Alan Caslavka has been appointed Richardson, Tex.-based vice president/general manager of command, control, communications and intelligence solutions for Rockwell Collins . He was its U.K.-based director for European sensors and displays. Honors and Elections
The Pentagon’s acquisition czar has delayed his review of a design decision for the Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) UAV program by at least two weeks. John Young was to examine the choices during a Mar. 4 briefing. Industry executives question whether the delay is due to the uproar and subsequent scramble after the Defense Dept.’s decision to select a European design over Boeing’s proposal for a $35-billion refueling tanker contract.
Swift Engineering and Boeing have completed demonstration flight tests of its KB4 KillerBee unmanned aerial vehicle carrying an Automatic Identification System sensor and data link. At 5,000 ft. altitude, the UAV increases ship-based sensor coverage by 100 times. The UAV is both electrically and mechanically quiet, and can carry multiple payloads simultaneously. The tests were flown at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
Boeing’s 767 may have lost the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker competition to Northrop Grumman/EADS, but that is unlikely to mean an early end to the midsized twinjet’s production. “We haven’t made a decision yet to rescind the offerability of our current models,” says a Boeing official. They include the 767-300ER, -400ER and -300 Freighter. When Boeing introduced the 787 as a 767 replacement in 2004, the company wasn’t sure the older airplane’s production line would be active for more than a few years.
The New Zealand government is altering foreign investment laws in an apparent effort to make it more difficult for a Canadian pension plan to partially take over Auckland International Airport. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) seeks to acquire 40% of the airport shares, a deal that would require approval from the New Zealand government. The government last week amended its overseas investment criteria to stress the importance of local control of strategic assets, signalling its concern about the CPPIB bid.
Paul Tate, who has been chief financial officer of Frontier Airlines , has been appointed chief operating officer of Air Methods of Denver, effective Mar. 31.
Defective fan blades on General Electric CF34-3B1s should be taken out of service before another inflight fire or engine failure occurs—so says the NTSB, labeling the associated safety risks “unacceptably high.”
Tiger Airways this year plans to add two Airbus A319s to its Australian operation so it can use airports smaller than those needed for its A320s. Use of Sydney’s general aviation facility, Bankstown, is a possibility. If Tiger does use Bankstown, Sydney finally would have a second airport for scheduled services. The Singaporean budget carrier is also setting up a pilot-training program in Australia.
Expansion of Singapore’s Budget Terminal for low-cost operators is expected to begin in July to increase its handling capacity from 2.7 million passengers annually to 7 million. Planned additions include seven check-in counters (for a total of 25), three boarding gates (for a total of 10) and more baggage handling equipment. When work is completed early next year, the floor area will increase slightly to 309,000 sq. ft.
Chicago-based NavAero Inc. has received a supplemental type certificate (STC) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its t-bagC2 electronic flight bag system for use on almost all models of the Boeing 737. Saab Aerotech Aircraft Services and SAS Scandinavian Airlines helped obtain the STC for the Class 2 EFB for 737NG and classic series aircraft. The installation will be part of flight demonstrations occurring at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Officials at NavAero says this is the first Class 2 EFB approved by EASA.
British space scientists and astronomers have until Mar. 21 to say why programs threatened by funding cuts at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) should be spared the ax. The council has issued a list of priorities, with several notable programs listed as “lower priority.” These include Bepi-Colombo, the European Space Agency (ESA) Mercury mission.
Donald S. Lopez, deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington and a World War II fighter ace, died Mar. 3 at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., from a heart attack. He was 84.
The British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is the latest body to try to determine when Iran might be capable of fielding a nuclear weapon. In a report published last week, the panel notes: “Although technological constraints are likely to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, if that is its intention, in the near future, there is nevertheless a strong possibility that it could establish a ‘breakout’ nuclear weapons capability by 2015.”
Get moving, Senate, and make FAA reauthorization legislation a top priority. So urge 35 aviation groups in a letter signed, sealed and delivered to policymakers on Mar. 5. Just about everyone in the transport and general aviation sectors—controllers, airport operators, airlines, aircraft makers, pilots, flight attendants, maintenance technicians, even the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Assn.—is represented in the coalition seeking passage of a comprehensive, long-term reauthorization bill.
U.S. airlines want the FAA to change its proposed Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast mandate to reduce the avionics costs and provide benefits sooner so they can reap a return on their investments.
The White House and the Pentagon finally have an agreement on the UH-71 presidential helicopter. It has survived, it will be restructured, and they have identified $4 billion to fund the rejiggered program. Details will be revealed soon. From the beginning it was thought the program was underfunded and had too few people assigned to it to meet all the demands for concurrency. Military pilots with insight into the program say the right helicopter was picked—a product of AgustaWestland.
The first air-to-air refueling tests for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 are planned to begin this week, clearing the way for the eventual transfer of the first Joint Strike Fighter demonstrators to Edwards AFB, Calif.
Apr. 15-16—AVIATION WEEK Interiors, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Apr. 15-17—MRO Conference and Exhibition, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sept. 23-25—MRO Europe, Madrid. Oct. 14-16—MRO Asia, Singapore. PARTNERSHIPS Mar. 31-Apr. 6—FIDAE, Santiago, Chile. Apr. 1-3—JEC Composites, Paris. Apr. 7-10—U.S. Space Foundation, Colorado Springs. May 27-June 1—ILA Berlin air show. June 16-18—Aircraft Interiors-Middle East, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
USN Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., has been nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for communication networks at the Pentagon. He has been director for operations of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami. Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Shannon has been named program executive officer for strike weapons and unmanned aviation at NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been vice commander of the Naval Air Systems Command, also at Patuxent River. Rear Adm. (lower half) Kendall L.
Rafale International, a joint venture of Dassault Aviation, Thales and Snecma, has opened an office in Athens to sell fourth-generation Rafale fighters to the Greek air force. The office also will serve to expand technology exchange and cooperation with Hellenic Aerospace Industry and other Greek defense companies. In November, Dassault completed delivery of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft to Greece. Reinforcing arms exports is a major objective under French President Nicolas Sarkozy (AW&ST Mar. 3, p. 33).
In mid-May, Singapore Airlines plans to launch all business-class service on transpacific flights to New York and Los Angeles with its five A340-500LRs. “The peak demand for the nonstop flights is from our business-class customers, and this change will expand business-class capacity to 100 from 64 seats on each flight,” says Huang Cheng Eng, SIA executive vice president of marketing and regions. Initial service will be offered on the Singapore-New York route, expanding to daily flights by the end of June, with service to Los Angeles starting by late September.
Paul Tate, who has been chief financial officer of Frontier Airlines , has been appointed chief operating officer of Air Methods of Denver, effective Mar. 31.
Boeing has reached the halfway point in design releases for its 747-8 Freighter, which is due to begin production in early autumn. Design releases have been equally distributed among the aircraft’s major components—wing, fuselage, interiors, propulsion and systems—and have gone to all key suppliers. Launch customers All Nippon Cargo and Cargolux are to start taking deliveries in late 2009. Boeing has 78 orders from 10 customers for the freighter.
In audited 2007 full-year results issued last week, London-based Inmarsat reported revenues of $576.5 million, 15.3% higher than 2006, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $388.1 million, up 17%. Pre-tax profit rose 39%, to $124.8 million. Results included Inmarsat’s share in CIP Holdings Ltd., notably its subsidiary Stratos, a major Inmarsat distributor. Inmarsat has a call option to acquire CIP through Apr. 14, 2009, and both companies have indicated it will be exercised.
Tons of ice and dust cascade down a 2,300-ft.-tall cliff at the edge of the ice cap surrounding the north pole of Mars in this image collected by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRise) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The false-color image, part of a larger scene centered at 83.7 deg. N. Lat., shows the carbon dioxide frost that covers the polar cap at left. The frost is disappearing as the planet’s northern spring advances, and at the moment MRO passed overhead on Feb. 19, an avalanche of material had just plunged down the 60-deg.
