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.
FedEx is known for its self-reliance as the world's largest express airfreight company--even to the point of developing its own FedEx Ship and Internet Ship software. But last week it acknowledged that sometimes taking in partners can be a good idea. It is teaming with SAP AG, whose R/3 enterprise resource planning software holds huge market shares in many industries, to develop a new shipping and tracking software that will provide SAP customers with a seamless integration of package shipping and tracking with their R/3 resource planning software.
Robert A. Kerstein has become executive vice president/chief financial officer of the Angel Technologies Corp. of St. Louis. He was a founder and director.
U.S. FAA Administrator Jane F. Garvey has been named a Companion of the Royal Aeronautical Society in the U.K., the second-highest level of membership.
Rescues at sea are by their nature dangerous, but rarely as large and complex as the operation conducted on Dec. 30, 1997, by crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater (Fla.) and the USAF Reserve's 920th Rescue Group at Patrick AFB, Fla., to save 28 sailors from a sinking freighter.
William J. Birkhofer, Washington-based vice president-corporate development for the Sverdrup Corp., Maryland Heights, Mo., has been named to the board of directors.
John F. Breitfeller and John B. Thompson have become vice presidents-business management for the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronics and Systems Integration Div. in Melbourne, Fla., and its electronic systems unit in Rolling Meadows, Ill., respectively. Breitfeller was deputy program and site manager at the Lake Charles, La., facility. Thompson was division finance director. He succeeds Hank Frankenberg, who is senior adviser to the general manager.
THE MAPO MIG COMPANY, hit hard by a lack of government orders, has suspended operations for five months starting on Apr. 1. Staff members have been asked to take leave without pay, although 10% of the work force may be paid a minimum salary over the period, according to Director General Grigory Nemov. The company is developing a plan to improve its financial situation which involves concentrating the company's efforts and resources on a few top-priority programs--the ``9-17'' version of the MiG-29 and the MiG-AT trainer.
Seeking to respond to the ever-expanding size of commercial satellites, Lockheed Martin is enlarging the payload capacity of its newest Atlas booster and is considering a major addition to its Athena launcher family that would compete head-to-head with Boeing's Delta 2.
China Southern Airlines said it maintained its position as China's top domestic airline in 1997 with a 12.6% increase in revenues to 12.8 billion yuan ($1.54 billion). The reported operating profit increased 14.1% to 1.14 billion yuan ($137 million). China Southern, listed on the New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges, said it would not declare a 1997 dividend. The carrier operated 273 routes in China and said it held a 27.1% share of China's domestic market last year, the largest of any carrier.
The U.S. Navy may eliminate some of the missions it performs with carrier-based support aircraft as it develops a single, multi-role aircraft to replace existing systems. As part of its effort to develop a Common Support Aircraft (CSA), the Navy is currently in the midst of a review of aircraft roles. And while the precise outcome won't be known for some time, it appears likely it will spell drastic changes for anti-submarine warfare and signals intelligence.
THE FAA HAS ESTABLISHED an interactive Internet Web site both to make information on human factors accessible to the public and to gather information on potential human factors research opportunities to improve the safety of the nation's aviation system. The agency said the new Human Factors Program Management System (http://www.hf.faa.gov/database/welcome.html) is an evolving FAA knowledge database.
William F. Chana, president of the San Diego Aerospace Museum and its International Aerospace Hall of Fame, has been awarded the 1998 A. Verville Fellowship by the National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
Exhibitors and visitors to FIDAE 2000 can expect to find additional chalets, a separate pavilion for airport ground support equipment, an increased space technology presence and a larger commercial content. These are some of the improvements slated for FIDAE 2000, to be held here Mar. 27-Apr. 2, 2000. The list was compiled by the outgoing FIDAE director, Col. Ricardo Klima, and the director of FIDAE 2000, Col. Enrique Rosende. The aerospace exhibit and air show are organized by the Chilean air force.
TESTS OF AN F119 ENGINE fitted with reduced-chord, high-pressure compressor inlet guide vanes were successfully conducted last week at USAF's Arnold Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, Tenn. Initial results seem to support theories that the reduced-chord vanes caused a seal to crack in an F119 test engine last month (AW&ST Mar. 30, p. 26). Additional tests of an F119 equipped with longer chord guide vanes are planned to begin shortly.
Roger Drosson has been appointed director of strategy and communications for Techspace Aero, the Belgium-based joint subsidiary of Snecma and Pratt&Whitney. He was space transport director.
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are teaming to develop an air-launched anti-armor missile as a follow-on to the Hellfire. The new system would allow pilots to attack targets at greater ranges than they can with existing Hellfires.
JOHN D. MORROCCO/LONDON and MICHAEL A. TAVERNA/MUNICH
Photograph: DASA recently completed the first NC test part using the new Eurofighter series production setup. The part was a sloped frame for the center fuselage. After a long-drawn-out development program marked by repeated political and budget reversals, Eurofighter partners are gearing up to start assembly of the first of 620 of the multirole combat aircraft by year-end using flexible, highly integrated production techniques and lessons learned in Airbus manufacturing.
Fred A. Breidenbach has been appointed to the board of directors of the Kaman Corp., Bloomfield, Conn. He was president/chief operating officer of the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research and NASA/Dryden in late March began a series of test flights over the Rocky Mountains to evaluate a Doppler laser radar (lidar) sensor's ability to detect clear air turbulence. Built by Coherent Technologies Inc. of Lafayette, Colo., the lidar uses an infrared laser beam to sense the motion of dust and natural aerosol particles swirling in turbulent air several miles ahead of a Lockheed Electra testbed aircraft. The experiment could lead to development of a real-time lidar turbulence detector for commercial aircraft.
Inflight entertainment is taking on a new meaning at Asiana Airlines. Cartoon drawing and face painting for children and aerobics classes are being offered on transpacific flights. Passengers also can watch magic shows, celebrate birthdays or listen to live concerts. Dubbed the Flying Magic Service, the new product taps the talents of the cabin crew. Birthday celebrants are treated to music played by a cabin crew quartet, a cake-cutting ceremony and a Polaroid memento.
Two congressional leaders are outraged over implications that Congress contributed to the International Space Station's woes by capping the program at $2.1 billion annually. House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., (R-Wis.) and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) pointed out that the Clinton Administration made the decision in 1993 to cap station spending. One bit of history they left out was that the cap was crucial in winning congressional funding for the program.
