Celso Azevedo has been named president/CEO of Astrolink, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space and Strategic Missiles, Bethesda, Md. He was senior vice president of DirecTV.
Specially equipped U.S. and South African Air Force aircraft have gathered in Namibia to bring their electronic intercept, infrared sensor and all-weather flight capabilities to bear in an often zero-visibility search for debris and bodies from the midair collision of two transport aircraft.
General Electric has completed altitude tests of a growth version of its T700 engine, the T700/T6E. The tests of the 2,500-shp. turboshaft were conducted at the company's Evendale, Ohio, facility at simulated altitudes ranging from sea level to 20,000 ft. Flight testing of the engine is scheduled to begin later this year, with flight trials of a civilian version of the powerplant, the turboshaft CT7-8, planned for next year. Certification of the CT7-8 is expected in 1999. The T700/T6E and CT7-8 are being developed by GE with Alfa Romeo Avio and FiatAvio of Italy.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said plans to restrict traffic at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will cause havoc with passengers and hurt the airline's chances of forming global alliances. As of Oct. 1, Schiphol will no longer employ its outer runway as a second runway for takeoffs and landings during peak hours, in order to comply with noise reduction legislation.The move is in addition to previously announced restrictions on nighttime operations of wide-body aircraft at the airport, which also take effect Oct. 1.
Ronald V. Swanson and Ronald D. Symmes, vice presidents of the Hughes Space and Communications Co., are the 1997 recipients of the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space Systems Award. They have been cited for achievements in architecture, analysis, design and implementation of space systems. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Galileo Team is the recipient of the 1997 AIAA Space Operations and Support Award. The award is presented for efforts in overcoming space operations problems and ensuring success. And, Robert R.
Philip J. Greco (see photo) has become vice president-business development for commercial operating in the Communications Systems Div. and John Brand director of business development for the Command Systems Div., of the Telephonics Corp., Farmingdale, N.Y.
Patrice Kreis has been appointed chairman/CEO of the Aerospatiale Multicom Satellite Network. He will remain vice president-communications of Aerospatiale.
Richard P. Burrell (see photos) has been appointed president of Dynamic Controls HS within Hamilton Standard Aircraft Systems, Windsor Locks, Conn. He was vice president-engineering. Burrell will be succeeded by Arthur W. Lucas, who has been Pratt&Whitney PW6000 engine design integration manager. Mohammed A. Sattar was named vice president-propulsion systems, and Joseph E. Triompo was promoted to vice president-engine controls and accessories from director of engineering. Sattar was vice president of Hamilton Standard-Nauka.
Have finished a silo-based version of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Topol-M (SS-27) despite the defense sector's financial difficulties. Topol will join the Russian army's arsenal in 1998 to make it the core of the future nuclear deterrent. Despite the limited funding of the Topol-M program, the missile flight tests are being held on schedule. There have been a total of four experimental launches of Topol-M. The army's acquisition of Topol-M ICBMs will include equal numbers of mobile and silo-based versions.
Boeing will be late in delivering 12 transports worth approximately $1 billion because parts and labor shortages have snagged the company's rapid production ramp-up. The deferred deliveries, to 10 airlines, involve seven 737s, four 747-400s and one 757. The aircraft, originally to be handed over this month, now will be delivered in October. Boeing transport sale contracts typically specify the month of delivery, not the exact date.
Astronaut Tom Akers, a U.S. Air Force colonel, has become commander of ROTC Detachment 442 at the University of Missouri in Rolla. He has been assistant director-technical at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
British Airways has chosen EDS to develop and provide information technology systems for its new global accounting center. The contract, estimated to be worth 35 million pounds ($56 million) during the next 10 years, is expected to help cut the airline's accounting costs by 30%. The move is part of BA's drive to achieve 1 billion pounds ($1.59 billion) a year in annual savings through 2000. That drive received another boost with the recent settlement of a pay dispute between the airline and the union representing the majority of its cabin crew.
The Learjet 45's Honeywell Primus 1000 fully integrated avionics suite represents the first application of large, four-tube EFIS displays and an engine instrument and crew alerting system in a lightweight business jet.
Report critical of the Eurofighter program has been circulated among members of parliament as they prepare to vote on the cabinet's recommendation to fund production. The unpublished report, which cites technical and financial problems, suggests cutting Germany's buy from 180 to 100 aircraft. Eurofighter supporters dismissed the report as out-of-date, saying it discusses technical problems that have long been solved.
Lockheed Martin will install color multifunction displays, a new modular mission computer (MMC) and a digital terrain system (DTS) in the six, Block 50-series F-16C/D aircraft scheduled to be procured by the U.S. Air Force in Fiscal 1997. The new equipment is part of the company's F-16A/B Mid-Life Update program for European customers, according to Robert T. Elrod, vice president, F-16 division.
Daniel P. Garcia, a lawyer and senior vice president of Warner Brothers, has been reelected president of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. Patricia Mary Schnegg, a partner in the law firm of Knapp, Marsh, Jones and Doran, was reelected vice president.
Bruce Thigpen (see photos) has been named manager of field sales and Bryan Vester manager of original equipment manufacturer sales, for the Collins General Aviation Div. of Rockwell Avionics and Communications, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Thigpen was manager of corporate aircraft marketing and Vester manager of regional airline marketing.
To help a consortium develop the next leap in semiconductor manufacturing technology, shrinking to a feature size less than 0.1 micron. The technique would use TRW's diode-pumped solid-state Nd:YAG laser operating in infrared spectrum at 1.06 microns. The laser interacts with a gas jet to create a plasma, giving off ultraviolet light in a very controlled fashion during the laser pulse. The consortium of U.S. chip makers, Extreme Ultraviolet Limited Liability Co., is led by Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Motorola.
Vistajet shut down earlier this month after just four months in business. It is the second Canadian startup carrier to close this month, following Greyhound Air's disclosure that it planned to suspend service last week. Vistajet officials cited launch and maintenance delays, as well as an inadequate computer reservations system, for the collapse. Vistajet operated two Boeing 737s.
Andrew P. Studdert (see photo) has been appointed senior vice president-fleet operations and administration of United Airlines. He succeeds Joseph R. O'Gorman, who has retired. Studdert was senior vice president-information services/chief information officer.
Dennis H. Wagner (see photo) has been named vice president-finance for the Sabreliner Corp. Commercial Aviation Group of St. Louis. He was vice president-Latin American sales and marketing for Greenwich Air Services.
The fourth Bombardier Global Express ultra-long-range business jet made a successful first flight earlier this month. After 10-15 hr. of initial flight experience in Toronto, Bombardier plans to fly the aircraft, No. 9004, to this week's NBAA convention. Following the show, the aircraft, the first to have a completed interior, is scheduled to join the Global Express certification flight test program in Wichita, Kan. Plans call for No. 9004 to undergo approximately 150 hr. of function and reliability tests under operational conditions.
After five crashes in four days that killed 12 U.S. servicemen, Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered a 24-hr. flying suspension of training flights. Moreover, an influential House National Security Committee member, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), said he intends to call for a new General Accounting Office investigation of military flying accidents. A similar report Skelton requested last fall after a spate of accidents found no common links in the accidents and determined that flying was safer than ever.
