Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has entered the first phase of a $2.5-billion, six-year Capital Development Program by breaking ground for a new International Terminal D. The 1.8-million-sq.-ft. facility will double the size of the airport's largest terminal and will house 23 gates, including 10 designed specifically for wide-body transports. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2005, according to Jeff Fegan, DFW airport executive director. International passenger traffic at DFW has grown to 3.9 million from 2.1 million in 1993.
Though predicting a slightly smaller rise in traffic growth than previously, Airbus Industrie's new 20-year forecast reaffirmed the manufacturer's belief that airlines will progressively require larger aircraft to meet rising demand. The company's global market forecast estimates a total of 15,400 new passenger and cargo aircraft, valued at $1.3 trillion, will be required by airlines between now and 2019. It predicts the number of seats required for passenger service will grow from 1.85 million to nearly 4.2 million.
The U.S. Air Force's Advanced Fighter Technology Integration F-16 (shown below) modified with special electrohydrostatic flight controls is scheduled to make its first flight late this month at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. facilities here.
Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater is making the rounds of the nation's airports as part of his effort to put passengers first by reducing delays and cancellations. Slater met with airport officials and travelers at Cleveland Hopkins, Detroit Metro Wayne County, Chicago O'Hare, New York LaGuardia and Miami International airports.
Smith Equipment's H2051 high-accuracy, triple-scale flowmeter regulator for MIG and TIG welding operations features an output of 0-50 standard cubic ft. per hr. and a shatter resistant polycarbonate flow tube. Designed for attachment to welding gas cylinders, the flowmeter regulator provides measurement of inlet pressure and shielding gas flow. The flow tube has measuring scales for argon/CO2, helium or argon. The precision adjustment flow control valve aids gas savings because it locks flow at desired settings.
Raytheon officials say they recognize that software complexity is a primary driver in the JSF program. There will be twice as many lines of code in JSF as the F-22--2.5 million compared with 5 million so far. However, they claim a lot of progress in cost and size reduction has been made in the last 10 years. Using radar software as an example, the cost per line of code has been steadily coming down.
Thomas L. Williams has been appointed vice president-engineering, logistics and technology of the Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems and Aerostructures sector's Air Combat Systems unit, El Segundo, Calif. He succeeds Brian L. Hunt, who has retired. Williams was vice president/IPT leader for long-range strike. He has been succeeded by Paul A. Marchisotto, who was program manager of North- rop Grumman's Joint Strike Fighter team, which is supporting the Lockheed Martin JSF program. Marchisotto has, in turn, been succeeded by Gerard A.
The U.K.'s Trade and Industry Dept. conditionally approved Thomson-CSF's acquisition of Racal Electronics. Thomson-CSF must agree to ``undertakings'' related to the confidentiality of sensitive information. The European Commission gave its clearance for the deal in June.
The System Technology Enhancement Program (STEP) is a methodology that utilizes the best of the open architecture, COTS product technology to fit within existing military systems. That program is comprehensively detailed on an easy-to-follow CD-ROM. DY-4's STEP program enables legacy avionics systems, such as those found in the F-14, F-16, B-52, Tornado, P3 and many others, to cost effectively embrace the multiple benefits that result from today's open systems approach.
Debate has broken out among safety officials at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB, Calif., over an Air Force Space Command range safety shift that some managers believe could erode the ``independent safety checks and balances'' critical for safe U.S. manned and unmanned launches.
The European Aeronautic Defense&Space Co. Launch Vehicle Div. last week suspended the development of the French navy's M51 nuclear ballistic missile in the wake of a complex funding disagreement with DGA armaments procurement agency. The M51 is scheduled to enter service in 2008.
After nearly four years of intensely focused, cross-discipline work, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman have given form to the sensor systems to be carried by the Joint Strike Fighter.
Steve Sauve has been appointed vice president of Boeing and Airborne Laser Joint Program Office director for the Boeing-Lockheed Martin-TRW team. In the latter role, he succeeds Paul Shennum, who has retired. Sauve was deputy program manager.
After seven years of losses, Philippine Airlines has posted a profit of slightly more than 45 million pesos ($1 million) for the year to Mar. 31. Lucio Tan, PAL's chairman and largest shareholder, was upbeat that revenues for the latest quarter leapt 43% over the same period last year. But he cautioned that rising fuel costs were hindering the airline's ability to repay its debt. PAL had worked its business plan on a fuel price half that of current levels and the airline owes hundreds of creditors $2.20 billion, which it hopes to repay over 10 years.
John G. Henderson has become a managing partner of the Washington law firm of Dyer Ellis&Joseph. He was assistant general counsel of the Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
Lockheed Martin has suffered another in a series of minor but nagging setbacks with the lift fan specially built for the short takeoff, vertical landing version of its Joint Strike Fighter demonstrator aircraft. About two weeks ago, according to U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin officials, a part apparently vibrated loose from somewhere within the lift fan assembly during testing. The part then ricocheted around the spinning unit with enough force to knock metal filings off it and possibly from moving elements of the lift fan.
Globalstar officials said the organization's service is now available throughout nearly 90% of North and South America. That level was achieved in part when Globalstar's service provider in Brazil initiated operation of the second of three gateways planned for that country. Globalstar do Brasil has inaugurated the new gateway in Petrolina, Brazil, to provide global mobile satellite telephone service to the country's northeastern region.
Don Taylor has become vice president-safety, training and flight operations of the Eclipse Aviation Corp., Albuquerque, N.M. He has been a consultant for Eclipse and was a United Airlines Boeing 747-400 check pilot and flight instructor.
European airlines are commenting on proposed conditions that European Commission regulators are considering imposing on a possible merger between British Airways and KLM. Carriers have been asked their opinions on several possible EC remedies to address competition concerns, including the sale of Buzz, KLM's London Stansted-based low-cost subsidiary, and withdrawing either KLM uk's Stansted-Amsterdam or BA's CitiFlyer Express Gatwick-Amsterdam services.
SOLOY CORP. HAS DEVELOPED an engine conversion package for the Eurocopter AS 350 Astar helicopter. Dubbed Soloy Allstar, the conversion installs a Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison) 250-C30M turboshaft powerplant in AS 350-D, -B and -BA aircraft. Soloy originally engineered and certified the Allstar conversion in the mid-1980s and sold the FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificate to Rocky Mountain Helicopters.
Michael Devirian has become manager of the Origins and Fundamental Physics Program and Larry Simmons deputy director of the Space and Earth Science Programs Directorate at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Devirian was manager of Space Science and Microgravity Flight Experiments. Simmons will continue as program manager for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility.
Patricia Jones has been appointed vice president-operations for human resources, William Linesch vice president-organizational effectiveness and Timothy Me-ginnes vice president-employee benefits, all at Northwest Airlines. Jones was promoted from managing director of human resources and employment counsel. Linesch was a vice president-human resources at the Reynolds and Reynolds Co., Dayton, Ohio, and Meginnes was director of benefits at the Ameritech Corp. in Chicago.
Frederic M. Poses and Michael C. Ruettgers have been named to the board of directors of the Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass. Poses is chairman/CEO of American Standard Companies Inc., and Ruettgers is CEO of the EMC Corp. Francis S. Marchilena and Hansel E. Tookes, 2nd, have become corporate executive vice presidents. Marchilena is president of Raytheon Command, Control, Communication and Information Systems, while Tookes is president/CEO of the Raytheon Aircraft Co.
