BFGOODRICH AVIONICS SYSTEMS' GH-3000 Electronic Standby Instrument System (ESIS), previously certified for a number of fixed-wing aircraft, has been certified for helicopter use. American Eurocopter received a supplemental type certificate for the Aurocopter AS365N-2 helicopter, the first ESIS certified as a helicopter standby instrument, according to BFGoodrich. The GH-3000 is designed to replace electromechanical standby attitude, altitude and airspeed instruments with a single 3 ATI-size, 3.5-lb. active matrix liquid crystal color display, with a 3.25 X 3.25-in.
RTCA HAS APPROVED MINIMUM aviation system performance standards for two technologies important to Free Flight--Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) (DO-242) and guidance for initial implementation of cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI), DO-243. Aircraft will use ADS-B to broadcast positions over a data link for use by controllers and pilots to ensure aircraft separation. The CDTI document recommends ways to present surveillance information to pilots. RTCA is a not-for-profit organization that advises the FAA on aviation issues.
James T. Dillon has been named CEO of W.R. Carpenter North America Inc., Selma, Calif. He was vice president/general manager of its UpRight Inc. subsidiary. He has been succeeded by Barris Evulich, who was vice president-engineering.
British Midland, eyeing the likelihood of an Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and the U.K., is looking to restart transatlantic services after a 15-year absence from long-haul operations. The airline has applied to the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority for route licenses to operate from London Heathrow to 10 U.S. cities--Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington. The move would add a third U.K. competitor to the lucrative transatlantic market in addition to British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
Experience gained during the six-month, 31-flight NASA/Boeing X-36 test program will find immediate application to a new Defense Advanced Research Agency/Air Force-sponsored study of unmanned combat air vehicles.
Asia's premier air exhibition, Asian Aerospace, was subdued last week, reflecting the economic crisis that has gripped Asia. The show was a study in contrasts: crowds and total exhibitor counts were down but industry participation included the largest exhibits ever in Asia for many manufacturers, including Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Many airline customers either stayed away or sent minimal delegations because of travel restrictions in light of their currency problems.
Contamination and corrosion caused by fluids leaking into the electronics bay of a 737-200 likely triggered roll and pitch movements that forced the aircraft into a 7-min. uncommanded Dutch roll, according to safety investigators.
Civil aviation authorities in 185 nations would be subject to safety assessments every five years under the International Civil Aviation Organization's expanded safety oversight system, according to an ICAO internal document. A five-year inspection cycle was among a bundle of proposals endorsed by a working group that reported Feb. 18 to the ICAO's Air Navigation Commission. The safety oversight system will be discussed at the triennial meeting of the ICAO Assembly scheduled for Sept. 22-Oct. 2 in Montreal. Approval of an action plan by the assembly is required.
Rob Manning, who has been chief engineer of NASA's Mars Pathfinder program, has been appointed chief engineer of the agency's Mars Surveyor program, based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. David B. Gallagher has been named project manager of Deep Space 3. He was project manager of JPL's Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer. And, Ed Massey, who was project manager of the Ulysses mission, has become project manager of the Voyager Interstellar Mission. He succeeds George P. Textor, who has retired.
A Japan Airlines subsidiary carrier is offering a six-day trip from Japan to Bangkok for young people wishing to experience life as a flight attendant. While en route, participants in the Japan Air Charter program perform certain in-flight, nonsafety-related tasks, such as food and beverage services. They also can take optional lessons at the airline's Bangkok flight attendant training center. The low-cost carrier hopes to attract 260 for the tour, which costs about $1,100.
GEC-MARCONI HAS SELECTED LUXELL TECHNOLOGIES, Mississauga, Ontario, to supply the flat panel display for its Sky Guardian 2000 radar warning receiver. The 2.3 X 2.3-in. Thin Film Electroluminescent (TFEL) display has an optical interference thin film structure, referred to as the black layer, developed in collaboration with Canada's National Research Council, for improved sunlight readability. It is also night-vision compatible. The company has a 4 X 6.5-in. display. It hopes to have color displays available in 2-3 years. A TFEL system cost is similar to a CRT.
A 220-lb. titanium blisk has been manufactured by Rolls-Royce for the lift-fan in the VTOL version of the Lockheed Martin/British Aerospace/Northrop Grumman prototype for the U.S./U.K. Joint Strike Fighter program. The component, which replaces separate disc and blade assemblies with a single unit, is now undergoing tests at Rolls-Royce's subsidiary Allison Engine Co., which designed it. The blisk, the largest ever manufactured, was milled from a solid titanium ingot weighing nearly 1.5 tons.
MIT's Sloan School of Management is applying neural network technology to data mining, and initial results show large potential for cost reduction. The work is being funded by Darpa, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), and the FAA. Data mining is the analysis of large amounts of information to discover underlying trends using ``knowledge management'' and artificial intelligence techniques. Knowledge management is the first step of properly organizing data.
In the latest chapter of the A-12 legal saga, the Defense Dept. has exposed itself to a counter-suit and interest charges that could drive what the Pentagon might ultimately have to pay contractors for the canceled attack-aircraft program to more than $4 billion. Late last month, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ordered that the government must pay General Dynamics and Boeing $1.2 billion for canceling the Navy's stealthy attack aircraft in 1991, but the Pentagon quickly decided to appeal.
Derek Chen has been named London-based senior vice president-Europe by EVA Air . He succeeds James Wrey, who has returned to Taiwan as an executive in passenger operations.
The F-22 Raptor initial operational test and evaluation, scheduled to begin in August 2002, should remain on schedule despite manufacturing problems that will delay delivery of several test aircraft by up to five months. Four F-22 flight test aircraft Nos. 4003-4006, will be delivered late--as will aircraft 3999 and 4000, which will be the static test article and fatigue test article, respectively. The final three engineering and manufacturing development Raptors-- aircraft 4007-4009 --should not be affected.
British Airways says ``innovative'' financing schemes from Airbus Industrie and Boeing are key ingredients in its plan to acquire up to 100 short-haul aircraft. The proposed acquisition, estimated to be worth 2 billion pounds ($3.3 billion), represents the latest iteration of British Airways' plan to modernize and standardize its regional fleet and those of its subsidiaries. Earlier plans were put on hold pending cost-cutting and restructuring efforts within the regional units.
Airline industry veteran Joseph O'Gorman was named chairman, president and CEO of Reno Air the day the 5-year-old airline posted fourth-quarter and calendar year 1997 losses of more than $12 million.
New developments in the stratospheric balloon program run by CNES French space agency and CNRS French national scientific research center promise to improve scientists' understanding of the dynamics and chemistry of the upper atmosphere, and in particular the mechanisms at work in the destruction of the ozone layer.
SHAREHOLDERS OF LOCKHEED MARTIN and Northrop Grumman last week overwhelmingly approved the proposed merger of the two companies. Top management plans to close the transaction immediately upon notification that the U.S. Justice Dept.'s antitrust review is concluded, which is expected within four weeks.
Textron Inc. has approved subsidiary Bell Helicopter's plan to acquire Boeing's line of single-engine helicopters along with the no-tail-rotor technology that will allow Bell to fill a low-noise market niche. The acquisition was announced at the Asian Aerospace `98 air show here by Terry Stinson, Bell Helicopter Textron president and CEO, who said the company will obtain the single-engine MD 500E, MD 520N, MD 530 and MD 600N. The ``N'' stands for no tail rotor (Notar). The terms of the cash transaction were not disclosed.
