The Fiscal 2010 NASA spending bill that the House Appropriations Committee will consider June 9 includes a $212.3-million cut for the post-shuttle exploration program. Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies, which made the cut in its markup, says it reflects the Obama administration’s appointment of a panel headed by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine that will review U.S. human-spaceflight plans and recommend options by the end of August (AW&ST June 1, p. 31).
Michael E. France has been named manager of regulatory affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. He was quality control and training coordinator for Volo Aviation in Manassas, Va.
Now that North Korean leader Kim Jung Il is throwing another of his tantrums, the talking heads are wondering what to do. One suggestion is: Let Japan “go nuclear.” However, that would go against U.S. President Barack Obama’s goal of a “nuke- free world.”
Boeing is preparing to flight test a development of the ScanEagle small unmanned aircraft designed for air launch and surface recovery, carrying a surveillance sensor or lethal payload. First flight of the ScanEagle Compressed Carriage (SECC) is planned for late July or early August at Boardman Range, Ore. The UAV will be launched from the top of a car and fly for about an hour, says Dave Langness, Boeing Phantom Works deputy program manager for unmanned systems.
With armed forces taking unmanned aircraft more seriously, is the aerospace industrial base ready to meet the emerging requirements? The answer is yes, and no. While most operational systems evolved from technology demonstrators, much of the innovative work on unmanned aircraft is being fostered by service laboratories working with small businesses. That leaves traditional aircraft manufacturers scrambling to catch up.
Air New Zealand will cut capacity by 3% in its financial year that ends June 30, 2010, in response to continuing weak demand. The carrier will reduce service between Hong Kong and London to five from seven days a week, and on domestic routes.
Mike McBain (see photo) has been promoted to external-tank deputy program manager from manager of materials science at the NASA-Lockheed Martin Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
Holly Nelson has become chief financial officer of Virgin America . She was senior vice president-finance/controller of Xojet Inc. and had been vice president/controller/chief accounting officer of JetBlue Airways.
Mexico has essentially grounded Aviacsa Airlines after officials reported maintenance irregularities. The Communications and Transport Ministry said the suspension applies to 25 planes, and “doesn’t imply the total suspension of its operations.” However, Aviacsa has only 26 planes, all Boeing 737s serving 17 Mexican cities and Las Vegas. Last year, the government grounded several regional airline fleets due to non-payment of fees, but the ministry said this most recent suspension is not related to an ongoing legal dispute with the airline.
Just as Alitalia is showing signs of recovery, new threats are emerging that could jeopardize the reborn Italian airline’s future. A high-speed rail connection could take away some of Alitalia’s lucrative Milan-Rome business, while European regulators are pushing the Italian government to allow more flights at Milan Linate Airport, potentially strengthening rival Air Italy as well as Lufthansa’s Italian operations. British Airways and others are also keen on more slots there. Alitalia currently controls 80% of Linate’s slots.
A decline in the “jet crack” spread—the difference between the price of oil and the premium that refiners charge for jet fuel—has helped cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on airlines. But carriers are still paying the equivalent of more than $75 a barrel for jet fuel, a 50% increase since March.
The Transportation Security Administration, citing what it calls “a credible threat to civil aviation in East Africa” and airport security issues in Liberia, indefinitely scuttled part of Delta Air Lines’ expansion of direct service to Africa just as flights were about to begin.
Tom van der Linden (see photo) has been named vice president-sales for the Chromalloy subsidiary of the New York-based Sequa Corp. He was vice president-operations for Chromalloy Gas Turbine.
Nesrin and Marti Sarigul-Klijn Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Dept. University of California (Davis, Calif.)
The White House has tasked the independent panel chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine to examine future U.S. human spaceflight activities and assess architecture options (AW&ST May 11, p. 31). Should the U.S. continue to develop two new launch vehicles, the Aries I and Aries V, or should we adopt a lower-cost approach to achieve the same goals? One alternate approach calls for developing only a single “Jupiter” launch system.
Senior British military officials recognize they are stretched to the limit when it comes to aircrew on critical platforms, including WAH-64 attack helicopters and elements of the Sea King fleet.
ATR and Afrijet Airlines have signed an agreement for the purchase of four ATR 72-500s. It is the third Nigerian airline to operate the turboprops and a new customer for ATR. The deal is a shot in the arm for ATR, which, like other aircraft makers, has seen a dearth of orders this year. The agreement will bring the introduction of turboprops at Afrijet, which otherwise operates MD-80s from its Lagos hub.
Ricardo V. Soria, assistant principal of Choctawahatchee High School, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., has received the 2009 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award, which is given by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, NASA and the Space Foundation . He was selected for his role in creating the Engineers for America program, an elementary school initiative that promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics education through hands-on flight, aviation and aerospace activities.
Mount Fuji Shizuoka airport has opened, connecting its region with eight domestic and international destinations, including Sapporo, Fukuoka, Shanghai and Seoul. All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, China Eastern, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Fuji Dream Airlines are operating from the facility.
Russia’s Mil Mi-38 medium-lift helicopter faces a minimum 2-3‑year delay because of the likely shift to a home-grown engine, but the change would open the door for a Defense Ministry procurement.
The FAA has begun research into determining whether the national metric for aircraft noise, currently an averaging of sound levels during a 24-hr. period, is the best way to measure noise pollution. Complaints from residents affected by operations on Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s new runway, R9/L27, which opened last November, served as a catalyst for the agency to begin the study, says Brian Gilligan, executive director of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission.
Outraged lawmakers are exercising a rare legislative tool to force the Navy to release its annual shipbuilding plan. When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told the House Armed Services Committee he will not submit the report with the Navy’s Fiscal 2010 budget request, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and seven other panel members filed a resolution of inquiry. Their aim is to force Defense Secretary Robert Gates to pressure the Navy to deliver the plan.
With conventional gas turbines reaching the limits of their capacity for improvement, U.S. powerplant developers are preparing to compete for the chance to demonstrate a radical new engine architecture that promises substantial reductions in fuel consumption.
David A. Fulghum (Osan AB, South Korea), Amy Butler (Washington)
North Korea is teeing up several more missiles for launch as part of its long-term strategy to antagonize countries trying to rein in its nuclear and missile testing and its contraband exports of those technologies.
With the eventual return of U.S. military unmanned aircraft from Iraq and Afghanistan expected to create huge demand for access to civil airspace for training, pressure is mounting to find ways for them to coexist with manned aircraft. Although the long-term goal is the development of onboard “sense and avoid” systems, their certification remains years in the future, so early efforts are directed at using ground-based radar and air traffic control procedures to ease restrictions on airspace access.
