SNECMA CHAIRMAN/CEO Bernard Dufour was dismissed late last week by the French government in a fierce controversy tied to the company's increasingly tense relations with General Electric. Snecma and GE are equal partners in CFM International, a joint venture producing the CFM56 turbofan engines. The French government also disapproved Dufour's public quest for a $1.2-2-billion bailout capital injection and his recommendation to rapidly privatize the troubled state-owned company. Dufour's successor is expected to be appointed in the next few days.
Anthony Charaf has been named vice president-marketing for the Middle East and Guo Zhan Jing regional sales manager in Beijing for UNC International, Annapolis, Md. Jim Lundeen has been appointed general manager for Texas for UNC Accessory Services and John P. Demase general manager for UNC Industrial Engines.
Since 1989, brutal market forces have taken a heavy toll on many aerospace/defense companies while helping others to become world-class competitors. The Index of Competitiveness was designed to provide insights into which enterprises have risen to the challenge, with a view to clarifying future performance trends. A second Index developed specifically for European and other non-U.S. companies will be introduced in 1997.
Jerry R. Junkins, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Texas Instruments Inc., died of a heart attack May 29 while on a business trip in Germany. He was 58. Junkins is credited with successfully repositioning the company and its major businesses to adjust to declining defense sales and to compete in the highly competitive computer chip industry. The Texas Instruments board of directors has designated William P. (Pat) Weber to act as temporary president and chief executive officer.
Richard F. Frazita (see photo) has been named vice president-Command Systems engineering for the Telephonics Corp., Farmingdale, N.Y. He was vice president-engineering of General Microwave.
The Transportation Dept. has tentatively approved its third grant of airline antitrust immunity, triggering more requests for exemptions. The department last week okayed American Airlines' and Canadian Airlines International's request to coordinate fares and services between the U.S. and Canada. But there's a hitch. The department acted in accordance with a Justice Dept. pact with the carriers that limits immunity in the New York-Toronto market until February, 1998, when current restrictions on U.S. airline entry into Toronto are to be lifted.
THE SECOND McDonnell Douglas MD 600N helicopter crashed last week during a test flight near Thermal, Calif. (AW&ST Feb. 19, cover photo). Chan Morse, senior experimental test pilot for the company, was conducting control reversal tests at an altitude of about 2,000 ft. to evaluate blade flapping characteristics when one or more rotor blades struck the tail boom of the aircraft. Five ft. of the aft end of the boom and empennage were severed as a result of the impact.
Europe's aerospace/defense industry, while still trailing the U.S. in overall competitiveness, has the potential to emerge as a much tougher rival within the next few years. The vast majority of companies still are not on a par with their U.S. counterparts, but the gap is narrowing at the manufacturing level. Top management at virtually all of the first- and second-tier concerns are more focused than ever on reducing costs and speeding up production.
Eurocopter is seeking to increase its foothold in Russia's helicopter market now that Russian authorities have granted type certification for the BK-117 in both Lycoming LTS-101-750B1- and Turbomeca Arriel-1E2-powered versions. The Franco-German company is aiming the 8-11-seat helicopter at the rescue and medical evacuation market, where it recently has had success with the 5- or 6-seat BO.105CBS ``Super Five.'' Russia's Ministry of Disaster Response (EMERCOM) has signed a contract to buy two BO.105s and lease a third.
DHL has expanded its freight distribution center in downtown Hong Kong to keep pace with a 50% growth during the past year in express freight and 40% growth in packages. The expansion centers on an automated conveyor system that can process 4,000 items an hour and should keep pace with growth through 2000 (see photo). Meanwhile, DHL continues to negotiate for a primary sorting center at Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok, due to open in 1998. The courier is expected to keep a distribution center in downtown Hong Kong as well.
Charles F. Lyke (see photo) has been named vice president of the Fluid Power Div. of the Vickers Aerospace Marine Defense Group, Maumee, Ohio. He remains division general manager.
Air New Zealand has pledged to offer lifetime maintenance support for CASA's CN-235 M9 entrant in Australia's light tactical airlift competition. The contest to replace Australia's 21 de Havilland DHC-6 Caribous, only 14 of which fly, is not yet official. One question is whether fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft will be the replacement. Besides CASA, the fixed-wing competitors are likely to include IPTN's version of the CN-235, called the Phoenix, and Alenia's G222. Between 14 and 18 aircraft are expected to be ordered.
Japan's fourth prototype XF-2 made its first flight May 24 from the Mitsubishi facility at Nagoya Airport. Further production is under discussion pending an agreement ensuring that a 40% work share of the project goes to the U.S. Issues revolve around what defines and satisfies the requirements for work share. The new aircraft is the first F-2 to fly with a cocured composite wing box manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The company's F-16 is the baseline from which the new Japanese fighter was developed.
Continuously satisfying more customers at a higher level of profit than the competition is the essence of being competitive. By this definition, it is possible to quantify competitiveness in many ways. The Index of Competitiveness is one perspective. It is intended to gauge percentage improvements over specific time-frames, giving companies a way to benchmark themselves against their competition. The concept of the Index, including the five measures used to rank companies, was validated by economists, Wall Street analysts and senior aerospace executives.
This year's International Aerospace Exhibition in Berlin signaled somewhat of a revival for the event that began life as a small, regional show in Hannover. Organizers of ILA '96 scored a major coup with a strong showing from German powerhouse Daimler-Benz Aerospace, which was noticeably absent two years ago.
Careful expansion, a strong position at one of the most important international gateways, aggressive marketing, continued investment in new aircraft and product renewal, and dogged attention to cost-cutting have made British Airways one of the most competitive and profitable airlines in the world. Once derided as one of the world's most inefficient, unprofitable and consumer-unfriendly of air carriers, British Airways now has a track record envied by many executives within and outside the airline industry. How do they do it?
Alan M. Dressler, a member of the scientific staff at the Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, Calif., is among the new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Others are: James E. Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York; and Andrew J. Viterbi, vice chairman/chief technical officer of Qualcomm, San Diego, Calif.
Smiths Industries has begun production of an upgraded, combined voice and flight data recorder with heat sinks made from plastic-like endothermic material. The technique lowers price and improves flame survivability while retaining the same box footprint as previous models, according to William Bova, senior program manager for flight recorders. The units can withstand 1,100C temperatures for 30-60 min.
A high-powered X-ray diffraction sensor is being used to monitor the solidification of molten metals while they are still in the casting mold and furnace. The noncontact technique could help jet engine-makers more efficiently produce advanced, single-crystal turbine blades. Previously, the speed with which superalloy molds were withdrawn from a gradient furnace to create single-crystal solidification was achieved through trial-and-error or modeling.
Christine Davis (see photo) has been appointed vice president of Texas Instruments' Defense Systems and Electronics/manager of its Electronic Systems Div./site manager in McKinney, Tex. She was TI group vice president/engineering manager.
The 124-seat Airbus A319, powered by two 22,000-lb.-thrust International Aero Engines V2524 turbofans, is scheduled to obtain European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) certification during the fourth quarter. The aircraft made a 6-hr. first flight on May 22 from Airbus' Toulouse flight test center. The JAA certified the CFMI-equipped version (powered by CFM56-5Bs) on Apr. 10, and the first aircraft is now operated on Swissair's European route system. Airbus Industrie has concluded orders for 91 A319s.
Mark Lasker (see photos) has been appointed president/director-general of Howmet S.A. in Paris. He will remain corporate senior vice president-international operations. Allan H. Bergquist has been named vice president-sales and marketing. He was marketing director of AlliedSignal's Aerospace Environmental Control Systems.
Pierre J. Jeanniot has been appointed director-general of the International Air Transport Assn. Other new senior directors are: Kevin Dobby, relationship management; John McCaffrey, external relations; Karel Ledeboer, operations and infrastructure; Tom Murphy, customer and distribution services; Bob Hutt, products and services; John Meredith, corporate policy and communications; and Ron Blake, finance and administration. Lorne Clark is now general counsel/corporate secretary.
