Robert E. Berry, president of commercial satellite manufacturer Space Systems/Loral, for his decades of devotion to the satellite industry. Berry's current efforts include development of a new high-power satellite system that can operate at up to 20 kw., allowing the company to double the capacity on its spacecraft. He is also a leader in a venture to develop a new electric propulsion system based on a Russian thruster that could be used for station-keeping or raising a satellite's orbit, saving fuel and extending the life of a spacecraft.
W.E. (Skip) Barnette and the Delta Air Lines team that planned and pulled off the launch of Delta Express, a low-cost, no-frills operation to help the Atlanta-based carrier better compete with low-fare competitors. That team succeeded where others, such as Continental Airlines, failed.
If any one person can be called the father of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System, it is Don Bateman. For years, Bateman has been a one-man force behind the invention, development and production of AlliedSignal Aerospace's new EGPWS. Simply put, EGPWS eliminates loopholes in conventional GPWS while significantly increasing warning times. It also adds a ``pop-up'' visual display that enhances pilot situational awareness in inclement weather and at night by highlighting hazardous terrain ahead of and near the aircraft.
Mauricio Novis Botehlo, president and chief executive officer of Embraer, for his energetic leadership of the once government-owned Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. Appointed in September, 1995, to restructure the company and set it on a new strategic course, Botehlo has overseen a reduction in workforce, an improvement in productivity, an increase in revenues and a sharp reduction in losses. One feather in his cap: a $375 million order from Continental Express for 25 of the EMB-145, the company's new 50-seat regional jet.
UNITED AIRLINES SUBMITTED its latest contract proposal to the Assn. of Flight Attendants last week for review and consideration. A round of ``intense negotiations'' are scheduled to begin this week in Hawaii and continue until late in the month, according to a United official. The AFA and United have been in negotiations for a new contract since last April, when the union's rank and file rejected a wage agreement reached between AFA and management leaders. The existing contract became amendable in March, 1996.
Lewis A. Palumbo has been named vice president-domestic market development for the Hughes Aircraft Co., based in Arlington, Va. He was director of U.S. Army market development.
Capt. Elrey B. Jeppesen, barnstormer, aerial survey pilot, airmail pioneer, airline captain and the man who created airways manuals known to anyone who has piloted an aircraft.
John Sterritt, the space shuttle firing room's main propulsion chief for the United Space Alliance at the Kennedy Space Center and his Hazardous Gas Console team for working out a real-time plan to safely circumvent a hydrogen leak problem with less than 1 min. to go before the launch of Columbia on Mission 80. If the team had not been able to make such a quick safety assessment and workaround, the liftoff would have been canceled, leading to a possibly lengthy and costly delay to investigate the elusive difficulty.
Fairchild Dornier in March delivered to Nigeria's Shell Petroleum Development Co. (SPDC) the first of two 31-seat corporate 328 twin-turboprop transports. SPDC is a joint venture of the Nigerian National Petroleum Co., Shell, France's Elf and Italy's Agip. Its 328s will replace de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters to support oil and gas exploration and carry technicians to production facilities. SPDC's aircraft is the 75th 328 twin-turboprop delivered by Fairchild Dornier and its predecessor. They accumulated more than 190,000 flight hr., including 7,050 hr.
James A. Lee (Texas Instruments), USN Lt. Cdr. Matt W. Winter, USN Lt. Greg Prentiss, Mike Purcell (USN, Pt. Mugu, Calif.) and USAF First Lt. Kyle Reybitz and their Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) test and evaluation team for conducting 44 successful JSOW launches and 263 F/A-18, F-16 and F-15 flights during a three-year period on USAF and USN ranges. Last summer, 10 successful glide-weapon launches were completed within a 14-week period from both F-16 and F/A-18 fighters.
SEQUA'S CHROMALLOY Gas Turbine Corp. will appeal a Texas court's decision denying its motion for an injunction to bar Pratt&Whitney from continuing what Chromalloy alleges is monopolistic conduct. In November, a jury in Bexar County, Tex., returned a unanimous decision that Pratt had violated state antitrust laws attempting to monopolize the replacement business for its jet engine parts. Chromalloy, which sought the injunction based on that verdict, is seeking damages of $100-600 million.
Dave Carbaugh, Doug Forsythe and Skip Cooper of Boeing flight training sections, for their roles in designing the ``Controlled Flight Into Terrain Education and Training Aid,'' which is being distributed through the Flight Safety Foundation. The training program will raise the awareness of CFIT for thousands of pilots and operators worldwide.
Ronald W. Bridge, a former navigator in the Royal Air Force who held senior posts with several British airlines from 1972-93, has been elected master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in the U.K.
Edward Beauvais, chairman, and Thomas J. DeNardin, then-vice president of sales and marketing of Western Pacific Airlines, for developing the innovative ``logo-jet'' and other programs that contributed to building one of the most successful new low-cost national airlines in less than two years. WestPac now serves 18 cities with a young aircraft fleet, and its formula is being followed by other startups.
GKN Westland Aerospace is expanding its composite structures capabilities with the acquisition of BP Chemical's advanced materials division. GKN will pay $14.5 million for the Bristol, England-based business, which designs, develops and manufactures composite structures including nacelle components and aircraft wing panels. BP Chemical employs about 320 and has annual sales of approximately $25 million.
AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY presents its 40th annual Aerospace Laurels selections, honoring individuals and teams who made substantial contributions to the global field of aerospace in 1996. Honorees were selected from nominations by Aviation Week editors in Commercial Air Transport, Government/Military, Aeronautics/Propulsion, Space, Electronics and Operations. An honoree also has been selected to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. The people who made outstanding contributions in the categories are the Laureates for 1996. Articles on each Laureate appear on pp.
A U.S. AIR FORCE Accident Investigation Board announced Apr. 3, that a linear split in the casing of one of nine Alliant Techsystems strap-on solid rocket motors triggered the spectacular explosion of a Delta 2 booster at Cape Canaveral on Jan 17. At 7.2 sec. into the launch, Solid Rocket Motor No. 2 developed a 71-in. split that began about 51 in. from the bottom of the casing. The split grew to over 254 in., causing a catastrophic failure 12.6 sec. into launch and triggering an automatic destruct system that destroyed the booster's first stage, the board said.
David McKay, Everett K. Gibson, Kathie L. Thomas-Keprta and Richard N. Zare, the NASA Johnson Space Center/Stanford University team that discovered the potential evidence of life on Mars. The discovery created a sensation around the world and will have a long-term impact on international science, space mission planning and theories on the development of life in the universe. Johnson Space Center scientists McKay and Gibson initiated the studies on the meteorite that led to the discovery.
William J. Perry can be counted among the most admired and respected persons to hold the office of U.S. secretary of Defense since its inception in 1947. Initially tapped as deputy Defense secretary in the new Clinton Administration, Perry was thrust into the top job after the quick exit of former Congressman Les Aspin.
With the shipment of the Huygens probe to Cape Canaveral, preparations are beginning in earnest to launch Cassini/Huygens, a U.S.-European effort to explore Saturn--and likely the last of the $2 billion-plus flagship planetary missions. The six-ton combination of a European Space Agency probe, bound to land on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and a NASA orbiter of the ringed planet is to begin its seven-year cruise to Saturn Oct. 6.
Japan's civil helicopter fleet is expected to increase slightly this year, reversing five years of decline. At the close of 1996, there were 1,030 helicopters in Japan, a 34% increase from the number a decade ago but down from the record level of more than 1,200 units in 1991 at the height of Japan's ``bubble economy.'' More than 101,000 revenue flight hr. were recorded by the Japanese rotary wing fleet in 1995, much of it in agriculture, powerline patrol, heavy lift and news gathering. However, the crash last January of a Toyota Motors Co.
Andrew Dimitriou (see photos) has been named president of B&D Instruments and Avionics Inc., Valley Center, Kan., and its North American sales group, Penny and Giles Aerospace Inc. Robert W. Trimmer has been promoted to director of sales and support for B&D from director of international sales.
FIVE MAJOR MERGERS of defense contractors have cost the companies involved $849 million in relocation, consolidation and reductions, but a congressional study says the government is saving about twice as much as it spends to support such deals. As of October, 1996, the Defense Dept. had reimbursed the companies about $179 million, while the Defense Contract Audit Agency estimates that the Pentagon created $347 million in savings from the restructuring. Therefore, according to a new GAO report, the Defense Dept. has realized savings of $1.93 for every $1 it has paid.
