Faced with a widespread increase in the average age of its aircraft and few signs the trend will abate soon, the U.S. Air Force has created an organization to help manage this emerging crisis. The average age of aircraft has grown to ``beyond where we are comfortable,'' said a senior Air Force planner.
T. Wood Parker has been named vice president/general manager of global information technology systems for TRW Inc. He was a managing partner at Pricewaterhouse LLP.
Federal managers are urging the FAA and Congress to shore up budgets, pay and staff in the interests of safety and efficiency. Michael B. Styles, president of the Federal Managers Assn. (FMA), warned a House panel last week that operational errors (violations of separation standards) shot up 51%, Fiscal 1996-2000. Four remedial steps are essential, he said. Testifying before the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, Styles called for:
``Scroll'' is a real-time, moving window display tool add-on to the Vexcel Direct Capture System that permits immediate viewing of data from optical satellites such as Landsat-7 and Spot-4. With Scroll, satellite images are streamed across the computer screen as the ground station receives them. It sub-samples incoming data, decodes it, then displays it on screen. It benefits users by providing instant visual feedback on the quality of data being received. Malfunctions in data capture may be remedied promptly and labor costs of processing unwanted data are saved.
Sean Reineke has been named vice president-technology for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Bethesda, Md. He was the business area's vice president-postal programs in Owego, N.Y.
Spanish officials have been forced to lower the maximum price for shares in Iberia and are making more available to retail investors due to weak demand for the initial public offering from international institutional investors. The moves come against a backdrop of investor concerns about a slowing U.S. economy, uncertain prospects for growth among European airlines and ongoing labor talks with pilots.
Russia has told the partner control board that oversees International Space Station development it wants to substitute the U.S./Russian Enterprise commercial module for its scheduled Docking and Stowage Module, and NASA has launched a study to see if the plan will work.
Sandra Lee Cuttino has been appointed president of the Global Environment Div. of Earth Tech Inc., Colton, Calif. She was senior vice president of the Engineering and Environmental Services Div.
This new flat-cable-and-connector system overcomes the disadvantages of traditional flat-conductor, flat-cable systems. The patent-pending system is easier to terminate, particularly in the field. The key is the method by which the insulation is applied to the conductors. Other systems use adhesive to bond the insulation. This requires the insulation to be ground off the conductors when making a termination, which is difficult to do in the field. With this product the conductors are not glued.
Engineers at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia have used a sounding rocket flight to demonstrate how a low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) modem can be used to relay telemetry data to the ground via the Internet. Researchers from Wallops' Advanced Range Technology Initiative mounted about $2,500 worth of COTS hardware, including a Qualcomm GSP-1629 Packet Data Modem, in a Maxus-Orion sounding rocket.
A European Council summit has opted to delay important decisions on aviation regulation reform, as transport ministers prepare to decide the fate of the Galileo satellite navigation system, amidst continued concerns over private funding proposals. The council, meeting in Stockholm late last month under Swedish presidency, put off proposals to improve Europe's severely taxed air traffic management (ATM) system until the next summit, in Goeteborg, Sweden, in June.
Saudi Arabia has awarded Thales a 230-million-euro ($207-million) contract to upgrade and support Royal Saudi Shahine defense systems, in cooperation with Sofresa. Thales had earlier won a $140-million upgrade/support award for Saudi Arabia's air defense systems. The Saudi contract followed a 173-million-euro contract from France the week before to develop features for French army PR4G digital radios, and to deliver several thousand additional units.
The late Marion Carl, the first World War II U.S. Marine Corps ace and the USMC's first helicopter pilot, will be one of four inductees into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton, Ohio, on July 21. The other three are: Joe H. Engle, X-15 pilot, space shuttle astronaut and NASA consultant; Robin Olds, World War II ace, founder of the first aerobatic jet team and a Vietnam War combat pilot; and Albert L. Ueltschi, founder of FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI) of New York and Project Orbis.
The new Athens international airport, Eleftherios Venizelos, opened last week after a month-long delay and disputes about infrastructure readiness. The first commercial flights landed at the new facility in Spata, 17 mi. northeast of Athens, last Wednesday. The airport, officially named after a noted Greek statesman, replaces the old, run-down Hellinikon airport after more than two decades of planning.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. (ALPA), which represents 10,000 Delta Air Lines pilots, has rejected the National Mediation Board's offer for binding arbitration to settle the 19-month-old contract dispute. ALPA's announcement triggers a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the pilots could strike if no agreement is reached. President Bush could extend the cooling-off period for another 60 days by invoking an emergency board.
The shortest, cheapest route to missile defense is installation of destruct packages on American and Russian strategic nuclear missiles, so that they could be blown up en route if they were accidentally launched, former Sen. Sam Nunn said last week. ``We have these destruct devices on test missiles, why not put them on nuclear missiles?'' the Georgia Democrat suggested in a National Press Club speech.
The proliferation of objects in orbit and increasing expectations for manned-space operations may require the creation of an agency focused on overseeing and controlling various space operations, the Pentagon's top space officer says. ``Over time, you are going to have an FAA for space,'' argued USAF Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, commander of U.S. Space Command. ``We are going to have to de-conflict'' objects in space and ensure that controlled reentries are planned for objects reaching the end of their service lives, he adds.
Terrance Bacola has been promoted to president from vice president/general manager of the Midway Aircraft Instrument Corp., Teterboro, N.J., a subsidiary of the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. Chris Pearson has been promoted to director of sales for Canada for Dassault Falcon Jet from acting Eastern Canada sales manager.
The European Space Agency is mulling an ambitious space exploration program that could replace the International Space Station as the agency's key science and technology objective and rekindle efforts to explore the Moon. ESA solar system mission director Marcello Coradini says the undertaking is envisaged as an envelope program, along the lines of the Living Planet initiative, with a mix of large ``core'' and small ``opportunity'' missions. It would be focused primarily on astronomy and exobiology projects (AW&ST Oct. 23, 2000, p. 38).
Jet Aviation has developed an outfitting technique for Gulfstream II and III aircraft that results in a roomer, brighter and quieter cabin, according to the company. The procedure involves removing the existing interior and installing a larger G-IV interior shell into the aircraft's fuselage. The new composite shell is suspended by fabricated links and isolators attached to the aircraft's walls. In removing the old shell, the space-consuming passenger service units are removed, resulting in more cabin space and the ability to create a new interior design.
Ronald F. Taylor has been promoted to corporate vice president/general manager from vice president of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Communications Systems Div. of Motorola.
Voyager International Airlines, which recently acquired certain assets from bankrupt Tower Air, has filed for certification to operate charter services using Boeing 747-200 aircraft. Voyager, however, is not a ``new Tower,'' insist Peter W. Nord, chairman and CEO, and Terence O. Dennison, president and COO. Dennison says acquiring 747 manuals, computer systems and training programs from Tower only gave Voyager a ``head start'' on certification.
Mexicana Airlines and Air Canada have expanded their code-share route network between their two countries to include travel between Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec, Ottawa, Vancouver and Mexico, connecting through U.S. gateways at Newark, Denver, Chicago and San Francisco. The two carriers began their alliance in 1999. Elsewhere, Kansas City-based Vanguard Airlines, a no-frills carrier, has signed a five-year agreement with Sabre Holdings Corp. for reservation and airport check-in services.
