Malcolm B. Armstrong has become senior vice president-aviation safety and operations for the Washington-based Air Transport Assn. He was executive vice president-operations for Delta Air Lines.
These electrostatic oil cleaning systems remove insoluble contaminants, including tars and varnishes, from hydraulic oil systems. As each machine runs and oxidation occurs, tar, varnish or sludge begins to form. These sticky substances adhere to component surfaces and cause loss of control stability, constant valve adjustment, increased downtime and reduced machine performance. The systems use electrostatic principles to draw contaminants out of the oil, trapping them on the surface of the collector. Soluble additives are not affected.
CAE announced a C$10-million ($6.4-million) contract for the sale of a Boeing 777-200 ER Maintenance Training Simulator to Japan's largest international airline, Japan Airlines (JAL). The advanced flight simulator is designed to train maintenance engineers and technicians to perform tests on aircraft systems and avionics. The unit will be installed in JAL's training facilities in Narita at the end of 2002 and will be built to the Level 5 standard of the FAA and the regulation of the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau.
EADS has successfully proof-tested a full-scale demonstration model of a fiber-wound composite motor casing for France's next-generation M51 submarine-launched ballistic missile. The casing, intended for the first stage, was developed by EADS for SNPE-Snecma joint venture G2P, which is responsible for development of the missile's propulsion system. The nearly 20-ft.-tall, 6.6-ft.-dia. casing is said to be the largest composite solid rocket structure built in Europe to date. EADS is prime contractor for the M51, set to enter operation in 2008.
American Trans Air will freeze wages for 12 months and reduce executive pay by 10%, according to President/CEO John P. Teague. The action comes three weeks after the airline laid off 1,500 workers and cut its flight schedule by 20%. Teague said the airline's last Boeing 727s will be retired this week, leaving 757s and 737s in the fleet.
Dean E. Senner has become president/CEO and Henry Gaillard chief operating officer of Thales Navigation, Santa Clara, Calif. Senner was president/ COO of Onvantage Inc., while Gaillard was CEO of France-based affiliate DSNP.
The International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly's adoption of an airport-by-airport approach to operating restrictions on the noisiest Chapter 3 aircraft settled a U.S.-Europe controversy (AW&ST Sept. 24, p. 50) in favor of the U.S., to judge from the U.S. Air Transport Assn.'s reaction. The assembly required airports to consider the costs and benefits of noise abatement operational procedures and land-use planning and management around airports as well as operating restrictions--the ``balanced approach'' patterned after the U.S. system.
Earlier this month, Europe's Astrium space company received validation of its silicon carbide technology for use in orbital telescope telescopes with a 25-million euro contract ($22.8 million) from the European Space Agency for manufacture of the mirror on the Herschel Space Observatory (formerly named the Far-Infrared Space Telescope). The 3.5-meter telescope to be flown on Herschel will be the largest imaging space telescope ever launched.
Pure-play defense contractors, large and small, are receiving a steady stream of inquiries about their ability to dramatically increase production of weapon systems, as well as other items necessary to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
Rationally, we all know the airline industry eventually will rebound; it always has, following a major shock to the system. But that day seems like a distant prospect, given the wretched earnings environment that has descended across most of the industry and is likely to persist for a protracted period.
Russian military experts are beginning to realize they're missing the revolution in unmanned aircraft technology and are spurring various companies to begin working on a range of home-grown products. Russia's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) efforts have been limited largely to one system used by the Army for artillery spotting. So far, the Russian air force has not asked industry to design and build a medium- or high-altitude reconnaissance system.
The Administration is attempting to use the terrorist crisis to drum up votes in Congress to restore the President's ``fast-track'' trade authority, but aerospace sources say odds are no better than 50-50 that lawmakers will act in time for a 142-nation trade summit in early November.
Airlines often have staff scheduling software built around week-long cycles, but European regulations can require roster patterns that last more than seven days. U.K. airline British Midland worked with Sabre to create a new ``Roster Maker'' module for its StaffPlan software that would accommodate these work rules, and the carrier has tested it. ``We realized that there was a missing link in the European market for a system that could deal with rotating rosters,'' said Julie Moffatt, resource management manager for British Midland.
The U.S. government is under increasing pressure from business aviation organizations to relieve or eliminate its clampdown on airspace above major metropolitan areas--which have been crippling certain operations in an industry that has already lost nearly $500 million since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
A ``false alarm'' hijack in India ended peacefully Oct. 4 when a 737 owned by a subsidiary of Indian Airlines called Alliance Air was stormed by National Security Guard commandos at Delhi. The drama, which turned into farce, started when the Ahmedabad air traffic control supposedly received an anonymous call, which it later denied, saying that the Alliance Air flight from Mumbai (Bombay) to Delhi would be hijacked. The captain was informed, but by whom is unclear. At any rate, he locked the cockpit door thinking the hijackers were on board. They weren't.
Continuing intelligence preparations for combat operations in Afghanistan that began with satellites and CIA drones are growing as the U.S. military shifts its reconnaissance aircraft into the region. At the same time, Pentagon officials are drafting road maps to accelerate upgrades and restructure modernization plans for the overworked surveillance fleet.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the U.K. violated the rights of eight citizens living near London's Heathrow Airport under a 1993-imposed noise-quota system for night operations. Complaints focused on the perceived increase in early-morning noise that resulted when the government replaced its strict limit on the total number of overnight landings and takeoffs with the noise-quota program.
Canada and Japan are among the countries helping their airlines lumber through the financial morass wreaked by terrorism. Transport Canada last week offered a C$160-million ($102-million) package to its carriers for losses incurred during the disruption of air services following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Canada's airspace was shut down Sept. 11, but restrictions were lifted gradually. By Sept. 14, most services had started a return to normal levels.
L-3 Communications is trying to acquire Canada's Spar Aerospace for about $116 million in cash, or about $9.89 a share. Analysts believe L-3 will attempt to leverage Spar's market position in aviation services to generate increased demand for its avionics products.
To create a local area network on board a commercial or corporate aircraft and connect it to the Internet or a corporate intranet, Pentar Avionics has the new JetLAN XP network server. It supports wireless as well as wired networks, allows file sharing and joint viewing of presentations, runs a printer, and has up to 60 gigabytes of storage. . . . For broad-based, higher speed connection to the ground, Pentar has joined with EMS Technologies' Satcom Div. to offer JetLAN SatLINK.
The U.S. Marine Corps will establish a new anti-terrorism brigade at Camp Lejeune, N.C., this week, one month after the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The 4th Marine Expeditionary will have 4,800 Marines and sailors and be fully operational by Dec. 1. The unit merges existing counterterrorism battalions devoted to security and chemical and biological incident response. Added components will include a new anti-terrorist battalion and another fleet anti-terrorist security team.
Russian officials admit for the first time they are using remains from the U.S. Air Force stealth fighter shot down over Yugoslavia to improve the ability of their air defense systems to detect and kill stealth aircraft. Also as part of the effort, designers say a small number of Russian tactical aircraft have been upgraded with locally produced, low-observable modifications to further test and improve their surface-to-air missile (SAM) designs.
One battlefield in America's war on terrorism surely will include White House or congressional commissions, to make recommendations on how to improve civil aviation security. It won't be the first time. The last time such a commission was charged with that function was after the TWA Flight 800 tragedy in which 230 passengers and crewmembers were killed on July 17, 1996. Reviewing the history of the recommendations made by that commission is both timely and instructive.
Members of the New Jersey Aviation Assn. (NJAA) are calling for the FAA to restore full-operating capability to Teterboro Airport near New York. The facility has been operating at only 25% capacity since shortly after the attacks on Sept. 11, when general aviation operators were prohibited from flying within the 25-mi. ``no-fly zone'' in the New York area. Charter and airline operations, however, were unaffected by the ban. NJAA President Thomas D. Carver said the slowdown is ``having a devastating effect on the regional economy'' and that 1,250 jobs are at risk.
Quantum Magnetics Inc., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Inc., has developed a new weapons-detection system--the i-Portal 100--that is capable of pinpointing the location of a gun or knife concealed on the body. The machine could be used for secondary screening of passengers, or as a pre-screening device. Quantum was forced to suspend testing of the system on Sept. 11 because airports were closed. The FAA, however, has approved the device, and additional trials will resume, according to the company.
