The first F-4E Phantom to be modified in Greece under the Peace Icarus 2000 modernization program has rolled out of Hellenic Aerospace Industry's facility at Tanagra. Under the program, 39 F-4Es are to be upgraded by 2001 with a new avionics package by HAI and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace for the Greek air force.
Bob Hanrahan has become president of Wood Group Aero Inc., the Connecticut-based subsidiary of Wood Group Gas Turbines Ltd., Aberdeen, Scotland. He was executive vice president of Turbine Controls Inc.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN'S LITENING II precision attack targeting system pods have completed operational test and evaluation on the F-16 aircraft at the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Test Center in Tucson, Ariz. The self-contained pod has a forward-looking infrared sensor, charge-coupled device TV and laser spot tracker/range finder. No modifications to the F-16 are required to carry and operate the laser target designating system, which was developed by Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector, teamed with Rafael of Israel.
An ultrahigh-temperature ceramic test unit (such as the one in photo) is scheduled to fly in June on a Minuteman III missile launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The Slender Hypervelocity Aerothermodynamic Research Probe will be mounted on a modified Mk. 12A reentry vehicle, which will have four sharp leading edges. The flight will test whether the material could significantly improve thermal protection of spacecraft during atmospheric reentry.
Sir Peter Abels is among five people who have been named to the International Air Cargo Hall of Fame. Abels, who also is former chairman of Ansett Airlines, was cited for starting with just one truck in Australia, eventually merging his own small express company with TNT and building it into a billion-dollar global corporation.
Marvin H. Fritz has been appointed vice president-marketing of Puroflow Inc., Van Nuys, Calif. He was vice president-rotable and repair operations/director of airline programs for AAR Distribution, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Investigators looking at wreckage of the Mitsubishi LE-7 first-stage engine from the H-2 launcher that failed last November have discovered a broken blade from a liquid hydrogen turbopump (AW&ST Nov. 22, 1999, p. 38). They previously identified a cracked welded section of a liquid hydrogen pipe as the prime suspect. The 8-in. titanium blade is one of three in an inductor system.
Jersey, England-based AirTV has selected Alcatel Space to build a network of four S-band broadcasting satellites to provide live TV and radio for commercial and business aviation. Alcatel will also be among the strategic partners participating in the first round of financing, to be finalized later this year. BAE Systems Canada (ex-Marconi Canada), another partner, will build S-band onboard antennas. Boeing, too, is also reported to be in discussions to join the $1-billion project.
Pan American Airways recently purchased seven Boeing 727 Stage 3 Heavy Weight Systems from Raisbeck Commercial Air Group. Installations are to be performed at Raisbeck's Portsmouth, N.H., facility at the rate of one per month. Hushkitting of the fleet is expected to be completed by August. Raisbeck kits for 727s range in cost from $695,000 plus 30 installation man-hours to $1,295,000 and 215 installation man-hours.
Two Star Alliance partners--Varig and United--have moved into joint facilities at Rio de Janeiro International Airport, and a third, Lufthansa, is set to follow suit shortly. The moves will make Rio the latest major airport to house all Star members under a single roof, after Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Shanghai and Beijing. Discussions for similar arrangements at London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Miami and Los Angeles are underway.
Further consolidation among civil aircraft manufacturers is likely in the next year or so, and some industry observers expect Raytheon's $2.7-billion business will be the next major player to change hands. Raytheon Aircraft Co. (RAC) has been on the auction block for some time, and the only reason it hasn't sold yet is because the parent company is holding out for a higher price than prospective buyers have been willing to pay, according to several investment bankers and some top industry executives.
What's a major hub worth? Continental Airlines' hub operations at Newark (N.J.) International Airport contributed about 110,000 jobs and $3.53 billion in personal income to the surrounding region in 1999, according to a detailed study by Cambridge, Mass.-based National Economic Research Associates. The airline contributed almost $4 billion in gross regional product, defined as the value of output of goods and services, including multiplier effects, NERA said.
Boeing may cut up to 5,000 more jobs than planned this year, according to its annual 10K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will end the year with 180,000-190,000 workers across the company, about 5,000 fewer than previously forecast. Boeing now has about 194,000 workers worldwide. Employment peaked at 238,000 in 1998.
Robert Stone has become chief financial officer and Dean F. Kennedy vice president/controller of Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group Inc. Stone was vice president-financial planning and analysis for the Boeing Co. Kennedy was controller of Campus Health Care Group. Mike Lotz, who has been acting CFO, will return to his position as chief operating officer. Kay Chisholm has been promoted to vice president-customer service/airport operations from East Coast customer service manager. She succeeds Greg Stephens, who has been appointed president of subsidiary Air Midwest.
Privatization of air traffic services could be the trigger needed to jump-start European airspace consolidation. Most experts agree that combining airspace would streamline air traffic control and travel in Europe. However, despite the efforts of the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), such proposals have stalled since the 1960s, largely because of national sovereignty issues.
In contrast with more conventional strategies pursued by other major airlines, the SAirGroup, Swissair's parent company, seeks to evolve into a highly diversified ``aviation group.'' The long-term goal is expected to boost revenues and smooth the impact of air transportation's weak profitability and recurrent downturns. Swissair nevertheless expects that the Qualiflyer Group, an 11-member global alliance, will further expand, acquire a stronger market share and generate significant economies of scale.
TRW has completed the integration of the six science instruments for the Aqua spacecraft, the second half of NASA's new Earth Observing System. The first satellite, Terra, was launched last December (AW&ST Jan. 1, p. 38). The spacecraft is on schedule for a December launch from Vandenberg AFB on board a Delta II. Environmental testing is to begin this spring. TRW also is building and integrating a different instrument set for a companion spacecraft, EOS Chemistry, due for launch in 2001.
DAVID A. FULGHUMJOHN D. MORROCCOEDWARD H. PHILLIPS
The first of a type of foreign aircraft sale that has worried U.S. military officials for years has finally been made. The U.S. is selling the United Arab Emirates a better aircraft, the Block 60 F-16, than any similar fighter flown by its own forces.
THE FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION'S (FSF) Approach and Landing Accident Reduction Task Force (ALAR) is developing new procedures aimed at making it easier for pilots to fly nonprecision instrument approaches. The ALAR group plans to recommend the global implementation of certified, constant-angle, stabilized approach procedures using the vertical navigation functions of flight management systems, coupled with use of a decision altitude instead of a minimum descent altitude.
Southwest Airlines, in an effort to reduce turnaround time, last week began evaluation of the dual boarding bridge. Designed for Southwest's Boeing 737 fleet by FMT Sweden, the bridge is being used for the first time with a narrowbody, according to the airline. One is set up at Dallas Love Field and another at Austin, Tex., and airline personnel are now undergoing training in its use.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has imaged in detail a cosmic ``weather system'' generated by the collision of two giant galaxy clusters. The gas clouds are in the core of a cluster known as Abell 2142 that is 6 million light-years across and contains hundreds of galaxies--one of the most massive objects in the universe. The Chandra data provide the first detailed look at the late stages of this cluster merger process, while scientists previously relied on the German-U.S. Roentgen spacecraft for more broad-brush imagery of the object.
Four Bombardier Learjet 45s have entered service with Singapore Airlines for use in training pilots to fly the latest wide-body jets, the Boeing 777 and Airbus A340. The aircraft are equipped with a jump seat in the cockpit to facilitate pilot training, but the business jet's avionics suite is unchanged. The Honeywell Electronic Flight Instrument System includes four large 8 X 7-in. displays including an Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System plus a Honeywell Flight Management System. David M.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China reportedly is expected to consolidate China's airline companies into just four. ``With 34 companies, China's civil aviation market has always been troubled by scattered distribution, low efficiency and unfair competition,'' the CEIS news service said. The surviving airlines are expected to be China Southern of Guangzhou, China Eastern of Shanghai and Air China of Beijing, the nation's three largest. The fourth administrator will be the China Civil Aviation Co., an arm of the CAAC.
Thai Airways International will stay with the United/Lufthansa-led Star Alliance, turning aside overtures made by Air France and Delta to switch to their alliance. President Thamnoon Wanglee, concerned that Thai would be relegated to a secondary status with the impending membership of Singapore Airlines, is said to have wrung concessions in meetings with Lufthansa and SIA officials at the recent Singapore air show.
