Millions of airline passengers have been unwitting participants in risky experiment in Houston. Aircraft operating to and from George Bush Intercontinental Airport are routinely allowed to ignore the 250-kt. speed limit that applies below 10,000 ft. in the rest of the U.S. (see p. 47). The FAA would like to expand high-speed operations to more of the nation's busiest airports.
Tommy W. Holloway, manager of the International Space Station program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, has received the National Space Award from the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation, also in Houston. The award recognizes contributions to the field of space exploration.
The Navy may face a difficult time meeting operational availability requirements for its F/A-18E/F's self-protection gear, and could have greater aircraft losses as a result of changes the service made to the strike fighter's electronic warfare requirements, according to a report by the Pentagon's Inspector General.
GENERAL AVIATION ACCIDENTS DECREASED SLIGHTLY in 1999 despite an increase in the number of hours flown, according to the Air Safety Foundation (ASF)--an affiliate of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. There were 1,707 accidents in 1999 with 320 involving fatalities. Flying hours increased to 27.1 million from 26.8 million. ASF Director Bruce Landsberg said low-level flying and adverse weather remained the two chief causes of fatal accidents, with continued VFR flight into instrument weather conditions involved in 75% of fatal crashes.
Royal Canadian Air Force officials are in the middle of defining the details of their force restructuring plans, which will include the drawdown of a large number of attack and surveillance aircraft. To free up money to modernize its fleet, Canadian military officials long have expected they will need to trade force structure to finance improvements. ``We have to build quality, perhaps at the expense of quantity,'' said Brig. Gen. Doug Langton, director general of air force development.
The FAA reports that increasing public demand for air travel will sustain the ongoing explosion in the U.S. air transportation network, with a billion passengers by 2012 taking commercial flights every year, up 52% from the 682 million expected to fly this year. To carry all those travelers, the nation's fleet of passenger jets with 60 or more seats will grow 3% annually, totaling 6,313 jets by 2012, up 43% from last year's tally of 4,417.
The U.S. Air Force is interested in acquiring a single, small unmanned aerial surveillance aircraft. The 8.5-lb. UAV, with a wingspan of 1.5 meters, would carry a 1-lb. color video camera with a 45-deg. field of view, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory. The aircraft, built by MLB Co. of Palo Alto, Calif., has an endurance of about 1 hr., operates at an altitude of 2,500 ft., has a range of 8 mi., and flies at 18-45 mph. The hand-launched system uses GPS for navigation, operates autonomously, and is recovered using a parachute.
Hard times for infotech companies? Maybe. But data research specialist CIMdata says collaborative engineering by manufacturers is driving big growth in collaborative product definition management (CPDM) software. Manufacturers embrace CPDM for several reasons, said CIMdata research director Ken Amann. They include shortages of talent in the labor pool and the pressure to improve the supply chain by collaboration. Amann's research shows the market for CPDM grew 62% in 2000 to reach $2.86 billion and should reach $4 billion this year, on its way to $13 billion by 2005.
EADS Military Aircraft and the United Arab Emirates air force have developed technical and operational concepts for the Mako advanced trainer/light attack aircraft, and have begun briefings to potential systems suppliers. EADS and the UAE signed an agreement in 1999 to jointly pursue the Mako project (AW&ST Nov. 22, 1999, p. 22). Memoranda of understanding already have been signed with several companies including Computing Devices Co., MTU/Eurojet, Honeywell and GE Aircraft Engines.
Slovakia has postponed a decision on acquiring a new subsonic fighter aircraft until November when a review of the country's overall defense needs is to be completed. Slovakia is a candidate for the next round of NATO enlargement. Contenders include the Aero Vodochody L-159, BAE Systems Hawk and Aermacchi M-346.
AAR Aircraft Services has been awarded propeller repair and overhaul contracts from Dyncorp and Lear Siegler for 400 propellers installed on U.S. Army C-12 and U.S. Navy C-26 aircraft.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Oceanic and Naval Systems unit has been awarded a $22.5-million contract by the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command to provide five AN/SPQ-9B shipboard radars and an update kit for a sixth.
Frankfurt airport is testing a concept to increase its landing rate on two closely spaced parallel runways by offsetting the landing areas so the downwind aircraft can avoid wake vortices from the other runway. The new technique is an attempt to remove a severe limit to landing capacity at that airport imposed by wake vortex restrictions, said Stefan Mauel, head of research and development for the airport extension program at Frankfurt.
Italy has signed an agreement with the U.S. to lease 34 F-16s to replace its aging F-104s and 24 Tornado air defense variant aircraft acquired from the U.K. under leases that expire in 2003-04. The F-16 lease is for five years with an option for five more with deliveries starting in mid-2003. Italy wants the aircraft to bridge the gap until its Eurofighter aircraft become fully operational in 2010.
KLM is evaluating the future of its U.K.-based, low-cost subsidiary Buzz, after the Dutch carrier dropped out of the bidding for British Airway's Go. KLM had submitted a conditional offer for Go in partnership with the U.S.-based Carlyle Group. The Dutch carrier considered merging Go with Buzz, both based at London Standsted airport, but felt the price tag too high. BA, which has reportedly entered into exclusive negotiations with the private equity firm 3i, said it expects to wrap up the sale of Go, valued at around $145 million, by the end of the month.
Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) has scheduled the launch of a surveyor to Venus in Spring 2007. The ISAS is expected to request that initial funding for the 20-billion-yen ($166-million) program be included in the Fiscal 2002 budget. Plans call for the surveyor's arrival at Venus in 2009 to observe, with near-infrared and ultraviolet cameras, the planet's atmosphere and volcanoes.
NTSB reports that a Northwest Airlines A320-200 with 145 passengers and six crew received ``substantial'' damage after an aborted takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Mar. 17. Pilots reported that the Miami-bound aircraft began an uncommanded liftoff at 110 kt. Unable to lower the nose, the pilot reduced power on both engines. NTSB reported three minor injuries after the aircraft traveled 700 ft. off the end of the runway and an L2 evacuation slide did not deploy.
India's external affairs minister, Jaswant Singh, has taken over the duties of Defense Minister George Fernandes, who stepped down from this post Mar. 15 on ``moral grounds.'' His resignation came two days after the expose by a news portal tehelka.com of defense procurement corruption, a scandal that has enveloped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition in political crisis. The Indian army has instituted a court of inquiry to investigate the scandal. So far, four officials from the defense ministry and the army have been suspended from duty for accepting bribes.
Fulfilling the long-time expectation of U.S. intelligence analysts, reports from the arms fair in Abu Dhabi say the Russians have almost closed a large sale of advanced air-defense missiles to Iran. The ITAR-TASS news agency reported that Iran intends to finalize soon its purchase of Russian-built Tor-M1, Tor-M1T and S-300 surface-to-air missiles. A preliminary agreement had been signed in December for the S-300PMU-01 missile and for a program to train more than 100 Iranians to operate the equipment (AW&ST Jan. 22, p. 19).
Space and insurance industry executives fear that mounting claims from launch and satellite failures could lead to a shortfall in coverage, unless more attention is paid to quality concerns. The insurance sector was forced to pay out nearly $1.2 billion in damages last year, considerably above the $1 billion received in premium payments. It was the second worst year on record--following a $1.4-billion payout in 1998--and the fifth straight year in which losses have equaled or exceeded $900 million.
Robert J. Stevens, president/chief operating officer of the Lockheed Martin Corp., has been appointed to the Presidential Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, along with William Schneider, Jr., president of International Planning Services.
SINO SWEARINGEN AIRCRAFT CO. IS PREPARING the second SJ30-2 airframe for static structural testing at the company's facilities in San Antonio. Plans call for testing to begin in the second quarter and continue for about 3-4 months. The test unit is one of five aircraft being assembled for the FAA certification program, which includes an airframe for fatigue testing and two additional flight test airplanes that will join the SJ30-2 production prototype. It first flew in November 2000.
