During the past 18 months, Boeing has quietly been conducting a detailed survey of 30 airports in Alaska, Russia and the Pacific that could be used as alternates for aircraft flying long-range transpacific routes. The research is to help back an airline industry request to the FAA for limited 207-min. Extended Range Twin-engine Operations authority, Boeing said. Some of the assessments were conducted by telephone while other evaluations involved site visits, Boeing said.
Rockwell Collins has exercised its option to purchase 100% of head-up display manufacturer Flight Dynamics. The transaction is expected to close in April. Flight Dynamics previously was operated as a joint venture by Rockwell Collins and Kaiser Aerospace Electronics Corp. of Foster City, Calif. The Portland, Ore.-based company employs about 250.
Capt. Paul McCarthy of Delta Air Lines will be executive air safety chairman of the Air Line Pilots Assn., effective Mar. 1. McCarthy also will be air safety adviser to the ALPA board of directors, executive board, executive council and president. McCarthy has been chairman of the ALPA Accident Investigation Board and International Federation of Air Line Pilots Assns.' Accident Analysis Committee. He succeeds Capt. David Haase of Trans World Airlines.
French industry is responding to the challenge of producing integrated avionics systems by forming teams so that a variety of technologies from different companies can be employed on one project. This mirrors what is happening in the U.S.
British Aerospace Airbus will invest 5 million euros ($5.75 million) to create an English-language school at Colomiers, near Toulouse airport. The school, which is scheduled to open in September, will offer the British college curriculum and is expected to resolve some of the educational hardships faced by expatriate families settling in the region. British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Div.'s 200-employee-strong marketing staff remained in Toulouse, despite the ill-fated Aero International Regional's demise in early 1998.
Allison K. Blankenship (see photos) has been promoted to managing director for project management from managing director for courseware of SimuFlite International Inc., Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Other recent promotions are: James E. Jetton to director of sales from regional sales manager; Melinda J. McGinty to director of client management from manager of client services; and William H. Wilhelmi to director of marketing and business development from senior manager.
Poor communications, overconfidence, lack of contingency planning and system testing--even incompetence--are words used by three separate government inquiries to describe why the debut of Hong Kong's new international airport at Chek Lap Kok turned into a nightmare for passengers and brought multimillion-dollar losses to air freight shippers last summer.
Boeing is transforming a 737 transport into a flying testbed for its Joint Strike Fighter avionics system. The move follows the success of its similar 757-based F-22 flying demonstrator. As with the F-22 Flying Testbed (FTB), the object of the 737-based JSF Avionics Flying Laboratory (AFL), as it is officially known, is to cut costs and reduce program development times, according to Steven Alberts, chief of avionics for Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.
Space shuttle managers have rearranged the 1999 shuttle schedule to account for Russian delays in launching the Service Module for the International Space Station and the need to change suspect electronic components in the NASA Chandra advanced X-ray observatory. The Service Module and observatory issues have pushed one shuttle mission planned for this year into 2000 and rearranged the order of the first two flights of 1999. The new schedule involves:
Gencorp Aerojet expects its contract to produce advanced solid rocket booster motors for the Lockheed Martin Astronautics' Atlas V program to be worth $500 million, with options. The first launch is set for 2001.
The five-day sickout staged by American Airlines pilots last week put Chairman Donald J. Carty on notice that any acquisition by the carrier is likely to draw fire from the Allied Pilots Assn. (APA) if pilots believe the Scope Clause is violated.
The consolidation of the aerospace divisions of South Korea's Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung into Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) that was so hopefully trumpeted last year may never see fruition, but that doesn't mean the South Korean government will not achieve its goal of seeing a broad-reaching restructuring of the industry, analysts say. Their comments reflect a stark reality still facing South Korea's aerospace industry--the need for national economic reform as part of the International Monetary Fund's $58-billion bailout.
The first 60 U.S. Air Force Academy cadets have begun an introductory flight training program designed to increase their chances of successfully completing specialized undergraduate pilot training (SUPT) after graduation. The 40 hr. of flying experience is being provided at the Academy's Flight Training Center, an FAA-certified flight school. Although not a substitute for flight screening previously conducted in the T-3A Firefly, light aircraft experience dramatically increases the probability of a student pilot successfully completing SUPT.
An El Al 747-200 freighter overshot a runway at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport early last week and its nosewheel sank in soft ground, closing the runway for a day. The incident occurred a few days after the airport chief called for drastic changes in the country's aviation authority following revelations at a parliamentary hearing into the 1992 crash of an El Al 747 freighter into an Amsterdam apartment block.
British Airways reported its first quarterly loss in nearly 4 years last week due to fewer premium-class bookings and greater competition, particularly on North Atlantic routes. Europe's largest carrier posted a pretax loss of 75 million pounds ($123 million) for the 3-month period that ended Dec. 31. This is compared to an 80-million-pound quarterly profit during the previous year. Overall, revenues fell 0.7% despite a 6.8% increase in passenger traffic during the quarter. Yields were down 11.3% as premium-class traffic fell 2.9%.
U.S. and U.K. negotiators are set to meet this week to see if talks on a new aviation pact between the two countries, which fell apart last year, can be restarted.
An Aermacchi-Yakovlev AEM/Yak-130 trainer demonstrator completed a second phase of 30 test flights in Italy on Jan. 31, aimed at expanding the aircraft's low-speed, high-angle-of-attack (AOA) envelope and verifying improvements to the aerodynamic configuration. Maximum AOA of up to 41% were achieved, as well as stabilized flight at 35% AOA with good lateral-directional control, according to Aermacchi. The landing configuration was tested up to 28 deg. AOA.
French avionics companies are profiting from a variety of niche markets, driven by everything from shifting safety priorities to the need for more cost-effective solutions.
A repositioned satellite at 12.5 deg. W. Long. will allow Eutelsat to expand coverage, currently focused on Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, into North America. Four transponders on 2F1, which recently was moved from 21.5 deg. W. Long., will be available initially for this service. More may be added this year.
Commercial launch companies could save NASA $9-10 billion by carrying astronauts and cargo to and from orbit under service contracts, if the agency would ``bless'' a couple of the more promising spacelift concepts--and throw a little seed money their way. In return, launch providers might agree to certify their space vehicles to FAA airworthiness standards, which should bolster reliability and safety. This novel concept was floated by Stephen G. Wurst, president of Space Access, at the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Conference.
Thomas P. McKenna and John Johnson have been appointed assistant directors of aviation for marketing and finance, respectively, of the Kansas City (Mo.) Aviation Dept.
Lockheed Martin's U-2S/ER-2 will be honored with this year's Collier Trophy, according to the National Aeronautic Assn. The USAF Air Combat Command operates the U-2S and NASA the ER-2 for civilian research. The trophy will be presented on Apr. 28 in Arlington, Va. Coincidentally, Aviation Week&Space Technology Editor-in-Chief David M. North flew a U-2 last week from Beale AFB, Calif., for a pilot report in the magazine.
U.S. Transportation Dept. officials are in the midst of a year-long search for better ways to crack down on the illegal shipment of hazardous materials on aircraft. The so-called program evaluation is aimed at assessing the extent of illegal hazmat shipments in all transportation modes, identifying common elements in their shipments and determining whether federal inspectors and resources are employed in the best way to curtail them. The review team is to present preliminary findings by October.
