Goodrich Corp. has been selected by Rolls-Royce plc to supply the lift-fan anti-icing system for the short takeoff vertical landing version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Also, Goodrich will install cockpit door video surveillance systems in Virgin Atlantic Airways' Airbus A340 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft this month. The systems will provide real-time video monitoring to the flight crew of cockpit door entry and the forward galley.
Singapore has received its first Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter. Singapore has contracted with the U.S. government to purchase additional AH-64Ds.
Lufthansa Technik plans to reorganize its executive jet service and VIP businesses in a move that's expected to take the German maintenance overhaul and repair provider into the fixed base operator (FBO) business. Business jet life-cycle support/modifications and VIP completion activities are currently located together in a single business unit at LT's large Hamburg engineering facility, where they share a common support staff. However, this structure is no longer suitable to allow the company to benefit from future growth, which is expected to be strong despite Sept.
Airbus received type certification on the A340-600 from the European Joint Aviation Authorities and confirmation of an order for 13 A340-300s from Swiss. Swiss will begin taking deliveries next June, with the 13 aircraft scheduled to be delivered by August 2004.
U.S. Army officials hope to speed development of the RAH-66 Comanche and erase some of the delay a planned restructure means for the program. But while service leaders focus on fixing Comanche, other helicopter projects struggle for funding to remain viable. The new Comanche plan the Army has been developing in recent months would add about $3.4 billion to the $3.1-billion development bill and delay fielding of the aircraft until late 2009. The result would be a more realistic and executable project, program representatives insist.
Lockheed Martin said it would sell its 81% ownership interest in Comsat International to World Data Consortium LLC, a private investment firm in Washington. Comsat International, which provides data and voice service to Latin America, is one of the businesses Lockheed Martin said it would divest in an effort to refocus on its ``core'' businesses (AW&ST Dec. 17, 2001, p. 84).
Supercomputers are expensive machines that require a lot of expertise to run, and require substantial commitment from a company to have one. Delta Search Labs (www.deltasearchlabs.com) has put together the equipment and expertise--drawn from the faculties of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Arizona State University and University of Portsmouth (U.K.)--and is looking for industrial partners to join in exploiting the capability.
Larry McCracken has been promoted to vice president-communications for St. Louis-based Boeing Military Aircraft and Missile Systems from vice president-public relations at Boeing's Chicago headquarters. He will succeed Doug Kennett, who will be vice president-public affairs at Boeing's Washington office. John Dern, who has been director of media relations at Boeing headquarters, will succeed McCracken.
Larry O. Moore has been named senior vice president-module centers and manufacturing operations for Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford, Conn. He was vice president-operations excellence for the Cummins Engine Co.
Raytheon Systems Ltd. has been selected by Lockheed Martin to supply 104 GAS-1 anti-jam GPS antenna units for several aircraft types including the F-16 and C-130J. The $4-million contract includes equipment, warranty provision and project management.
Passenger airlines aren't the only members of the aviation community that are being roiled by labor unrest. So are air cargo carriers. Currently in the hot seat is Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., parent company of Atlas Air Inc. The world's largest air cargo outsourcer--which specializes in long-haul, heavy-lift operations--and its 718 pilots and flight engineers have tried unsuccessfully for two years to negotiate a new contract.
American Airlines' application for six weekly third-country code-share frequencies to Vietnam (AW&ST May 20, p. 15) has competition. Delta also wants six frequencies, for service with Korean Air via Seoul. Since only seven frequencies are available--they are dormant, formerly held by Northwest-KLM--Delta says the Transportation Dept. must conduct a full-blown selection proceeding. United, which has seven frequencies and seeks one more, says it will apply for all seven if there is a proceeding.
Joe Lombardo has been appointed chief operating officer of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. Larry Flynn was named president-product support. He will continue as president of General Dynamics Aviation Services.
Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently approved Skynet Asia (SNA) as the nation's fourth startup carrier, following Skymark, Fairlink and Air Do (Hokkaido International). SNA, based at Miyazaki on the southern Kyushu Island, is expected to inaugurate five daily round-trip services between Miyazaki and Tokyo with two Boeing 737-400s beginning Aug. 1. Fares, while not yet finalized, are estimated to run 35% cheaper than those of Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air System. SNA expects profitability in its fifth year of operation.
Air New Zealand is recasting itself with a new strategy designed to provide lower fares and a greater choice of flights. In October, the carrier will inaugurate Air New Zealand Express-class service on main trunk domestic routes with Boeing 737-300s outfitted with 136 seats instead of the current 122 by removing the business-class section. There will be no in-flight meals or alcoholic beverage service, and the fare structure will be announced in July. The aircraft will then be fitted with new seats with more legroom in 2003.
Steven P. Daniels has been named president/CEO of the Enstrom Helicopter Corp., Menominee, Mich. He was director of K-MAX helicopter sales and marketing for the Kaman Aerospace Corp., Bloomfield, Conn. Daniels succeeds Robert M. Tuttle, who will remain as chairman.
DigitalGlobe plans to add four next-generation Earth-imaging satellites by the third quarter of 2007, bringing 5-meter imagery to market as well as the sub-meter images delivered by its QuickBird satellite and the Spot images it sells under license (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 33). The Colorado-based company developed plans for its ``M5'' constellation with Ball Aerospace and ITT Industries.
Israel's launch of its new Ofec-5 military imaging reconnaissance satellite on a Shavit booster last week should bolster the country's ability to monitor independently and, if necessary, target ballistic missile threats in Syria, Iran and Iraq. Just after the May 28 flight, Israeli Army Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael, former head of the service's research and development division, said spacecraft like Ofec-5 are of ``utmost importance'' to Israel for obtaining ballistic missile intelligence.
Battlefield communications networks are being simulated with a QualNet, a new design tool by Los Angeles-based Scalable Network Technologies. QualNet models a variety of network types and can handle complex layouts and more than 10,000 nodes. The battlefield network was being designed at Raytheon's Visualization and Simulation Lab in Plano, Tex. ``Our project's ultimate objective was interactive real-time modeling of thousands of entities,'' said John Powers, the principal software engineer.
Despite lower than expected funding levels, the European Space Agency has managed to devise a new long-term science program containing most of the missions scientists wanted. But the agency served notice that further budget cuts would force Europe to roll back its space ambitions. Agency officials said an initial review of science projects following the ESA ministers' refusal last November to fund science at the requested level showed three previously approved missions and four planned ones to be under threat.
German airship manufacturer CargoLifter late last week seemed on the verge of collapse, as the company declared it could no longer meet its financial commitments and was approaching bankruptcy. CargoLifter told employees it could not pay May salaries on time, but insisted it had not yet filed for protection from creditors as it continued to negotiate with banks, other investors and the Brandenburg regional government.
NetJets plans to add four Falcon 50s to the core fleet of its European fractional ownership network this summer, to meet demand for access to smaller airports. Another six Citation Bravos, two Excels and a pair of Falcon 2000s are also to be added this year. NetJets Europe COO Mark Baier forecast that European fleet usage will grow by 60% this year and even more in 2003.
German airship manufacturer Cargolifter--at risk for insolvency--plans to shelve its core development program until it secures more funding. The company will stop work on the giant CL 160 airship, which has been designed to carry loads of up to 160 tons. Cargolifter needs more than 400 million euros ($368 million) before it says it will be able to start production. Instead, the company now is trying to secure 70 million euros, enough, it believes, to bring the CL 75 cargo balloon to production.
Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics E.C. Aldridge, Jr., and his Danish counterpart, National Armaments Director Jorgen Hansen-Nord, have signed memorandums of understanding committing Denmark to participate in the Joint Strike Fighter system development and demonstration phase. This commitment will span the next 10 years. Hansen-Nord cited it as an important agreement for Danish industry, further strengthening the U.S.-Danish defense relationship. U.S.
Brad Cvetovich, vice president/general manager of customer support for Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, has received the annual Nuts and Bolts Award of the Air Transport Assn. It honors leaders in the field of aviation maintenance and support. Cvetovich is scheduled to retire on July 1 after 39 years' service.
