In an attempt to lock in the benefits of retroactive stock market prices, a growing number of senior American Airlines pilots are choosing to retire early from the cockpit. The value of retirement distributions based on July's stock market prices could be significantly higher (as much as $300,000) if pilots retire now compared with waiting until the first quarter of 1999. In September, 63 pilots opted to leave, 65 are scheduled to depart this month and another 65 could leave in November, according to American.
The Commercial Space Act was on its way to President Clinton for signature last week after final approval by both houses of the U.S. Congress. The legislation, designed to encourage the commercialization of space, passed after House negotiators agreed to drop a disputed provision that would have required the State Dept. and Defense Dept. to consider remote-sensing license applications within 60 days.
The W260 series of hermetically sealed, non-latching, half-crystal-can relays is qualified to Mil-R-39016/6K. They are available with solder-hook or pin terminals in a wide range of mounting options. With coils ranging from 6-48 volts, they provide a 2PDT contact arrangement rated at 2 amps at 28 VDC. The relay is designed to switch 60 watts on each contact with a coil power of less than 1 watt. The W260 series will operate over a range of -65-125C. Leach International, 6900 Orangethorpe Ave., P.O. Box 5032, Buena Park, Calif. 90622-5032.
E-Z Grip Friction Drops for aircraft use are a medium-grade retaining compound for bolts and screws. They reduce back-out of threaded metal fasteners, even around engine parts operating at high temperature. They also can add the necessary buildup of floating alumina between worn mating threads and help prevent oxidation between threads. The material can be applied to the threads of a fastener. E-Z Grip also can aid removal of screws or bolts with worn heads. Holt International LLC, 1060 Yaple Road, Kingston, Ohio 45644.
As the 105th Congress wound to a close, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) conceded that Republicans had not made as much progress on accelerating National Missile Defense as he had promised two years ago. Blaming Democrats for thwarting him by a single vote on two occasions, Lott made a campaign pitch for ``one more [Republican] senator.'' He underscored that missile defense got a boost--he estimated $700 million--in a supplemental $7-8-billion defense spending bill folded into a last-minute omnibus appropriations measure for Fiscal 1999.
Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) signed agreements with three U.S. aerospace companies, including a strategic agreement with Boeing to pursue future military/civil business opportunities. The two firms are looking to join forces to compete for military fighter and transport upgrade programs, and Boeing is considering IAI's Bedek Div. as a partner in civil aircraft conversion and modification programs. Raytheon Systems Co. and IAI's Elta Electronic Industries have agreed to cooperate on a worldwide basis on airborne early warning and command and control systems.
Indian news reports say that while in Moscow last month, President Clinton pressed Russian President Boris Yeltsin to halt military cooperation with India. But Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes said he did not expect Clinton's plea to dissuade Russia from continuing its military sales to his country. India is Russia's biggest military customer, with annual purchases of $2 billion.
U.S. space officials are once again concerned about the ability of Russia to safely deorbit the 250,000-lb. Mir space station into an isolated area of the Pacific Ocean next summer. Four Progress spacecraft are needed to lower Mir's altitude. The plan had been for the last cosmonaut crew to remain on board Mir to maintain station control until just hours before the final deorbit firing. But Russian analysis now indicates the crew will have to depart Mir in their Soyuz seven days before the final deorbit maneuver so they can safely land in the normal Soyuz recovery area.
A legal settlement has been reached between the U.S. Air Force and Boeing in a 1995 civil suit concerning AC-130 Gunship work. Boeing will receive $295 million in the mediated settlement. It inherited the suit when it bought Rockwell's aerospace business. The company originally sought several hundred million dollars more. The money will come from the Treasury Dept. However, the Air Force now has to find the money in its budget to repay the Treasury.
Yehud Industrial Zone in Israel has received an $11.9-million contract to develop by September 2002 a night targeting system for use in support of U.S. Navy AH-1W helicopters.
An early battleground between the United-Lufthansa-led Star Alliance and the new oneworld alliance will be in the South Pacific where oneworld co-founder American Airlines is set to codeshare with Qantas on services to Australia and New Zealand. The move counters codesharing by Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia with United Airlines, which are to join the Star Alliance in March. It builds on long-standing cooperation between Qantas and American.
The PlasmaWorld 2-116HD is a preengineered, off-the-shelf plasma-cutting solution. Components are mounted on two common bases and can be installed in a few hours. The system features a Motoman SK16 robot and MRC controller with menu-driven software, a high-tolerance plasma arc-cutting package, heavy-duty 180-deg. rotary positioner and operator interface. The robot has a 16-kg. (35.2-lb.) payload capacity, 1.555-meter (61.22-in.) reach and 0.1-mm. (0.004-in.) repeatability. Motoman Inc., 805 Liberty Lane, West Carrollton, Ohio 45449.
NASA and the Air Force have begun a series of evaluations with the Vista F-16 to take an inflight first look at some of the control laws that will be tested later this year in a prototype X-38 space station crew-return vehicle. The tests are designed to determine how well the X-38's control laws function in flight-envelope areas that have proven troublesome to lifting bodies in the past. Specifically, the Vista (variable-stability inflight simulation aircraft) will examine:
APRas is a Microsoft Windows-compatible simulation program designed to predict aircraft response and dynamic loading due to pavement roughness. The program also can predict ride quality for a given pavement condition. It can simulate a variety of aircraft with a range of gross weights and different gear spacing. APRas includes the nonlinear characteristics of landing gear struts, airframe structural flexibility, lift, drag, thrust and other parameters. It can simulate takeoff, landing and constant-speed taxi operations on a user-supplied pavement profile.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines (JAL) have formed a bilateral alliance aimed at rebuilding one of aviation's busiest and most lucrative ``country pairs'' routes between Hong Kong and Japan. In an alliance to start next year, JAL and Cathay will code-share and cooperate on their frequent-flier programs. Load factors have fallen as low as 60% on Hong Kong-Japan routes since recession began gripping Asia 15 months ago. Routes and equipment choices have not been made, but Cathay now operates 74 wide-body weekly flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
A new thick film heater technology allows manufacturers to save space while ensuring greater heat transfer and faster heating. The technology uses conductive inks and insulating material layered over a substrate of quartz, stainless steel, alumina or beryllium oxide. Some thick film heaters can be designed to fit around obstacles. Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co., 1201 Lackland Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63146.
Ansett Australia, caught in a frequency war with rival Qantas Airways and facing a wage war with its unions, has seen its passenger load factor decline for the fifth straight year. Load factors averaged 75.5% in its 1993 fiscal year when the carrier had a $93-million net profit, but since then loads have consistently fallen. Its annual report for the year ending June 30 said last year's load factor was 67.9%. Meanwhile, Qantas has seen robust loads of 77.8% for its domestic flights.
Korean Air will spend about $114 million during the next two years to upgrade safety equipment and institute reforms in pilot training and its maintenance organization. The South Korean government last week stunned the Seoul-based carrier by suspending service on 138 of Korean Air's 933 weekly domestic flights and trimming its lucrative Seoul-Tokyo schedule from 28 to 26 flights a week. The restrictions, effective Oct. 25, are to last six months.
Anyone who is remotely interested in the fortunes and travails of the highly cyclical airline business will learn during the next week or so just how much of a windfall Northwest Airlines' competitors reaped as a result of the two-week strike that hobbled the carrier. Most major U.S. airlines are expected to report a record third-quarter financial performance, and the ``Northwest effect'' is apt to be a significant component.
The Molded Elastomer Technology 1X1, 1X2 and 1X3 Keypad Assemblies use silicone rubber-based keypads to provide increased flexibility. The keypads can be grouped with other keypads to provide a variety of layouts. The keypads, which are sealed to resist dust and water to a NEMA-4 rating, are available lighted or unlighted in blue, black or gray base colors. Custom laser engraved legends are available. Sandpiper Communications, 1139 Baker St., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626.
Honeywell has expanded applications for its Aircraft Maintenance and Operations Support System (AMOSS) by adding messaging capability using the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) data link. The PC-hosted software provides integrated diagnostic, scheduling, inventory control and related maintenance management information to aircraft mechanics, including automatic work package construction.
Backing ICAO's new safety oversight program, the U.S. has requested that the U.N. aviation agency assess how well the FAA adheres to international safety standards. That inspection should please nations subjected since 1990 to similar audits by the FAA. Government and airline officials in many nations found lacking by the FAA have criticized those audits as attempts to stifle competition for U.S. carriers and have complained that no one ever audited the FAA's safety compliance.
