Darrell Kelley has been appointed president/chief operating officer of Milcom Technologies, Orlando, Fla. He was president of Southern U.S. operations for Sprint.
Fingers crossed, the U.S. commercial aviation community is approaching the delays season of 2001 with an attitude it hasn't experienced during the past year--guarded optimism.
Virgin Atlantic is in talks with Boeing about its new ``sonic cruiser'' aircraft and is considering becoming a launch customer with an order for three to six of the aircraft. ``We would love to become a launch customer,'' said Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the British carrier. Branson, who met with Boeing officials last week to discuss their concept for the sonic cruiser, said Virgin expected to buy 3-6 of the Mach 0.95 aircraft.
CPI Aerostructures has won a 10-year, $60.8-million contract to build the inlet assemblies for the USAF T-38 propulsion modernization program at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Boeing has been awarded a $251.9-million contract to provide logistics support and components for U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The contract includes 850 components unique to advanced versions.
SENSIS CORP. WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS of a system that combines infrared imaging with multilateration for airport surface traffic surveillance. The FAA demonstration is to be conducted at Memphis International Airport during the third quarter of 2001. Two uncooled IR cameras will be used for passive tracking of targets, one at the approach end looking down the runway and the other viewing perpendicularly. The multilateration system will triangulate the positions of transponder-equipped-aircraft, and will verify the accuracy of IR tracking of those aircraft.
North Korea's decision to continue its Taepo Dong-2 missile test moratorium is not easing concerns in Japan. Tokyo is more worried about North Korea's build-up of shorter-range No Dong missiles, says a senior Japanese Self-Defense Forces official. Pyongyang is estimated to have fielded 15-100 of those missiles and their testing is not covered by the moratorium.
Tamara M. Christen has become senior vice president-marketing for Kellstrom Industries Inc., Sunrise, Fla. She was vice president-international special mission sales of the Raytheon Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kan.
John W. Olcott (see photo), president of the Washington-based National Business Aviation Assn., is one of the four people inducted May 3 into the Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey, which is at Teterboro Airport. He was editor and later publisher of Business and Commercial Aviation magazine, which is now an Aviation Week publication, between 1978 and 1992. The other inductees were: the late aerospace artist Roy E.
These compact DC/DC power supply modules are targeted at PC/1045 embedded systems, and are suited for air and ground vehicle applications in military and aerospace environments. The supplies accept input voltages from 8-30 VDC, making them compatible with 12- and 24-volt systems. Two new models, Jupiter MM-LP-XT and Jupiter MM-SIO-XT, supply up to 50 watts. No heat sink is required, reducing total weight of the board and system in which it is installed. Diamond Systems, 8430-D Central Ave., Newark, Calif. 94560.
The Canadian Defense Ministry has awarded a $436-million contract to Boeing to upgrade 80 of its CF-18 strike fighters. The upgraded aircraft will be equipped to carry Amraams and GPS-guided air-to-ground weapon systems.
With a target application in turbine engines, the Model 2230D/2230DM1 is a triaxial accelerometer. It is a lightweight (17 grams), miniature sensor with a temperature range of -67F to 500F (-55C to 260C). Each device is designed for vibration measurement in three orthogonal axes on small structures and objects. The accelerometer utilizes Endevco's Piezite Type P-8 crystal elements, operating in annular shear mode, to provide good output sensitivity stability over time. Three 6-40 receptacles are provided for output connection.
Lawrence R. Marantette has become senior vice president-sales and marketing for Quantitude Inc. of Denver. He was president/CEO of the Greater Downtown Partnership.
India's GSAT-1 experimental communications satellite is drifting in an improper orbit following depletion of the propellant it needed to climb into geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft was launched successfully into a transfer orbit Apr. 18 by India's first GSLV booster. But propellant management problems with the spacecraft's on-board propulsion system prevented it from reaching the desired stationary orbit. Indian technicians are studying what communications research options, if any, can still be carried out from the satellite's 23-hr.
Ansett Australia returned to full operations last week after Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority lifted an airworthiness directive that last month grounded Ansett's fleet of 10 Boeing 767-300s. Eight aircraft are back in full service while the other two are undergoing previously scheduled, routine heavy maintenance work.
The first RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence gathering aircraft reengined with CFM56 engines is now flying with the 55th Wing at Offut AFB, Nev. The engines increase thrust to 22,000 lb. from 16,000 lb. for greater speed and altitude. The second upgraded Rivet Joint will be delivered to the wing this summer. Rivet Joints seven and eight are currently having the engines installed. Upgrades include new struts, engine nacelles, stronger landing gear and flight control augmentation system.
The legal action by a coalition of Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilots against the Air Line Pilots Assn., alleging failure to provide equal and fair representation, reflects the depth of feeling among the regional pilots that turned the lengthy Comair pilots' strike into more than a quest for higher pay.
Convinced that the Bush Administration will recoil from the amount of money, time, operational forces and allied goodwill being consumed by the air blockade of Iraq, U.S. military planners are looking at strategies to shut down Operation Northern Watch, which is flown out of Turkey's Incirlik AB.
New Zealand's prime minister, Helen Clark, has taken another major step toward scaling back the country's air force by divesting its combat arm as part of a new defense initiative that would slightly boost military spending and attempt to modernize what remains of the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Tom Ferranti (see photos) has been promoted to vice president from managing director of technical services for SimuFlite Training International Inc., Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Other recent promotions were: Lillian Hunt to vice president from director of human resources; Jim Jetton to vice president from managing director of sales and marketing; Tom Stelter to vice president from managing director of specialized training; and Bill Wilhelmi to vice president from managing director of training services.
Like dozens of other second- and third-tier manufacturers, PerkinElmer Fluid Sciences is smack-dab in the middle of the supply chain: pushing parts upward to first-tier prime contractors such as General Electric, Honeywell, Pratt&Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand and Boeing, and buying raw materials and commodities from the lower tier. The ways the company deals with its upstream customers and downstream suppliers are drastically different, however.
Del Hartje has been appointed manager of the reservations service center in Boise, Idaho, for Alaska Airlines. He was operations supervisor at Alaska's Phoenix reservations service center.
