Pegasus Aviation has selected Duoom- mun Inc. to supply its B1000 economy-class passenger seat for MD-80 aircraft being leased to Vanguard Airlines. The contract is valued at $1 million.
In a move to bolster its e-procurement position, Ariba of Mountain View, Calif., has agreed to acquire supply chain software leader Agile Software Inc. of San Jose, Calif., for $2.55 billion. Analyst David Yockelson of Meta Group called the acquisition a ``must'' for Ariba if it is to stay competitive against i2 Technologies, Oracle and the Commerce One/SAP alliance. All are players in aerospace.
Dassault Aviation's Rafale F2, a version adding an air-to-surface capability to the French multirole military fighter, will enter service by the end of 2005. Last week, DGA armaments agency awarded a $930-million contract to Dassault, Thales, Matra BAe Dynamics and Sagem covering the F2's development.
Battery technology may be about to catch up with advances in other subsystems that contribute to the reliable maintenance and operation of aircraft. iQ Power Technology Inc. of Vancouver--working through its Munich-based R&D subsidiary--has developed a battery that combines a microprocessor, imbedded software and sensors into an integrated, computer-controlled energy management system.
Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn, founders of DHL, are among eight members recently inducted into the International Cargo Hall of Fame. The others are: Guenter Rohrmann, formerly president/CEO of AEI and now vice chairman of Danzas AEI; Hellmuth Klump of Lufthansa Cargo; Alexey Isaikin, CEO of Volga Dnepr Airlines; Gennrikh V. Novozhilov, designer-general of the Ilyushin Il-76; and Dinesh Kumar, general manager for cargo of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
Globalstar has withdrawn its protest, filed with the General Accounting Office, over the Pentagon's decision to award Iridium a sole-source contract for satellite telecommunications service. Pentagon officials indicated that financially struggling Globalstar couldn't expect to receive assistance along the lines of what was extended to Iridium as long as the protest was on-going.
Airsys ATM has won a contract from Turkmenistan's civil aviation authority to supply an RSM970S secondary surveillance radar and air traffic control workstations for the Turkmenabat airport.
There are about 875 NASA-funded ground-based research efforts in the microgravity and life sciences fields advancing toward selection as flight research projects for the Destiny lab and other facilities on the ISS, according to ISS chief scientist Roger Crouch. Crouch has flown on two shuttle missions as a payload specialist astronaut. The station's international partners have their own similar ground-based programs underway aiming for peer review selection as ISS flight projects.
Three weeks after taking the helm at Exostar, CEO Andy Plyler has made three key appointments. Ken Possenriede, former finance director for the systems integration staff at Lockheed Martin, was tapped to be the e-marketplace's chief financial officer. Barry Lerner, formerly Honeywell Aerospace's director of e-business, will be vice president-government sales. And Ludo Van Vooren, former vice president of business development at Partsbase.com, is to be vice president-communications.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, widow of Charles A. Lindbergh, died on Feb. 7. She was 94. The award-winning author and graduate of Smith College was the first woman to receive a glider pilot's rating in the U.S. She met Lindbergh when, following his historic 1927 flight across the Atlantic, he made a goodwill visit to Mexico--at the invitation of her father who was U.S. ambassador.
Chances appear good the U.S. and Hong Kong will begin formal bilateral liberalization talks this spring, expanding gateways and fifth freedom rights for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines, and giving Hong Kong additional code-share rights. During two days of ``friendly, exploratory'' discussions in Washington last week, officials close to the talks said negotiators mapped out what would be covered in formal talks. The U.S. has indicated its willingness to liberalize, but not open, the current agreement.
After three years of testing, AMSAFE Aviation has achieved certification of its Aviation Inflatable Restraint (AAIR) system from the FAA, European Joint Aviation Authorities and the British Civil Aviation Authority. The airbags are being installed in about 100 BAe Jetstream 41 regional transports operated by six carriers worldwide, and installations in Boeing and Airbus aircraft are scheduled for next year, according to the company.
V-22 production will be delayed a year and most of this year's budget will be cut, if a bill introduced last week by Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) becomes law. The bill would affect both the Marines MV-22B and the Air Force Special Operations Command CV-22, leaving only enough money in the program to keep the production line from shutting.
AAR Allen Aircraft has signed a three-year consignment agreement with Southwest Airlines, to manage, market and sell Southwest's spare 737-200 airframe rotables and surplus avionics.
The Sherwin-Williams Co.'s Jet Glo Complete Care line of cleaning and polishing products, designed specifically for the general aviation market, is now available from aerospace coatings distributors. Jet Glo is a coating for overall base application on medium and large aircraft. Acry Glo is used for overall base application on smaller aircraft and for feature striping on larger aircraft. Ancillary products include bug remover, a wet wash, dry wash and a Complete Care Clean Plane Kit which features many of the products as well as cleaning tools and terry towels.
Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways, has been elected president of The International Air Cargo Assn., which is based in Miami, for 2001-02. He succeeds Geoffrey Bridges, chairman of Bridges Worldwide. Daniel C. Fernandez and George Johnson were reelected secretary general and treasurer, respectively.
USAF Maj. Gen. (ret.) Michael J. Butchko, Jr., president of Space Gateway Support, will chair the 38th Space Congress May 1-4 at Cape Canaveral. The theme will be ``A Space Odyssey--The Next 50 Years.''
Northstar Network Ltd. of St. Johns, Newfoundland, and Lockheed Martin Canada will jointly pursue a Canadian maritime helicopter program to replace the country's aging fleet of Sea King aircraft. Northstar Network is an aerospace/defense consortium of 15 technology companies and a university. Canada will conduct two separate competitions--selection of the basic aircraft in 2001, followed by selection of a mission systems integrator late next year. The first of 28 mission-capable helicopters is scheduled for delivery late in 2005.
Sikorsky has 15 firm commercial orders in hand for its S-92 medium helicopter and has prospects for more than 100 additional military orders in the next several months, depending on the results of several competitions involving potential offshore customers.
EADS' French arm and BAE Systems plan to complete in early spring a joint technical report covering the installation of Kevlar/rubber liners in Concorde's wing fuel tanks. The Franco-British report and proposals will be submitted to DGAC French civil aviation authority and the British Civil Aviation Authority. ``This [report] will complete the industry's share in the effort to devise modifications that could put Concorde back in the air,'' an EADS official said.
JLG Industries Inc. has introduced two new-generation electric-powered scissor lifts that traverse almost any job site. They have nonmarking tires and zero emissions for indoor use and standard automatic traction control, oscillating axle and all-terrain tread for outdoor use.The largest model has a 40-ft. platform height and an 800-lb. platform capacity. Using the 3-ft. platform extension, both machines can handle 12-ft. materials; and with a 69-in. overall width can pass through most standard double-door openings. Eight 370 amp.-hr.
Col. Richard A. Kniseley has been promoted to director from deputy director of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland AFB, N.M. He succeeds Christine Anderson, who now heads the Milsatcom Joint Program Office in Los Angeles.
The nation's airlines are as torn asunder as Congress about consolidation, pitting aviation's Davids against its Goliaths. Chief executives of nine carriers offered Senate testimony last week on antitrust issues, and they split 6-3 in favor of big scale mergers. The minority ``Davids'' comprised AirTran Airways, America West and Continental Airlines, all convinced that competition in the skies will become extinct if the Justice Dept. approves the proposed United/US Airways, American/TWA combines.
