John F. Yardley, a key engineer and manager in the development of U.S. manned space flight from Project Mercury through the shuttle, died June 26 at home in Chesterfield, Mo., due to complications from cancer. He was 76.
U.S. airline delays in May, to be reported this week, nearly match the 36,570 delays in May 2000. The data would have continued the spring's happy trend--April 2001 delays were down 14.4% versus April 2000, from 35,332 to 30,260--except for a stretch of bad weather during the third week of the month.
The newly elected Italian government signaled its approval last week of a possible alliance between Alitalia and Skyteam member Air France. Cabinet ministers endorsed discussions between Alitalia--53% owned by the Italian government--and Air France, which are at an advanced stage. Observers say the two carriers are looking to sign an agreement before the end of July, setting a period of exclusive negotiations. Alitalia is seeking a code-sharing deal with Air France which would ultimately be extended to other Skyteam members, including Delta Air Lines.
Both Joint Strike Fighter candidates proved last week that they have enough thrust to hover and that their control systems give smooth handling early in the vertical flight test program.
Jim Christiansen has been elected chairman of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. He is executive vice president/chief operating officer of TAG Aviation. Other officers elected were: vice chairman, Gary Driggers, executive vice president of Midcoast Aviation; and treasurer, Don Campion, president of Banyon Air Services.
Fairchild Dornier announced at the Paris air show that it is evaluating its 728/328/928JET regional aircraft family for possible special mission applications. The manufacturer said it is in talks with Northrop Grumman about developing the 728JET as an Airborne Early Warning Platform (with Hawkeye radar system) for countries seeking an affordable AEW system option. According to the manufacturer, the 728JET in AEW configuration would allow installation of up to six surveillance workstations plus crew rest and command workstation areas. Its 128 X 82.2-in.
Delta Air Lines last week opened the only downtown reservation center in its network--a $17.3-million, 59,602-sq.-ft. facility in Cincinnati. The facility represents the carrier's commitment to Cincinnati and its hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, according to officials. The city provided tax breaks valued at $250,000 a year and the state of Ohio granted a $3-million loan at low interest rates to cover construction costs.
A RAYTHEON CONTRACT to enhance ATC infrastructure will allow the Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) to consolidate facilities by integrating the Dusseldorf area control center into the Langen facility, which already includes the Frankfurt ACC. Among the operational enhancements called for in the upgrades to the German P1 ATC Automation System (Atcas) are specialized hand-off capabilities, display of multiple airfield weather information at individual controller workstations and enhanced processing of aircraft flight level data.
Embraer and the China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Corp. are establishing an aircraft spare parts facility in Beijing, which is to begin operations in the second half of this year. Some of China's airlines, including Sichuan Airlines, China Southern and Wuhan, have recently become ERJ-145 customers. Meanwhile, Fairchild Dornier Chairman Charles P. Pieper said at the Paris air show that his company is in discussions with China to build further industrial cooperation with China's AVIC I and AVIC II, including a joint venture for future airliner projects.
Two Russian aircraft, the Su-30MK multirole fighter and MiG-AT advanced trainer, were forced to leave the Paris air show prematurely on May 22 in order to avoid a court order to impound them. A French Justice Ministry bailiff attempted to enforce a recent Paris court of appeals decision in favor of Swiss trading firm Noga, which claims the Russian government owes it more than $63 million from oil-for-food barter deals signed in 1991 and 1992. Noga went after the aircraft, claiming they were government-owned assets.
George K. Muellner (see photo) has been appointed president of Boeing Phantom Works, Seal Beach, Calif. He was vice president/general manager. Muellner succeeds David Swain, who will be chief technology officer for the Boeing Co. full-time.
Comair pilots have ended a 90-day strike with their 64% acceptance of a union-endorsed package that fell short of original objectives. The airline sprang into high gear last week in a rush to retrain pilots and prepare for a return to limited small jet feeder service by July 2.
Italy and Spain are set to join an Anglo-French technology demonstrator project under which new technologies for a next-generation, electro-optical targeting system are being investigated for European fighter aircraft.
Raytheon Co. last week revealed that the cost to complete civil construction projects abandoned by Washington Group International Inc. (WGI) may be nearly twice as much as previously estimated. Raytheon made performance guarantees on the projects before selling its engineering and construction business to WGI. The new estimates of Raytheon's total liability are now reaching $480-825 million versus earlier estimates of $350-450 million, and with WGI's liquidity problems Raytheon isn't sure it will obtain the full cash recovery it says it is entitled to.
Nicolas Chabbert has become head of Socata's German subsidiary EADS Socata GmbH. He was senior vice president-sales and marketing of Socata Aircraft Inc., Pembroke Pines, Fla. Chabbert has been succeeded by Michel Adam de Villiers as vice president-sales and marketing. He was Western U.S. director of sales.
The International Lease Finance Corp. has selected Pratt&Whitney PW4168A engines for seven Airbus A330-200 aircraft under a manufacturing order valued at $200 million. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2004.
The B-1B is on-tap to become the next major U.S. Air Force weapons system to have all its future work bundled together and handed to one contractor. The deal, likely to be hotly contested, is expected to net the winner a $4.5-billion contract. Work would include responsibility for upgrades and sustainment of the fleet of bombers. The contract award is slated for Mar. 1, 2002. Among the enhancements considered by USAF are a defensive subsystem enhancement, adding Link 16 and global air traffic management capabilities, and radar and communications improvements.
Diminishing defense budgets are forcing military fighter manufacturers to scramble for fewer sales opportunities. Lockheed Martin was the only manufacturer to announce a new signing at the air show--an Israeli order for 52 more F-16Is under a previous option (AW&ST June 25, p. 22). Greece has a similar option to acquire additional F-16s that also expires by year-end. Oman, meanwhile, is also interested in acquiring 10-12 F-16s, and Lockheed Martin expects a contract to be signed before the end of the year with Chile on an order for 12 aircraft.
U.S. and Canadian robotics engineers believe they have solved problems with the complex software and computer components on the new Canadian manipulator arm that have delayed International Space Station assembly operations. The 58-ft. arm was launched to the ISS in April. All of the problems have been narrowed to rather harmless, yet unexpected, characteristics found during shakedown tests by the ISS crew, rather than actual failures, according to C.A. (Skip) Hatfield, ISS robotics manager at the Johnson Space Center.
Embattled Amtrak CEO George Warrington must not realize how unpopular the airlines are these days among the 535 frequent fliers on Capitol Hill. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee, he bragged that his railroad's intercity passenger volume makes it the equivalent of the nation's ninth-largest air carrier. Maybe so, responded Sen. Robert Bennett (R), but not in his home state of Utah. Amtrak's total passenger volume in Salt Lake City could be carried on one aircraft per day with seats to spare.
Italian space officials think a planned initiative by the aerospace research center CIRA could be the joker in the deck in discussions to mold an array of reusable launch vehicle projects into a single European program. The European Space Agency (ESA) is asking for 270 million euros ($232 million) over five years for the Future Launch Technology Program (FLTP), the core of Europe's reusable launch vehicle (RLV) effort (AW&ST June 25, p. 51).
Fay Gillis Wells has been selected to receive this year's Katharine B. Wright Award from the National Aeronautic Assn. One of the four founders of the Ninety-Nines, Wells will be honored for her 70-plus years of promoting flying. The award honors a woman who has contributed to the advancement of science of aviation and spaceflight.
M+P International of Hannover, Germany, (www.mpide.de) has been making equipment to control and measure shaker tables for environmental tests and vibration analysis for a decade, and has recently added a top-of-the-line VibExec software and hardware package to read and process up to 128 channels of high-rate data in real time. The earlier VibRunner system handles up to 48 channels. VibExec can work with Windows NT/2000 as well as Unix operating systems. M+P is also helping M&M Corp. of Belgium (www.mm-corporation.com) with its SmartOffice sound and vibration software.
The White House says NASA has whittled its funding shortfall on the International Space Station to about $500 million, but that's without finding a way to increase the crew from three to six or more. Members of the NASA Advisory Council complain a crew of three doesn't have time to do the ``world-class'' level of research that justified building the station in the first place. ``Somebody stole the Mona Lisa, and the penalty is to burn down the Louvre,'' council member A.
