KAMAN AEROSPACE'S SH-2G(E) SUPER SEASPRITE antisubmarine warfare helicopter has completed flight qualification and performance testing with the U.S. Navy, clearing the way for delivery of the first aircraft to Egypt on Oct. 21. Egypt, the first international customer for the SH-2G, will acquire 10 of the aircraft under a $150-million-plus U.S. Foreign Military Sales contract. The first three aircraft will be sent initially to Pensacola, Fla., where they will be used to train Egyptian pilots. Australia and New Zealand have contracts to procure a total of 15 SH-2Gs.
Southwest Airlines has initiated its ``Adopt-A-Pilot'' program, which is aimed at teaching elementary school pupils about aviation, the principles of flight, and how geography, science and mathematics relate to the operation of an airline. Southwest has selected one fifth-grade class in each of the 52 cities it serves and assigned a cockpit crewmember domiciled in that city to become an ``adopted'' pilot and visit each class.
Reorganized into 11 business units, eliminating the three sectors--aerospace, automotive and engineered materials. The sector offices will close within 30 days, and their functions will either be eliminated or they will be moved to the corporate or business unit level. Daniel P. Burnham, who heads what is now AlliedSignal Aerospace Co., has been elected to the board of directors and as one of two vice chairmen of the board.
Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Air France's newly appointed chairman/CEO, is expected to strengthen the state-owned carrier's profitability and its quest for global business. He is Air France's sixth chief in 12 years, a clear indication of the French government's interference, which created top management instability in a troubled political environment.
The Administration's fast-track trade bill is in ``very deep trouble'' in the House, Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) warned last week. A supporter of the legislation, Gingrich laid all blame on the President. Clinton has not ``personally reached out to Democrats,'' many of whom are under labor union pressure to vote against the bill, Gingrich said. Renewal of fast-track authority would restore the President's ability to negotiate a trade agreement and submit it to Congress for an up-or-down vote, with limited debate and no amendments.
United Airlines has begun testing a voice recognition system for taking airline reservations. Created using Applied Language Technologies' SpeechWorks 3.0 speech recognition software, the automated voice response system will be tested by United's 80,000 employees to make their own airline reservations. The intent is to improve automated systems into which callers have to key information using touchtone telephones, by providing a machine that can give voice recognition of what it has been told.
National Laboratory in California is developing what it calls ``a particularly promising emerging technology'' to help combat nuclear terrorism. Test deployment at a U.S. military base is in the works.
Vincent J. Corbo, president/chief operating officer of Hercules Inc., Wilmington, Del., has been appointed to the board of directors of Alliant Techsystems Inc. of Minneapolis.
The use of head-up displays continues to proliferate through the business jet community. The FAA has certified the Flight Dynamics HGS-2850 head-up guidance system for use on the Dassault Falcon 2000. Initially, Falcon 2000 pilots can fly Category-1 approaches manually and monitor Cat.-2 approaches flown by the autopilot. Additional features, including Cat.-3A capability and wind shear escape guidance, are to be certificated by year-end. Bombardier plans to offer a Flight Dynamics HGS on new Challenger 604s as well as a retrofit version for existing aircraft.
John Meyer has become director of sales and marketing for the Metal Bellows Div. of Senior Flexonics Inc., Sharon, Mass. He was aerospace marketing manager.
The FAA has granted parts manufacturer approval to BFGoodrich Avionics Systems for its Skywatch traffic advisory system. Skywatch was developed as a lower cost traffic advisory system for general aviation, helicopter and business aircraft. The system uses replies from the aircraft's Mode C beacon interrogations to calculate potential traffic conflicts. The information can be displayed on a late model WX-1000 Stormscope Weather radar and can provide aural alerts, but does not give advice on avoidance maneuvers.
Has decided to provide financial support for the MiG-AT advanced trainer, a joint venture of VPK MAPO of Russia and a group of French companies, led by Snecma and Sextant Avionique. During a visit by French President Jacques Chirac to Moscow late last month, representatives of the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding that provides for the financing of Larzac engines and Sextant nav/attack hardware to equip 15 preproduction MiG-ATs.
Officials of Northwest Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which have been operating joint services for more than six years, laid plans last week to deepen and expand their global alliance.
David M. Bowman has become Boeing program manager for the MD-17 at the former McDonnell Douglas facility in Long Beach, Calif. He succeeds John Feren, who is with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Seattle. Bowman was director of the McDonnell Douglas C-17 Nacelle/Engine Affordability Team.
As the Royal Air Force awaits the launch of the first of three new communication satellites in January to replace the current aging Skynet 4 constellation, industry officials express confidence that the U.K., France and Germany will soon approve a multinational follow-on program.
US Airways Group Inc.'s 4,800 pilots are expected to ratify a new five-year contract within the next two weeks, paving the way for the U.S.'s fifth-largest airline to purchase up to 400 new Airbus jets and embark on an aggressive growth strategy. Based on the tentative accord reached late last Tuesday night, Airbus agreed to extend US Airways' deadline for affirming the order, pending pilot ratification.
Here last week, Naumann broached a subject that no one at the Pentagon will discuss publicly--computer hacking as an offensive military capability. He says NATO's military committee is working on ``developing an information warfare capability.'' The committee has assigned the first task of developing an information warfare doctrine to the assistant director of military operations, a British admiral. ``This is an issue that goes far beyond a purely military sphere . . . so it needs a political framework,'' Naumann says.
Two existing independent software packages used for developing and controlling satellite systems are to be combined to form a new integrated software package. The new package will combine Lockheed Martin's Satellite Control System 21 software with the Spacecraft Command Language (SCL) software developed by Interface and Control Systems Inc. of Melbourne, Fla.
Have re-established contact with the Mars lander using an auxiliary transmitter after three days of silence, indicating the spacecraft is still operational.
The first squadron of JAS 39 Gripen multirole aircraft is set to be declared combat-ready shortly, as Sweden begins fielding elements of its Air Force 2000 concept for a fully integrated, digital air defense system. ``I am ready to declare the first squadron operational,'' Gen. Kent Harrskog, chief of the Swedish air force, told Aviation Week&Space Technology last month during the final days of a three-week-long combatreadiness exercise. The first Gripen squadron will include 17 aircraft based at F7 wing in Satenas.
As it moves forward with three new fighter programs, Lockheed Martin is developing virtual reality programming tools to cut its manufacturing costs, the fighters' serviceability costs and improve its development cycle times. The effort was prompted by stringent cost and cycle time goals that Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) committed itself to under the 51-month concept demonstration contract for the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program.
Integrated Technologies of Israel and Israel Aircraft Industries' Malat Div. are creating a joint venture to provide unmanned aerial vehicle services for the commercial market. The company plans to draw on Malat's experience with military UAVs to provide flight services and on-line sensor information to commercial customers. Target markets include firefighting, security and performing scientific measurements. ITI officials predict the commercial UAV market will generate $100 million in revenues during the next 10 years.
