Alan E. Schwartz has become vice president-procurement for the Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co., San Antonio, Tex. He was a strategic business unit manager for Raytheon Aircraft, Wichita, Kan.
Virgin Atlantic has complained to BAA that the airport operator's decision to allow British Airways and its alliance partners to occupy Heathrow airport's planned fifth terminal provides them with an unfair competitive advantage. The agreement between BAA and British Airways, subject to planning approval, would give the airline the lion's share of this brand-new flagship terminal, according to Virgin. The new terminal is the focus of an ongoing public inquiry, which is not scheduled to be completed until mid-1998.
Larry Hunter has been named senior vice president-business affairs/general counsel for DirecTV of Los Angeles. He succeeds Steve Cox, who has transferred to the strategic initiatives organization.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is urging the FAA to mandate modifications to the flight control disconnect feature on Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft to prevent reduced roll control in turbulence.
Boeing's decision last week to invest up to $100 million in Teledesic underscores its strong push into commercial space markets while helping legitimize Teledesic's ambitious plan for a low-altitude, 288-satellite communications constellation.
Hong Kong's regional carrier, Dragonair, continues to dominate foreign air services into China. Chongqing, the largest city in central China's Sichuan province, has become the carrier's 16th destination in China and 25th overall. Dragonair will provide twice-weekly service using Airbus A320s. Formerly controlled and managed by Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways, Dragonair is now under a management team controlled by the China National Aviation Corp., which owns nearly 36% of its stock.
Wayne L. Armstrong, Jr., (see photos) has become president of the Signal Technology Corp.'s Keltec Operation, Fort Walton Beach, Fla. He was vice president of the Metric Systems Corp. Gene L. Joles has become president of the company's Arizona Space Center. He was president of the Arizona Operation.
Frank Heming of AMI Industries Inc. of Colorado Springs has been elected chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers' Aircraft Seat Committee. Phil Holland of Learjet has been elected vice chairman. The secretary will be Lindsay Zollinger of Amsafe.
The FBI has created a Computer Investigation Threat Assessment Center--a first for the bureau because it involves both criminal and national security investigations. It also links to other agencies, including information warfare specialists in the Air Force. They are working together to identify and monitor key assets, such as communications and utility companies, and their vulnerabilities. ``This is a big operation,'' said FBI Deputy Director William Esposito.
The FAA's Inflight Aircraft Icing Plan centers on a series of critical initiatives that could have far-reaching effects on the certification of new aircraft, and increase an understanding of the effects of supercooled, large water droplets and tailplane icing on aircraft performance and flight safety.
One likely conclusion of the Quadrennial Defense Review now being wrapped up at the Pentagon is that the U.S. should leave its small fleets of Navy, Air Force and Army fixed-wing, intelligence-gathering aircraft intact. That's a relief. For quite a while, a face-off seemed to be looming between the Air Force's RC-135 Rivet Joint and Navy's EP-3 Aries (see p. 48). Pentagon planners were feeling pressures from Congress to choose one, much as they had been forced to choose between the Navy's and EF-111 jamming aircraft.
Flight Refuelling Ltd. has made a strategic breakthrough in the U.S., winning a contract to supply the fuel system for Boeing's Joint Strike Fighter candidate. Under terms of the pact, Wimborne, England-based FRL will join Boeing's fuel system integrated product team and supply all hardware, design, analysis and integration support for two JSF Concept Demonstrator aircraft, according to Jack Stone, president of Technology 2000, which represents FRL in Seattle. FRL also will supply the aircraft's retractable air-to-air refueling probe.
SMOKE ENTERED THE CARGO BAY of a McDonnell Douglas C-17 transport conducting touch-and-go landings at Amarillo (Tex.) International Airport on Apr. 30, but the crew declared an emergency and made a safe landing. The aircraft was shut down on the runway and towed away about 35 min. later. A hydraulic leak may have been involved.
Boeing is studying a ``QC'' or quick-change version of its new 737-700 transport. The aircraft, equipped with a side cargo door, could be quickly switched between freight and passenger configuration. The version would replace the aging 737-200QC fleet. A decision will likely be made by year-end. Deliveries would not come until after 2000, according to Boeing.
The special forces assault on the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru, was aided by observations made from a low-noise, U.S.-built Schweizer aircraft operated by the Central Intelligence Agency. Using a forward-looking infrared camera at night and, likely, a high-resolution television during the day, or multispectral sensor for non-visible-light observations, the two-man aircraft was able to track the movement of 72 hostages and their 14 Tupac Amaru guards. It also was able to detect rebel-planted mines and booby traps.
THE FAA LAST WEEK ISSUED an emergency airworthiness directive halting ETOPS operations to the U.S. for Boeing 777 transports powered by Rolls-Royce RB211 Trent 800-series engines. According to the FAA, initial and repetitive inspections specified in the directive are intended to prevent loss of oil that could cause a fire and subsequent in-flight shutdown of a powerplant.
After maintaining the safety of the shuttle, NASA's chief space transportation goal should be to help find ways to lower drastically the cost of operating the launchers and return vehicles of the future. The X-33 program, already well underway, aims to explore technology that can lead to significantly reduced operating costs.
At the rear of an EP-3 Aries 2 aircraft are six crew positions dedicated to the classified art of communications intercept and to special tasks such as spoofing--the transmission of false messages.
McDonnell Douglas officials last week said they would go ahead with the launch of two Delta boosters this month, restarting a busy schedule after a 31/2-month delay that has followed the failure of a Delta booster last January at Cape Canaveral. The first mission was to be the launch of the first five Iridium satellites from Space Launch Complex-2 (SLC-2) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., followed by the launch of the Norwegian Thor 2A communications satellite from Cape Canaveral.
Jim Dagnon has been appointed senior vice president-people of the Boeing Co. He has been senior vice president-employee relations for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. in Fort Worth. Michael Valliere is now vice president-compensation and benefits. He succeeds Chuck Hagsberg, who has retired.
Pioneers and heroes of the global aviation and aerospace industry were inducted into Aviation Week's new Laureates Hall of Fame on Apr. 9 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Nearly 300 industry leaders attended the induction ceremonies, which were the centerpiece of a gala dinner in the Pioneers of Flight Gallery of the museum.
Jerry Tritt has been become chief pilot-technical of the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Teterboro, N.J. Other recent appointments were: J. David DeAngelis, chief pilot-operations; Richard C. Iudice, assistant chief pilot; Tom Major, manager of flight operations and maintenance; Tricia Rogers, flight operations administrator, and Dan Petramale, chief of maintenance.
THE LAUNCH OF PANAMSAT'S PAS-6 on an Ariane booster was delayed from May 12 to late summer, pending the investigation of an anomaly involving another Space Systems/Loral FS-1300 spacecraft. The Tempo direct broadcast satellite, launched Mar. 8, experienced a reduction in power on Apr. 11 that coincided with heavy solar activity. The power loss is not expected to affect Tempo's mission or life span.
