The FAA has carved seven new air traffic control sectors out of airspace in four of its busiest air route traffic control centers (ARTCCs) in an attempt to increase capacity this summer in the high-density triangle formed by Chicago, Boston and Washington. The agency intends to develop 12 more sectors in time for summer 2002.
In many ways, NASA became a hollow shell under the Clinton Administration and Daniel S. Goldin, who continues as the agency's head, and it is time for the Bush Administration to do something about it. The White House personnel office is searching for a new administrator of NASA, but that quest is not a top priority. It should be because the agency needs a new leader as soon as possible.
David Rodrigue has become chief financial officer, Gerald Carrino vice president-marketing and contracts and Ana Santiago director of planning and purchasing of Unidynamics Inc., Conroe, Tex.
Frankfurt airport plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) next month in anticipation of its privatization. A total of 29 million shares, or 31% of the capital, will be offered to investors; the City of Frankfurt and the State of Hesse will have a combined 51% stake, while the German federal government will retain an 18% share in Fraport, the airport's operator. The exact split between institutional and private investors has yet to be announced. Nominal value of the shares is 290 million euros ($260 million).
Lufthansa pilots turned down an offer of a 26% pay increase this year because raises in future years were not guaranteed and, on May 10, staged a one-day strike that grounded the majority of the airline's fleet. The airline scrambled to rebook passengers on competing airlines and even on trains. The pilots are planning a strike every Thursday until a settlement is reached, but talks have been broken off.
Lockheed Martin has finished hover pit tests of its X-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (Stovl) testbed, and is installing the flight test engine and lift fan in preparation for the first flight of the Joint Strike Fighter prototype, which could occur around the beginning of July.
Michael Bair has been named executive vice president of the Commercial Aviation Services within Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) of Seattle. He succeeds Thomas Schick, who retired last month. Bair was BCA vice president-business strategy and marketing.
Retired American Airlines Chairman Robert Crandall has been named to receive the annual Tony Jannus Award from the Tampa and St. Petersburg chambers of commerce. The award memorializes the pilot of the first scheduled commercial flight to cross Tampa Bay, Fla., on Jan. 1, 1914.
NASA is spending $54 million on upgrades to the Deep Space Network over the next 21/2 years to prepare the worldwide array of big ground receivers for a growing data load. Included in that amount is $33 million for a new 34-meter dish at the DSN site near Madrid. To be built by Schwartz-Hautmont Construcciones Metalicas S.A., of Tarragona, Spain, the new antenna will feature beam-waveguide technology like the newer dishes across DSN, and will add about 70 hr.
Inflight entertainment systems are increasingly incorporating fiber-optic components to facilitate video-on-demand capabilities. These fiber-optic interconnection systems meet avionics standard Arinc 628 for IFE systems. The modular connector modules are loaded directly into Arinc 628 box and tray rectangular assemblies, which can blind-mate up to 128 fibers at a time. These fiber-optic connectors provide thermal, vibrational and mechanical stability for reliable transfer of the light beams from one fiber to another in aerospace environments.
Reconnaissance flights along the coast of China have resumed after the collision of a Navy EP-3 electronic aircraft and a Chinese F-8II fighter. The mission has been assumed by Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft flying from Okinawa. The more sophisticated intelligence array and the better performance of the RC-135 allow it to fly at higher altitude, greater speed and farther offshore while gathering Chinese voice communications and electronic signals with the same fidelity.
Saab is acquiring full control of Ericsson Saab Avionics. Ericsson Microwave Systems has agreed to sell its 49.9% stake in the Swedish joint venture to Saab for $22 million. Created in 1997, Ericsson Saab Avionics employs 750 people and posted sales of $100.7 million in 2000.
The European Commission, as expected, has issued a statement of objections setting down areas of concern in relation to the proposed takeover of Honeywell by General Electric. ``We have concerns with regard to possible bundling . . . that could allow the new entity to extend its dominant position from one market to another,'' said the EC's Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti. GE will have until May 23 to respond to the document, after which it can request hearings to discuss the details of potential remedies.
This family of hermetically sealed hard drives is designed to be compliant with the soon-to-be-released NATO STANAG 4575 specification. It is available as either a SCSI drive (up to 36GB) or IDE (up to 30GB), and soon to be available with a fiber channel interface. A 73-GB drive also is being introduced. The drives are impervious to rapid changes in altitude, which is known to cause condensation. They are sealed for altitude in excess of 70,000 ft. and for 100% condensing humidity.
Douglas N. Kobayashi has been nam- ed senior vice president-maintenance and engineering of the Nova Advisory Group International, Manassas, Va. He was president/CEO of Dee Howard Aircraft Maintenance.
Spectroline's C-100 high-intensity UV lamp is equipped with a lamp head about one-half the size of conventional 100- and 150-watt HID units, and is designed to inspect hard-to-reach locations while reducing inspection time. The lamp, developed to speed nondestructive testing capabilities, is 5.5 X 8 in. and 1.75 lb. The 100-watt C-100 has visible light emission of under two footcandles (0.2 lux), which meets ASTM specs for FPI and MPI. It is powered by a 11.5-lb. magnetic ballast.
General Motors is talking to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and its Sky Global Networks subsidiary about spinning Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV satellite television unit into the Australian media mogul's empire. The deal could be a shot in the arm for direct-to-home satellite broadcasting in the U.S., since News Corp. has the horsepower to boost DirecTV's subscription base of more than nine million homes dramatically. Worldwide, Murdoch claims some 100 million DTH customers, and his Fox cable network is a ready source of programming for an expanded U.S. service.
The Pentagon may establish a Defense Business Board, modeled after the Defense Science Board. Its charter would be to improve Pentagon business practices, with an eye toward making defense companies healthier. In addition to corporate representatives, emissaries from Wall Street and e-commerce would comprise the board, says Edward C. (Pete) Aldridge, Jr., the Pentagon's new acquisition chief. To devise plans to boost the health of the defense industrial base, Aldridge says meetings will be held between senior Defense Dept. officials and the industry's chief executives.
Scott Malone has become vice president-business operations of Chicago-based Indigo. He was senior manager of the business consulting practice of Arthur Andersen in Atlanta.
U.S. Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) has become an honorary member of the Columbia, Md.-based International Society of Air Safety Investigators. He is the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The European Space Agency has awarded Alcatel Space a contract to design, build and launch its next Cornerstone mission, Herschel-Planck. The 369-million euro ($332-million) mission--the largest science project ever undertaken by the agency--consists of a far-infrared telescope and a cosmic microwave background experiment, to be launched together in 2007 but to be operated independently. Astrium and Alenia Spazio will be major subcontractors.
Hong-Kong-based Dragonair is making initial moves to start regional operations to mainland destinations, perhaps by early next year, according to industry observers. Dragonair's requirement has not been defined, but the four regional aircraft manufacturers--BAE Systems, Embraer, Bombardier and Fairchild Dornier--may soon be responding to a formal request for proposals for aircraft in the 50-70-seat category. China National Aviation Co.
Japan Air System plans within two years to cease operating most of its nine domestic and five international services out of Kansai Airport. JAS, Japan's third largest carrier, cites thin demand and the airport's high landing fees for the pullout. Most of JAS' domestic flights, some of which are averaging 40% or less load factors, will be canceled, but some could be shifted to Itami, the old airport at Osaka. Similarly, some international flights may be shifted to Tokyo Narita upon the completion of the second runway next May.
