Frequent fliers have long decried the poor service and uncomfortable cabins to be found on most U.S. airlines. But many carriers are now planning major improvements—particularly on key transcontinental routes. Over the next few years, passengers will be seeing drastic changes to the inflight experience. Some airlines are purchasing entirely new sub-fleets and others are completely overhauling their interiors and products.
Juan Alvarez (see photo) has become director of special operation forces and Latin America business development for Commuter Air Technology of Oklahoma City.
An Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle lofted satellites for Inmarsat and India July 25, bringing the number of consecutive successful launches for the big European rocket to 56. At liftoff from Kourou, French Guiana, the vehicle was carrying 9,674 kg (21,282 lb.) of payload—8,710 kg for the two satellites, Alphasat and Insat-3D, and the remainder for the Astrium-built Sylda dual-launch system and related integration hardware.
The aerospace industry is taking small and large steps toward energy efficiency. Israel Aerospace Industries photo shows the company's TaxiBot, which can save more than 100 gal. of fuel by towing aircraft from ramp to runway and is about to begin testing with Lufthansa (see page 44). This week's special report on energy efficiency, which begins on page 40, explores such common sense approaches to saving on fuel along with the latest in new fuels and solar-powered flight.
Penton Media, a New York-based publisher of trade magazines and industry-specific websites, has signed an agreement to acquire McGraw Hill Financial's Aviation Week unit, the parent of Aviation Week & Space Technology. The all-cash deal is expected to close as early as Aug. 1. Financial terms were not disclosed. Aviation Week will join Penton's Aviation Group, whose brands include Air Transport World, Aircraft Bluebook, Air Charter Guide, Airportdata.com, AC-U-KWIK and SpeedNews. Aviation Week President Gregory Hamilton will head the combined entity.
Bill Sweetman used Manfred von Richthofen's aggressive attack philosophy in “Knife Fight” (AW&ST July 15, p. 15) to justify his argument that “USAF doctrine is headed in a different direction.” The U.S. Air Force air combat doctrine, developed in the post-Vietnam era, is based on the concept of gaining total situation awareness (SA) before attacking. Total SA for the blue forces and zero SA for the red forces—meaning you see the enemy first and deny him the advantage of seeing you. This is the reason for stealth, electronic warfare, jammers, etc.
Arik De has been appointed vice president-airline strategy for InterVistas, based in Vancouver and London, effective Aug. 19. He has been manager of the network planning team at WestJet.
The Royal Navy is investing heavily in a multi-mission capability for its future fleet of shipborne helicopters, but the service is paying the price in terms of shrinking fleets and greater demands on support services and training.
House Republicans are pushing a bill that would require the Transportation Security Administration to publish a “strategic multiyear technology investment plan,” as well as conduct a cost-benefit analysis for purchases and create an inventory tracking system. “For too long, TSA has struggled with efficiently testing, investing in and deploying new technology,” says House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is using his renomination by President Barack Obama for another two-year term as the nation's top military officer to warn Congress and the public of the dangers of long-term automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. Dempsey and the rest of the Pentagon want Congress and the White House to backload cuts under the 10-year timeframe of the 2011 Budget Control Act and to give the Defense Department more flexibility to meet any overall reduction.
Todd Hattaway has been appointed vice president-technical services for BBA Aviation's Flight Support Div., which provides ground support equipment maintenance and repair services for ASIG. He was sales director for Beechcraft Corp. for India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Most often, military technology is kept secret for the same reason that Mycroft Holmes cited when he enlisted his brother Sherlock's help in the little matter of the Bruce-Partington plans.
Of the many ways general aviation pilots use to measure and improve their performance, few are as instantly gratifying as the sight of a “bowling pin” on a cross-country flight. VOR (very-high frequency omnidirectional radio range) stations generally look like bowling pins, and crossing directly over one means that the pilot's navigation skills, at least for keeping the needle on the VOR instrument display in the vertical direction, are up to snuff.
France secured its two biggest export agreements in recent memory with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July, including an €800 million ($1.05 billion) sale of two high-resolution spy satellites built by EADS-Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. The satellites are small enough to launch on a European Vega rocket and are said to be similar to France's twin Pleiades spacecraft, putting the UAE in an elite club of nations cable of taking high-resolution images of sub-meter-sized objects from space.
Avic is broadening its general aviation portfolio with the acquisition of Thielert, a bankrupt German maker of diesel engines for aircraft—including a U.S. Army version of the General Atomics Predator.
Earth and the Moon show two sides in these parallel images, both collected July 19 by the Cassini and Messenger spacecraft. In the image at left, Cassini was 898 million mi. away when its wide-angle camera caught the Earth system floating below Saturn's main rings. Also visible are the F, G and E rings, the latter two overexposed to show up better. The rings' shadows can be seen as “breaks” in the planet's bright limb. At the highest resolution, the Moon shows up in the image as a bump on Earth's right side.
Tony Lefebvre has been named president/COO of the Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG), Orlando, Fla. He was COO of Spirit Airlines and had been an executive with US Airways.
This year, AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, recorded the highest passenger revenue for the second quarter in its history and logged a $357 million net profit, which is $262 million more than the same period last year. This appears to show forward momentum for the airline that hopes this quarter to merge with US Airways and emerge from Chapter 11 reorganization in what it touts as “one of the most effective major corporate restructurings ever.” To accomplish this, American must pass several crucial, impending milestones:
USAF Lt. Gen. Brooks L. Bash has been named vice commander of Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. He has been director for logistics for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog has been appointed assistant vice chief of staff and director of the Air Staff at the Pentagon. He has been commander of the Alaskan Command, U.S. Pacific Command/commander of the Eleventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces/commander of the Alaskan North American Defense Region, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Maj. Gen. Kurt F.
Boeing subsidiary Insitu is planning to launch the first U.S. commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) operation following receipt of FAA type certification for its ScanEagle on July 19. No details are available yet, but the operation is expected to be in the Arctic. Restricted-category type certifications for the 44-lb., gasoline-powered ScanEagle and the 13.4-lb., battery-powered AeroVironment Puma AE are the first to be issued by the FAA under Part 21.25 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.
