Boeing is conducting detailed simulations of two possible fixes for the propellant system problem that has threatened the mission of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-I (TDRS-I). A team of senior technical specialists has been mobilized to attempt to resolve the problem, according to a company official, who added, ``a lot of brainpower has been put on this one.''
C. Robert Campbell has been appointed executive vice president/chief financial officer of the Aviation Sales Co., Greensboro, N.C. He succeeds Michael C. Brant, who has resigned. Campbell was president/CEO of BAX Global Inc.
Two BAE Systems Hawk MK-53s are reported to have crashed at Iswahyudi AFB, Indonesia, while rehearsing for an air show. The crash apparently occurred when one aircraft was attempting to cross in front of the other. All four aircrew were reported dead.
A tersely worded statement last week signaled the sudden departure of BAE Systems CEO John Weston, provoking copious speculation as to the cause of his exit. BAE parted company with Weston on Mar. 25, with Mike Turner, the chief operating officer, being rapidly slotted in to succeed him as CEO. The company's share price fell more than 5% as investors reacted to the Weston announcement.
To curry TRW shareholders' favor, Northrop Grumman is urging them to vote in favor of giving Northrop access to confidential, business-sensitive information that might support a higher acquisition bid for TRW. Northrop plans to submit the proposal, along with one that would establish an independent committee to review any offer, at TRW's annual shareholders meeting on Apr. 24.
As the F-22 slowly nears operational testing, the U.S. Air Force is beginning to define what the first major upgrade of the stealth fighter should be. The F-22 is supposed to be in service in late 2005, and program managers hope to have the first significant improvement about two years later. Early attention is on increased air-to-ground combat capability through two key upgrades--integration of the 250-lb.-class small-diameter bomb and a radar improvement.
Sally Minard has been appointed to the board of directors of New York-based Loral Space&Communications. She is co-founder of advertising and marketing firm Lotas Minard Patton McIver.
In the wake of the American Airlines Flight 587 accident, manufacturers of large transports are scrutinizing the systems that affect pilots' feel of the rudder and limit its travel. Large rudder motions are the primary suspect for why the vertical tail came off the airplane last Nov. 12, but the reason for the motions is still a mystery.
The Active Aeroelastic Wing flight demonstrator rolled out at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center on Mar. 27. The modified Navy/Boeing F/A-18 fighter will test wing warping for roll control at higher speeds, exploiting a flexible wing that is otherwise prone to roll reversal. The wings are twisted primarily by deflecting the leading-edge flaps. First flight is to be this summer and a second set of tests is to occur in 2003. The $41-million project is a joint effort by NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Boeing Phantom Works.
David Stewart and Kevin Michaels have become principals of AeroStrategy Ltd., with offices in Buckinghamshire, England, and Ann Arbor, Mich. Stewart was a partner in Mercer Management Consulting and Michaels was director of strategic development at Rockwell Collins.
Derek Kerr has been promoted to senior vice president from vice president-financial planning and analysis and Larry LeSueur to vice president from senior director of Phoenix hub operations for America West Airlines. Joette Schmidt was appointed vice president-customers and inflight services and Mark West vice president-purchasing. Schmidt was vice president-customers and West senior director of corporate purchasing.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES researchers are proposing a novel antenna for interplanetary spacecraft that would use solar sails as communication antennas, as well as for propulsion. As a substitute for chemical propulsion, 100-meter-dia. solar sails could cut the weight for a payload to Mars to 48 kg. from 110 kg., and deliver a micro-spacecraft in 725 days. Further savings are possible using a Fresnel lens antenna embedded in the solar sail structure to replace conventional parabolic communication antennas.
Joyce E. Tucker has been named vice president-global diversity for Chicago-based Boeing. She was president of Tucker Spearman&Associates and has been a member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
William Lawler, vice president/general manager of strategic operations and planning for Boeing Military Aircraft and Missile Systems in St. Louis, has been inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. He holds degrees from the University of Alabama and Alabama A&M University. Lawler was cited for his work at both Boeing and what is now the Northrop Grumman Corp.
Matthew J. Mulherin has been promoted to sector vice president from program director of the Newport News, Va.-based CVNX program of the Northrop Grumman Corp.
The Eurofighter partners are beginning to consider including an engine upgrade as part of the second major production run of the four-nation combat aircraft program, starting in 2006. An improved version of the EJ200 turbofan could be delivered as part of the second batch of aircraft deliveries, known as tranche 2. Proposals are being considered at Defense Ministry level, with initial work already underway among the Eurojet partner companies on developing an enhanced EJ200.
A Navy plan to slash fighter procurement is causing unease in the U.S. and abroad, and raises questions about the continued viability of the short takeoff/vertical landing (Stovl) version of the Joint Strike Fighter.
IN SIMULATION STUDIES, researchers at the University of Dayton were able to obtain accurate estimates of the angle of arrival (AOA) of an unknown source from a single-aperture multimode antenna, in the presence of jamming signals. Individual multimode antennas, such as the N-arm spiral, have previously been effective in determining an accurate AOA using either classic phase comparison or newer parameter estimation techniques, such as the maximum likelihood method or multiple signal classification (Music), but not when jamming is present.
Eurocopter has decided to initiate judicial proceedings against the Irish government for choosing the Sikorsky S-92 over its EC 725 Cougar Mk 2+ to meet a search and rescue requirement. The specter of a legal challenge has hung over the decision ever since the order for three aircraft and two options was announced earlier this year (AW&ST Jan. 28, p. 23). The European manufacturer asserts that the selection process was flawed, and has been seeking an injunction to obtain bid documents and prevent conclusion of a contract.
CR Airways has been issued the first operator's certificate for helicopter services between Hong Kong and mainland China. The company plans to establish a fleet of 4-6 aircraft flying from Hong Kong Island to cities throughout the Pearl River Delta. Two other helicopter operators already fly from the island--Helicopters Hong Kong serves Macau, and Heliservices provides sightseeing flights.
Pratt&Whitney and Lockheed Martin are studying a ``data anomaly'' concerning the chamber pressure in one of the RL10 engines that was used in the upper stage of the ILS Atlas IIA that launched the TDRS-I spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in early March. The pressure in one engine was slightly high. The investigation centers on whether the data themselves were caused by a bad sensor, meaning there was no problem, or whether a thrust control valve or other hardware problem caused the higher pressure.
Corey S. Moore has been named vice president/manager of F/A-18 programs for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector, El Segundo, Calif. He succeeds Steven R. Briggs, who has become vice president/deputy of the sector's Air Combat Systems. Moore was deputy manager for F/A-18 programs.
Doubt continues to cast long shadows on the National Transportation Safety Board's recent determination that deliberate action by copilot Gameel el-Batouty was the probable cause of the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. Days after the board's Mar. 21 release of its final report on the Oct. 31, 1999, crash, Egyptian chief investigator Mohsen el-Messiri publicly slammed the board's findings and declared that Egypt will conduct its own investigation. The crash killed 217 people.
