The agreement between Israel's Rafael and Lockheed Martin to cooperatively market and build air-to-air missiles also will involve developing upgrades for existing missiles, the companies recently decided. The venture, which initially will be focused on selling and improving the Rafael-built Python 4 short-range missile, will be part of the PGSUS joint venture through which the two companies sell the AGM-142 air-to-ground missile. Production will take place in Israel and the U.S.
Duane Terry (see photos) has been named director of operations and Debbie Mester senior manager of entertainment programming for Sony Trans Com, Irvine, Calif. Terry was vice president-operations for Micronet Technologies and Mester vice president-inflight entertainment services for Interactive Flight Technologies.
Wil Pergande, Rick Lesan and A.P. Roy Choudhury have been appointed vice presidents-special projects for Osmonics, Minnetonka, Minn. Pergande remains general manager of the Rockland, Mass., facility. Lesan was assistant to the president for technical development, and Choudhury was assistant vice president-international.
Delta Air Lines last week dropped its bid to complete a code-sharing pact with United Airlines, after leaders of Delta's pilots' union said they would not back such an arrangement.
Manish Thakur has been named chief financial officer of Ellipso Inc. of Washington. He was vice president of the Global Communications Group of Merrill Lynch&Co.
Silicon Power Corp. has been awarded an $11.5-million contract by the U.S. Air Force to provide for research and development to produce high- and medium-power semiconductor switching devices for use on various electronic systems.
Brian Finnegan (see photo) has been appointed director of aircraft accident investgation and analysis for Materials Analysis Inc. of Dallas. He was manager of air safety investigation for Textron Lycoming Inc., Williamsport, Pa.
Insulcast 961 is an electrically insulating syntactic foam designed for low-density adhesive bonding. The material is suited for aircraft and aerospace applications, as well as small potting applications where heat is not an issue. Its curing speed can be optimized for a user's requirement. The material has a 4,200-psi. flexural strength. It has 375 volts of dielectric strength and a 3.3 dielectric constant. Insulcast, 565 Eagle Rock Ave., Roseland, N.J. 07068.
Dick Burick has become deputy director for operations and William H. Press deputy laboratory director for science, technology and programs of the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory. Burick succeeds Jim Jackson, who has become adviser to the director of the Brigham Young University College of Engineering. Burick was division director for engineering sciences. Press was a professor of astronomy and physics at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., and succeeds Pete Miller, who had been acting deputy director.
Robin L. Beard has been named president/CEO of the Raytheon Co.'s corporate operations in Washington. He will continue as president of Brussels-based Raytheon International.
Douglas M. Steenland has been appointed executive vice president/general counsel/secretary of Northwest Airlines. He had been vice president/deputy general counsel. Northwest President/CEO John Dasburg has been named to the supervisory board of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
John F. Miller has been promoted to director of interiors engineering from group leader of Falcon 900 interior design engineering at the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp.'s Little Rock, Ark., facility.
Michael M. Sears, president of the McDonnell Aircraft and Missile Systems Div. of the Boeing Co., is scheduled to receive the 1998 Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Program Management from the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Others to receive AIAA awards are: Harold C. Farley, retired director of flight operations and chief test pilot for the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the Chanute Flight Award; Gordon M. Lewis, retired director of advanced engineering and director of product support for Rolls-Royce Plc., the F.E.
Officials in Ecuador are weighing a relocation of one of that South American nation's major international airports and an overhaul of its civil aviation agency following the crash of a Cuban airliner that killed most of those on board and some people on the ground.
Full Lotus Model FL 1260 dual floats have been installed on the Wings of Paradise Inc. Super Drifter. The aircraft is designed to handle the higher gross weights associated with float flying. The two-seater is powered by an 81-hp. Rotax 912 engine, has a 1,000-lb. gross weight and a 30-ft. wingspan. The floats are 14 ft. long. Full Lotus Manufacturing Inc., 7400 Wilson Ave., Delta, British Columbia, Canada V4G 1E5.
Russia's six-satellite early warning system for covering U.S. missile bases provides coverage for less than 17 hr. a day, possibly far less, according to a congressional analysis. The older satellites, launched as long ago as 1993, have stopped maneuvering and drifted far from their original orbits, greatly reducing their viewing time, the Congressional Budget Office found. ``The fact that the Russians have allowed them to drift so far might indicate the satellites' sensors are not working,'' the office said in a report late last week to the congressional leaders.
NASA is developing technologies to shrink its spacecraft to tiny sizes, enabling science missions to transition from use of a single spacecraft to huge fleets of interconnected micro-satellites. Several NASA centers are working on technologies such as autonomous operations, microsensors and compact, lower-power propulsion systems that are needed to build spacecraft as small as 1 kg. (2.2 lb.). Such tiny satellites could allow a single mission to conduct studies from different vantage points in space without increasing launch costs.
The strike by 6,200 pilots of Northwest Airlines has cut deeply into Midwestern U.S. air services and has had strong repercussions internationally. The carrier's 1,700 daily flights have been canceled through this week, curtailing passenger and cargo services at Northwest-dominated hubs at Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis.
Aircraft operators are pressing manufacturers and maintenance vendors to find cost-effective methods of supporting field use of composite materials so they can fully tap their performance-enhancing potential. For composites to become competitive with traditional metal structures and components, most operations and maintenance officials agree, the costs of using them must drop significantly. Central to cutting those costs will be improvements in maintainability, reliability and repairability.
Canadian, Swiss and U.S. specialists are scouring the waters south of Nova Scotia for clues to the problem that fed smoke into the cockpit of a Swissair Boeing MD-11 and led to its crash there last week.
Vincent K. Jones, a senior manager with the Boeing Co., has been elected president of the Harrisburg, Pa.-based Aviation Technical Education Council. He has represented Boeing on its board of directors.
Jack Kelsh has become original equipment manufacturer sales manager for BFGoodrich Aerospace-JcAIR Test Systems, New Century, Kan. He was a marketing manager for Raytheon Electronic Systems.
