Orbital Sciences Corp. is ushering in the New Year amid more uncertainty about the space company's future than perhaps at any other time in its history.
Members of the SilkAir Flight MI185 accident investigation team, like opposing trial lawyers, are in contention over evidence that would prove the crash that killed 104 people was a result of deliberate action. Indonesia's safety investigators say there is no evidence. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says there is.
Operational errors in air traffic control are continuing to increase, and the FAA has not been successful at stemming the tide, according to a recent report from the Transportation Dept.'s Inspector General.
Jet fuel prices paid by major airlines continue to rise dramatically, according to a report by the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). The report, the fourth in the Transportation Indicators series, shows that jet fuel prices for scheduled services were up 53% in October 2000, compared with the same month in 1999. Nearly 24% of the scheduled flights of U.S. major carriers did not arrive on time in October 2000, adds the report.
The U.S. Congress has instructed the Army to acquire at least 40 PAC-3 missiles in its Fiscal 2001 appropriations for the air defense program. Congressional language reflects concern about financial irregularities in the program, although the Army already has restructured the initiative to forego some ground equipment associated with PAC-3 operation.
LMS International's DADS program analyzes the dynamic behavior of moving parts and is designed to make it easy to incorporate test results to improve the digital model. Landing gear retraction is being modeled in the drawing above. The new DADS version 9.6 improves the design of experiments and has better connections with LMS and other engineering software. Some problems can be solved 10-100 times faster. Custom forces such as hydraulic actuators or shock absorbers are easier to define, and feedback forces can be created that depend on other forces in the simulation.
The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) is calling for the global sharing of aviation information as part of an effort to reduce the number of approach and landing accidents. FSF President and CEO Stuart Matthews said it is imperative that data collected by airlines worldwide through Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) and other information-sharing programs be ``deidentified'' and disseminated for the benefit of airline operators worldwide. In addition, accident reports distributed in pilots' native languages will improve understanding of safety issues.
United Technology's Hamilton Sundstrand is acquiring Bristol, England-based Claverham Group for an undisclosed sum. The sale is expected to be completed later this month. The acquisition of Claverham, formerly Fairey Hydraulics, will bring a primary flight control actuation capability to Hamilton Sundstrand's existing secondary flight control actuation business, as well as a missile actuation capability.
Jim Rohacik has been named director of Washington operations, Jeff Pell chief information officer, Mike Greenwood manager of public affairs and Maripat Meer manager of corporate communications, all for Spectrum Astro, Gilbert, Ariz. Rohacik was special assistant in legislative affairs at the Defense Dept. and Pell vice president of VISA International and subsidiary Vital Processing Services. Greenwood was a senior sports producer for two television stations, while Meer was an Internet copy writer for Auction Gallery of Arizona.
The FAA has mandated inspections of longeron splice fittings on Boeing 747-400s that carry loads generated by forces acting on the plane's tail section. Operators of older 747s have reported 11 cracked fittings, which the FAA said could result in the inability of the structure to carry horizontal stabilizer flight loads.
The flight crew of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006 returned home to Singapore in late December after being detained in Taiwan since the night of Oct. 31, when their 747-400 crashed during takeoff at Chiang-Kai-Shek Airport. Despite strong protests from industry groups, the three-man crew continued to be held for questioning by Taiwanese authorities. The International Federation of Airline Pilots Assns. threatened to boycott Taiwan unless the pilots were released. The crew had to agree to return to Taiwan if the investigation so required.
Operational training is scheduled to begin this month at the U.K. National Air Traffic Services' long-awaited Swanwick center. After years of delays due to software integration problems, engineers finally handed the air traffic center to controllers late last month. The new site in Hampshire is set to become operational in January 2002 following a 12-month conversion program for more than 600 controllers and assistants.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector has won a five-year, $9.4-million U.S. Air Force contract to develop Predictive Failures and Advanced Diagnostics software for legacy aircraft including F-16s, F-15s and C-130s.
Flight attendants for Air Canada Regional have joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union 31. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered a vote to consolidate the various Air Canada regional Connectors flight attendants into one nationwide bargaining unit when the company announced plans to merge all of its regionals into Air Canada Regional.
A ``New United'' would bag over 25% of the total U.S. domestic market, and take in almost $9 billion more in revenue than the next largest airline, a congressional watchdog agency warns. Confirming many a congressional fear, a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report says the proposed $4.3-billion United/US Airways merger might reduce or even eliminate competition in 290 markets comprising 16 million passengers.
Four consortia have been invited to submit bids to provide air-to-air refueling services for the British Royal Air Force under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) scheme. They are Air Reach, led by Rolls-Royce; BAE Systems; Eurotanker, which includes FR Aviation and Thales; and SSM, led by Serco. Under the PFI scheme, the contractor would own, manage and maintain aerial refueling aircraft for the RAF. Bidders are considering Boeing and Airbus aircraft for the 25-year service contract which could be worth $13.4 billion.
Legend Airlines tentatively plans to restart scheduled flight operations this month after securing interim funding and seeking approval of its new finance plan by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Airbus Industrie's partners have finally put their money and commitment where their mouths have been for the past several years, in announcing late last month that they would indeed build the 555-seat A380. While many people have debated whether the parents of the Airbus consortium--EADS and BAE Systems--would allow the A3XX to be developed, it was clear that Airbus needed the super-large aircraft to effectively compete with Boeing.
According to Aviation Week Group's Aviation Daily, Memphis airport CEO Larry Cox is calling for appointment of an FAA ``Capacity Czar'' to identify choke points within the air traffic system and expedite federal and local approval processes for airport improvements, such as new runways and gate space. Cox said the FAA can be ``more of a catalyst for advocacy'' by creating an agency watchdog to tackle and resolve capacity projects at major airports.
Subtier consolidation will be a dominant theme for the aerospace and defense industry over the next 10 years, and will have more of an impact than past mergers and acquisitions among the primes.
Launch of the A380 program is not altering Boeing's long-term view of where demand will be greatest in the commercial transport market over the next 20 years, or company plans to develop an aircraft series to serve that market segment, according to Boeing officials. Those plans involve a $4-billion program to develop a family of 747 derivatives that would include: -- A 747X that would be about the same size as the current 747-400, but have a modified wing and range of nearly 9,000 naut. mi.
Spectrum Astro has been awarded a Magnetospheric Multi-Scale Mission Study 2 contract from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The four-month study is valued at $120,000.
The TP400 turboprop engine selected last month to power Airbus Military Co.'s A400M transport will combine the core of the Snecma M88 installed in the Rafale fighter, and a three-shaft powertrain technology developed by Rolls-Royce (AW&ST Dec. 11, 2000, p. 33). A six-company consortium of Rolls-Royce, Snecma, Germany's MTU, Spain's ITP, FiatAvio and Belgium's Techspace Aero will design and build the TP400. MTU will be responsible for assembling the engines.
The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) is once again trying to improve the reliability and quality of its programs to overcome problems that have plagued the development of U.S. anti-missile systems. Reliability problems have hampered several missile defense programs--most recently, the development of a National Missile Defense system. The last two NMD flight tests were failures, which was ``more related to management and quality control than to technology,'' said BMDO director Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish.
