Scott Otteman has become director of trade policy in the International Economic Affairs Dept. of the Washington-based National Assn. of Manufacturers. He was director of the Trade Policy Project of the Inter-American Dialogue.
The Pentagon is getting ready to begin a concept demonstration of a mini-airborne laser intended to destroy cruise missiles or attack targets on the ground. The five-year program with Boeing would involve a 20-kw. Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (Coil), the same technology used in much larger scale on the anti-ballistic missile YAL-1A Airborne Laser. The smaller configuration in the Advanced Tactical Laser would use a sealed exhaust system. The program, under the auspices of the U.S. Special Operations Command, could cost up to $250 million.
Neil Raynor has been named senior vice president-Canadian affairs and Ian A. Redhead vice president-airport facilities and services of the Washington-based Airports Council International-North America. Raynor also is executive director of the affiliate Canadian Airports Council. Redhead was director of aviation for the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority.
A pair of satellites--which died for lack of power in 1996 after the third stage that carried them to orbit failed to release them--reentered the atmosphere over China on Apr. 6, along with the faulty stage. NASA's High Energy Transient Experiment (Hete) and Argentina's SAC-B spacecraft reentered at about 10:55 p.m. EST Apr. 6 at 92.4 deg. E. Long., 31.5 deg. N. Lat., still attached to the Pegasus third stage that stranded them following launch over Wallops Island, Va., on Nov. 4, 1996. Although the two satellites and the stage weighed 1,177 lb.
NASA and the U.S. Air Force are preparing to develop reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology in tandem, abandoning the Clinton-era policy that restricted the military to expendable launcher development in favor of cooperation on dual-use RLV technology work alongside separate efforts to meet unique NASA and military requirements.
DIAMOND AIRCRAFT HAS DELIVERED TWO DA20-C1 trainers to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., for use in its introductory flight program, which provides midshipmen with 25 hr. of flying to acquaint students with aviation before they advance to military pilot training at Pensacola, Fla. The aircraft will be based at Bay Bridge Airport near the Academy.
Conventional navigation aids are slated to begin a phasedown in the U.S. in 2010, as part of the transition to satellite systems, according to the Federal Radionavigation Plan released by the Transportation Dept. recently. Preconditions for the cuts are that the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) must be approved as a primary means of flight navigation and that WAAS procedures must have been published. ILS for Category 2 and 3 approaches will remain, and Loran-C will continue to operate in the short term while the government evaluates the long-term need.
In the topsy-turvy world of post-Sept. 11 aviation, the ``scope'' clauses in labor contracts that protect pilot jobs at major airlines are threatening to retard the vital growth of regional air services, which has been one of the few encouraging developments for the slowly recovering airline industry.
Perhaps it was just too much to hope for: Europe would finally move to address its paltry airlift capability, while the U.S. government would proffer only encouragement to its allies in tackling a glaring capability gap.
Toronto-based Atlantic Systems International Inc. has been chosen by Westland Helicopters Ltd. of the U.K. to supply a cockpit procedures trainer and Full Cockpit Emulator (FCE) suite for the new CH-149 Cormorant, a search-and-rescue variant of the AgustaWestland EH-101. The FCE is a PC-based software application that provides supplemental cockpit procedural training. Using high-fidelity replica controls and indicators with tactile and visual feedback, crews will be able to practice cockpit routines and drills in a range of simulated environments.
German aerospace center DLR has contracted with Astrium to build a civil radar imaging satellite that is intended to further reinforce Europe's X-band remote sensing capability while raising anew the question of how to coordinate disparate national space projects.
SES Global, Gilat Satellite Networks and Alcatel Space will team to provide two-way satellite broadband services in Europe, giving new impetus to the sputtering broadband market.
The U.S. Army is trying to determine which sensors to put on its Hunter unmanned aircraft to aid in finding the most effective combination of UAVs with manned aircraft. The Army has been interested for some time in linking Hunter with Black Hawk and Apache helicopters and is running a concept demonstration to assess the combination's utility. Now the service wants to find electro-optical/infrared and radiofrequency sensors, as well as laser rangefinders and designators, to install on Hunter. The service requirements include a 500-10,000-ft. range, 360-deg.
Kathrine Johnson Lewis (see photo) has become technical development manager for aerospace and bonding adhesives for the Adhesives and Tooling Div. of Vantico Inc. of Los Angeles. She was senior scientist/corporate research and development group manager for PRC-Desoto International, Burbank, Calif.
NTSB Chairman Marion Blakey said there is no reason to ground the Airbus A300-600, in response to a letter from eight American Airlines pilots urging that it be grounded. ``We have not seen anything to this point that indicates that kind of radical action is warranted,'' Blakey told the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee. An FAA official agreed.
PRODUCTION OF THE VENERABLE Lockheed Martin C-130 military airlifter will continue until at least 2008 if the U.S. military services and other countries that are evaluating the current Super Hercules ``J'' versions place the anticipated number of orders, according to company executives. They said 118 C-130Js have been ordered, of which 85 have been delivered. The current backlog will last through 2004, executives said. The U.S. Air Force is mulling procurement of 40 stretch CC-130Js, and the U.S.
Domestic and international airlines are preparing for a possible battle with the U.S. government over how much they'll have to pay for Transportation Security Administration-run passenger and cargo security services. The issue is heating up as a May 31 deadline for their first installment--about 20% of what each airline spent in 2000 on passenger screening--draws near.
Spot Image is preparing to sign a five-year framework agreement with the French ministry of defense that would give the company exclusive rights to supply French security imagery. Spot Image recently inked a $12-million three-year agreement with Image One of Japan--soon to be extended to five years--and a $50-million five-year pact with Digital Globe of the U.S. giving them exclusive rights to market and sell Spot imagery to Japanese and U.S. government customers (AW&ST Mar. 18, p. 15; Jan. 28, p. 33).
For all the momentum behind New York-based JetBlue Airways, it's probably too soon to declare the two-year-old entrant an unqualified success. After all, any carrier--including well-established ones--can stumble if its operating costs and revenue stream get out of balance. From all indications, however, JetBlue is looking like one of the more promising startups in recent years.
Delta Air Lines' president and chief operating officer, Frederick W. Reid, is pressing the White House and Congress to scrap the Railway Labor Act. Reid says the act creates an unequal distribution of power between labor and management because unions can bring an airline to a complete halt, ``depriving the public of a critical engine for economic well-being.'' Reid's solution is mandatory arbitration similar to what is used by firefighters and police officers, not to mention professional baseball players.
Sylvain Poissant and Kevan Todd (see photos) have been named general managers of Howmet Laval (Quebec) Castings and Howmet Hillsboro (Tex.) Castings, respectively. Poissant was operations manager of Howmet Laval Castings, while Todd was senior vice president of the Emerald Precision Casting Corp.
Swisswings, a regional carrier formerly known as Air Engiadina, has filed for bankruptcy and is not expected to resume operations. It operated an average 30 flights/day from Geneva and Bern with five 31-seat Fairchild Dornier 328s. Recently, the carrier's financial results deteriorated seriously in a depressed market, and company executives could not obtain bailout funding from banks. Following the Swissair Group's collapse, confidence in the industry is fragile. Swisswings' last-minute negotiations with Swiss, Swizerland's new flag carrier, failed to produce results.
Shuttle Atlantis and International Space Station crews late last week completed the initial robotic and mechanical installation of the $790-million S-Zero truss and transporter, laying the foundation for all future ISS truss and solar array assembly. Station astronaut Navy Capt. Dan Bursch and Atlantis astronaut Ellen Ochoa, working at the ISS robotic control station with no direct views of the truss, used the station's arm to lift the 13.5-ton S-Zero out of the payload bay and attach it to the Destiny laboratory module Apr. 11.
