David Stewart and Kevin Michaels have become principals of AeroStrategy Ltd., with offices in Buckinghamshire, England, and Ann Arbor, Mich. Stewart was a partner in Mercer Management Consulting and Michaels was director of strategic development at Rockwell Collins.
Derek Kerr has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-financial planning and analysis and Larry LeSueur to vice president from senior director of Phoenix hub operations for America West Airlines. Joette Schmidt was appointed vice president-customers and inflight services and Mark West vice president-purchasing. Schmidt was vice president-customers and West senior director of corporate purchasing.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES researchers are proposing a novel antenna for interplanetary spacecraft that would use solar sails as communication antennas, as well as for propulsion. As a substitute for chemical propulsion, 100-meter-dia. solar sails could cut the weight for a payload to Mars to 48 kg. from 110 kg., and deliver a micro-spacecraft in 725 days. Further savings are possible using a Fresnel lens antenna embedded in the solar sail structure to replace conventional parabolic communication antennas.
Joyce E. Tucker has been named vice president-global diversity for Chicago-based Boeing. She was president of Tucker Spearman&Associates and has been a member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
William Lawler, vice president/general manager of strategic operations and planning for Boeing Military Aircraft and Missile Systems in St. Louis, has been inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. He holds degrees from the University of Alabama and Alabama A&M University. Lawler was cited for his work at both Boeing and what is now the Northrop Grumman Corp.
Matthew J. Mulherin has been promoted to sector vice president from program director of the Newport News, Va.-based CVNX program of the Northrop Grumman Corp.
The Eurofighter partners are beginning to consider including an engine upgrade as part of the second major production run of the four-nation combat aircraft program, starting in 2006. An improved version of the EJ200 turbofan could be delivered as part of the second batch of aircraft deliveries, known as tranche 2. Proposals are being considered at Defense Ministry level, with initial work already underway among the Eurojet partner companies on developing an enhanced EJ200.
A Navy plan to slash fighter procurement is causing unease in the U.S. and abroad, and raises questions about the continued viability of the short takeoff/vertical landing (Stovl) version of the Joint Strike Fighter.
IN SIMULATION STUDIES, researchers at the University of Dayton were able to obtain accurate estimates of the angle of arrival (AOA) of an unknown source from a single-aperture multimode antenna, in the presence of jamming signals. Individual multimode antennas, such as the N-arm spiral, have previously been effective in determining an accurate AOA using either classic phase comparison or newer parameter estimation techniques, such as the maximum likelihood method or multiple signal classification (Music), but not when jamming is present.
Eurocopter has decided to initiate judicial proceedings against the Irish government for choosing the Sikorsky S-92 over its EC 725 Cougar Mk 2+ to meet a search and rescue requirement. The specter of a legal challenge has hung over the decision ever since the order for three aircraft and two options was announced earlier this year (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 23). The European manufacturer asserts that the selection process was flawed, and has been seeking an injunction to obtain bid documents and prevent conclusion of a contract.
CR Airways has been issued the first operator's certificate for helicopter services between Hong Kong and mainland China. The company plans to establish a fleet of 4-6 aircraft flying from Hong Kong Island to cities throughout the Pearl River Delta. Two other helicopter operators already fly from the island--Helicopters Hong Kong serves Macau, and Heliservices provides sightseeing flights.
Pratt&Whitney and Lockheed Martin are studying a ``data anomaly'' concerning the chamber pressure in one of the RL10 engines that was used in the upper stage of the ILS Atlas IIA that launched the TDRS-I spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in early March. The pressure in one engine was slightly high. The investigation centers on whether the data themselves were caused by a bad sensor, meaning there was no problem, or whether a thrust control valve or other hardware problem caused the higher pressure.
Corey S. Moore has been named vice president/manager of F/A-18 programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector, El Segundo, Calif. He succeeds Steven R. Briggs, who has become vice president/deputy of the sector's Air Combat Systems. Moore was deputy manager for F/A-18 programs.
Doubt continues to cast long shadows on the National Transportation Safety Board's recent determination that deliberate action by copilot Gameel el-Batouty was the probable cause of the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. Days after the board's Mar. 21 release of its final report on the Oct. 31, 1999, crash, Egyptian chief investigator Mohsen el-Messiri publicly slammed the board's findings and declared that Egypt will conduct its own investigation. The crash killed 217 people.
Conrad Clifford has been appointed commercial director of the England-based Menzies Aviation Group. He was director of commercial planning at Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Pedro Arguelles Salaverria has become vice president-international relations for Boeing-Spain. He was an executive with the Spanish airport and air traffic control authority Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegacion Aerea.
The shuttle Atlantis is set for liftoff Apr. 4 on a $1-billion flight carrying the first section of the International Space Station's 300-ft. truss and the robotic transporter system that will be used to install further truss sections, along with the rest of the station's massive solar array wings. The 44 X 15-ft. Boeing ``S-Zero'' truss also carries key avionics and electrical systems essential for installation of the Italian Node 2 module and the European and Japanese laboratory modules.
Proponents of developing a reusable military spaceplane aren't getting a lot of encouragement from top Air Force space officials these days. Peter B. Teets, Air Force undersecretary and director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said a military spaceplane is ``definitely in the cards, but the question is: How far out?'' The service and NASA are studying development of a military/civil reusable launch vehicle to replace the space shuttle, although Teets noted that a manned RLV is probably not a high priority for the Air Force. Lt. Gen. Roger G.
To the Chinese, the dragon is a sign of good luck and good fortune. Certainly, China appears to be bringing Dragonair good luck and fortune. The Hong Kong-based carrier, long known for its China connections, is increasing services to 14 of the 17 destinations in its summer schedule. Business stops take top billing. Shanghai will have the biggest increase--up eight flights a week to a total of 56; Beijing will jump to 42 from 37 and Xiamen to 11 from seven. Tourism is providing another boost for destinations such as Guilin, Kunming and Dalian.
Boeing Ceska is considering reducing its shareholding in Aero Vodochody. The joint venture between Boeing and CSA Czech Airlines currently owns 35% of the Czech aircraft manufacturer. Ongoing discussions follow sharp criticism of Boeing Ceska's allegedly poor management performance and disagreement over a BAE Systems/Saab Aircraft proposal to buy into the aircraft company.
The rudder of an American Airlines Airbus A300-600 approaching Miami on May 11, 1999, went wild, surprising the crew and forcing a wobbly go-around. They were able to get Flight 916 under control and land successfully. The cause was a combination of autopilot problems--a malfunction plus a miswiring by maintenance workers. But the frightening thing was, the problem occurred when the autopilot was turned off. Try figuring that out while flying the airplane.
Airline equities have pulled back 10-20% from their recent highs--a correction some Wall Street analysts welcome inasmuch as they thought the stocks were getting ahead of industry fundamentals. The sell-off is reflected in Aviation Week's Airline 25 index. The question is how investors will likely respond when carriers begin reporting their first-quarter financials and a clearer picture emerges of how much red ink the industry is likely to have hemorrhaged for the three-month period.
Qantas is rearranging its Latin American connections. Starting July 1, Qantas will code-share with Oneworld partner Lan Chile on thrice-weekly services from Sydney to Santiago, which operate via Auckland, New Zealand. The Santiago flights will replace Qantas' flights to Buenos Aires. Qantas attributed the drop in Argentina-Australia travel to Argentina's political and economic turmoil.
Dee Howard Aircraft Maintenance, which filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules in February, could be sold as early as Apr. 18 to the highest bidder. Jim Malone, managing director of Bridge Associates and acting CEO of Dee Howard, said the filing was necessary because of the company's zero earnings and a negative cash flow that had been ``going on for months with no end in sight.'' He said, however, the ``doors remain open,'' and contract maintenance work is continuing. San Antonio-based Dee Howard was ``hit especially hard'' by the weak U.S.
