PRATT&WHITNEY'S 90,000-lb.-thrust PW4090 engine has made its first flight. The nearly 5-hr. flight on Aug. 3 was staged from Boeing Field near Seattle with the engine mounted on the first Boeing 777, aircraft WA001. Tests during the flight included an engine relight at altitude and a 90,000-lb.-thrust takeoff from Boeing's Moses Lake, Wash., test facility. A second PW4090 will be added to the twin-engine aircraft prior to its display at the Farnborough air show. PW4090-powered 777s are scheduled to enter service on United Airlines and Korean Air in March, 1997.
Rear Adm. Paul G. Gaffney, 2nd, has become the 19th chief of naval research and commander of the Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Va. He succeeds Rear Adm. Marc Pelaez, who has retired. Gaff- ney will continue as commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss.
AT THE EXPERIMENTAL Aircraft Assn. show last week, Cirrus Design Corp. officials said FAA certification of the company's SR20 light aircraft is on schedule for the summer of 1997, with initial deliveries to begin late in the year. Two prototypes are flying, and a third aircraft is scheduled to join the flight test program early in 1997. Cirrus has more than 100 orders for the SR20, which cruises at 160 kt. and has a current base price of $144,500. Standard avionics will include a GPS with moving map display, and a parachute recovery system is standard equipment.
Fred Brown has been named news chief of the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. He was a public affairs specialist at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
The European Space Agency has concluded a $1-billion contract with Dornier Satellitensysteme for the development of Envisat-1's scientific payload. Envisat-1, Europe's biggest and most expensive satellite ever conceived, is scheduled to monitor the Earth's environment, including ozone depletion. The 8,200-kg. (18,040-lb.) spacecraft is to be injected into a 780 X 820-km. (485 X 510-mi.) polar orbit inclined 98.5 deg. by an Ariane 5 booster. The launch is currently planned for mid-1999.
In its report on the proposed British Airways/American Airlines alliance, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee took favorable notice of the London service applications by Continental and Trans World Airlines. The ``modest minimum requirements'' could be satisfied with 28 airport slots per day, the report noted. The slots are likely to become available as Heathrow's capacity increases from 78 to 82 movements an hour, the committee added. Slot sales and exchanges also could accommodate new market entrants.
Since its launch in 1990, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has produced a stunning array of images and data, many of which have made it into the decade's astronomical ``hit parade.'' To mark six years of operations earlier this year, the Space Telescope Science Institute released some recent images that show the wide range of the observatory's work.
A BOMB THREAT telephoned to Western Pacific Airlines' reservations center about 10 min. after flight No. 383 had left Atlanta on Aug. 7 prompted a quick return to the airport. Atlanta ATC cleared the flight for an immediate return and landing opposite traffic, then directed the Boeing 737 to a ``bomb dispersal'' area. A search of baggage and the entire aircraft by law enforcement officials verified no bomb was on board. The aircraft returned to the WestPac hub at Colorado Springs without incident--although 4 hr. late.
The scientific foundation on which the Martian life findings will either wither or prevail will be an international peer review process unprecedented in modern science. Until now, no individual, no team or government has ever laid on the table such hard data for the existence of life on another planet. And at no other time has modern science had such advanced tools to interpret that data.
The GPC flight line computer is designed for analyzing data from flight data recorders for maintenance purposes. Reporting includes tabular and graphical plotting of output in easy-to-read formats. The GPC unit is compatible with Sundstrand, Loral and Lockheed Martin FDRs. The unit features a carrying case and interface cables. Avionica Inc., 3830 SW 130th Ave., Miami, Fla. 33175.
Technology critical to the development of future U.S. missile defenses is being evaluated and refined using a Boeing 767 transport specially modified with a powerful Hughes infrared telescope.
The Pentagon has grown complacent about stealth technology, according to a ``Low Observability Strategic Vision Assessment'' nearing completion. The prevailing attitude, ``that we ought not tinker with it, is not reasonable,'' said a participant in the six-month, Air Force-sponsored study, due to be briefed to the service's brass next month. He said ``there are a number of techniques and fielded equipment that put stealth at risk,'' including thickening concentrations of exported Russian-and-Chinese-made SA-10 surface-to-air missiles.
Tiny Kenmore Air is redirecting its scheduled floatplane airline service to reflect opportunities--and competition--generated by the new U.S.-Canada aviation bilateral. The 50-year-old, family-run airline must efficiently meet an expanding flight schedule while remaining flexible enough to accommodate passenger levels whipsawed by weather and season. A complex maze of new FAA and environmental regulations must be observed, the latter exacerbated by the carrier's use of water for its runways.
VENDORS ARE PUSHING THE INTEGRATION of the Internet technologies with computer-aided design/manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM, CAE) products, according to the Cambridge, Mass., consulting firm Daratech Inc. Companies increasingly are using the 'Net and internal ``intranets'' based on its technologies to disseminate data among employees, vendors and customers (AW&ST July 8, p. 58). To ease their efforts, Hewlett-Packard struck an alliance with Netscape Communications to permit the delivery of intranet products and services based on UNIX and Windows NT.
EUROCOPTER'S 7-8-SEAT EC135 twin-engine helicopter obtained FAA certification for two versions equipped with Pratt&Whitney PW206B or Turbomeca Arrius 2B turboshaft engines. Ten EC135s will be produced in the next five months, Eurocopter officials said. Last week, the first production EC135 was delivered to the German police's Stuttgart-based air rescue unit.
Boeing and Rockwell transition teams are spooling up to streamline the handover of key Rockwell space and defense divisions sold to Boeing Co. earlier this month. Top Boeing and Rockwell managers continue to assess the ramifications of the $3.16-billion sale, which is expected to breeze through regulatory approvals and be formalized by year-end (AW&ST Aug. 5, p. 21). Synergies and efficiencies resulting from the deal are expected to bolster Boeing dividends as soon as 1998, according to Phil Condit, Boeing president and CEO.
Faced with the world's highest growth rate in air travel, Asian Pacific nations are embracing GPS satellite navigation and data link technology and using the opening of air routes over Russia and China to take an unprecedented lead in the operational use of the next major improvement for air traffic control--Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management. Less developed countries also benefit from the considerably lower cost of CNS/ATM compared with conventional ATC infrastructure.
Lufthansa Technik posted a first-year profit of nearly $24 million, but officials of the Lufthansa Airlines maintenance subsidiary are upset about competition from aircraft and engine makers. Last year, to become a more ``neutral'' player and further strengthen its MRO activities, Lufthansa formed Lufthansa Technik, a Hamburg-based subsidiary previously operating as a division of the German flag carrier.
JAMES T. McKENNAContributors to this report included Michael A. Dornheim in Los Angeles, William B. Scott in Colorado Springs, Joseph C. Anselmo in Washington and Frances Fiorino in New York.
Safety and criminal investigators are scouring major pieces of Trans World Airlines Flight 800's fuselage for indications of where the airframe first failed and how that failure led to the disintegration of the aircraft. Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are examining sections of the 747-131's right wing, wing center section, cockpit, upper deck and forward main cabin for clues to the cause of Flight 800's July 17 breakup off the southern shore of New York's Long Island.
FlightSafety International has teamed with Interactive Learning Corp. (Ilinc), Troy, N.Y., to create a long-distance learning capability accessible through the student's personal computer terminal. Such a system would enable pilots, mechanics, flight attendants and flight department managers to hear, see and communicate with an instructor and view multimedia courseware from home, work or remote sites.
Robert L. Butterworth, the president of Aries Analytics Inc., has worked on space and national security issues for the White House, Congress, the Pentagon and commercial clients. Following are excerpts from his article in Strategic Review: The gulf war showed the world how space could enhance tactical combat operations. Despite makeshift data links and unpracticed operations, satellites provided critical advantages in command and control, communications, reconnaissance, targeting, damage assessment, weather forecasting, terrain sensing and navigation.
ValuJet Airlines--if given the green light by the FAA--will resume service to five cities with a fleet of seven aircraft during the second half of August. It hopes to increase its network to 17 cities within 45 days of restarting, using the 15 aircraft the FAA will permit for initial services. The airline, not surprisingly, reported a net loss of $9.6 million for the April-June quarter because of $31.6-million of charges associated with its grounding and other expenses related to the May 11 crash of Flight 592 in the Everglades.
INVENTORY LOCATOR SERVICE Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., has opened its data base of stolen aircraft parts to the Internet. ILS first developed the data base in 1989. The search file now contains nearly 7,000 items, based on reports filed with law enforcement agencies or airline security departments throughout the world. They can be found using part numbers and serial numbers. Access is through the ILS Internet server at http://www.go-ils.com using most web browsers.
While much attention is focused on Lockheed Martin's challenge to Hughes, Space Systems/Loral is quietly positioning itself for the future by strengthening ties with overseas business partners and developing a high-capacity 20-kw satellite. As Space Systems/Loral President Robert E. Berry sees it, Lockheed Martin is playing catch-up in its construction of a new ``satellite factory of the future'' 15 min. down California Highway 101. ``We built our `satellite factory of the future' in 1992,'' he says.
