Aircraft manufacturing will remain a core business, but other divisions such as communications, space and its newly created air traffic management unit will become equally important, Boeing's top official said here last week. ``We need to do something other than make commercial aircraft,'' chairman and CEO Philip M. Condit said before a briefing on cabin air quality.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive calling for measurements of cracks in flap hinge fittings on DC-9 jets through the -50 series, including military C-9s. The directive mandates provisions of a Boeing bulletin issued in September that addressed reports of cracked flap idler hinge fittings at the lower, outboard stud location. The FAA said cracks could cause inadvertent extension of a flap.
MAN Technologie has finished hot qualification testing for ceramic body-flap bearings for NASA's X-38/V201 experimental reentry vehicle. The carbon-fiber-reinforced silicon carbide bearings weigh 50% less than traditional bearings and are designed to withstand the 1,600-deg.-C. temperatures and 4-ton dynamic loads generated during atmospheric reentry.
New radar-absorbing surfaces, which make repairing and modifying the B-2 easier, have triggered U.S. Air Force interest in adding two new weapon bays and exploiting other unused spaces in the stealthy, long-range bomber. USAF officials are considering converting two bays immediately outboard of the main wheel wells to carry decoy missiles, miniature missiles or--most interestingly--jamming missiles that could be fired toward enemy radar sites. Northrop Grumman would not discuss the subject, however.
Helen Tirone has been named vice president-sales of Barnes Aerospace, Windsor, Conn. She was director of business development for an aircraft logistics sector of the Lockheed Martin Corp.
Harold T. (Skip) Bowling has been appointed to the board of directors of Mercury Air Group Inc. of Los Angeles. He succeeds William G. Langston, who has retired. Bowling was president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics International before retiring.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Warren Sneed has been declared dead, ending a 48-hr. search of the Sea of Japan that began after his and another Misawa-based F-16C collided on Nov. 13. The other pilot was rescued shortly after the crash. After a safety inspection, flight operations in a joint U.S.-Japanese military exercise resumed from the base, which is 400 mi. north of Tokyo.
The Boeing X-32A Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator flew Nov. 15 for the first time in three weeks following a problem involving the hydraulic system, which resulted in the aircraft landing on a dry lakebed at Edwards AFB, Calif. Program officials said they have made an interim fix and plan to have a permanent solution in place by the end of the month. Under the interim fix, the landing gear are not being raised, but Boeing officials said the aircraft is now being used for field carrier landing practice, which does not require raising the gear.
Russia's Security Council has approved a long-stalled decision to eliminate some 600,000 positions from the defense payroll, clearing the way for modernization of the armed forces. The cuts concern 470,000 military positions and 130,000 civilian jobs at 12 federal ministries and agencies that field armed units. The reductions are to be carried out over a five-year period. Currently, 2.1 million servicemen and 966,000 civilian employees work for the Russian defense establishment.
Northrop Grumman is betting heavily on the U.S. Navy's unmanned combat air vehicle program and other emerging technology concepts to ensure the company's long-term business base. As part of its effort to win future development programs, Northrop Grumman is establishing a research laboratory as an incubator of new ideas. ``We've invested about $120 million in facilities in order to posture ourselves'' for the future, says Scott J. Seymour, sector vice president of Northrop Grumman's Air Combat Systems.
SIA Engineering Co., Singapore Technologies Aerospace and United Technologies Corp. have agreed to create a joint venture in Singapore to pursue turbine blade work using two advanced technologies--electron beam physical vapor deposition coating and turbotip plating. The endeavor will be capitalized initially at $13.2 million and allows UTC's Pratt&Whitney to reduce turnaround time and lower costs serving customers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Simulator manufacturer CAE has forged a 15-year contract with Dallas-based Southwest Airlines to provide a Level D full-flight simulator for the Boeing 737-700, and includes options for another seven units. The first simulator, which is scheduled for delivery to the airline's training facility at Love Field in mid-2002, will feature a digitally controlled motion base instead of a hydraulically actuated system. Toronto-based CAE also will provide desktop capability to teach aircraft systems to both pilots and maintenance personnel.
Air force chiefs from 11 coalition nations that operate in the Middle East have agreed to a wide slate of initiatives that should improve their interoperability and draw them closer militarily. The ambitious initiatives are aimed at better coordinating assets and procedures from the strategic down to the tactical level. This includes moving toward common hardware, development of common doctrine and tactics, joint information operations, and possibly joint ownership and operation of a fleet of airlifters.
The Air Force wants to accelerate its assessment of when and how to replace its more than 500 tanker aircraft. A requirement study, soon to be completed, would be followed by a two-year study to determine what kind and when a new aircraft would be built. But USAF Gen. Charles (Tony) Robertson, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, says there is interest in speeding all this to have a program defined about a year earlier, in time for the Fiscal 2004 budget--the drafting of which would begin in 2002.
Intelsat has completed the first leg of a three-stage plan intended to increase capacity over the Pacific Ocean region (see illustration). The plan, driven by burgeoning demand in Asia--especially in Internet traffic, which has tripled over the last year--aims to expand capacity by 36%. It will entail reducing the spacing between Intelsat 802 at 174 deg. E. Long. and Intelsat 701 at 180 deg. E., allowing four spacecraft to be operated in a segment presently served by just three.
Sue Oliver has become senior vice president-human resources of American Airlines. She succeeds Thomas J. Kiernan, who has retired. Oliver was vice president-employee relations.
The International Space Station crew--Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidsenko and Sergei Krikalev--are this week to unload supplies from the Progress M1-4 unmanned resupply spacecraft that was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Nov. 16. The 7.5-ton spacecraft was to dock with the FGB Zarya module's nadir port on Nov. 18, the first time a Progress has flown an automatic approach to that down-facing location. Gidsenko was prepared to remotely pilot the approach from the ISS if the auto system failed.
Continental and Northwest airlines have agreed on terms governing the sale to Continental of common stock held by Northwest. Continental will repurchase about 6.7 million Class A shares for $450 million in cash. Northwest will retain about 2.6 million shares of Continental's Class B common stock, or less than 5% of the outstanding common shares, according to Continental.
In an effort to expand the base of its unmanned systems offerings, Northrop Grumman is turning to new aircraft designs and tailored modifications of existing unmanned products to capture new markets. ``It is logical to suppose that in the unmanned combat side of the business we'll have a whole range of aircraft,'' says Bob Mitchell, who runs Northrop Grumman's Ryan Aeronautical Center. ``They'll go all the way from a small missile to much larger aircraft that can stay on-station a long time.''
Having seen the number of F-22s the Pentagon plans to buy whittled away, U.S. Air Force officials are planning to mount a major offensive to reverse that slide and boost the procurement numbers for the stealth fighter.
Emirates is looking at converting its 10 options for the Airbus A340-500 into firm orders for the A340-600, which was rolled out in Toulouse, France, only days ago. The decision, due by the middle of next year, is part of Emirates' long-term fleet planning which could see the airline also take on more firm orders for the A3XX. The carrier, operating from a new terminal opened earlier this year at its Dubai hub, has ambitious growth plans for the next few years.
Nicholas J. Iuanow has become corporate vice president/treasurer of Evans&Sutherland of Salt Lake City. He held the same positions at Cordant Technologies.
