Vesna Radisic (see photo), an electrical engineer at the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif., has received the Outstanding Young Engineer Award for 2007 from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. She was recognized for leadership in microwave applications of defected ground structures, active antennas and millimeter-wave electronics.
General Electric reports completion last week of fan-blade containment tests of the composite-fan casing for the GEnx for Boeing's 787 and 747-8. The composite-fan case provides an additional weight-savings measure in the GEnx, which uses composite fan blades developed for the GE90.
Boeing has won a contract for manufacturing 242 sets of improved wings for the U.S. Air Force's A-10s--a deal that could be worth $2.015 billion. The wings are expected to extend the Thunderbolt's life by 20 years and be completed by 2016. Boeing also received a contract add-on of $248.4 million for C-17 sustainment, labor and materials to Australia and Canada.
If China succeeds in setting up a commercial aircraft industry, aerospace management know-how learned from BHA Aero Composite Parts Co. Ltd. will help. The Chinese firm, a joint venture of Boeing, U.S. materials supplier Hexcel and local aerospace group Avic I, is overcoming the challenges of competing in global aircraft manufacturing from a Chinese base, including critical cultural issues.
Scientists at Georgia Tech Research Institute have patented a digital crystal video receiver (DCVR) that could significantly increase reliability while lowering the cost of radar warning receivers. The institute, working with the U.S. Air Force, has developed a way to use digital circuitry instead of analog chips to perform functions in the receivers. Researchers have shifted the logarithmic transfer function that coordinates input/output of a receiver's signal processing system, thereby improving the stability of circuit, says Michael J.
The first flight of Turkey's maritime surveillance aircraft project was completed last month, according to system integrator Thales. The nine CN-235s and 10 ATR 72s are part of the Meltem II program that will support the Turkish navy and coast guard in monitoring territorial waters.
Unbowed by political turmoil shaking Lebanon, Beirut-based Middle East Airlines (MEA) is moving ahead with a plan to grow its fleet to 14 aircraft, and it has secured a 10-year financing deal with Fransabank to buy two new Airbus A320s as a first step. Of the nine aircraft in service, three will be retired and a total of eight bought, the first of which is to be fielded next year. With that fleet, MEA wants to operate to Paris three times a day, and to Dubai, Cairo, Riyadh and Jeddah twice daily.
The British Royal Navy has test-fired a Block IV variant of the Raytheon Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile. The launch, carried out from the submarine HMS Trenchant, took place in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.K. has 64 of the long-range strike weapons on order and is scheduled to place the missile in service next year. The Block IV features increased range compared with the Block III version and can be retargeted in flight.
After establishing a solid aerospace beachhead in the U.K., Thales is aiming to follow suit in the U.S. Fresh from acquiring the space and homeland security activities of Alcatel--largely through a share swap--and ceding its French naval systems business to DCNS in return for a 25% equity share, the Paris-based defense contractor has seen its stock price rise 50% in the past year.
While I agree with Paul C. Smith's letter "In With the Old, Hold the New" with his kudos to the B-52 (AW&ST June 11, p. 7), one can't compare bombers and fighters. Yes, the B-52 is an aviation marvel that continues to defy logic and engineering. However, the lifespan of a fighter aircraft--both in technology and maximum airframe hours--is a lot lower than for the B-52.
United and American Airlines should gain a combined $180 million from the sale of their respective stakes in kiosk and communications platform supplier Arinc to private equity company The Carlyle Group through a deal to close in this quarter. United told U.S. regulators it should net $125 million for its shares in Arinc, and expects to record a gain of more than $40 million. American's proceeds from the deal should reach $194 million, and the carrier expects to post a gain of $140 million. In 2006, Arinc logged revenues of $918 million and net income of $10.2 million.
Bruce R. Kennedy, who directed Alaska Airlines' expansions along the West Coast and into Mexico as chairman and CEO, died June 28 in the crash of his Cessna 182Q (N735KP) on final approach to Cashmere-Dryden Airport, Wash. A pilot-rated witness told the National Transportation Safety Board that he heard a power increase prior to the Cessna's left wing striking 55-ft.-tall conifer trees. The aircraft descended into a parked vehicle and was destroyed by fire 600 ft. east of Runway 25. Kennedy, 68, had been a director of Alaska Airlines since 1972.
The European Space Agency has agreed to work with the African air navigation safety agency, Asecna, to use satellite navigation, including Europe's Egnos GPS wide-area augmentation system, to improve air safety in Africa. The agreement will seek to promote the extension of Egnos--in preoperational service and expected to start operations in March 2008--to Africa by siting ground stations there.
Ron Nakamoto (see photo) has been appointed CEO of Lockheed Martin subsidiary Savi Technology Inc., Mountain View, Calif. He was chief operating officer. Nakamoto was also vice president/general manager for the Global In-Transit Visibility Div. of Lockheed Martin's Integrated Systems & Global Solutions Co.
The Pentagon has approved full-rate production of the Army's UH-60M and HH-60M aircraft. The program is a major source of business for Sikorsky, which provides additional payload, range and survivability over existing Black Hawks.
Engineers at Kennedy Space Center will begin final flight verification tests of Canada's "Dextre" special purpose dexterous manipulator in preparation for its scheduled February 2008 launch on the shuttle Endeavour's STS-123/1J/A mission to the ISS. MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. delivered the complex robotic device to KSC. Once installed on the end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, Dextre will give astronauts a sense of "touch" for delicate robotic operations outside, reducing the need for dangerous and time-consuming spacewalks.
Security at U.K. airports was heightened last week following a car-bomb attack on Glasgow airport in Scotland on June 30. Eight people are being held by British police as a result of the Glasgow incident, and two improvised car bombs that were found in London that failed to explode.
The International Air Transport Assn.'s Partnership for Safety Program has expanded to include Indonesia. The program helps airlines prepare for the IATA Operational Safety Audit, which is aimed at raising an airline's operating standards and assessing its operational management and control systems. Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said IATA members had one accident for every 2 million flights in 2006, compared to the global rate of one per 1.5 million flights.
Nancy N. Young has been named vice president-environmental affairs of the Washington-based Air Transport Assn. Patricia G. Higginbotham has been promoted to chief of staff. Young was associate general counsel for environment and international programs.
USMC Gen. (ret.) James L. Jones has been appointed to the board of directors of Chicago-based Boeing. He is president/CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Jones was supreme allied commander Europe and commander of the U.S. European Command.
The US Airways Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Assn. (ALPA) has asked the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to vacate the May 3 award by arbitrator George Nicolau that proposes integrating US Airways and former America West pilots into a single seniority list. The complaint asks that ALPA remain neutral toward the integration dispute and deny any request from America West's pilot group to release the Nicolau award to US Airways (AW&ST June 11, p. 42).
U.S. government weather experts say the Next Generation Air Transportation System’s dissemination of more standardized weather data could save billions in delay costs. The FAA and the Defense and Commerce Depts. outlined their NextGen air traffic control plans here at a workshop seeking comments on an entirely new way of handling aviation weather starting in 2012. The preliminary system requirements for the new approach will be hammered out over the next six months.
As its 787 rolled out in Everett, Wash., Boeing said CIT Aerospace has added another five aircraft to a previous order for five. Boeing reports 46 customers have now ordered 642 787s.
One of my favorite museums is the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Every time I go, I pause to look at the Collier Trophy, whose winners represent the pinnacle of aerospace innovation. Recently, I was shocked to learn that several winners have refused to work with the Defense Dept. because of onerous bureaucratic red tape.
