Malaysia Airlines is the latest carrier to defer aircraft in response to the Asian recession. It said it has reached agreement with Boeing to push back delivery of three 777-200s, three 777-300s and six 747-400s to beyond 2002. The aircraft were part of a 25-aircraft order placed in 1995. Delivery should have been completed by 2002. Senior Vice President Basheer Ahmad said MAS will pay a penalty for changing the schedule.
In a move that will maintain the large flow of European student pilots to U.S. schools, the FAA will allow flight schools outside of the U.S. to be certified as approved facilities to issue FAA pilot certificates. Before the change, pilots trained outside of the U.S. were required to take a checkride in the U.S. before receiving an FAA license. The change was prompted by a proposed rule from European Joint Aviation Authorities to only recognize training accomplished at JAA-approved facilities in member states in Europe.
Very Large Transport Airplanes, which would carry as many as 600-800 passengers, in the next decade will lead the airline industry into unchartered territory. VLTAs, which are currently envisioned by Airbus Industrie and Boeing, are expected to require revised certification rules and push efforts to achieve a higher level of flight safety. In addition, they may revive the need for a three-person cockpit crew.
Congress completed and the President signed the Fiscal 1999 federal budget three weeks late, codifying a $486.7-billion omnibus appropriations bill and a $20.8-billion supplemental measure that bolstered missile defense, military readiness accounts and Year 2000 (Y2K) compliance.
Delta Air Lines plans to hold talks with China Southern Airlines about entering a code-share agreement, CEO Leo Mullin said in New York last week after Delta's shareholders meeting. Delta is not satisfied with the code-sharing arrangement now in place with Korean Airlines, he said. Shareholders approved a two-for-one split of common stock, which will be effective for shareowners of record on Nov. 2.
High-powered microwaves and other beam weapons will develop faster than most people think, according to Bengt Anderberg, director general of Forsvarets Forskningsanstalt (FOA). FOA is the Swedish Defense Research Establishment, and a counterpart of the U.S.' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Lt. Gen. John Costello has become commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala. He was commander of the Army Air Defense Artillery Center and Ft. Bliss, Tex.
Jean-Pierre Marec has been elected president of the Amsterdam-based International Council of Aeronautical Sciences. He is scientific director of the Onera French aerospace research agency.
The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority recently implemented new missed-approach procedures at London Heathrow Airport following an Air Accident Investigation Branch report on a near collision last year between a Virgin Express 737, which had aborted its landing in heavy rain, and a British Airways 757 that was taking off. The AAIB said controllers mistakenly sent the two aircraft within 200 ft. of each other during the Aug. 29, 1997, incident.
In its fourth major accident this year, Japan's air force has lost a Boeing/Mitsubishi F-4EJ fighter during a combat training exercise off the northeast coast of Honshu island. The aircraft disappeared from radar on Oct. 9. A search by 14 vessels and 13 aircraft did not locate the two-man crew but recovered part of a wing and a maintenance record. Previous losses include a midair collision of Mitsubishi F-1s that killed both pilots in August and loss of another F-4EJ in the East China Sea in May. Those pilots were recovered.
Liz Payne has become executive assistant to the managing director of London City Airport. She succeeds Janet Goulton, who has been promoted to commercial development manager.
Low-cost, no-frills airlines are gaining credibility among business travelers, according to an International Air Transport Assn. survey. It says those from large companies remain skeptical, but those from smaller companies, who travel less, are increasingly enthusiastic. IATA says 70% of North American, 76% of European and 51% of Asia-Pacific business travelers are ready to try low-fare carriers.
Aerostar S.A. has conducted the first test flight of a MiG-21bis prototype (see photo), which the Romanian company and its partner, Israel's Elbit Systems, have upgraded to a similar standard as the Romanian air force's MiG-21MF Lancer. The aircraft was flown by Elbit test pilot Yehuda Shafir for 12 min. on Oct. 9 at Aerostar's Bacau facility, starting the planned 40-flight test program. The prototype is intended for export and fitted with new avionics and an expanded weapon systems capability.
A prototype subsystem of the new Joint Airborne Sigint Family, designed to inventory potential hostile radars and their characteristics, recently completed operational tests on board a Navy EP-3E. Earlier plans called for overseas deployment following these tests, so the EP-3E may now be in the Balkans to support a possible NATO operation there.
Elbit Systems of Israel and Kaiser Aerospace&Electronics of the U.S. have signed an agreement to develop a next-generation, helmet-mounted display system for the Joint Strike Fighter. The firms already supply helmet-mounted cueing systems to the U.S. Air Force and Navy.
Europe's Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator completed a high-precision flight and splashdown last week in the first complete space mission, from launch to recovery, ever flown by a European spacecraft.
A Kamov Ka-50-2 Alligator attack helicopter was airlifted from Russia to Turkey on board an Il-76 for flight evaluation trials. The Ka-50-2 is one of many aircraft competing for a Turkish order of up to 145 attack helicopters worth $3.5 billion. It is equipped with several Israeli systems. Kamov is teamed for the Turkish program with IAI which is providing avionics systems for the Ka-50-2.
Boeing's Wichita (Kan.) Div. will provide for contractor logistic support for VC-25A and C-137 special mission aircraft under a $50-million contract, with work to be completed in 2002.
Thomson-CSF has folded its electronic warfare businesses into a new business unit under a corporate reorganization intended to increase the company's competitiveness and enhance reactivity in world markets.
Shuttle Mission 95 is set for liftoff this week on a flight in which NASA hopes to bridge its historic past with its goals for the future by returning 77-year-old Project Mercury astronaut/Sen. John H. Glenn, Jr., to space 36 years after he became the first American to orbit the Earth. The launch of Discovery on the 9-day flight is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on Oct. 29 at the start of a 2-hr., 30-min. launch window. A landing back at the Kennedy Space Center is set for Nov. 7 at 11:50 a.m. EST.
A NATO specialist team for Simulation Based Design and Virtual Prototyping (SBVDP) has been working all year to establish software/hardware standards and protocols for the various computer-aided design systems used by NATO countries. Protocol issues include evaluating such initiatives as the Defense Dept.'s High-Level Architecture (HLA) and the government/industry Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) efforts. There are some educational hurdles to be overcome; some NATO countries are reluctant to engage in real-time simulations.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. posted third-quarter revenues of more than $626 million--a 35% increase compared with the same period last year. In addition, last week Executive Jet Inc. purchased 10 Gulfstream 5 long-range aircraft for use in a Gulfstream Shares fractional ownership program, and has options for another 12. It also ordered 14 Gulfstream 4SPs.
Litton Industries' Applied Technology Div. (ATD)--one of Litton's two major electronic warfare operations--for approximately $120 million. Condor Systems is a San Jose, Calif.-based, privately held mini-conglomerate that specializes in electronic support measures (ESM) and Sigint-type systems (AW&ST Sept. 11, 1995, p. 49). ATD, a leading supplier of radar warning receivers (RWR), had sales of $130 million for the fiscal year that ended July 31. Condor's sales for calendar 1998 are expected to be about the same as ATD's.
Raytheon's electronic warfare product area, headquartered here, has broadened the base of its ALE-50 towed radar decoy by receiving production approval to put it on the Air Force/Boeing B-1 bomber.
