Has been named president and chief operating officer of Gulfstream Aerospace. He replaces Fred Breidenbach, who resigned. Johnson, an engineer, had over 28 years' experience with Boeing. His last position was vice president and general manager of the Everett Div. Gulfstream is in the process of boosting production to 60 aircraft a year.
Formally cleared the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas last week. The move was a foregone conclusion after a last-minute deal hammered out between Boeing and the EC was approved on July 25 by an advisory committee of competition experts from European Union member states.
James W. Cuminale is senior vice president/general counsel of PanAmSat Corp. He testified last week before the U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee on communications on reforming global satellite organizations (see p.19). Excerpts follow:
Photograph: Yet another long-range reconnaissance aircraft operated by the 55th Wing is the RC-135U Combat Sent. It is fitted with sensors designed to measure and analyze capabilities of foreign weapon systems. JIM HASELTINE The rare RC-135S Cobra Ball is only one in a series of legendary, classified reconnaissance aircraft types built over the last three decades by the publicity-shy Raytheon E-Systems Greenville, Tex., division.
Photograph: The first production T-6A Texan 2 trainer is under construction and is scheduled to fly in the second quarter of 1998. Raytheon Aircraft Co. is making minor changes to the design of its Model 4000 Hawker Horizon business jet to improve performance, and is preparing to begin production of the first T-6A Texan 2 aircraft that is scheduled to make its first flight early in 1998. The company introduced the Horizon at the 1996 National Business Aviation Assn. show.
For launch services for a whopping 516 satellites during an 11-year period. Late last month, the company requested bids for launches for Celestri, its proposed system for high-speed, interactive data and video (see. p. 28), the Iridium constellation beyond the year 2003, any follow-on mobile communications network and unspecified noncommercial satellites. Meanwhile, Motorola announced it has made the first transmissions from an Iridium satellite to prototype pagers at the company's Chandler, Ariz., facility.
Federal Express Corp. is scheduled to begin operating nonstop flights from Osaka, Japan, to its hub in Memphis, Tenn., on Sept. 1, allowing the carrier to offer the first ``next business day'' shipping from major Asian cities to most North American cities. A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is being equipped with sleeping quarters for the pilots, since two crews will be required for the 12-hr., 7,000-mi. flight.
Budget constraints have forced a 14% reduction in long-term spending for Japan's space activities, hitting a variety of programs, from the unmanned Hope spaceplane to a lunar surveyor and Earth observation satellites.
Got a boost last week when the U.K.'s new Labour government said it was ready to join the seven other partner nations in the program and request proposals from Airbus Military Co. for procuring the new transport. The decision clears the way for the Airbus Industrie subsidiary to begin prelaunch activities, which include further design work and detailed cost studies. But the U.K.
Photograph: Air France-Air Inter Express links Marseille and Lyon to several European cities under a code-sharing agreement concluded in 1996. Proteus Airlines next September will become Air France-Air Inter Express' second French franchised partner, and third in Europe. Like previous agreements signed with Jersey European Airways and Brit air (AW&ST June 9, p. 41), this one was motivated by rapid expansion of the franchise networks of Air France group's main European rivals, airline officials said.
David Twist has been promoted to managing director from deputy managing director of Rayfast Ltd. He succeeds Brian Price, who will become vice chairman.
British Airways is facing the prospect of tough conditions from the European Union for approval of its proposed alliance with American Airlines. European Commission competition officials are considering requiring the two airlines to give up 350 weekly slots at London Heathrow and reduce the number of flight frequencies from that airport to several U.S. cities. The discussion paper is being circulated for consultation among EU member states before an official position is reached.
Brit air of France has ordered two Series 100 Canadair Regional Jets from Bombardier and placed options on two more. The two 50-seat aircraft, valued at $43 million, are on firm order. One is scheduled for delivery in October; the other in January. The regional carrier, a long-term partner of Group Air France, said it will use the aircraft to expand its domestic and European route networks. Brit air already operates nine CRJ Series 100 aircraft and is the launch customer for the 70-seat CRJ Series 700.
To make its first trial operational mission Aug. 2-4 over North America in preparation for entry into force of the Open Skies Treaty. The joint Russian-U.S. mission, originating at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, involved an Antonov An-30 turboprop cargo aircraft, modified with cameras and scanners to serve in the Open Skies observation role. The treaty, of unlimited duration, is an international effort to promote military openness and confidence through the use of reciprocal unarmed aerial observation flights.
Patrick J. Harris has been named senior vice president-marketing and sales of Barfield Inc. of Miami. He was vice president-international marketing and sales for Crane/Hydro-Aire.
Northwest Airlines and United Airlines, the two U.S. beneficiaries of the existing restrictive air services agreement between the U.S. and Japan, are taking sharply different views on potential changes to the pact. In anticipation of U.S.-Japan talks this month, Northwest continues to rail against a possible ``interim'' U.S.-Japan agreement, suggesting anything less than ``open skies'' is a ``sellout of America.'' United has begun taking a more pragmatic, statesmanlike view.
U.S. safety investigators have set off explosive charges in a retired 747's center fuel tank in a search for clues that could help them decipher the cause of TWA Flight 800's destruction a year ago. National Transportation Safety Board investigators, working with counterparts from British aviation safety and defense agencies, detonated charges in the aircraft parked at Bruntingthorpe, England.
Peter Vella has been appointed director of business development at Birmingham (England) International Airport. Eliane Clarke has been named head of personnel.
The $2.4-billion project to construct a new international airport at rapidly expanding Guangzhou has been approved by the central government of China, according to the official China Daily. Construction of a new airport, which is to span 3,900 acres and accommodate 80 million passengers and 2.5 million tons of cargo annually, is expected to begin within the year. Three runways are planned--one 4,000 meters (13,100 ft.) and two 3,700 meters (12,100 ft.) long. Two of the runways are expected to be completed by 2005.
Pro Air, a new airline, is challenging Northwest Airlines' virtual monopoly at Detroit with low-fare service from Detroit City Airport. Using two new Boeing 737-400s, Pro Air started nonstop flights from Detroit to Baltimore/Washington and Indianapolis on July 4, and to Newark 10 days later. It will add Milwaukee on Aug. 1.
CD Radio Inc., which plans to offer CD-quality radio programming across the U.S., signed a contract to launch its two Space Systems/Loral-built satellites on Ariane 5s in 1999.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $480,000 contract to Northrop Grumman Corp. to demonstrate its Munition-Deployed Bomb Damage Assessment system. The system includes an airborne video sensor and an RF datalink designed to provide battlefield commanders with critical, real-time information about the effectiveness of air strikes. The sensor separates from the munition after release and trails 1,000 ft. behind it on a tether, generating high-speed, high-resolution images until after munition impact.
THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES last week passed the Fiscal 1998 Transportation Dept. Appropriations bill, providing the FAA with $9.08 billion--about $800 million more than last year's appropriation. Lawmakers, however, rejected FAA efforts to impose $300 million in user fees, and the bill prohibits the agency from developing plans for new fees not already approved by Congress.
