The Asia/Pacific region--the world's fastest growing--is continuing to see growth in business travel--the backbone of its prosperity--as well as increasing demand from leisure travelers. But regional airlines do not always benefit from this prosperity. In part, the remote destinations that they might develop for the tourist market often lack infrastructure even for turboprop services.
Anchorage International Airport plays a key role in the local and state economy, providing transportation services to international cargo carriers and to the millions of tourists visiting the state annually. Jobs associated with the airport represent 9% of all employment in the city. Two-thirds of these exist because of nonlocal airport users.
NTSB member John Goglia piqued safety board and Transportation Dept. officials and trial lawyers with blunt--and, critics say, speculative comments--about the ValuJet 592 crash. NTSB investigators still are working on their report on the crash (see p. 36). The Miami Herald quoted Goglia questioning whether ValuJet, SabreTech and FAA officials had the ``moral character'' cited by federal regulations to protect aviation safety.
James Stothard has been appointed director of sales for the Austin, Tex.-based Avionics Div. of Trimble Navigation Ltd. He was director of international sales and marketing for Garmin International.
THE U.S. LANDSAT 5 IMAGERY satellite completed its 70,000th orbit of Earth on Apr. 29, still performing its primary remote sensing mission. The spacecraft, which was built by NASA, was launched in 1984 with a design life of three years. It is currently operated by Space Imaging Inc.
Northrop Grumman Corp. plans to acquire electronics-intensive Logicon Inc. for about $750 million, bolstering the company's already formidable franchise in surveillance, precision strike and battlefield management.
Malaysia Airlines is moving rapidly to upgrade its long haul fleet to the standards of its new Boeing 777s with such innovative features as a dedicated business center with fax, computer and printer facilities. The carrier's initial 777-200IGW was set to begin regional services to Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore last week, and will begin international flights to Europe and Australia next month, according to Bashir Ahmad, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) senior vice president, commercial.
The second edition of Basic Flight Physiology by Richard O. Reinhart, M.D. has been updated and expanded to include the latest research and current thinking on aviation human factors. The author, an FAA medical examiner and retired USAF flight surgeon, explores subjects ranging from human anatomy and its relation to flight to crew resource management and health management. McGraw-Hill, 11 W. 19th St., Fourth Floor, New York, N.Y. 10011-4285.
Continental Express provides the latest example of a regional commuter airline working to achieve the high standards of service and reliability established by its affiliated major carrier.
Costimator System 5.1 can produce accurate cost estimates, process plans and boost efficiency in aerospace design-for-manufacture applications. The software package's manufacturing management applications also can store data and generate reports needed to provide job accountability to the Defense Dept. and other government agencies. The 32-bit program complies with Open Database Connectivity Standards, allowing it to be easily integrated with other manufacturing and scheduling systems. Manufacturers Technology, 59 Interstate Drive, West Springfield, Mass. 01089.
Catharine E. Laffoon has been named vice president of D'Accord Financial Services of San Francisco. She was director of marketing for the Ivory Consulting Corp.
J. Sheldon Lewis is to receive the 1997 John P. Doswell Award for achievement in support of the goals and objectives of business aviation. He is a columnist for Business&Commercial Aviation, an Aviation Week Group magazine.
David Crowe has been appointed director of new business and technology of Composite Optics Inc. of San Diego. He was manager of precision optics of the Eastman Kodak Co. Commercial and Government Systems Div., Rochester, N.Y.
The U.S. Air Force will have the unwelcome distinction of being the only service to lose a major unit if recommendations coming out of the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) are accepted.
Eric Nordling has been appointed vice president-market planning for Atlantic Coast Airlines. He was manager of pricing and revenue management for Delta Air Lines.
Continental Airlines is considering--and will decide later this year--whether to construct a new small jet terminal at Newark (N.J.) International Airport that would be used for its Continental Express EMB-145 services. The new terminal would replace the existing Continental Express facility. If it goes ahead, Continental would be able to shift some of its commuter operations during construction to several gates in Terminal A recently acquired from Trans World Airlines. The airport's runways are to be upgraded, with repaving of the longer runway to start this spring.
Lockheed Martin is discussing potential cooperation with Airbus Industrie partners on several specific programs, including military tankers and transports and the proposed A340-600 and A3XX, as it seeks more global partnerships.
Joseph J. Blanda, Jr., has been appointed director of business development and sales for North America for Navstar Systems Ltd., based at subsidiary NavSymm Positioning Systems of San Jose, Calif.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating two failures of Pratt&Whitney JT8D-217-series engines that occurred on Apr. 28, one on an American Airlines MD-80, and another on a United Airlines Boeing 737-200.
Japan's air force and the Technical Research and Development Institute of the Japanese Defense Agency are developing the XAAM-4 air-to-air, fire-and-forget missile as a replacement for the AIM-7M. The air force is scheduled to modify an F-15J to test fire an AIM-120 for comparison with the XAAM-4 to decide which it will purchase. Tests of the XAAM-4 began last year.
DENEL AVIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA and Eurocopter have formed a strategic alliance to collaborate on design, development and perhaps marketing of helicopters in their product lines, which are largely complementary. The alliance is an extension of earlier collaborative ventures between the two firms, which resumed in 1995 after a long hiatus owing to the U.N. embargo.
Boeing's Low-Speed Aeroacoustic wind tunnel now can conduct tests up to Mach 0.32. To achieve the higher speeds, an insert was developed for the Seattle-based facility using a 7 X 10-ft. contraction. Removal of the insert restores the free jet tunnel's original 9 X 12-ft. cross-section and Mach 0.25 capability, according to David Richardson, general manager for Boeing Technology Services. Both alternatives use the same control and data systems. The tunnel, formerly a large anechoic chamber, is useful in testing aircraft takeoff and approach noise.
Shipments of new U.S.-built general aviation aircraft during the first three months of this year totaled 237 units worth a record $886 million. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn., member companies delivered 63 business jets, 39 turboprops and 135 piston-powered aircraft, including 14 single-engine Cessna C-172 Skyhawks. GAMA President Ed Bolen said the first quarter's shipments reflect ``a very positive growth pattern.'' Export shipments totaled 73 aircraft valued at $281 million, a 131% increase compared with the same quarter in 1996.
John H. Poindexter has been appointed director international sales and Dane McBroom director of engine programs for the Avator Alliance of Atlanta. Poindexter was president of Airstar International Airlines.
