Russia and Ukraine are moving ahead with flight tests of the second prototype of the four-propfan Antonov An-70 military transport, while eight Western European countries are still seeking launch funding for the Future Large Aircraft (FLA), their answer to the same need.
The 10 shuttle/Mir crewmembers from the U.S., France and Russia who worked last week on board the 270-ton docked complex strongly asserted that the station is in good shape and safe for continued long-term habitation. But some other astronauts and managers involved in safety oversight at the Johnson Space Center, continued to express reservations about continuing long-duration astronaut visits until the station has demonstrated a longer period of relatively trouble-free operations with a better science output (AW&ST Sept. 29, p. 37).
Kellstrom Industries of Sunrise, Fla., expects to purchase a $20.3-million inventory of commercial aircraft and jet engines--all of which are under operating lease--from Miami-based Aerocar Aviation. Kellstrom plans to merge the operation into a wholly owned subsidiary to help expand its short-term aircraft and whole-engine leasing business. Kellstrom President and CEO Zivi R. Nedivi said the portfolio will serve as a ``pipeline and outlet'' for his company's engines and parts inventory.
The ``Thrust SSC'' jet-powered car tentatively set a new land speed record on Sept. 25 at a two-way run average of 714 mph. It beat the prior record of 633 mph. set in 1983 by Richard Noble of the U.K., leader of the Thrust SSC team.
A unique projectile interceptor system has been patented by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Labs in California. Tentatively called Defender, when a specialized infrared sensor detects and tracks an incoming projectile, a ``flinger'' mechanism launches a protective disk. The disks, made of composite material similar to body armor, are aimed and timed to intercept the incoming projectile and absorb impact energy, according to project engineer Lee Pittenger. Defender technology could be useful for unobtrusive point defense against gunfire.
The Washington to Capetown route (where German and U.S. Air Force transports collided last month) say they had to personally take responsibility for maintaining separation between aircraft. The combination of heavy traffic at night, few ground controllers working after dark, no radar coverage and long flights made the air routes off the African coast dangerous. Off Angola, for example, there is a 2.5-hr. stretch during which there is no positive air control, according to MD-11 Capt. Robert Steadman, who flew with U.S. Africa in 1994-95.
More than 14% of all workers in the New England region of the U.S. are in technology-based industry, higher than any other region, even the West Coast. According to a recent study by the Connecticut Technology Council, about 7% of New England's businesses are engaged in technology-based manufacturing, a close second to the U.S. Southwest. At the close of 1996, about 8,600 Connecticut-based technology firms employed more than 221,000 out of a total workforce of 1.4 million. They represented more than 26% of state payroll.
Progressively greater use of computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques lies at the core of Raytheon Aircraft Co.'s $150-million restructuring program, which is aimed at cutting its manufacturing costs by 30%, reducing its cycle times and eliminating parts rework.
The board of directors and shareholders of Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen (BBF), the holding company that owns Berlin's three airports, have approved plans to privatize the company and privately finance a long-stalled project to build a new international airport. The project, intended to meet future traffic growth requirements--and in particular the huge influx of federal employees that will accompany the transfer of the capital from Bonn to Berlin--is billed as the largest airport privatization effort in continental Europe.
Volunteer airline passengers at Albuquerque (N.M.) International Airport are helping evaluate a new explosives detection portal. Being developed by nearby Sandia National Laboratories, the walk-through portal relies on chemical preconcentrator technology to identify individuals who may have handled a wide variety of explosive materials. An air sample--obtained by ``scanning'' passengers with a gentle puff of air--is checked by an ion mobility spectrometer, which identifies the signatures of numerous explosives.
Lufthansa German Airways is close to finalizing a code-sharing agreement with Spanair of Spain, according to Christoph Mueller, Lufthansa vice president for corporate planning and network management. The two carriers began cooperating earlier this year in the area of reservation systems and frequent-flier programs. Spanair is a charter and regional carrier with two Boeing 767-300ERs and 15 MD-82/83s. Revenues in 1996 were 46 billion pesetas ($300 million). Lufthansa has no plans to purchase an interest in Spanair, despite reports to the contrary, Mueller said.
Major U.S. carriers followed United Airlines' lead in cutting the commissions that travel agencies receive for writing tickets. Commission rates for domestic and international ticketing were reduced to 8% from 10%; the maximum commission payment for round-trip domestic tickets remains at $50, while there is no commission cap on international flights. United's initiative was matched by American, Delta, US Airways, Northwest and Continental. Southwest Airlines and Kiwi said they would maintain the 10% commission.
The pilots' overwhelming rejection of UPS' proposed contract spotlights the disagreement over pay at the air express company, but there is little chance of a strike until after the Christmas holidays. Pilots turned down the company's wage and retirement package by a vote of 1,861 to 39. The resounding rejection demonstrates ``clear solidarity'' by pilots who have been seeking a 21% retroactive pay increase, said Capt. Robert Miller, president of the Independent Pilots Assn.
A full-flight simulator in an attempt to reproduce the January 1992 accident of an Air Inter A320 near Strasbourg, France. The aircraft crashed on the top of a hill during final approach in nighttime, poor-weather conditions. The simulation was required by a French court investigating the accident. Although a technical investigation team determined human factors were the most probable cause, families of victims alleged flaws in the flight deck design.
Boeing Defense and Space Group's development of flight and simulation/validation software for the International Space Station illustrates the extent to which systems management software is growing in importance for space operations.
Northwest Airlines concluded an agreement to acquire 50 Airbus A319 aircraft powered by CFM International CFM56-5A engines. The 124-seat aircraft will be delivered at the rate of 10 a year beginning in 1999. Northwest already operates 50 A320s, and will take delivery of an additional 20 next year and in 1999. The new contract, which also contains options for 100 more A319/A320s, firms up a memorandum of understanding signed at the Paris air show in June.
Western Pacific and Frontier airlines have decided to terminate their planned merger, and by Nov. 16 expect to discontinue a code-share agreement. Under a deal announced in June, Westpac would have acquired Frontier and operated a combined fleet of 34 Boeing 737s from Denver by the end of this year (AW&ST July 7, p. 52). Westpac CEO Robert A. Peiser said ``cultural differences and the contrast in our scheduling philosophies'' were largely responsible for the failed merger attempt.
The Mir space station is sailing into what U.S. and Russian managers hope will be ``the calm after the storm'' now that the outpost has been resupplied by the shuttle Atlantis with a new astronaut, a critical new computer and nearly 7,000 lb. of water and supplies vital to restoring science work on the base. Weather permitting, shuttle Mission 86 pilots Navy Capt. James Wetherbee and USAF Maj. Michael Bloomfield were to land the orbiter at the Kennedy Space Center about 7 p.m. EDT Oct. 5.
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., are working with the FAA, Boeing and the University of Greenwich, England, on software that models and predicts post-crash passenger egress routes for transport aircraft. The aim of the program is to improve and speed egress patterns. Eventually the software could replace the accident-prone ``live'' aircraft emergency exit drills now required for air transport certification, according to NIST researcher Walter Jones.
Philippe Couillard has been appointed space business director of the Aerospatiale Space and Defense Div. He was systems business director. He succeeds Fran- cois Calaque, who has become division adviser. Couillard has been succeeded by Yves Veret, who was chairman/CEO of Cap Sesa Defense. Jean Viala has become missile systems business director. He succeeds Paul Bernier, who has retired.
Look for the National Transportation Safety Board to hold public hearings on TWA Flight 800 before the end of the year. The FBI expects to pull out of the investigation after finding no evidence of criminal activity associated with the crash that killed 230 people. That will follow the release of a joint FBI/CIA report in 6-8 weeks that cross-references and triangulates the testimony of about 200 eyewitnesses to the disaster.
Dassault Systemes is working on a series of new innovations intended to enable the thousands of engineers, nonengineers and subcontractors working together on complex aerospace projects to share its CATIA CAD/CAM ``information pipeline.''
