PETER S. HELLMAN, PRESIDENT and chief operating officer of TRW, said his company plans to pursue more acquisitions in defense electronics and would be very interested in some of the businesses that might be divested as part of any Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman merger. TRW acquired BDM International last year and this organization has been integrated into TRW's Systems and Information Technology Group.
In Boeing's quest to improve the affordability of both its commercial and military products, Phantom Works--the advanced research and development unit--is under as much pressure as any other part of the company, possibly more. Its goal in 1998 is to transfer to the rest of the corporation innovative technologies and processes--developed internally--that will result in $1 billion in savings over the life of existing production programs.
Adhering to balanced budget law, the House National Security Committee has reported a Fiscal 1999 defense spending plan that deviates little from the President's February request of nearly $260 billion. The committee endorsed the Administration's funding levels for the F-22 Raptor, the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and the C-17 airlifter, as well as the National Missile Defense program and the troubled Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) program.
Alexei Isaikin, president of Russia's Volga Dnepr Airlines, has been named chairman of the Commonwealth of Independent States Dept. of The International Air Cargo Assn.
ROCKWELL COLLINS IS NOW THE CORPORATE NAME for the Cedar Rapids-based unit of Rockwell International. Five of Rockwell Collins' units were given more self-descriptive names to reflect the businesses each serves. These include Air Transport Systems, Business and Regional Systems, and Support Services. Government Systems supplies military avionics, while Passenger Systems provides cabin management and the new inflight entertainment line.
NASA is embarking on a major effort to reinvigorate the development of space technology needed for five new missions to the Sun, planets and a comet. But a review of the agency's overall technology capability by the National Research Council has found that NASA needs even more emphasis on technology development if it is to fully exploit the nation's potential for low-cost deep space exploration.
NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., is preparing a full-scale replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer for tests in its 80 X 120-ft. wind tunnel, in preparation for the 2003 centennial celebration of the first powered controlled flight, which lasted 12 sec. and covered 120 ft. The replica--built by a team of volunteers from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics--will be tested at a 30-mph. wind speed to recreate conditions of the first flight.
Capt. James A. Lovell (USN, Ret.) and Sam Williams are scheduled to be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Dayton, Ohio, on July 18. Also, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Harry G. Armstrong and U.S. Army Maj. Gervais Raoul Lufbery will be enshrined posthumously.
THE REGIONAL CARRIER COMAIR, in a suit related to the Jan. 9, 1997, crash of a Comair EMB-120 near Detroit, alleged that the manufacturer Embraer Aircraft Corp. withheld critical safety information on the operation of the EMB-120 Brasilia in icing conditions. The suit cited six instances, dating to 1989, of problems of control in icing at other carriers that were not reported to them. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky in Covington, asked to be compensated for costs and any liabilities against them arising from accident cases.
Believing that a profitable market exists for intrastate service, American Airlines is attempting to obtain two gates at Dallas' downtown Love Field and plans to begin scheduled service this summer. According to an American official, the airline had first asked Southwest Airlines and Continental Airlines to provide the gates, but they refused. As a result, American is working directly with Dallas aviation officials to obtain the gates, which would have to be refurbished before service could commence, the official said.
T. Wakelee Smith (see photo) has been appointed executive vice president/chief financial officer of FlightSafety Boeing Training International. He was vice president in the New York office of Simat, Helliesen and Eichner.
The entry into service of Nilesat 101 this spring promises to be the first shot in a looming battle for supremacy in the world's least developed satellite telecommunications market. Nilesat, a $158-million direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting satellite built by Matra Marconi Space, was launched last week from Kourou, French Guiana, by an Ariane 4 booster. Mission V108 also orbited a Japanese DTH satellite, BSAT-1b, manufactured by Hughes Space&Communications. BSAT-1b will expand the offerings of BSAT, one of the DTH pioneers in Japan.
Procedural changes over the Pacific Ocean are enhancing airspace capacity to meet increasing demands, according to the FAA's acting associate administrator for air traffic services.
QUICKLOGIC CORP. OF SUNNYVALE, CALIF., has what it believes to be the first plastic-packaged field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to meet military-temperature standards. Plastic packaging will offer lower cost than the alternative ceramic packaging. The company produces plastic-packaged devices that operate at either 5.0 or 3.3 volts, and attributes the ability to use plastic packaging to extremely low power consumption of the devices, which means less heat to dissipate.
France's Aeropostale next year expects to take delivery of three used Airbus A300B4 high-capacity transports, which will be converted in all-cargo configuration by Daimler-Benz Aerospace. Aeropostale plans to order 5-7 twin turboprop transports to complement its 15 Boeing 737-300s soon. The carrier operates a nighttime domestic route system for the French postal services and daytime code-share flights for Air France.
Barry Valentine has been named director of aviation technical services for Farragut International of Washington. He had been assistant FAA administrator for policy, planning and international aviation and acting FAA administrator. David A. Terricciano has become president of the Chandler Evans Control Systems Div. of Coltec Industries, Charlotte, N.C. He succeeds Paul R. Kuhn, who will remain Coltec senior vice president-group operations. Terricciano has been director of sourcing of the AlliedSignal Aerospace Engine Manufacturing Center.
Japan plans to join the U.S. and Russia as a tracker of space debris. The Japanese Science and Technology Agency will spend 2 billion yen ($15.3 million) to build a radar facility and complementary optical telescope in a remote village in central Japan. The telescope is slated to become operational in 2002 and the radar in 2004. The radar will be designed mainly to track debris at altitudes lower than 1,000 km. (620 mi.). It is to achieve a 1-meter resolution at 600 km. The 1-meter-dia. telescope will work at higher altitudes and achieve a 1-meter resolution.
INVESTIGATORS LAST WEEK began disassembly and detailed analysis of actuators and control units from the Silk Air Boeing 737-300 that crashed last Dec. 19 in Indonesia. An international team led by Indonesian officials were examining the hardware at Boeing facilities in Seattle, including the power control unit and other components from the aircraft's rudder system. No problems had been found as of early last week. A human-performance team also is continuing to review the backgrounds of the captain and first officer of Silk Air Flight 185.
As Pretoria and Beijing hold bilateral air services talks, South African Airways has started its own informal talks with Air China, China Eastern and China Southern about code-sharing. The bilateral talks follow South Africa's decision to open diplomatic relations with China instead of Taiwan. SAA General Manager Anton Noffke said the airline will probably establish its first China connections using code-sharing and special pro-rata pricing agreements with Chinese carriers operating on routes out of Hong Kong.
A sharp divergence of views between Lufthansa German Airlines and the European Commission over proposed restrictions to the Star Alliance, which brings together Lufthansa, United Airlines and four other carriers, threatens to lead to a legal clash and may raise the chance of a confrontation between Europe and the U.S.
Elizabeth Clark, a captain with the Mississippi Chemical Corp., has been elected president of Women in Corporate Aviation. Other officers are: vice president, Maria Jeanmaire, first officer for Tenneco; secretary/communications director, Jane Toth, copilot for Wayfarer Aviation; and treasurer, Katha House, chief pilot for AC Aviation Services Inc.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-Wis.) chairs the Science Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He recently traveled to Moscow to investigate Russia's work on the International Space Station and its commitment to the project. The committee has called a hearing this week on the station program. The following Viewpoint was written exclusively for Aviation Week.
Officials at AeroVironment Inc. and NASA are on a four-year plan to break ceiling and endurance barriers for solar-powered airplanes, flying up to four days at a time and reaching 100,000 ft., exceeding the continuous altitude records for all non-rocket-powered aircraft.
Boeing's Douglas Products Div. has developed a rigid cargo barrier for cargo conversions of McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Boeing MD-11 transports. In replacing the cargo net, the RCB frees up space formerly kept clear to allow for net stretching during an emergency landing. The 10-in.-thick, interlocking bonded aluminum sandwich structure is designed to restrain a MD-11 main cargo deck load of 202,000 lb., up from 156,000 lb. previously, substantially increasing main deck cargo capability.
AIRLINE PILOTS FROM AUSTRIAN Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Finnair, Sabena Group and Swissair officially formed the Global Pilot Alliance last week. The pilots of the Atlantic Excellence Alliance member airlines formed the partnership to handle labor and management issues.
