If you can't beat them, join them--and last week the FAA did just that, by joining forces with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in its fight against escalating congestion at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The FAA's solution: a lottery in which an airline would ``win'' a guaranteed position in a 1-hr. block of time to operate services.
Capt. Jay Panarello has been named to chair the mainline negotiating committee of the Independent Assn. of Continental Pilots (IACP). Joining Panarello on the team are First Officer Bill Karnes and Capts. Rick Muir, Paul Pugliese and Tom Stivala.
It had all the appearances of one of those seismic regulatory events. The Justice Dept. prodded Northwest Airlines into an agreement to sell its controlling interest in Continental Airlines. That prompted tremors of speculation last week about U.S. antitrust regulators' attitudes toward consolidation of domestic carriers--especially the proposed $11.6-billion merger of United Airlines and US Airways.
Honeywell expects to have a portable version of its Bendix/King KGP 560 enhanced ground proximity warning system for general aviation aircraft on the market by this time next year. The current KGP 560 is a 1.5-lb. box about the size of a small paperback book that brings pilots of small, piston-powered aircraft a level of terrain avoidance protection similar to that in commercial transports (AW&ST Aug. 21, p. 44).
French investigators are reconstructing the left wing of the Air France Concorde that crashed on July 25 in an attempt to advance the accident probe. But French authorities say the investigation is still far from complete. The inquiry's alleged tardiness is under fire from the British and could evolve quickly into a major French-British contretemps.
Struggling Virgin Express has canceled an order for 11 new leased Boeing 737-700s as it moves to cut capacity and reduce its charter business. The low-cost carrier also returned one aircraft to the leasing company and subleased another five. The Brussels-based carrier posted a third quarter loss of $6.3 million which it blamed on rising fuel prices and the weak euro.
If original equipment manufacturers do a good job of rolling out the e-commerce trading exchanges unveiled earlier this year, major customers should see a measurable improvement in the products and services they buy. But what's the value of the exchanges to lower tier suppliers, whose participation would seem essential to the success of these Web-based sites? Not much, if a random sampling of more than 50 companies representing a broad cross section of the industry is any indication.
Passenger traffic of the U.S. major airlines declined at a faster rate than trends had forecast for the swing month of October. The slowdown in the nation's economy could be the culprit or even the high level of fares, but other forces could be at work.
CEC Vibration Products' 1-890 multipurpose vibration switch can monitor machines and provide a local or remote indication of a fault. Two built-in level alarms, an LCD display and a calibrated 4-20-mA output proportional to the input allow flexibility. The 1-890 constantly monitors vibration levels on critical machinery and provides timely feedback in the event of a machinery fault. A 30-sec. startup delay and alarm reset are initiated via remote input. A three-digit LCD display indicates vibration level and is always visible to a technician.
Brijdeep Sahi, former director of business development for Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. in China, has become Asia-Pacific marketing director for SITA.
With the outcome of the U.S. presidential election hanging in the balance late last week, some investors in aerospace stocks undoubtedly were hoping the Bush/Cheney team would prevail, on the assumption their pro-defense stand would lead to increased spending on equipment modernization. That may be erroneous. Industry analysts generally believe companies are apt to fare about the same, regardless of which candidate is declared the winner.
Cracks in the plumbing of the first-stage cryogenic engine for Japan's H-2A launch vehicle have been reported by the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), but they are not expected to delay launch of the first prototype in February. NASDA officials said separate cracks measuring 3-3.5 cm. were found in piping for the liquid oxygen turbopump system manufactured by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries for the first-stage LE-7A engine. The cracks appeared after test firing in October at Tanegashima, and more tests are scheduled this month.
The National Security Space Architect, whose organization was created to meld requirements for the military and intelligence communities, is looking at the possibility of using either an 8- or 14-engine variant of California-based AeroVironment's commercial Helios solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle to augment satellite telecommunications during future peace-keeping or wartime operations. Moving way down the size scale, the company also has been asked--this time by the Air Force's force-protection battle lab--to demonstrate its Pointer and Black Widow UAVs.
France and the U.S. hope to give final approval by the end of next year to an expanded program of joint Mars sample return missions, including a preliminary flight to test vital technologies.
Air Show China 2000, the country's third international industry get-together, attracted about 400 exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors to Zhuhai airport on Nov. 6-12 for a glimpse into the future of China. With the country on the precipice of global market competition as it readies for membership in the World Trade Organization, aircraft and engine manufacturing officials rolled up their sleeves, ready to do business.
Interstate Electronics Corp., a subsidiary of L-3 Corp., and Control Systems Research introduced GPSView 2000. This software package integrates with the GPS Satellite Constellation Simulator IEC SCS2400 to provide a turn-key visualization and diagnostic tool for real-world performance analysis of GPS systems for high-performance vehicle scenario dynamics in real-time. It provides reproduction of real-world terrain/fuselage/inertial effects on GPS receiver performance.
The competitors for GPS III, the next version of the navigation satellite system, haven't even begun work on the project and already there is rumbling that keeping costs down will be critical. ``The decisions we make over the next few years will result in a permanent tax on the [Defense Dept.] and U.S. budget for many years,'' USAF Col. Douglas L. Loverro, the GPS program director, tells the bidders. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are now on the hook to do architecture design studies and cost estimates, after each won a $16-million, 12-month study contract last week.
Charles R. Fredrickson has become general manager of the Mercury Air Group's fixed-base operation at Fort Wayne, Ind. Other new general managers are: Joe De- Silva in Tulsa, Okla.; Paul M. Ferroni in Addison, Tex.; and Shawn McKay in Santa Barbara, Calif. Fredrickson was vice president/general manager of the Casper (Wyo.) Air Service. DeSilva was station manager for Sawyer Aviation's commercial aviation department in Phoenix.
An ad hoc Committee of Wise Men established by the European Space Agency has recommended a sharp refocusing and reinforcement of the European space program to make Europe a stronger competitor in key areas of space technology and a credible alternative to the U.S. in Asia and other developing regions. In a report issued last week, the Wise Men said policy guidelines should be set by the European Council and all programs, including those run by EU and non-EU countries, coordinated through ESA as the European Union's de facto space arm.
Employee representatives have delayed the appointment of Fritz Feitl, head of regional carrier Tyrolean Airways, to co-CEO of Austrian Airlines. The representatives walked out of a supervisory board meeting at which Feitl was supposed to be named. Meanwhile, the board gave Austrian Airlines a mandate to negotiate the purchase of Lufthansa's 20% stake in Lauda Air. Austrian wants to buy 100% of Lauda. If the move is successful, Lauda Air founder Niki Lauda is likely to be ousted. Lauda himself called the plan a hostile takeover.
Singapore Airlines has sold two Boeing 747-300s to Hong Kong's Dragonair for conversion to freighters to serve Dragonair's expanding China and European freight services (AW&ST Oct. 30, p. 55). The work will be performed at Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. (TAECO), a major 747 overhaul center in Xiamen, China, in which Boeing Airplane Services and Singapore Airlines are investors.
Sandor Nagy has been named general manager of GE Accessory Services Inc. of Cincinnati. He was London-based manager of business development for Europe, the Middle East and Asia for GE Engine Services.
Manufacturers are proceeding with work on plans for modifications to the Concorde that may allow the aircraft to return to service. At a Nov. 2 meeting here hosted by the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an Anglo-French technical working group reached agreement on the general scope of work that would be required from the aircraft's design authorities, including BAE Systems and EADS-France, to un-ground the supersonic aircraft. The focus was on modifications to the fuel tanks to reduce the threat of a fire linked to a fuel leak.
