As the war on Afghanistan heads into its second month, the Blair government has lost operational momentum, unable to swiftly transition a new 4,200-troop force to the Afghan theater from a Persian Gulf training exercise.
Capt. Paul R. Whiteford has been elected chairman of the United Airlines Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Assn. and pilot member of the UAL Corp. board of directors. Capt. Steve K. Hanel was elected vice chairman and Capt. Jeffrey Barath reelected secretary/ treasurer. Capt. Mark McClain has been reelected chairman, Capt. Scott Donaldson vice chairman and First Officer Don Burnham secretary/treasurer of the Northwest Airlines MEC.
BAE SYSTEMS IS CONVERTING three Eagle 150 aircraft into UAVs for Malaysia's Airborne Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) program. The single-engine, two-seat aircraft was selected for its light weight and 5-hr. endurance, according to BAE. Under an $8.5-million contract from Composites Technology Research Malaysia, BAE is furnishing the complete modification kit including vehicle management system, RF data link, multi-sensor payload and ground control.
John Mayrhofer has been appointed Washington-based vice president of Hi-Tec Systems Inc., Egg Harbor Township, N.J. He was head of the FAA Runway Safety Program.
Jeffrey T. Heinen has been appointed aerospace industry manager for the Special Metals Corp., Huntington, W.Va. He was director of marketing and sales for industrial gas turbine products for Gray-Syracuse Inc.
Thomas I. Rogan has been named vice president/treasurer of the United Technologies Corp., Hartford, Conn. He was vice president-finance/chief financial officer of UTC subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand.
A hypersonic scramjet flight test in Australia failed on Oct. 30 when a stabilizing fin was damaged on the upper stage rocket, causing it to corkscrew wildly at the Woomera range. The University of Queensland scramjet on top of the rocket was to burn hydrogen at Mach 7.6 to make comparisons with wind tunnel results. If investigators are able to determine the cause of the failure, they may make another attempt this week with a different scramjet and rocket.
AirTran Chairman and CEO Joe Leonard told financial analysts that uneasiness on Boeing's part regarding the future of the 717 production line would not deter his growth plans for the low-fare carrier. ``There are a lot of airplanes around that haven't been placed,'' he said. ``We would certainly be inclined to take those.''
Airport and U.S. federal officials have descended on technology companies and government laboratories in droves, seeking ideas and innovative solutions to security and counterterrorism problems.
Increases in helicopter acquisitions for its army, navy and air force, including the first purchase of the AH-64D Apache, are boosting Japan's total fiscal year 2002 budget requests.
The bin Laden construction company in Saudi Arabia is cutting financial ties with the Carlyle Group, a politically connected U.S. private investment firm. The decision was mutual, with the bin Laden family selling back its $2.02-million investment, principally because of its stake in a Carlyle Group fund that invests in buyouts of military and aerospace companies. After Sept. 11, criticism was voiced in Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
The fear of potential terrorist attacks on U.S. military bases has dealt a serious blow to the tourism industry on Okinawa and given opponents an additional reason to call for their removal. Tour operators and hotels on Okinawa have been reporting a sharp drop in business, as tourists and Japanese schools cancel excursions to the country's leading tourist resort. In all, about 130,000 students, tourists and conventioneers are said to be staying home. One survey showed that cancellations rose after the U.S. began retaliatory air strikes in Afghanistan.
David P. Molfenter has been appointed to the board of directors of Paravant Inc., Morristown, N.J. He is retired vice president of the Communication Systems Div. of Raytheon Systems Co.
THE AOPA FLIGHT EXPLORER service is now offering Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. members what it believes to be the lowest-cost service for using personal computers to track virtually all airline flights and general aviation aircraft on instrument flights in the U.S, or with ATC flight following. The FAA supplies the flight data to a number of information suppliers. AOPA members can see a demo at: www.aopa.org/info/fe1/.
Vought Aircraft Industries is laying off 1,200 workers in the wake of a decline in orders for its commercial aerostructures business in Texas, California, Georgia and Florida. Layoffs will begin late this month through mid-2002, according to the company. Vought builds wings, empennages, fuselage assemblies and engine nacelles for Boeing and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. Many of the displaced employees are flocking to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth to seek jobs building the Joint Strike Fighter, which is tentatively scheduled to enter service in 2008.
The Dassault Falcon 200EX business jet recently logged its first flight, with test pilots Patrick Experton and Herve Laverne at the controls. The aircraft was flown to a 35,000-ft. altitude and a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.82. The pilots performed a series of engine and systems tests and demonstrated low-speed flying qualities. The first 200EX is scheduled for delivery in 2003.
The FAA is calling for installation of Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems in more than 1,100 cargo aircraft registered in the U.S. The proposed rule would require TCAS 2 and a Mode S transponder on larger freighters, while airplanes under 33,000 lb. would be required to have TCAS 1 or an equivalent system.
Two years after the first Internet pioneers began applying electronic commerce to aerospace, the industry has relearned a hard truth: To lead others, they have to be ready to follow.
Karen Feldstein has been appointed NASA representative in Europe. She succeeds Jeffrey A. Hoffman, who is joining the Aeronautics and Astronautics Dept. of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
THE FAA HAS GIVEN Smiths Aerospace a Technical Standard Order authorization to build civil flight recorders, and a supplemental type certificate for the MD-11. The STC will allow installing the combined cockpit voice and flight data recorder in the MD-11. A major U.S. freight carrier has placed the first order for 350 of the 3257 family of solid-state units to replace existing recorders.
The Air Force and the CIA, buoyed by the performance of the piston-powered Predator A unmanned reconnaissance--and now missile-firing--aircraft, is raiding manufacturer General Atomics for an even higher performance aircraft. The San Diego manufacturer had built two turboprop versions of the UAV called Predator B. The new engine boosts the UAV's speed, altitude and payload.
