Hewlett-Packard and MacNeal Schwendler Corp. will sponsor an industry-wide audio conference May 19 entitled, ``Optimizing the Aerospace Structural Design-to-Certification Process'' for aerospace engineering managers and engineers. To register, industry professionals can contact H-P's Website (http://www.hp. com/go/mdaevents). . . . AEA Technology of Waterloo, Ontario, has begun shipping CFX-BladeGen, an interactive blade design tool for turbomachinery.
THE SWISS AIR FORCE has grounded its remaining fleet of 13 twin-engine F/A-18s pending the results of an investigation into the crash of a twin-seater on Apr. 7 in poor weather near the ski resort of Crans Montana. Both pilots were killed. The F/A-18D, based at Payerne in central Switzerland, was on a training mission with a single-seat F/A-18C flown by a U.S. Navy pilot on an exchange program in Switzerland. The F/A-18D which crashed was one of the first delivered to the Swiss air force and one of two manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) in St. Louis.
Inefficient air traffic control in European airspace, combined with excessive airport charges, is jeopardizing airlines' efforts to improve flight punctuality and squeezing their profits, according to the Assn. of European Airlines. In 1997, an average 19.5% of intra-European flights were delayed more than 15 min., an alarming deterioration that is now in its fourth successive year, an AEA survey indicated.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is restructuring its fleet, changing routes, offering stay-free promotions and using new inflight entertainment systems to combat the slump in traffic stemming from the Asian currency crisis.
Lockheed Martin has awarded GenCorp Aerojet a $232.3-million contract for liquid engine flight support for six Titan 2 and 16 Titan 4 launchers through 2002. The contract is part of current Aerojet Titan contracts worth a total of $447.2 million. It also provides funding for Aerojet to clean up and close out the government-owned test facility in Sacramento, Calif., by the end of 2008. But if an option is exercised for another shipset of Titan vehicles in 2004, the closeout date likely will be pushed back.
Former U.S. Rep. Jim Courter (R-N.J.) chairs the defense program of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution in Washington. Loren Thompson directs the program's research activities. They wrote this article for Aviation Week.
The Russian-built Tupolev Tu-204-120 transport is tentatively scheduled to make its first U.S. appearance at Salt Lake City International Airport in June. A freighter version of the medium-range twinjet will be on static display and perform flight routines as part of Utah's Russia Days, an event designed to strengthen cultural and business links between Russia and Utah, according to Rusty Butler. He is director of the Utah-Russia Institute, based at Utah Valley State College in Orem.
Capt. Rodley Fulton, who retired from British Airways in 1993 after 42 years, has been elected as master of The Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators of the City of London.
LOCKHEED MARTIN TACTICAL Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) last week delivered the first of 18 Block 52 F-16C fighters to the Republic of Singapore Air Force. Deliveries are scheduled to continue throughout this year, according to LMTAS officials. The republic of Singapore took delivery of eight F-16A/Bs in 1988.
Thirteen U.S.-licensed companies participating in a high-stakes race to develop and field commercial wideband, high-capacity, multimedia satellite communication systems are scrambling to obtain equity financing from a limited pool of available capital, according to aerospace industry officials. Several companies are redesigning their systems to address funding realities and challenging technical constraints.
Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Sema Group Plc. are teaming to work on logistic support for the U.S./U.K. Joint Strike Fighter. Lockheed Martin leads one of the two industry teams competing for the JSF program. Headquartered in London, Sema is an information technology company that is primarily involved in systems integration and IT management services. The two companies also agreed to collaborate on other IT products for both the defense and civil markets.
Pilots unions are joining opposition politicians in urging the Japanese Transport Ministry to take action against U.S. military aircraft for allegedly flying too close to airliners. Transport Minister Takao Fujii said he will seek flight safety data from U.S. military forces after protests by the Federation of Japan's Flight Crew Unions, Japan Airlines (JAL) Captains' Union and JAL Flight Engineers' Union over a series of complaints that U.S.
A. Scott Crossfield has been a key figure in the engineering test pilot community and a stalwart supporter of manned high-speed flight and advanced aerospace technology for nearly 50 years.
A PRECISION LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION (Plaid) prototype, which enables a modified radar warning receiver to obtain accurate bearing to a threat radar and determine its unique identity, is being installed on an F-15 for flight tests at Nellis AFB, Calif., following tests on a C-130. Litton Industries Applied Technology Div., San Jose, Calif., developed the hardware for USAF's prime contractor, Mercer Engineering Research Center, Warner Robins, Ga. (AW&ST Sept. 30, 1996, p. 80).
Investigators are focusing on the actions of the pilots during the landing phase which resulted in the crash of a Philippine Airlines A320 at Blacod on Mar. 22 that killed three and injured 144. (AW&ST Mar. 30, p. 61). The Airbus A320 (RPC-3222), flown by Capt. Teodoro Facun and First Officer Johansen Hernandez, touched down more than halfway along the 6,890-ft Runway 04.
U.K. PARLIAMENTARY committee report has called for an independent audit of the safety risks posed by continued delays, due to software integration problems, in opening a new air traffic control center at Swanwick. More than three years behind schedule, the Swanwick center is now targeted to open in late 1999 or early 2000. The new center is to replace the existing National Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) facility at West Drayton which the report said is having to cope with the constant increase in traffic.
INVISION TECHNOLOGIES' third generation of explosives detection equipment, the CTX 5500 DS, successfully completed FAA certification testing last week. The equipment continuously monitors the flow of carry-on bags through an airport's conveyor system as well as the security status of each bag. The CTX 5500 DS has a faster computer and enhanced software compared to its predecessor, the CTX 5000.
SkySource, a joint venture of Arinc and AvInt (a not-for-profit affiliate of the Mitre Corp.), has released new versions of its Web-based flight tracking and airport status software tools. Its Java-based WebASD is a real-time flight tracking tool for FAA radar position reports. WebAirport works similarly, providing real-time weather and airport information. It includes digital ATIS information and trends at major airports. The SkySource tools can be run on multiple platforms, including Windows 95/NT and Sun Unix.
J. Michael Beard has been promoted to senior vice president/chief operating officer from director of appraisal and consulting services of Flightplan International, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
As part of its integrated digital maintenance strategy, Boeing plans to offer customer airlines an Airplane Dispatch Aid (ADA). The autonomous, hand-held units would help ground crews better manage time-critical aircraft turnarounds. Timely uploads of ADA data to a mainframe computer also would provide valuable operational information to airline management. As envisioned, an ADA would have a process-oriented menu and could be customized to an individual airline's operating procedures, according to Richard G.
Middle East Airlines and Sogerma, Aerospatiale's maintenance, repair and overhaul affiliate, will form a Lebanon-based joint venture next month. Besides MEA's fleet, the new company will seek to acquire third-party MRO business in the region. MEA will own a 66% stake in the Middle East Airlines/Sogerma Co. (Masco) and Sogerma will have the remaining 34%. MEA's primary goal is to regain its earlier role in the MRO market and boost revenues, MEA Chairman/ CEO Mohamad A. El-Hout said.
Chris L. Yamada has been appointed vice president/general manager of Pressure Systems Inc., City of Commerce, Calif. He was a program manager for TRW Space and Electronics.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. guidelines that set standards for airline pricing behavior signal an aggressive turnabout by the government after 20 years of laissez-faire policy. Federal pressures to assure airport access for new-entrant airlines are expected to mount. For new entrants struggling against competition and complaining of unlawful imbalances in the marketplace, the guidelines proposed last week, while vague and legalistic, were long overdue (see box).
EARTHWATCH INC. has received a $29-million insurance payment for the loss of the EarlyBird 1 high-resolution commercial imaging satellite. The spacecraft, designed to capture 3-meter panchromatic images, was successfully launched last Dec. 24 on a Russian Start booster, but failed four days later due to an unexplained power drain. The loss dealt a huge blow to EarthWatch's commercial plans and forced layoffs at the Longmont, Colo., company. EarthWatch Chairman and CEO Donovan B. Hicks, appearing at the U.S.
