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Aviation History
2004
2004-04 - 0006.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRUSSELS Eurocontrol near to airspace deal CEATS project receives a boost as fifth central European country prepares to swing majority by ratifying agreement Eurocontrol has drawn up a revised egate air traffic control service pro- schedule for launching the long- vision for upper airspace in the delayed joint upper airspace con- region to Eurocontrol was signed trol unit for central Europe and by Austria, Croatia, the Czech insists the project can overcome its Republic, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia final political hurdle. and Slovenia in 1999 and was orig- The Central European Air Traffic inally scheduled to become opera- Services (CEATS) agreement to del- tional by 2007. AIR TRANSPORT Military compromise reached European transport ministers have reached a compromise with the European Parliament over military use of airspace. The controversial issue had been delaying the implementation of the Single European Sky (SES). Ministers have now dropped their opposition to the plan after agreeing that the SES proposal will not define the mechanism through which airspace will be shared. Instead the new draft obliges European Union countries to improve civil-military co-operation and harmonise air traffic management between their respective armed forces. The European Council and parliament had also previously disagreed on the definition of airspace blocks and the role of Eurocontrol. However, sev eral countries have now agreed to allow their airspace to be reconfigured irrespective of national borders. The Council has now accepted parliament's proposal that these blocks should be defined by Eurocontrol. Finally, a mechanism for resolving disputes between member states has been agreed, with the European Commission now acting as a mediator through the SES Committee. An industry consultation body is to be estab lished to draw technical expertise from all stakeholders. The bill's sponsor, Marieke Sanders-ten Holte, says members of the par liament were surprised that a compromise has been reached. BUSINESS AVIATION GUY NORRIS / LOS ANGELES Eclipse replaces BAE as s Avio system supplier Eclipse Aviation has named another six suppliers to its Avio systems team, replacing BAE Systems on the Eclipse 500 as it prepares for the start of assembly of the first batch of conforming aircraft in May. The six suppliers join Avio part ners Avidyne and General Dyn amics and replace components pre viously contracted to BAE Systems, which was forced out of the Eclipse effort in late 2003. "We have a pretty demanding programme and BAE Systems was unable to meet its commitments," says Albuquerque, New Mexico- based Eclipse, which developed the Avio concept to handle high levels of integration in the power, control and monitoring systems. The new companies include Hispano-Suiza Canada, which will supply the full authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the air craft's Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW610F turbofans, and Meggitt Avionics, which will sup ply the digital autopilot. Others include Autronics, a Curtiss-Wright company that will make the aircraft computer system, and Crossbow Technology, which will provide the attitude and heading reference system. FreeFlight Systems will supply the global positioning system receiver from the product range acquired with its 2001 acquisition of the Business and Commuter Aircraft navigation systems busi ness of Trimble Navigation. Harco Laboratories, which is already sup plying the Eclipse 500's pitot and static system, will also now provide However the programme has been delayed due to the failure of a majority of member states to ratify the agreement. To date, only Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia have ratified the plan and in 2001 Bosnia- Herzegovina signed the agreement, bringing the total to eight mem bers, requiring five ratifications. Eurocontrol CEATS director and programme manager Guido Kerkhofs says he expects a fifth rat ification by the end of the second quarter, and has drawn up a provi sional timetable. "We are working very hard with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia to progress parliamen tary approval in the next couple of months," he says. Eurocontrol expects ratifications from Croatia and Italy by the end of the year. The Eurocontrol air traffic man agement agency will operate the upper air space control centre on behalf of the eight states, in a simi lar arrangement to the devolved Maastricht upper airspace control centre in the Netherlands. The organisation will complete the definition phase for the centre the aircraft's air data computer. Eclipse expects to start "loading" the first assembly tools in March in readiness for the start of production in May. The first conforming aircraft is scheduled to fly towards the end of 2004 to begin what is likely to be by the end of June and will publish a revised timetable following a crit ical planning review. "In 2001 we foresaw six years to start opera tions; obviously now that we are in 2004, the 2007 deadline is no longer feasible," says Kerkhofs. Eurocontrol is to propose a transi tion period not proscribed in origi nal plans, with the transfer of sec tor groups phased in gradually during low traffic periods, says Kerkhofs. It could take around three years, he adds. Eurocontrol is waiting for CEATS to gain full legal status before issu ing invitations to tender for the pro gramme's systems as well as finalis ing personnel requirements. The CEATS upper area control centre is to be located in Vienna, Austria and construction can only start once the fifth ratification is received, with expected completion by 2007. Eurocontrol will recruit staff from CEATS nations and has held brief ings with controllers' organisations in a bid to avert further industrial action after Italian ATC staff threatened to strike (Flight International, 17-23 June 2003). a 3,500h test programme. This will include three certification aircraft, two static/fatigue airframes and two additional "beta" aircraft that will each accumulate up to l,000h of operations before the first customer delivery. Six more suppliers have joined the Eclipse 500 team following BAE pull-out 4 3-9 FEBRUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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