FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP. will build its fifth national hub at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. Construction of the new $300-million Midatlantic hub will begin in late spring, 2000, with operations set to open in the fall of 2003. The other airport under consideration was North Carolina's Global TransPark.
With some bookkeeping sleight-of-hand, the Pentagon is putting off for a year beginning production of the U.S. Air Force's F-22 stealth fighter. Defense Dept. officials want greater confidence in cost and performance predictions for the aircraft while averting congressional criticism of the program.
Amsterdam-Schiphol airport's healthy traffic growth is surrounded by a mounting environmental controversy and tight operational constraints. The Dutch government plans to evaluate potential sites for an all-new airport in the Flevoland province or on an island near Markerwaard. No schedule has been determined. Schiphol would not be closed but restricted to domestic routes and business aviation. In addition, a revised runway system at Schiphol also would be considered. In 1997, Schiphol handled 31.6 million passengers and 1.16 billion metric tons of cargo.
Researchers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are analyzing new airborne sampling data that indicate air pollutants from North America can travel 400-500 naut. mi. per day under the right weather conditions. The research flights were conducted last summer as part of the North Atlantic Regional Experiment or NARE 1997 and involved scientists from the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany and several other European nations. A data review workshop is scheduled in July at Boulder, Colo.
When the power transfers next month at American Airlines, with Donald J. Carty succeeding Robert L. Crandall as chairman and CEO, management direction at the carrier will stay the course. Carty, a courteous native Canadian, is not exactly a clone of his hard-driving long-time associate Crandall. There is a difference. ``He's Crandall with a smile,''said airline analyst Raymond E. Neidl, who formerly worked for the two executives. With Carty at the helm, the atmosphere at American will be a little less charged.
Sylvain Allard has been named acting president of the Canadian Helicopters Corp., St. John's, Newfoundland. He has been president of the international division. Allard succeeds Rudy Palladina, who has resigned.
Pilot walkouts on international services have forced All Nippon Airways to shift passengers to competitors, and similar threats hang over other Japanese carriers that are trying to cut flight pay. A prolonged walkout by 747-400 pilots at ANA has forced the airline to cancel international flights or shift passengers to its rival, Japan Airlines (JAL), or foreign carriers. ANA said that if the strike continued through last weekend, it would lose 20,000 passengers on more than 90 flights. Its revenue losses are put at 200 million yen ($1.6 million) a day.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken has agreed with the Air Transport Assn. that San Francisco's domestic partners law cannot be applied to airlines (AW&ST May 19, 1997, p. 15). A city ordinance requires employers to extend the same benefits to unmarried partners that they give to spouses. Wilken said the ordinance cannot be applied to airlines because it interferes with congressional authority over the industry.
Michael T. Smith, chairman/CEO of Hughes Electronics Corp., and Gilbert F. Decker, an aerospace industry consultant and former assistant Army secretary, have been named to the board of directors of Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis. Don L. Sticinski (see photo) has become group vice president-defense systems. He was vice president-operations for the Space and Strategic Systems Group.
SAAB ERICSSON SPACE WILL PROVIDE computers and ASCAT and HRPT antennas for the European Space Agency's meteorological observation program (METOP) satellites under a $6.25-million contract for the first satellite. Additional contracts could raise the Saab Ericsson share to $25 million. The satellites will be part of the European weather observation system's European Polar System. The HRPT antenna will transmit weather images gathered by the satellite to the ground stations.
Paul E. Sanderson, vice chairman of Jeppesen Sanderson Inc., Englewood, Colo., has won the 1997 William A.Ong Award, which is NATA's highest honor. He was cited for being for more than 50 years ``at the forefront of efforts to enhance the quality and content of aviation training materials in both the civilian and military sectors.'' Other 1997 NATA award winners were: James E.
The judges for Aviation Week&Space Technology's Second Annual Technology Innovation Awards represent a cross-section of the aerospace and defense industry. They selected the 10 leading new products and processes from 90 nominees recommended by Aviation Week editors and outside organizations. The judges were:
FRANCE'S BRIT AIR concluded an order for six 50-seat Canadair CRJ100 and two 70-seat CRJ700 Regional Jets, which are scheduled to be delivered in 1999-2001. Brittany-based Brit Air also optioned eight additional CRJ700s that are tentatively scheduled to enter service in 2002-03.
Regardless of what a grand jury might do, the matter of whether Hughes and Loral gave Chinese officials improper technical assistance on launch vehicle guidance is not apt to simply fade away (AW&ST Apr. 13, p. 23). With President Clinton planning to go China later this year, it could become a political lightning rod. Clinton approved another launch by China of a Loral satellite after an investigation had begun of whether technology had been transferred illegally during preparations for another Long March mission.
CIVIL AVIATION JAMAICA'S DEPT. has contracted with Raytheon Systems Co. to provide radar approach control systems at Montego Bay and Kingston international airports. Curacao and Princess Juliana international airports in the Netherlands Antilles have also selected Raytheon for ATC upgrades. The Jamaican systems will be similar to the U.S. Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System and digital airport surveillance radars. Raytheon Canada, the prime supplier, will provide three ASR 23SS primary radars and Raytheon Systems Ltd.
The E8PLC-2000 is a laser-based particle counter for monitoring hydraulic fluid contamination. It is compatible with both petroleum-based fluids and phosphate esters, including Monsanto's Skydrol 500B4. The counter operates by measuring how much light from a laser diode source is blocked by the fluid. A test takes 90 sec. The system reports particle counts at greater than 2, 5, 15, 25, 50 and 100-microns. Parker Hannifin PLC, International Information Center, PARFIL98, P.O. Box 6, Clifton, Nottingham NG11 6PW, England.
INDONESIA HAS CANCELED the Asia Pacific Hi-Tech&Aerospace Show scheduled for June 22-28 in Jakarta, but backers said the event will reappear in 2000. APHAS was to be the successor to the 1996 Indonesian air show.
The SkyStar Plus GPS receiver has been upgraded to include the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn.'s Airport Directory and NOS vertical obstruction information. The directory features information on airports, such as fixed base operator listings and phone numbers for taxi services, rental car agencies, restaurants and hotels. The moving map provides vertical obstruction data for towers, buildings, power lines and other navigation hazards. Magellan Systems Corp., 960 Overland Court, San Dimas, Calif. 91773.
France will terminate the Horus military imaging radar satellite and several missile programs in an effort to further tighten military procurement spending and contain public deficits.
THE FAA IS SOLICITING industry comments on its proposal to issue an airworthiness directive ordering changes to wiring around Boeing 737 fuel tanks. The agency has not yet taken any action to eliminate ignition sources that might be created by a combination of wiring flaws and metallic contamination in those tanks, and does not plan to do so for at least three months while it reviews those comments.
The Australian Defense Acquisition Organization (DAO) is set to issue Requests for Proposals (RFP) in May for the Australian army's Project Air 87 program for a replacement for its 35 Bell 206B-1 Kiowa and 28 UH-1H Iroquois helicopters. The Air 87 replacement is expected to fill an armed reconnaissance role. Six contenders are expected to answer the RFP: the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow, Agusta 129 Mangusta powered by the LHTEC T800, Bell AH-1W Super Cobra, Denel Aviation CSH-2 Rooivalk, Eurocopter Tiger and Kaman SH-2G Super Seaprite.
The federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that the U.S. government owes Hughes Electronics Corp. $145 million, including back interest, for infringing on a patent the company held for a satellite attitude control system. The unanimous decision, made this month after the Supreme Court sent the case back to the appeals court, could mark a final end to a decades-long dispute.
Information technology is becoming a key tool for maintenance organizations struggling to lower the cost and increase the reliability of their repair and overhaul services. These organizations are seeking to gain on competitors by using information technology to better manage their work flow and inventory, minimize rework and delays and forecast their customers' demands, according to attendees at the MRO '98 conference and trade show here. The Apr. 1-3 conference was organized by Aviation Week&Space Technology and The Canaan Group Ltd.
