FLIGHT SURGEONS WITH THE JOINT PRIMARY Aircraft Training System (JPATS) program say there may be a fundamental measurement written into general requirements for the aircraft that could eliminate more women pilot candidates than earlier thought. A senior flight surgeon says a minimum design sitting height--top of the head to base of the spine--of 32.8 in. has been agreed to by the Navy and Air Force. The Navy had wanted 32 in., the Air Force 34 in.
FAA officials met with American Airlines executives and Allied Pilots Assn. leaders in Dallas last week to lay out the scope and targets of their joint investigation of operations and training at the carrier. The aviation agency is reviewing the training philosophy, techniques and curricula used at American's Dallas/Ft. Worth (Tex.) Flight Academy. FAA officials also want to examine the operational procedures and standards in place for American flight crews.
FEDERAL EXPRESS last week airlifted 10 tons of Red Cross supplies destined for U.S. soldiers serving in Bosnia. The flight, which was made at no charge to the humanitarian organization, included 10,000 emergency supply kits for distribution to soldiers during the winter months, according to a Red Cross official. In addition, nine workers have been assigned to operate special communications equipment for relaying emergency family messages between U.S. troops and their families.
DARKSTAR, THE STEALTHY unmanned aerial vehicle being developed by Lockheed Martin/Boeing for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, has still not begun taxi tests that were scheduled for December. First flight initially had been slated for August, 1995, and then delayed, also to December. Program officials hope to have the series of three taxi tests completed by the end of January with first flight to follow in 30-60 days. Causes for the delay center on completing systems integration of the unusual, radar-evading airframe.
Airborne Freight Corp. will bolster its fleet with 12 used Boeing 767-200s worth an estimated $290 million, including spares, support and modification costs. The Seattle-based small-package express carrier also said it intends to pursue acquisition of an additional 10-15 767-200 twinjets worth about $310 million for delivery between 2000 and 2004.
THE UNITED KINGDOM will provide $200 million, or roughly 10%, of the total cost for the concept demonstration phase of the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) program under a new agreement signed with the U.S. late last month. The memorandum of understanding allows U.K. firms to compete for work in the four-year demonstration effort aimed at developing a new strike fighter. The U.K. hopes a short takeoff and vertical landing version of JAST will meet its requirements for a replacement for the Sea Harrier.
Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham (U.S. Army-Ret.), a pioneer and promoter of the concepts of the Strategic Defense Initiative and single-stage-to-orbit vehicles, died of cancer Dec. 31 in Arlington, Va. He was 70. In the mid-1970s, Graham served as deputy director of the CIA and later director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In 1981, five years after his retirement, he founded a team of scientists, engineers and strategists to push for development of a strategic defense. In 1990, he founded the Space Transportation Assn.
AMERICAN AIRLINES INTENDS TO USE the Honeywell/Trimble HT9100 GNSS navigation management system to replace Omega systems in its fleet of MD-80, DC-10 and Boeing 727 aircraft. Honeywell is scheduled to deliver more than 400 of the Global Positioning System-based navigation systems, with first installation slated for this summer. The two companies intend to jointly develop the HTP9100 to combine GPS and flight management system capabilities, and to give full flight, lateral navigation performance.
The U.S. Air Force intensified the pace of air operations into Bosnia and Hungary over the Christmas holidays, taking advantage of good weather by conducting 50-60 flights a day to four airfields in the theater. The weather cleared on Dec. 21 after several days of low clouds and fog, and the Air Force was able to operate nearly 100 C-130 and C-17 missions into Tuzla by Christmas day. As of Dec. 27, there had been a total of 164 missions flown to Tuzla carrying 1,235 tons of cargo. Other destinations served include Sarajevo, Zagreb and Taszar in Hungary.
JAPAN'S MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT IS INITIATING traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) operations beginning this week. Japan began thinking about a TCAS system in 1971 after an F-86 fighter collided with an All Nippon Airways 727, causing 162 fatalities. Test operations began in 1990, and now more than 60% of the country's civil transports have TCAS transponders. The ministry has not yet decided whether to make TCAS compulsory.
Charles H. Kaman, chairman/chief executive officer of the Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., has added the title of president after the retirement of Harvey S. Levenson. The former president will remain a consultant to and director of the company. Other recent appointments were: Robert M. Garneau and C. William Kaman, 2nd, executive vice presidents; Ronald M. Galla, senior vice president/ chief information officer; Robert H. Saunders, Jr., senior vice president-finance; and Michael J. Morneau, controller.
Flight tests of an F/A-18E/F drop model scheduled to begin soon will provide important data on stall, post-stall and spin recovery characteristics applicable to the full-scale aircraft's upcoming flight test program.
Canada's Radarsat 1 satellite has delivered its first data for an image using a synthetic aperture radar to survey Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia at night through cloud cover and rain. Data for the first image released last month was gathered in late November. It is possible to see the effects of high winds on the water surface since the waves generated strong radar returns (see bright area in upper left of image). The image covers an area 132-km. wide and it was taken from an altitude of 156 km.
THERE IS A NEW HURRY-UP COMPETITION and limited development program for a smaller, short-range UAV that can operate as a land or ship-based scout. Demand for the 3-4-hr. endurance, 120-mi. range aircraft is intense enough that Kaminski has designated the Tactical UAV (TUAV) project an Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). The new ACTD, under which 32 UAVs would be produced initially, combines requirements for the close and maneuver UAVs into a single aircraft.
THE PLANNED LAUNCH of the first Ariane 5 has slipped about three weeks to early May. But the initial 10-min. 29-sec. qualification test series firing of the Aerospatiale first stage and its SEP Vulcain oxygen/hydrogen engine was completed successfully in late December on the launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana.
William J. Skibbe has been named president/chief executive officer of Sargent Fletcher Inc., El Monte, Calif., a subsidiary of Cobham Plc. He was vice president/ general manager of operation control for the C-17 program at McDonnell Douglas.
Bruce Callahan (see photos) has been appointed vice president-marketing and sales, Katherine L. Griffin director of sales and James A. Lisi director of special products for G&H Technology Inc., Camarillo, Calif. Griffin was director of sales and contracts for Avica Inc. Lisi was senior product manager for switches in the Aerospace Controls Div. of the Eaton Corp., Costa Mesa, Calif.
ASIANS ARE SERIOUS ABOUT GOLF. IF YOU DON'T believe it, consider the Country Heights Golf Resort in Malaysia, which has bought a 737-33A from Ansett Worldwide so it can ferry golfers to its resorts. The aircraft is undergoing modification for its new role. No word on whether a putting green will be included.
Thomas A. Eff has been appointed general counsel and Keith McGann manager of maintenance resource management of FlightSafety International of New York. Eff was vice president/associate general counsel of the Continental Corp., and McGann was the maintenance training services marketing representative.
JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA have agreed to conduct landing tests next spring and summer at Woomera Airfield for development of Hope, the H-2 Orbiting Plane. Alflex, the Automatic Landing Flight Experiment, is to be dropped from a helicopter at an altitude of about 5,000 ft., some 8,900 ft. from the runway.
Two U.S. Air Force C-17s completed the first strategic air drop from this model transport by flying 147 Army Rangers nonstop from Ft. Benning, Ga., to Egypt for a mass parachute drop.
AMERICAN TECHNOLOGIES INC. of Fond du Lac, Wis., is marketing mobile communications services to transportation companies via a system it claims is faster and cheaper than store-and-forward satellite systems. ATI's Logitrak system uses Comstar and Spacenet satellites and the Internet to deliver messages and position data. A truck driver, for example, could send a message to a dispatcher within 3 sec., according to company president Larry Bestor.
Bombardier is beginning to assemble the first long-range Global Express business jet and will receive the wing and wing box/center fuselage from Mitsubishi later this month as the company prepares for a first flight in September.
Taghrid Akasheh has been named vice president-operations of Royal Jordanian Airlines. She will continue as a captain of the carrier's wide-body aircraft.
Delta Air Lines and Lockheed Martin are teaming to close what they say is a gap in maintenance services for L-1011 aircraft in North America. The airline, which is among the world's largest L-1011 operators, has signed an agreement to join with Lockheed Martin to provide comprehensive maintenance, engineering and parts support for more than 200 L-1011s in service in the world today. Lockheed built the aircraft in the 1970s.
