Charles Champion has been appointed vice president-A380 program of Airbus Industrie. He succeeds Juergen Thomas, who has retired. Champion was head of the A320-series product group and has been succeeded by Gerhard Puttfarken, formerly head of EADS Germany's A380 unit.
Aircraft Technical Publishers of Brisbane, Calif., makes its maintenance and operations data available on the Web, but finds its customers usually prefer CD-ROMs. Senior Products Manager Bob Jones gave some insight into the popularity of Web-based maintenance programs versus CD-ROMs or microfiche, the old standby for documents that ATP started with 27 years ago. Many overhaul shops either don't have Web access or are located where fast DSL lines aren't available, he says.
Elliot Pulham has been appointed president/CEO of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation. He succeeds Chuck Zimkas, who was interim president, and Jaime Oaxaca, who was interim CEO. Zimkas will return to his position as chief operating officer, while Oaxaca will remain chairman of the board of directors. Pulham was executive vice president.
Michael A. Chowdry, chairman, CEO and president of Atlas Air Inc., and Jeff Cole, aerospace editor of The Wall Street Journal, were killed in the crash of Chowdry's Aero L-39 tandem-seat jet trainer aircraft on Jan. 24. Chowdry was taking Cole for a flight near Denver before conducting an interview.
Avions de Transport Regional has concluded an agreement with Finmeccanica/Alenia Aerospazio subsidiary Aeronavali to convert ATR 42 and 72 twin turboprops into all-cargo aircraft.
The aerospace industry is voicing general support of more rigorous aircraft noise and engine exhaust emission standards, but a few discordant notes are being sounded amid the harmony. The International Civil Aviation Organization's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) set forth its recommendations for ``Stage IV'' certification standards for new transport aircraft and derivatives at a meeting in Montreal this month (AW&ST Jan. 22, p. 18).
Rene J. Francillon has worked in and written about the aerospace industry since the dawn of what was once called ``the jet age.'' Last year, he received the Boeing Decade of Excellence Award for journalism, given by the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Ellen Smith has become president of Pratt&Whitney Power Systems, East Hartford, Conn. She was senior vice president-commercial engine programs. Smith has been succeeded by Jean Colpin, who was vice president-engineering at Pratt&Whitney Canada.
The U.S. Air Force's new Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (top photo) successfully completed its first test, using its imaging infrared terminal seeker to locate its target--a complex of containers (bottom photo)--just before it was struck by the missile. The mission was the first of eight development tests that have been planned. The test was conducted at the Army's White Sands Missile Range, N.M., said William Bridges, the Air Force's technical director for JASSM.
Are manufactured parts in conformance with the CAD master model? Raindrop Geomagic of Durham, N.C., has created Qualify software that takes a 3D scanned image of a part and compares it with the CAD model. The tedious alignment of the model (top left image) with the cloud of points from the scan (top right image) is automatically performed by the program, and the output is a color map of the differences (bottom image). The map can be set to a simpler go/no-go scheme with green and red indicating whether the part is in or out of tolerance.
Passenger traffic growth at Orlando, Fla., International Airport is expected to rise 3-5% in 2001, according to Bill Jennings, executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. Cargo traffic is expected to increase along the same lines. Combined domestic and international passenger traffic of 30.4 million was reported in the year ending in September 1999.
Sir John Egan (see photo) has become chairman of NewDERA, the soon-to-be-privatized portion of the U.K.'s Defense Evaluation and Research Agency. Egan was chief executive of British airport operator BAA. Graham Love, who was finance director of DERA from 1992-96, has been named chief finance officer. Brenda Jones will be marketing director.
Launch of a $131-million military weather satellite--intended to replace a spacecraft which has already exceeded its operational design life--will be delayed at least until April, according to U.S. Air Force officials. Launch of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F16 spacecraft on a refurbished Titan II booster could be delayed as many as eight months, if a problem which halted launch plans turns out to be the result of a design error, Air Force officials said.
Rolls-Royce, Thales Defense, EADS, Cobham and Brown&Root Services have joined forces to bid for the U.K.'s future strategic tanker aircraft program. The new consortium, called AirTanker, plans to offer a solution based on Airbus A330 or A340 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines. AirTanker combines the bids of two previous consortia, Rolls-Royce-led Air Reach and Eurotanker. BAE Systems and SSM, a consortium led by Serco, have also been invited to bid (AW&ST Jan. 1, p. 19).
SAirGroup has jettisoned its strategy of investing in smaller carriers, to forge a strong European airline network and intends to focus on its improving profitability at its three main carriers--Swissair, Crossair and Sabena. Problems at Sabena, of which SAirGroup owns 49.5% in what amounts to a virtual merger, reached critical levels last week as the Belgian carrier sought approval from unions for a massive restructuring plan (see p. 26).
Yoel Katzir has been named president/CEO of BVR Systems, Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel. He was vice president-business development of the Elisra Group. He succeeds Zvi Kanor, who has resigned.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE HAS AWARDED A $30-MILLION CONTRACT to Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector for 17 AN/ALQ-135 Band 1.5 electronic countermeasures subsystems for the F-15E. The Band 1.5 jammer has been under development for many years to provide a more compact replacement for the Band 1 and Band 2 jammers used on earlier, single-place F-15s. Until now, the F-15E has been equipped only with the Band 3 jammer.
The American Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants Union (APFA), conducted leaflet distribution last week at more than 55 U.S. airports nationwide to inform and prepare travelers for the prospect of a strike. American and the APFA have been in contract negotiations for more than two years and both parties have been recessed indefinitely by the National Mediation Board. Strike ballots will be mailed to flight attendants later this month. A majority vote would authorize the union's board to call a strike.
Signposts for the year ahead promise continued growth of the U.S. airline business, higher fares and a string of upheavals from airline consolidation and developments in the cargo sector.
The design of instruments intended to fly in 2005 on the Solar-B satellite has been completed by NASA. The spacecraft is being developed by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). The satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit to observe how magnetic fields of the Sun's surface interact with its outer atmosphere which extends millions of miles into space. NASA is working with scientists in the U.S. to design and build the major elements of the three instruments for Solar-B.
Lloyd DeFrance has become vice president-administration and human resources for 800 Travel Systems Inc., Tampa, Fla. He was vice president-human resources of the Crown Marketing Group.
While that may be wishful thinking, skipping, say, the F-22 seems unlikely, too. Even critics of the aircraft within the Pentagon believe about 100-150 of the fighters are needed, says F. Whitten Peters, who just bowed out as Air Force secretary. The Air Force, of course, wants to buy far more--even more than the 340 in its plans. Most of this debate is predicated on the service and Lockheed Martin meeting ``exit criteria'' the Pentagon established to allow the fighter to go into low-rate production.
Brazil has a new low-cost regional airline. Gol Transportes Aereos, owned by transport concern Aurea Group, will soon begin service between seven of Brazil's larger cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The founders' aim is to find a niche in domestic service, not to compete directly with any of the four established airlines. Nevertheless, Gol could become a competitive threat and prompt the restructuring of Brazil's airline industry, according to industry observers.
Bruce Rudy has been appointed managing director for Europe of Austin, Tex.-based Wayport Inc. He was vice president-network acquisition for GTS Network Services.
