Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. flew the first of 80 F-16E/F fighters for the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 6 in Fort Worth. Chief test pilot Steve Barter flew the two-seat jet for 50 min., attaining a maximum speed of 330 kt., an altitude of 15,000 ft. and inducing a maximum of 3g on the airplane. Barter performed a series of flight profiles that included evaluation of avionics as well as aircraft handling characteristics. "We flew some important test points," Barter said.
China Southern Airlines' relentless push to develop international connections will include a code-share arrangement with Air France, beginning Jan. 5. By Jan. 14, Air France plans to offer daily services to Guangzhou, the manufacturing hub of southern China and home to China Southern. With those flights, Air France will be the only European carrier operating to China's "big three" aviation cities--Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. It also flies to Hong Kong. In June, China Southern is to begin its own four-times-weekly service from Guangzhou to Paris.
Developing a concept of operations that accommodates diverse users of the Space-Based Radar (SBR) system is requiring a marked shift in thinking that abandons the traditional "wet-film" mentality. The Air Force Space Command, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and a host of other Pentagon players now defining a joint SBR ops concept are grappling with the unfamiliar idea of a "persistent" orbital sensor that can generate intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data around the clock.
The remarkable technological advances of the last half-century can be attributed to two inventions: the transistor in late 1947 by three Bell Laboratories scientists, and the semiconductor microcircuit in early 1959 by Jack S. Kilby of Texas Instruments. The metal-over-oxide technique for interconnecting elements of a semiconductor microcircuit was invented by Robert Noyce, who was then with Fairchild Semiconductor, which filed a patent application in mid-1959.
NASA Langley Research Center and Accurate Automation of Chattanooga, Tenn., have made the first flight of a model to study low-speed handling of the X-43A Hyper-X hypersonic scramjet testbed (AW&ST Nov. 17, p. 25).
Philip Lawrence asked why the Boeing 767 is a candidate for the U.K.'s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) program (AW&ST Oct. 27, p. 6). For Britain and the Royal Air Force (RAF), any comparison with KC-135s and KC-10s is irrelevant. What matters is that the FSTA fulfills the RAF's needs. And the Boeing 767 meets every technical and operational requirement. The Airbus A330, which is the other platform offered to the RAF, is too big in so many respects that one wonders if it's a serious contender.
TRAINER DEAL Following a two-year budgetary setback, the Italian Air Force has inked a 35-million-euro ($42-million) contract, with all options exercised, for a new basic trainer. The Aermacchi SF-260EA is a customized version of the piston-engine Aermacchi SF-260. Under the service contract, Aermacchi take back the remaining 21 SF-260AMs currently in service (from a total of 45 aircraft procured since 1976), in exchange for a discount. These aircraft will probably be refurbished and sold in the secondhand market.
The Singapore government, through the "father of the country," Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, has warned there will be "broken heads" if escalating tension between the management and pilots of Singapore Airlines (SIA) isn't resolved . . . and quickly.
TRAIN TO PLANE The $1.9-billion Airtrain JFK light rail system is to begin operating Dec. 17, the anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight. Six stations will connect travelers to railroads, local transit, airline terminals and airport car rental sites and parking lots. The 8-mi. light rail system, is to serve 34,000 passengers on initial service.
NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick D. Gregory has been selected as one of the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology for 2004 by Blackmoney.com and U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. Gregory serves as the chief operating officer for NASA. He was associate administrator for spaceflight and oversaw management of the International Space Station, space shuttle operations, space access using Expendable Launch Vehicles for commercial launch services, space communicatons and advanced programs.
Patrick R. Marion has become vice president/general manager of DRS Laurel Technologies, Johnstown, Pa. He succeeds John Donnelly, who has resigned. Marion was director of production operations for the Lockheed Martin Corp.
Bell Helicopter Textron President/ Chief Operating Officer Glenn Hess has departed in the wake of management restructuring by CEO Michael A. Redenbaugh. According to a Bell official, Hess left the company last week with plans to seek other business opportunities. Hess was president/ COO for less than two years. The official said Hess' departure was the direct result of Redenbaugh's decision to eliminate that position.
U.S. network airlines are expected to increase capacity by 4% next year, a clear sign of recovery optimism, but concern is growing over their inability to price tickets for profitability.
Australia's commitment to participate in U.S. missile defense plans enunciated last week could take several forms and benefit local industry, says Defense Minister Robert Hill. Possible areas of cooperation include missile launch warning; acquisition of ship- or ground-based sensors; or science, technology, test and evaluation activities.
Boeing's recent decision to turn the reins over to Harry Stonecipher following Phil Condit's resignation may end the management turmoil that has racked the corporation in the last month, but only time will tell whether this picture of stability is real or merely an illusion. This much is certain: Boeing's troubles are far from over, and the company in coming months will do well to run the gauntlet of challenges in its path without incurring further setbacks--in some cases, potentially huge setbacks.
David Palermo has been appointed director of aerospace development for the Pantheon Chemical Corp. of Phoenix. He was military program manager at Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings, Waukegan, Ill.
STORM DAMAGE NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter appears to have been damaged by recent solar storm activity. The spacecraft's Martian Radiation Environment experiment measures space radiation to evaluate the risks to Mars-bound astronauts. It stopped working properly on Oct. 28 during a period of intense solar radiation. Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will continue to try to restore the instrument for the next several weeks, or months if it seems the time would improve chances of a recovery.
An ambitious effort to unify Europe's disparate Earth-observation capabilities into a comprehensive network capable of offering operational services is emerging from a long definition process and seems headed for near-term launch.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO.'S PREMIER I BUSINESS JET has received certification from China's Civil Aviation Authority. The first airplane is scheduled to enter service with Hainan Airlines in Haikou. Hainan has placed orders for the Premier I and the larger Hawker Horizon, and will manage the jets though its charter business, Deerjet Company Ltd.
General Atomics and Lockheed Martin, teamed for the U.S. Navy's broad-area maritime surveillance unmanned aircraft competition, are set to upstage arch-rival Northrop Grumman by demonstrating a new vehicle next spring, perhaps as early as February.
The Japanese air force's Flight Experiment Wing has begun testing the first prototype of the upgraded Boeing/ Mitsubishi F-15J fighter. The program will proceed in two phases. The first phase now underway replaces the current APG-63 radar with an APG-63 (V) 1 system, as well as the aircraft's central computer, generator and cooling system.
The Russian government is considering a far-reaching blueprint to create a single aerospace company--a move that will likely also herald a critical review of ongoing development programs and further cuts in manufacturing capacity. Details of the single-company concept, which has support within the top ranks of the Russian government, are beginning to emerge. The consolidated enterprise would comprise three main business units: commercial aircraft, military transports and special-purpose aircraft, and combat aircraft.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
The European Space Agency has released first images of the red planet taken by its Mars Express probe and signaled that all systems are go for a planned separation of the Beagle-2 lander on Dec. 19.
First Officer Sean P. McDonald (Orange Beach, Ala.)
The FAA reauthorization bill relates to all airline pilots and flight attendants in the U.S. This bill unilaterally guts the International Civil Aviation Organization (Bermuda) "Freedom Rights" for the right to operate airlines. This is an obvious end run on something that the Bush administration knows it could not accomplish any other way. Why should the U.S. Congress provide open access to our air transportation markets without asking for reciprocal opportunities abroad such as in the huge domestic markets of China?
