Expects to complete its acquisition of Greenwich Air Services Inc. on Sept. 2. The Justice Dept.'s antitrust division last week notified GE that the company was clear to wrap up the transaction. GE is acquiring Greenwich through a combination of GE stock and cash.
The aerospace industry now accounts for about half of Washington state's manufacturing jobs, making the state one of the largest manufacturing employers in the U.S. Although Washington's aerospace employment is fueled largely by Boeing, which has a workforce of more than 97,300 in the state, there are about 800 other aerospace companies in Washington, according to Richard Skogerson, executive director of the Seattle-based Washington Aerospace Alliance. Another 700 local manufacturers are partly involved in aerospace manufacturing.
Robert A. Wolfe has been appointed president of the Aerojet unit of GenCorp, Fairlawn, Ohio. He succeeds Roger Ramseier, who is retiring Aug. 31. Wolfe was president of the large Commercial Engines unit of the United Technologies Corp. and executive vice president of Pratt&Whitney.
Pat Murphy has been promoted to director of sales support from regional sales manager and Nina Cox to marketing coordinator from manager of advertising and promotion for K-C Aviation of Dallas.
Corp. (FAC) of Australia expects Qantas Airways to comply with its order to make terminal space available to a startup entrant, Aussie Airlines, by Aug. 31. Under Australian law, Qantas must make the space available or lose its own terminal leases. But it has argued that Aussie Airlines is not a genuine carrier because founder Bryan Grey lacks funding to acquire aircraft. However, Grey has won court backing that Qantas negotiate to give him terminal space.
Simulator manufacturer CAE Inc. is seeking to sell its profitable aircraft servicing company. Edmonton-based CAE Aviation does not fit with the parent company's strategic direction, according to John Caldwell, chief executive officer of CAE Inc. The maintenance and modification company, which specializes in Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transports, recently began working on commercial transports. CAE Aviation also has operations in Mirabel, Quebec, Calgary and Islamabad, Pakistan.
Photograph: Cost-overruns and delays on equipment programs, including the EH101 Merlin, have spurred a ``ruthless'' review of procurement practices by the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The U.K.'s National Audit Office (NAO) said more than half of 25 major defense equipment programs it reviewed are over budget and only five achieved or were on track to meet projected in-service dates.
Boeing may have grabbed the lead in satisfying Singapore Airlines' performance criteria for an 8,800-naut.-mi. transport to provide nonstop services between Los Angeles and Singapore. SIA's requirement is for a 206-passenger aircraft with normal fuel reserves, which Boeing can meet with a version industry sources are calling the 777-400, a 777-200X with an auxiliary fuel tank in the belly. Airbus has countered with a 365-ton, high-growth version of the A340-500.
WRIGHT LABORATORY'S FLIGHT DYNAMICS Directorate has used electrical power for the first time to control flight-critical surfaces on a tactical fighter aircraft. The electro-hydrostatic actuator (EHA) used to activate the left aileron on an F-18 systems research aircraft has accumulated more than 25 hr. of flight tests. The aircraft is assigned to NASA Dryden Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. Cooperating together on the joint electrically powered actuation design validation program are the Air Force, Navy, NASA and contractors.
Photograph: Assessments of FAA's oversight of aircraft certification programs, such as those being conducted for the Learjet 45 (bottom) and Bombardier Global Express, are generally positive. But inadequate staffing and a lack of certification experience exhibited by some FAA personnel are issues business aircraft manufacturers say must be resolved.
The first piece of evidence of how closely China National Aviation Corp. and Hong Kong's Dragonair will work together is in. CNAC, which leads the Civil Aviation Administration of China's regional airline lineup, obtained management control of Dragonair as Hong Kong prepared to return to Chinese rule on July 1. Now, the two airlines say they will build a $6.9-million office building on the eastern headland of Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok airport, which is due to open next April. The building is only one of Dragonair's investments at CLK.
Variation Systems Analysis Inc., of St. Clair Shores, Mich., has developed VSA-GDT/Pro and VSA-3D/Pro release 3.0 to display three dimensional tolerance analysis directly integrated with Parametric Technology's Pro/Engineer.
See if this sounds familiar: Moscow has again agreed to make good on its funding commitments for the International Space Station, after it failed in June to make nearly $122 million worth of payments to Russian contractors--a sizable share of the money due for development of the Service Module. During a visit to the Khrunichev plant, Russian President Boris Yeltsin said he had issued a decree that will allow the Finance Ministry to obtain government-guaranteed credits from foreign banks for about $100 million of the shortfall.
Air Force Lt. Gen. John Jumper, the deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, is expected to get his fourth star and the post of commander, U.S. Air Forces, Europe. He would replace Gen. Michael E. Ryan, who returns to the U.S. as Air Force chief of staff. A leading candidate to replace Jumper is Lt. Gen. David McCloud, currently the Joint Staff's force structure and resources guru and a moving force behind the Quadrennial Defense Review. Air Force officials are disappointed that the top post at the U.S.
Photograph: Ariane 44P lifts off with PanAmSat's PAS 6, first direct-to-home satellite for the Latin American market. It marked the 27th consecutive successful Ariane 4 launch. An Ariane 44P booster successfully launched the first spacecraft dedicated solely to providing direct-to-home programming to South America, marking a major step in the expansion of the satellite television industry south of the saturated U.S. market.
James A. Paynter has been appointed senior vice president-human resources of the Barnes Group Inc., Bristol, Conn. He held the same position with Grimes Aerospace, Urbana, Ohio.
NASA expects to begin outlining aviation safety projects for funding later this year, with some getting started as early as April, 1998. Mike Lewis, NASA's newly appointed Aviation Safety Program manager, says the agency is looking for companies and organizations willing to commit substantial resources of their own to develop concepts to improve safety. ``NASA will not pay for all of anything,'' he said.
Eugene F. Murphy, who has been president of GE Aircraft Engines, has been appointed vice chairman/chief executive officer of the General Electric Co., Fairfield, Conn. He will be succeeded by W. James McNerney, Jr., who has been president/CEO of GE Lighting.
Five RC-135 reconnaissance transports and KC-135 tankers operated by USAF and the Air National Guard are flying a service test using Barber-Colman air-cycle machines with magnetic bearings. The technology levitates the cooling turbine shafts in air to eliminate friction and wear, according to Kevin P. Hallisey, project engineer for Barber-Colman's Aerospace and Power Controls Div., Loves Park, Ill.
Photograph: Major accidents and the demands of victims' kin have thrust NTSB officials such as spokesman Peter Goelz into the spotlight. Major crashes and political strategies have combined over the last two years to confront leaders of the National Transportation Safety Board with challenges to the agency's ability--and credibility--in unmasking the causes of aviation accidents. A string of accidents has forced the small agency--with only 125 persons on its aviation staff--to conduct major investigations almost back to back since late 1995.
Photograph: The Airbus A330-200 long-range twinjet transport made its first flight on Aug. 13, powered by General Electric CF6-80E1 engines. Airbus Industrie plans to deliver the first 253-seat A330-200 long-range transport in the second quarter of 1998. The A330-200, an A330-300 shortened-fuselage derivative, made its first flight Aug. 13, powered by two 67,500-lb.-thrust General Electric CF6-80E1 turbofan engines. FAA and European JAA certification is planned for March, 1998, after a 630-hr. flight test program involving six aircraft.
A defense budget amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) could reduce the impact of ``Buy America'' regulations on Pentagon purchasing. Intent of the amendment, already adopted by the Senate, is to open markets among long-standing allies for products that are widely available without damaging critical U.S. defense industrial base capabilities. If passed into law, the regulation would increase competition, promote two-way trade, build interoperability and accelerate the fielding of life-critical systems. Since 1980, the U.S.
FIVE UNIVERSITIES HAVE BEEN GIVEN ACCESS to the Energy Dept.'s three most powerful computers to undertake research in nonclassified areas in which advanced computer modeling and simulation will ``accelerate advances in solving key science and engineering applications of national importance.'' Grants will be used by the University of Chicago to study ``the most significant problems in astrophysics''; by the California Institute of Technology to develop a computational facility for modeling the response of materials to intense shock waves; by the University of Illinois at
