President Clinton has before him the names of candidates who are well qualified to preserve the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board's power to eradicate air safety hazards. He should send his nominees to the Senate for confirmation now. The safety board has for too long served as a patronage plum, a role that has eroded its credibility. The result is more far-reaching than lost prestige.
The U.S. Navy plans to seek an off-the-shelf replacement for its aging CH-46D vertical replenishment helicopter fleet, with an initial buy of four budgeted for Fiscal 1999.
FOR YEARS, DEFENSE COGNOSCENTI HAVE JOKED bitterly but privately that the Pentagon is ungovernable. Now comes House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R.-Ga.) declaring publicly that attempts to reform the gordian defense procurement system are futile. ``It is hopeless, it is impossible, it is not worth the effort--and it is intellectually not doable,'' he told a military association last week. Yet he said in the next breath that there is no reason why weapon acquisition time could not be slashed 80% and procurement costs 40%.
ARIANESPACE IS ASSESSING a mid-March launch date--possibly Mar. 14--to return the Ariane 4 booster to flight following its accident in early December. One factor in the decision will be the final delivery schedule of a reverified Aerospatiale cryogenic third stage with an SEP HM7-B engine to the launch site at Kourou, French Guiana. An accident review board cited contamination that could have come from either the engine or stage as the most likely cause of the failure. Space insurers are skittish about the upcoming launch as Ariane failed twice in 1994.
Micro Craft Technology, Tullahoma, Tenn., has named Edward M. Kraft (see photos) general manager of Arnold Engineering Development Center activities. He succeeds John W. Davis, who has been appointed chief engineer.
The market has shown little enthusiasm for either Lockheed Corp. or Martin Marietta Corp. stock since August, when the two major military contractors announced their planned merger. In fact, shares of the majority of large defense companies are selling at above their August levels, with Lockheed and Martin Marietta perhaps the two most notable exceptions; their stock prices actually have lost ground.
AIR INDIA, HAVING JUST CONVERTED OPTIONS for two more 747-400s into orders, is beginning a campaign to procure 12 or more medium-capacity, long-range transports. Candidates include the Airbus A340, Boeing 777 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11. As envisioned, the aircraft would become the backbone of Air India's fleet, allowing nonstop flights from major Indian cities to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and Japan.
Helicopter operators and FAA are working to showcase civil helicopter transportation as part of next year's Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. A fleet of up to 200 helicopters could fly as many as 8,000 operations during the Olympics. The coordination effort now underway could become a blueprint for future urban air transportation systems.
This 500-megabyte SCSI solid-state disk drive has no moving parts. It is designed to operate in an environment where it could be subjected to 50g shocks, vibrational forces of up to 10g at frequencies of 5-2,000 Hz., at an altitude of 50,000 ft. and a temperature range of -40-85C (-40-185F). Its Flash memory architecture allows for true hard disk read-write compatibility without additional software drivers. It also incorporates a sophisticated automatic error correction/retry capability and fault management system.
MAURIZIO CHELI of Italy and Claude Nicollier of Switzerland, both named as mission specialists on NASA's space shuttle Mission 75, are a sort of odd couple of space flight. Their mission will be the second for the Tethered Satellite System. Nicollier was a crewmember on the first flight, Mission 46 in July, 1992. But he had to wait 14 years after becoming an astronaut for the opportunity. Then the Italian satellite barely got to unwind because a misplaced bolt kept the reel from working properly.
Rockwell Defense Electronics, Anaheim, Calif., has named James E. Lake (see photo) vice president-operations and product support for the Autonetics Electronics Systems Div. He was director of operations for the Tactical Systems Div.
EXPECT STEPPED-UP ACTIVITY THIS YEAR AT AIR CANADA. The carrier plans to boost capacity by 15% in 1995 and will add 12 new Canadair Regional Jets, three new Boeing 767-300ERs, two 767-200s on short-term lease and two new Airbus A340s this year, while giving up just two Boeing 747s. The airline also has ordered 33 Airbus A319s, with most deliveries scheduled for 1997 and 1998. New aircraft will allow the airline to expand its service to the U.S. after the American and Canadian governments complete a new bilateral--probably later this month.
As U.S. and Canadian negotiators put the finishing touches on a new bilateral agreement, airlines on both sides of the border are already preparing to offer more flights and to exploit what will soon become a relatively open market.
With most major cuts in force structure and weapons already completed, the U.S. Air Force is being pressured to find new ways to stretch its budget as the Pentagon plans for the two worst years--Fiscal 1996-97--of the post-Cold War defense drawdown. In Fiscal 1996, the Air Force is seeking approval of a $72.6-billion budget, $2.2 billion less than in 1995. The service will have to do the spade work for a similar cut in 1997 before budgets begin to flatten.
This seat-track closet can be produced for wide or narrow-body aircraft. The closet has anti-rattle pin receptacles and cart bumpers on its aisle-facing doors. Three modules comprise the unit. The center part has two aft-facing doors that open to storage shelves. The upper part can accommodate a video monitor and related equipment. The end units contain three aisle-facing storage areas. Coat stowage is accessed by a double-latch door and pull-out coat rod. Aim Aviation, Inc., 705 SW Seventh, Renton, Wash. 98057.
Unisys Corp., McLean, Va., has named Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney (USAF, Ret.) vice president-command and control for the Electronic Systems business segment (see photo). He was USAF assistant vice chief of staff and director of Defense Performance Review.
The Pentagon is releasing $94.7 million to the B-2 bomber industrial team to keep the stealth bomber production base warm while it reexamines heavy bomber force requirements. The $94.7 million would be divided among Boeing ($42.7 million), Northrop Grumman ($24.6 million) and Northrop's Vought Aircraft subsidiary ($5.3 million). The remainder will go to some 45 component suppliers.
Pratt&Whitney and the MTU unit of Daimler-Benz Aerospace have named Tom Davenport to head their new Mid-Thrust Family Engine project. He was PW4084 engine program manager at Pratt&Whitney. Rainer Schwab has been named deputy program manager. He was head of commercial programs and sales at MTU.
DAIMLER-BENZ AEROSPACE AG (DASA) of Munich and Rockwell of Seal Beach, Calif., are establishing a joint-venture company to develop aircraft and airport equipment that will use Global Navigation Satellite Systems for navigation and landing. DASA and Rockwell will each hold 50% of the new venture, which will be located in Ulm, Germany. The working units will be Rockwell's Collins Commercial Avionics in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and DASA's Ulm-based Sensor Systems Div. of the Defense and Civil Systems Group.
JAPAN'S H-2 MISSION has been postponed a second time because of a leak in its Space Flyer Unit payload. Setting a new launch date will be in the hands of Japanese fishermen. The mission was to be launched Feb. 22. But Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science said a leak it discovered in the SFU's orbital positioning thruster system could not be repaired in time. It was the second time the launch was delayed because of SFU plumbing problems.
Boeing has named Larry Winslow vice president-engineering for the Defense and Space Group. He succeeds John Sheridan. Winslow will continue as vice president-research and technology.
CONTINENTAL AND FRONTIER AIRLINES ARE DISCUSSING a code-sharing agreement similar to the one Continental signed with America West last fall (aw&st Jan. 23, p. 48). Such an arrangement would further extend Continental's reach into western U.S. markets the airline lost when it dropped a number of Denver-based flights. Frontier, which started operations last year, operates five Boeing 737-200s and serves 12 cities in the west. The low-fare carrier in December achieved a 49.8% load factor.
AVIATION WEEK&SPACE TECHNOLOGY editors will lead a discussion based on the magazine's latest two-part special report, ``Automated Cockpits: Who's in Charge?'' in CompuServe's online conference center on Feb. 16 at 9 p.m. EST. Managing Editor David North and Northeast Bureau Chief David Hughes will discuss the comprehensive editorial reports in the Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 issues. Anyone with access to CompuServe is invited to participate. For details check ``What's New?'' or the Avsig bulletin board.
British Airways is on track to achieve record profits in its 1994-95 fiscal year as solid traffic growth, lower fuel costs and increased productivity allowed the carrier to report unexpectedly strong last-quarter and nine-month results.
