Delta Air Lines will reorganize its cargo operations next month in an attempt to set a strategic direction for an ``orphan'' of the carrier that will boost revenues and its reputation among shippers. The goal is to improve cargo's contribution to Delta's bottom line by $90 million a year through lower costs and greater revenue. The cargo revisions are part of Delta's Leadership 7.5 program to cut costs and boost revenue by $2 billion by mid-1997.
The Spectrum 9010 Series Autosync is a 20-in. monitor that can provide resolution of up to 1,600 X 1,280 pixels. The monitors operate from 29-82 KHz. and can be mounted in a variety of configurations, including standard racks and NEMA enclosures. An integrated microprocessor provides automatic screen parameter setup. The monitor features dynamic aperture focus and 0.28-mm. dot pitch invar mask. It is available with touch screen features. Aydin Corp., 414 Commerce Drive, Ft. Washington, Pa. 19034.
Frustrated at high costs and bad fits, Royal Brunei Airlines has begun writing its own management software rather than try to adapt programs developed for megacarriers. The airline, which flies a Fokker and Boeing fleet of 12 aircraft from this oil-rich Southeast Asian sultanate, is ready to sell the results. They are a product of the airline's Management Information Services Dept. and will be marketed by a new subsidiary, Midas Airline Systems.
A. Scott Crossfield and Charles F. Bolden, Jr., have won gold medals from the Paris-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Crossfield--who was the first person to fly faster than Mach 3 and survive and has been a long-time test pilot, aeronautical engineer and consultant--was honored for his contributions to the development of aeronautics. Bolden was commander of the 1994 U.S. space shuttle flight on which pioneering information was gathered with the first deployment of the Wake Shield Materials Science Facility.
SWISSAIR CLAIMS TO BE THE FIRST airline to begin equipping its medium/short-haul fleet for airborne satellite communications service. The German Luftfahrt Bundesamt and European JAA recently certified a Honeywell/Racal multichannel satellite communication system on a Swissair Airbus A320 narrow-body aircraft. Swissair has ordered the systems for its fleet of 29 narrow-body aircraft, including A319s and A321s. The airline has fitted 13 McDonnell Douglas MD-11s with satcom and plans to equip its 747-300s as well.
Vincent Gallagher has been named director of the Publishing and Printed Materials Specialty Group of Emery Worldwide. He will continue as director of the Pharmaceutical and Health Care Specialty Group. Allen T. Haley and Ronald Wituski have been named sales managers for the Southeast U.S. and Midwest, respectively, for Emery Expedite.
THE NEW CENTER FOR SENSOR MATERIALS at Michigan State University may be a model for future U.S. research and development activity. Federal, state and local governments are funding center startup with regional industry providing initial grants and research contracts. Seed money includes a $5.3-million National Science Foundation grant, a sum matched by the State of Michigan Strategic Fund, MSU and other sources.
The Dynamic Duo allows aircraft overhaul, repair and maintenance facilities to balance both props on a twin-engine aircraft simultaneously. It can be operated by one person from the cockpit without a strobe light. The device computes the balance location and weight from the first run and automatically tests between runs from improvement in vibration level. Solutions are calculated in real time, and results are displayed in plain English on the screen. TEC Aviation Group, 10737 Lexington Drive, P.O. Box 22996, Knoxville, Tenn. 37933-0996.
Brunei's Civil Aviation Dept. expects to complete a study by next spring to turn its airport into a regional service hub by 2003. In essence, Brunei would serve as a bypass hub for secondary city destinations in Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern Philippines. The plan is part of a three-phase, 30-year expansion of the airport that serves the sultanate, which lies between the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo.
The Data-Chart 3000 is a paperless recorder and data acquisition system that can accept as many as six analog inputs. The 5-in. liquid crystal diode screen can display up to 12 channels of information. Input signal scaling, recorder functions and data analysis can be controlled via a touch screen interface. Analog inputs include d.c. voltage and current, thermocouple and pulse signals. A 14-bit analog-to-digital converter provides high accuracy and resolution.
The Model 400D Voice Communications System is a fully integrated system with nonblocking access, full conferencing and unlimited air-ground and ground-ground access. It can be used with a variety of land lines, including ISDN and E-1/T-1 lines. The system integrates radio, telephone, intercom and conferencing. It is designed to interface with the Digital Voice Recording System. Denro, 9318 Gaither Road, Gaithersburg, Md. 20877.
Col. Malcolm V. Lane (USMC, Ret.) has been named project manager for the Catastrophic Failure Prevention Program being conducted by Crown Communications Inc., Pleasantville, N.J., and its subcontractor, Flight Technology Inc., for the FAA Airframes and Structures Branch. Lane was airport project manager for the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
After nearly a decade of decline in both membership and influence, U.S. labor unions are determined to resist further wage concessions while struggling to forge stronger ties with airline management. As U.S. industry profits increase, so does labor's demand that management share its wealth in the form of higher wages and increased benefits. In return, airlines are insisting on more productivity in an effort to manage unit costs in the face of stiffening competition.
Kiplivit reusable, collapsible containers are made of rigid plywood panels joined by flexible, high-strength fabric bands made of a cotton-polyamide blend. The French-made shipping and storage container can be closed with an automatic locking system to eliminate the need for additional closures such as metal or plastic straps. It can be assembled in seconds without tools and collapses to a height of less than 9 in. Containers are available in standard sizes of 8.5-38 cu. ft. and can carry loads of up to 6 metric tons.
Calcor Aero Systems' combination thrust-reverser and variable exhaust nozzle can change nozzle diameter by up to 15% to optimize turbofan engine exhaust flow and performance during takeoff, climb and cruise. In forward flight, nozzle diameter can be controlled manually or by using input from the powerplant's full-authority digital engine controller. Actuators change nozzle diameter by repositioning the unit's small, trailing nozzle half-doors, according to the Whittier, Calif., based manufacturer.
FRANCE'S MARNE DISTRICT AUTHORITIES will invest $192 million in an all-cargo airport and business center--Europort--located at Vatry, 100 mi. east of Paris. Vatry is a dormant French air force base that was built in the mid-1950s for NATO use and has a single 9,512-ft.-runway, now scheduled to be extended to allow high-capacity commercial transports (AW&ST Oct. 18, 1993, p. 48). Local authorities will own a controlling stake in the Europort company set to manage the hub. Phase 1 is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 1997.
The Orenda 500 is a 500-hp. variant of the division's 600-hp., V-8 aircraft engine. The 500 is normally aspirated and features a 10:1 compression ratio. Power output will be 500 hp. for 5 min. at takeoff and 450 hp. continuously. Time between overhaul will be set at 1,500 hr. initially. FAA and Transport Canada certification of both engines is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 1996, and they will share many common parts. Hawker Siddeley Canada Inc., Orenda Div., 3160 Derry Road East, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4T 1A9.
Delta Air Lines is reaping the returns of a campaign to slash $2 billion from operating expenses by mid-1997, but not all of those returns are welcome. Little more than halfway through its ``Leadership 7.5'' program to restructure itself as a potent competitor for major airlines and low-cost carriers alike, Delta has seen its financial performance improve. For the nine months ending Sept. 30, Delta netted $441 million, compared to a loss of $256 million for the same period last year.
Airbus Industrie is scheduled to launch in the next few weeks an extended- range derivative of the A330 high capacity twinjet. If the European consortium's supervisory board approves the required $400-450- million investment, the program will be launched next month, with the first delivery of the A330's new version scheduled to be made the second quarter of 1998.
Chris Addington has been appointed director of assembly for single-engine aircraft in Independence, Kan., for the Cessna Aircraft Co. He was group manager for aircraft completion at the Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan.
Organized airline machinists, frustrated by weak wage growth and sensing a growing vulnerability to outsourcing, are vowing to take a more militant stand in future labor negotiations. ``Workers are fed up with the way they are being treated by corporate America,'' William Scheri said. He is general vice president of Transportation for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 85,000 individuals. ``You will see a more confrontational approach in our dealings with airline management.''
EUROPEAN CARRIERS ARE INCREASINGLY SUFFERING from poor flight punctuality tied to air traffic control-related difficulties. According to Assn. of European Airlines' (AEA) officials, flight delays are becoming ``appalling.'' During the July-September period, 20.4% of departures by AEA member airlines were delayed by more than 15 min., the worst deterioration since the second quarter of 1992. About 70% of the delays were tied to airport/ATC congestion, up from 61% in mid-1994, AEA Secretary-General Karl-Heinz Neumeister said.
The drive by airlines worldwide to reduce operating costs, some to compete with start-up carriers and others to offset losses, is commendable but doomed to mediocre results unless certain realities are faced. The part of the equation missing in many of these attempts is the realization of how the human element factors into the results.
This side-loading livestock crate is designed for shipping animals via air cargo. The stall, made of aluminum and fiberglass, is designed to be set up quickly without tools. It can be broken down to a height of less than 10 in. in a few minutes for stacking, storage or repositioning. Stalls, which weigh 835 lb. each, can be configured in sets of one to four with an open or closed top. They are approved in the U.S. and Canada for use in Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft. Aerofex Corp., Box 1147, Beverly Hills, Calif. 90213-1147.
Linda Strine Shahan has been appointed director of public affairs for Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver. She succeeds Virnell Bruce, who has been promoted to vice president-communications of Lockheed Martin Space&Strategic Missiles. Shahan was deputy associate director for program affairs of the U.S. Transportation Dept.'s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
