Charles E. Schwab has become vice president-human resources for Textron Fastening Systems, Troy, Mich. He was vice president-international human resources for Kelly Services.
The investigation of the crash of Air France Flight 4590 near Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is expected to evolve into a technical controversy focusing on the primary cause of the aircraft's tire blowout. The Franco-British working group formed late last month to devise technical changes that could lead to the reinstatement of Concorde's airworthiness certificate could dispute the BEA French accident investigation bureau's preliminary report's reasoning.
Charles A. Leader is a Washington-based director in the aerospace and defense industry group of PRTM, management consultants to the technology industry. Leader previously was president of Nichols Research and of Hughes Information Systems.
Israel wants to field at least two types of new, long-endurance unmanned air vehicles that, if not stealthy, would at least have reduced radar reflectivity and would be much harder to locate and target accurately as they attempt to track down and destroy Scud-type mobile missile launchers. The problem is ``how do you deal with the launchers,'' said Moshe Keret, the CEO of Israel Aircraft Industries. ``We know that in the Persian Gulf war, the coalition destroyed zero or close to zero launchers. But this is a concept we think is feasible today or soon.''
The FAA has ordered inspections and a functional check of Boeing 767 elevator mechanisms to determine if shear rivets in the assemblies have broken. The rivets are designed to shear if a malfunction occurs in the elevator and pilots apply adequate control pressure to disconnect the jammed component. The airworthiness directive, which takes effect Sept. 11, involves 322 airplanes registered in the U.S. (797 aircraft are in service worldwide). The inspection/checks must be completed within 30 days.
Chris Crumbly, an engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., has been appointed NASA's representative on the National Science and Technology Council in Washington.He also will be the senior policy analyst in the Technology Div. of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Henry J. Driesse has been appointed president of ITT Industries' Defense Div., McLean, Va. He has been president and general manager of ITT's Avionics Div., Clifton, N.J. Driesse succeeds Marvin Sambur, who will be president/general manager of the Aerospace/Communications Div., Fort Wayne, Ind.
The FAA has issued orders to accelerate inspections of General Electric CF6 engine compressors to prevent inflight failures of the powerplant's high-pressure compressor.
An American Airlines Boeing 757 en route to Puerto Rico from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Aug. 23 encountered strong turbulence over the Gulf of Mexico that injured eight passengers and five flight attendants. The aircraft diverted to Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and landed safely. There were 60 passengers and eight crewmembers on board.
Low-fare carrier Virgin Express reported a 15% increase in scheduled revenue growth for the second quarter as well as improved on-time performance, but pretax losses of 6.4 million euros ($5.7 million) were due largely to higher fuel prices and a strong U.S. dollar, according to the airline's management. Despite an increase in yield on tickets sold, load factors declined compared with the same period in 1999. Officials said ticket sales via the Internet accounted for 23% of the carrier's direct business.
DHL Aviation Afrique, a Zimbabwe-based subsidiary of DHL Worldwide, has ordered two all-cargo ATR 42-300 twin turboprops, which will be operated by Rossair. Deliveries are scheduled to begin next month.
Deep Space 1 is two months into its ion engine firing toward the comet Borrelly and recently broke the record for the longest rocket firing in space, set by the SERT-2 ion engine satellite testbed in the early 1970s at 162 days. The Hughes-built engine has now fired for more than 210 days and could reach 583 days by the end of the mission in late 2001 (see photo).
Air France will ban smoking on flights throughout its system beginning Nov. 1. Officials of the flag carrier said the airline has gradually prohibited smoking on its European routes and long-haul flights to the U.S., but will extend the mandate to South America and the Pacific Rim. In an effort to preclude potential air rage incidents by smokers, Air France will provide a nicotine substitute during flights.
Microvision has won a $600,000 addi- tion to a $7.8-million contract modification from the U.S. Army's PM-ACIS office for helmet-mounted displays. The additional displays will be used in the virtual cockpit optimization program.
NASA researchers say they can see the complete Arctic Ocean ice cover for the first time with data provided by Canada's Radarsat satellite, launched by NASA in 1995 and operated by the Canadian Space Agency. Previous observations of polar sea ice have been available for specific areas, but not the entire polar region. The extended coverage provides scientists with the capability to track surface changes in great detail during an entire winter, which should enable them to better understand the sea ice cover and the Arctic Ocean's role in global climate change.
In the article entitled ``Will Aerospace.com Pass Antitrust, Red Tape Muster?'' (AW&ST Aug. 21, p. 68), Robert Robeson was incorrectly identified. He is vice president of the Aerospace Industries Assn. Also, an automotive exchange was incorrectly identified. Its current name is Covisint.
Among the world's top 50 airports, Dulles and Baltimore/Washington rank first and second in passenger traffic growth during 1999, according to preliminary data provided by the International Air Transport Assn. Dulles posted a 25.8% increase and Baltimore/Washington experienced a 16.2% rise. Seoul captured third with 13.6% growth, followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle (12.9%) and Minneapolis/St. Paul (12.7%). Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport was the busiest facility, handling more than 77.5 million passengers last year--a 6.1% increase compared with 1998.
With only 33 months to the first launch of the Mars 2003 rovers, there is concern about getting them designed, built and properly tested in time (AW&ST Aug. 14, p. 21). Field tests were conducted earlier this year with ``Fido,'' an Earth-bound rover used to devise operational concepts, but making two 150-kg. (330-lb.) rovers that have to survive an airbag landing is another matter. The spacecraft will send coded ``semaphores'' during entry and descent to help engineers locate problems if there is a failure--something that was not done on the lost Mars Polar Lander.
The 15-ton National Reconnaissance Office/Lockheed Martin Lacrosse type imaging radar spacecraft launched on Aug. 17 by a Titan IVB (see photo) from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., has maneuvered at least twice and is now in its operational orbit. By Aug. 21 the secret spacecraft had been positioned in a nearly circular 430-mi. orbit inclined 68 deg.
Athena Technologies has won a Phase II contract from the Office of Naval Research to develop and demonstrate a prototype of a Failure Detection and Warning Unit for the U.S. Navy's X-31 Vector aircraft.
The lessons to be learned and implemented from TWA Flight 800 are many. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall, in his closing statement at the TWA Flight 800 board meeting last week (see p.
Cessna Aircraft Co. has delivered the 100th Citation Excel business jet. Initial customer deliveries began in 1998. Cessna reports having more than 200 orders for the twin-engine aircraft, which was introduced at the 1994 National Business Aviation Assn. convention and approved by the FAA in April 1998. To meet demand, the company has increased production to one airplane every three days. The Excel features a midsize cabin with stand-up headroom for most passengers, and is powered by Pratt&Whitney Canada PW545A engines.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. (AOPA) is petitioning the FAA to reverse its decision regarding changes to type certification procedures that could have an adverse effect on system improvements available through Supplemental Type Certificates. The agency's new rule, which amends FAR Part 21 and 25, requires that changes to existing equipment or products undergo a recertification process to meet the most current airworthiness regulations that are applicable.
Navy Area Defense missile testing marked an important success last week in a non-intercept test of the Standard Missile SM-2 Block IVA missile. The test (CTV-2) at the Army's White Sands Missile Range, N.M., exercised the interceptor's autopilot and aerodynamic performance. An initial look indicated all systems performed nominally and that the missile followed the anticipated flight timelines, Navy officials said. The system's first intercept attempt is planned for next year.
