Sextant will supply 622 multifunction probe modules, comprising air data sensors and deicing controls, for the first production batch of 148 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft.
Europe's largest ever environmental satellite passed an important milestone on Apr. 14 when the 6-metric ton, 7-meter-high remote sensing payload for Envisat was mated with the service module. The combined unit stands 10 meters high and weighs over 8 tons. Envisat, to be launched on an Ariane 5 in June 2001, is intended to enhance scientists' understanding of global warning, climate change, ozone depletion and other climatic phenomena. A radar sensor will provide day/night all-weather imaging of the oceans and land masses, including the poles.
Scott Foose (see photo) has been named vice president of the Washington-based Regional Airline Assn. He was director of safety and regulatory compliance for Allegheny Airlines/US Airways Express.
SAPO, an Athens-based supplier of car-rental, yachting and real estate services, plans to inaugurate a new luxury airline next year using a pair of Airbus Corporate Jetliners. SAPO ordered its first ACJ on Apr. 4 and is closing a deal for a second aircraft, according to Chairman Georges Samaha. Airbus has received commitments for 18 ACJs. Samaha is also considering an A310, which will initially serve existing clientele centered in the Middle East. By the end of the decade, he expects to be operating a fleet of 6-8 aircraft in the Gulf/Middle East region, the U.S.
Comsat has begun a family of broadband satellite networking products called linkway.IP designed to allow Internet Service Providers with local Points of Presence and for multinationals to create Intranets or Extranets to link their regional or global offices. Linkway.IP works with VSAT (very small aperture terminal) antennas and transmits data at rates between 300 kilobits per sec. and 4 megabits per sec.
Andre Gareau (see photo, p. 12) has been appointed vice president-global training center services for CAE Electronics of Montreal. He was president/CEO of Spectra Telecom.
Six major world airlines are banding together to form a new Internet trade exchange that will link carriers worldwide with suppliers of aviation-related goods and services. The founding members, who will create the yet-to-be-named company, are Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The company, which will be formally launched shortly, will be headquartered in the U.S.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is studying ``evolvable hardware'' that automatically can change and improve its performance over its lifetime. In particular, evolvable electronics could allow spacecraft substantially longer service times by reconfiguring or synthesizing new circuits to offset failures due to radiation damage, extreme temperatures or aging.
BAE Systems has won a contract worth $4.73 million to supply Terprom ground proximity warning systems for the Royal Air Force's fleet of Tornado F-3 aircraft.
A Ukrainian charter freight vessel was hit accidentally on Apr. 24 by a Russian Progress-Type antiship missile fired from Cape Chersonese in the Black Sea. The missile pierced the ship's deckhouse and created a fire which was quickly extinguished. One crewmember was seriously injured. Russian Black Sea Navy officials blamed the Ukrainian crew for the mishap, saying the ship entered a restricted range area and passed too close to targets.
Delta Connection Inc. carriers Comair and Atlantic Southwest Airlines have placed firm orders for a total of 94 Bombardier Aerospace CRJ200 and CRJ700 regional jets, worth a total of more than $2 billion. The agreement includes options for an additional 406 CRJs.
A long-simmering disagreement between the Defense Dept. and Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.) over one of the Pentagon's anti-satellite programs has become particularly heated this year, leaving the future of the program in doubt. During the past few years Smith almost single-handedly kept the Army's kinetic energy anti-satellite program (Ke-Asat) alive by adding money to the Pentagon's budget. The Defense Dept. has resisted the system, and has been slow to spend appropriated funds.
A new water repellent polymer coating technology could cut the maintenance and replacement cost of aircraft windows by up to 66%, according to an Australian research team. Developed by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific&Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and Aeroclear Pty. Ltd., the technology involves plasma coating the window with a thin protective polymer.
The Office of Naval Research has demonstrated a new guidance system to deliver projectiles fired by naval guns more accurately. Using a combination of GPS guidance, six micro-electromechanical sensors and pop-out control fins, the munition would be guided to its target with accuracies within a few meters. The control system is screwed into the front of the projectile where the fuze is housed.
An item in the World News Roundup section of the Apr. 24 issue misstated the date of the crash of a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22. The accident occurred on Apr. 8.
DRS Technologies has won several orders worth a total of $18.2 million from Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems. DRS is expected to produce and provide engineering services for AN/UYQ-70 advanced display systems and computer peripheral equipment for U.S. Navy Aegis-class ships, plus Enhanced Control Display Workstations for submarines.
Some of the aerospace executives responsible for the industry's two largest electronic marketplaces are exploring the feasibility of combining the e-commerce ventures, though no merger is imminent.
Jason Dickstein has been named president of the Washington (D.C.) Aviation Group Inc. He was vice president/general counsel of the Washington-based Airline Suppliers Assn.
Boeing is forecasting world air cargo traffic will triple by 2018 and the world freighter fleet will double to more than 1,500 units. All told, air cargo will grow at an average 6.4% annual rate over the next 18 years, to about 550 billion freight-ton-kilometers, according to James Edgar, regional director of cargo marketing. That compares with the average 4.7% annual expansion rate projected for passenger traffic, he said.
Ken Scott has been promoted to managing director from sales director of PanAmSat Europe Ltd. of London. In the Coral Gables, Fla.-based Latin American office of the PanAmSat Corp., Ramiro Reinoso has been promoted to senior director from regional engineering manager and Javier Recio to senior director of sales from director of existing accounts.
A recent hike in aviation fuel of about 19% is expected to erode Indian Airlines profits by about $23.5 million. It also is likely to result in air fare hikes for the fiscal year that began Apr. 1. The state-owned domestic carrier spends about $152 million a year on fuel, but the tax rises are pushing this up to about $175 million. In March, the Indian government increased domestic fuel taxes by 62.96 cents per kiloliter. Fuel rates for domestic operations are 5,000 rupees ($114.50) higher than those for international flights.
It's a risky profession, says the Assn. of Flight Attendants. The AFA, which represents 47,000 members at 26 airlines, is putting pressure on the Clinton Administration to provide cabin crews with the same Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) protections enjoyed by other workers. In 1975, the FAA claimed jurisdiction over health and safety of flight attendants and pilots. According to the AFA, pilots are medically certified and monitored--cabin crew are not. An AFA-conducted survey of 11 U.S.
