Julie Ellis, a partner in the Memphis, Tenn., law firm of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, will be president of the Washington-based International Aviation Womens Assn. (IAWA) for 2007. President-elect is Debra D. Fowler, senior aviation attorney at the U.S. Justice Dept. Other officers and board members elected for 2007 are: secretary, Abby L.
China's People's Liberation Army has agreed to open more airspace around the southern island Hainan, allowing flights to and from Southeast Asia to follow more direct routes.
Compass Airlines has received its FAA certificate as a Part 121 air carrier. Chairman/CEO Neal Cohen says the wholly owned Northwest Airlines subsidiary will begin Washington Dulles-Minneapolis/St. Paul service next month with a 50-seat CRJ200.
Dean McColgan and Liz Vivian (see photos) have become Northwest U.S. regional managers in Boeing's Government Relations and Global Corporate Citizenship (GCC) organization.
Concerns of the airlines and freight forwarders that steps taken thus far to secure cargo are inadequate to the task have led to the formation of the Global Air Cargo Security Industry Task Force. Formed by the International Air Transport Assn. and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Assns., the task force intends to focus on securing the entire supply chain and to develop global security standards. The group hopes to become a forum for all stakeholders including governments.
International Air Transport Assn. Director General Giovanni Bisignani says it was a mistake for Thailand's reopened Bangkok Don Muang Airport to serve partly international and domestic traffic after closing last September for Suvarnabhumi airport's opening. "The airport is not working," he says--thanks to a cracked runway and broken baggage handling system. "It is an embarrassing story for the Thai government."
The European Commission has approved Thales's and Finmeccanica's acquisition of the Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio joint ventures. The agreement is part of the broader sale of Alcatel's space business to Thales as part of the Alcatel-Lucent merger.
Bill Hartig has been elected vice president-Midwest U.S. of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace. The region represents employees at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas and BAE Systems in Irving, Tex. Three vice presidents were elected from the Northwest U.S.: incumbent Jill Rit- chey and Michael Dunn and Tom McCarty. They will represent employees of Boeing and Triumph Composite Systems.
THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSN. HAS RELEASED its latest version of the NBAA Oceanic Flying Operations and Procedures Manual in CD-ROM format. The manual guides pilots through advanced planning for international trips, including compliance with laws and procedures in multiple countries as well as government and international documentations required. More detailed information about the CD can be obtained by contacting NBAA at www.nbaa.org.
Lockheed Martin will manufacture components for another five F-2 fighters for Japan under a $150-million contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Japan is to build 94 airplanes. Lockheed Martin now is building parts for 81 of the jets, and the latest contract increases that number to 86.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Apr. 16-20--University of Westminster Symposium on Airport Economics and Finance. London. Call +44 (207) 911-5000 ext. 3344, fax +44 (207) 911-5057 or see www.westminster.ac.uk/transport/tsgshort.htm Apr. 17-20--Latin America Aero & Defense '07. Rio Center, Rio de Janeiro. See www.laadexpo.com
Security and society's litigious bent combine to make airlines unsuited for figuring out the best place to put a suspected explosive device discovered during a flight, AirTran Airways tells the FAA.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is asking the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to support commercial H-IIA rocket launches, reportedly asking for a ¥2-3-billion ($17-25-million) handout for each ¥10-11-billion launch. Although the company took over Japanese satellite launch operations as a private business Apr. 1, it says it needs public funding to cover activities such as launch pad repairs. It also hopes the agency will pay it for launch data that will contribute to the development of Japanese space technology.
MOONEY AIRPLANE CO. IS MAKING AVAILABLE retrofit kits to install AmSafe Aviation Inflatable Restraints for older Mooney airplanes. The airbags, which install on a seat's safety belts, are standard on the Acclaim, Ovation 2GX and Ovation 3 models and have been available since 2004. The retrofit is being offered in three configurations--front and rear seats, front seat only and rear seat only. Mooney aircraft eligible for the upgrade include M20J, M20K, M20M, M20R and M20S models, depending on serial number applicability.
First-quarter deliveries at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems were a mixed bag compared to last year. They comprised four AH-64D Apache helicopters (nine in 2006), four C-17s (same), two T45TS trainers (four) and 11 F/A-18E/F and EA-18G fighters (10), as well as five CH-47 Chinooks and one C-32/C-40 transport.
U.S. defense electronics giant L-3 Communications has picked up its first big-ticket win in the U.K., where it has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Defense Ministry's Helix program. Project Helix involves upgrading the mission systems on the RAF's Nimrod R1 electronic intelligence aircraft. The company will now carry out an £11.5-million ($22.7-million) risk-reduction study, with approval for the implementation phase, worth up to £400 million, anticipated in mid-2009.
Officials at Bell say the problems that prompted the U.S. Army to allow 30 days to right the wayward Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program are not akin to those experienced a year ago on a Navy effort. Nor do they mirror troubles in the 1990s manufacturing the V-22 tiltrotor, a company official close to the program is quick to point out.
Keep your cell phones "off" in flight. The Federal Communications Commission has halted proceedings on its December 2004 proposed rule to lift the ban on use of cell phones in flight. Current FCC regs require that cell phones be turned off once an aircraft is airborne to prevent possible interference with ground-based cellular network systems. The FAA, in sync for its own reasons, restricts use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices out of concern for possible interference with aircraft navigation/communications systems. In an Apr.
Michel Laroche has been appointed executive vice president of Paris-based Safran Aerospace Technologies. He has been chairman/CEO of Snecma Propulsion Solide. Laroche will be succeeded by Jean-Luc Engerand, who has been vice president/general manager of the Snecma Military Engine Div. Pascal Senechal, who has been chairman/CEO of Hispano-Suiza, will become chairman/CEO of Messier-Dowty, following Christian Knapp. Senechal will be succeeded by Olivier Horaist, who has been a vice president at Safran.
In addition to the Bigelow Aerospace manned commercial space infrastructure announcement, other National Space Symposium (NSS) highlights this week will involve:
The Bigelow Aerospace commercial inflatable manned space module venture intends to have three large multi-module outposts in Earth orbit by 2015 to serve different user communities. CEO Robert T. Bigelow says his engineers predict 800 paying crewmembers could fly to Bigelow outposts over the next 10 years. The Bigelow plan will headline the National Space Symposium (NSS), to be attended by 7,000 people in Colorado Springs, this week.
Europe's air transport industry could see major structural changes this year, as consolidation efforts appear to gain significant momentum. In a sequence of events, several high-profile takeover scenarios surfaced late last month: Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is looking at acquiring Iberia, Spain's biggest airline, and this could be followed by Lufthansa or British Airways, which could join the bid or sell its existing stake.
USAF Brig. Gen. (ret.) William L. Shields (Tucson, Ariz.)
In "Volatile Mix" and its sidebar, "Covert Chinese Asats" (AW&ST Mar. 5, pp. 24-26), Craig Covault stops short of identifying the threat that these developments pose for what Stephen Budiansky (Air Power) calls "the new American way of war."
An article on a synthetic-fuels emissions test using a rich-quench-lean Pratt & Whitney Talon X combustor (AW&ST Mar. 19/26, p. 106) misstated the results. The test indicated equivalent levels of nitrogen oxide and identical combustion efficiencies compared to Jet A.
