Boeing's 767-400ER is an evolutionary design of the twin-aisle transport and occupies a key spot between the other members of the 767 family and the 777 in passenger capacity. It also is intended to be the prototype for the cockpit design of the new 767s, as well as a retrofit program for the older twin-engine transports.
Conventional wisdom in Washington holds that any time government agencies spend months in laborious negotiations, the resulting policy will be, in essence, useless. Last week, the Clinton Administration produced its long-awaited defense export reform born of just such a process (see p. 38). Unveiled were 17 initiatives, to be exact. They are aimed at easing the U.S. defense industry's dealings with America's closest allies: NATO members, Australia and Japan. (Canada already is covered under an earlier reform effort.) Do these measures represent progress?
Edward C. Kistner (see photo) has been appointed vice president-airport engineering for Kennedy/Jenks Consultants of San Francisco. He was regional manager for the Pacific Northwest.
Japan's air force reports that it had 154 scramble intercepts in fiscal 1999, which ended on Mar. 31, compared to 220 the previous year. The 1999 total is the lowest in the air force's history. Most scrambles are prompted by Russian aircraft.
Chief executives of two new airline entrants demonstrated to a gathering of Latin American CEOs last week how their alternative strategies have worked to gain footholds in the competitive U.S. commercial aviation market.
U.K. decisions on new air-to-air missiles for its Eurofighters and new transports to meet short- and long-term airlift bolsters European efforts to create a more credible military capability--but independent of its traditional reliance on U.S. equipment.
U.S. military planners are exploring ways to handle North Korea's armed forces, including the introduction of weapons into the peninsula that weren't considered before. At the same time officials are warning U.S. policymakers, who have grown accustomed to low-casualty conflicts, that a war on the Korean peninsula will involve mass casualties.
The U.S. Air Force is opposing a proposal by members of Congress to move the Airborne Laser program to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. USAF Secretary F. Whitten Peters and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan appealed to Congress not to let the transfer become law. USAF's ABL management met strong criticism after the service drastically cut the program's budget, delaying the first test against a missile intercept by two years. Congress added funds to restore the program and Peters vowed to keep the program on track.
Lightcraft Technologies Inc., of Bennington, Vt., is looking for investors and partners to help develop its laser-powered satellite launching technology. The technique would include the use of a ground-based laser that heats a reflecting nozzle on the underside of a small launch vehicle. The reflector concentrates and superheats the air underneath the craft to 54,000F, raising air pressure and pushing it into the atmosphere. Building on Ballistic Missile Defense Organization-funded research, the U.S.
U.S. Coast Guard officials have signed a $45-million contract with Lockheed Martin to integrate new Honeywell TFE-731 turbofans in up to three twin-jet HU-25 (Dassault Falcon 20) transports. Lockheed Martin will integrate the engines and replace a troublesome AC electrical generating system. The deal replaces aging Garrett ATF3-6 engines. The initial proof-of-concept contract has options to refit the whole fleet of 30 aircraft. The first aircraft is to be delivered in early 2002 which would trigger a 6-12-month operational test evaluation.
The impact of the ``new economy'' on the aerospace industry is putting at risk the financing and intellectual horsepower needed for future space projects, warns National Reconnaissance Office policy director Gil Klinger. He says e-commerce is ``soaking up venture capital'' and creating a ``slow erosion of the resources historically available'' for the aerospace industry's internally funded R&D projects. But people may be the bigger concern. Klinger is worried that fewer and fewer engineers seem to want to work in the aerospace industry.
Aerospatiale Matra, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Construcciones Aeronauticas have agreed on a business plan and are prepared to form the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. in early July, according to the proposed group's top executive-designates.
Flightserv.com is combining the Internet market reach with business jet seat availability to provide an alternative to airline travel. The Atlanta-based company's Private Seats program essentially organizes ``pools'' of individual, prequalified passengers interested in flying at about the same time on the same route. The company is testing the service between New York and Atlanta, using the close-in Teterboro, N.J., and DeKalb-Peachtree airports. Fares are similar to the price of first class airfare, according to the company.
THE FAA HAS ISSUED a Supplemental Type Certificate to Bombardier Aerospace to install a Flight Dynamics Head-Up Guidance System (HUGS) in the company's Challenger 604 business jet. The system will allow pilots to fly instrument approach procedures to Category II minimums of a 100-ft. decision height and 1,200-ft. runway visual range. The HUGS displays flight information and guidance through a holographic combiner screen situated in the pilot's normal field of view.
European space officials are planning a solid rocket motor project that could prepare the way for future light and medium boosters and enhanced versions of the Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster, while defusing the controversy that has raged over the proposed Vega light launcher.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved a $66-million long-term loan guarantee that will enable the acquisition of two Boeing 757-200 transports by Azerbaijan Airlines. The aircraft, to be delivered in May and November of this year, will be equipped with Rolls-Royce engines backed by the U.K.'s Export Credit Guarantee Dept. The airline already flies two 727-200s, in addition to 39 Soviet-era aircraft. Separately, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency agreed to help fund a feasibility study aimed at upgrading Kazakhstan's air traffic control system.
Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co. has begun assembly of three SJ30-2 business jets that conform to production configuration. All three will be used in the certification program. Serial No. 2 has completed wing mate and the vertical stabilizer has been installed along with various subsystems, according to a company official. It is scheduled for first flight in the third quarter. A second airframe will undergo wing mate late this month after wings arrive from Spain's Gamesa. The airframe will be used for static testing, and another is being built for fatigue test work.
This week's crucial House vote on permanent normal trade relations with China is expected to be close, but passage appears increasingly likely. Lopsided support emerged in two preliminary votes last week on the controversial permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) legislation, which would shelve the contentious annual U.S. review of whether Chinese imports should continue to receive the same low tariff treatment accorded to most other nations' imports.
BOEING HAS SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED multisensor fusion in avionics displays planned for its Joint Strike Fighter candidate. The testing took place on board Boeing's Avionics Flying Laboratory (AFL), a modified 737-200 transport, which has flown 24 missions since December, with another 25 planned. During the tests, the AFL's synthetic aperture radar and targeting forward-looking infrared (TFlir) sensors collected target area data.
Eager for more room in its first- and business-class accommodations, Singapore Airlines has stated its intent to become Airbus Industrie's second customer for the industry's largest aircraft, the A3XX. The commitment for 10 A3XX-100s, plus six options, is a major boost for Airbus. Aside from securing revenue of as much as $2.3 billion to apply toward its expected debt of $15 billion to develop the 550-650-seat jet, the decision adds one of the world's most influential carriers to the European jumbo's potential buyer's list.
A POSSIBLE HINT THAT IRAN MIGHT MODIFY some of its air defense radars to decrease their detectability and identification by hostile radar warning receivers was revealed in a paper presented by two Iranian university scientists at this month's international Radar-2000 conference in Washington, sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The technique involves the use of a random pulse repetition frequency instead of the more traditional fixed PRF.
China Southwest Airlines plans to increase its flight network in support of the country's drive to develop its lightly populated west-ern region. New routes between its hub in Chengdu and Japan and Korea are planned, in addition to the six international routes the airline already flies. It also is seeking permission to open new long-haul service to Europe and Australia. The airline is buying a Boeing 737-600 next year for use on provincial routes within Sichuan province and to connect other cities in the province to major Chinese destinations.
Catherine Edwards has been appointed director of human resources at the CTS Corp.'s resistor/electrocomponents business in Elkhart, Ind. She was human resources and organization development manager of the Avery Dennison Corp.
More powerful, compact multi-band lasers which enable an airborne Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) system to aim a narrow beam at a variety of heat-seeking missiles to disrupt their guidance systems will significantly enhance the effectiveness of such systems.
