Embraer has completed the first phase of its new facility at Gaviao Peixoto, near Araraquera in Brazil. The new site includes a completed 16,400-ft. runway, including overrun, a flight test hangar and support facilities. When completed in late 2003, the facility will include additional hangars and construction buildings with some 18.3 million sq. ft. under cover. The Gaviao Peixoto site, some 160 mi.
Christopher L. Chiames has been appointed senior vice president-corporate affairs, Sharon R. Hendry vice president-inflight and Capt. Edward W. Bular vice president-flight operations, all for US Airways. Chiames was managing director of the transportation and tourism public affairs practice at Burson-Marsteller. Hendry was vice president-operations and customer service at Hallmark Aviation Services, and Bular was senior director of flight operations.
Lockheed Martin's F-35 program picked up headway with the Netherlands signing last week to be the first Tier 2 participant (with an $802-million investment) in the 10-year-long System Development and Demonstration phase of the Joint Strike Fighter program. Italy is expected to sign on (at $1.028 billion) as the other within a few weeks. Norway also is expected to join as a Tier 3 member in a few weeks, and Turkey is expected to sign up by July, both at the $150-million investment level. Other Tier 3 members are Canada and Denmark.
Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center have rigged a special camera mount to take advantage of the high-quality window on the International Space Station for Earth-observation photography. Based on a standard Express station rack, the 900-lb. Window Observational Research Facility (Worf) has already been shipped to Florida for launch in January 2003. Mounted in front of the station window, it can accommodate cameras as large as 20 X 21 X 30 in. with hardware that allows researchers to control their gear from Earth.
The European Space Agency has chosen three projects for the second round of its Earth Explorer Opportunity Missions. The projects, picked from a short list of six missions, are ACE+, an atmospheric and climate explorer satellite; EGPM, a European contribution to the NASA/NASDA Global Precipitation Mission, and Swarm, a constellation of four small polar-orbiting spacecraft to study the dynamics of the Earth's magnetic field and its interactions with the Earth system. Two of the projects will be picked in 2008 for completion and launch.
Gloria Pualani, director of socio-economic business programs for Northrop Grumman Corp. Integrated Systems Sector in Irving, Tex., has been named one of the Fifty Influential Minorities in Business by the Minority Business and Professionals Network. Pualani was nominated for developing and maintaining a socio-economic business program for Northrop Grumman and leadership in support of minority- and woman-owned businesses.
The 28 F-16s--denied to Pakistan due to that country's nuclear arms stance--have been sitting for nearly a decade in the Arizona desert at the U.S. Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB. But they may have finally found a home. The Block 15 A and B models are upgraded with HUDs and improved engines for foreign military sales. Half are to go to the Navy at NAS Fallon, Nev., where they will serve in the adversary squadron associated with the Top Gun school, replacing F/A-18A/Bs and F-5s at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center.
United Airlines and Australian domestic low-fare carrier Virgin Blue last week entered a code-share agreement. Ticketing for passengers of both airlines will have a single United Airlines code. The deal is part of VirginBlue's business expansion plans, according to Chief Executive Brett Godfrey, and United's plan to rebuild its Australian business, according to Stephen Pearse, general manager of United Airlines Australia.
Southwest Airlines recently obtained an unsecured revolving line of credit of $575 million, but the carrier is expected to reserve the money for emergency use only. When the entire U.S. airline industry faced a liquidity crisis following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Southwest drew down its entire $425-million line of credit to cover short-term operating needs, and it has since been repaid. Other major airlines also tapped their lines of credit. J.P. Morgan secured the financing facility through a consortium of banks. ``No other airline in the U.S.
As the Bush administration's war against domestic terror unfolds, the aerospace/defense industry almost certainly will play a major role because of its broad systems integration and technology-innovation skills. But don't expect a flood of lucrative contracts anytime soon. The demand for extensive products and services to bolster U.S. homeland security and defense (HSD) remains dormant, according to a current market research report developed exclusively for Aviation Week & Space Technology by Deloitte Consulting.
A Toyota-designed proof-of-concept (POC) single-engine aircraft made its first flight on May 31 at the Mojave, Calif., airport, flown by Scaled Composites test pilot Jon Karkow. The initial test flight was limited to 120 kt., and explored basic stability and control characteristics. Known as the Toyota Advanced Aircraft, the POC vehicle is fitted with a Lycoming engine, but may eventually fly with a new aircraft-qualified diesel powerplant.
The E-2C Hawkeye may be headed for a reengining if propulsion makers can convince the Navy of the economic feasibility. The Navy has asked E-2C prime contractor Northrop Grumman to conduct an ``alternate engine study'' to look into replacing the Rolls-Royce T56-A-427. The new engine would be installed in any future E-2Cs built--additional production is planned under the Radar Modernization Program--and could be backfitted onto existing Hawkeyes. The engine has to be in production in order to fit into the existing nacelle.
David L. Taylor has been appointed president/CEO of the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Broomfield, Colo. He succeeds Donald W. Vanlandingham, who has become chairman. Taylor was senior vice president/chief operating officer.
American, United, Continental and Northwest airlines were sued on discrimination claims by passengers who charged that they were removed from flights because they are dark-skinned. An official of the American Civil Liberties Union, which publicized the cases, said the airlines ``were indulging in discrimination, not enforcing security.'' Separately, a federal judge in Seattle approved class-action status for a lawsuit claiming that Boeing discriminated against Middle Eastern and Asian-American engineers. The class includes 1,000-2,000 employees.
Bob Watson has become general manager of the China-based Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co. He was quality assurance and quality control director. Watson succeeds Dan Lange, who has retired.
Fleet commonality offers several overall advantages for carriers: it keeps maintenance and transitional training costs down--and cost savings is the name of the survival game. Low-fare startups have traditionally pulled up to the desert parking lot for fleet supplies, but now several, such as JetBlue, are opting for new aircraft. The purchase of new, more fuel- and cost-efficient aircraft requires a huge initial expenditure, something most startups cannot afford.
Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) last week signed a firm order for 25 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets to be flown under the United Express banner. The purchase, which is valued at $571.5 million, will bring ACA's CRJ fleet to121 aircraft. The regional carrier, which feeds passenger traffic to United Airlines, began flying Bombardier CRJs in 1997.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and the Air Force Research Laboratory are joining forces to assess the feasibility of using high-energy lasers as weapons on fighter aircraft. Under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, the lab's Directed Energy Directorate will contribute expertise in high-energy lasers, beam-control technology and laser vulnerability.
The Ford Motor Co., at the request of the NTSB, is aiding in the American Airlines Flight 587 accident investigation as it enters its seventh month. Strange bedfellows? Hardly. The automotive manufacturer's Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory at Livonia, Mich., houses the only commercially owned accelerator of its size--9 MeV.--in the world. The facility's ability to perform very-high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans of objects up to 1 meter wide and 2.5 meters tall inspired NTSB Chair Marion C.
William MacDonald (Mac) Evans, retired president of the Canadian Space Agency, has been elected to the board of directors of the Colorado Springs-based Space Foundation.
The scientists NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe empaneled to establish priorities for experiments on the International Space Station won't be reporting when planned. The Research Maximization and Prioritization (Remap) Task Force was to have briefed the NASA Advisory Council this week, but requested more time to complete its thankless task. Now the group has until July to decide which projects have the best chance of producing scientific results fast, and which will be left behind (see p. 27).
If Italy's apparent decision to dump the Airbus Military A400M airlifter in preference to the Lockheed Martin C-130J irritated its erstwhile partners, it also underscored the country's interest in straddling the Atlantic for defense reasons. As Italy enters the throes of re-evaluating its defense priorities against its available defense purse, Rome faces a multifaceted balancing act, both in policy and fiscal terms. At the heart of this activity is Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, Italy's defense secretary general and national armament director.
Initiatives being implemented in Continental Europe should indicate soon if the Irish/British low-cost carrier model will be viable in France, Germany and elsewhere. Dublin-based Ryanair and British carriers such as EasyJet have begun to revolutionize Europe's air transportation system. Their unprecedented low-fare/no-frills services between secondary airports have created a marketing phenomenon that is challenging established airlines' conservatism.
Malina M. Hills has been promoted to principal director of the Research and Program Development Office in the Engineering and Technology Group of The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, Calif., from systems director in the International Space Technology Dept. Other recent promotions are: Christine L. Stevens to principal director from systems director of the Spacelift Range Directorate; and Charles C. Tang to principal scientist/engineer in the Office of the Chief Architect/Engineer from senior project leader in the Defense Meteorological System Program.
