Pratt&Whitney has broadened the scope of its PW8000 program, focusing its attention on a 60,000-lb.-thrust geared fan engine that could be based either on a PW2000 core or a completely new core. The program had been focused on a powerplant that used a geared fan low-pressure system built around a PW6000 core engine.
With demand weakening and competition increasing at home, All Nippon Airways says it will delay aircraft deliveries, cut its fleet size, drop domestic flights and institute ``sweeping reforms'' in the next four years that could borrow from U.S.-style incentive plans for management.
A 4% increase in leisure-oriented fares posted last week by major U.S. airlines--led by Continental--is expected to lift industry earnings by about 7% (annual run rate). But don't expect to see a spate of higher third-quarter earnings projections from Wall Street as a direct result; most market professionals already had factored the likelihood of an increase into their estimates, due to rising fuel and labor costs. The fact that airlines actually made the move after considerable vacillation simply means companies are more apt to meet expectations.
Brymon Airways, wholly owned by British Airways, has ordered seven 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s and placed options for another 14 that can be converted to 70-seat ERJ-170s. The order and options are valued at more than $20 million. Deliveries of the ERJ-145, powered by Rolls-Royce AE 307 engines, are scheduled to start in February 2000.
FlightSafety Services has received an order from the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, to operate the C-5 Aircrew Training System for 10 years.
To increase the inventory of weapons available to bomb Yugoslavia even through heavy layers of clouds, the U.S. Air Force will modify a highly accurate glide bomb already in the Pentagon's inventory.
INTERSENSE, A SMALL BURLINGTON, MASS., COMPANY that makes precision motion tracking devices, will conduct further research into its precision motion tracking technology under a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Div. at China Lake, Calif. InterSense uses inertial sensors in a tiny InertiaCube (1.1 X 1.3 X 1.2 in. weighing 2.1 oz.) to track head position for simulators, camera position for film-makers, for virtual reality systems and for a variety of other uses.
Bombardier has successfully completed the initial flight of the CRJ-700, solidifying the company's substantial lead in the highly competitive market for new 70-passenger jets. The 2-hr. 8-min. flight on May 27 preceded by one day the formal rollout ceremony for the aircraft, which has been developed in response to the rapidly evolving needs of regional airlines. The CRJ-700 program was launched in early 1997.
Neil Bauer has been appointed group vice president of the Loral Data Services Group of New York and will continue as president of Loral Orion. Michael Henkin, who was director of operations planning for Loral Space&Communications, will be vice president-business development of Loral Data Services.
The NASA/Lockheed Martin X-33 rocket has overcome manufacturing difficulties and is on its way to a January rollout, to be followed by first flight in July 2000, according to company officials. Most manufacturing is complete and assembly is underway of the available qualified parts. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works officials said the X-33 single-stage-to-orbit technology demonstrator is 70% assembled, though it is awaiting the two liquid hydrogen tanks that are major load-carrying elements of the structure.
Richard G. Higgins, vice president-maintenance, engineering and publications for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle, has been elected chairman of the Aerospace Industries Assn. Commercial Customer Support Committee. He succeeds James F. Peterson, vice president/general manager of customer service for the Sundstrand Corp., Rockford, Ill. Elected vice chairman was Steven N. Health, vice president-customer service for Pratt&Whitney Engines, East Hartford, Conn.
Component rig tests aimed at performance verification and validation are raising levels of confidence at Pratt&Whitney surrounding the PW6000 design as full-engine testing moves into high gear. For example, tests already performed on the powerplant's combustor in the past several years have validated the low-cost, high-efficiency design, and compressor tests run in the past two years have taught designers how to maintain tip clearances in the 16,000-24,000-lb.-thrust engine.
Robert Cashel has been named director of marketing for the Loral Global Alliance, Bedminster, N.J. He succeeds Jonathan Kirchner, who will become London-based vice president-marketing and sales of EuropeStar. Cashel was senior consultant for Phillips InfoTech. Kirchner was a consultant for Intelsat.
The new ``image fusion'' technology Boeing is developing for pilots of its Joint Strike Fighter candidate includes the capability to overlay conformal infrared (IR) imagery on the outside scene as viewed through the pilot's helmet-mounted display. A series of IR cameras mounted around the aircraft would provide seamless IR coverage, according to Stan J. Kasprzyk, JSF cockpit integrated product team manager for Boeing.
Richard Russell has been named deputy chief of staff of the House Science Committee after serving as staff director for the technology subcommittee. He has been succeeded by Jeff Grove, who was a professional staff member for the subcommittee. Myndii Gottlieb has succeeded Grove. She was a professional staff member for the basic research subcommittee. Ray Fitzgerald has been named project director of the full committee. He was special assistant to Gov. George Ryan of Illinois in his Washington office.
Going on-line with airline ticket and scheduling information is nothing new, nor are government ratings for on-time performance. But Japan Airlines has begun publishing information about its flight irregularities on the Internet, such as how many flights were delayed for weather or maintenance problems, and for how long.
LOCKHEED MARTIN WILL SUPPLY A REPLACEMENT Electronic Support Measures system for the E-2C, as part of a broader U.S. Navy upgrade program, Hawkeye 2000. The company received a $33-million multiyear contract from Northrop Grumman to provide six preproduction and 21 production shipsets over the next five years. The ESM will be a derivative of the ALQ-210, which itself is slated to enter testing for the SH-60R next year. The new system will use a technology developed as a passive ranging subsystem that uses novel techniques to accurately locate hostile radars (AW&ST Oct.
ULTRA CORP. OF SYRACUSE, N.Y., WILL DEVELOP a global communication network simulator for the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate. The nine-month effort is to simulate elements of a worldwide information grid, to give researchers a preview of benefits to the network from inserting new technology. The $99,914 SBIR contract should be helpful in considering the advantages for new technology to air, ground and space communications that use voice, data and Internet services.
Harris Corp. has been selected by Lockheed Martin Corp. to provide two 12-meter-dia. (39.4 ft.), deployable mesh antenna reflectors in support of the Garuda 2 satellite.
An Australian-led group of Asian investors is proposing that a new three-stage Russian booster be launched from an island off the coast of Queensland. Called the Unity Launch Vehicle (ULV-22), the booster is a design project of the State Rocket Center of Miass in the Ural Mountains, the former Makeyev Design Bureau that developed Russia's submarine ballistic missiles. The ULV-22 is said to be the first vehicle designed by Russian industry specifically for commercial launches.
An ``undisclosed customer'' concluded an order for 30 107-seat Airbus A318s, 14 125-seat A319s, three 150-seat A320s and 10 185-seat A321s. Airbus Industrie is withholding the name at the customer's request.
A NATO program to improve the interoperability of unmanned aerial vehicles owned and operated by member countries is slowly expanding with Canada, France and the Netherlands becoming more actively involved. Although a NATO working group, PG-35, has been meeting for several years, the need to better link UAVs owned by alliance members has been highlighted in the air war against Yugoslavia. Germany, France and the U.S. have contributed different unmanned aircraft, but they are basically stand-alone systems.
U.S. and British negotiators tentatively plan to resume formal talks on June 14 aimed at reaching a new bilateral air-services agreement. U.S. consideration of the proposed American Airlines-British Airways alliance has been stalled by the lack of progress in those talks.
Defense officials say China is preparing to test a new submarine-launched, ICBM this year. The Julang-2 (JL-2) is a sea-going version of the 4,800-mi.-range, three-stage DF-31 scheduled to become operational in 2002. Tests of the DF-31 later this year will be closely watched by intelligence analysts for clues about how much China profited from purloined data about nuclear warheads (AW&ST May 31, p. 31). The DF-31 program is expected to be followed by a 7,500-mi.-range missile program.
