Since Gulfstream announced its new Center of Excellence for Advanced Vision Systems at the 2004 Farnborough Air Show, the business-jet manufacturer has been developing advanced vision-enhancing products that improve both pilot situational awareness and safety of flight. Working with NASA and a number of avionics manufacturers, Gulfstream’s Savannah-based Center of Excellence for Advanced Vision Systems has led the effort for the past decade in bringing new vision-enhancing products to market. On Sept. 14, 2001 , when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified the Gulfstream Enhanced Vision System (EVS), Gulfstream became the first business aircraft manufacturer to offer this new addition to the flight deck. EVS enables pilots to see terrain, runways and approaches that otherwise are undetectable by unaided sight. Using a specially-designed forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera, pilots can view an infrared, real-world image on the Head-Up Display (HUD).

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The Miles & More frequent flyer programme is getting even better: from October 1, SWISS customers will be able to redeem their miles for attractive products online in the new SWISS SHOP. The products offered include a wide range of items from top Swiss manufacturers and international brands. They also include the four different lines of the new SWISS travel baggage range, which is available exclusively at the SWISS SHOP. SWISS customers will be able to choose from some 250 attractive products in the new SWISS SHOP at www.swiss-shop.com from October 1. The initial product range is to be constantly expanded, too. The top-quality travel, lifestyle, sports, household and home electronics goods, along with various items from the fascinating world of aviation, can be purchased either with Swiss francs or with Miles & More miles. Once registered, SWISS SHOP customers will also receive regular newsletters with details of the latest innovations.

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GENEVA, 31 October 2007 – Over 450 executives from the world’s airports begin to gather in Buenos Aires this weekend ahead of the Airports Council International world annual assembly, 5 – 7 November. This year, the world assembly is being held in conjunction with the ACI Latin America and Caribbean annual regional conference. The conference is being hosted by Argentinean airport operator Aeropuertos Argentina 2000. An exhibition that runs alongside the conference showcases airport technologies. Airport CEOs, board members and senior managers will join other leaders from the aviation industry to discuss issues of importance for the industry.

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31 October 2007 - The first airport lounges in the world developed as a oneworld® alliance project open their doors tomorrow (Thursday 1 November) - at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas collaborated to design and develop the facility. It includes separate lounges for First and Business Class passengers flying with any of these carriers. The lounges will also be available to premium passengers flying with the alliance’s other two carriers operating from the terminal - Japan Airlines and LAN - and oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier frequent flyer cardholders from any oneworld member airline when flying on any of the alliance’s carriers. The other oneworld airline serving Los Angeles, American Airlines, operates from Terminal 4, adjacent to the Tom Bradley building, where it also offers lounge facilities.

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Brussels, Belgium – EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the safety of air navigation today officially released new guidelines to help States and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) identify and decide their contingency strategies and operational practices best suited to their needs in various circumstances. The States and ANSPs are primarily responsible in the event of failure and or disruption of their Air Navigation services. The Guidelines provide them with additional information and processes for contingency planning. They also describe the roles and responsibilities of the different bodies including the State, ANSP and airspace users, and set out the essential consultations that need to take place within the planning process.

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31 October 2007 - The International Space Exploration Conference 2007 (ISEC 2007) taking place in Berlin (D) from 8 to 9 November will welcome 500 high-level representatives of stakeholder groups from political institutions, the scientific community, industry and applied research organisations, public organisations and the general public. ISEC 2007 will be the platform to present the first draft of Europe’s long-term strategy for space exploration. The conference will be an opportunity for the political, industrial and scientific sectors to help shape Europe’s role in the future of human spaceflight and exploration. The strategy has been developed in close consultation with numerous key stakeholder groups and is a global project intended to contribute to wider societal development.

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The new features of Flight Simulator X make this a compelling platform for scripted missions. In March 2007, we launched the first title of our new Mission: Series featuring full-length, challenging flight adventures. Mission: Blackhawk has been a bestseller ever since. As a follow on, developers Ron Jeffers and Phil Castellanos have teamed up with Dave Eckert and Frank King to produce our second title in the series. Mission: Combat Force is sure to keep you rivited to your cockpit seat. Ron is well-known for his special effects, scenery design and audio skills. Phil has written many tutorials about making FSX missions. Dave and Frank have produced numerous aircraft for many of our prior add-ons. Together we have developed exciting new missions that take advantage of FSX’s new capabilities. For these missions, you’ll be piloting the A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as the “Warthog”.

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Italy has a fine seaplane heritage dating back to the earliest flights of water based aircraft. You only have to visit the fabulous Italian Air Force museum (Museo Storico) at the former seaplane base at Vigna di Valle on Lake Bracciano to see a fine collection of indigenous aquatic flying machines. The ‘Aero Club Como’ is based at Como on the southern lake shore of Lago di Como in Northern Italy and is the home of a variety of water based aircraft. The fantastic setting offers some stunning photography. I was able to take a couple of brief breaks from a family holiday to take these images. The whole area is very accessible offering some wonderful opportunities for photography. During my short times there I certainly did not explore every avenue, which could have included hiring a seaplane or boat. Instead I walked around the immediate area, to get shots of the frequent flying activity. The backdrops are fabulous, Lake Como is surrounded by steep sided mountains, with historic villages and towns scattered along its shoreline.

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Passengers and visitors to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport® can stay connected to home or office after the completion of a new Wi-Fi network. Lambert’s new Wi-Fi system is provided by Concourse Communications. Wi-Fi users can access service across a majority of areas in all terminal and concourses. The cost is $7.95 per day, charged upon connection (with access up to 24 continuous hours) for users who do not have a Wi-Fi subscription. Users who already have a wireless access subscription may access the Internet using their own provider accounts. Concourse Communications currently has Roaming Agreements with AT&T Wi-Fi, Boingo, iPass, T-Mobile, Go Remote and Orange France. The cost to the user will be in accordance with their specific subscription agreement.

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Reston, VA – September 28, 2007 – Era Corporation has been invited to participate in the International Cooperation on Airport Surveillance (ICAS) as an industry partner. The ICAS group brings together airports, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) and Eurocontrol to support the implementation, integration and exploitation of airport surveillance systems, covering all phases of ground movement, with an emphasis on Advanced-Surface Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS). Members of ICAS come from all over Europe and Russia to share best practices in areas of technology deployment, procedures and infrastructure constraints. What makes ICAS even more beneficial is the inclusion of regulatory authorities, research and development (R&D) firms and various other leading organizations in the industry, allowing members to collaborate and further expand the collective knowledge base of airport surveillance.

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Yesterday the European Space Agency’s Member States participating in the GMES Programme approved the transition to Phase-2 of Segment 1 of the GMES Space Component Programme. Oversubscription of the programme by the ESA Council at ministerial level in 2005 was confirmed, with oversubscription to phase 2 of 116%, giving a total amount of €500m. This additional contribution to the programme will allow ESA to confirm the development of the first three Sentinel satellites. Moreover, some countries, which were unable to confirm their contributions in time, are expected to subscribe later. The GMES Space Component Programme is co-funded by the European Commission.

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The Ares rockets that will take over for the space shuttle and carry humans to the moon are closer to lifting off from the drawing board. Designs and modifications are under way at Launch Pad 39B, the Launch Control Center and the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to accommodate the first test flight of an Ares I rocket in April 2009. At the same time, workers in Kennedy’s Assembly and Refurbishment Facility and Parachute Refurbishment Facility are working on the components for the first launch test.

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The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed that the C-27J is the best tactical transport aircraft both in terms of performances and of economy and financial offer. The GAO confirmed yesterday that the C-27J is the best value choice to fulfil the tactical transport requirement of the US Air Force and US Army. The GAO in fact denied the protest filed by Raytheon Company, Space and Airborne Systems, that offering the EADS CASA C.295 tried to challenge the contract signed by the Pentagon with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, as prime contractor of a team that include Alenia North America, an Alenia Aeronautica company and Boeing, to provide 78 units of the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft to the US armed forces.

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28 September 2007 - Rolls-Royce has signed a $700 million production contract with the Naval Air Systems Command to produce 370 AE 1107C-Liberty engines for the US Marine Corps’ MV-22 and the US Air Force’s CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The five-year contract coincides with the first combat deployment of MV-22 aircraft that took place this month. The production agreement includes engines for 148 aircraft plus 74 spares, for deliveries going forward to 2013. Dennis Jarvi, President Defense North America for Rolls-Royce, said: “This agreement represents another significant step in the development of this revolutionary aircraft. Rolls-Royce engines will provide the power, speed and range our customer requires to meet their mission.”

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28 September 2007 - Rolls-Royce is to team up with Air New Zealand and Boeing in flight evaluation of a renewable fuel source, as part of a wider research programme to understand renewable fuels and their potential future applications. The evaluation, due to take place in the second half of 2008, will use a bio fuel blended with kerosene. An announcement on the source and mix will be made closer to the time of the flight. The fuel will be used on a Boeing 747-400, owned by Air New Zealand and powered by four Rolls-Royce RB211-524s. Only one engine will use the derived fuel, the remaining engines will be driven by kerosene.

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Paris, 28 September 2007 – Thales has been selected by Belgocontrol to equip the Brussels international airport with a latest-generation EUROCAT control centre. Belgium occupies a central position in Europe’s most complex airspace region. With close to 80 controller positions, the new centre will provide a complete en-route and approach control capability for the airports of Brussels, Antwerp, Charleroi, Liège and Ostend. The new EUROCAT centre will enhance traffic safety and security, offering Belgocontrol controllers a complete set of latest-generation tools including an unprecedented system of safeguards for approach control. The high level of automation of routine tasks will enable controllers to focus on managing the air situation while coping with growing traffic volumes. Data will be visualised on a threescreen display according to the operational concept developed by the customer.

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The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has installed equipment donated by Airservices Australia in six aircraft to take advantage of the enhanced safety and operational benefits provided by new aircraft surveillance technology, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, announced today. Mr Vaile said the system, Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), enabled aircraft to be accurately tracked by air traffic controllers without the need for conventional radar.

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This image of Mount Vesuvius was captured by TopSat, a micro-satellite built and operated by a QinetiQ-led consortium of British firms. Mount Vesuvius is on the coast of the Bay of Naples, Italy and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. TopSat is a micro-satellite system that provides high resolution imaging of the Earth quickly and at low cost. The satellite is designed to return its data directly to a mobile ground station immediately after collecting an image, allowing far more timely delivery of the information which it collects than standard satellites. The system is specifically designed to meet operational timescales, whether for disaster relief, news-gathering, or other applications where speed of response is vital.

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ST. LOUIS, Sept. 28, 2007 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] successfully flew its A160T Hummingbird unmanned rotorcraft Sept. 26 for eight hours while carrying a 1,000-pound payload. During its longest flight to date and the program’s 42nd flight overall, the aircraft reached an altitude of 5,000 feet near Victorville, Calif. The half-ton payload simulated the delivery of critical supplies to the battlefield. Future payloads will include a combination of sensors, weapons and systems to perform a variety of missions.

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SEATTLE, Sept. 28, 2007 — Boeing [NYSE: BA], Air New Zealand and Rolls-Royce today announced a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight designed to help accelerate the development of viable and sustainable alternative fuels for commercial aviation uses. Boeing is exploring second-generation biofuel feed stocks and processes that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gases throughout their entire lifecycle. The demonstration flight is planned for the second half of 2008 using an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 equipped with Rolls-Royce engines. Boeing is in discussions with fuel-source providers around the globe to identify potential biofuels that are available in suitable quantities for laboratory and jet-engine performance testing and in compliance with stringent aviation requirements. Additional details will be announced closer to the actual demonstration flight date.

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Geneva—The International Air Transport Association (IATA) applauded the comprehensive strategy for aviation and climate change agreed at the Triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), subject to confirmation by today’s Plenary. At the same time, IATA expressed deep disappointment in Europe’s failure to accept a global approach to emissions trading, based on mutual consent. ICAO strategy reflects IATA’s approach. “All 190 ICAO contracting states have re-affirmed ICAO’s leadership on aviation and environment by endorsing a comprehensive strategy on climate change, and embraced IATA’s 25% goal to improve fuel efficiency by 2020,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA Director General and CEO. “We are encouraged by governments’ support for IATA’s four pillar approach as the way forward—invest in new technology; build and use efficient infrastructure; operate aircraft effectively; and once we have made solid progress on these three, we can look with governments at economic measures,” said Bisignani.

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2007) — Dr. Wanda M. Austin, senior vice president of The Aerospace Corporation’s National Systems Group, has been inducted into the WITI (Women in Technology International) Hall of Fame. Austin, who has been selected to succeed Dr. William F. Ballhaus Jr. as president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation on January 1, 2008, upon his retirement from the company, was inducted into the Hall of Fame on September 27 along with three other women who have distinguished themselves in the areas of science and technology. The other inductees were Lucy Sanders, CEO and cofounder of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, Helen Greiner, cofounder and chairman of iRobot Corp., and Padmasree Warrior, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Motorola, Inc.

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AgustaWestland is pleased to announce that Synergy Aerospace, a division of Synergy Group, has signed a contract for twelve more helicopters including AW109 Power, Grand and AW139 models. This latest contract is part of the framework of the multi-year contract and distribution agreement signed in July 2006 which agreed the acquisition of 56 helicopters. This latest order is additional to the eighteen helicopters already ordered by Synergy Aerospace. The helicopters will be used primarily for VIP/Corporate and offshore transport and will be produced at AgustaWestland’s production facilities in Philadelphia, USA and Vergiate, Italy. “Our alliance with Synergy Aerospace has further strengthened AgustaWestland’s presence in the Brazilian market”, said Renzo Lunardi, Senior Vice President Commercial Business Unit, AgustaWestland. “This purchase, which follows the one signed last March ensures that future operators of AgustaWestland helicopters in Brazil will receive attractive delivery positions and a level of service that is second-to-none.”

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Paignton, UK (Sept 20th, 2007) – Spirent Communications, the leading global provider of navigation and positioning test systems, announces improvements to customer support capabilities across the world. In Asia, Spirent has added dedicated support facility for its Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) test systems, based out of the existing Spirent offices in Beijing, P. R. China. This new facility enhances Spirent’s existing support offices in USA and Europe. Spirent’s GNSS customers now benefit from a dedicated and highly skilled team of support personnel offering a local in-time-zone support capability globally. The new support facility provides technical support for customers across Asia as well as a local calibration and repair services.

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Alexandria, Va., September 27, 2007- The deadline for the “Salute to Excellence” nominations is only 5 days away. These awards recognize all winners during HELI-EXPO 2008 in Houston, Texas. Every year HAI presents 13 “Salute to Excellence” awards recognizing the outstanding achievement and contributions companies and individuals have made to advance the international helicopter community. HAI encourages both members and nonmembers to submit a nomination form. By acknowledging the exceptional merit of an individual or organization, HAI’s “Salute to Excellence” celebration encourages continued achievement in attaining the highest standards of professionalism in the helicopter industry.

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