Amos Weizman (see photo) has become president/CEO of Tadiran Communications, Petach Tikva, Israel, and chairman of its subsidiaries, Telefunken of Germany and Talla-Com of the U.S. He succeeds Hezi Chermoni, who has retired. Weizman was vice president/general manager of the Tactical Radio Div.
F-22 Raptors operating from Okinawa took part in their first joint military training with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force on Apr. 27. The exercise involved four Japanese F-4s and F-15s, with two U.S. F-22s and two F-15s. Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma says the exercise had no connection with Japan's hopes of buying F-22s.
With several low-cost carriers' plans for long-haul operations budding this spring, it is an opportune time to ask the key question: Will we see a completely new economic model for airlines in the next few years? The low-cost carriers (a.k.a. low-fare players) are growing more rapidly than legacy airlines, especially in Europe and the Pacific Rim. However, they suffer seriously from high fuel prices and, in some regions, slow economic growth.
Jim Gallagher has been appointed program director for the Aircraft Health and Trend-Monitoring System and John Tigue compliance administrator within the Designated Certification Office of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. Gallagher was entry-into-service director for the Gulfstream IV/IV-SP, G350 and G450. Tigue was manager of airworthiness and certification.
SEVERAL AVIONICS COMPANIES ARE SELLING Class 2 electronic flight bags (EFBs) for airline aircraft, and their popularity is likely to grow because they are priced at one-tenth of what a hard-wired Class 3 system costs. A Class 2 EFB is a portable unit that fits into a docking station on the flight deck, unlike the permanently installed Class 3 versions that can cost $100,000 or more per aircraft. The navAero "t-Bag C2 2," for example, has a starting price of $7,995, and Mercury Computer Systems' new CIS-2200 starts at $9,999.
Keith Markley has been promoted to president/CEO from chief operating offficer of Liberty Aerospace, Melbourne, Fla. He succeeds Anthony Tiarks, who remains on the board of directors.
The article "Flights of Fancy" (AW&ST Apr. 9, p. 36) forgot to mention the unique aerodynamics of the Smartfish. This blended wing-fuselage design features a conventional tail that provides some highly attractive features. Its docile handling char- acteristics over an extreme angle-of-attack range permits both efficient transonic cruise (with an L/D>13) and low landing speeds without use of high-lift devices.
Business and leisure travel demand is driving Japan Airlines to boost services on routes to China and Vietnam. Starting May 31, JAL will add two Tokyo Narita-Guangzhou roundtrips for 13 flights weekly. On June 2, it will increase frequencies between Tokyo-Narita and Beijing by five, to 19 flights weekly, as well as offer daily Nagoya-Tianjin service, up from five weekly. Early next month, JAL will add a sixth weekly flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo.
The Homeland Security Dept. is testing technologies and procedures to find the best ways to secure air cargo carried in the belly of passenger aircraft, but the Government Accountability Office says the department still needs to develop a risk-based strategy for air cargo arriving from overseas. The GAO also says the department's Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection need to communicate better with each other, and analyze security practices of the air cargo industry and foreign governments because they might learn something new.
Chicago's Midway Airport is moving nine explosives detection systems from the lobby ticketing area and networking them with conveyor belts to create an in-line baggage screening system/ticket counter link. The Transportation Security Administration provided hardware and staffing for the $42-million project, according to the city's Aviation Dept.
Although the first aircraft has yet to be delivered, Dassault Aviation management is planning to expand production of its very-long-range Falcon 7X corporate jet to keep up with strong demand.
THE EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY has certified Universal Avionics' Vision 1 synthetic vision system (SVS). It enhances situational awareness in the cockpit by showing pilots the path of the aircraft over a 3D model of terrain ahead regardless of the weather. Vision 1 is certified by the FAA for use on Part 25 transports such as the Boeing 737. The launch customer is Airwork New Zealand in Auckland, which is installing Vision 1 on its 737 freighters. The system is also certified in the U.S. for use on smaller Part 23 aircraft (AW&ST Jan. 29, p. 58).
The NTSB has determined "pilots' inadequate planning, judgment and airmanship" during performance of a turn maneuver as probable cause of the Oct. 11, 2006, accident that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.
Delta Air Lines ended its bankruptcy reorganization on Apr. 30 with a prediction from Gerald Grinstein, soon to be its former CEO, that it will be "a fierce competitor in a tough industry."
David A. Carlson's letter (AW&ST Mar. 12, p. 6) misses a very key point in the heated tanker competition. It's not how much fuel and cargo one airframe can carry. If that were the case, the U.S. Air Force would be looking at Boeing 747s or Airbus A380s. Those aircraft can carry much more fuel than any other airframe.
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport's "end-around" Taxiway Victor was completed Apr. 26 as the latest installment of the airport's $6-billion improvement program. The $42-million taxiway will speed 700 aircraft arriving each day on Runway 8L/26R in getting to their gates without having to cross the nearby parallel Runway 8R/26L, used predominantly for takeoffs. This 4,200-ft.-long, end-around taxiway is on the approach side of Runway 8R and dips 30 ft. below the level of that runway.
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) have long been recognized as an impediment to the export of commercial space hardware. U.S. manufacturers complain bitterly that they lose business to overseas competitors because of State Dept. delays in licensing exports for satellites and other hardware under ITAR. But the problem extends into scientific cooperation as well. A panel of scientists testifying on NASA's budget (see p.
As trade barriers have broken down across the globe, the modern air cargo industry has evolved. Air carriers serve as the nerve system of globalization moving mail, packages and materiel to every corner of the world. The group of air carriers known as integrators--FedEx, UPS, TNT and Deutsche Post World Net--have spread their reach through consolidation (see pp. 47-54) to meet needs of shippers, carrying time-definite overnight packages, cargo and offering a variety of delivery options. They have created logistical systems to further support their customers.
Readers interested in the prospect of the mandatory age for pilot retirement being raised to 65 from 60 will find "In-Flight Medical Incapacitation and Impairment of U.S. Airline Pilots: 1993-98" illuminating. This 30-pp. FAA report identifies 39 incapacitations during 85,732,000 airplane revenue flight hours, and relates them to their causes and to pilot ages. Insert DOT/FAA/AM-04/16 into a search engine to access.
The U.S. faces a coming "desert" in robotic space exploration and needs to funnel more money into NASA programs that support the young scientists and engineers needed to conceive and develop missions for the coming decade.
European aerospace interests have been buzzing this spring with the possibility that NASA may turn to the Safran Vulcain rocket engine for the upper stage of its Ares I crew launch vehicle if it can't develop the Apollo-heritage J2-X for the job. The European LOX/ hydrogen engine has comparable performance to what is hoped for the J2-X, a derivative of the Saturn V upper stage engine, and while it isn't human-rated it has a lot more run time than what is basically a new Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne development. Officials from the U.S.
Government-owned Air India and Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) are to legally merge by June 2007. At that time, the name of the merged carrier and at least three of its top officials will be announced, according to Air India Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas. A cargo subsidiary is also part of the plan. Air India has received its first Airbus A310 converted freighter to be used on the Kerala-Gulf sector. Another A310 is undergoing conversion with six more to follow. Some Boeing 747-300 combi aircraft are also to be converted to freighters.
On his day job, William C. Livingston is a solar astronomer at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, specializing in sunspot magnetism and other topics. But he's also an amateur photographer, with what is perhaps a natural inclination to point his camera at the sky. For several years he's been turning his lens on the ring of geostationary satellites above the Equator. This image, stretching from Galaxy 13 at 127 deg. W. Long. to Galaxy 3C at 95 deg. W., shows 34 satellites in all.
