Boeing surely abandoned its blended-wing body not for the reason of "little room for cabin windows," but for its disadvantage of not offering the highly desired feature of stretching and shortening a fuselage to accommodate an operator's route lengths and loading. As an example, the story "In the Stretch" (AW&ST Apr. 5, pp. 10 and 62) cites the 33-ft. addition to the 777-200 fuselage that results in the -300.
The U.S. Army has conducted a series of tests of its Mobile Tactical High-Energy Laser testbed at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The Army was able to track a large-caliber rocket and destroyed it with a deuterium fluoride chemical laser, in the system's first mission against this type of target. The test used the Tactical High-Energy Laser demonstrator, which previously shot down Katyusha rockets.
Flamingo Express has applied for a permit from the City of Cincinnati to operate scheduled service from Lunken Airport, the one-time primary commercial airfield in the Ohio Valley. President Sharon McGee intends to offer three round trips a week to Chicago starting next month under the company's existing Part 135 certificate. The airline has secured two Piper Chieftains and a Beech Baron for the $199 service each way. Flamingo Express is an offspring of Flamingo Air, a 15-year-old Part 91 and Part 135 service based at Lunken and operated by David P.
Boeing and Airbus have been marching up the chart and designing airplanes with more and more seats for some time, but now they've split. Airbus is focusing on the top of the scale and Boeing the middle. The tempo of their strategies is underscored by a milestone that will play out this week.
Wyle Laboratories Inc. is developing a two-person centrifuge for researching effects of artificial gravity during long-duration space flights. The 3-meter (10-ft.)-radius Short Radius Centrifuge--to be constructed at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston--will support NASA's Artificial Gravity Pilot Study, the first step of a two-phase project aimed at mitigating astronauts' loss of muscle and bone mass while in space. Two test subjects will be placed in a bed-rest position, but tilted 6 deg. head-down to simulate a microgravity environment (see graphic).
Messier-Dowty was omitted from a list of major suppliers for the Boeing 7E7 (AW&ST May 3, p. 26). Headquartered in Paris, the French company will supply the aircraft's nose and main landing gear and undercarriage.
Michael J. Palumbo (see photo) has been appointed executive vice president/chief financial officer of Delta Air Lines. He succeeds M. Michele Burns, who has resigned. Robert L. Colman, executive vice president-human resources, is planning to retire June 1. Palumbo has been a consultant with Airline Financial Services in New York and was executive vice president/CFO of Trans World Airlines.
European Space Agency controllers have delayed deployment of the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (Marsis) booms on the Mars Express orbiter until more simulations and tests can be run. An Italian/U.S. team developed the radar instrument to study the planet's subsurface structure to a depth of a few kilometers. The team sought the postponement when new computer models suggested the twin 20-meter (66-ft.) main booms could swing dangerously close to other components on the orbiter as they unfurl.
Senior Editor David Hughes (left) tours the Rolls-Royce Deutschland facility in Dahlewitz with Stephen Churchhouse, director of civil programs at the German subsidiary. The site performs final assembly of BR715, BR710 and Tay 611-8C turbofans and checks performance in two engine test cells (see p. 59). Hughes' visit was part of a press tour arranged by Gulfstream and included a record-setting flight in a G550 from Washington Dulles International Airport to Berlin Templehof Airport on Mar. 11. The aircraft, powered by two BR710s, set a city-pair record of 7 hr. 27 min.
Placed under a common umbrella, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are forming the world's biggest carrier in revenues and the third biggest group in passenger numbers. The group has about 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in annual revenues, 106,125 employees and operates 556 aircraft between two main hubs--Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol--and 225 destinations. "We are proud of such an achievement," Air France Chairman/CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta and KLM Chief Executive Leo van Wijk declared last week.
May started badly for BAE Systems, with the British government opting to delay any firm move to contract for a next-generation armored vehicle in preference to a further two years of study. BAE had been lobbying for the Ministry of Defense to move to a single-source contract with a BAE-Alvis team on the Future Rapid Effects System vehicle program. Outgoing BAE Chairman Sir Richard Evans also refuted allegations in the U.K. press of wrongdoing with regard to the company's Saudi business.
Capt. Jim Sullivan has been promoted to vice president-flight operations from director of flight operations training for Frontier Airlines. He succeeds Capt. Bill McKinney, who is expected to retire. Patricia A. Engels, a former executive of United Airlines, has been appointed to the board of directors. She is executive vice president-products and marketing for Qwest in Denver.
Aiming for a new record for the world's longest nonstop commercial air service, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will start an 18-hr. polar route to New York from Singapore on June 28 using a 181-seat Airbus A340-500. This is the same aircraft type that SIA used to launch 16-hr. Singapore-Los Angeles nonstop service on Feb. 3. Besides its thrice-weekly New York services, SIA is considering nonstops to San Francisco and Chicago. Singapore-Los Angeles fares are 5-10% higher than average transpacific prices for business and economy classes, an airline official said.
I'm glad to see the U.S. Army is coming to its senses regarding the OH-6A (AW&ST Apr. 5, p. 35). For those of us who flew the OH-6A vs. the OH-58, we told the Army years ago that this was not the way to go, yet they went that way. But when it really counted they bought them for the 160th, but not for the field aviation troops. Wonder why? Anyone who flew the OH-6A in combat can attest to its survivability and maneuverability; there was none better. The OH-58 never had it and never will, ask around.
The U.S. Air Force's strike aircraft plans are once again in flux. As officials warn that the in-service date for the F/A-22 may slip, Congress is eyeing a decrease in the aircraft's budget, and upgrades to existing fighters are under attack.
A fitter checks a completed BR710 engine at the Rolls-Royce Deutschland facility in Dahlewitz, south of Berlin. The plant produces more than 200 engines a year with more than half of these being BR710s for the Gulfstream G550 and G500 as well as the Bombardier Global Express and Global 5000. RRD is researching a new engine core as well (see p. 59). Rolls-Royce photo by Steffen Weigelt.
The Italian government was hoping late last week to rapidly devise an emergency rescue plan that would avoid bankruptcy for Alitalia. In a surprise initiative on May 6, Giancarlo Cimoli, chief executive of Italy's state-owned railway company Ferrovie Statali, was appointed chief executive of the airline, succeeding Marco Zanichelli. In addition, Chairman Giuseppe Bonomi was asked to quit to facilitate the reshuffling.
NASA's international partners are willing to join the U.S. in its planned return to the Moon as a stepping-stone to Mars, but they want the International Space Station finished first. Witnesses from Canada, Germany, Japan and the European Space Agency testified to that effect last week before the President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond, which is drafting plans for implementing the new space policy (see p. 24).
Immediately upon seeing the cover of the Apr. 19 issue, I noticed something very wrong. The individual pictured inspecting the engine of the Continental Airlines Boeing 777 is standing on the handrail of the work stand. Continental appears to have a work area safety rules problem.
Lockheed Martin's victory in the Pentagon's multibillion-dollar Joint Common Missile program will compound Britain's difficulties in eventually choosing whether to pursue transatlantic or European paths to meet its requirement. London is a junior partner in the Joint Common Missile (JCM), but is effectively running a three-pronged approach to fulfilling its needs: involvement in JCM, domestic research and development under its own Common Missile effort, and exploring a collaborative European development.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and U.S. Commerce Dept. have agreed on reinforced procedures for conducting end-use visits and ensuring that exports of controlled U.S. dual-use items are being employed by their intended recipients for their expected purposes. The accord resolves a long-standing issue that has strained relations between the two countries, particularly in the space arena.
Pierre Betin, retired senior vice president of Snecma, is one of four honorary fellows named by the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The others are: Earl Dowell, J.A. Jones professor at Duke University; L.S. (Skip) Fletcher, director for aerospace at the NASA Ames Research Center; and Peter B. Teets, Air Force undersecretary and director of the National Reconnaissance Office.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Ryan Leeds at +1 (212) 904-3892/+1 (800) 240-7645 (U.S. and Canada Only) May 17-19--Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference. CS First Boston Headquarters, New York. June 2-3--Netcentric Conference & Exhibition, Washington Convention Center. June 2-4--Homeland Security Summit & Exposition. Washington Convention Center. Sept. 14-16--MRO Europe. Bella Center, Copenhagen.
THE LANCAIR CO. HAS RECEIVED FAA certification for its turbocharged Columbia 400 personal aircraft (see photo). Powered by a 310-hp. Teledyne Continental TSIO-550 engine, the four-seat airplane has a cruise speed of 220 KTAS at 18,000 ft. and 235 kt. at 25,000 ft. According to the company, the Columbia 400 is the fastest production, certified piston-powered aircraft available. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this month. The all-composite airplane is equipped with an Avidyne FlightMax Entegra glass cockpit, dual Garmin 430 GPS navigation systems and an autopilot.
Scott Dolan has become president of United Cargo and senior vice president of United Airlines. He has been senior vice president/chief operating officer of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, parent company of Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo.
