Reports filed with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System raise questions about passengers who are legally authorized to carry weapons on board aircraft. Although these passengers are required to have proper identification and follow specific airline notification rules, aircrew have expressed concerns to ASRS over armed federal and government agents who are ``white-knuckle'' fliers and highly nervous on flights.
President Clinton is not the only chief executive under fire on national missile defense (see p. 31). Texas Gov. George W. Bush, who drew rave reviews for ``statesmanship'' with his NMD proposal in May, is also getting some flak. The plan of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee combines a treaty-busting global missile defense with unilateral--and therefore risky--offensive nuclear arms cuts that would not be legally binding, says Spurgeon M. Keeny, Jr., president of the Arms Control Assn. (ACA).
Kris Oliver has been appointed vice president-sales and customer service for Sabre Business Travel Solutions of Fort Worth. He was vice president-airline marketing development.
Robert A. Rieth has been appointed senior vice president/chief financial officer, Steve Millstein vice president/treasurer and William Gray corporate controller, all of the Parlex Corp., Methuen, Mass. Rieth was CEO of Wyle Laboratories. Millstein was vice president-finance of Parlex and succeeds Herbert W. Pollack as treasurer. Pollack will remain chairman. Gray was CFO of Conceptronic Inc.
Finally, pilots can look forward to a cockpit tool designed to minimize the time they spend heads-down, pushing buttons to communicate with aircraft systems. A track-ball-like device developed by Rockwell Collins will let pilots point-and-click while using a cursor to control systems on their multifunction displays (MFDs). This should result in more ``head out of the cockpit'' time--a plus for flight safety.
U.S. Army Gen. Robert W. RisCassi (Ret.) has been named to the board of directors of Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis. He is vice president of L-3 Communications and was commander-in-chief of the U.N. Command and South Korea/U.S. Combined Forces Command.
Steve Williamson has become vice president-commercial finance of the Boeing Capital Corp. of Seattle. He was executive vice president of the Connell Finance Co., Westfield, N.J.
The old adage that you can't tell the players without a program looks to be a veritable watchword for those attending the July 24-30 Farnborough 2000 air show. Even industry insiders may be hard-pressed to navigate their way through the host of newly merged companies and joint ventures in Europe, many of which will make their international debut at the British biennial event which itself is taking up a new spot in the calendar.
A study of rejected takeoffs by Evergreen Airlines in association with Boeing found that more than half of all RTO accidents and incidents reported in the past 30 years were initiated at a speed in excess of V1. Slightly over 25% actually involved a loss of engine thrust while nearly as many RTOs were the result of wheel or tire failures. About one-third involved runways that were wet or contaminated with snow or ice. Overall, about 80% of runway overrun events were potentially avoidable by following appropriate operational practices.
The U.S. Air Force credits airborne, ground surveillance radar as one of the technological keys that produced lopsided military victories in Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, but senior planners now believe they need the technology cheaper, smaller and repackaged in modern aircraft.
Aerospatiale Matra and the Sagem group are pursuing strategies to extend their unmanned aerial vehicle product range, respond to the French forces' requirements and acquire more business in the export market.
Clifford M. Cagle (see photo) has been named vice president-programs management of the Litton Laser Systems Div., Apopka, Fla. He was director of business development at the Lockheed Martin Aircraft and Logistics Center, Greenville, S.C.
Edward M. Francis (see photos) has been promoted to president from vice president-operations and Lawrence R. McNamara to director of programs and business development from director of business development, for Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems, Windsor Locks, Conn.
A powerful U.S. Navy weather and ocean-modeling computer has been upgraded to be the 13th fastest supercomputer in the world, according to the ``Top 500'' list (www.top500.org). The Cray T3E, located at the Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center, Miss., now has 1,088 processors and 404 gigabytes of memory, yielding peak performance of 980 gigaflops. The system is one of four Defense Dept. Major Shared Resource Centers used by all services and contractors from industry and academia.
U.S. lawmakers agreed last week to present Congressional Gold Medals to the Apollo 11 astronauts who carried out man's first landing on the Moon in 1969. Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins will receive gold medals struck by the Treasury for the ``historic feat'' of ``conquering the Moon at great personal risk to their safety, paving the way for future missions to other regions of space.''
Tolis Deslis has been appointed vice president/chief operating officer of Davidson Optronics, West Covina, Calif. He was senior optical designer/engineer for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
The use of advanced design and manufacturing techniques helped Boeing assemble its X-32A Joint Strike Fighter candidate in just over 52 weeks using 58 employees. The X-32A's one-piece wing was attached in 6 hr., according to Harry Stonecipher, president and chief operating officer. Quality also significantly improved with about 80% fewer defects than in the equivalent build of the F-22 fighter, a program in which Boeing is a 33% partner with Lockheed. Overall, the X-32 is costing about 75% less than Boeing's YF-22 and F-22 experience, Stonecipher said.
The FAA certified Cessna Aircraft Co.'s Model 525A Citation CJ2 business jet on June 21. Plans call for the first three production aircraft to be used as company demonstrators beginning in the third quarter of this year, according to Cessna officials. Initial customer deliveries are scheduled for the fourth quarter.
The State of New York (motto: Excelsior, Ever Upward) appears to be kindling the competitive spirit among a few airlines. JetBlue Airways, based at New York JFK airport, launched operations with an all-Airbus A320 fleet in February 2000. The low-cost carrier, which already provides service to Buffalo, N.Y., plans service to Rochester beginning in early August. Southwest Airlines, which is expanding services in the Northeast region, plans to begin daily nonstop flights out of Buffalo's Niagara International Airport on Oct.
The satellite builders at Hughes Electronics believe their future will brighten if their acquisition by Boeing gets an antitrust okay. Several big satcom outfits--Intelsat, Inmarsat and GE Americom--have long had a to-heck-with-you attitude toward the satellite shop (Hughes Space and Communications), since Hughes Electronics also operates competing satellite service companies. (Imagine Boeing or Airbus running an airline.) But if U.S.
The U.S. Navy has signed an $8.9-billion contract with Boeing for multiyear purchases of 222 F/A-18E/F--36 in Fiscal 2000, 42 in Fiscal 2001 and 48 in each of the following three years.
Reinhard Schnabel has been named vice president-Europe at the Stuttgart, Germany, offices of Hughes Space and Communications International Services Co. He was vice president-business development and programs of the Space Communications Div. of Bosch Telecom.
