Final approval for the sale of the Storm Shadow cruise missile to Saudi Arabia will likely rest with the British prime minister, possibly in the face of opposition from Washington.
BMI handed in a strong set of year-end results last week with pre-tax profit up 197% on a increase in turnover of 4.2%. Operating profit for 2006 rose by 85.5% to £10.2 million ($20.3 million) on a turnover of £904.5 million. There continues to be considerable interest in the future ownership of the airline, in which Michael Bishop holds slightly more than 50%. The carrier is looking to acquire additional Airbus A330s to begin services to the U.S. from London Heathrow Airport.
Producers of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (Ebace), May 22-24 event in Geneva, say they are on target to set records for number of exhibitors and for aircraft on static display. Last year they logged 292 exhibitors, 52 airplanes and four helicopters. This year, more than 340 exhibitors have signed up and the static display area is sold out. Ebace is the only show in Europe that focuses exclusively on business aviation.
Norwegian Air Shuttle will become 100% owner of Finnair's FlyNordic Swedish arm, in an arrangement that could see the Finnish carrier receive a 10% stake in Norwegian. If the deal passes regulatory muster, Finnair will hold a 5% stake in Norwegian (10% if stock options are exercised by the end of 2008, when they expire). The price for options is set at 115-Norwegian kroner ($19.25). The deal also covers Norwegian Air Shuttle serving as a feeder for Finnair, to help that airline boost its long-haul traffic, particularly to Asia.
MD Helicopters plans to ship 43 aircraft this year followed by 85 in 2008, according to CEO Lynn Tilton. She says the company is not for sale and is achieving operational improvements as well as improving customer support and response to aircraft-on-ground calls.
The British government, industry and academia are setting up a Center for Earth Observation Instrumentation. One of its aims will be to help the U.K. to secure contracts for space instrumentation applications such as environmental monitoring and climate change research.
Walter M. (Wally) Schirra, one of NASA's original astronauts and the only one to have flown in space on board Mercury, Gemini and Apollo vehicles, died May 2 at a hospital in La Jolla, Calif. He was 84. His family said he died of natural causes. The photo shows Schirra in 1962 in his Mercury pressure suit with a model of the capsule behind him.
Amos Weizman (see photo) has become president/CEO of Tadiran Communications, Petach Tikva, Israel, and chairman of its subsidiaries, Telefunken of Germany and Talla-Com of the U.S. He succeeds Hezi Chermoni, who has retired. Weizman was vice president/general manager of the Tactical Radio Div.
F-22 Raptors operating from Okinawa took part in their first joint military training with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force on Apr. 27. The exercise involved four Japanese F-4s and F-15s, with two U.S. F-22s and two F-15s. Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma says the exercise had no connection with Japan's hopes of buying F-22s.
With several low-cost carriers' plans for long-haul operations budding this spring, it is an opportune time to ask the key question: Will we see a completely new economic model for airlines in the next few years? The low-cost carriers (a.k.a. low-fare players) are growing more rapidly than legacy airlines, especially in Europe and the Pacific Rim. However, they suffer seriously from high fuel prices and, in some regions, slow economic growth.
Jim Gallagher has been appointed program director for the Aircraft Health and Trend-Monitoring System and John Tigue compliance administrator within the Designated Certification Office of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. Gallagher was entry-into-service director for the Gulfstream IV/IV-SP, G350 and G450. Tigue was manager of airworthiness and certification.
SEVERAL AVIONICS COMPANIES ARE SELLING Class 2 electronic flight bags (EFBs) for airline aircraft, and their popularity is likely to grow because they are priced at one-tenth of what a hard-wired Class 3 system costs. A Class 2 EFB is a portable unit that fits into a docking station on the flight deck, unlike the permanently installed Class 3 versions that can cost $100,000 or more per aircraft. The navAero "t-Bag C2 2," for example, has a starting price of $7,995, and Mercury Computer Systems' new CIS-2200 starts at $9,999.
Keith Markley has been promoted to president/CEO from chief operating offficer of Liberty Aerospace, Melbourne, Fla. He succeeds Anthony Tiarks, who remains on the board of directors.
The article "Flights of Fancy" (AW&ST Apr. 9, p. 36) forgot to mention the unique aerodynamics of the Smartfish. This blended wing-fuselage design features a conventional tail that provides some highly attractive features. Its docile handling char- acteristics over an extreme angle-of-attack range permits both efficient transonic cruise (with an L/D>13) and low landing speeds without use of high-lift devices.
Business and leisure travel demand is driving Japan Airlines to boost services on routes to China and Vietnam. Starting May 31, JAL will add two Tokyo Narita-Guangzhou roundtrips for 13 flights weekly. On June 2, it will increase frequencies between Tokyo-Narita and Beijing by five, to 19 flights weekly, as well as offer daily Nagoya-Tianjin service, up from five weekly. Early next month, JAL will add a sixth weekly flight between Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo.
The Homeland Security Dept. is testing technologies and procedures to find the best ways to secure air cargo carried in the belly of passenger aircraft, but the Government Accountability Office says the department still needs to develop a risk-based strategy for air cargo arriving from overseas. The GAO also says the department's Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection need to communicate better with each other, and analyze security practices of the air cargo industry and foreign governments because they might learn something new.
Chicago's Midway Airport is moving nine explosives detection systems from the lobby ticketing area and networking them with conveyor belts to create an in-line baggage screening system/ticket counter link. The Transportation Security Administration provided hardware and staffing for the $42-million project, according to the city's Aviation Dept.
Although the first aircraft has yet to be delivered, Dassault Aviation management is planning to expand production of its very-long-range Falcon 7X corporate jet to keep up with strong demand.
THE EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY has certified Universal Avionics' Vision 1 synthetic vision system (SVS). It enhances situational awareness in the cockpit by showing pilots the path of the aircraft over a 3D model of terrain ahead regardless of the weather. Vision 1 is certified by the FAA for use on Part 25 transports such as the Boeing 737. The launch customer is Airwork New Zealand in Auckland, which is installing Vision 1 on its 737 freighters. The system is also certified in the U.S. for use on smaller Part 23 aircraft (AW&ST Jan. 29, p. 58).
The NTSB has determined "pilots' inadequate planning, judgment and airmanship" during performance of a turn maneuver as probable cause of the Oct. 11, 2006, accident that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.
Delta Air Lines ended its bankruptcy reorganization on Apr. 30 with a prediction from Gerald Grinstein, soon to be its former CEO, that it will be "a fierce competitor in a tough industry."
David A. Carlson's letter (AW&ST Mar. 12, p. 6) misses a very key point in the heated tanker competition. It's not how much fuel and cargo one airframe can carry. If that were the case, the U.S. Air Force would be looking at Boeing 747s or Airbus A380s. Those aircraft can carry much more fuel than any other airframe.
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport's "end-around" Taxiway Victor was completed Apr. 26 as the latest installment of the airport's $6-billion improvement program. The $42-million taxiway will speed 700 aircraft arriving each day on Runway 8L/26R in getting to their gates without having to cross the nearby parallel Runway 8R/26L, used predominantly for takeoffs. This 4,200-ft.-long, end-around taxiway is on the approach side of Runway 8R and dips 30 ft. below the level of that runway.
