Boeing is considering shifting more tail work on its 777 to its Hawker de Havilland business unit in Australia. The unit, which includes the former AeroSpace Technologies of Australia, already makes the 777 composite rudders and elevators. It is now proposing to add more subcomponents of the aircraft's tail assembly to the Hawker de Havilland manifest. The proposal is the result of last year's decision to close down process assembly work at its Auburn factory near Seattle in favor of a consolidated assembly process.
A high-definition television camera and related equipment set for launch to the International Space Station this week on board the space shuttle Discovery will be the first commercial hardware orbited under a new NASA program. Its aim is to defray the cost of ISS operations by farming out some aspects to private business.
Chris Chiames has become managing director and Matt Triaca manager of the Aviation, Transportation and Tourism Group of Burson-Marsteller in Washington. Chiames was managing director of public relations for American Airlines, while Triaca was media relations manager of United Airlines.
The Jason 1 satellite has arrived at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., for final launch preparations leading to liftoff no earlier than Sept. 15. The French-built spacecraft is the follow-on to the Topex/Poseidon satellite, which has been making measurements of ocean surface topography for nearly a decade. The new satellite, a NASA/CNES joint project, will be launched on a Delta II booster.
PanAmSat Corp. and JSAT Corp. of Japan have set up a $100-million joint venture to sell C- and Ku-band satellite service from a single satellite at 127 deg. W. Long. The Boeing HS 601 spacecraft, planned for launch late next year, will carry 24 C-band transponders licensed by PanAmSat through the FCC, and 24 Ku-band transponders licensed in Japan. PanAmSat will use the C-band links to replace the Galaxy IX satellite in its U.S. cable arc, while JSAT will use the deal to push into the U.S. market for the first time.
A Swiss-German venture has developed a liquid-filled suit that allows pilots to function comfortably under the force of 9g. German MiG-29 pilots who wore the suit during mock-combat missions in Nevada say it offers protection at least comparable to USAF's Combat Edge anti-g suit, but has no sensors, pumps or connections to the aircraft.
USAF Maj. Gen. (ret.) H. Marshal Ward (see photo) has been appointed vice president-space systems operations of BAE Systems Information and Electronic Warfare Systems, Nashua, N.H. He was director of special programs in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics at the Pentagon.
Intelsat has been freed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission of a decades-old prohibition on selling services in the domestic market in the U.S. Created as an intergovernmental organization in 1964, the Washington-based International Telecommunications Satellite Organization was banned from the domestic market so as not to stifle development of the fledgling U.S. satcom industry. But with Intelsat's privatization last month, the FCC decided to unleash this operator of 20 satellites.
Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) was expected late last week to receive operational clearance to conduct commercial flights with its Zeppelin NT airship within the next two weeks. DZR, which was awaiting an airline-type certification by the German aviation authority Luftfahrtbundesamt (LBA), has already sold tickets for the first trips on Aug. 15. Zeppelin NT was granted an operating certificate after undergoing a four-year test and certification program.
Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines is the first among three Chinese airline leaders to begin taking over management of regional carriers under a consolidation plan approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. It recently signed management agreements with Kunming-based Yunnan Airlines and Xian-based China Northwest Airlines, and acquired outright debt-ridden Air Great Wall.
Japan's new 1.2-million-lb.-thrust H-2A booster, identical to this test article, is being readied for its first launch as early as Aug. 25 at Japan's Tanegashima space center. The initial standard version will be capable of placing 4-ton payloads into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Only a dummy payload will be carried on the first flight, but at least seven major Japanese government payloads are slated to fly on the 175-ft. H-2A through about 2003. Boeing's new agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
Positive second-quarter earnings posted by several small- to medium-size airlines have underscored the Wall Street hypothesis that theirs are growth stocks. ABN-AMRO analyst Raymond E. Neidl favors ``buy''-rated Atlantic Coast Airlines, AirTran, SkyWest and ``add''-rated Mesa Air Group. He considers them niche carriers that will grow even in the current operating environment.
Engineers and scientists working at the U.S. national weapons laboratories aren't joining the team to be stewards of aging technology. They're seeking opportunities for pure science and research. To recruit them, however, the labs must employ new tools and ideas. At Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., the goal is to hire 400 engineers and scientists this year. In addition, the lab wants approximately 80% of those new hires to come directly from the college campus, where the focus is on research rather than applied science.
Most airlines selected to help Boeing define the basic configuration of its Sonic Cruiser would like new technology applied to the design, even if it results in a little later service-entry date. Boeing has said timing of the high-speed aircraft's operational availability would depend, in part, on how much new technology initial customers wanted to have included in the introductory model.
USAF Gen. (ret.) Ronald F. Fogleman has been named a member of the board of directors of AAR, Wood Dale, Ill. Fogleman, who was Air Force chief of staff before retiring, is a director of Rolls-Royce North America and the Mesa Air Group, and is a member of the NASA Advisory Council.
A preliminary deal to build two military communications satellites for the Spanish government will provide a much-needed boost for Space Systems/Loral (AW&ST July 23, p. 36). Until the new award, Loral had landed only two orders in 2001. Now it is within sight of its objective to capture six or seven orders for the year. The company also expects to launch five satellites in 2001, which it says will allow it to improve revenues to $1.2 billion from $1 billion last year.
Kansai International Airport Corp.'s woes continue. With traffic not meeting forecasts and airlines dropping services, the government has told the KIAC that it expects to cut $1.15 billion from the airport's Phase 2 runway and terminal expansion program. That would drop the total Phase 2 estimated cost to $11.45 billion. Changes in construction practices are supposed to absorb the cuts. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is studying further cuts of up to $2.5 billion.
Wayne J. Lovett and John Enticknap have been named executive vice presidents of Mercury Air Group Inc. of Los Angles. Lovett was general counsel/corporate secretary. Enticknap also will continue as chief operating officer of Mercury Air Centers.
Air Canada management has taken a sharp ax to the merged airline in personnel and wages and launched a fleet streamlining effort that will place 20 mainline aircraft with the planned new low-fare subsidiary.
Northwest Airlines and Wayne County, operators of Detroit Metro Airport, have agreed to delay the opening of the new $1.2-billion terminal complex to Jan. 20 until after the busy holiday season. Construction is scheduled for completion in December. ``We want to ensure a seamless transition from the existing terminal to the new terminal for our customers,'' said Richard Anderson, Northwest CEO, explaining the reason for setting the January opening. The terminal will be named after Edward H. McNamara, the current Wayne County executive.
Thomas P. Christie has been sworn in as director of operational test and evaluation for the U.S. Defense Dept. He held a similar position at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Craig W. Duehring has been appointed deputy assistant Defense secretary for reserve affairs. He is a retired USAF colonel and was executive director of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, Fairfax, Va.
First reports on July traffic, from Continental and American airlines, indicate more of what ailed the big U.S. airlines during the second quarter. Continental, which turned a profit in the quarter, said its capacity was up 6.4% in July, outpacing a traffic increase of 3.4% and causing the load factor to drop 2.2 percentage points to 78.2%. Worse, yields were down and the carrier estimated that revenue per available seat mile dropped 9-11%. At American, capacity grew 1.6%, traffic fell 2.2% and the load factor was 77.2%, down 3 points.
Only days before U.S. Air Force officials plan to ask the Pentagon to approve low-rate production of the stealth fighter, renewed questions have been raised about the program's cost. At the same time, the system's performance has received a positive assessment from the Defense Dept.
Regional jets can relieve congestion at big hub airports by serving small markets point-to-point. But they also can be part of the problem, by feeding network airlines' operations at the hubs, and that is the main use the big U.S. carriers have made of them so far. Fairchild Dornier Chairman Charles Pieper said here last week point-to-point RJ service is common in Europe and still might make it in the U.S. More than 50 cities in North America with populations of 500,000-2 million comprise a ``huge point-to-point potential,'' he said.
Dional M. Aviles has been sworn in as assistant U.S. Navy secretary for financial management/comptroller, William A. Navas, Jr., as assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs and John J. Young as assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition. Aviles was a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee. Navas, who is a retired Army major general, was an independent defense and management consultant, while Young was a professional staff member for the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.
