ONTARIO'S MINISTRY OF Natural Resources has ordered nine Canadair 415 turboprop firefighting airplanes with deliveries scheduled to begin this month and conclude in December. Manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace will buy back nine piston-powered CL-215s operated by the ministry for resale or lease. Plans call for relocating final assembly of the Canadair 415 to Ontario.
Elise Kopczick (see photo, p. 12) has become vice president-people and processes of Hydro-Aire Inc., Burbank, Calif. She was director of human resources.
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has invested $200 million in Teledesic's low-Earth-orbit ``Internet in the Sky'' satellite project. Alwaleed joins Boeing as a financial backer of the $9-billion, 288-satellite system. The primary investors are Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw. Boeing, which was selected last year for the prime contract to build Teledesic, has invested $50 million for a 5% stake in the venture and has an option to invest another $50 million (AW&ST Mar. 23, p. 32).
The Norwegian army is considering involvement in the U.S. Air Force's Low-Cost Autonomous Attack System development. That would be the first international partner for the multipurpose submunition.
Col. Richard W. McKinney, USAF program manager for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) project, says the Air Force is still committed to developing two new heavy boosters despite forecasts of anemic government demand for heavy lifters. The government plans to award a pair of $500-million contracts for new EELV families in June or July, most likely to Boeing and Lockheed Martin. McKinney, speaking at a U.S. Space Foundation symposium in Colorado, said the awards will pay for one-third to one-half of the companies' development costs.
William F. Townsend has become deputy director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. He was deputy associate administrator for earth science. He succeeds A.V. Diaz, who is now director.
NASA's two largest programs, the International Space Station and the Earth Observing System (EOS), face growing challenges. Errors in the deployment of the Spartan satellite on shuttle Mission 87 late last year have awakened concerns that similar factors could lead to more serious consequences during station assembly. Likewise, problems with what should have been routine software development will cause major delays in the launch of the first EOS spacecraft. The following stories highlight the issues involved.
In more bad news about electronic warfare, USAF officials were stunned to learn recently that their ability to jam sensors, so key in the Persian Gulf war, can no longer match all the threats. ``We've let the system decay too far,'' one EW specialist told the Assn. of Old Crows. As a result, the chief of staff has ordered a quick survey of major problems. Problems have been exacerbated by a general change in tactics. In Desert Storm, the USAF switched from mostly low-level attacks to precision bombing from high altitudes.
Russell Ivory has been appointed marketing manager-aerospace and Art Cherry product manager-Spacematic for Deutsch American Pneumatic Tool, Gardena, Calif. Katy Fisher-Freullet has been named general manager for Eastern Africa for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
In a story about the competition to supply Chile's air force with trainers, retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ronald Fogleman's relationship to Snow Aviation of Columbus, Ohio, was incorrectly described (AW&ST Apr. 6, p. 69). Fogleman serves on an advisory board to Snow, but he was at the FIDAE air show in Santiago on a personal visit.
House space and aeronautics chairman Dana Rohrabacher, (R-Calif.), wants President Clinton to declassify ``any such `black' programs like Aurora.'' In an Apr. 6 letter, Rohrabacher cited a need to reduce access-to-space costs as justification for releasing such information.
The impact of Asia's currency downfall on the region's carriers is graphically illustrated by new data from the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Passenger load factors steadily declined, as did revenue passenger kilometers and available seat kilometers. The downturn in 1997 is the worst since the slump associated with the Persian Gulf war and dampened what started out as a robust year for AAPA members. Passenger numbers increased by only 2.33% to 86.4 million compared to a 13.8% climb in the previous year.
Distributed Mission Training, which was demonstrated during last year's U.S. Air Force 50th anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, has the dual potential to electronically link units that are widely separated geographically while also developing new techniques for sharing data on future battlefields.
The CMH2000 and CMH3000 series of temperature-compensated crystal oscillators have been designed to European Space Agency requirements. Both types use specialized temperature compensation techniques to achieve highly stable frequency control. The high-performance CMH3000 series, which offers output frequencies of 2-155 MHz. with stability to +/-0.3 parts per million between -20-70C and +/-2.0 ppm from -55-105C, uses a proprietary, analog application specific integrated circuit. C-MAC Quartz Crystals Ltd., Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex CM20 2DE, England.
Gordon Neal has become vice president-engineering and Bill Armstrong vice president-operations of Rogerson Kratos, Pasadena, Calif. Neal was director of strategic planning and advanced development for Lockheed Martin Sanders, and Armstrong was product line director for Hughes Missile Systems.
Long-troubled Sabena Belgian World Airlines expects to restore profitability in 1998, according to company officials. The Swissair-led cost-saving program is producing strong results. The Belgian carrier's losses last year decreased to $71 million, down from $253 million during the previous year. In 1998, Sabena expects to carry 8.5 million passengers, a 23% increase resulting from a growing market share and the opening of additional routes.
The Sliding Carpet Loading System is being extended to the Boeing 737-600 for launch customer Scandinavian Airlines System. The bellyloading system relies on an electrically driven, Kevlar-reinforced conveyor belt to move baggage within the cargo compartment of narrow-body aircraft. This eliminates the need for loaders to climb into the aircraft, while easing the task of loading and unloading cargo. A moving bulkhead that is part of the system prevents cargo from shifting forward. Telair International Services GmbH, Bayernwerkstrasse 39G, 85757 Karlsfeld, Germany.
A fatal crash last year and continued financial losses have convinced Toyota Motors to close Japan Flying Service, a wholly owned subsidiary, by June. JFS has lost money for several years, a situation worsened by the January 1997 crash in a snowstorm of a Eurocopter AS 365N near Nagoya that killed eight, including six Toyota engineers. JFS had been in business for 33 years and was bought by Toyota two years ago as the car manufacturer wanted to enter the aviation market.
Australia is on track to complete the second phase of a plan to sell 15 airports to raise A$700 million ($466 million), adding to the A$3.3 billion ($2.2 billion) it raised last year from the sale of Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane airports. But the nation's largest airport, Kingsford Smith in Sydney, will remain in the government's hands until after the location for a second Sydney airport is resolved, according to the Federal Airports Corporation. That is not expected until 1999 or 2000. Kingsford Smith accounts for 41% of the nation's air traffic.
The first next-generation 737s entering revenue service are logging extremely high dispatch reliability rates and lower-than-predicted fuel burns. The news comes as welcome relief to Boeing program officials, beset by continued parts shortages, late deliveries and cost overruns in the next-generation 737 program.
Middle East Airlines will eliminate long-haul routes, streamline its fleet and pursue a strategic alliance with Air France in a far-reaching effort to revive the company. The top goal of MEA's management is to rapidly slash heavy losses. It plans to restructure the airline's route system, conclude partnerships with major international carriers and restore profitability in the next three years.
The ExplorIR is an infrared camera designed for predictive maintenance and condition monitoring. It relies on a PCMCIA flash memory card, uses a 320 X 240-pixel, uncooled focal plane array and operates in the 8-14-micron range with a sensitivity of 0.15C. The 5.5-lb. device is accurate to +/-4% or +/-4C, whichever is greater. The SR model has a measurement range of -20-300C, while the ER allows measurements up to 900C. Raytheon Amber, 5756 Thornwood Drive, Goleta, Calif. 93117-3802.
This joke once went around airline circles: Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein asks, ``Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the `baddest' of them all?'' The spirit answers, and a perplexed Hussein exclaims, ``Who the hell is Bob Crandall!''
CORPORATE JET PASSENGERS IN THE U.S. will be able to see live DirecTV broadcasts on the Airshow TV later this month. The new programming will let customers watch networks such as CNN, Bloomberg Television and ESPN. Airshow TV received FAA certification in December. The system is supplied by a team: the 12-in.-dia. satellite tracking antenna from Datron, the antenna fairing and installation from Racal, and the rest of the package from Airshow. Total cost of an installed system is about $350,000.
This main gear wheel well light assembly for DC-9s and MD-80s is designed to be more reliable than the original unit that it replaces, which is on the aircraft's minimum equipment list. The light is required to illuminate a target line on the main gear strut so the pilot can visually confirm that a gear is locked down if the cockpit indicator fails. The light housing is made of solid aluminum and warranted for 15,000 block hours or five years. BFGoodrich Aerospace, Lighting Systems Div., 129 Fairfield St., Oldsmar, Fla. 34677-3657.
