A better fix is needed on the number of satellites to support the Wide Area Augmentation System, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's research and acquisition chief. George Donohue postponed a Dec. 19 meeting of the industry-FAA Joint Resources Council on WAAS and the Local Area Augmentation System because he feels the WAAS integrated product team (IPT) must come to terms on the precise number of satellites that would be required. No new date for the meeting has not been set.
Bombardier Services is buying 24 T-6A trainers from Raytheon Aircraft for the NATO Flying Training Canada program, marking the first sale of the plane outside the U.S. Joint Primary Aircraft Training System program. Deliveries of the T-6A-1 variant will begin in November 1999 and will run through the fall of 2000, Raytheon said yesterday. The price wasn't disclosed.
B/E Aerospace reported record earnings of $9.4 million in its 1998 third quarter, more than double the $4.1 million earned in the same three months a year ago. Sales grew 20% to $129 million in the same period. B/E also recorded record operating earnings of $16.5 million, up from $12 million a year ago.
JAPAN AIR SYSTEM took delivery at the Boeing plant in Long Beach, Calif., of three MD-90 airliners. The carrier now has 14 MD-90s, and two more on firm order. The aircraft seats 166 passengers and is powered by IAE V2500 engines. Boeing said the MD-90 has a 99% dispatch reliability record.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin appointed his aviation and space advisor, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, to head a special group to implement development with European countries of a military transport plane based on the An-70. Yeltsin also discussed the project by telephone with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. "Plans for high level contacts in 1998 were discussed, as well as several concrete issues of Russian-German cooperation, including the prospects for a multilateral project to build An-70 aircraft," the Kremlin said in a statement.
NASA's Clark Earth observing satellite, one of the first spacecraft developed under the "faster-better-cheaper" philosophy preached by Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, could get the axe from the space agency's Program Management Council today because yet another delay, this time caused by availability of the Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV), has forced up the mission's cost.
Russian civil aviation has had a better safety record in 1997 than in 1996, according to the director general of Aeroflot. Valery Okulov said during a Moscow press conference Wednesday that Aeroflot has had seven accidents so far this year, compared to 11 last year, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. He also said talks are underway to extend the service lives of Il-62, Il-86 and Tu-154 airliners. He said Aeroflot planes are logging fewer flight hours, with the exception of the Il-96-300 and Boeing 767.
The U.S. Navy and Boeing Co. have identified three potential modifications to the F/A-18E/F wing that they think will eliminate a wing drop problem, but service officials don't want to declare victory until flight testing has been completed. The three mods are addition of stall strips, a wing stall fence, and a wing fairing, according to a Defense Dept. official. The Navy has been flight testing the three potential fixes since late last week on one of its test aircraft, E-4, at NAS Patuxent River, Md.
Hartzell Propeller won a supplemental type certificate to install its two-bladed aluminum hub propellers on 150- and 160-horsepower Piper Apache PA-23s. The propellers, which will replace older steel hub propeller systems, should eliminate inspection requirements in Airworthiness Directive 97-18-02. The propellers will have a 2,000-hour time between overhaul. List price of the propeller system, including two props, two new polished spinners and STC paperwork, is $12,900.
BOEING SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT SUPPORT has opened a new office in the Wiregrass, Ala., home of the Fort Rucker Army Aviation Center. BSAS is a joint-venture company formed in 1992 by Boeing Aerospace Operations and Sikorsky. The venture builds on 15 years of a Boeing and Sikorsky partnership in development of the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter. BSAS also has offices in Lexington, Ky., and Clarksville, Tenn.
Raytheon Co. completed its merger with the defense operations of Hughes Aircraft Co. and announced formation of Raytheon Systems Co., which it described as "one of the world's largest defense contractors."
Sweden's Ericsson Microwave Systems says its marketing plans for the Erieye airborne early warning radar are largely unaffected by Saab's decision this week to end production of the Saab 340 and Saab 2000, two of the platforms most closely associated with the AEW system.
THE ICBM SUPPORT CONTRACT for which teams under TRW and Alliant Techsystems are competing won't be awarded until Monday, Dec. 22, according to industry officials. The multi-billion dollar contract was supposed to have been awarded late today, but officials said the source selection process couldn't be finished in time.
British Aerospace and Kazanah National Berhad of Malaysia have agreed to work together to develop Malaysia's capability to design and manufacture aerospace products. The agreement provides for formation of a "joint undertaking" that may include investment by Kazanah in BAe's wholly owned Avro regional jet business. BAe and Kazanah have identified a number of military and commercial aircraft programs that can benefit from BAe capabilities in design, manufacturing and assembly.
China's Civil Aviation Administration certified ignition systems- specialist Unison Industries to repair and overhaul ignition system components. The approval covers Unison-manufactured ignition exciters and leaders for several engine models.
A KUWAITI CONGLOMERATE has become the first announced customer for an Airbus corporate jetliner. Mohamed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi signed a contract for an A319CJ powered by IAE V2500 engines. The aircraft will seat up to 30 passengers. Airbus said it has seven other commitments from customers in Europe, North America and Asia.
The U.S. Air Force yesterday declared the three E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft operationally ready with the 93rd Air Control Wing at Robins AFB, Ga. Gen. Richard Hawley, commander of Air Combat Command, said during an IOC ceremony that the fleet of Joint STARS planes would enable the Defense Dept. to gain information superiority in a future conflict. He added that the Joint STARS technology has already proven itself.
AlliedSignal Aerospace agreed to modify the auxiliary power units installed in 98 BAe 146 aircraft owned by British Aerospace's leasing and sales unit, Asset Management-Jets. In the five-year deal, AlliedSignal will modify GTCP 36-100M and 150M series APUs to boost reliability and extend time between overhaul. AMJ customers will pay for the upgrades on a hourly operating fee basis.
Heico Corp., Hollywood, Fla., earned $7 million on sales $63.7 million in its 1997 fiscal year. Earnings nearly doubled the 1996 total from continuing operations of $3.7 million, while sales jumped 84% from last year's $34.6 million. Heico reported $9.9 million in earnings in 1996, with $5.3 million coming from the sale of discontinued health care operations.
The U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command has selected Raytheon Co. to develop an airborne sensor platform to detect and track over-the-horizon cruise missile targets. The Joint Land attack cruise missile defense Elevated Netted Sensor (JLENS) program, formerly known as Aerostat, is aimed at developing a system able to track a cruise missile and relay the data to Patriot and Standard Missile-2 for engagement of targets (DAILY, Dec. 11).
OLYMPIC AIRWAYS signed a contract for two Airbus A340-300s and took options on two more. The carrier ordered two of the same aircraft in August. Olympic by 2000 will have a fleet of six A340s.
Turbine Engine Asset Management, the joint venture between parts distributor AAR and enginemaker General Electric, opened for business this week, and hopes to become the "preferred choice of customers worldwide in supplying CF6-6 and CF6-50 serviceable engine parts," says TEAM chief Eric Meyer. The company was formed to supply surplus -6, -50 and - where common - -80A engine parts, acquiring inventories, marketing, selling and delivering parts as well as putting in place inventory management programs.
Two senior managers at Kennedy Space Center have been named to replace retiring Space shuttle Launch Director James F. Harrington, giving "more depth on the bench" in the demanding position by rotating the responsibility.
The United Arab Emirates has ordered 34 Mirage 2000-9 combat aircraft worth $2 billion from Dassault Aviation, French President Jacques Chirac said Monday in confirming reports from the recent Dubai Air Show. The aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery between 1998 and 2001, mark the beginning of a $6 billion new combat aircraft buy.
