Newark International Airport is synonymous with ``delay.'' Transportation Dept. statisticians had deemed it the No. 1 U.S. airport in the not-on-time category for nearly a decade until 1999, when it slid into second place. How does an airport earn such a dubious title? Aviation Week&Space Technology spent a day observing how EWR, operating ``in the busiest airspace every day on Planet Earth,'' battles unique land- and air-side constrictions in its mission to safely handle 1,500 aircraft movements daily and 34 million passengers yearly.
Barco Display Systems will supply the first batch of 35 control display and management systems to Tupolev, Ilyushin and Beriev to equip upgraded versions of Tu-204/214/324, Be-200 and Il-114 transports.
About 2,700 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1505 remained on strike against Raytheon Co. late last Thursday. However, both sides were in negotiations, aided by a federal mediator.
The Pentagon's missile defense office expresses full confidence in the vigor and realism of its test program, but outside experts say it does not pass muster. Combined ground and flight tests have already demonstrated about 93% of the limited national missile defense (NMD) system's crucial engagement functions, as well as the ability to integrate the system's various elements, claims Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO).
Investigators seeking the causes for the Gulf Air A320 accident near Bahrain International Airport are still reviewing the events that preceded the mishap. The twinjet plunged into the sea on Aug. 23, after a missed approach, killing all 143 passengers and crewmembers (AW&ST Sept. 4, p. 77).
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. (Ret.) John Lockard has been named to become vice president/general manager of engineering for Boeing Military Aircraft and Missile Systems in St. Louis, upon the retirement of Al Haggerty on Apr. 1. Lockard is a former commander of the Naval Air Systems Command and former F/A-18 program manager for the Navy.
Slow ticket sales for the 2000 Olympics, to begin in Sydney this week, and the emergence of startup airlines have sparked Australia's most intense fare war ever, while Ansett Australia battles soaring fuel costs to stay profitable.
Northrop Grumman, in creating an electro-optical sensor system for Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter, has produced a design fundamentally different from its competitor's.
SIMUFLITE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL'S Dallas/Fort Worth center has achieved FAA Level D certification for a second Gulfstream IV-SP full flight simulator. Manufactured by CAE Electronics in Montreal, the simulator features a 180-deg. field of view, and is equipped with a Honeywell avionics suite that includes an SPZ-8400 digital automatic flight control system, NZS-2000 flight management system, Primus 880 weather radar, a 2020 head-up display and Collins 4220 radio tuning units.
Kathleen Tyler has been named vice president-client relations and Roger Banaszak vice president-business development for the central U.S. of Cincinnati-based Executive Jet Management.
The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the FAA create a joint government-industry task force to study and address airline training issues to reduce the potential for landing accidents.
Bomco Inc. produces complex metal-formed aerospace assemblies such as the exhaust cone (above) for a military jet engine. It's manufactured using multiple software programs and multi-axes laser machining. The cone also requires multi-axes milling, TIG welding, riveting and traditional hydroforming and mechanical press operations. The exhaust cone is 15 in. in diameter, 10 in. high and 0.032, 0.040 and 0.060 in. thick. The material is AMS 5536/5537. Bomco manufactures similar components for aerospace, medical, nuclear, instrumentation and other OEM manufacturers.
Six European propulsion companies have signed an agreement to collaborate on a turboprop engine for the proposed A400M military transport. Joining in the coalition are Italy's FiatAvio, Spain's Industria de Turbo Propulsores, Germany's MTU, the U.K.'s Rolls-Royce, France's Snecma and Belgium's Techspace Aero. The engine would be based on a core derived from Snecma's M88 design, and would incorporate a three-shaft architecture from Rolls-Royce.
A federal mediator was attempting to restart negotiations between Raytheon Co. and about 2,700 striking employees last Thursday. Moreover, a union counteroffer left the two sides far apart on the most divisive issues of job security and health-care benefits. The strike also took on a more rancorous tone, with shades of politics added to the brew.
Douglas Nelms has been named director of editorial services for Fairchild Dornier of San Antonio. He was associate editor of Air Transport World magazine and editor of ATW's Airport Equipment&Technology.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey has received the National Award of Excellence from the Silver Spring, Md.-based National Assn. of State Aviation Officials. She was cited for her ``ability to marshal the resources of state governments, the aviation industry and academia to address the national aviation agenda.''
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, which worked together to produce the F-22's radar, are now competing for the next-generation system that will go on the Joint Strike Fighter. Key parts of the radar, because of rapidly improving electronics technology, will be only one-third the weight and about half the cost of the sophisticated technology (also built by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman) on the newest F-22, which is nearing its introduction into U.S. Air Force service.
Timothy J. Stone has been named president of CPI Aerostructures' machining facility in Ithaca, N.Y. He will succeed Dan Liguori, who will serve as a corporate consultant through October.
Jack Cole has become senior director of safety of the Washington-based Air Transport Assn. He was executive director of the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn.
Hawaiian Airlines is to provide the first nonstop commercial service between San Diego and Hawaii, beginning June 15, 2001. Hawaiian will use DC-10-30s configured for 28 seats in first class and 254 in coach on the new daily route. The new service will complement six other daily roundtrips Hawaiian flies between California and Hawaii--four from Los Angeles and two from San Francisco. San Diego is the seventh U.S. gateway for Hawaiian.
MPI's NRC-2 super insulating films are made from ultra light weight polyester film with a heavy, high-purity aluminum coating on one or two sides that provide a flexible, moisture-resistant thermal barrier. They feature a crinkled finish to minimize conductive heat transfer and thermal short circuiting in multilayer applications. The 25-gauge thin films are highly reflective, conformable, and will not outgas in vacuum.
Ed Skorupski (see photo) has been appointed vice president-sales and marketing for Smiths Industries Aerospace Avionics, Bohemia, N.Y. He was head of the Smiths retrofit fuel systems business in Malvern, Pa.
Boeing may establish a $200-million venture capital-like fund over five years to underwrite the development of employees' good ideas. The nascent Chairman's Innovation Initiative, a fallout of the 40-day engineers strike at Boeing early this year, would solicit concepts for new business plans, then fund those that make it through an internal review process.
A new generation of radar with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) is expected to take on far more roles than anyone imagined a decade ago. Aerospace officials ticked off some of the benefits and new missions expected from the integrated AESA antenna, receiver, exciter and improved design processor being built for the Joint Strike Fighter:
Brick,'' ``tile'' and ``suitcase'' are terms that will become familiar over the next few years to those trying to keep abreast of radar technology being introduced in the Joint Strike Fighter competition.
