Helen Muir, vice chancellor and professor of aerospace psychology at the Cranfield (England) University College of Aeronautics, has received the Whittle Safety Award from the International Federation of Airworthiness for her contributions to improving airline cabin safety.
Paul Michel Pignal has become president of France-based Satel Conseil. He succeeds Michel Popot, who has retired. Pignal was head of France Telecom's mobile and radio systems.
The U.S. Air Force has some big plans for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. The service envisions Global Hawk self-deployments from the western U.S. to loiter near the Korean peninsula, according to Peters. Built by Northrop Grumman's Ryan Aeronautical Center, the vehicle has an endurance of up to 28 hr. and can cruise at 350 kt. Still, the UAV has a way to go in the transition from its research and development orientation to integrated operations by USAF line units.
Greg Stephens has been appointed president of Wichita, Kan.-based Air Midwest, succeding Archille (Dick) Paquette, who is retiring. Stephens was vice president-customer service. Michael Suckow has been named vice president-flight operations. He was senior director of systems control at Mesa Airlines and its parent Mesa Air Group. Suckow has been succeeded by Ronald Mallard, who was director of system operations at Reno Air.
The first orbital test of inflatable reentry technology was successfully completed when a Soyuz Fregat upper stage and an IRDT demonstrator, launched Feb. 9, landed in Kazakhstan. The demonstrator was recovered and showed no signs of burn. The search for the Fregat is continuing.
Matra BAe Dynamics, Boeing and the other members of the Meteor missile consortium are calling for a transatlantic cooperation agreement at the government level if the missile is selected by the U.K. government to arm Eurofighter. Meteor is competing for the contract against a team led by Raytheon, which is offering an upgraded version of the Amraam ( AW&ST Feb. 7, p. 28). The Meteor industry consortium members have written to Jacques Gansler, the U.S. undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, urging a collaborative program with the U.K.
Charles Elachi, a pioneer in the use of spaceborne imaging radar for studies of Earth and other planets, has been awarded the 2000 Dryden Lectureship in Research by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is director of space and Earth science programs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Doug Pinckney has become senior vice president-sales and marketing of Worldwide Flight Services, Euless, Tex. He was general manager of customer service for North America for Sea-Land Service Inc.
Louis Le Portz (see photo) has been appointed chairman/CEO of Messier-Dowty International, Velizy, France. He was vice president-industrial and customer services for Thomson-CSF. Le Portz succeeds Dominique Paris, who is now chairman/ CEO of Snecma Moteurs.
The U.S. Air Force is consolidating much of its B-2 bomber support at what officials call the most advanced integrated software development and integration laboratory ever established for an operational weapon system.
DRS TECHNOLOGIES IS DEVELOPING a three-band infrared focal plane array under contract from the Naval Research Laboratory. The development, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, is initially slated for theater missile defense applications, where the multiband sensor capabilities should improve the ability to discriminate between warheads, decoys, and background debris. Other applications include threat warning, clutter rejection and false alarm reduction.
The U.S. Customs Service wants to replace the 16 UH-60 Black Hawks it has on loan from the U.S. Army with its own helicopters. They would be used for intercepting aircraft or vessels suspected of smuggling. The helicopters also could be used for protection of dignitaries or making arrests in remote locations. The Customs Service expects to buy 22 multiengine civil helicopters, although it doesn't have the money yet to pay for them. Performance requirements include single-engine climb of 200 fpm.; 130-kt. cruise speed; a 1,500-lb.
MD HELICOPTERS INC. is scheduled to deliver a twin-engine MD Explorer to Japanese newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun Press this autumn. The aircraft will be certified for single-pilot IFR operations, and feature GPS navigation, a moving map display as well as e-mail and datafax capability. Reporters will use the helicopter to transmit copy and photographs in near real-time for breaking news stories.
DASSAULT FALCON JET CORP. President John Rosanvallon said the company sold 72 new business jets in 1999 in addition to the 173 airplanes sold during 1997-98, bringing to more than 240 the number of aircraft on order. The backlog is valued at nearly $3 billion. Rosanvallon estimates Dassault's share of the worldwide, large-cabin business jet market to be between 40-50%. Falcon Jet Corp.'s best selling model is the twin-engine Falcon 2000, of which it has 54 orders, including a batch for the NetJets fractional ownership program operating in the U.S.
Sea Launch has received a firm order from PanAmSat for the launch of Galaxy IIIC during the second quarter of 2001, as well as options for the launch of up to four additional satellites. The Galaxy IIIC, built by Hughes Space and Communications Co., is an HS 702 model spacecraft intended to provide video, Internet and telecommunications services in the U.S. and Latin America. The options for four additional PanAmSat missions on the Sea Launch system would be for launch opportunities through 2003.
Despite U.S. efforts to stem aid from Russia and China to countries seeking to develop ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction, the two countries remain key supporters of those programs, according to CIA assessments. ``The assistance from Russia and China is significant,'' Robert D. Walpole, the national intelligence officer for strategic and nuclear programs, told a Senate subcommittee last week. Support includes transferring know-how and components, he noted.
Don't expect any big moves in Raytheon Co.'s share price in the near-term, but for the first time in many months industry analysts are genuinely encouraged that the company has identified the sources of its most serious problems and taken appropriate steps to resolve them. ``They seem to have found all the skeletons,'' BT Alex. Brown analyst Christopher Mecray said.
British Airways posted a third-quarter pretax loss of 60 million pounds ($96.6 million), but the airline found solace in a 3.2% increase in passenger yields, the first rise in nearly two years. Operating losses were less than expected, but fuel costs were 28% higher than for the previous quarter. First- and business-class traffic was up 6.8%, leading the airline to believe it is on the right track by cutting capacity and focusing on higher-paying premium passengers.
Continental Airlines and representatives of the International Assn. of Machinists have hammered out a tentative contract agreement for the airline's 8,500 flight attendants. The pact would be for 54 months and includes ``major changes, including significant improvements in retirement, work rules, vacation and pay,'' according to the airline.
GERMANY'S DEUTSCHE FLUGSICHERUNG GmbH (DFS) has declared the new P1 Air Traffic Control Automation System fully operational at the Langen Area Control Center near Frankfurt, one of the busiest air corridors in the world. P1/ATCAS provides multiradar tracking, smoothing the aircraft track display with software that reduces the effects of radar errors and noise, and automates work previously handled manually by controllers. The backbone of the system is a high-speed, secure, fiber-optic local area network with open system configuration.
Communication has been established with two picosatellites, each measuring 4 X 3 X 1 in. and weighing less than half a pound. The satellites were designed and built by Aerospace Corp. with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The recently launched satellites were released by the Orbiting Picosat Automated launcher (Opal) developed at Stanford University.
David Quancard has been named deputy vice president-industrial affairs of Arianespace. He was vice president-commerce and programs of SNPL Propulsion Div.
