Peter Bolech has become CEO of Malta International Airport, which is managed by the Vienna International Airport Group. He was an executive at the Vienna airport.
Raytheon Aircraft Co. has completed live-fire weapons tests of its T-6A trainer at Eglin AFB, Fla. Rockets and machine guns were tested, according to the company. About 50 hr. were expended in the wind tunnel at the University of Washington to determine under-wing stores and separation characteristics, and data were used to refine computation fluid dynamics analyses, said David Riemer, vice president, Trainer Systems Div. He said the T-6A ``proved to be a very stable firing platform'' during the experiments.
Three of the nine U.S. major airlines, representing half of the passenger revenues, took defensive survival actions last week that strongly indicate the industry is transforming under new kinds of economic and social pressures in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL IS INSTALLING another 45 of its FlightViz debriefing systems in learning centers, bringing the total number of the computer-based devices operating in the field to 95. FlightViz software provides the simulator instructor with access to any part of a training session to display a real-time, animated presentation of the flight instruments, exterior view of the aircraft and horizontal flight-path mapping.
Alain Calemard has been named vice president-technical audit of France-based Turbomeca. He was vice president-engineering and has been succeeded by Jacques Brochet.
Austria's parliament has to schedule an extra debate on the recently announced purchase of 24 Eurofighters. More than 10% of all persons entitled to vote signed a petition against the buy. According to Austrian law, parliament is now forced to deal with the issue again. The Eurofighter purchase is expected to be a major campaign topic ahead of the upcoming national elections. While the ruling coalition is firmly committed to pushing the purchase through, Social Democrats and Greens sympathize with the counter-initiative.
The Ukrainian team investigating the Sukhoi Su-27UB crash on July 27 during an air show at Lviv air force base is focusing on pilot error (AW&ST Aug. 5, p. 32). Chief Investigator Eugeny Marchuk said ``the nature and reasons of the crash are known: The pilots violated the flight's objectives, going beyond prescribed flight zone limits.''
A new $30-million Astrotech commercial space facility is coming on line here to process large satellite payloads for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) missions starting with the Lockheed Martin Atlas V next week and the Boeing Delta IV in October. The first Atlas V is set for liftoff at 6:05 p.m. EDT on Aug. 21, carrying the Alcatel/Eutelsat Hot Bird 6 payload completing final integration at Astrotech (see cover).
Dire predictions by Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta notwithstanding, it turns out that the FAA believes it won't have to furlough its Air Traffic Services (ATS) personnel at the end of the summer travel season after all. Mineta warned Congress July 11 that the agency would have to furlough each of its 36,000 ATS employees for 5-8 days by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, if it didn't get the $100 million it sought in the Fiscal 2002 emergency supplemental appropriations bill. Congress coughed up $75 million (AW&ST July 29, p.
Michel Wachenheim has become director general of the DGAC French civil aviation authority. He succeeds Pierre Graff, who has become head of the French transport minister's cabinet.
Kevin D. Bell has been promoted to principal director of the Systems Engineering and Integration Directorate in the Missile Defense Div. from director of the Laser Applications Dept. in the Space Technology Directorate of The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, Calif. David S. Eccles has been promoted to principal director of the division's Battle Management Command and Control Directorate from senior project engineer in the Program Executive Office for Space Support Office. In the Military Satellite Communications (Milsatcom) Div., Charles L.
The Pentagon is to decide in the coming weeks what helicopter it would buy if the V-22 tiltrotor fails its test program or is simply deemed too expensive to buy, acquisition chief E.C. (Pete) Aldridge says. Candidates include Sikorsky's S-92 and CH-53X or the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland EH-101. If the V-22 is abandoned, Aldridge doesn't want to waste much time trying to find a replacement.
L-3 Communications and Triumph Group Inc. last week announced acquisitions that are expected to bolster core businesses within the two companies. L-3 purchased ComCept Inc., which specializes in network-centric warfare capabilities--including the development of requirements, modeling, simulation, communications and systems development and integration for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Air Force Office of Special Projects--also known as Big Safari--is among ComCept's major customers.
Japan's transport ministry has docked the pay of an air traffic controller instructor by 10% for one month for her part in mixing up flight numbers and giving incorrect instructions to two Japan Airlines jets that could have caused them to collide on Jan. 31, 2001 (AW&ST July 29, p. 52). The punishment included letters of reprimand to the trainee controller she was supervising and the supervising controller. Reprimands frequently affect future promotions and pay in Japan.
Continental Airlines has paid its ExpressJet regional affiliate more than $1.5 billion so far and will add at least $4.3 billion more through 2006 under the capacity-purchase agreement it negotiated with its former subsidiary. The terms were worked out as the Houston-based carrier prepared its former subsidiary for last spring's initial public offering. The pact has Continental buying all of ExpressJet's capacity under a base fee for each scheduled block hour designed to provide the regional carrier with an operating margin of about 10%. THE PRE-SEPT.
The Air Force has been trying for at least five years, without much success, to modernize its behemoth Standard Base Supply System (SBSS) and get it on the Web, and is giving it another go (AW&ST July 10, 2000, p. 23). The SBSS now runs on a Unisys 2200 Clearpath mainframe with a proprietary DMS-100 database and more than 1.4 million lines of Cobol. The scheme is to keep the Cobol to avoid a massive rewrite, but convert it to run under the Sun Solaris Unix operating system with an Oracle database and add the hooks to connect it to the Web.
In the Colorado Springs office, Marc J. Dinerstein has been promoted to principal director from senior project leader of the Space Missions Integration Office and Aerospace Modeling, Simulation and Analysis Applications Center Directorate of the Space Operations, Requirements and Applications Div. Also promoted in that division were R. Keith Duncan to principal director from systems director of the Operational Requirements and Planning Directorate, Kenneth W.
The Boeing Co. has established multiyear, collaborative research and development relationships with Cambridge, Cranfield and Sheffield Universities in the U.K. to work on a variety of advanced information, aeronautics and manufacturing technologies. At each of the institutions, Boeing has entered or will enter into a multimillion-dollar agreement to conduct research and other activities in areas of the different schools' specialties. Cambridge will focus on information technology, including intelligent systems and automated reasoning.
USAF Maj. Gen. Paul D. Nielsen, commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, has been selected to receive the Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Program Management of the Washington-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Nielsen was cited for contributions to the restructuring of the Milstar satellite program, his work as director of the plans for Norad and his leadership of the AFRL.
Low-cost airlines EasyJet and Go formally merged early in August following EasyJet's acquisition of Go in a $576.8-million deal. Go and EasyJet's operations are being consolidated under the EasyJet brand name. In related news from Europe, Finnair and American Airlines have received antitrust immunity from the U.S. Transportation Dept. Officials of the two carriers are studying how to further coordinate their networks.
In the wake of intense local opposition--including hostage-taking and days of rioting--Mexico has scrapped plans to build an airport near San Salvador Atenco northeast of the national capital. The facility was meant to replace Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport and would have been the nation's largest infrastructure project. But the site, in the region of Texcoco, included the community of San Salvador Atenco. Opposition to the project began almost as soon as federal officials announced it late last fall.
In the year since Gulfstream technicians began using a portable diagnostic kit on C-37 (Gulfstream V) aircraft used by the U.S. Air Force, the number of avionics components sent out for repair has dropped from about one a week to three or four a year. The product credited with that success is the ``Fly-Away Kit'' from DPI Labs.
The Defense Dept. acquisition chief, E.C. (Pete) Aldridge, last week said the Pentagon ``is finding no showstoppers'' in its review of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s proposed acquisition of TRW Inc., although he said ``there's a lot of concern'' about the detail. The only major Northrop competitor to voice opposition thus far is Lockheed Martin Corp., which remains worried that it could lose access to TRW's space business as a supplier.
