AEROFLOT IS LAUNCHING a new route from Moscow to Lima via Miami Nov. 1. The twice-weekly flights are scheduled to use Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft. The Russian airline indicated it would not stop over in Cuba because it has not obtained commercial rights on the Havana-Lima route from Cuban authorities. n
Increased deliveries of new, U.S.-manufactured general aviation aircraft during the third quarter bodes well for fourth-quarter performance that could push commercial shipments above the 1,000 mark for the first time since 1991.
ValuJet Airlines could help salvage McDonnell Douglas' commercial aircraft business as a significant if niche competitor in the U.S., if the carrier follows through on plans to acquire at least 50 MD-95 transports at the turn of the century. Atlanta-based ValuJet placed firm orders last week for 50 of Douglas' new 129-seat, short- to medium-haul aircraft and took options on another 50. The carrier today operates 37 aircraft.
JSOW is a key standoff weapon designed for carriage in the small-weapon bays of stealth aircraft. Now the range of the glider weapon has been extended to an estimated 100+ naut. mi. with the addition of a small turbojet engine. The powered JSOW is pictured in its recent first flight at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Center. After being dropped from an F-4 test aircraft, the missile completed an 11-min. racetrack-pattern flight before self-destructing.
AFTER TWO YEARS OF FIGHTING THE FAA to get his pilot medical reinstated, famed aerobatic pilot Bob Hoover was issued a restricted, second-class certificate last week by the FAA. The agency revoked Hoover's medical in 1993 after inspectors charged he was unfit to fly in his unique air show program. Their action ignited a firestorm of anti-FAA sentiment within the aviation industry. At the behest of agency Administrator David R. Hinson, a group of independent physicians recently examined Hoover and recommended the reinstatement.
A SIMPLE SET OF FOLD-DOWN AERODYNAMIC stabilizer plates for litters has been proposed to minimize downwash-generated spin during helicopter rescue hoists. The spring-loaded, underside-mounted plates, which become vertical when deployed, were proven effective in limited 1n/7-scale model tests at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. The plates can be latched flat for storage or normal litter use. Spinning litters complicate the work of rescue crews, cause patient discomfort and can even eject patients.
USAIR AND BRITISH AIRWAYS unveiled a system that will allow their best customers to book flights using an intuitive point-and-click interface on a personal computer. The system, called Priority TravelWorks by USAir and Executive TravelWorks by British Airways, is intended to make it simple to buy airline tickets, reserve hotel rooms and book rental cars.
John Rotchford, Jr., has been named director of corporate communications of the Signal Technology Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif. He was a consultant in the Aviation, Aerospace and Defense Div. of Electronic Data Systems' Management Consulting Group.
NEW MAPS OF LIQUID SURFACES with features as small as 200 angstroms could be key in the battle against corrosion. To obtain the detailed topographic images, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, Calif., ``flew'' a modified atomic force microscope at an altitude of 200 angstroms over condensation formed on mica. The data will help scientists learn how water films alter the surface properties and reactivity of solids, according to Miquel Salmeron, lead researcher.
With the prospect of greater U.S. involvement in Bosnia, it is high time for America to develop a rescue radio with satellite communication capability. The current hand-held radio is limited to line-of-sight transmissions. That means a U.S. aircraft must put itself in harm's way to listen for a signal from a downed airman. It was an F-16 pilot flying over Bosnia who first heard the call from Capt. Scott O'Grady, who had been missing for six days.
A second straight quarter of record earnings should buttress Continental Airlines' drive to shed its legacy of poor service, weak finances and labor woes, making the airline more competitive in U.S. and international markets. The Houston-based carrier last week reported a profit of $111 million on revenues of $1.515 billion for the third quarter, a 258% improvement over the $31-million profit reported on revenue of $1.514 billion for 1994's third quarter.
THE U.S. SENATE FINANCE Committee dealt U.S. airlines a potential financial blow last week by proposing a 17-month exemption from the 4.3 cent./gal. tax on jet fuel instead of a 24-month exemption industry officials had lobbied to achieve. If approved by the full Senate, the exemption would expire on Feb. 28, 1997. The bill's language may be changed, however, during conference negotiations. The House tax bill already includes a 24-month provision.
Rene Mourier has been named chairman/chief executive officer of Carbone Industrie, a subsidiary of France's Societe Europeenne de Propulsion (SEP). He succeeds Guy Jalenques, who will head SEP-Usines Dehousse.
EVERYONE THOUGHT USAIR was desperate to go to the prom, but now it looks as if the airline had a date all along. A confidentiality agreement between United Airlines and Arlington, Va.-based USAir, related to a buyout, existed as early as Jan. 31. It outlines rules for disposition of material used in evaluation of a merger (AW&ST Oct. 9, p. 33).
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIALS ARE PREPARING to brief members of Congress before the Defense Acquisition Board announces its recommendations Nov. 2-3 on future C-17 and C-33 production. Some military officials fear the briefings are aimed at breaking the news to lawmakers that the Pentagon will recommend buying a mix of C-17s and civilian airlifters. Others pooh-pooh that, saying the mix decision simply cannot be made before Oct. 31, when the DAB begins its deliberations.
Austrian Airlines recently took delivery of its first 80-seat Fokker F70 twinjet. In January, the Austrian flag carrier concluded an order for four F70s scheduled to operate from Vienna to points such as Munich, Berlin and Minsk. Entry into service date is Oct. 29. This F70 is Austrian's first aircraft displaying the carrier's new corporate logo and revised color scheme.
Researchers at Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory are developing a solid-state, laser-based optical cooling technology that could efficiently chill small, high-tech devices to cryogenic temperatures. The technique involves shining an intense beam of finely tuned infrared light on a solid. If the object excited by radiation at one frequency can be made to emit radiation at higher frequencies, which carry more energy, the object cools.
BOMB-PROOFING DESIGNS AND TECHNIQUES developed by the U.S. military to protect its structures should be adapted to civil use to help combat domestic terrorism, according to a report from the Washington-based National Research Council. The technology transfer should include details on increasing the survivability of building subsystems, such as communications and ventilation, that could be critical to occupant survival after a blast. Reasonable blast hardening would add about 5% to construction costs.
THE TWO WINNERS of a U.S. competition for the definition/validation phase of the U.S. and European Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program have been joined with two European teams. Both European teams are staffed with personnel from Aerospatiale, Thomson-CSF, Daimler-Benz, Siemens and Alenia. The two U.S. winners are H&R Co., a Hughes-Raytheon joint venture, and Lockheed Martin.
John A. McLuckey (see photo) has been appointed president/chief operating officer of Rockwell Aerospace and Defense, Seal Beach, Calif. He headed Rockwell Defense Systems. J.H. (Joe) Garrett has been named vice president-government affairs and marketing based in Washington and C.M. (Clay) Jones has been appointed head of the Collins Air Transport Div. of Collins Commercial Avionics. He was senior vice president-government operations and international.
GENERAL ELECTRIC AND BOEING have decided to refly icing tests of a GE90-powered 777 transport to verify that redesigned engine acoustic panels can better tolerate ice impacts. During icing tests earlier this month, the leading edges of acoustic panels behind the engine's fan suffered ice impact damage. The new tests will determine if a ruggedized panel can alleviate the problem.
The acquisition of Howmet Corp. by a joint venture formed by Thiokol Corp. and the Carlyle Group will be a pivotal step in Thiokol's efforts to diversify a business base which several years ago was almost entirely dependent on government contract work. Howmet is now owned by Pechiney International, a Paris-based multinational corporation that has been selling some holdings to prepare for the transition from a government-owned organization to a commercial enterprise.
SIMULTANEOUS RADIOMETER MEASUREMENTS by satellite, three specially instrumented aircraft and ground stations should help improve weather forecasting on cloudy days. The aircraft, which fly in an approximately stacked formation directly over ground sensor arrays, consist of a NASA ER-2 high-altitude research jet soaring at 65,000 ft., a Grob Egrett cruising at about 43,000 ft. and a de Havilland Twin Otter flying at 1,500 ft. By comparing about 75 hr.
A PLANET DISCOVERED orbiting a nearby star has been confirmed by a second set of astronomers, at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University. It is the first time a claimed discovery of a planet around a normal star has withstood scrutiny. The discovery was reported Oct. 6 at a meeting in Florence, Italy, by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. The star, 51 Pegasus, is 40 light-years away and similar in mass to the Sun.
