AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY presents its annual distinguished Aerospace Laurels selections, honoring individuals and teams who made substantial contributions in the global field of aerospace in 1994. Honorees were selected from nominations submitted by Aviation Week editors in six categories--Commercial Air Transport, Operations, Electronics, Space, Aeronautics/Propulsion and Government/Military.
The French airline industry is still in trouble, and French commercial aviation policy is more contradictory than ever. The French government claims Europe must avoid ``follies'' similar to those of U.S. entrants during the early post-regulation years of the 1980s. Yet the French Transport Ministry has foisted a brutal and damaging fare war on the French domestic route system.
THE U.S. ARMY PLANS qualification tests later this year or in 1996 of a mortar-fired near-infrared flare. The modified 81-mm. round, which shows only a point of light after bursting and while drifting to the ground under parachute, would be used to covertly illuminate battlefield areas to aid friendly forces' infrared surveillance and target-locating devices. The new flare illuminates a greater area for a longer period than conventional white-light flares, according to the Army's Test&Evaluation Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE has issued a precautionary stand down grounding approximately 225 General Electric F110-129 engines. The stand down, which covers powerplants both in the U.S. and foreign air forces, was recommended as a result of an F-16 crash on Jan. 13. The aircraft was a two-man Block 50 F-16 based at Spangdahlem, Germany, and assigned to the 52nd Fighter Wing. Both pilots ejected safely. Contributing to the decision to issue a stand down order was a crash last October of an F-16 based at Hill AFB, Utah (AW&ST Oct. 31, 1994, p. 28).
The impromptu safety summit held earlier this month in Washington probably benefited the Clinton Administration more than it did the U.S. airline industry, but it still served an important purpose. Convened at a time when public confidence in air travel had sunk to a new low, the meeting rose above the recent spate of airline tragedies that spawned it. Rhetoric quickly gave way to a unified government/industry effort to reach a common goal: zero accidents.
THE STRONG PILOT HIRING MARKET likely will continue into 1995 and 1996. Annual cockpit crew hiring totals could reach 9,000 and 10,000, respectively, according to Air, Inc., an Atlanta-based pilot career services firm. In 1994, U.S. major, national, and jet and non-jet commuter airlines inducted slightly more than 8,000 pilots, a 55% jump from the prior year. Although commuter carriers will continue to lead cockpit crew employment with about 5,000 of the projected 1995 new hires, five U.S.
Germany will attempt to refly next year advanced ceramic materials tests lost when its Express satellite reentered the atmosphere out of control following a Japanese M-3S-2 booster malfunction Jan. 15.
Ram C. Menen, senior general manager for cargo of Emirates, has been elected president/chairman of the executive council of the International Air Cargo Assn. W. R. Christopher Foyle, chairman/chief executive officer of Air Foyle, Ltd., has been elected vice president/vice chairman.
Precision Standard, Inc., Birmingham, Ala., has elected J. Ben Shapiro, Jr., to its board of directors. He is a senior partner in the law firm of Shapiro, Fussell, Wedge, Smotherman&Martin.
AMERICAN AIRLINES WILL BEGIN DAILY FLIGHTS between Chicago and Birmingham, England, in May, becoming the first U.S. carrier to take advantage of a unilateral opening of U.K. regional airports by the Transport Dept. Also in May, American will begin a second daily flight between London Heathrow Airport and Boston, to operate year-round.
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, chairman/ chief executive officer/president of IPTN, has won the 28th Edward Warner Award from the International Civil Aviation Organization.
SCIENTISTS AT ARGONNE National Laboratory's Industrial Technology Development Center have developed a tiny ceramic-metal sensor that can identify the electrical signatures of individual gases in a gas mixture. The rugged, low-cost, 2 X 3-mm. sensor can provide early warning of fires while differentiating the source of combustion. It also can be used to monitor certain manufacturing processes. The device, which uses only milliwatts of power when polled, functions using artificial intelligence and cyclic voltammetry.
AlliedSignal Commercial Avionics Systems, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has named Lewis M. Kling senior vice president-air transport business and site leader for Ft. Lauderdale operations. He was vice president/general manager of Harris Corp.'s Electronic Systems Div.
CHINA YUNNAN AIRLINES has ordered three Boeing 767-300s and placed options on an additional three. First deliveries to the Kunming, China-based airline are scheduled for May, 1996. Total value of the order, including options and spares, is about $600 million.
Hughes Space and Communications Co. of Los Angeles has named Paramjit Bains manager of commercial programs. Previously manager of the company's antenna and microwave business, Bains succeeds Patrick C. Dougherty, who is retiring.Ronald V. Swanson, who was Hughes' program manager for the U. S. Navy UHF-Follow-On satellite, has been promoted to general manager of government business development. He succeeds C. R. Johnson, who is retiring.
AIRLINE INTEREST IN PREDICTIVE WIND SHEAR SYSTEMS is increasing, now that at least one of the airborne systems is certified and being installed on transport aircraft. Continental Airlines is installing AlliedSignal predictive systems on its entire fleet. The preliminary NTSB findings in the July 2 crash of a USAir DC-9 at Charlotte, N.C., also are spurring interest in predictive systems. The safety board found that a reactive wind shear system on the aircraft did not sound the alarm for 10-12 sec. as the flaps were retracting.
BOMB THREATS targeted at U.S. flag airlines flying within the East Asia region prompted the FAA and airlines last week to intensify already stiff security checks at major airports in Japan and Hong Kong as well as other major facilities. Security agents are searching personnel, baggage and carry-on items for aerosol or gelatin-type containers that could be explosive devices. The tedious checks are causing 1-2-hr. delays in departures.
ROCKWELL IS POISED to announce it has formed a team to compete to develop the X-33, the larger of two reusable launch vehicles NASA is seeking. Officials of the company's Space Systems Div. huddled last week trying to wrap up teaming arrangements. Lockheed and a Boeing/McDonnell Douglas team are also contenders. Look for Congressional Republicans to grill NASA and industry on whether the launcher plans will really lead to commercially viable vehicles, or just a replacement for the shuttle.
THE NO. 1 MULTINATIONAL X-31 testbed aircraft crashed in a sparsely populated area north of Edwards AFB, Calif., on Jan. 19 during a research flight. Karl Lang, a German test pilot, ejected safely. NASA officials said the aircraft was en route to the base after completing planned tests on the third flight of the day. Two X-31 aircraft built by Rockwell and Deutsche Aerospace have been conducting research flights at NASA/Dryden under a joint program overseen by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Japan's new Kansai International Airport survived the major earthquake that killed more than 4,000 persons last week. The facility kept operating even though it was partially isolated because the tremor had crippled public transportation. The Jan. 17 quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and was centered at Awaji Island in Osaka Bay, not far from the man-made island on which Kansai was built. The quake destroyed major highways and rail lines in the region and late last week was regarded as the second worst in Japan's post-World War 2 history.
Andrew Gray, managing director of Air UK, for carving out a niche for the growing airline at London's Stansted and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports and avoiding crowded, slot-constrained London Heathrow. Air UK's development of joint business with KLM Royal Dutch Airways at Schiphol has allowed it to be profitable and outpace traffic growth in general.
Avions de Transport Regional has begun initial flight tests of a modified wing deicer and plans to begin installation next month on all ATR 42/72 aircraft operating in North America and Western Europe. The new deicer will cover 16% of the upper wing surface instead of the 8% protected by existing units, an ATR official said. Flight tests of an ATR 42 and an ATR 72 at Aerospatiale's site near Toulouse, France, showed the deicers have ``no impact on the performance'' of either type of aircraft, he said. The weight increase is ``negligible.''
CHC Helicopter Corp. of Newfoundland has named Rudy Palladina chief executive officer. Previously president of CHC's Western Div., he succeeds Craig L. Dobbin, who remains chairman of the board and its executive committee. Patrick Callaghan has resigned as president/chief operating officer.
