China Northern Airlines has chosen Pratt&Whitney's International Aero Engines V2500 to power its fleet of 10 Airbus A321-200s, under a $120 million contract.
U.S. Air Force officials believe that despite a recent setback suffered during F-22 loads testing, the stealth fighter still is in a strong position to complete key performance criteria in preparation for a major Pentagon review of the program. The problem arose during the final test, which was to have exposed the aft boom to 150% maximum operating loads. But Lockheed Martin's fixture holding the part failed at 141%.
Looking ahead at least a decade, the Japanese Defense Agency has begun studies of aircraft using a common wing to serve the navy's need for a replacement for its Orion P-3C antisubmarine warfare patrol aircraft and the air force's C-1 tactical transport.
Stephen L. Rodgers has become manager of NASA's Propulsion Research Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. He was deputy of space technologies in the Office of Science, Technology and Engineering at the Pentagon.
Although this year's presidential election has been unusual, to say the least, there has been nothing unusual about the relationship of the election to aviation issues. As has always been the case, aviation issues were largely ignored in the debates and speeches of the presidential campaign. The new administration will take office without any strong commitments on aviation. . . .
TEAC America has won a $10-million contract from the U.S. Navy to supply cockpit video recorder system upgrades for F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft.
The Boeing Co. is having a banner year for its 777 family of wide-body aircraft, which is sure to fuel the already superheated rivalry between the Seattle-based aerospace giant and Europe's Airbus Industrie.
Soaring jet fuel prices are coming home to roost. Merrill Lynch last week reduced its earnings estimates for seven major U.S. carriers due to continued pressure from stubbornly high fuel prices. For the December quarter, analyst Michael J. Linenberg is forecasting industry operating income of $350 million, down 70% from $1.1 billion during the same period in 1999.
The uneventful go-around of a Khalifa Airways Airbus A310 at Toulouse-Blagnac airport is generating concern among local residents, who fear that the French airport's robust traffic growth and Airbus Industrie's rising production rate threatens safety. Such a reaction indicates the French public's heightened concern about flight safety in the wake of the July 25 Air France Concorde crash and could force a reconsideration of the country's long-term airport policy.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. has completed flight testing the Advanced Fighter Technology Integration (AFTI) F-16 equipped with electrohydrostatic control surface actuators and an advanced electrical power generating system. According to Lockheed Martin, the AFTI is the first airplane to fly with ``power by wire'' hardware/software. Plans call for installing the actuators and power generation systems in production airplanes if the Lockheed Martin JSF team wins the engineering and manufacturing development contract next year.
Paul A. Totaro, who has been controller/treasurer, has become acting chief financial officer for the Specialty Metals Corp., New Hartford, N.Y. He succeeds Donald C. Darling, who has resigned as vice president-administration CFO.
Airbus Industrie and its partners will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the European consortium late next month in Toulouse, France. Suppliers and subcontractors, as well as engineers and executives who designed, developed and marketed the A300B in the 1970s, will participate in a special ceremony to honor their work. Airbus has sold more than 4,000 commercial transports and is scheduled to increase the production rate to about 450 aircraft annually by 2003.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO. OFFICIALS EXPECT to mate the wing and fuselage of the first Hawker Horizon and roll out the airplane by the end of this month. First flight is tentatively set for the first quarter of next year. The Horizon is a super mid-size cabin business aircraft with an interior larger than conventional mid-size jets such as the Cessna Citation Excel, but smaller than a Falcon 2000 or Gulfstream IVSP. Other jets in this category are the Bombardier Continental (under development) and the Galaxy Aerospace Galaxy that entered service in mid-1999.
FIRST FLIGHT OF THE SINO SWEARINGEN AIRCRAFT CORP.'S SJ30-2 business jet was scheduled to occur late last week following final ground tests. Engine runs, primary and secondary systems checks, as well as low- and high-speed taxi tests were completed before the flight, and FAA inspectors have performed conformity inspections of the twin-engine airplane, according to a company official. San Antonio-based Sino Swearingen plans to conduct a 1,400-hr. flight test program leading to FAA certification in the fourth quarter of 2001. The company has 175 orders for the aircraft.
SAS settled a dispute with the Norwegian Cabin Crew Union last week, which threatened to expand strike action over pay and overtime issues. The settlement came after striking cabin crews forced SAS to ground 159 domestic Norwegian flights on Nov. 27. Separately, Joergen Lindegaard has been named to take over from Jan Stenberg as president and CEO of SAS in June 2001. Lindegaard, with a background in engineering, is currently head of the Danish telecommunications company GN Store Nord.
Fearful of being shut out of the European aerospace market, Raytheon managers are looking for potential joint venture opportunities or strategic partners to cement transatlantic industrial ties.
James F. Berry, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of Dallas, has received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal. He was honored for his contributions to space exploration since the late 1960s, including work as Rockwell's manager of final assembly for Apollo Missions 11-17, director of manufacturing for the command and service modules used in the Skylab program and Apollo-Soyuz test project, director of poduction operations for Rockwell's Space Div.
More than 50% of the 13 large, Western-built commercial airline jets destroyed in the first nine months of this year were involved in approach and landing accidents, according to the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF). Data compiled by the Boeing Co. indicate that five of these accidents involved no fatalities, but three crashes killed 322 people. Two accidents involved controlled flight into terrain. By comparison, last year 21 Western-built commercial jets were destroyed, of which 12 were lost during the approach and landing phase of flight.
Greg Redican (see photos) has been named CEO and Keith Gard chief operating officer of Syncro Vac, Milpitas, Calif. They will succeed Dick Shigemoto and John Annett, respectively. Shigemoto will remain as chairman and Annett vice chairman.
The U.S. Air Force has suffered a potentially critical setback in getting the F-22 stealth fighter into production. One of the test aircraft was undergoing the last of 19 loads tests when disaster struck. The aircraft was being exposed to 141% loads--on its way to 150% stress--when a component failed. The problem for the F-22 program is that if the Pentagon insists that the test be repeated, the service will be unable to conduct it in time for the scheduled Dec.
The French air force is scheduled to take delivery of two Airbus Industrie A319 Corporate Jets (CJ) late next year and early in 2002. The long-range transports will replace five aging Falcon 20 jets and turboprop-powered Nord 262s operated on official government flights. Each CJ will be configured with 50 seats in the cabin.
United Airlines has been granted a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court preventing the International Assn. of Machinists (IAM) and its members from conducting any further illegal job actions. In its filing, United blamed recent, non-weather-related flight disruptions--as many as 75 cancellations--on its mechanics.
