Fran Marcum has been named to the board of directors of the Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She is chief executive officer of Micro Craft Inc., Tullahoma, Tenn.
U.S. CHARTER AIRLINE WORLD AIRWAYS entered the scheduled passenger service arena July 2 with its thrice-weekly nonstop New York (JFK)-Tel Aviv flight with a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 trijet. World Airways is a subsidiary of WorldCorp and serves charter/government passengers, and cargo and wet-lease clients.
Stuart Matthews, Flight Safety Foundation chairman/president/and chief executive officer, has been honored by the Society of Senior Aerospace Executives for his defense of the commuter airline industry's safety record.
A decision in the highly charged, multi-billion dollar competition to supply the British army with a new attack helicopter could come this week, with the Apache, being offered by a Westland Helicopters/McDonnell Douglas team, believed to have the edge. The decision, which had been expected before the parliamentary recess on July 20, could be put off until the fall, however, if the U.K.'s new Secretary of Defense Michael Portillo and new Secretary of Trade and Industry Ian Lang want to review the program issues.
NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program will start its flight phase in earnest this summer, with the initial goal of flying as high as possible. The purpose of ERAST is to develop drones and miniature sensors for atmospheric research (AW&ST Oct. 31, 1994, p. 27). It is supporting several technologies to help the fledgling field evolve to where it may have some commercial viability.
THERE ARE NO DIRECT FLIGHTS between China and Taiwan, but China Airlines has found a way to make it easier for its China-destined passengers when they board connecting flights in Hong Kong. Seven major Chinese carriers have agreed to use common boarding cards with CAL so passengers can avoid long lines at Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport. Two boarding cards will be issued to passengers on flights originating in Kaohsiung and Taipei that are destined for Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
MICHAEL PORTILLO HAS been named defense secretary of the United Kingdom, succeeding Malcolm Rifkind, who became foreign secretary, in a reshuffle of Prime Minister John Major's cabinet. Rifkind succeeded Douglas Hurd, who resigned; Portillo was employment secretary. Sir George Young, who has been financial secretary at the Treasury, has been appointed transport secretary, succeeding Brian Mahwhinney who has become chairman of the Conservative Party.
FEDEX EXPECTS TO START DELIVERY SERVICES IN CHINA with trucks bearing its familiar logo, in August. It is completing negotiations with an as-yet-unnamed Chinese partner for delivery services in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. FedEx's application to take over Evergreen International's exclusive U.S. cargo rights into China has entered a public comment phase with the U.S. Transportation Dept. and still must be approved by Chinese authorities. FedEx currently operates in China using belly capacity on Chinese or foreign carriers.
The Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, Wetaskiwin, Alberta, has inducted the following: Dick Richmond for playing a leading role in many of Canada's aerospace programs; George Neal, for involvement in the development of de Havilland's short takeoff and landing aircraft around the world; and the late Jack Woodman, a longtime military and civilian test pilot.
Arianespace will bid major portions of its new Ariane 5 heavy booster as part of a U.S.-led team competing for a new U.S. Air Force heavy launch vehicle contract. The Ariane 5 oxygen/hydrogen core vehicle integrated by Aerospatiale along with the SEP Vulcain 246,000-lb.-thrust engine are the key elements of the proposal.
NASDA IS CONSIDERING postponing its Advanced Earth Observation Satellite mission for six months, moving Adeos from next winter's H-2 launch window to August/September. Installation and checkout of sensors developed for the mission by NASA and CNES, the French space agency, have taken longer than expected by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., which developed and built the satellite for 54.5 billion yen ($649 million). A decision on the postponement is expected to be reached by Japan's Space Activities Commission within a few weeks.
No-notice inspections under Start treaty agreements are having a few unanticipated effects on traditionally routine operations at U.S. strategic missile bases. Under Start rules, inspection teams give 16 hr. notice that they will arrive at a missile base such as F.E. Warren. One of two Russian teams conducting 120-day baseline inspections of eastern missile submarine bases and western U.S. nuclear sites made a surprise visit here in May.
W. Vincent Walisko, Jr., has been named director of global broadcast and special services for the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. He was director of special services.
John Lordi (see photo) has been appointed executive director of Calspan/University at Buffalo Research Center. He succeeds Anthony Russo, who is retiring.
Israel Aircraft Industries unveiled its newest unmanned aerial vehicle at the Paris air show last month--the long endurance Heron. Developed in just 10 months, the multipurpose UAV flew for the first time last October. It has since logged more than 100 hr. in 15 flights. On one flight Heron stayed aloft for 51 hr. 21 min. with a 440-lb. payload, a world record for a UAV of its class, according to IAI. Equipped with a GPS-based autonomous navigation system and fuel tanks in the composite wings, Heron can carry 250 kg. (550 lb.) in its payload bay (inset).
Aurora Flight Sciences recently completed a NASA critical design review of its large Theseus drone, which could be ready for scientific missions to 65,000 ft. in late 1996. The Manassas, Va., company has several drone and high-altitude projects underway, including the Chiron sea-skimming aircraft for the Office of Naval Research, the NASA-sponsored Theseus, the Perseus A and Perseus B drones supported by NASA and the Energy Dept., and a leased Grob G-520 Egrett manned high-altitude testbed.
The National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton, Ohio, will induct the following on July 22: U.S. Air Force Maj. Don S. Gentile; Clyde E. Pangborn, the first man to fly nonstop across the Pacific; Harold F. Pitcairn, for developing the autogiro and an air mail carrier line from New York to Atlanta to Miami that eventually became Eastern Airlines; and Burt Rutan, designer of the Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around the world without refueling.
LOCKHEED MARTIN has set the first launch of a Lockheed Launch Vehicle for July 18, about 2 p.m. PDT. from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The LLV-1 is to carry a 300-lb. GEMstar communications satellite into a 360-naut.-mi. near polar orbit.
Helicopter Wildlife Management is using a fleet of three McDonnell Douglas 500D helicopters to economically and humanely capture wildlife for tagging or relocation. The airborne capture technique, using a variety of weighted nets fired by a gunner, was developed in the 1970s and 1980s in New Zealand. Skid-mounted net-guns, triggered by the pilot, also are used.
After more than 100 days on the Russian space station, the three Mir 18 crewmembers were testy at times about being poked, prodded and pricked in the name of science on board Atlantis. All three, including NASA's own Dr. Norman E. Thagard, balked at performing at least some procedures. And Mir 18 commander Vladimir N. Dezhurov even phoned home to Moscow to complain.
THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR THE TRIGAT long-range antitank missile by the Euromissile Dynamics Group has achieved a milestone by demonstrating the automatic handoff of targeting data from a test version of a helicopter mast-mounted sight to a Trigat missile seeker. The capability is important for future integration of the long-range Trigat with the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter. First airborne firings of the missile are planned for 1996.
Following are comments on the reliability of market forecasts for the commercial space launch industry, written by Bruce S. Middleton. He is the managing director of Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants P/L of Australia. Market forecasts play a critical role in assessing new investment. But how good are those forecasts?
