N.O. passenger count dips

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The number of passengers going through the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport dropped a bit in February. The airport reported 618,201 passengers boarded and left flights in February, down from 620,814 in February 2009. For the first two months of the year, traffic is down 1.5 percent over the first two months of 2009. (Source: AP via Times-Picayune, 04/16/10)

Victims of Navy plane crash identified

The four people aboard a Navy T-39N Sabreliner that crashed in a wooded area north of Atlanta Monday have been identified. They are retired Lt. Cmdr. Charles McDaniel, 67, of Cantonment, Fla., Marine Capt. Jason Paynter, 38, of Pensacola, Fla., Marine 1st Lt. Shawn Nice, 26, of Levittown, Pa., and Navy Ensign Zachary Eckhart, 25, of Orefield, Pa. They were on a routine training mission and assigned to Training Squadron 86 at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The cause of the crash is under investigation. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 04/15/10)

Fire Scout returns from deployment

MAYPORT, Fla. - The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter returned from its first operational deployment today. The UAV was embarked aboard USS McInerney during its recent six-month deployment to the U.S. Southern Command Area of Responsibility. Fire Scout can reach speeds of up to 85 knots, altitudes of 20,000 feet and fly for more than six hours on one tank of fuel. Fire Scout was kept up and running by Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light 42 Det. 7, who served as McInerney's air support. According to Lt. Tobias Walters of HSL-42 Det. 7, Fire Scout did well during its first deployment. He called it a technology that will integrate well with today's Navy. Among other things, the Fire Scout was used in drug bust. (Source: NNS, 04/15/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Stennis awards construction contract

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA's Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to M&D Mechanical Contractors, Inc. of Decatur, Ala., to provide general construction services at the center. The contract value is not to exceed $25 million. The contract is for five years, with no option periods. General construction activities performed under this contract will include maintenance, repair, alteration, civil, mechanical, piping and structural steel fabrication and erection and electrical work at Stennis. (Source: NASA, 04/12/10)

Gilbrech now SSC deputy director

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - Rick Gilbrech is now deputy director of John C. Stennis Space Center, the agency’s primary testing ground for rocket engines and propulsion systems, and its systems engineering center for applied science activities. The appointment of Gilbrech, who has served as the center's associate director, was effective immediately. Gilbrech began his NASA career at Stennis in 1991 and is the former director. He was associate administrator for the exploration systems mission directorate, retired, then returned to NASA and was named associate director at SSC before being named deputy director. (Source: NASA, 04/12/10)

Search continues for crash cause

A day after a Navy training jet crashed in rural Georgia, crews were searching the woods for clues to determine the cause. Navy officials said four people were in the T-39N Sabreliner when it crashed Monday into a wooded area two hours north of Atlanta. The aircraft was assigned to Training Air Wing Six at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Fla., and was flying a routine training mission. All four crew members are believed to have died in the crash. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 04/14/10)

Contracts: Northrop Grumman, $10M

Northrop Grumman System Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded a $9,999,999 contract which will provide for additional long-lead funding of two Global Hawk Block 30M systems and two Global Hawk Block 40 systems. 303 AESG/SYK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/13/10) Gulf Coast note: Global Hawks are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Fire Scout scores its first drug bust

EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN - A Fire Scout unmanned helicopter in a routine flight supported its first drug interdiction with the USS McInerney and a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment this past weekend. A test was being conducted on one of the ship's two Fire Scouts when the UAV acquired a suspected narcotics "go-fast" on radar. The mission payload operator received permission to pursue. Over three hours, Fire Scout monitored the go-fast with its state-of-the-art optics. Due to its small profile, Fire Scout maintained a covert posture while feeding real-time video back to McInerney. Fire Scout captured video of the "go-fast" meeting with a fishing vessel. McInerney and its Coast Guard detachment moved in and seized about 60 kilos of cocaine and caused the suspects to allegedly jettison another 200 kilos of narcotics. (Source: NNS, 04/07/10) Gulf Coast note: Fire Scouts are built in part in Moss Point, Miss.

Eglin air show this weekend

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will headline the 75th Anniversary Eglin Air Force Base Air Show April 10-11. Gates open at 9 a.m. to the general public and it's free for anyone attending this event. The gates will close to the general public at 3 p.m. In addition to the air performances there will be a wide range of static displays. (Source: Eglin Air Force Base, 04/05/10)

Contract: McDonnell Douglas, $10.3M

McDonnell Douglas Corp., St. Louis, Mo., was awarded a $10,264,377 contract which provided for the purchase of 89 carriage load crew trainers and 356 weapons load crew trainers to support F-16 Block 40/50, F-35, and F-22 integrations and training requirements. 681 ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/06/10)

Drone recovered by fisherman

A BQM-167 drone out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., was recovered by a fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico. The drone had been lost March 10 due to an engine flame-out during a routine training exercise. The drone, found in the Tampa area, belongs to the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron, a tenant unit at Tyndall. (Source: Northwest Florida Daily News, 04/06/10)

Star Aviation wins contract

MOBILE, Ala. - Star Aviation said it won a contract to help install wireless Internet systems on 105 planes owned by Alaska Airlines. Star, which has about 100 employees between its Brookley Field Industrial Complex headquarters and an office in Everett, Wash., will design and make wiring harnesses and the racks to hold them. The work is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 04/06/10)

Contract: Gulf Power, $5.6M

Gulf Power Co., Pensacola, Fla., was awarded a $5,586,210 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of Freedom Way substation and transmission line extension, Hurlburt Field, Fla. Work is to be performed in Hurlburt Field. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District, Mobile, Ala., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/05/10)

Science center signing ceremony set

GULFPORT, Miss. - A signing ceremony for the contract to build a 72,000 square foot state-of-the-art science center near NASA's Stennis Space Center will be held Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Hancock Bank Board Room in downtown Gulfport. Roy Anderson Corp. will start construction May 1. The center to be located along Interstate 10 near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line is expected to be a big tourist draw. Infinity is designed to highlight the activities at Stennis Space Center and inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers in the fields of earth, ocean and space science. (Source: Infinity Science Center Inc., 04/05/10)

F-35 training remains on track

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Despite recent problems with the F-35 cost and development schedule, establishment of a training pipeline for pilots and maintainers for the Joint Strike Fighter remains on track. Navy Capt. Mike Saunders, deputy commander of the 33rd Operations Group at Eglin, told Navy Times the plan is to be ready with the first jet arrives. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps plan to begin flying the F-35 within the next two years. The first simulators arrived in late March. The Marine Corps' training squadron, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, stood up Friday. The Air Force created the 58th Fighter Squadron last year. The Navy's Strike Fighter Squadron 101 will stand up next year. (Source: Navy Times, 04/05/10)

MSU hosts UAV conference

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University this week will host a two-day national symposium on unmanned aircraft systems. Titled "Academic Opportunities: Developing the Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Remotely Piloted Aircraft," it's designed to identify research opportunities in the growing UAV field, including airspace integration, autonomy, swarming, signal processing and sense and avoid. The invitation-only symposium begins Wednesday at Hunter Henry Center with keynote speaker Lt. Gen. David Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The gathering brings together some 200 military, government and academic leaders to help update the Air Force's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan for 2009-47. (Source: MSU, 03/23/10 ) Gulf Coast note: MSU is in the state's Golden Triangle, home to a cluster of aerospace companies, including those involved in UAVs. South Mississippi, home to Stennis Space Center, is the state's other aerospace hotspot, with portions of Northrop Grumman Global Hawk and Fire Scout UAVs built in Moss Point.

Keesler chief assigned to Space Command

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. - Brig. Gen. Ian R. Dickinson, commander of the 81st Training Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, will be the new communications director and chief information officer for the Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Dickinson will replace Brig. Gen. David B. Warner, who retires July 1. Dickinson's replacement at Keesler has not been announced. (Sources: AP via cbs4denver, WLOX-TV, Keesler, 04/04/10)

Contract: Raytheon, $13.5M

Raytheon Co., Tuscon, Ariz., was awarded a $13,542,075 contract which provides support for four months of AMRAAM system engineering and program management due to delay of Lot 24. 695ARSS/PK, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 04/02/10)

Marine unit reactivated for F-35 duties

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 451 was reactivated this week after a 13-year absence to train Marines to pilot F-35 fighters. The ceremony was at the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The unit, first activated in 1944, is being redesignated Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501. It will train at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., which will be used by all the services for initial training in the F-35. The Marines will use the short-takeoff, vertical landing variant of the Lockheed Martin-built plane. (Source: Pensacola News Journal, 04/02/10)

Gulfport gets new flights

GULFPORT, Miss. - A new air service between Gulfport and Branson, Mo., will get underway beginning May 17. Startup airline Branson Air Express will use 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional planes operated under charter by ExpressJet Airlines Inc. Flights will be on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Connecting flights will be available to Houston and Austin, Texas. (Source: Sun Herald, Mississippi Press, 04/01/10)