CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY is extending its Millennium Edition program for the Skyhawk SP, Skylane and Stationair/Turbo Stationair models. The company has sold 155 of the limited production airplanes, which feature unique exterior paint stripes, upgraded leather interiors and a Bendix/King KLN 94 IFR GPS system with color moving map display. To meet demand, Cessna plans to produce an additional 130 aircraft, a company official said.
BAE Systems will eliminate 3,800 jobs out of its U.K. workforce of about 70,000 people, as part of a restructuring effort following the merger last year with Marconi Electronic Systems. Roughly 600 job losses will occur in the avionics sector, as well as from the closure of related facilities in York, Ilford, Blackburn and Edinburgh. Another 700 job cuts will come at aerostructures facilities at Warton and Samesbury.
Warren Kroeppel has become director of aviation at New York LaGuardia Airport. He was deputy general manager of New York John F. Kennedy International Airport. Kroeppel succeeds Alfred Graser, who has been promoted to deputy director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
United Airlines' pilot group has serious doubts that a merger between United and US Airways will benefit its union members or even be a financial success. ``The economics of the merger proposal is based on a rosy outlook,'' said Rick Dubinsky, chairman of United's Master Executive Council (MEC) of the Air Line Pilots Assn. ``They are hoping against hope that the world doesn't change.''
The leaders of United Airlines and US Airways face an uphill struggle selling their merger proposal on Capitol Hill. Aviation is discredited on both sides of the political aisle. Lawmakers give voice to widespread consumer complaints, their own and the public's.
Low-cost, perennially profitable Southwest Airlines over the years has attracted a slew of imitators among U.S. startups intent on duplicating the carrier's emphasis on lean operations and minimal passenger amenities. None have come close to the level of success of the Dallas-headquartered maverick. But U.K.-based Ryanair has proved it can be done, and so too, it seems, has WestJet Airlines. Based in Calgary, Alberta, WestJet is a short-haul carrier operating 16 Boeing 737-200s over a 15-city route network in Canada.
Boeing, which is increasingly concerned that its troubled Delta III program return to flight as soon as possible, will absorb $85 million in costs to launch its next Delta III without a paying customer. The move is to demonstrate the vehicle can fly safely in the wake of back-to-back failures. The decision also is a strong indication of Boeing's growing commitment to space. Chairman and CEO Phil Condit has said recently that space projects, rather than commercial aircraft, represent the greatest opportunity for near-term growth at Boeing.
A wake vortex warning and display system is one of several new cockpit safety technologies under study at Honeywell. As envisioned, airspace ahead of the aircraft likely to contain threatening wake vortices would be graphically displayed and annotated in yellow on an appropriate cockpit screen.
Nelson Klug and Martin O'Hanrahan have been appointed directors of asset valuation and Steve Jaffe an aviation analyst, all for Avitas Inc. of Washington. Klug was manager for airplane performance and marketing for the Boeing Commercial Aircraft Group. O'Hanrahan was editor-in-chief of the ITA Press in Paris, and Jaffe was manager of program development for the Earth Satellite Corp.
Air New Zealand's expansion of Ansett International is expected to be rapid, after winning Australian government approval last week for the $A680 million (U.S. $408 million) purchase of the remaining 50%. The go-ahead for Air NZ to acquire the balance of the Australian airline from media baron Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is likely to trigger Singapore Airlines (SIA) to increase its stake in the New Zealand carrier to 25% from 8.30%.
Airline fares will come under particular scrutiny during the government's antitrust review of United's proposed $4.3-billion purchase of US Airways, the Justice Dept. informed Congress last week. John M. Nannes, deputy assistant attorney general for the department's antitrust division, said his agency's analysis of the merger will take into account airline-specific business practices, among them the handling of fare data.
THE FAA HAS ISSUED A NOTICE warning general and business aviation operators of the fire hazard posed by carrying micro torches, utility lighters and soldering tools on board aircraft. According to the agency, these and other equipment may use self-starting igniters that, in the past, have exploded and caused fires. Even when the igniters are empty, they still may contain volatile vapors which can ignite. The devices are considered hazardous material by the FAA and are prohibited from being carried on commercial passenger aircraft.
The aviation community achieved all of its major objectives in protecting frequencies allocated for aeronautical use at the International Telecommunication Union's World Radiocommunication Conference-2000 (WRC-2000), and succeeded in gaining new spectrum needed for two satellite navigation uses.
Isaac A. (Ike) Prather (see photo) has been named director of human resources for Microwave Instrumentation Technologies of Atlanta. He was a human resources consultant to companies such as TRW, AT&T and Nashville (Tenn.) Power, plus the U.S. General Accounting Office.
Despite unresolved funding issues, the U.S. Air Force is moving forward with buying a new military satellite communication system to replace and augment the Defense Satellite Communication System (DSCS) and Global Broadcast System (GBS) satellite services.
C. Barrie Sampson has become international sales director of Bizjet. He was a consultant in corporate aircraft transactions. Charles Aufranc has been named manager of technical sales support. In addition to his new function, he will retain his activities as airworthiness inspector in the Bermuda Civil Aviation Dept.
Ayres Corp. is marketing an updated version of the 40-seat LET 610 transport as the Ayres 7000. The upgrade includes two 1,940-shp. GE CT7-9D turboprop engines, a five-tube Collins Pro Line 2 panel and Hamilton Standard propellers. Price is set at $8.75 million, with FAA Part 25 certification expected about nine months after a U.S. launch customer is signed, according to President Fred Ayres. Two 7000s are flying, with 12 on the production line near completion.
Lockheed Martin has agreed to a $13-million settlement with the U.S. government over charges that the company violated arms export laws. The deal covers 30 charges concerning dealings with Hong Kong-based AsiaSat. Lockheed Martin was accused of transferring kick-motor technology to AsiaSat. With the agreement, Lockheed Martin is avoiding export restrictions. The company will pay $8 million in fines and $5 million to establish a computer control system to protect future technology exports. U.S.
Voting 95-3, the Senate swiftly adopted a $287.63-billion defense appropriations budget for next year, a total almost identical to that of the previously approved House version (AW&ST June 12, p. 25). The Senate appropriation for weapons procurement was slightly less than the House counterpart, but senators earmarked $2.89 billion to shore up C-17 purchases. That brought the Senate total for Fiscal 2001 procurement to $60.8 billion, versus the House-passed $61.5 billion.
BUSINESS JET SALES WERE BRISK at the Airex 2000 show held in late May at the Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul. Bombardier Aerospace signed contracts for six airplanes, including three Global Express long-range jets, two Challenger 604s, and a Learjet 60. In addition, Boeing Business Jets received an order from Turkey's Dogus Group for one BBJ. More than 40 aircraft were on display at the event, which was attended by 190 companies from 22 countries.
NASA scientists are working to extend the sensitivity and decrease the size of electronic sniffing devices intended to monitor air supplies in the space shuttle or International Space Station. Early detection of potentially harmful spills or leaks is essential to enabling crewmembers to take quick action to eliminate a problem in a recycled air environment, according to Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) officials.
Dirk McMahon has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-ground operations at Northwest Airlines. Lizabeth A. Shultis has been appointed vice president-marketing programs and worldwide advertising and Susan B. Edberg vice president-reservations sales and services. Shultis was vice president-reservations sales and services of Northwest subsidiary MLT WorldVacations and Edberg managing director of subsidiary WorldPerks.
Radio Shack has agreed to sponsor LunaCorp's ambitions to build and send to the Moon a $130-million lunar rover. Radio Shack has signed up for a multiyear investment, starting with $1 million this year. LunaCorp hopes the sponsorship will elicit other investments, which are being offered in $5-million increments.
MiG Aviation Co. and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace are attempting to resolve a dispute over a MiG-29 upgrade plan that threatens to affect their retrofit/maintenance, repair and overhaul joint venture. Russian executives reacted here last week with unexpected hostility to a demonstration upgrade model, dubbed the Sniper, that was designed and built by DASA, Aerostar of Romania and Elbit, independently of MiG. The upgrade is loosely based on the Romanian MiG-21 retrofit program, which was also developed without MiG's participation.
