The Turkish air force has stepped up plans for a $12-million simulation center for training pilots in the wake of the three recent CN-235 crashes that killed 41 people. To be built by Ankara-based Havelsan, the center is expected to be completed next year. The airplane that crashed 30 sec. after takeoff last month at the Turkish Aerospace Industries facilities was one of nine being modified for use by the navy and coast guard. A preliminary report indicates possible control problems with the aileron system. The final report is due in 6-8 months.
Alexis Livanos (see photo) has been promoted to executive vice president from senior vice president-operations of Boeing Satellite Systems, El Segundo, Calif.
The U.S. Navy plans to initiate a sweeping review of its role in space in the wake of decisions by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to reshuffle the military's space management.
An A400M contract is expected to be signed before the end of the year as European defense ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the program, pledging to acquire 212 of the military transports.
Delta Air Lines pilots ratified a five-year contract valued at $2.5 billion in wages, benefits and work rules, which sets a new post-deregulation standard. Wage increases of 24-39% for mainline pilots go into effect July 1 (AW&ST Apr. 30, p. 43). A Boeing 777 captain with 12 years' experience will make $319.61 an hour with the last raise on May 1, 2004, an increase from $258.11.
Flight testing has begun on the Avionics Capabilities Enhancement (ACE) F-16 being developed by a consortium of Israeli defense companies. The upgraded aircraft conducted several flight tests before being flown to France where it was on display at the Paris air show. Under the program, led by Israel Aircraft Industries Lahav Div. and Elbit Systems, the F-16's original avionics have been replaced with a number of Israeli-developed systems such as: -- IAI Elta's EL/M-2032 fire control radar with SAR modes.
THE CHINA (XI'AN) AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY Group will buy CAE's MAXVUE visual system for installation in a simulator for its new MA-60 turboprop regional aircraft. The MA-60 was unveiled in March 2000 to serve China's growing demand for regional aircraft transportation. Beijing Aviation Simulation Co. will add CAE's visual system to the simulator it is building for the MA-60, which is also known as the Xin Zhou 60. The sale is CAE's first to Beijing Aviation Simulation Co.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. sold at least 45 new business aircraft, including 11 Premier I jets and 22 Hawker 450s, during the first week of the Paris air show at Le Bourget, France. The sales are valued at more than $300 million.
Maintaining aging avionics in military aircraft is a complex and growing problem that is already hurting readiness and threatening to spin out of control unless some big changes are made, according to a study commissioned by the Secretary of the Air Force.
The European Space Agency is proposing to substantially increase spending in science, Earth observation and telecommunications. The proposal, submitted for comments to ESA's ruling council last week, is designed to benefit from a growing realization within Europe of the strategic value of space and the scope it affords for creating high-tech jobs and strengthening the economy (AW&ST June 18, p. 88).
Elettronica is developing a wing-mounted system to protect aircraft against radar-guided missiles that the company says could spell the end of towed decoys. If it proves sufficiently capable at decoying missiles, the wingtip-mounted Cross-Eye system would remove the maneuvering limitations of a towed decoy. Eliminating the need to replace all towed decoys deployed on a mission would produce significant life-cycle savings.
Upcoming flight tests over the Mediterranean will begin seeking answers to a key ``free flight'' issue--how to transition aircraft between areas of low-density traffic and the highly concentrated airspace of Europe.
The potential market for a high-speed civil transport like Boeing Co.'s proposed Sonic Cruiser probably exceeds 500 aircraft in the next 10-15 years, according to a market assessment by Vought Aircraft Industries Inc.
Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center launch operations are reaching their peak for the year with six major missions set for launch over the next six weeks. Shuttle operations are being reinitiated after a decision by the International Space Station program that the new Canadian ISS arm is ready after questions arose earlier about its shoulder joint avionics. By this week, two shuttles are to be on their pads at KSC.
Nearly a dozen Lockheed Martin space launch vehicles are on pads around the world in an unusual coincidence where every facility capable of launching a Lockheed Martin rocket is in the process of doing so. At Vandenberg AFB, Calif., a Titan IVB is being readied for a secret National Reconnaissance Office imaging mission, while a Titan II is being processed for the launch of an Air Force DMSP weather satellite. An Atlas-Centaur IIAS is also being readied for another NRO flight.
Exostar--an independent, Internet-based marketplace for the aerospace/defense industry--expects to activate more than 10,000 supplier-participants by the end of this year, up from about 4,000 last week, according to Exostar officials. Those 4,000 were doing about 20,000 on-line transactions per week through Exostar, compared with about 3,000 in April. In the next two years, Exostar plans to connect more than 250 procurement systems currently used by the five founding partners in 20 countries, and more are expected to follow.
Writers for Aviation Week publication Business&Commercial Aviation garnered four awards last week at the Royal Aeronautical Society's 2001 Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards banquet in Paris. John Wiley won the World Leadership Forum Award for Best Air Transport submission; David Eisler, the Goodrich Award for Best Maintenance submission; David Carlisle, the Airbus Award for Best Safety submission; and Robert Rossier, the Smiths Award in the Best Systems or Technology category.
A NEW COST-EFFECTIVE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) is the goal of a teaming arrangement between EADS and Northrop Grumman's Baltimore-based Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector. The dual-channel monopulse SSR, called ATCMS 2000, is designed to provide both terminal and en route service, out to a maximum 250-naut.-mi. operational range. It will interrogate aircraft in Modes 1, 2, 3/A, C and Mode S, with upgrades possible for the military Mode 4, and the new military Mode 5, according to Northrop Grumman.
Eurofighter performed the first test launch of a powered Amraam separation/control test vehicle to validate the separation trajectory from the aircraft. The May 17 test was conducted from Alenia-built prototype DA7 at the Italian flight test range at Decimomannu, Sardinia. Eurofighter air forces will employ Amraams until the new beyond-visual-range Meteor missile is available in 2008-09. DA7's latest flight test cycle also included the first firing of a Matra BAE Dynamics Asraam. The short-range missile test occurred on June 1.
he fate of the universe may depend on NASA's next launch. It's not that worlds will live or die on the success or failure of this upcoming mission, of course. However, it is not an understatement to say the job of the spacecraft is no less than to help scientists determine what the fate of the universe will be.
Pratt&Whitney Canada Corp. has entered into a developmental agreement with Raytheon for a new light jet propulsion system--the PW625F. The proposed family of engines is designed for the general aviation and small business aircraft markets. A 2,000-2,500-lb.-thrust PW625F demonstrator will run in the fourth quarter of this year, with first flight on a flying testbed scheduled for 2002.
The withdrawal of Northwest Airlines' offer to acquire regional carrier Mesaba Airlines reflects a change in relationships between majors and their regional affiliates. Northwest, which owns 27.9% of Mesaba, plans to expand its relationship with the airline. Mickey Foret, Northwest's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said ``recent developments'' in the industry prompted the airline to reevaluate its ownership of regional carriers.
One by one, the biggest U.S. airlines are warning investors that they will come out of the second quarter worse than they expected going in. In a busy week of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Delta Air Lines said it thinks it will lose $140-160 million during the quarter, and American Airlines put its loss at more than $100 million. United Airlines didn't estimate results, but said its unit revenue is turning out to be more than 10% lower in this year's second quarter than in last year's.
The FAA is going back to the drawing board after a judge opined against a sole-source contract it had planned to award to Lockheed Martin for the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) (AW&ST Mar. 12, p. 50). An administrative law judge at the General Services Administration upheld Raytheon's protest, but not the company's request that the FAA be ordered to recompete. Instead, he said future decisions to either compete or make a single-source award ``should not be prejudged,'' but that the burden of supporting a single-source award would be considerable.
Goodrich Corp. is developing a new main wheel to replace the company-built main wheels now in use on all four NASA space shuttle orbiters. Changes to the wheel are designed to permit a 20% increase in allowable landing loads to 171,000 lb. from 142,500 lb., and a 10% increase in allowable landing speed to 250 kt. from 225. Delivery is expected in early 2004.
