Trans World Airlines management was predictably upbeat last week at the carrier's second-quarter performance, focusing on sharp increases in operating and net income as well as signs that the product continues to improve (see p. 30).
Thomas White has become senior vice president-Americas, Benoit Gosset senior vice president-Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Pacific Rim, and Martyn Hurst senior vice president-customer support, all of France-based Messier Services.
This recent image produced from the NASA/CNES Topex/Poseidon ocean observation satellite adds weight to the view that El Nino, the warm weather phenomenon that has affected worldwide weather patterns for the past year, is giving way to its opposite, La Nina.
Defense Dept. sources say the U.S. was expecting Iran's July 22 flight test of the Shahab-3 missile and tracked the entire test. The 1,300-km.-range (800-mi.) missile, a derivative of North Korea's No Dong missile, would be capable of striking Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and parts of Russia. The missile was launched south of Tehran and never left Iran, sources said. It apparently blew up well into its flight, but it was initially unclear whether the explosion was intentionally triggered by Iranian officials.
Per Udsen and Terma Electronik of Denmark have awarded a contract for an undisclosed amount to Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Div. to supply reconnaissance, infrared surveillance, target acquisition sensors (Rista) for Royal Danish Air Force F-16s. This is the first international sale of the Rista system.
Gregory J. DeSantis (see photos) has been appointed vice president-operations for aircraft products for Hamilton Standard, Windsor Locks, Conn. He has been succeeded as vice president-world customer service by Sebastiaan (Bas) Demarteau. He was managing director of Hamilton Support Systems in the Netherlands.
The XP Expandable Shipping Container System has a modular design that allows it to be expanded from 4-6 ft. or 8 ft. The cases use tongue-and-groove construction; sections are held together with Allen screws and bolts. The cases also can be divided with removable partitions. Handles and catches are recessed, and the cases can be stacked or moved with a forklift. The cases are made from rotationally molded polyethylene. A&J Manufacturing Co., 11121 Hindry Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90045.
GE Americom has selected Harris Corp. as prime contractor for the new GE Star satellite system. Harris will manage the program and develop the wideband communications package for the spacecraft, to be built by Aerospatiale.
Jean-Luc Lechantre has been promoted to manager from assistant manager of the FlightSafety International Training Center at LeBourget Airport in Paris. Gaining the same promotions were: Al Ramsey at the Houston Learning Center; Marlin Schaefer at the Raytheon Learning Center, Wichita, Kan.; and John Bennett at the Toronto Airline Center.
A QF-4 drone modified by Tracor Flight Systems is seen on the flight line at Tyndall AFB, Fla. The Mojave, Calif.-based company last month won an $80-million follow-on contract for conversion of additional retired McDonnell Douglas F-4 fighters into QF-4 drones. The company will convert at least 72 and as many as 192 additional Vietnam-era F-4s into full-scale target drones. After an initial 12 aircraft, five one-year production options allow for modification of 12-36 more drones each. If all options are fully taken, contract value will reach $102 million.
The U.S. Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program passes a milestone this week when Boeing and Lockheed Martin submit proposals for two $500-million contracts. Expected late this summer, the government awards will cover about one-third to one-half of the companies' development costs, but create two EELV production lines. USAF hopes this dual-manufacturer strategy will stimulate price competition, greatly reducing its launch costs through 2020.
U.S. sanctions imposed on India because of its nuclear testing program are likely to hit the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) hardest on its single-engine Light Combat Aircraft development program. The long-delayed LCA, first conceived in 1983 but not funded until 1993, has been under frequent attack for cost and schedule overruns. Observers say that U.S. sanctions may deliver the coup de grace.
Indonesia's airlines are trying to reschedule debt and slash staff and routes in a desperate attempt to stay in business, but the cutbacks are threatening critical air services to the far-flung peoples in the 3,200-mi.-wide archipelago.
Herman A. Rediess (see photo) has been appointed director of aviation research for the FAA in Washington. He was chief scientist for test and evaluation at the agency's William J. Hughes Technical Center, Pomona, N.J.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded two contracts totaling up to $70.7 million to the Lockheed Martin-Boeing team for advance procurement and program support for two F-22 production representative test vehicles. With options for the vehicles and six production F-22s, the contracts could be worth $2.1 billion.
Safety investigators are preparing to end their probe of TWA Flight 800 later this year without identifying a specific source of ignition for the explosion of the center fuel tank that is believed to have ripped that aircraft apart two years ago, killing all 230 people on board.
Americans should be thankful that the Defense Dept. and the aerospace industry are finally about to do something significant to update the U.S.' space launchers. But they ought to be troubled by a last-minute change in the $1-billion program that supports this laudable goal. After decades of using 1960s ICBM technology, the U.S. is poised to develop new families of launchers. And for once, the nation is seeking evolutionary change, not betting everything on technical revolutions.
Long a neglected area for coordinated effort by the FAA and industry, the agency is finally addressing the issue of IFR capability for vertical-flight aircraft. The look at satellite navigation for en route and precision approaches is being prompted by the coming of tilt-rotors and the growing need for designated all-weather heliports. The first step was taken earlier this month, with Garvey citing the need for a vertical flight committee made up of government and industry officials.
Boeing is offering airlines optional ceiling-mounted storage bins for additional stowage on its single-aisle transports. The ceiling bins are intended to free up room for passenger luggage in traditional over-seat stow bins by providing extra space for seldom-accessed emergency equipment, duty-free goods and flightcrew bags. The bins can be located just about anywhere in the aircraft and are easily used by flight attendants, according to Boeing. Up to seven bins can be installed.
The stories of stranded passengers and grounded air freight at the new airports in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur couldn't be more unwelcome for these two vibrant cities down on their luck after a year of Asian economic gloom. But with all of the talk of billion-dollar airport flops, there are a few things to keep in mind. No matter how colorful and part of the landscape these cities' former airports might have been, they were well past their primes.
SAS has started a new all-cargo service between Copenhagen and Riga, Latvia, and Vilnius, Lithuania. The five-times weekly services are flown by a Russian-built Antonov AN-26 with a five-ton cargo capacity. It is the first regular all-cargo service offered to these nations by a Western airline, SAS said. Although volume is relatively small, it is a marked increase in what was previously available and can cut ground transportation times for the same trip by as much as a week.
Boeing and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) are developing two concepts for a low-cost hypersonic missile that could be launched from fighters, bombers, ships and submarines.
In an effort to sort out an estimated 2,000 metric tons of incoming cargo languishing at its $1-billion Super Terminal 1, Hong Kong's largest cargo handler is still embargoing at least some of the freight arriving at the new International Airport that opened on July 6. The continuing inability of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. to operate at capacity is a blow to airlines and freight forwarders as they struggled to move freight through Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok (CLK).
A NEWLY CREATED GROUP from the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) will advise the FAA on integrated communications for the 21st century. The advisory organization, called FICS-21 (Federal Integrated Communications Systems for the 21st Century), comes from the Government Electronics and Information Technology Assn., a sector of the EIA. The group was formed at the FAA's behest to provide technical and business advice on topics that the agency will identify, and to broaden industry opportunity for input.
Lockheed Martin's board of directors voted late last week to terminate the corporation's merger agreement with Northrop Grumman. Vance Coffman, Lockheed Martin chairman and CEO, cited ``concerns over the litigation with our principal customer''as one reason for the decision. Also last week, Northrop Grumman reported a weak second-quarter financial performance (see p. 11).
