One of the first production winglets for the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) is shown during installation at Boeing facilities in Seattle. This aircraft will perform certification flight tests for the bolt-on modification this month and next, as well as generate data for other next-generation 737 models. Although the winglets will be a standard feature on the long-range BBJ, Boeing plans to offer them as a standard option on other 737 models. Earlier flight tests indicate the winglets, designed by Aviation Partners Inc.
The next NASA X-38 test flight at Edwards AFB, Calif.--scheduled for Feb. 24--is to include the vehicle's first intercept of a spaceflight trajectory for 8-10 sec. prior to drogue chute deployment (see photo). The unmanned X-38 test Vehicle 132 will be dropped from a NASA B-52 carrier aircraft at 39,000 ft. and simulate the end-point of its lifting body trajectory from Mach 0.7 at 26,500 ft. to Mach 0.68 at 23,500 ft.
The FAA is requiring that all Boeing DC-9, MD-80, MD-90 and 717 transports be inspected for damage to the horizontal stabilizer trim actuator by Feb. 13-14 to continue flying in revenue service, based upon evidence uncovered in the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 accident.
An item about Eurocontrol in this column (Jan. 24, p. 68) listed the Web site for the conditional route availability message incorrectly. It should have read http://cram.ecacnav.com.
Competing priorities rule out a Republican move to trump Clinton with an extra $30 billion a year for new weapons Congressional Republicans promise to beef up President Clinton's 2001 defense plan, assailing his $60-billion procurement request as no more than a down payment on a modernization shortfall that will take 10 years to remedy.
Klauss Steffens has been appointed chairman/CEO of Motoren-und Turbinen-Union. He succeeds Rainer Hertrich, who has been designated co-CEO of the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Co. Steffens was MTU executive vice president-engineering and production.
The Stardust spacecraft is on track for its scheduled Earth gravity-assist maneuver next January after completing three propulsion firings last month. The three firings each lasted about 30 min. and--combined with a shorter firing in late December--changed the velocity of the spacecraft by about 171 meters per second (383 mph.). The gravity-assist at Earth will be used to propel Stardust toward a planned 2004 rendezvous with Comet Wild-2 to collect samples of comet dust to be returned to Earth in 2006.
Frederick H. Vogt, director of the Tennessee Aeronautics Div., has won the President's Award for Aviation from the American Assn. of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He was cited for gearing the Tennessee Transportation Dept.'s aviation interests toward achievements in promotion, development and management.
GALAXY AEROSPACE CO. has made the first customer delivery of a Galaxy business jet to TTI Inc., a Fort Worth-based company specializing in distribution of electronic components. The airplane, serial no. 6, is the second Galaxy to enter service. The first was a company demonstrator aircraft that began flying last year. Brian Barents, Galaxy's president and CEO, said plans call for delivering aircraft at the rate of one per month before reaching two per month by June.
Rockwell Collins has been selected in a $10-million award to provide high-frequency radios for the communications system for the Australian Defense Force.
Korean Air is to hire 240 pilots this year, including 130 expatriate captains to add to the 147 it already employs, in a bid to improve its safety record. The remaining 110 pilots are to come from Korea Aviation University, the military and the Cheju Flying School. The hiring effort represents a 40% increase over 1999 when Korean Air hired 173 new pilots. Its reform effort includes reducing the maximum number of hours pilots can fly on 30 consecutive days to 120 from 180 hr., in accordance with FAA standards.
A Travel Industry Assn. of America (TIA)'s report released this month says the travel consumer/Internet bond is growing stronger. There were 85 million online travelers in 1999, an increase of 190% compared to 1996, when there were 29 million users. The survey found that almost all Internet users are also travelers and that business travelers in particular were more frequent online consumers.
U.S. manufacturers and members of Congress are pleased with a nearly $3-billion White House initiative to shore up basic research and technology, but the aerospace industry says $50 billion is needed over five years to offset the severe losses of the 1990s in federal R&D support.
The first of two midair collisions last week occurred on Feb. 7 when a Questair Venture sport aircraft and a Bellanca 8GCBC collided near Van Nuys Airport north of Los Angeles. Two people in the Venture were killed, as were both occupants of the Bellanca. The next day, a Zlin 242L flown by Chicago radio host Bob Collins, and a Cessna 172 collided near Waukegan Regional Airport in Zion, Ill. Collins and a passenger were killed when the Zlin crashed into a hospital roof. The pilot of the 172 died when her aircraft crashed into a residential street.
Pratt&Whitney has tabled plans to develop a 73,000 lb.-thrust version of the PW4000 engine for higher gross weight A330 transports eight months into the powerplant's test and certification program. Poor sales, a shifting marketplace and a reluctance to spend money to correct problems that showed up in testing are being blamed for the action.
President Clinton's final budget proposal for NASA would give the agency something none of his previous six plans did: a steady stream of funding increases over the next five years. The only catch is the vast majority of the new money would come after Clinton has left office.
USAF Gen. (Ret.) Alfred G. Hansen has been appointed chief operating officer of EMS Technologies, Norcross, Ga. He was a member of the EMS board of directors, and had been commander of the Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, before retiring.
Boeing's purchase of Hughes Space and Communications will allow the satellite maker to pursue an aggressive research and development effort to complete the company's promise of a 25-kw. HS 702 satellite, Hughes President and CEO Tig H. Krekel said.
Thai Airways International is thinking of bolting the Star Alliance because Singapore Airlines (SIA) is set to join. Thai is being courted by the Delta/Air France alliance. The Bangkok-based flag carrier reports a $10-million loss in revenue last year because of code-sharing by SIA and Lufthansa. Ironically, both SIA and Lufthansa expect to be bidders later this year when the Thai government sells off a portion of Thai's stock.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines and Southern France-based Air Littoral have concluded a code-share agreement covering the French carrier's 130-point European route system. Nice-Geneva and Marseilles-Zurich flights, however, will continue to be operated under an earlier agreement with Swissair. Last year, Air Littoral carried 2.1 million passengers and had about $340 million in revenues. The SAirGroup, Swissair's parent company, owns a 49% stake in Air Littoral.
Airbus Industrie is completing a full-scale, wingless mockup of the proposed A3XX mega-transport and will install it in a new building close to the group's Toulouse headquarters--an indication of Europeans' commitment to launch the 455-656-seat aircraft. The mockup will be used to fine-tune cabin interior arrangements as well as serve as a marketing tool.
OFFICIALS OF THE GENERAL AVIATION Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA) said the organization's ``Be A Pilot'' recruiting program attracted about 70,000 new student pilots in 1999, and reached 30,000 potential students through its Web site at www.beapilot.com. In addition, the program has obtained strong support from more than 1,600 flight schools in the U.S. A GAMA official said the number of student pilots has increased about 14% since the initiative began in 1996.
J. Michael Hateley has become corporate vice president/chief human resources and administrative officer of the Northrop Grumman Corp. of Los Angeles. He succeeds Marvin Elkin, who is retiring. Hateley was corporate vice president-personnel.
