Upgrading the electronic warfare suite of the B-1B bomber is running about 16 months behind schedule, but further delays may be incurred as the Defense Dept. attempts to resolve what kind of self-protection equipment to install in the airplane. The delays stem from late delivery of the radio-frequency countermeasures subsystem, which is part of the U.S. Navy-led Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures program. In addition, the strike at Boeing earlier this year contributed to the schedule slip, USAF officials said.
Flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) last week took delivery of the first of two Boeing 757-200s. The move is in keeping with AZAL's strategy to replace its fleet with Western-manufactured aircraft. Baku International Airport-based AZAL has ordered the aircraft, which is to be powered by Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engines, in a 180-seat, two-class configuration. Delivery of the second -200 is expected in December.
Pete Pedicino has become vice president-business development for the U.S. West Coast for Cincinnati-based Executive Jet Management. He was vice president of Lenicom Network Consulting in Los Angeles.
Jim Wehri (see photo) has become chief operating officer of Pressure Systems Inc., Commerce, Calif. He was general manager of the Sterer Div. of the Eaton Corp. of Los Angeles.
USAF Gen. (ret.) James V. Hartinger, the first commander of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) and a former commander-in-chief of North American Aerospace Defense Command, died Oct. 9 in Colorado Springs. He was 75. Hartinger was a 1943 Army draftee who rose to the rank of sergeant before entering the U.S. Military Academy after World War II. Commissioned into the Air Force in 1949, he won his wings as a fighter pilot and subsequently accumulated more than 5,000 hr. flying F-84s, F-4Cs and F-111s.
Kevin Higman (see photo) has been named general manager of the Seattle Training Hub of FlightSafety Boeing Training International. He was managing director of training development.
R. David Hoover is expected to be appointed CEO of the Ball Corp., Broomfield, Colo., to succeed George A. Sissel, who will retire from that post but remain as chairman. Hoover has been vice chairman/president/chief operating officer.
Werner Georg Kunz has been appointed vice president-marketing and sales for the North American Div. of Lufthansa Systems, East Meadow, N.Y. He was Bethesda, Md.-based national director for marketing and sales for CityBird Airlines.
Financial and space industry experts are more optimistic than ever about prospects for broadband telecommunications and other new satellite applications. But they remain far apart on how big this growth will be and how it will impact the satellite industry.
Jim Holahan will be this year's recipient of the Lauren D. Lyman Award from the Washington-based Society of Aerospace Communicators. Holahan was selected for his achievements in aviation journalism, in a career spanning four decades. He was editor of Aviation Age and Space Aeronautics and the first editor of Business and Commercial Aviation, which is now an Aviation Week magazine. Holahan later bought an interest in Aviation Consumer and established NBAA Convention News, which evolved into Aviation International News.
More equipment is becoming available to wire aircraft cabins for the Internet. Spirent Systems (formerly Penny&Giles Aerospace) has its new Next Generation Aircraft Network Server Unit (NG-ANSU) to bring Internet browsing and e-mail to passengers' seats. The NG-ANSU is designed to work with several types of avionics systems for new and older aircraft. Primex Aerospace's Emport is a high-speed data network that passengers can plug into their computer's USB port.
Robert W. Kunkel, who retired in August as director of the Wisconsin Aeronautics Bureau, has received the NASAO Kenneth A. Rowe Ambassador of Aviation Award. He was cited for maintaining ``a deep commitment to improving the safety and efficiency of our national aviation system'' during a career of more than 30 years. Bruce F. Mundie, director of the Maryland Aviation Administration of Regional Aviation Assistance, won the 2000 Distinguished Service Award.
Honeywell is working on a technology demonstrator for a new family of gas turbine engines that could eventually succeed the TFE731 in the light-to-medium business jet market. The company anticipates running the technology demonstrator gas generator by the end of 2000. One of the program's goals will be to reduce engine cost of ownership by 20-30%, compared with existing powerplants. The project is in response to customers requesting a new generation of engines to power future aircraft currently under consideration.
An analyst's note has questioned the profitability of Airbus Industrie's planned A3XX, just a week after a crucial airline decision in favor of the ultra-widebody aircraft. The analyst provided the note on condition of anonymity, but it was reported in the French financial press to be Credit Suisse First Boston. CSFB had earlier issued a separate report on the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS), which owns 80% of Airbus.
Continental Airlines is set to become the first carrier to operate scheduled nonstop transatlantic services from London Stansted airport. The carrier plans to launch a daily service between its hub at Newark (N.J.) nternational Airport and Stansted on May 2 with a 172-seat Boeing 757. Stansted, located 43 mi. northeast of central London, is the U.K. capital's third-largest and fastest growing airport.
Piaggio is aggressively staging a comeback of the P.180 Avanti business turboprop, and has established a Piaggio America subsidiary in Greenville, S.C., for product support, sales and corporate operations in the prime U.S. market.
Preussag has scored yet another victory in the race for domination in the European leisure travel market. Last week, the Hannover-based travel giant said it would form a strategic alliance with Nouvelles Frontieres and take a 6% stake in the French industry leader, subject to European Commission approval. This share will gradually be expanded to 34.4%. Preussag Chairman/CEO Michael Frenzel said he has an option to take full control in 2002.
Pentagon officials are hoping the company will snag its first international order for the upgraded AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Ten countries have been briefed on the weapon and five have received detailed price and availability information, according to the U.S. Air Force. The first order is expected to be part of the second lot of AIM-9X production in Fiscal 2002. It would add 50-100 missiles to a planned buy of 243 units, reducing the price of each weapon about $35,000.
Prospects for development and production of a supersonic business jet (SSBJ) in the next five years are slim, but the concept remains tantalizing to airframe manufacturers. The cost, however, would be prohibitive for any one company, and development would require years of special research by a consortium of airframe and engine manufacturers, according to Brian E. Barents, president and CEO of Fort Worth-based Galaxy Aerospace Corp. ``I don't think there is any question that the technology is available today and that there is a market for an SSBJ,'' he said.
Jeremy Tracy, deputy chief test pilot at GKN Westland Helicopters, has received the Society of Experimental Test Pilots' Ivan C. Kincheloe Award for flight test achievement. Tracy was cited for his work for icing certification of the Canadian Cormorant search and rescue helicopter and other versions of the Westland-Agusta EH101. Tracy, who has been the primary EH101 project pilot for 11 years, logged more than 125 hr. during 29 sorties in extreme climatic conditions during icing trials of the Cormorant in 1999 and 2000.
Continental Airlines' unsolicited $215-million offer to acquire most of US Airways' key assets at Reagan Washington National Airport could actually help the pending merger between United Airlines and US Airways. ``There could be several winners here, including US Airways shareholders,'' said George Hamlin, senior vice president of Global Aviation Associates. ``Continental's offer also could be the catalyst for the United-US Airways proposed merger to gain regulatory permission to proceed.''
Congress is stepping up its monitoring of Chinese military developments, as President Clinton last week signed landmark legislation granting Beijing permanent normal trade status. A provision in the Fiscal 2001 National Defense Authorization Act establishes a U.S./China Security Review Commission, directed to keep an eye on the national security implications of America's expanding trade and economic ties with Beijing.
A Franco-British working group expressed concern last week about ``impediments'' to the technical accident investigation of the July 25 crash of an Air France Concorde. U.K. officials, in particular, have been privately critical of the pace of French judicial proceedings. The group, consisting of senior government transport officials and civil aviation authorities from both countries, was created to devise technical changes that would allow Concorde to return to the air.
Air traffic controllers at Miami International Airport's new control tower will see things more clearly--now that the FAA has agreed to a $4-5-million tower cab remodeling that will eliminate the support columns obstructing the controllers' view of the runway environment.
