MAURIZIO CHELI of Italy and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, both named as mission specialists on NASA's space shuttle Mission 75, are a sort of odd couple of space flight. Their mission will be the second for the Tethered Satellite System. Nicollier was a crewmember on the first flight, Mission 46 in July, 1992. But he had to wait 14 years after becoming an astronaut for the opportunity. Then the Italian satellite barely got to unwind because a misplaced bolt kept the reel from working properly.
Rockwell Defense Electronics, Anaheim, Calif., has named James E. Lake (see photo) vice president-operations and product support for the Autonetics Electronics Systems Div. He was director of operations for the Tactical Systems Div.
EXPECT STEPPED-UP ACTIVITY THIS YEAR AT AIR CANADA. The carrier plans to boost capacity by 15% in 1995 and will add 12 new Canadair Regional Jets, three new Boeing 767-300ERs, two 767-200s on short-term lease and two new Airbus A340s this year, while giving up just two Boeing 747s. The airline also has ordered 33 Airbus A319s, with most deliveries scheduled for 1997 and 1998. New aircraft will allow the airline to expand its service to the U.S. after the American and Canadian governments complete a new bilateral--probably later this month.
As U.S. and Canadian negotiators put the finishing touches on a new bilateral agreement, airlines on both sides of the border are already preparing to offer more flights and to exploit what will soon become a relatively open market.
With most major cuts in force structure and weapons already completed, the U.S. Air Force is being pressured to find new ways to stretch its budget as the Pentagon plans for the two worst years--Fiscal 1996-97--of the post-Cold War defense drawdown. In Fiscal 1996, the Air Force is seeking approval of a $72.6-billion budget, $2.2 billion less than in 1995. The service will have to do the spade work for a similar cut in 1997 before budgets begin to flatten.
This seat-track closet can be produced for wide or narrow-body aircraft. The closet has anti-rattle pin receptacles and cart bumpers on its aisle-facing doors. Three modules comprise the unit. The center part has two aft-facing doors that open to storage shelves. The upper part can accommodate a video monitor and related equipment. The end units contain three aisle-facing storage areas. Coat stowage is accessed by a double-latch door and pull-out coat rod. Aim Aviation, Inc., 705 SW Seventh, Renton, Wash. 98057.
Unisys Corp., McLean, Va., has named Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney (USAF, Ret.) vice president-command and control for the Electronic Systems business segment (see photo). He was USAF assistant vice chief of staff and director of Defense Performance Review.
The Pentagon is releasing $94.7 million to the B-2 bomber industrial team to keep the stealth bomber production base warm while it reexamines heavy bomber force requirements. The $94.7 million would be divided among Boeing ($42.7 million), Northrop Grumman ($24.6 million) and Northrop's Vought Aircraft subsidiary ($5.3 million). The remainder will go to some 45 component suppliers.
Pratt&Whitney and the MTU unit of Daimler-Benz Aerospace have named Tom Davenport to head their new Mid-Thrust Family Engine project. He was PW4084 engine program manager at Pratt&Whitney. Rainer Schwab has been named deputy program manager. He was head of commercial programs and sales at MTU.
DAIMLER-BENZ AEROSPACE AG (DASA) of Munich and Rockwell of Seal Beach, Calif., are establishing a joint-venture company to develop aircraft and airport equipment that will use Global Navigation Satellite Systems for navigation and landing. DASA and Rockwell will each hold 50% of the new venture, which will be located in Ulm, Germany. The working units will be Rockwell's Collins Commercial Avionics in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and DASA's Ulm-based Sensor Systems Div. of the Defense and Civil Systems Group.
JAPAN'S H-2 MISSION has been postponed a second time because of a leak in its Space Flyer Unit payload. Setting a new launch date will be in the hands of Japanese fishermen. The mission was to be launched Feb. 22. But Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science said a leak it discovered in the SFU's orbital positioning thruster system could not be repaired in time. It was the second time the launch was delayed because of SFU plumbing problems.
Boeing has named Larry Winslow vice president-engineering for the Defense and Space Group. He succeeds John Sheridan. Winslow will continue as vice president-research and technology.
CONTINENTAL AND FRONTIER AIRLINES ARE DISCUSSING a code-sharing agreement similar to the one Continental signed with America West last fall (aw&st Jan. 23, p. 48). Such an arrangement would further extend Continental's reach into western U.S. markets the airline lost when it dropped a number of Denver-based flights. Frontier, which started operations last year, operates five Boeing 737-200s and serves 12 cities in the west. The low-fare carrier in December achieved a 49.8% load factor.
AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY editors will lead a discussion based on the magazine's latest two-part special report, ``Automated Cockpits: Who's in Charge?'' in CompuServe's online conference center on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. EST. Managing Editor David North and Northeast Bureau Chief David Hughes will discuss the comprehensive editorial reports in the Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 issues. Anyone with access to CompuServe is invited to participate. For details check ``What's New?'' or the Avsig bulletin board.
British Airways is on track to achieve record profits in its 1994-95 fiscal year as solid traffic growth, lower fuel costs and increased productivity allowed the carrier to report unexpectedly strong last-quarter and nine-month results.
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES USUALLY RESERVE COMMENT on policy until their Senate confirmation. But when retired Air Force General Michael Carns was nominated by President Clinton last week to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the ex-fighter pilot immediately signaled what is in store--shrinkage and makeover. ``We will be leaner,'' he volunteered at the White House announcement ceremony. Borrowing a White House byword, Carns added that ``reinvention'' of the CIA would be a major part of his stewardship.
Ashteck, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., has named Charles M. Boesenberg president/ chief executive officer. He was president of Symantec Corp. Boesenberg succeeds Ashtech founder and former president Javad Ashjaee, who remains a director and president of the company's Moscow research and development center.
A board room coup at Kiwi International Airlines has resulted in a dramatic change of top management, with the expelled chairman and chief executive officer threatening a court fight A Kiwi official indicated the firing of Robert Iverson was related to the airline's financial condition, which deteriorated badly in the closing weeks of 1994.
The enhanced Agusta A129 International attack helicopter, an A129 Mangusta derivative, is entering the flight test phase. The growth version is equipped with two 1,260-shp. Allison-Garrett LHTEC T800 turboshaft engines, replacing 825-shp. Rolls-Royce 1004 Gems, and has a new, five-blade main rotor. Maximum takeoff weight is 10,140 lb., up from 9,040 lb. and maximum speed is 150 kt., up from 135 kt. The new version's armament includes a 20-mm. cannon, rocket launchers and a variety of antitank missiles such as TOWs, Hellfires and Stingers.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS is part of a consortium that will bid next month to take over the U.K. portion of the Channel Tunnel rail project and operate Eurostar passenger services from London to Paris and Brussels. If its operator-led consortium is successful in the four-way competition, Virgin, the only airline company among the bidders, plans to institute an airline-style frequent traveler program on the Eurostar routes.
LOOK FOR A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUSH to mandate child-restraining devices for infants traveling in transport aircraft. Design challenges include interface with the airplane seat geometry and 17-in. economy seat widths. Seat overhang, quick-release buckles, ease-of-installation and seat-back breakover also are issues. Although CRDs designed for automobile seats are impractical to use and provide a low level of safety in aircraft, any restraint is better than holding a child in an adult's lap during a crash, according to a recent Flight Safety Foundation study.
THE FLIGHT TEST CENTER of the French Ministry of Defense will use a Harris Night Hawk real-time multiprocessor as the host computer in a new interactive pilot training project. The computer is supplied by Harris Systemes Electroniques S.A., the French subsidiary of Harris Computer Systems Corp., of Ft. Lauderdale. The project at Centre d'Essais en Vol will run several simultaneous simulations so fighter pilots and helicopter pilots can interact in a hostile environment.
The 2300 series of controllers is a PC-based, closed-loop pulse and direction output, motion control board. It can be used either as a closed-loop stepper controller or with digital input servo drives. The 2300 is programmable in high-level languages and is not dependent on a proprietary programming language. The card's pulse output is adjustable to a maximum output of 2 MHz. All boards in the series have 20 digital inputs and eight outputs. They may be used with single-ended encoders using open collector or totem pole outputs.
Michael Dewar, former deputy director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, has become a director of Cadogan Management. James Wey has become junior vice president-sales and marketing for EVA Air in Europe.
Astra Jet Corp., Princeton, N.J., has appointed C. Richard Beine vice president- marketing and sales. He was vice president-sales for the western U.S. for Gulfstream Aerospace.
