THE U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND will have teams standing by on Nov. 16-18 to check for the health of GPS and other military satellites, and to resolve any problems caused by what could be the 33-year-peak Leonid Meteor Storm. Each November the Earth passes through the debris cloud from comet Tempel-Tuttle, which appears to be coming from the constellation Leo, hence the name Leonid for the shower. Scientists expect the Earth to encounter 200-5,000 meteors per hour, up from the 10-15 normally seen this time of year.
Henry Paulino has been promoted to general manager from operations manager of Signature Flight Support's New York LaGuardia Airport fixed-base operation.
Simeon H. Austin (see photo) has been named director of low-observable programs and technology for Pratt&Whitney's military engines business, West Palm Beach, Fla. He was retired as director of the U.S. Navy's low-observable and counter low-observable policy and technology.
The first of three X-43 test vehicles has been delivered to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in preparation for flight next May. The 12-ft.-long Hyper-X test vehicle was built by Micro Craft of Tullahoma, Tenn. Three flights are planned--two at Mach 7 and one at Mach 10--within the Western Test Range off the coast of Southern California.
The first of a small fleet of Boeing DC-9-32s planned for startup carrier Legend Airlines is undergoing modifications at Ozark Aircraft Systems near Bentonville, Ark. The single-class cabins will feature 56 leather seats with generous pitch, large overhead bins and redesigned galleys, according to Legend officials. Plans also call for Ozark to be the airline's chief maintenance provider. Legend has hired 17 captains and plans to begin training classes in Dallas and simulator training at Pan American International Flight Academy in Covington, Ky.
Boeing has made a new set of changes to its Joint Strike Fighter candidate, by modifying the shape of its wing and adding inlets next to the cockpit. The wing changes, which Boeing was hoping to avoid, are supposed to provide its JSF design with greater maneuverability. The alteration also improves the aircraft's stealth performance, company officials said.
Russia and the U.S. have opened the Security Assessment and Training Center. It will serve to test security technologies for Russian nuclear weapons storage facilities. The center, 30 mi. outside Moscow, also will be used to screen personnel that are supposed to guard nuclear weapons. The U.S. is providing equipment to support the center, including polygraph equipment and drug testing kits.
Retired Gen. Ori Orr (see photo) has been appointed chairman of Israel Aircraft Industries. He is a former deputy minister of defense and member of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee subcommittee on secret services. Orr succeeds Maj. Gen. (Ret.) A.Y. Ben-Gal.
NASA and Lockheed Martin are conducting a major reevaluation of the X-33 single-stage-to-orbit demonstrator that will again see its first launch delayed--this time to at least late 2000. And the rethinking began even before a composite liquid hydrogen tank failed in a test last week at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The tank was filled with liquid hydrogen for cryogenic and structural loads testing when frost was noticed on the outside, indicating a leak. Engineers were still assessing the damage late last week.
Boeing last week stopped deliveries of all new 747, 757, 767 and 777 transports after discovering cockpit roof dripshields that did not meet FAA specifications were being installed in some aircraft.
George Torres has become director of communications of the Hughes Space and Communications Co., El Segundo, Calif. He succeeds Don O'Neal, who is retiring. Torres held a similar post at the Boeing Space and Communications Group.
Lockheed Martin expects its short takeoff and vertical landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter to have two unique advantages in the competition for a next-generation, ground-attack aircraft--an extra 100-mi. radius in range, and a huge potential supply of electrical power to run sensor payloads or a laser weapon.
Southwest Airlines continues strong growth. In October, the Dallas-based airline logged a 16.8% increase in traffic from the same month the year before, flying 3.1 billion revenue passenger miles. Load factor for the month was 67.6%, up three points from the same period in 1998, while capacity increased 11.5%. Through the first 10 months of this year, Southwest has logged 30 billion passenger miles and carried almost 48 million passengers, up 15% and 9%, respectively, from 1998.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has been awarded a $1.2-million contract extension from the U.S. Air Force to improve aircraft paint and coating reliability and maintenance. SwRI staff members will support the Air Force Coatings Technology Office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Delford M. Smith, founder of Evergreen International Aviation, McMinnville, Ore., is scheduled to receive the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy from the Aero Club of Washington on Dec. 17. Smith has used Evergreen assets to promote international humanitarian efforts and the U.S. military. Evergreen crews flew hundreds of missions in support of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Smith donated two 747 freighter flights recently to transport 100 tons of clothing, blankets and medicine to refugees in the Balkans.
The FAA has certificated Boeing's airborne satellite television system. Using a conformal, 2 X 3-ft. phased array antenna, it receives direct-to-home TV and other satellite broadband down links. The Boeing-developed 1,500-element antenna is only 1.2 in. thick and is electronically steered to allow near-instantaneous connections between satellite and highly mobile platforms such as airplanes. More than 10 systems have been installed on business jets and U.S. military command and Commando Solo psychological operations aircraft.
Longtime Boeing operator El Al Israel Airlines, which has decided to buy three new 777-200ERs from the U.S. manufacturer, intends to make its first purchase from Airbus Industrie.
Embraer's partnership with French companies is expected to aid the Brazilian manufacturer's quest for more diversified financial resources, access to additional export markets and increased military sales. Similarly, the agreement could support the French industry's hopes to acquire a stronger share in the South American market.
The Airbus Military Co.'s partners are prepared to invest $6 billion to quickly launch the A400M military transport on a commercial basis. First delivery in 2006 is foreseen, on the condition that seven European nations tentatively planning to buy a total of 288 turboprop-powered airlifters sign firm commitments in the next few weeks.
Iain Young (see photo), who has been head of flight operations at Pilatus Britten-Norman, has been named chief test pilot at Marshall Aerospace, Cambridge, England. He succeeds John Blake, who will oversee Tri-Star flight operations.
Michael L. Ducker, who has been president of FedEx's Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific Div., has been appointed executive vice president-international, effective Dec. 1. David F. Rebholz, who has been senior vice president-domestic ground operations, will become executive vice president-operations and systems support. Ducker will be succeeded by David Cunningham, who has been vice president-South Pacific and president of FedEx divisions in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Rebholz will be succeeded by Kenneth L.
Rolls-Royce is assuming full control of its joint engine venture with BMW, while the German automotive company will raise its stake in the British company to slightly more than 10% from 2%.
As airlines sign up for mega-alliances, Malaysia Airlines continues to forge ahead with its multiairline approach to marketing with two new partners taking the total of code-share airlines to 29. The carrier has signed code-share deals with both Alitalia and Korean Airlines, effective from Oct. 31, in a bid to establish Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang as a Southeast Asian hub. The thrice-weekly Rome-Kuala Lumpur service will be operated by Malaysia Airlines using B777-200s while the Kuala Lumpur-Seoul services would be operated by both airlines.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators are initially focusing on a possible loss of cabin pressurization as they probe the mystery of a Learjet 35 that flew across the central U.S. for hours last week, apparently on autopilot and unattended by its two disabled pilots. However, building a logical case from the clues now pointing to a cabin decompression or a potential oxygen system anomaly may not answer the overarching question about this bizarre accident: Why didn't at least one pilot initiate an emergency descent?
