EPPS AVIATION AT DEKALB-PEACHTREE AIRPORT in Atlanta has been appointed as a modification center to install the Alliant cockpit in King Air 200s. Avidyne developed the integrated, flat-panel cockpit for retrofitting King Airs with S-TEC and the system includes an IntelliFlight 2100 Digital Flight Control System (AW&ST Jan. 29, p. 58).
The time needed by a U.S. warplane to electronically pinpoint an enemy radar is being compressed to less than a second from today's 30-sec. standard. Near-instantaneous computation of the source of electronic emission to within tens of meters or less--even in very crowded radio-frequency environments--is considered a crucial need for development of the Pentagon's portfolio of electronic, network and information attack tactics.
The article "Vanishing Act" appears to have missed the fundamental cause for decline in the ranks of aerospace and defense engineers during the past two decades. Further, the Viewpoint by Deloitte Consulting's Tim Short and Jim Schwendinger goes in the direction that, at best, is triage (AW&ST Feb. 5, pp. 44 and 54).
Latin American Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) member airlines carried 92.4 million passengers last year, a 3.9% increase in traffic compared with 2005. Varig service cuts caused a slight decline in traffic (0.6%) and capacity (0.2%) during the year, which in part reduced overall load factor by three percentage points to 70.8%, compared to 2005.
Details about President Bush's Fiscal 2008 budget continue to trickle out. The large version of the active electronically scanned array MP-RTIP radar--a key element of the now canceled E-10 multi-sensor command and control aircraft--is still alive and being considered by the U.S. Air Force as an upgrade to the E-8 Joint Stars long-range surveillance aircraft. In its smaller version, the radar remains in the budget as an upgrade to the Global Hawk Block 40 long-endurance, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
The U.S. government's outsourcing of information technology work will increase nearly 6% annually, reaching $18 billion by 2011, according to a new forecast by Input, an IT market research firm in Reston, Va. It notes that as federal agencies move to shift more core IT activities to the private sector, they're moving away from mega-contracts, breaking up work into pieces that can be outsourced without a lot of red tape.
David Bond, David Collogan and John M. Doyle (Washington)
Now, at least, everyone knows what they're arguing about. Nearly a year later than promised and after more than two years of jockeying for position among aviation groups, the FAA unveiled a user-fee-based funding plan for air traffic control that will pit two of the most powerful congressional lobbying organizations--airlines and general/business aviation--against each other.
I am not surprised as to why people are less likely to study engineering than in the past. I have been in the aviation industry most of my career as an engineer and have seen it change dramatically.
The European Union hopes to take the first steps this year to ensure that EU members will work together more closely when the next generation of military communication satellites is built and launched.
Automated satellite servicing perfectly illustrates the dichotomy in the approaches of Europe and the U.S. to space research. U.S. efforts, focused on the Orbital Express project, are led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), with Boeing and Ball Aerospace as the main contractors. Geared to Defense Dept. requirements but with possible commercial spinoffs, Orbital Express aims to test autonomous component exchange, refueling and automatic rendezvous/docking techniques using chase and target satellites (AW&ST June 5, 2006, p. 47).
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IS SENDING NINE OFFICIALS, including Li Zongji, deputy director general of the Air Traffic Management Bureau, to this year's Civil and Military Air Traffic Management Summit. The Air Traffic Control Assn. meeting is being held in Asia for the first time. AeroThai, Thailand's air navigation service provider, is hosting this year's meeting in Bangkok Feb. 26-Mar. 1. FAA and U.S. Defense Dept.
India could be on the brink of opting for a European solution for an army contract for 197 light helicopters, although the U.S. competitor insists it is still in the race. Some say Eurocopter's AS 550 Fennec will replace the aging fleet of Chetaks (Alouette II) and Cheetahs (Alouette III), leaving Bell Helicopter's 407 in the dust. India's Army Aviation Corps proposes to buy 60 helos outright with the remaining 137 to be built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. in a $500-600-million deal. The new rotary wings will be used to ferry loads of up to 165 lb.
FAA, DEFENSE DEPT., AEROSPACE INDUSTRY and airline officials will meet at an RTCA-hosted symposium on Mar. 19 in Washington to review FAA plans for a next-generation air traffic system. Officials from the European Air Traffic Alliance will also participate. Panels will discuss the FAA's Operational Evolution Partnership and the bridge to what is now being called the NextGen system for U.S. air transportation. NextGen was recently known as the Next-Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS).
Japan Airlines' latest strategic plan has failed to impress industry analysts, who say the company will continue to struggle until it acts more decisively to cut costs. The airline plans to haul staff numbers down by 8% during the coming three years, to 48,800 from the present 53,100, and it will maintain the reduced salaries that were introduced last year.
Keri Kohler has become executive assistant and scheduler for the Washington-based General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. She was executive assistant to U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler.
Gail Delaney (see photos) has been promoted to vice president/controller from assistant controller of ITT Night Vision, Roanoke, Va. Mike Alvis has been appointed vice president-programs. He was director of Value-Based Leadership Development at ITT Defense, McLean, Va.
When the House proposed legislation last month requiring that a system be put in place within the next three years to screen for explosives all cargo loaded onto U.S. airliners, the head of the Transportation Security Administration said it would be too costly and impede the flow of commerce. The measure passed anyway and a similar one is under consideration in the Senate. TSA has estimated it would cost $3.5 billion over the next five years, requiring 8,000 additional screeners and a $1.6-billion investment in explosives detection machines.
China faces sharp criticism this week over its Jan. 11 test of an anti-satellite weapon, as a U.N. panel in Vienna buckles down to setting international guidelines for controlling manmade space debris. China's representatives already have faced pointed complaints from the U.S., France, Germany and Japan at the opening session of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. A technical subcommittee that has spent two years devising debris-mitigation standards--with Chinese participation--is set to begin work this week on a final draft. The U.S.
A 30% lowering of its landing fees over the past three years has been bringing some positive news to San Francisco International Airport. Southwest Airlines says it's ready to return to SFO after leaving in 2001. The move marks the carrier's third consecutive expansion into a United Airlines hub, having launched services at Denver last spring and Washington Dulles in the fall.
Airbus has significantly raised its forecast for Chinese commercial aircraft demand over the coming 20 years, boosting an outlook for narrowbodies that it raised only last year by 66%. The manufacturer sees China buying 2,050 narrowbodies by 2025, up from the 1,900 it forecast last year for the same period. Airbus also has increased its outlook for aircraft in the A380 class to 180 units. Last year it slashed that forecast to 113 from previous projections of around 200. Airbus also says China will buy 800 other twin-aisle aircraft.
Enough of the old pilots and young pilots screaming at each other. The FAA should sponsor a high-quality analysis to determine how much risk is expected to increase as a result of changing the pilot-age rule. Adequate data and analysis methods are available. The downside would be to put the decision about the age rule on a rational and transparent basis!
Frustrated with the spiraling cost of an $11-billion program to improve the C-5 transport, the U.S. Air Force's chief of staff says it's unlikely the service will upgrade its 60 C-5A models, leaving modifications only to 49 Bs and two Cs. This could ultimately prompt the Air Force to reverse its decision not to fund additional C-17 purchases and could possibly force officials to more closely consider cargo capacity for the KC-X tanker competition between Boeing's 767 and a Northrop Grumman/EADS North America A330 option.
