The third F-22 Raptor joined the flight test program at Edwards AFB, Calif., last week, bringing a beefed-up airframe that should be able to fully clear the high-speed part of the flight envelope.
Isoloss LS Microcellular foams are ultra fine-celled foams suitable for gasketing and sealing applications. They effectively resist compression set, offer high tensile and tear strength and exhibit excellent environmental resistance properties. They range in thickness from 0.01-0.5 in. and in densities from less than 10 pcf. to more than 20 pcf. Easily and cleanly die cut, they can be combined, online during production or afterward by adhesive lamination, with various facings, backings, films or scrims.
Searching the ocean depths for flight data and cockpit voice recorders, or scouring a crash site in hopes of finding units, could be a thing of the past if aircraft carried deployable recorders.
Integral Systems Inc. has won a program definition contract from Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space to design satellite operations centers for polar-orbiting weather satellites to be operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Integrated Program Office.
Lufthansa German Airlines posted before-tax earnings of 970 million euros ($938 million) in 1999, down from 1.3 billion euros in 1998, on 9% greater sales of 12.8 billion euros, according to preliminary results. Earnings included a large gain from the sale of shares in the Amadeus reservation system, while the sales increase was driven largely by external growth.
An NTSB official said last week investigators are continuing their probe into the crash of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 on Mar. 5 in which it went off the departure end of Runway 8 at Burbank, Calif. (AW&ST Mar. 13, p. 40). He said the NTSB has conducted interviews and performed friction tests on the runway. The FAA says older airports such as Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena are safe, but its two runways are exempt from agency requirements for 1,000-ft. safety zone overruns.
James B. Melvin has been promoted to director of marketing from general aviation marketing manager of Unison Industries, Jacksonville, Fla. Other recent promotions include Charles J. Currier to director of aftermarket sales from support manager for turbine products; Zouheir A. Abdelnour to director of piston products from director of new business development; James M. Porterfield to director of accounting and financial reporting from corporate controller; and Christopher M. Gould to director of materials and information systems from materials manager.
These bearings are designed to absorb, dampen and/or control large forces simultaneously occurring in several directions. They are made by layering special elastomers between disks of various metals such as steel, aluminum, titanium and composite materials, reducing a multicomponent assembly to a single-unit design requiring no lubrication. The technology, developed and proven on aircraft and helicopters, is available to help solve load and motion attenuation challenges for many industrial applications.
The European Space Agency has selected CASA Space Div. to develop the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity instrument for the Living Planet Earth Observation Program, under an $80-million work order.
The U.S. Air Force's Weapon System Evaluation Program remains a cutting-edge ``Consumer Reports'' of combat aircraft, crew and armament assessments, but is stretched to its limits by resource shortages.
Frontier Airlines has ordered six 132-seat Airbus A319s and five 114-seat A318s, set to replace aging Boeing 737s. First delivery is scheduled for June 2001. Frontier also optioned nine additional A320-series twinjets and concluded leases with General Electric Capital Aviation Services and the International Lease Finance Corp. for 16 more A318/A319s. Frontier's A318s will be powered by Pratt&Whitney PW6000s and its A319s by CFM International CFM56 turbofans.
In a meeting with stock market analysts in California earlier this month, top officials at Boeing said they intend to increase the company's value fivefold over the next five years by expanding into new ventures related to its core businesses. Chairman/CEO Phil Condit and Chief Financial Officer Debby Hopkins said growth opportunities being pursued include customer service, financing aerospace products, commercial navigation and air traffic management systems, and satellite-based communications systems that would allow passengers to log onto the Internet while in flight.
Unions representing about 30% of U.S. airline pilots remain opposed to FAA's proposed 15% increase of its extended twin-engine operations limit for the Boeing 777. They believe the extension would subject passengers to unnecessary risks and are lobbying the agency to derail or force major revisions to the rule.
The Iridium global communications company last week had some investors who were interested in bidding on the satellite system, according to program officials. Whether these parties would be able to step in and keep the system in operation was to be determined by late last week in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing. Iridium has been operating under bankruptcy protection since last summer.
Wall Street is trying to gauge the likely impact of the current strike by Boeing Co. engineers and technical workers on the company. Near-term, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown analyst Chris Mecray thinks first-quarter earnings could be 15-20 cents a share less than they would have been otherwise. His estimate is based on the assumption that 50-75 of the 128 aircraft that were supposed to have been delivered by the end of March will be delayed. He is also assuming striking workers will be back by early April.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Image spacecraft (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration) is scheduled for launch from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on Mar. 25 on board a Delta II. Built for Lockheed Martin Space Systems under subcontract by the Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio, Tex., the spacecraft is part of NASA's Medium-class Explorer Mission program and will image the magnetosphere as it changes shape.
Washington Dulles International Airport security officials arrested FAA safety inspector Joseph Gore during a routine check of a United Airlines aircraft. Gore was authorized for the job, but police wouldn't accept his identification. Local and FAA security forces have been at odds and Gore apparently was a victim of that strife. He was charged with trespassing and released on bond after several hours.
Kim E. Wertheimer has been appointed executive vice president-North American international business development of Eagle USA Airfreight Inc. of Houston. He was executive vice president-logistics for the Circle International Group.
Airline, airport, pilot, controller, regulator and tourism organizations have formed a coalition to protect vital radio frequencies from reallocation at the World Radio Conference 2000 in May. The aviation community fears part of these frequencies could be shifted to mobile telecom applications (AW&ST Jan. 10, p. 37).
Technology upgrades and commercial potential fuel aggressive pace at historic launch site. A 50% increase in flight rate is predicted. The rapid growth in launches for commercial and scientific space missions and the advent of major new rocket systems are forcing long overdue changes to the federal policies and hardware that govern the schedule and cost of operations at Cape Canaveral, increasingly the world's busiest launch site.
Bolstering suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) capabilities is one of several initiatives being pursued by the Royal Air Force as a result of the air campaign in Kosovo. SEAD was a crucial ``pacing'' element for the air operation, according to Air Marshal Sir John Day, deputy chief of defense staff for commitments. Many sorties were geared around the availability of such assets, which were largely provided by the U.S., he said. ``We need to invest more heavily [in SEAD] than we have in the past.''
C.T. (Tom) Burbage has been named executive vice president-customer requirements, Robert T. Elrod executive vice president-programs, John C. McCarthy executive vice president-finance and Ralph D. Heath executive vice president-operations, all of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. of Fort Worth. Burbage has been president of the Marietta, Ga., facility and will continue as site manager. Elrod was president of the Palmdale, Calif., facility and will continue as site manager.
Grey Brock has been named flight support for Atlanta-based flightserv.com. He was a director of inflight service scheduling and administration for Delta Air Lines.
The BBC claims there was a mole in NATO headquarters during the Kosovo conflict supplying Belgrade information on targets to be bombed. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson refutes the claim. But in October, both U.S. Air Force Gen. John Jumper and Vice Adm. Daniel Murphy said they had doubted NATO security (AW&ST Nov. 1, 1999, p. 33). ``I was convinced they had that information,'' Jumper said then of the Serbs' knowledge of what was to be hit. Murphy said Tomahawk and air-launched cruise missiles and stealth technology were targeted solely by the U.S.
