Japan's National Space Development Agency plans additional test firings this year of the LE-7 engine blamed for the failure of an evolved H-II rocket, and will place a dummy payload on the first H-IIA, set for launch next February.
Several factors influenced Singapore Airlines' $8.6-billion decision to buy the Airbus A3XX over the Boeing 747X--massive discounts by the manufacturer, and SIA's request for bulk order pricing among them--and the buy may entice more carriers in the Asia-Pacific region into the Very Large Aircraft web and begin changing the profile of the world fleet.
Clarex nonglare optical quality acrylic sheets, specially formulated to minimize glare and reflection on display panels, have a very fine etching on the surface that virtually eliminate light reflection, enhancing the clarity of letters, numbers and images on LCDs, CRTs, LEDs, ELs, PDPs and VFDs. Cast in a lightweight acrylic and available in a range of thicknesses from 0.2-5.0mm, the sheets offer excellent optical, impact and weatherability characteristics.
The solid-state Lightwave Illuminator Portable Lighting System uses four supper-bright white light emitting diodes that have a typical life of more than 100,000 hr.--more than 11 years of continuous usage (with change of batteries). The illuminator weighs less than 7 oz. including batteries. It is waterproof to several feet, is shockproof and there is no spark from a breaking filament bulb if the instrument is dropped. The super-bright white LEDs are visible for more than 1 mi. Lightwave estimates the hourly cost of operating at only 6 cents per hour.
The National Aeronautic Assn. has chosen Herbert D. Kelleher to receive this year's Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. Kelleher, who is president, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, was selected for his ``significant contributions'' to aviation in the U.S., including orchestrating the growth of Southwest into a highly successful and profitable airline. The ceremony will be held Dec. 15.
Clean room and vacuum compliant ball screws--assembled, packaged and nitrogen purged inside a laminar flow Class 100 clean room environment--are available from Thomson Industries. The assemblies are lubricated, bagged and sealed to eliminate contamination and enhance shelf life. The ball screws, which are ready for installation with little or no preparation, provide direct benefits to the OEM, including improved yields, throughput and uptime, according to the company.
Aeroflot Russian Airlines' passenger traffic in January-August 2000 increased 8.5% to 3,406,000 compared to the same period in 1999. Overall load factor rose to 54.1% from 49.7% and the airline's 64.7% seat capacity was 5.6% higher than in 1999. Cargo/mail grew 22.4% to 66,200 metric tons. European routes generated about 33% of Aeroflot's total revenues; Asian routes, 26%; domestic flights and flights to former Soviet republics, 20%, and routes to U.S.,13%. The carrier is projecting a net, pretax profit of $40 million for the year.
Instrument Specialties has two new single-component silicone-based compounds in the Altocad SNN series of form-in-place gaskets. Compounds SNK 45 (silver/copper) and SNG 55 (silver/glass) complement the original offering of silver/nickel and silver/aluminum. They provide more packing space for board-level components and smaller package dimensions, as well as reduce assembly required for shielding and grounding metal plastic housing and substrates, according to the company. Filled with proprietary conductive particles, they provide shielding effectiveness of >100 db.
Croatia this week will take another step toward closer military cooperation with NATO. The country is to become a member of the Southeast Defense Ministerial that strives to enhance multilateral cooperation in Southeastern Europe.
Union pilots at Aer Lingus have launched a two-week-long protest over the lack of pay parity with their Oneworld alliance pilot colleagues at British Airways and American Airlines. The 550 pilots agreed almost unanimously to refuse work on their days off, the most modest job action the pilots could take.
Michael R. McDonnell has become chief financial officer of the EchoStar Communications Corp., Littleton, Colo. He succeeds Steven Schaver, who was promoted to president. McDonnell was a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers.
European regional airlines are deepening their relationships with major carriers and face further consolidation among themselves as they struggle to remain profitable.
Flight Options Inc. offers a multifunctional online service designed exclusively for owners of fractional interest in jets. The ``Owners Only'' Web site offers secure domestic trip scheduling, flight confirmations via e-mail, trip calculator for estimating time and costs, and itinerary access. It is a concise, step-by-step scheduling tool for Flight Options owners and allows users to experiment with different travel scenarios to better simulate flight routes, time and distance.
The specter of new taxes, legal battles concerning restrictions to airport use, more stringent noise standards and growing tensions over regulatory leadership and its impact on international aviation trade and commerce are among major concerns faced by manufacturers and operators of business aircraft.
U.K. cargo charter carrier Air Foyle and the Antonov Design Bureau have renewed their long-term partnership under the new name of Antonov Airlines and are planning to offer the An-225 Mriya for commercial service in the second half of 2001. The Ukrainian manufacturer is currently renovating and modernizing an existing An-225, which can carry 250 metric tons of cargo up to 2,800 mi., and is to be ready for flight testing at year-end. A second, unfinished An-225 airframe also is available for completion.
General Magnaplate Corp.'s Magnaplate HMF coating provides an extremely hard mirror smooth micro finish on most ferrous and non-ferrous metals. With an exceptionally low coefficient of friction (0.03) HMF provides excellent wear properties, eliminating stick-slip and unwelcome vibration while protecting against galling and seizing. Coated parts are provided with superior temperature resistance while maintaining the properties at operating temperature from -150 to +650F. Salt spray tests show the product to be virtually immune to chloride attack.
These DVD recorders are fully plug-and-play compatible with existing Hi-8-mm. video systems, so they install easily without aircraft rewiring. They are designed for a mean-time-between-failure rate of 20,000 hr. versus 5,000 hr. for tape-based systems. In-seat and head-end units provide substantial weight savings over tape-based video systems, without the storage requirements of hand-held DVD players. Passengers can control the start and end of movies and select their language preference. The front-loading design limits abuse and reduces damage from spills.
Irish police and a contingent of FBI agents seized a warehouse near Shannon Airport on Oct. 5 and raided 12 locations in Limerick as part of an investigation into alleged counterfeit aircraft parts, Reuters reported. No one was arrested. The police released no information on the ownership of the warehouse or other sites.
Bill Dolny (see photo) has been promoted to national sales manager from Western U.S. sales manager for SimuFlite Training International, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Do alliances and industry consolidation benefit the traveling public? Two recently released reports by academic researchers, sponsored by United Airlines, make that assertion. Not surprisingly, consumer groups are skeptical.
``Mission Aerospace,'' a grass-roots industry initiative to revitalize the U.S. aerospace and defense business, will provide a ``Strategic Action Plan'' to the winning presidential candidate's transition team after the November election. The document will focus on six key areas, topped by the loss of intellectual capital--the people and skills necessary to ensure a healthy aerospace infrastructure, according to Mission Aerospace officials.
Richard F. Ambrose has become vice president-ground support systems of Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver. He succeeds William E. Landis, who has been appointed vice president-business development for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Maintenance and Data Processing in Philadelphia. Ambrose was vice president-space systems for Raytheon's Strategic Systems Div., also in Denver.
Dennis Kovalsky has become Glanndale, Calif.-based vice president-aerospace coatings and sealants, Gregory Hayes London-based European director of sales and marketing and John L. Liebenguth director of Asia-Pacific sales, all for PPG Industries of Pittsburgh.
Hurel-Dubois has concluded contracts valued at $103.5 million with the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS) for the production of airframe subassemblies for the Airbus A318 twinjet and NH-90 frigate/transport helicopter.
Republicans are getting the lion's share of the U.S. defense companies' campaign contributions in the 2000 election season, although the industry as a whole is relying on relatively small, targeted amounts to grease the political machine.
