U 
P 
D 
A 
T 
E
Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles

UPDATE 
Week ending November 2, 1997
+++ Ariane 5 succeeds on second launch +++ Siemens defence goes to BAe/Dasa +++ Debate on Eurofighter continues +++ Airbus sales top 2500 +++ Lufthansa Technik invests in HEICO Corporation +++ China signs for 50 Boeing jetlinters +++ Lufthansa CityLine takes 200th Canadair Regional Jet +++ Hubble catches up with a Blue Strangler Star +++ Aérospatiale delivers SINOSAT 1, the company's sixth satellite in 1997 +++ News in Brief +++

Ariane 5 succeeds on second launch
Zweiter Ariane-5-Start ein Erfolg

The second launch of an Ariane 5 rocket was finally successful. On October 30th at 14.43 GMT the new launcher took off from the new built launch site ELA-3 at Kourou, French Guayana. It probably was one of the most important events for the European space industry since years. A second failure would have reduced Arianespace's chances to even acquire new orders for the current Ariane 4 considerably and thus would have had severe consequences on the international competition. But now that the concept of Ariane 5 has been proven right, the marketing efforts of Arianespace can be seen very optimistic.
With Ariane 5 Europe is years ahead of the American EELV program, the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, which is being developed with geovernment money for commercial use also. There is nothing Ariane 5 could not do, that EELV is supposed to be able in ten years industrialists of SEP told FLUG REVUE in an exclusive interview to be published in the 1/98 issue out on sale December 15th.
On the second launch Ariane 5 only had two instrument platforms on board. Maqsat H and B have been developed and delivered by Kayser-Threde, Munich. The were used to measure actual data during the launch and the first phases of the flight. On Maqsat H five experiments of European universities and ESA were carried. The amateur satellite Amsat P3D could not be readied in time and thus had to be replaced by an equivalent ballast mass.

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


Siemens defence goes to BAe/Dasa
BAe und Dasa erhalten Zuschlag für Siemens Sicherungstechnik

After months of bidding - mainly against Thomson-CSF - British Aerospace and Dasa have now suceeded in securing the Siemens Sicherungstechnik (defence division of the concern). The deal, worth an estimated 1,2 billion DM, was finally announced on October 30. Although both companies bid together, it is planned to split up the operation, with Dasa taking the factories at Unterschleißheim and BAe integrating the Siemens Plessey activities in the UK as well as the Siemens Plessey Electronic Systems in Australia. BAe will integrate the facilites into a new defence systems business unit which will aslo include its interest in BAe Sema and its 49 per cent stake in Germany's Atlas Elektronik.

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


Debate on Eurofighter continues
Weitere Diskussion um den Eurofighter

In the run-up to the German parliaments decision on the procurement of the Eurofighter EF2000, scheduled for November 24, the debate on the merits of the programme continued. Here are some of the opinions voiced during the last few days:
  • Reinhard Gertz, chief of the Bundeswehrverband (Union of German forces soldiers) has urged the SPD party to reconsider their opposition to the EF2000. The new weapon system was long overdue, he said, becuase the current F-4 Phantom fighters were much too expensive to maintian.
  • German weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel published the results of an Emnid survey. According to this, 80 per cent of Germans are against buing the EF2000, and even CDU/CSU voters have a negative opinion (65 per cent against).
  • Rudolf Scharping, leader of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has declared that his group will vote against the Eurofighter, because there is no convincing military concept behind its introduction.
Anyway, the programme passed more milestones on October 29 and 30, when both the parliamentary defence committee and the budget committee voted in favour of EF2000 procurement. In both cases, opposition parties SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen voted against and announced that they will do the same in the full plenary session.

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


Airbus sales top 2500 at 25th anniversary
Über 2500 Airbusse verkauft

Just days after the 25th anniversary of the first flight of the A300B1 on October 28, 1972 (see picture), Airbus has topped the 2500 sales mark. The milestone was achieved with the signature of a contract by SilkAir, the regional airline arm of Singapore Airlines. SilkAir ordered three A319s and five A320s and placed options on ten more aircraft from the A320 narrowbody family. Deliveries will begin next September to replace Boeing 737s on routes to 19 destinations in South East Asia.
According to the latest Airbus statistics, the consortium has now orders for 2506 aircraft, including 1348 A319/A320/A321, 749 A300/A310 and 408 A330/A340s. 1638 machines have already been delivered, which brings turnover to nearly 90 billion US-Dollars.

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


Lufthansa Technik invests in HEICO Corporation
Investition in Triebwerksteile-Fertigung

HEICO Corporation and Lufthansa Technik AG, have announced the formation of an alliance between HEICO's Flight Support unit, HEICO Aerospace Holdings Corp. (HEICO Aerospace), and Lufthansa Technik, whereby Lufthansa Technik will invest approximately US$26 million and receive a 20% ownership interest in HEICO Aerospace, a subsidiary of publicly-traded HEICO Corporation.
HEICO Aerospace is the world's leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of alternative FAA Approved Replacement Parts for jet engines. Its customers include most airlines and airmotives worldwide which service large commercial aircraft jet engines. Lufthansa Technik will invest approximately US$26 million in HEICO Aerospace, including US$16 million to be paid to HEICO Aerospace over three years pursuant to a research and development cooperation agreement which will partially fund accelerated development of additional FAA Approved Replacement Parts for jet engines. In addition, Lufthansa Technik and HEICO Aerospace have agreed to cooperate with technical services and marketing support for jet engine parts on a worldwide basis.

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


China signsfor 50 Boeing jetlinters
Boeing erhält Drei-Milliarden-Dollar-Auftrag aus China

On October 30, China and the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group signed an agreement for $3 billion of Boeing aircraft. The agreement was revealed by U.S. President Bill Clinton and China President Jiang Zemin in a press conference at the close of this week's Summit between the two world leaders. "This contract will support tens of thousands of American jobs and provide China with a modern fleet of passenger planes," Clinton said.
For Boeing, the agreement with China involves the sale of thirty-six 737s, five 757s, one 747 and eight 777s. This order of 50 planes marks China's biggest airplane deal ever. Boeing Company Chairman and CEO Phil Condit said today's landmark agreement results from the company's strong, 26-year commitment to China. "The key to Boeing's success in the upcoming global century is open trade among nations."
Over the past three years, one in 10 Boeing airplanes was delivered to China. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11,000 American jobs are supported by every $1 billion in aircraft exports. Air travel to, from and within China, including Hong Kong, continues to grow at double-digit rates. Boeing forecasts China will require 2,200 commercial aircraft over the next 20 years.

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


Lufthansa CityLine takes 200th Canadair Regional Jet
200th CRJ delivered by Bombardier

On October 24, Bombardier celebrated the delivery of Canadair Regional Jet(CRJ) airliner Serial Number 200 to Lufthansa CityLine of Germany, the same airline that introduced the new-generation aircraft to commercial service on November 2, 1992, almost exactly five years ago. Thirty-two Canadair Regional Jet were ordered by Lufthansa CityLine's to date, making it the largest operator of the type in Europe. The Canadair Regional Jet was introduced to North American service by Cincinnati, Ohio-based COMAIR in May 1993. In total, the CRJ program now counts 539 aircraft (of all series) ordered, optioned or in service with 24 airline and corporate operators in 12 countries.
The Canadair Regional Jet is now being delivered in two basic 50-passenger models. The CRJ Series 700 70-passenger version is currently under development for first flight in 1999 and service entry in the year 2000.Lufthansa CityLine accepted delivery of the first Canadair Regional Jet for commercial service on October 19, 1992, and inaugurated CRJ service on November 2, 1992.

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


Hubble catches up with a Blue Strangler Star
Hubble entdeckt Blue Strangler Star

NASA annouced new Hubble discovery's. Astronomers have long been mystified by observations of a few hot, bright, apparently young stars residing in well-established neighborhoods where most of their neighbors are much older. With the help of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers now have evidence that may eventually help solve the 45-year-old mystery of how these enigmatic stars, called blue stragglers, were formed. For the first time, astronomers have confirmed that a blue straggler in the core of a globular cluster (a very dense community of stars) is a massive, rapidly rotating star that is spinning 75
times faster than the Sun. This finding provides proof that blue stragglers are created by collisions or other close encounters in an overcrowded cluster core.
Astronomers studied a blue straggler in the tumultuous heart of the nearby globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc), located 15,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Tucana. The observation was made by astronomers Michael M. Shara of the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland; Rex A. Saffer of
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania; and Mario Livio, also of the Institute. Their analysis will appear in the Nov. 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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


Aérospatiale delivers SINOSAT 1, the company's sixth satellite in 1997
Aérospatiale liefert SINOSAT 1 aus, den sechsten Satelliten in 1997

Sinsosat 1 has been delivered to EurasSpace, a Sino-German company based Munich. Prime contractor for the satellite was Aérospatiale that built the satellite in the Cannes facility. It is also the fifth satellite using the Spacebus 3000 platform. The liftoff mass is 2820 kg. Its 26 m solar array will supply more than 5 kW to the payload consisting of 24 C-Band and 14 Ku-band transponders. The satellite will be launched by a Long March 3B early 1998 in China.
Sinosat-1 is the first project of EurasSpace a joint venture founded 1994 by Daimler-Benz Aerospace and China Aerospace Corporation (CASC). EurasSpace delivers the satellite in the geostationary orbit and was responsible for financing and risc management The satellite will be owned by Sinosatcom (Sino Satellite Communications Company) that provides telecommunication services to China and surrounding regions with this new satellite.

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


NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

Eurocopters new larger Dauphin AS 365N4 was flying abroad for the first time in mid-October. At Hangelar airfield near Bonn in Germany the helicopter was put through an evaluation programme by the Grenzschutzfliegergruppe (German border guard aviation unit). It followed on to the EC 135, which was tested by the border guard with both engine option. Early in November, the Boeing Explorer is scheduled to be flown. A decsion on new helicopter procurements may come in December.
+++
Austrian Airlines, Lauda air and Tyrolean Airways are pooling ther cargo resources under the Austrian Airlines Group - Cargo banner. This means that they now serve 118 destinations worldwide. While in Austria itself the sales organizations remain separate for the time being, in all other countries handling offices will be consolidated.
+++
Lockheed Martin has recently begun manufacturing airframe hardware for production MitsubishiF-2 fighters, namely parts of the aft fuselage of the new Japanese fighter. The first complete aft fuselage will be delivered to prime contractor Mitsubishi in the fall of next year.
+++
Maersk Air has ordered three Canadair Regional Jet Series 200LRs from Bombardier and taken options on 12 more. Value of the three firm aircraft is approximately 64 million US-Dollars, with deliveries scheduled for the second quarter of 1998.
+++
The 25000th certificate issued by the Eurocopter Training Center in Marignane was formally presented to Lt.Col. Willi Kamuf, commander of the Luftwaffe Flugbereitschaft squadron at Berlin-Tegel. He and another 90 colleagues are preparing for the delayed delivery of Cougar Mk.2 VIP helicopters to the German Air Force.
+++
Rolls-Royce Turboméca has supplied the first RTM322 engine for the British Apache programme to prime contractor Westland Helicopters in preparation for the helicopter's flight qualification test programme at Boeing's Mesa facility in the United States, which is due to begin in early 1998.
+++
Dasa's Dornier GmbH, part of the defence unit, has announced that its new Sword sensor flew for the first time on board the CL 289 reconnaissance drone. The test took place at the Bergen Hohne range in Germany. Sword is developed in co-operation with Thomson-CSF. The "System for All-weather Observation by Radar on Drone" uses a new synthetic aperture radar with only 30 kg weight, which is able to detect vehicles operation on the battlefield. SAR allows to extend the recce capabilities of drones into the bad-weather arena, where optical cameras and IR-sensors are of limited use.
+++
The German Luftfahrt-Bundesamt has now certificated the Eurocopter EC 120 Colibri light helicopter.
+++
State-owned French carrier Air France is going to see a partial privatisation in 1998. In a letter to new-appointed Air France President Jean-Cyril Spinetta, French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn and transport minister Jean-Claude Gayssot asked to prepare for a "partial" opening of capital to workforce and outside investors in mid-1998. However, the government wants to keep the majority state-controlled.
+++
Former Canadian Prime minister Brian Mulroney will get more than 1,4 million US-dollars from the present government to cover his legal expenses in the Airbus affair, an arbitrator has ruled. Mulroney was alleged, among other things, to have received millions of dollars in illegal commissions in return for helping the sale of 34 Airbus jets to Air Canada in 1988. The ruling represents the last chapter in the landmark libel suit between Mulroney and the federal government led by Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Mulroney sued over the way he was named in a letter to the Swiss government requesting help in an investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
+++
The Hose and Coupling Divisions of Aeroquip Corporation have been awarded Supplier of the Year for 1997 by the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. Aeroquip is a subsidiary of
Aeroquip-Vickers, Inc. Aeroquip was among only six suppliers from Boeing Commercial Airplane Group's 3,000 suppliers to be awarded the prestigious 1997 Boeing Commercial Airplane Group President's Award for Excellence.
+++
Tunisair, the flag carrier for Tunisia, has ordered four Next-Generation Boeing 737-600s and taken options for three additional Next-Generation 737s to augment its expanding fleet. The North African airline selected the 737s to service its route network. The specific models for the three options will be determined later. Total value, if all options are exercised, is approximately $300 million.
+++
On October 28, the U.S. Department of State has notified Congress that Singapore intends to purchase 12 new-production F-16C/D aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems in Fort Worth (Texas). Deliveries of the new aircraft will begin about 24 months after the expected signing of a commercial contract later this year. The estimated value of the new purchase is approximately $350 million, including the aircraft, support equipment, spare parts, training, mission equipment and other associated items. The total includes sales to be accrued by Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, Northrop Grumman and other U.S. suppliers.
+++

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


Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen ist nach wie vor abrufbar:

PunktOctober 26, 1997 PunktOctober 19, 1997 PunktOctober 12, 1997 PunktOctober 5, 1997

PunktSeptember 28, 1997 PunktSeptember 21, 1997 PunktSeptember 14, 1997 PunktSeptember 7, 1997

PunktAugust 24, 1997 PunktAugust 10, 1997 PunktAugust 3, 1997

PunktJuly 27, 1997 PunktJuly 13, 1997 PunktJuly 6, 1997

PunktJanuary to June 1997 PunktSeptember to December 1996

Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles
Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved.
Last updated November 1, 1997
FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany