Israel's $2.5-billion fighter buy is almost a must-win competition for Boeing if the company is to keep open its F-15 production line beyond 2000. Boeing faces the prospect of having to shut down its F-15 line if it can't win the on-going Israeli or Greek fighter competitions. It is currently building U.S. Air Force F-15Es and F-15Is for Israel and F-15S fighters for Saudi Arabia, but will deliver the last of those aircraft in early 2001.
Robert Moran has been named chief information officer of the Fairchild Aerospace Corp., San Antonio, Tex. He was director of information systems for Europe for the Carrier Corp.
Nico Buchholz has been appointed head of commercial marketing and sales for BMW Rolls-Royce, Oberusel, Germany. He was European commercial sales director for Airbus Industrie.
A U.S. Air Force program to upgrade Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missiles achieved two test milestones recently when a Stage 1 rocket motor was ground tested and a new guidance control system/flight computer was successfully launched. The first of eight qualification test rocket motors was fired at Thiokol Propulsion's Promontory, Utah, site on Sept. 15.
John D. Odegard, dean of the aviation program at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, died Sept. 27 of cancer. He was 57. He founded UND's Aviation Dept. in 1968 and became dean in 1984. Odegard, who logged more than 14,000 hr. in piston- and turbine-powered aircraft, was recognized as an innovator in ab initio airline pilot training. He won the FAA's 1998 Excellence in Aviation Award. The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is named for him.
California Institute of Technology has won a $6.25-billion, 5-year contract from NASA to continue management and operation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Only Ireland, Germany and the U.K. are opposed to letting the European Commission negotiate a multilateral aviation agreement with the U.S. on their behalf, according to one European Union official who was counting votes last week. However, the commission needs all 15 EU member states to agree to let it do the negotiating. A solution could be reached as early as Nov. 30 at the next European transport ministers' meeting in Brussels, according to Austrian Transport Minister Caspar Einem.
Kenneth Rattray, solicitor general of Jamaica, has received the Edward Warner Award for promoting civil aviation and developing legal instruments in the field of aviation security. The award was conferred by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The Russian Defense Ministry, beset by financial problems, has canceled its order for 15 Kamov Ka-50 attack helicopters. Procurement of new helicopters has now been postponed to 2003 at the earliest. The helicopters, currently in final assembly at the Progress plant at Arsenyev, are 85% complete. Kamov is trying to interest South Korea in the Ka-50s. They are looking to acquire new attack helicopters and Kamov is seeking to continue discussions at the Seoul air show (Oct. 26-Nov. 1).
Continental Airlines has taken a big step toward 21st-century air navigation with the first differential-GPS instrument approach by a revenue-service aircraft in the U.S. Fred Abbott, Continental's vice president of operations, said the MD-80's flight on Sept. 21 marks the biggest advance in airport infrastructure in 50 years, when the instrument landing system (ILS) was introduced.
Fire safety drencher tests at Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd.'s new $1-billion SuperTerminal 1 may have caused the shutdown that cost the freight industry an estimated $3 billion in lost revenue when the city's new airport opened last summer.
The Aerospatiale/Matra Hautes Technologies merger, which is poised to become a reality next year, could significantly advance the French/European aerospace industry's restructuring process, according to company officials. In addition, the new group is expected to aggressively pursue strategic alliances with additional European players.
Lufthansa German Airlines' supervisory board recently approved a plan to order 10 additional Airbus A340-300s and six A321s, scheduled to be delivered in 2000-01. In addition, Lufthansa Cargo will order six all-cargo Boeing MD-11F trijets, including three aircraft previously optioned. The MD-11Fs will replace 747-400 Combis that will be converted into all-passenger cabin configuration. The orders are valued at about $2 billion.
The U.S. State Dept. should upgrade the administrative efficiency of its export licensing system, now that Congress has decided to shift licensing authority for commercial satellites back to State from the Commerce Dept. beginning next March, the domestic aerospace industry's chief lobbyist said last week. John W. Douglass, the new president of the Aerospace Industries Assn. (AIA), called the existing State Dept. export licensing system ``dysfunctional'' in his inaugural speech to the National Aviation Club.
Lockheed Martin, lured by the potentially huge market for satellite-based services in the next 5-10 years, hopes to acquire Comsat Corp. for about $2.7 billion. Comsat has revenues of about $600 million. It is an 18% owner of Intelsat, which operates the world's largest commercial satellite fleet of 19 birds, and it owns 22% of Inmarsat, the international mobile communications satellite operator.
President Boris Yeltsin and other top Russian officials may soon have to rely on scheduled commercial flights due to the precarious financial state of debt-laden Rossiya State Transport Air, the official carrier for government leaders. The Vnukovo refueling complex has said it will stop supplying fuel to Rossiya because of unpaid bills, a move which will ground many flights. Rossiya operates 67 aircraft, 32 of which are dedicated to transporting government officials. The remainder are employed on scheduled and charter flights.
The FAA is scheduled to commission a new Doppler VOR/DME on Oct. 8 at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Designated ``Maverick,'' the DVOR/DME will replace the DFW VORTAC located about 1/2-mi. east of the new site, according to an official at the airport's terminal radar approach control facility.
Redzone Robotics of Pittsburgh is developing a robot aimed at efficiently inspecting long stretches of thin-wall ducting, including the successful negotiation of bends, vertical ducting and changes in duct diameter. The robot uses fore-and-aft inflatable bladders, connected by a center-mounted slide-rod mechanism, to move in forward or reverse in an inchworm-like matter, according to David White, vice president of business development.
Belgium's aerospace industry foresees a healthy growth for the next few years despite the country's record public deficit, tight budget constraints and weak military procurement spending. Belgian companies, in addition to a capability to produce complex airframe components and subassemblies, developed expertise in cutting-edge technology, including composite materials. Their combined workforce in the last two years increased to about 7,500 employees, up from 6,300. In 1997, the Belgian aerospace industry had $800 million in revenues.
Richard M. Lober (see photo) has become president of Cubic Communications of San Diego. He was director of wireless product sales and advanced development for the Watkins-Johnson Co., Gaithersburg, Md. Lober succeeds Arthur F. Wigand, who has retired.
Precision-castings maker Howmet Corp. foresees robust demand for jet engine spare parts after new commercial-aircraft deliveries reach their cyclical peak, probably in 1999. It's expected to grow 9% next year and 8% annually thereafter. Driving this demand will be the large number of new aircraft that have entered the commercial fleet since 1996, industry observers said.
Carmen L. Lloyd (see photo) has become Indianapolis-based president for corporate and regional airlines of Rolls-Royce North America. He was president/CEO of Canadian Marconi.
Japan's Defense Agency wants to buy 10 more aircraft in fiscal 1999 than were approved this year--including more trainers for the air force and more anti-submarine warfare helicopters for the navy. The biggest proposed expense is for eight Mitsubishi/Lockheed Martin F-2 close air support (CAS) fighters at $868.4 million. That figure is more than the combined requests for the army and navy. But in asking for funds for eight aircraft, the air force is seeking one less than last year's purchase.
The MathWorks of Natick, Mass., will begin shipping enhancements to its Simulink, Stateflow and Real-Time Workshop design automation software in October. All are designed to provide faster, more accurate simulation of complex designs, better support for large-scale control applications and enhanced code generation capabilities.
