican and Democrat leaders of the House Budget Committee admonished Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz last week that the Pentagon is being less than forthcoming about the magnitude of the spending increases it will request in January for Fiscal 2003 and succeeding years.
The newly created European Advisory Group on Aerospace, comprising senior representatives from industry and the European Commission (EC), held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on July 6. In attendance were EC commissioners Erkki Liikanen (Enterprise) and Philippe Busquin (Research), as well as the chairmen of EADS, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Snecma, Thales and Finmecannica.
General Electric Co.'s aircraft engine business posted a 10% increase in second-quarter profits, contributing to a 15% rise in GE's total earnings, on a 3% slide in revenues. Meanwhile, Chairman John F. Welch, who postponed his retirement to oversee the acquisition of Honeywell International, announced last week he will vacate that position at the Sept. 7 board meeting. European regulators recently dashed GE's merger hopes, leaving Honeywell to fend for itself (AW&ST July 9, p. 27).
