U
P
D
A
T
E
Home | UPDATE | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Inside | Datafiles

UPDATE 
Week ending September 17, 2000
+++ Ariane 5 boosts two satellites into orbit +++ German Army takes first EC 135 +++ ISS orbit raised +++ Third C-27J flies +++ Boeing to build longer-range 767-400ER +++ News in brief +++

Ariane 5 boosts two satellites into orbit
Erster Ariane 5-Start des Jahres erfolgreich

On September 14, Arianespace successfully launched two satellites on the sixth mission of Europe's Ariane 5 launcher, carrying a combined payload mass of approximately 6,000 kg. Into orbit. The mission, performed from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana carried the Astra 2B direct broadcast TV satellite for Luxembourg-based Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), and the GE-7 telecommunications satellite for U.S. operator GE Americom. Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg, French Minister for Research and Uwe Thomas, German State secretary for Research attended the launch.
The next Arianespace launch is Flight 133, scheduled for beginning of October. On this mission an Ariane 42L will launch the N-SAT-110 telecommunications satellite for the Japanese companies Space Communications Corp. and JCSat Corp. After the successful completion of Flight 130, Arianespace's backlog now stands at 46 launch contracts (37 satellites, plus 9 ATV missions for the International Space Station). Arianespace has booked a total of 222 launch contracts to date.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


German Army takes first EC 135
EC 135 an die Heeresflieger übergeben

On 13 September, the first Eurocopter EC 135 for the German Army Aviation (Heeresflieger) was handed over at Bückeburg. 15 helicopters (92 million DM) were ordered to provide basic flying training. They will replace old Alouette IIs. The EC 135s are part of a new training concept that leans heavily on the use of simulators. They also are well equipped to enable flights with night vission goggles and IFR training. In an innovative deal, the EC 135s will get full technical support from Eurocopter, with the Heeresflieger just paying a fee per flight hour.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


ISS orbit raised
Shuttle hebt ISS-Orbit an

Druing the current Shuttle mission, the International Space Station got another boost, as STS-106 Commander Terry Wilcutt and Pilot Scott Altman executed another hour-long series of thruster firings designed to raise the station's orbit by several more miles. Thirty-six pulses of Atlantis' reaction control system thrusters boosted the station another 3 _ miles (5.6 km). The third reboost of the mission placed the ISS in a 237 by 229 statute mile orbit (381 x 368 km). One more reboost maneuver was scheduled Sunday before the shuttle undocks from the station.
Mission Specialists Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko spent much of their day installing power converters in the Zvezda module. These will allow current from U.S. solar arrays to be used in the Russian modules. The first set of these large arrays is scheduled to be installed on the station in early December. The crew took a closer look at the connections on one of Zvezda's eight batteries that is not working properly. Mission managers have elected to disconnect cables from the battery and do no further work since seven of the eight batteries are working fine. As few as five can supply enough electrical capability when a crew is stationed on the ISS. Lu and Malenchenko also installed components of the Elektron system in Zvezda. That equipment, sent into orbit aboard the Progress, separates water into oxygen and hydrogen and will be used to replenish the air in the station. The system will be activated after arrival of the first station crew.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Third C-27J flies
Erstflug der dritten Spartan in Italien

On September 8th, the third C-27J Flight Test Aircraft made its first flight from the Alenia Aerospazio's Flight test facilities at Turin-Caselle airport. Pilot in command was C.te Agostino Frediani, while copilot was C.te Gianluca Evangelisti, Alenia Aerospazio Transport Aircraft Chief Test Pilot,. The flight lasted h.1.30. The aircraft NC 4033 is an Italian Air Force aircraft provided to Alenia to be updated at the C-27 J Industrial Baseline standard and used for the development and certification of the C-27 J Industrial Baseline, under an agreement in place between Alenia Aerospazio and the Italian Ministry of Defence that provides for the Ministry of Defence to be the Military Certifying Authority. Currently all the three Flight Test Airplanes are flying and accumulating test points for Civil Certification, which is being sought through the Italian Airworthiness Authority (ENAC/RAI). Negotiations with the Italian Air Force to finalize the contract for 12 aircraft are on going while downselections by Greece (15 a/c) and Switzerland (2 a/c) are expected shortly.

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Boeing to build longer-range 767-400ER
Neue 767-Version mit mehr Reichweite geplant

On September 13, Boeing announced that it is committed to production of a new longer-range version of the 767-400ER that will allow airline customers to offer passengers more point-to-point service. The longer-range 767-400ER joins six other models of the popular widebody, offering a complete family of 767s to serve the important "middle of the market" and provide maximum versatility. The first of this newest member of the 767 family will be delivered in the spring of 2004. The new longer-range version flies the equivalent range of the smaller extended-range -300ER, but has the capacity of the larger -400ER. Belyamani noted that such capability provides the ideal replacement for earlier long-range trijets and the capacity needed for markets that have grown beyond the popular 767-300ER.
Agreements with Rolls-Royce and the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance to provide engines for the longer-range -400ER were the final pieces needed to commit this airplane to production, Belyamani said. The engine makers revealed plans at the Farnborough International Air Show in July to offer the Rolls-Royce Trent 600 and Engine Alliance GP7172 engines for the newest 767. With thrust ratings up to 72,000 pounds, these same engines are offered on the 747X family of airplanes. The longer-range 767-400ER offers seating for 245 passengers in three classes - the same as the current -400ER -- but will fly 7,080 miles (6,150 nautical, 11,390 kilometers), an increase of almost 600 miles (515 nautical, 950 kilometers).

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

Diehl VA Systeme (51 per cent) and Thomson-CSF Sextant (49 per cent) have signed the deals to found a new French-German avionic company called Diehl Avionik Systeme GmbH. The new entity will encompass the control and navigation parts of BGT and VDO-Luftfahrtgeräte Werk, with activities at Überlingenand Frankfurt. Combined takeover is around 220 Mio. DM, and employees amount to 800. Diehl Avionik Systeme will strive to becoma a preferred complete systems supplier to airframe and helicopter prime contractors.
+++
Delivery of the first MD Explorer equipped with more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada 207E engines is imminent. The aircraft will be delivered to Police Aviation Services of the United Kingdom by mid-September, according to officials at MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI). MDHI manufactures the MD Explorer in Mesa, Arizona. The 207E engine was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in July for use on the twin-engine MD Explorer. The new engine will enhance the MD Explorer's performance at high altitudes, on hot days and with one engine inoperative. For example, MD Explorers equipped with 207E engines will gain more than 2,000 feet (610 m) in hover capability on a hot day. Additionally, operators will benefit from 11 percent more horsepower on takeoff.
+++
Fairchild Dornier has announced that it has named Louis F. Harrington the company's new chief executive officer. Harrington, a 40-year aerospace veteran who has held key positions at McDonnell Douglas and served as a consultant to NASA and IPTN, will assume the CEO responsibility from Fairchild Dornier Chairman Charles P. Pieper, who has been serving in the additional role of CEO since the company was acquired by an investment fund led by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Allianz Capital Partners this past April. During his 36-year tenure at McDonnell Douglas, Harrington's positions included Vice President and General Manager of the MD-11/DC-10 Division, Vice President and General Manager of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics, and Senior Vice President of Commercial Products. Harrington's appointment is effective October 1. He will be based at the company's headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen.
+++
Final assembly of the first Nimrod MRA4 for the Royal Air Force has started with the delivery of the first completed wing from BAE SYSTEMS Chadderton to the company's Woodford site, near Manchester. BAE SYSTEMS is the prime contractor and design authority for the #2 billion Nimrod MRA4 programme which will deliver a virtually a new aircraft to the Royal Air Force and involves over 10,000 high technology jobs in the United Kingdom. Due in service in 2005 the Nimrod MRA4 programme will result in the total replacement of all systems and over 80 per cent of the Nimrod MR2 airframe. BAE SYSTEMS is also responsible for integration of all elements of the new Nimrod as a total weapons system. The Nimrod MRA4 wing is entirely new. Weighing just under eight tonnes the wing is assembled at Chadderton near Manchester and Prestwick in Scotland. Delivery to Woodford has involved the complete refurbishment of an 87ft trailer, which when combined with the tractor unit and jigs to support the structure, has a total weight of over 46 tonnes and will make regular 15 mile journeys between the two company sites in the North West.
+++
Lockheed Martin has agreed to sell about one third of its equity interest in Inmarsat Ventures Ltd. to Telenor, the largest Norwegian carrier, for more than $100 million. Lockheed Martin's equity in Inmarsat will be reduced from slightly more than 22 percent to about 14 percent, while Telenor's will grow from 6.8 percent to slightly more than 15 percent, the companies said. This will make Telenor Inmarsat's largest stakeholder. Inmarsat has transformed itself from a purely intergovernmental organization to a private company, but the shares are still held mostly by the former government-designated organizations.
+++
The UK Royal Air Force has placed a multi-million pound order for 400 Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays (AMLCD), for its Tornado GR4 ground attack and F3 fighter fleets. The display, known as a color TV-Tab, is a "drop fit replacement" for the original monochrome displays and gives a significant reduction in life cycle costs. The new displays also pave the way for a full color upgrade. The order with BAE SYSTEMS Avionic Systems Division at South Gyle in Edinburgh for the color TV-Tab cockpit displays follows an initial contract, won by competitive tender, for 24 units that have sucessfully completed extensive flight trials. This will be one of the world's first AMLCD displays to enter service in a fast jet cockpit. One particular benefit of the new displays is their readability in full sunlight, a considerable improvement over the existing displays. This will confer operational benefits, particularly when using video imagery from forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) sensors and from targeting pods such as TIALD (Thermal Imaging and Laser Designator) and CLDP (Convertible Laser Designator Pod).
+++
EADS Germany, IBM and Dassault Systemes announced that the former Dasa's Military Aircraft Division (Dasa Military Aircraft) has selected ENOVIAVPM as its e-business solution for engineering. The agreement includes the purchase of 280 ENOVIAVPM licenses, which Dasa Military Aircraft will use to manage the designs of the tens of thousands of parts for the company's aircraft programs. EADS Military Aircraft will run ENOVIAVPM on IBM RS/6000 workstations in conjunction with CATIA Solutions, the aerospace industry's leading computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) software. Dasa Military Aircraft selected ENOVIAVPM for its full integration with CATIA, and for its capabilities in managing highly complex processes with ease, efficiency and speed. These will be essential to the success of the initial project for which Dasa Military Aircraft will use ENOVIAVPM: production of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a twin engine, multi-role combat advanced aircraft developed jointly by Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
+++
Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group has announced enhancements to its 737 twinjet in response to concerns raised by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration regarding the airplane's rudder control system. The announcement comes as the FAA released the final report of its Engineering Test and Evaluation Board after a year-long review of the 737 flight control system. "The enhancements we're announcing today should be taken in context," said Carolyn Corvi, vice president and general manager of the 737 program. "The 737 family has been, and continues to be, among the safest of all jetliners; in fact its safety record is twice as good as the average for the world's commercial jet fleet. "But we believe even this airplane can be enhanced. So we are simplifying flight crew procedures, increasing maintenance oversight, and modifying the rudder control system. We think these enhancements will improve an airplane that already has proven itself in more than 100 million hours of flight."
+++
The UK Ministry of Defence signed a contract to procure the Maverick Missile System and support hardware from Raytheon Company at a value of pounds 42 million ($59.8 million). The contract signing follows the announcement on 24 July by The Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, of the UK government's intention to procure the Maverick Missile System following satisfactory conclusion of trials.The procurement is aimed at addressing the main equipment lessons learned from Kosovo, where combat operations confirmed that precision guided munitions with low collateral damage are a key requirement in the missions that the RAF now undertake in support of peace-keeping operations.
+++
The Managing Committee of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG will propose to the Supervisory Board at its next meeting on 20 September 2000, that it extend the appointment of Jürgen Weber (58) as Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG to 31 December 2003. "In view of the outstanding achievements of Jürgen Weber, it is in the interests of the company to reach an appropriate agreement as soon as possible about the proposed re-appointment", according to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Klaus G. Schlede. It will also be proposed to the Supervisory Board, within the framework of the further development of the Group's Executive Board structure, that a "Passenger" function is established directly within the Group Executive Board. "The successful activities of the Airline Board of Lufthansa German Airlines since April 1997 will be further up-graded through this move", explained Lufthansa Chairman Jürgen Weber. Wolfgang Mayrhuber (53) is to be appointed a member of the Executive Board of Lufthansa AG, responsible for German Lufthansa Airlines, as of 1.1.2001. In this function, Mr. Mayrhuber will simultaneously become Chairman of the Airline Board of Lufthansa German Airlines. Mr. Mayrhuber joined Lufthansa in 1970 and since October 1994, has been the Chairman of the Board of Lufthansa Technik AG. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Rausch (49), currently Chairman of the Airline Board of Lufthansa German Airlines is to be appointed as of 1.1.2001 as Executive Vice President and General Representative, responsible for "Group Infrastructure". The recent past has shown that the infrastructural environment is becoming a decisive competitive factor for the success of an airline. Themes such as the solution of European air traffic control problems, the further expansion of Frankfurt Airport, the extension of the terminal in Munich, demand an increasingly coordinated presence of the Group in the public discussion, according to Weber.
+++
Lufthansa is further expanding its worldwide route network as of the summer 2001 timetable. With the inclusion of two new US destinations - Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona - and a major increase in long-haul services from Munich, the airline is assuming an even more important role as a global player. The new services to Denver and Phoenix will be launched on 25 March 2001. From that date Lufthansa will offer daily non-stop flights from Frankfurt to these two centres of commerce and tourism. That will raise the number of American cities served directly by Lufthansa from 12 to 14. A thrice-weekly, Airbus A340 service will be operated to Singapore, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo. Los Angeles will be served daily from Munich by a Boeing 747-400. Lufthansa is also boosting frequencies between Munich and San Francisco from three to seven a week. The Californian city will be served by a Boeing 747, which can accommodate about 140 more passengers than the Airbus 340 operated to date on this route.
+++

Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite


Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*September 10, 2000 *September 3, 2000

*August 27, 2000 *August 20, 2000 *August 13, 2000 *August 6, 2000

*July 30, 2000 *July 23, 2000 *July 16, 2000 *July 9, 2000

*January to June 2000 *January to December 1999 *January to December 1998 *January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

Home | UPDATE | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Inside | Datafiles
Copyright 2000 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated 15 September 2000
FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany