AIR HONG KONG, REVIVED BY CATHAY PACIFIC when it bought a 75% stake two years ago, has grown so fast that it needs three Boeing 747-200 combi freighters by next May. Cathay bought the three used aircraft and sent them to Boeing's Wichita Div. for conversion to full freighters. Cathay's maintenance arm, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. (Haeco), was too busy converting 10 747-200 combis for Atlas Air Inc.--a Cathay cargo rival--to take on the job in time to meet Air Hong Kong's schedule.
McDONNELL DOUGLAS HAS SET UP an around-the-clock center at its aerospace operations in Long Beach, Calif., to support C-17 operations into Bosnia. Company personnel are manning the center to provide operations organizations with expertise and parts, even if parts have to be taken off the production line. McDonnell Douglas reports C-17s based in Germany have achieved a mission reliability rate of 96-97% with turnaround times at Tuzla as low as 15-20 min. (AW&ST Jan. 15, p. 46). U.S.
James Flynn has been appointed manager of used aircraft sales, based in Tucson, Ariz., for Learjet Inc., and Robert L. Butcher has been named Eastern sales director. Flynn was captain of aircraft owned by First USA Management Inc., and Butcher was a sales engineer. Robert Sundin, maintenance manager for Canadair Challenger aircraft for Bombardier Aviation Services in Tucson, also will oversee maintenance for Learjet aircraft.
An early warning system that locates faulty procedures and problematic equipment before an accident occurs is a new tool emerging from last year's Aviation Safety Conference. The key to the early warning system is a four-step process: -- Data are collected on aircraft operations, maintenance issues and from a variety of other sources. -- The data are analyzed by professionals. -- Any critical accident prevention information is communicated among airlines, unions, manufacturers and the government.
U.S. national laboratories are assuming more cradle-to-grave responsibility for nuclear weapons, ranging from research and development to remanufacturing and environmental restoration, as the nation's plutonium-handling infrastructure vanishes.
Jack Frost (see photo) has been appointed president/chief operating officer of PATS Inc., Columbia, Md. He was vice president-business development. Gaylord F. Milbrandt has been appointed a vice president of Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems Inc., Burlington, Mass. He was vice president-industry marketing and sales for Unisys.
DHL WORLDWIDE EXPRESS is negotiating to take a major share in the SuperTerminal 1 express cargo facility at the new Chek Lap Kok airport to keep up with growth that has made Hong Kong's air express business as large as all of Japan's. DHL could take two of seven dedicated modules at the new cargo center for its primary sorting activities.
Aerospatiale, France's biggest aerospace company, expects to complete a heavily revised strategic plan in the next few months that should open the company's doors to private investors. The French government's budget constraints and free trade policy are paving the way for privatization, but troubled, state-owned companies like Aerospatiale are not expected to attract private investors before restoring profitability.
The Galileo orbiter completed sending one form of Jupiter probe data on Jan. 15, with a small data loss due to Earth reception difficulties from solar interference and a spacecraft anomaly. Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center will present this preliminary information on Jan. 22. These condensed backup data were sent 2-4 times in December and January from orbiter solid-state memory (AW&ST Dec. 18/25, 1995, p. 9).
Sichuan Airlines of Chengdu has taken delivery of the first Airbus A320 to enter service in China. The 164-seat twinjet is one of three A320s leased from International Lease Financing Corp. to replace Russian-made Tupolev Tu-154s. Sichuan serves about 50 routes using Chinese-made Y-7 turboprops and Tu-154s. It has leased three A320s from ILFC, marking its first acquisition of Western-built aircraft. The airline makes about 300 flights a week. It will fly the A320s in a two-class configuration with eight first-class seats and 156 in economy.
Strong traffic and improved yields helped Northwest Airlines Corp. report higher net and operating profits for both the fourth quarter and full year of 1995.
Increased globalization of business and heightened airline pursuit of long, thin routes are boosting sales of long-range fuel tanks and related equipment. Governments and large corporations worldwide also are replacing aging and noisy Boeing 707s, 727s and other VIP-configured transports with newer models. Upcoming executive versions of Boeing's ``next-generation'' 737-600 and -700 are expected to generate additional after-market business.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE AND MITRE Corp. are developing a handheld digital communicator that could be rushed into service to help military personnel clearing mines in Bosnia. The prototype Tactical Automated Situation Receiver (TASR) includes an Apple Computer Newton portable processor, a GPS receiver and a commercial pager combined in a rugged unit. The Air Force has sent messages from a laptop computer to the handheld units warning of a missile attack. Minefield clearing involves warning the user when he is straying onto dangerous ground.
The CMO 3513 and CMO 3514 oven stabilized crystal oscillators are designed for use in applications that demand high stability in a small space with rapid warm up. They are suitable for use as reference oscillators in telecommunications applications, Global Positioning System receivers and test instrumentation. The 3000 Series oscillators are contained in a package size conforming to the IEC C019 outline.
Henri-Paul Puel has been named chief executive officer of France-based Aero International Regional. Dino De Laurentiis will succeed Puel as Avions de Transport Regional's CEO. AIR also has appointed Francesco Paolo Giobbe secretary-general and these senior vice presidents: Jeff Marsh, sales and marketing; Joel Le Breton, commercial; Antonio Di Blasi, projects and strategic marketing; Ciro Cirillo, finance and operations; Bill Black, customer support; and Peter Duffy, personnel.
Data from wind-tunnel tests of a full-scale Airbus A320 landing gear are being analyzed at DLR-Institute of Design Aerodynamics in Braunschweig, Germany, to measure noise levels. Progress in reducing engine noise over the past 20 years has spawned a renewed focus on airframe noise, which has long been suspected to be of the same order of magnitude as the noise of throttled engines.
A new system that more reliably and accurately determines runway visual range (RVR) is projected to save air carriers several hundred million dollars annually by reducing adverse weather diversions and delays. The installed price of the new-generation RVR is about half that of the system it will replace, whose basic technology was developed 50 years ago.
Two Hughes-built communications spacecraft are undergoing orbital checks by their Malaysian and U.S. operators following launch on the first Arianespace mission of 1996. The Jan. 12 flight placed both PanAmSat 3R and the Malaysian Measat 1 into transfer orbits. Launch of the Ariane 44L also inaugurated a new Ariane 4/5 range control center at Kourou, French Guiana.
BRITISH DEFENSE MINISTER Michael Portillo is due in town this week for talks with Defense Secretary William Perry. While he is satisfied with recent U.S. equipment purchases, he does want more of a ``two-way street.'' He said, ``We very much expect to see American orders for British equipment.'' He wants more cooperation between European and U.S. manufacturers. Portillo hasn't made up his mind on the idea of combining the British Conventionally Armed Stand-Off Missile and U.S. Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile programs.
SPACE SHUTTLE MANAGERS believe they have scraped together enough money to fly the next mission, but they're losing their boss. J. Wayne Littles is leaving NASA's post of associate administrator for space flight to become director of its Marshall field center. He will replace the retiring Porter Bridwell. Space station honcho Wilbur Trafton will fill in for Littles at headquarters until a replacement is named. Meanwhile, Norman Thagard, who in five flights, including a three-and-a-half-month stint on Mir, has logged far more time in space than any other U.S.
THE U.S. NAVY AND AIR FORCE are shifting from military to commercial-off-the-shelf computers for use on surveillance aircraft to save money and boost processing capability. The USAF/Army E-8C Joint-STARS aircraft now performing surveillance of Bosnia has Digital Alpha workstations modified for airborne use by Raytheon. The workstations can execute 280 million instructions per sec. (MIPS) and have more data processing capability than an entire AWACS aircraft. The Navy is using Digital's commercial AlphaServer 2100 modified by Raytheon for use on the E-2C.
AN ATTEMPT TO CONSOLIDATE the Belgian aerospace industry has failed. SABCA, a Brussels-based Dassault Aviation and Fokker joint company, will not acquire troubled Sonaca, a Gosselies-based aircraft component manufacturer. Negotiations initiated in December have ended, SABCA officials said. A buyout is considered necessary to restore Sonaca's competitiveness and profitability, which suffered following heavy Belgian military spending cuts. Southern Belgium's Wallonia Region owns a controlling stake in Sonaca.
