COMPUTER-AIDED LIFE CYCLE ENGINEERING (CALCE) techniques are being advanced by an industry-government-university consortium based at the University of Maryland at College Park. The science-based, physics-of-failure approach seeks to develop methods to improve product quality and reliability at a reduced cost and time to market, according to Carl A. Rust, CALCE research center executive director.
MORE PROGRESS ON ``SMART'' MATERIALS that can be used to change airfoil shapes in-flight. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are using a new fabrication technology to eliminate cracking and other problems previously encountered when nitinol wires, known for their shape memory ability, were embedded in a plastic matrix material. Now, the resulting composite quickly can be trained to ``remember'' two pre-set shapes, according to Scott White, principal investigator and aeronautical and astronautical engineer.
INTERNATIONAL LEASE FINANCE CORP. late last week concluded an order for 30 Airbus Industrie twinjets, eight A319s, 13 A320s and nine A321s, which will be delivered over the 1996-2000 time period. ILFC also optioned 10 additional transports: three A319s, four A320s and three A321s. The European consortium in 1994 booked orders for 121 aircraft, up from 38 in 1993.
GRC International, Inc., Vienna, Va., has appointed Edward C. Meyer chairman of the board (see photo). A retired U.S. Army general and current GRC director, Meyer succeeds George M. Seignious, 2nd, who will become director emeritus. GRC also has named Joseph R. Wright, Jr., (see photo) and George R. Packard to its board. Wright is cochairman and director of Baker and Taylor Holdings. Packard is a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Labinal Group, Grand Prairie, Tex., has appointed Dennis B. Nichols (see photos) president/chief executive officer of its Microturbo, Inc., subsidiary. He remains president/CEO of Turbomeca Engine Corp., another Labinal subsidiary. Chris Christensen has been promoted to senior vice president of Microturbo from vice president-engineering and new programs.
Burns Aerospace Corp., Winston-Salem, N.C., has named William C. Waskey vice president/general manager in Inglewood, Calif. He was vice president/general manager of Anvil Cases, Inc.
Preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recorder tape indicates that the crew of an American Eagle Jetstream Super 31 was coping with loss of power on one engine, and may have stalled the aircraft before it struck the ground on approach to Raleigh/Durham International Airport, N.C.
THE AIRBUS A330 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines has been certificated by the European Joint Aviation Authorities. Cathay Pacific Airways, launch customer for the Trent-powered A330, will take delivery of the first of 10 A330s in February.
SIBERIAN AIRLINES WILL USE ROCKWELL'S Collins traffic-alert collision avoidance system on its 350-passenger wide-body Ilyushin 86 aircraft. Siberian is the second Russian airline to select Collins TCAS, following Aeroflot, which installed the system in its Il-86 a year ago.
WILLIAM B. SCOTTBettina Chavanne contributed to this report.
Western Pacific Airlines, Inc., a Colorado Springs-based airline headed by America West founder Edward R. Beauvais, is seeking to begin operations early this year as a low-cost carrier. Initially, the Western Pacific or WestPAC fleet will consist of three leased Boeing 737-300s, possibly expanding to eight or nine aircraft by the end of the first business year. The company's applications for a Part 121 certificate and a Transportation Dept. financial and management fitness assessment are pending.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN WILL UPGRADE the mission computer in the U.S. Navy's E-2C early warning and control aircraft using commercial-off-the-shelf equipment. The new computer is based on the Raytheon Model 940 computer, itself a modification of the Digital Equipment Corp. 2100 model A500MP processing system, which is the family of hardware used in the Northrop Grumman Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint-STARS). The company will develop the computer under a $155-million engineering and manufacturing development contract.
Textron, Inc., Providence, R.I., has named Daniel L. Shaffer vice president-audit and business ethics. He was president of Textron Aircraft Engine Components.
BOEING AND JAPAN AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT CORP. are discussing the structuring of a joint venture company to manage production, sales and customer support for the YS-X/JB (Japan-Boeing) small aircraft development program. The joint venture would not have a dedicated sales staff but would use Boeing's sales/support network. The intent is to keep the company small to reduce costs.
Airframe manufacturers have long touted the virtues of advanced composites for commercial transport aircraft. Over the years, these materials have been used more extensively on commercial aircraft and on parts critical to safe flight.
Anstec, Inc., Fairfax, Va., has appointed George H. Bolling vice president-telecommunications. He was vice president-marketing and business development for InterDigital Communications Corp.
AS AIR SAFETY CONCERNS INCREASE, expect more specialized ``pilot awareness'' courses to be offered by training centers to flight crews. FlightSafety International, for example, now is offering intensive short-term classes that address specific air safety problems. One course probes controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), considered to be the leading cause of air accidents; and another covers loss of control/unusual attitudes.
EXPECT FORMAL BILATERAL TALKS between the U.S. and Canada to resume this month. Previous talks broke off in 1992, and the two countries agreed in late December on a framework for a new agreement. The new bilateral is to provide open skies for U.S.-Canada passenger service and include the solution to a previously divisive issue--the length of the transition period required to establish unlimited landing rights at Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. In previous talks Canada had demanded an 8-yr. phase-in, but the two countries now have agreed on a 2-3-yr. period.
A laser guidance system installed on the U.S. aircraft carrier Constellation is helping Navy pilots with the most difficult part of night carrier operations--landing on the centerline.
Francois Auque has been appointed chairman of Airbus Finance Co. of Dublin, Airbus Industrie's finance subsidiary. Auque was Aerospatiale vice president-finance.
The free-market approach to air transport regulation favored by the U.S. government and megacarriers, such as American Airlines, faces considerable resistance worldwide, as revealed at an ICAO conference here.
Performance Review Institute of Pittsburgh has named David K. Luoni (see photos) staff engineer for the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program. He was chief chemist/supervisor of quality engineering at Armco Stainless and Alloy Products. John Stecklow, previously commanding officer of the U.S. Air Force ROTC units at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, has been named production and planning control specialist.
Norwegian air force officials received their first operational air defense battery of Hughes AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles. Called the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the battery will defend Rygge Air Force Base. It uses the U.S.-built air-to-air missile as a ground-launched weapon. Eventually the air force will field a total of four batteries to protect its major air bases. The missiles are networked with Norsk Forsvarsteknologi (NFT) fire control centers and Hughes three-dimensional radars.
IN A BID TO IMPROVE MAIL SERVICE, China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications says it will set up its own airline in Beijing as a limited liability company. The Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved the ministry's plan for a network covering 30 major cities, according to official Chinese press accounts. The airline is to fly Chinese-made Y8-F100 transports. The ministry expects a detailed feasibility study on routes to be completed in the first quarter of this year.
