Ross W. Reynolds has been named vice president of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.'s Marietta, Ga.-based C-130J program and June R. Shrewsbury director of the C-130 sustainment and modifications organization. Reynolds was director of F-117 programs at the company's Palmdale, Calif., site. Shrewsbury led the C-130 avionics modernization program.
Mars Explorer Rover (MER) project officials have determined they may not be able to take the design of the Pathfinder airbag landing system and ``build it to spec'' for the twin 2003 MER missions as planned. While still early in development, it appears there could be at least minor changes to the landing system's parachute, solid rocket braking motors or possibly the airbags themselves to accommodate the heavier payload weight, and weight margin, for the 2003 mission.
Information warfare has become so critical that manpower needs are getting hard for the Pentagon to meet. As a result, defense officials are forming 182 mixed-service national guard and reserve personnel into five support teams to man the department's cyber barricades or launch offensive forays into enemy computer systems.
Boeing plans to lay off up to 400 employees in the company's reusable space systems division in late January and early February. The reductions come with the winding down of modifications to the space shuttle Columbia at Palmdale, Calif., and no decision, to date, on when modifications and upgrades to the orbiter Discovery will begin.
Minuteman missile above-ground alert facility Golf-01 caught fire Nov. 30 and, while it burned, kept two crewmen trapped underground beneath closed blast doors at Minot AFB, N.D. However, the hardened facility and its 10 missiles were never threatened and the crews rotated normally at shift's end.
The Danish air force has ordered three C-130J-30 transports from Lockheed Martin and holds an option for a fourth. Deliveries of the stretched version of the turboprop-powered airlifter are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2003. The aircraft will be equipped with an improved cargo handling system and an integrated electronic warfare suite.
Noel Duncan has become vice president/chief safety officer of Northwest Airlines. A retired Airbus A320 captain, Duncan was managing director of flight procedures.
Alenia Aerospazio and BAE Systems will jointly upgrade U.S. Marine Corps' AV-8B maintenance trainers to the radar/night attack configuration under a Naval Air Warfare Center contract.
NTSB investigators have determined the pilots of a Learjet 35 carrying professional golfer Payne Stewart and three other passengers were incapacitated by a lack of supplemental oxygen, leading to the Oct. 25, 1999, crash that killed all six occupants and obliterated the aircraft.
Richard Crum has been reappointed chairman/president of Washington-based Universal Air Travel Plan Inc. Other directors recently named are: Glenn Schultz, managing director of corporate receivables for American Airlines; D. Jim Young, managing director of distribution planning for Continental Airlines; P. Gary Smedile, director of credit operations for Trans World Airlines; Marc T.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center has awarded contracts to Boeing and Lockheed Martin to assess architecture alternatives for the Global Positioning System III program. Each company received a $16-million fixed-price contract for the 12-month study, which will be used to define the performance baseline for the GPS III program definition and risk reduction (PDRR) phase. A separate and open competition for that phase is set for the fall of 2001.
Scandinavian Airlines System and Spanair are considering selling a minority equity stake in Spanair to a third party. The Spanish regional is 49% owned by SAS with the remainder held by a Spanish holding company controlled by the airline's chairman and deputy chairman. SAS officials said Spanair's owners were looking at a variety of options to develop the carrier, including another equity partner.
Charles T. Hopkins has been appointed to the board of directors of SL Industries Inc., Mount Laurel, N.J. He was managing partner of the Philadelphia business unit of KPMG.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and NASA's Marshall Spaceflight Center have awarded Aerojet a $7.9-million contract for additional work on the Integrated Powerhead Program to demonstrate main engine propulsion technologies for a military space launch vehicle or space shuttle replacement. Aerojet began work on the project in 1994 under a $15-million contract to illustrate advanced technology combustion devices for experimental cryogenic engines.
The FAA recently introduced two Web sites designed ``to reduce the stress and frustration that travelers sometimes feel,'' according to FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey. Visitors to the FAA's main Web site may now access more travel data, including real-time information about flight delays. From faa.gov, one clicks ``Traveler Information'' to connect with the agency's ``Fly Smart Guide.'' There, the airline consumer may obtain flight information including on-time conditions, passenger safety, as well as tips on what not to pack. Users clicking on ``New!
James E. Juntilla has been named president of General Dynamics Information Systems, Falls Church, Va. He was vice president-information management systems.
As Washington waits and wonders about the next President, Rep. James L. Oberstar (Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the House aviation panel, notes that neither Texas Gov. George W. Bush nor Vice President Al Gore displayed any interest in aviation during the campaign. But several key issues will face the next administration. Modernizing the air traffic control system is one obvious topic (see p. 74). But Oberstar also has one that is not readily apparent--the staff at the Transportation Dept. that handles international aviation agreements is withering.
BAE Systems has completed its $1.67-billion acquisition of Lockheed Martin's Aerospace and Electronic Systems (AES) subsidiary, substantially enlarging the U.K. company's presence in the world's largest defense market. BAE Systems Chief Executive John Weston said the purchase, which won regulatory approval from U.S. authorities last week, marked a ``watershed'' in the company's evolution as a global aerospace player.
The European Commission's Transport Directorate is scheduled to complete in March a plan to significantly upgrade air traffic management in European airspace and eradicate flight delays. Although the cross-border Eurocontrol agency has its own merits and will continue to gradually forge a Single European Sky, strong political support is urgently needed to harmonize ATM in the European Union's (EU) airspace and restore a workable level of flights that are on time, according to EC officials.
As white elephants go, the $500-million airport complex at Mirabel, Quebec, may be a classic. Built in 1975 at the behest of the Canadian government, the sprawling facility about 25 mi. north of Montreal originally was meant to handle 10 million passengers annually. It never came close. Adding insult to injury, a decision was made three years ago to transfer all regular passenger flights to Dorval, closer to Montreal, leaving Mirabel even more underutilized. Incredibly, planners envisioned another five terminals just like the existing one.
Mike Katzorke has been promoted to senior vice president-supply chain management from vice president, John Dettenwanger to vice president/chief information officer from director of management information systems, Will Dirks to vice president-flight operations from director of Citation flight operations, Rollie Vincent to vice president-strategic planning and new business development from director of strategic planning, and Ed Pack to vice president-support services from director of facilities, maintenance and environmental resources, all for the Cessna Aircraft Co., Wichi
Robert A. Stoltz has become president/CEO of Integrated Aerospace Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. He was executive vice president of Transtar Metals of Los Angeles.
Scottish judges dismissed a motion to acquit one of the two Libyans accused of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. The motion to acquit was made by defense lawyers after the prosecution completed presenting its case to the panel of judges presiding at the trial in the Netherlands. Defense lawyers will begin presenting their case when the trial resumes Dec. 5.
