MEALS, DIETS and food products specifically aimed at improving mental alertness and physical endurance for workers in high-stress occupations are available for commercialization from the U.S. Army's Natick (Mass.) Research, Development and Engineering Center. Potential dual-use applications include improved diets for air traffic controllers and law enforcement personnel.
Development of the two new advanced wind tunnels the U.S. aircraft industry says it needs to stay competitive in the next century has advanced to the point that a White House decision on funding the $3.2-billion project will probably come this year, opening the door for two more decisions that must be made before the state-of-the-art facilities can be built.
PREPARE FOR FIRE-FIGHTING EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS to accommodate Halotron 1. The FAA has approved American Pacific's Halotron 1 fire suppressant as a substitute for Halon 1211 in airport fire-fighting equipment. Production of Halon 1211 has been banned by international agreement due to its potential to deplete atmospheric ozone. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Halon 1211's ozone depletion potential is about 250 times greater than that of the HCFC-based Halotron 1. The FAA reports that about 1.5 lb. of Halotron 1 is equivalent to 1 lb.
Gene Rainville has been appointed executive vice president-international sales of Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga. He was senior vice president-marketing for Dassault FalconJet, Paramus, N.J.
The Clinton Administration's proposal to create a separate air traffic control corporation is encountering stiff bipartisan resistance, leaving little doubt the controversial plan faces an uphill battle in the 104th Congress. Despite Republican desires to privatize as many government functions as possible, GOP lawmakers are reluctant to embrace the Administration's plan especially in its current form.
PILOT HIRING BY U.S. AIRLINES got off to a strong start in 1995 with 863 new cockpit crew hires in January. The rate is 43% above the same month last year, according to Air, Inc., an Atlanta, Ga.-based pilot career services firm. At that rate, U.S. airlines would create more than 10,000 new pilot jobs this year, including 2,000 hires by top-paying major airlines. As expected, U.S. jet and turboprop regional airlines led hiring for the month, employing a total of 485 new cockpit crewmembers.
USAF WILL EQUIP its F-16 variable stability inflight simulator test aircraft with Pratt&Whitney's pitch/yaw balance beam nozzle. The nozzle will be added to the aircraft in the second half of 1996.
AIRBUS INDUSTRIE'S A330 transport has obtained additional extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) certifications in several engine configurations from the European Joint Aviation Authorities. JAA's approval involves three engine types: The General Electric CF6-80E1 is now approved for 180-min. ETOPS. The Pratt&Whitney PW4164/4168 received 90-min. ETOPS, prior to entry into service. The Rolls-Royce Trent 700 obtained 90-min. ETOPS approval.
GERMAN LUFTWAFFE TORNADO ground attack fighter and a French air force/Matra Apache air-to-ground missile are being prepared for firing in early spring on a French test range. Several Apaches have been fired from Mirage 2000s, but this is the first Apache launch from a Tornado. Both the French and German air forces will receive Apaches starting in 1997.
Dave Toole has been appointed chief executive officer of GaSonics International, San Jose, Calif. He will remain as president. Toole succeeds his father, Monte Toole, who will remain chairman.
AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF RONALD FOGLEMAN CONTENDS modernization, not readiness, is the real problem facing the military. He agrees modernization is adequately funded in the new six-year budget plan, but calls it ``very delicately balanced.'' For example, the Air Force has carefully plotted F-22 procurement to end just as the service starts buying new aircraft developed from the Joint Attack Strike Technology (JAST) program. ``If we don't follow through we could face a disaster in tactical air,'' Fogleman warned.
The Boeing 767-300ER freighter, now in production and eagerly awaited at United Parcel Service, will add a unique new aircraft to the world fleet of all-cargo airplanes. UPS has taken an unusually strong role, even for the launch customer, toward the design of its international freighter. With Boeing's encouragement, the air express company set out an array of requirements that emerged from studies at UPS' Industrial Engineering Div. here.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries foresees 200 domestic sales for a 4-ton, eight-passenger commercial utility helicopter built around the MG-5 engine it is developing for Japan's OH-X light combat rotorcraft. Called the RP-1, the new twin-engine helicopter is to make its first flight next year with deliveries in 1998, according to Mitsuo Inoue, manager of civil business development for MHI's Helicopter Engineering Div.
Airbus Industrie says it could have a new version of its four-engine A340 ready by 1997 that would trade seats for even longer range--up to 9,000 mi. or 17.5 hr. of nonstop flying. Called the A340-8000 and based on the A340-200, the new, 8,000-naut.-mi. aircraft would have an increased takeoff weight, a thrust bump to its CFM56 engines and auxiliary fuel tanks under the floor, according to Adam Brown, vice president for strategic planning.
Robert E. Rosati, founder of International Aero Engines, will retire--for the second time--as president, at the end of February. He will be succeeded by Barry Eccleston, a former vice president-sales and marketing, who was named chief executive officer last November.
JANUARY WAS A STRONG month for the two largest U.S. airlines. American and United posted the highest load factors with 63.1% and 66%, respectively. Continental and USAir had the worst load factors for the month at 55.7% and 54.7%. Low-fare leader Southwest Airlines' load factor slumped 8% to 57.8% last month.
SCIENTISTS AT USAF'S Wright Labs, Dayton, Ohio, are evaluating the feasibility of passively measuring range to a target based on the Global Positioning System satellite signals it reflects. The technique requires only a single observation station with a directional, high-gain antenna to capture GPS signals scattered by the target, according to Rudy Shaw, electronic support measures section head, and James Tsui, electronics engineer. Range-to-target can rapidly be calculated based on the time delay between reflected and directly measured GPS signals.
A LEAP KINETIC KILL vehicle that was to have intercepted a tactical ballistic missile Feb. 12 was not launched because a transponder on the target failed. The target missile was launched successfully at 5:05 a.m. EST from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Va., but a ``hold fire'' was called on the USS Richmond K. Turner. The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and Navy experiment was to test the compatibility of the Lightweight Exo-Atmospheric Projectile kill vehicle and the Standard Missile.
Raytheon is to deliver the first of three U-125A search-and-rescue versions of its Hawker 800, ordered by the Japanese air force, to Fuji Heavy Industries' on Feb. 28. Fuji is prime subcontractor for the program and will conduct mission systems tests prior to delivery to the air force. Raytheon will ship two more aircraft next month. The new aircraft includes a 360-deg. search radar, Flir system, two wide-view observation windows and a drop system for a dingy and emergency equipment.
Dale C. Hutchinson (see photo) has been named president of Loral Federal Systems' Manassas, Va., Div. He was vice president-weather systems at Unisys Government Systems, Inc.
Virgin Atlantic Airways will decide within a month whether to ban smoking on all its transatlantic flights. If implemented, the policy would take effect in May, according to Chairman Richard Branson, and make Virgin the first European carrier to operate smoke-free flights on the Atlantic. Virgin's new partner, Delta Air Lines, already has banned smoking on both its transatlantic and transpacific flights (AW&ST Nov. 21, 1994, p. 36).
Even before Discovery landed, U.S. and Russian space officials and contractors had begun applying lessons of the space shuttle's first flight to Mir. The 67th shuttle flight ended Feb. 11 with a predawn landing at Kennedy Space Center at 5:51 a.m. EST. Data gathered in Mission 63's close approach and fly-around of Mir and in a 4-hr. 39-min. space walk are seen as critical both to the shuttle's upcoming missions to dock with the Russian station and to assembly of a new, international space station.
