Lobo Systems offers a freestanding static or mobile access platform in a variety of heights and sizes. A patented clamp--Loband--can be configured as a trestle system, workbench, personnel barrier, stage or raised floor in heights from 6 in. to 15 ft. Options include wheels and handrails that meet EC and OSHA directives. The platforms can be assembled without tools and can be fully integrated with other access systems. The system can be easily packed and carried anywhere. It is in use in aircraft maintenance, engineering and construction venues.
Rear Adm. Bill Pickavance (USN, Ret.) has been named vice president/deputy program manager for Florida operations at United Space Alliance (USA). He was director for operations of the U.S. Pacific Command and previously commanded the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Former astronaut Andy Allen has become director of technical operations. He was USA program manager for space shuttle development and will be succeeded by James Eyman, who was vice president-safety, quality and mission asssurance. Eyman, in turn, will be succeeded by Richard Beagley. Former astronaut Loren J.
CABLE TELEVISION (CTV) ADVERTISEMENTS AIMED AT INCREASING new student pilots starts are paying off. Officials of Be A Pilot (BAP), a nonprofit organization formed to educate the public about the benefits of general aviation and flight training, said the first nine weeks of its 2000 campaign have produced 8% more contacts than last year's program with the largest gains coming from Web-based leads, which outpaced telephone responses by more than 2 to 1.
The state government of Hesse is scheduled to announce its decision on Aug. 19 for expanding Frankfurt airport, which serves as Lufthansa's main hub and is suffering from capacity constraints.
Allen Penton, retired program director at the Boeing Phantom Works, Long Beach, Calif., has been elected international president of the Covina, Calif.-based Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering.
MD HELICOPTERS (MDH) HAS COMPLETED THE PURCHASE of facilities in Mesa, Ariz., previously owned by Boeing. According to Chairman and CEO Henk Schaeken, MDH acquired five buildings that will house manufacturing, assembly, completion delivery and administrative offices. In addition, construction of a 35,000-sq.-ft. warehouse to store parts is scheduled to be completed in October, Schaeken said. MDH, which is a subsidiary of RDM Holding NV, bought Boeing's light helicopter product line in February 1999. Since the acquisition, MDH has sold 50 aircraft and delivered 37.
If ever there were a good time for Federal Aviation Administration chief Jane Garvey to grab the reins and try to control the growing problems of airline delays and passenger frustration, now is the time. She needs to be the catalyst for immediate action by the FAA, its air traffic control segment, airport officials and the top management of U.S. airlines and their respective associations. While air traffic congestion is even a bigger problem in Europe, the U.S. is headed down the same troubled road. Then, if what it tries works, the solutions can be spread worldwide.
As if the summer's spate of bad weather weren't enough, United Airlines' troubles with unions and growing numbers of flight cancellations are adversely affecting the carrier's bottom line and throwing fuel on the watch fire in Congress for passenger rights legislation.
Rear Adm. William Cross (USN, Ret.) has become vice president/manager of the Engineering Systems Div. of CACI International Inc., Arlington, Va. He was executive officer for the Navy's aircraft carrier programs.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants (AFA) won a long-sought victory of sorts in helping to get the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) a role in regulating working conditions in the airline industry. But don't look for OSHA officials to come in like gangbusters. The FAA and OSHA will simply work together to improve working conditions for flight attendants and other aviation-related personnel. Monitoring pilot and flight engineer working conditions will remain the exclusive purview of FAA's Aeromedical Office.
Wolf-Eckard Herholz has been appointed senior vice president-customer support and Jurgen Haacker vice president-customer support, effective Sept. 1, of Fairchild Dornier. Herholz was vice president-technical operations of Lufthansa City Line, while Haacker was head of customer engineering and support for Lufthansa Technik.
THOMSON TRAINING AND SIMULATION is set to provide training equipment for Franco-German Tiger helicopter aircrews. Included in the approximately $270-million contract are computer-assisted trainers, cockpit procedure trainers, and dual-dome full mission simulators for the pilot and gunner that are motion-based and utilize wide-field-of-view visual systems.
Fairchild Dornier's decision to halt development of its 428JET will significantly reduce the company's position in the regional aircraft market. Last week, Fairchild Dornier said changing market conditions and a dramatic rise in development costs led to its decision to cancel the program. The company's presence in the 30-50-seat segment with only its 30-seat 328JET leaves Embraer as the sole manufacturer offering more than one model in this category.
Trunk routes are losing market share as airlines continue to open routes between new city-pairs using long-range transports that can bypass connecting hubs. A Boeing study of available seat kilometers (ASKs) on the top 10 trunk routes in major markets in 1979-1999 showed that market share declined from 100% for the three nonstop routes available between Europe and Asia in 1979 to 44% by 1999. Similarly, capacity on the 10 biggest trunk routes between the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region dropped from an 89% market share to 47% during the same time period.
An automated ``flight firming'' system developed by Airline Automation Inc. helped Las Vegas-based National Airlines achieve a 92% system-wide load factor on July 2 without recording a single denied boarding all day. Tucson-based AAI's ``Predator'' software removes speculative bookings from computer reservation systems by assigning ticket time limits, checking for and canceling duplicate segments and unticketed reservations and identifying fictitious passenger names, according to Frank Arciuolo, AAI executive vice president.
Air France posted a 19.2% increase in operating revenues, to 3 billion euros ($2.7 billion), for the first quarter of its financial year. Capacity grew 5.7% during the quarter, while traffic increased by 10.9%, leading to an improvement of 3.7 points in passenger load factor which rose to 79.4%.
Delta Air Lines plans to implement Enigma Inc.'s Xtend software program to transition the carrier's paper-based engine overhaul and repair manuals, parts catalogs and service bulletins to the airline's intranet. The change will provide mechanics, technicians and engineers with easier access to key maintenance information, which undergoes frequent revisions. Delta officials said the program should reduce the overall length of the carrier's engine maintenance cycle by 10%.
RAYTHEON AIRCRAFT CO. REPORTS HAVING MORE THAN 400 ORDERS for its entry-level Premier I and super mid-size Hawker Horizon. Orders for the Premier I, priced at $4.8 million, stand at 250 aircraft with a backlog into 2005. Plans call for FAA certification of the twin-engine jet late in the third quarter of this year followed by initial deliveries, according to company officials. By 2001 Raytheon is scheduled to deliver one airplane every four days. The larger Hawker Horizon has garnered 150 orders and is set to make its first flight next year with FAA approval due in 2002.
A slipping launch schedule for Muses-C has prompted Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and NASA to pick another asteroid as their target. Muses-C, a joint ISAS-NASA mission, was to lift off on board an ISAS M-5 launcher in July 2002. But the launch has been pushed back to November or December 2002 following the first-stage failure in the Astro-E X-ray astronomy mission last February (AW&ST Feb. 21, p. 123). The two space agencies say Muses-C will rendezvous with asteroid 1998 SF36 instead of 1989 ML.
The U.S. Air Force has accepted the first of 50 Bell-Boeing CV-22 tiltrotor aircraft. According to Bell-Boeing officials, the CV-22 is similar to the MV-22 designed for the U.S. Marine Corps, but is equipped specifically to serve with U.S. Air Force Special Operations units. For example, the aircraft can be maintained on the ground in darkness by personnel using only night vision equipment. The first aircraft is scheduled to continue testing this year at Edwards AFB, Calif., a Bell-Boeing official said.
Traffic for startup carrier Legend Airlines continues to increase, and in July Legend won the battle for passengers over rival American Airlines at Dallas' Love Field. Legend's traffic last month was up 35% over June with 15,866 passengers compared with 12,988 for American. Both airlines fly twin-engine jets equipped with only 56 seats and offer first-class service on long-haul flights at reduced fares. A Legend official said in July the airline flew 506 flights with its fleet of four Douglas DC-9s.
Boeing's efforts to have the civil variant of the C-17 transport classified as a commercial product and not a weapons system have ground to a halt in the U.S. government review process. The company for several years has been trying to attract interest in the MD-17 both with domestic and overseas freight companies to meet demands now often met by leased Antonov An-124s. If the MD-17 is not classified as a weapon, export control would fall to the Commerce Dept. rather than the State Dept. That would mean less stringent export regulations apply.
Lawrence H. Brinker has become vice president/general counsel and Jorge L. Mont vice president-marketing and sales of AeroTurbine Inc. of Miami. Brinker was vice president-administration/general counsel/director of safety for AirTran. Mont was director of engine sales and leasing for AAR Engine Sales and Leasing.
