Peter Edwards has been appointed president of Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace Business Aircraft. He was executive vice president-sales. Edwards succeeds Pierre Beaudoin, who is now president/chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace.
Boeing won big when it beat out incumbent Lockheed Martin to build the next generation of recce satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, but there is so much work and technical risk involved that there may still be roles for Lockheed Martin and other companies to play in the near term.
Software company Borland says its Kylix product is the first RAD (rapid-development environment) for the Linux operating system. Enhancing that is development by United Electronic Industries of a ``unit'' file that allows Kylix programs to make function calls directly into the PowerDAQ library, giving Kylix programmers access to the capabilities of PowerDAQ data acquisition and control boards. United Electronic Industries, 10 Dexter Ave., Watertown, Mass. 02472.
FLS Aerospace will provide maintenance support for U.K.-based EasyJet's fleet of Boeing 737-300/700s, under a 10- year $400 million contract. The contract includes component management, repair and technical services.
Malaysia has allotted 14 billion ringgit ($3.73 billion) for defense spending in its 2001-05 modernization plan. Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak said the first priority for spending to begin next year will be a heavy-lift helicopter for the Malaysian air force. The list includes a multirole combat aircraft, air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters for the army and helicopters for the navy. Malaysia has down-selected the Sukhoi Su-30 MKM for the combat aircraft role.
Former astronaut Neil A. Armstrong has been named to receive the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy from the National Aeronautic Assn. on Dec. 14 in Washington. The annual trophy is awarded for ``public service of enduring value, as a civilian, to aviation in the U.S.'' Armstrong was selected for his career achievements, which also includes service as a U.S. Navy pilot during the Korean War, a civilian test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for aeronautics and an engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati.
Air France Industries has been awarded a contract by South Korea's Asiana to maintain thrust reversers installed on 80 CF6-80 and 44 CFM56 engines, which power the airline's Boeing 747s, 767s and 737s.
Bell Helicopter Textron has delayed first flight of the BA609 civil tiltrotor until at least mid-2002. The first aircraft was to have flown this month from Bell's research and development facility in Arlington, Tex. A company official said the tiltrotor program has funding ``to keep it moving along'' and that engines have been installed in the two preproduction prototypes at Arlington. Bell still has orders for 80 aircraft. According to the official, the six-month delay is not related to the troubled Bell Boeing V-22 program.
RAF Air Chief Marshal (ret.) Sir John Willis (see photo) has been appointed chairman of London-based Rosetta Global Communications, a consortium that includes BAE Systems and the Lockheed Martin Corp.
Meanwhile, an Ariane 4 orbited a television broadcasting satellite for DirecTV--the 65th success in a row for the medium-lift booster, which is to be phased out in favor of the Ariane 5 in a year's time. The Ariane 5, currently idle while engineers test a new ignition sequence for its Aestus upper stage engine, is expected to return to service in February, for the Envisat Earth observing satellite mission.
The FAA turned down a request from FedEx to extend an exemption from Part 121 rules that would enable it to continue carrying journalists or photographers on board its flights. The exemption, last renewed in 1993, traces its lineage back to permission issued in 1978 to Flying Tiger Lines. Given the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the absence of background, screening or security checks for journalists on all-cargo aircraft, ``it is presently not in the public interest to permit such access,'' the FAA said.
Lockheed Martin faces the challenge of carrying the momentum gained through its Russian RD-180 powered Atlas III to the new, more cost-effective Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle. The Atlas V EELV is set for its first flight in May with a European Eutelsat Hot Bird payload. Lockheed Martin and International Launch Services (ILS) must also take care to sustain an already strong global launch market position, while dealing with the higher risks inherent in a new booster.
Passenger air travel transformed human life during the 20th century. Growing from nothing in 1901 to 1.5 billion passengers a year in 2001, aviation directly and indirectly supports 100 million jobs worldwide in the travel, accommodation, catering and leisure industries.
The V370 VME four-channel arbitrary waveform generator was designed in cooperation with aircraft engine manufacturers to handle simulation of real-world sensor inputs. Applications include simulation of sensor signals from complex rotating machines; generation of pure and distorted polyphase AC waveforms with all waveshape parameters (frequency, amplitude, phase, distortion components) smoothly variable in real time; generation of complex pulse trains with real-time control of relative pulse positions and amplitudes; and shake table, servo or actuator drive.
Continental Airlines has opened a new 325,000-sq.-ft. concourse, C-3, at Newark International Airport's Terminal C as part of a $1.4-billion ``Global Gateway'' terminal improvement project.
The Calys 10 calibrator/tester is designed for hand-held or bench-type use. Functions include measurement and simulation of current, temperature (both RTD and thermocouple sensors), DC voltage and resistance. The unit can be used to calibrate controls and perform on-site maintenance of temperature sensors, controllers, converters, regulators, valves, indicators, panel meters, transmitters, recorders and other process loop devices. There is an option for pressure calibration. Built-in software carries data management, setpoint profiles and report generation modules.
Thomas Kilcoyne has been appointed president/CEO of Veritect, Reston, Va., and senior vice president of parent company Veridian. He was CEO of RedCreek Communications.
French independent carrier Air Lib tentatively plans to begin Paris-Algiers operations Dec. 22. The airline intends to serve the politically sensitive destination twice a day in an initiative set to generate much-needed revenues. Air Lib's MD-80s flying to Algeria will rely on voluntary flight and cabin crews. Air France in the last few years repeatedly declined to restart operations to Algiers, reportedly in the absence of sufficiently tight security measures.
The Ariane 5 heavy-lift launcher has completed a test firing of a modified solid rocket motor under the European Space Agency's ARTA continuing technology improvement and validation program. The tests qualified an increased-load forward booster segment containing an extra 2.2 metric tons of propellant, capable of boosting GTO lift capability by 200 kg. (440 lb.), and a new nozzle designed to shave 10 months off manufacturing time and to cut production costs by 40%. Other objectives were to qualify Wecco of the U.S.
Dassault Aviation is planning to postpone a planned increase in the production rate of its Falcon Jet line, following the terrorist attacks in September, but has no plans to postpone or stretch out the introduction of new models.
The development program has been anything but smooth and engineering changes are still in the works, but U.S. Air Force acquisition officials nevertheless have decided that Raytheon's T-6A Texan II Joint Primary Aircraft Training System is ready for the assembly line.
Lufthansa German Airlines is scheduled to take delivery of its first Airbus A380 in the third quarter of 2007. The German flag carrier's Dec. 6 decision to order 15 of the 555-seat aircraft constitutes a vote of confidence for the mega-transport, particularly after the events of Sept. 11. Within hours of Lufthansa's announcement, the value of EADS shares listed in France, Germany and Spain rose a robust 10% to more than 15 euros, reflecting the importance of the order. EADS owns an 80% stake in Airbus.
The French Thales group has formed Thales Airborne Systems Canada, which will focus its business on the integration of aircraft maritime patrol systems.
New tanker aircraft for the U.S. Air Force came a step closer to reality last week with the inclusion of a lease for 100 Boeing 767s in the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the $317.6-billion Fiscal 2002 Defense Appropriations Bill. The measure includes $60.9 billion for procurement ($500 million more than requested by the White House), a 10% increase in research and development over Fiscal 2001 and $7-8.3 billion for missile defense.
Just as the end of the Cold War a decade ago triggered the wave of consolidations that ultimately produced Boeing Space&Communications and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., today's emerging global security environment is shaping the U.S. space industry in ways that may send it back to its roots in the early days of guided missiles and reconnaissance satellites.
