Fairchild Dornier is in discussions with the German government about potential export support to counter the Brazilian government's Proex export incentive program for rival Embraer. President and CEO Louis Harrington said the move was being made to counter what he considers an ``unbalanced playing field'' on the world market. Fairchild Dornier would use the financing aid ``as a defensive measure'' only in competitions where it is pitted against Embraer.
The European Union has indicated its approval of Portugal's plans for reviving state-run TAP-Air Portugal. The plan includes cost-cutting measures and partial privatization of the financially troubled carrier.
PLANETARY SCIENCE AT Pluto has another lease on life, at least for the next three months. Teams from the University of Colorado and Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), both in Boulder, will spend that time preparing detailed feasibility studies for possible NASA robotic missions to explore Pluto and its neighborhood, under contracts awarded last week.
The FAA and Boeing revealed their plans to cope with growing air traffic delays by modernizing the nation's air traffic control system last week, and what a contrast! The FAA's Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) pulls together more than 50 initiatives in what appears to be a well-integrated plan, complete with time lines and responsibilities. It is noteworthy not for new technologies, but for the clear overview it presents of the steps toward a 21st century system.
The long-range Airbus A340-600, which made its maiden flight in late April, is scheduled to obtain certification in the second quarter of next year. First delivery to Virgin Atlantic Airways is planned for June 2002. The 380-seat A340-600, Europe's biggest commercial aircraft until the first A380 mega-transport is completed in late 2004, is complementing the in-production A340-300 and will be followed next year by the 313-seat A340-500, a shortened-fuselage derivative set to further increase maximum range to 8,500 naut. mi., up from 7,500 naut. mi.
Pratt&Whitney and General Electric have agreed that their engines will work interchangeably in the Joint Strike Fighter, giving the Pentagon options to switch suppliers far into the JSF program. The powerplants (P&W's JSF119 and GE's JSF F120) will be physically and functionally interchangeable in all three variants of the strike aircraft. The designs will start competing for production funding beginning in 2011.
LaGuardia Airport has defied government, issued a flight moratorium and held a slot lottery in an effort to solve its capacity dilemma. Now congestion fees, slot auctions and more large aircraft may become part of its future.
An official of airline labor watchdog organization The Newfoundland Group says Delta Air Lines' pilots will announce on June 20 their approval of a tentative agreement that will make them the highest paid cockpit crewmembers in the U.S. airline industry. He said despite ``hefty pay raises,'' only one-third of the pilots like the agreement and another one-third ``loathe the contract.'' The remaining pilots ``are slowly realizing that their chances of improving the outcome with a Bush-appointed Presidential Emergency Board are a faint hope,'' he said.
Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP) of Spain has become the sole supplier of low-pressure turbines for Rolls-Royce engines of more than 35,000-lb. thrust. This includes the Trent 500, being developed for Airbus A340-500/-600s, and the Trent 900 for the A380. ITP said the agreement is expected to generate additional revenues of more than 90 million euros ($77 million) annually. Rolls-Royce has a 46.9% stake in the Spanish engine maker, whose revenues increased by 25% to 260 million euros in 2000.
A month ago, you couldn't find anyone in Washington willing to use the adjective ``optimistic'' without the adverb ``cautiously'' when speaking about the coming summer airline delay season. Now, with Memorial Day past and some favorable data coming in, they're throwing caution to the winds. ``This summer will be better than last summer,'' House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) said at a press conference. Donald Carty, chairman and CEO of American Airlines, agreed, it will ``certainly'' be better.
Seven images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2--along with the Faint Object Camera, Near Infrared Camera and the Multi-Object Spectrometer--have produced a color composite image of NGC 1512 (see picture). The image reveals a 2,400-light-year-wide circle of infant star clusters in the center of the galaxy, located 30 million light-years away.
The Bush Administration's evolving missile defense plan is running into technical and political hurdles that will restrict the extent to which the new architecture can differ from the Clinton-era design.
Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Raymond Henault has been named his country's next chief of defense staff with the rank of full general, effective June 28. He has been deputy chief.
The U.S. Air Force has completed the first development test of a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile from a B-52. The test, conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., is the third of eight in the cruise missile's development test series. The missile was launched from 30,000 ft. and flew 23 min. for 195 naut. mi. before impacting the hardened bunker target.
The X-40A demonstrator has completed a series of seven approach and landing tests at Edwards AFB, Calif., as a precursor to first flight of the larger X-37, which is to begin final assembly this summer at Boeing facilities in Palmdale, Calif. The 22-ft.-long, unpiloted X-40A was drop tested at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center facilities at Edwards over two months as a pathfinder for the X-37, which is to conduct its own series of five drop tests there next year from a B-52 aircraft flying at about 40,000 ft.
Orbitz, the on-line travel agency funded by five major airlines, officially opened its Internet site for business June 4 after operating in ``beta'' mode since September. The opening caps months of intense lobbying efforts by consumer groups and online travel agents to persuade the Justice Dept. to halt the launch. Opponents fear Orbitz's backers--American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United airlines--will provide their lowest fares to Orbitz alone, crippling major third-party vendors like Travelocity and Expedia. The Transportation Dept. on Apr.
Scott Olmstead has been appointed chief financial officer of Evergreen International Aviation Inc., McMinnville, Ore. He was comptroller/tax director of Evergreen Holdings Inc.
The Society of British Aerospace Companies is gearing up for some changes at future Farnborough air shows as the site transitions to new owners. The next air show is to take place July 22-28, 2002, and The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) has announced July 19-25 will be the dates for the show in 2004. The sale of Farnborough airfield by the U.K. Ministry of Defense to TAG Aviation is expected to be concluded with the signing of a 25-year leasehold in early January 2003. There is to be
The FBI has agreed to get involved in the investigation of suspicious wiring damage Boeing has found on some of its 737 commercial transport aircraft at the company's Renton, Wash., production facility. The company refused to make further comment on the situation, citing the FBI involvement which began June 7.
Jean-Michel Leonard, formerly president of EADS ATR, has been named CEO of ATR Integrated, which combines EADS ATR and certain activities of Alenia Aerospazio. Other executives appointed are: Paolo Revelli-Beaumont, senior vice president-commercial; Roberto Bellino, senior vice president-customer services; Serge Queille, senior vice president-finance/chief financial officer; Luigi Lombardi, senior vice president-operations; Jean-Pierre Cousserans, general secretary; and Alain Prat, head of human resources.
The first NASA X-43A hypersonic research vehicle and its single-stage booster went out of control after loss of what appeared to be two control surface fins on the aft end of a modified Pegasus XL first-stage motor. While NASA officials last week would not comment on the cause of the June 2 failure, video imagery from one of two chase aircraft showed two elevons falling off the aft end of the winged booster about 8 sec. after ignition of its solid rocket motor.
Indian Space Research Organization officials said the first GSLV equipped with an indigenous Indian cryogenic upper stage is set to be launched in late 2003. The mission is to orbit an approximately 2,000-kg. (4,400-lb.) GSAT-3. The new engine has already undergone one 30-sec. test firing at 7.5 metric tons (16,500 lb.) of thrust, and two more are planned for later this year. A decision on whether to go with this engine version or develop a 9.5-10-metric-ton variant will be made this year. The heavier model would be available for flight testing by 2004-05.
Engine makers are refining their propulsion offerings for Boeing's Mach 0.95 sonic cruiser transport and are using parametric studies to help focus on likely candidates.
A graph in the June 4, 2001, issue of Aviation Week&Space Technology (p. 57) mislabeled trends in asset utilization for several large aerospace companies. Those trends are correctly depicted in the graph at right. HOLT Value Associates, listed as the source of the data, was not responsible for the mistake. The point of the chart is that only three of the industry's largest aerospace companies have been doing an above-average job of utilizing their assets efficiently.
Genesis, a solar wind sample return spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin Astronautics for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has arrived at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The spacecraft is scheduled for launch July 30 on a Boeing Delta II booster. The spacecraft is designed to capture particles in the solar wind and return them to Earth in 2004. outlook
