French engine manufacturer SMA and U.S. light airplane builder Cirrus Design Corp. have agreed to flight test and certify installation of a four-cylinder 230-hp. SR-305 turbo-diesel engine in a Cirrus SR22 airframe to be designated the SR22tdi. Plans call for initial deliveries to begin in 2002, but the aircraft would be available only to European customers, according to Cirrus officials. There are no plans to offer the engine option in the U.S., at least in the near-term.
Georges Bridel has become head of advanced design at the EADS (Germany) military aircraft division. Bridel, who was deputy head, succeeds Hannes Ross, who has retired.
Northwest Airlines mechanics ratified the tentative agreement between the airline and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn., which represents 9,795 mechanics, cleaners and custodians. Members voted 82% for, 17% against the four-year contract that will make Northwest's mechanics the highest paid in the industry. The contract, the first since 1996, gives mechanics an immediate 24.4% pay hike and a 37% raise over four years. Also, mechanics get a one-time bonus of $13,750-25,000, depending on annual income.
AeroVironment has shipped its giant Helios solar-powered drone to Hawaii for an attempt to reach 100,000-ft. altitude this summer, and recently completed a 7-hr. functional test of the aircraft. The Apr. 28 test revealed a number of minor discrepancies but no showstoppers, said AeroVironment Vice President Robert F. Curtin. The schedule is still being studied, but he estimated Helios could fly from the Barking Sands airfield on Kauai in the first half of June.
In the hope of drawing greater attention to the growing mission area and reinvigorating classified space projects, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is making sweeping changes to how the Pentagon manages its space programs. The decisions unveiled last week aren't surprising, since most were recommended by a commission Rumsfeld chaired before being named defense secretary. ``We need to ensure that the management and the organization of our national security space program reflects the importance of space to the nation today,'' he said last week.
Strict new rules at NASA governing how satellites are discarded at the end of their service lives have engineers pondering whether to send a space shuttle after the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The 15,000-lb. UARS has been in low-Earth orbit since Discovery left it there in 1991. Its mission was to run 18 months but it's still returning useful data. Ghassem R. Asrar, associate administrator for Earth science, says NASA wants to bring the spacecraft down in about a year to free funding for other activities.
David P. Berman has been named CEO of Airia Ltd. of London and Annapolis, Md., a joint venture of the former Live Inflight Video Entertainment and Inmarsat Ventures Ltd. He was senior vice president-North America of the PanAmSat Corp.
Kaman Instrumentation's DIT-5200 is a differential measuring system that utilizes high-precision inductive technology for critical angular measurements. While differential systems have traditionally been costly, Kaman is offering the DIT-5200 at an affordable price owing to a new commercial off-the-shelf design.
Japan's Transport Ministry has awarded a 9-billion yen ($72.6-million) contract to Rocket System Corp. for launch of the replacement MT-Sat in the summer of 2002 on an H-2A. The spacecraft combines weather and air traffic control capabilities and replaces one lost in November 1999 when an H-2 launch failed.
Analysts say online consumers are gravitating to air carrier Internet portals to purchase airline tickets, wooed in part by brand trust and exclusive low-fare promotions. It's a trend that's expected to continue as more customers get online and carriers attempt to capitalize on the rock bottom distribution costs they can achieve when selling tickets on their own sites.
A bill to reduce flight delays by letting airlines meet and discuss schedules has flown through the House aviation subcommittee without amendment. Introduced by Don Young (R-Alaska), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the measure aims to ease antitrust barriers that prevent airlines from agreeing how to cut back on the waves of scheduled flights that can't all land and take off on time at peak hours at congested airports.
Aviation Week's commitment to you, our readers, is to provide authoritative information and analysis of the key issues, trends and opportunities affecting aviation and aerospace. We cover not just this week's events, but the intelligence you need to be prepared for tomorrow. Nowhere is such insight needed more than in e-business and information technology dedicated to aerospace.
David Whelan has become vice president/chief technology officer of the Boeing Space and Communications Group, Seal Beach, Calif. He was director of the Tactical Technology Office of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The Aerospace e-Book is a compilation by Aviation Week&Space Technology of the electronic marketplaces and information technology products that serve aerospace. It spans the industry, including software makers and business-to-business sites for business, commercial and military aircraft, as well as specialists for missiles and spacecraft. In short, it is the infotech equivalent of Aviation Week&Space Technology's annual Aerospace Source Book.
Northrop Grumman's surprise bid to buy Newport News Shipbuilding is based on ``concerns'' about preserving competitiveness and avoiding antitrust issues associated with General Dynamics' offer to buy the company.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., a risk-sharing partner on Embraer's ERJ-170 program, has been selected by the Brazilian manufacturer to make the wings for the largest member of the Embraer family, the ERJ-190, the company announced last week. This notice coincided with the implementation of the -190 Joint Definition Phase, which will lead to the final design of the -190.
American Airlines has ordered 15 Boeing 767-300ERs equipped with GE engines. Part of the order will replace nine Pratt&Whitney-powered TWA 767s that are not compatible with American's fleet. The remaining airplanes will replace Airbus A300-600s on North Atlantic routes. The A300s are due to be reconfigured for two-class seating and flown on routes to Latin America and the Caribbean.
A new National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft crucial for the development of advanced laser communications and other military space relay capabilities is set for launch this week from Cape Canaveral on a Boeing Delta II. The GeoLITE mission is largely secret, but is part of an NRO initiative to demonstrate advanced military space communications--especially laser systems--that will eventually provide greater ``information superiority'' capability to U.S. forces.
Deeply discounted airline fares are likely to be the rule this summer as carriers attempt to rebound from the worst first-quarter passenger loads since 1997, says the Air Transport Assn. ATA reports 125,256,000 first-quarter enplanements in the U.S., down 9% from last year and 3% lower than first-quarter 1998 results. ATA spokesman Michael Wascom said: ``The numbers have dipped because business travel has dipped.'' He says fare slashes like AirTran's 35% summer sale and Delta's worldwide spring sale are attempts to recover from the year's sluggish start.
The flight of space tourist Dennis Tito has raised the ire of powerful U.S. senators on the appropriations panel that funds NASA, but more tourists are waiting in the wings and there's a chance Russia will sell them seats on future Soyuz ``taxi flights'' to the International Space Station. Russia's unilateral decision to send Tito to the ISS acted as a lightning rod for members of the Senate Appropriations Committee already weary of Russia's performance on the international project.
Jim Dempsey has been named director of planning, schedules and programs and Ken Haynes program manager for the C-20 engineering support contract at the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. Dempsey was Gulfstream V entry-into-service program manager, while Haynes was contract logistics support manager for the C-37A, the military designation for the G-V.
Joseph B. Spear (see photos) has been promoted to vice president-corporate business services from vice president-purchasing and logistics for TriPoint Global Communications, Gastonia, N.C. George Watson has been appointed director of procurement and Lou DiNunzio vice president-corporate quality. Raymond M. Szull, Jr., has been named director of national account sales for affiliate CSA Wireless. Watson was procurement director of Prodelin, while DiNunzio was corporate director of quality for Oberg Industries. Szull was regional vice president-sales for SimplySay Inc.
To warn pilots of potentially dangerous cabin altitude and pressure conditions, this dedicated off-the-shelf altitude alerter is fully RVSM compliant and has been field proven in aircraft requiring cabin pressurization. It issues three types of warnings: it flashes cabin altitude on its LCD; it annunciates a caution light located within its integral pushbutton; and it triggers audio alerts. The altitude alerter function has four user-selectable operation modes: altitude alerts, minimum descent altitude, static air temperature and cabin altitude.
Paul Lindsey has become vice president-process improvement for BAE Systems North America, Nashua, N.H. He was vice president-engineering of the BAE Systems Aerospace Sector, Austin, Tex. USMC Gen.(ret.) Thomas Zinni, Robert Prestel and Robert Fitch have been named to the board of directors. Prestel was deputy director of the National Security Agency. Fitch is vice president-marketing and government relations.
