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UPDATE 
Week ending January 9, 2000
+++ CD&R/Allianz buy Fairchild Aerospace +++ Fifth NH90 makes maiden flight +++ Hubble repair succeeds +++ USAF to leave Frankfurt airport by 2005 +++ Air Berlin orders six Boeing 737-800s +++ Airline industry flies into the New Millennium without a glitch +++ Ariane launches Galaxy XI +++ Joint Approach by AEA and AECMA on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions +++ News in brief +++

CD&R/Allianz buy Fairchild Aerospace
Frisches Geld für neue Regionaljets aus Oberpfaffenhofen

On December 28, an investment fund managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc. ("CD&R"), a leading private equity investor, and Allianz Capital Partners an affiliate of Allianz Group, have formed an alliance to acquire Fairchild Aerospace Corp. The announcement ends the desperate search for money by Fairchild, which was on the brink of insolvency. Allianz and CD&R will pay just 20 million US-Dollars to buy close to 100 per cent of the company. The transaction brings an injection of $400 million in growth capital from CD&R and Allianz and debt financing of nearly $800 million from a consortium of German commercial banks and other institutions. The proceeds will be used by Fairchild/Dornier for the development and production of its newest generation of aircraft products.
All approvals for CD&R and ACP investments have been obtained. The participation of the various banks is subject to the approval of their respective supervisory boards. The transaction is also subject to review by regulatory authorities in the European Union and the United States. Upon regulatory approval, the transaction is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2000.
Said Joseph L. Rice, III, Chairman of CD&R. "With our commitment to provide ongoing management and strategic resources, coupled with the strong support of our co-investor, Allianz Capital Partners, Fairchild/Dornier will be well positioned to execute its long-term growth strategy."
Upon completion of the transaction, Charles P. Pieper, a principal of CD&R, will become Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fairchild/Dornier, succeeding Carl Albert, who will remain on the company's board. "I am very pleased with this investment," said Carl Albert, Fairchild/Dornier's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and majority shareholder. "This new capital from CD&R and ACP will ensure that Fairchild/Dornier remains on track to meet the strong demand of the regional airline and business aircraft markets." Fairchild/Dornier currently manufactures the 32-seat 328JET. It is developing a larger 44-seat version called the 428JET, as well as a new generation of 50- to 105-seat airliners, the 728JET family, in line with the company's focus on products for the regional aircraft market.

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Fifth NH90 makes maiden flight
Fünfter NH90-Prototyp fliegt

The maiden flight of the fifth and last prototype of the NH90 PT5 took place successfully on 22nd December 1999, at Agusta facilities in Italy: the NH90 Programme, which represents a landmark programme for Europe's defence, has made a further important step forward. The trial started at 15.35, lasting 20 minutes. The max speed of about 100 kts was achieved. The NH90 PT5 was flown by: the experimental test pilot: Carlo Tondi, and the flight test engineers: Marco Montorfano and Stefano Rognoni. NHIndustries, prime contractor for the quadrinational NH90 Helicopter Programme (launched by France, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands), is pleased to report that the flight test crew confirmed their complete satisfaction with the PT5 in its flight behaviour.
The PT5 was assembled under Agusta responsibility; Eurocopter and Fokker, the other industrial partners in the programme contributed modules and components. The PT5 is representative of the Naval Version (NFH) of the NH90. It features in common with the basic configuration the Fly-by-wire controls with Automatic Flight Control, and the dual bus Core Avionic System. Additionally it has a dedicated Naval Mission System: blade and tail automatic folding system, deck lock system, 360 degrees naval tactical radar, sonic system composed by sonar and sonobuoy systems, store management system, and specific to naval operation part of avionic system. The instrument panel lay-out complies with the common basic configuration and features in addition the fifth 8x8 inch liquid crystal Multifunction Display, specific for the NFH version. Two TURBOMECA RTM322-01/9 engines power the PT5. PT5 will be dedicated to the qualification of above said mission and aircraft systems. In particular the fully automatic blade and tail folding system, designed for compatibility with Frigates of the Navies of the four Participating Countries and already successfully operated on the Ground Test Vehicle GTV, will be tested.

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Hubble repair succeeds
Erfolgreiche Reparatur des Hubble-Teleskops

In the last manned spaceflight of the millenium, the seven astronauts of Space Shuttle Discovery completed a successful repair of the Hubble space telescope over Christmas. With Commander Curt Brown at the controls, Discovery touched down Decmeber 27 at 6:01 p.m CST on Runway 33 at the three mile long Shuttle Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center. Also aboard were pilot Scott Kelly, flight engineer Jean-Francois Clervoy and mission specialists Michael Foale,Steve Smith, John Grunsfeld and Claude Nicollier. The landing had to be postponed for one orbit due to fears about excessive crosswinds.
The Hubble Space Telescope now features six new gyroscopes, six new voltage/temperature improvement kits, a new onboard computer, a new solid state recorder and new data transmitter, a new fine guidance sensor along with new insulation on parts of the orbiting telescope. Three spacewalks were necessare to complete the work, the last one on Christmas Eve.

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USAF to leave Frankfurt airport by 2005
Rückgabe der Rhein-Main Airbase unterzeichnet

On December 23, senior representatives of the U.S. government, the Federal Republic of Germany, the States of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, the City of Frankfurt am Main, and Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG (the Frankfurt Airport company) inked the official document signifying the closure of the 155-hectare U.S. Rhein-Main Air Base at Frankfurt Airport and its return to civilian aviation use by the end of 2005. The Frankfurt Airport company is paying the largest portion -- DM254 million -- of the total DM730 million cost for relocating the air base facilities, while the State of Hesse is paying DM70 million, the City of Frankfurt DM90 million, the State of Rhineland-Palatinate DM34 million, and the Federal Republic of Germany DM122.5 million, and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) DM157 million. A contract was also signed for handing over the Berlin Air Lift Memorial to Frankfurt Airport.
Although the legal contract was signed on July 27, 1999, it had to be approved by higher authorities. The deal involves the final return of approximately 155 hectares of land still being used by the Rhein-Main Air Base at the southern side of the airport. In addition, the contract outlines the return of Gateway Gardens -- a military housing community located north of Frankfurt Airport -- as well as the construction of replacement facilities at American air bases in Ramstein and Spangdahlem, west of Frankfurt in the neighboring State of Rhineland-Palatinate. This new agreement follows an earlier Basic Agreement on the Partial Return of Rhein-Main Air Base signed back in 1993. Some of the area returned in 1993 has been used to develop the new CargoCity South, as well as other facilities such as the Steigenberger Esprix Hotel that opened in the spring of 1999.

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Air Berlin orders six Boeing 737-800s
Sechs 737 für Air Berlin

On December 29, Boeing confirmed an order from Air Berlin for six 737-800s. The deal is valued at approximately $300 million. This is a new order not previously accounted for in cumulative order totals published by Boeing on Dec. 15. This order brings the company's number of orders for 1999 to 386 commercial airplanes. Air Berlin chose the Next-Generation 737-800 to expand its single-aisle fleet after extensive analysis between the Boeing Next-Generation 737 and Airbus A320. Air Berlin will take the last of these six airplanes in 2002 with the last option in 2003. Air Berlin took delivery of its first 737-800 in May 1998 and today operates 10 of the Next-Generation airplanes. With this order, Air Berlin's Next-Generation 737 fleet will grow to 20 airplanes by 2002.
A day later, Hapag-Lloyd Flug also ordered two Next-Generation 737-800s. The order value is approximately $100 million. These orders are existing orders that have been accounted for in cumulative order totals published by Boeing on Dec. 15. Until today, the customer for the order was unidentified. The carrier is scheduled to take delivery of the airplanes in 2001. When delivered, the airplanes will increase Hapag-Lloyd's entire fleet to 33 airplanes flying routes throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

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Airline industry flies into the New Millennium without a glitch
Keine Probleme beim Flug ins neue Jahrtausend

In a press conference at IATA Montreal headquarters, Director General and CEO Pierre Jeanniot reported that the air transport industry made a successful transition into the Year 2000 world-wide. "There has been no impact on airline ability to offer normal services. No Y2K-related incidents were reported from any of the eight regional monitoring centres jointly operated by IATA and ICAO. We invested all necessary efforts and resources to ensure that our customers would get the same level of safe and secure service that we always provide," he said. "This work has enabled us not only to resolve the Y2K issue, but to thoroughly examine, modernise and upgrade our computer-based systems. This is beneficial for service improvement in the coming years," Jeanniot added. In addition, Jeanniot pointed out that air traffic contingency and emergency procedures have been reviewed and strengthened. Regional and global contingency plans that have been developed for this rollover weekend are in place for future use.
According to NASA only two ot its space-related systems suffered problems that appeared to be Y2K-related, but neither problem directly affected real-time mission-critical systems. One problem occurred in software used to plan communications opportunities between the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The other occurred in orbital-prediction software used by NASA's Deep Space Network. Workarounds for both problems were developed over the weekend.
News from the Pentagon was that there were relatively few problems, the most serious being temporarily denied access to super-sharp recce pictures from Keyhole spy satellites and Lacrosse radar imaging satellites. Some pictures were apparently lost as a ground station was affected and before workarounds could be implemented.

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Ten out of ten for Arianespace
Ariane startet Galaxy XI

On December 21, 1999, Arianespace successfully orbited the Galaxy XI telecommunications satellite for U.S. operator PanAmSat, using an Ariane 4 launched from Europe's spaceport in French Guyana. With this latest success, Arianespace closes out the year with a flawless ten-for-ten launch record. The mission, designated Flight 125, was Arianespace's third launch in 20 days. It followed Flight 124 on December 3 with an Ariane 4, and Flight 119/Ariane 504 on December 10 that marked the first-ever commercial launch of a heavy-lift Ariane 5. Following Flight 125, Arianespace's backlog now stands at 40 satellites to be launched.

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Joint Approach by AEA and AECMA on the Reduction of CO2 Emissions
Abgase sollen verringert werden

AEA, the Association of European Airlines, and AECMA, the European Association of Aerospace Industries, have agreed a joint approach on the reduction of CO2 emissions. In their statement, the two associations assess the aviation industry's anticipated achievements in the context of the Kyoto Protocol requirements and their proposed strategy for the further reduction of CO2 emissions. AEA and AECMA forwarded their "Joint Statement on the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Aviation" to the Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport, Ms Loyola de Palacio. This was in response to the recent Communication from the European Commission, in which it reinforced its objective to reduce the long-term environmental impact of aviation. The Kyoto Protocol on climate change defines targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases - of which CO2 constitutes the main part - to be achieved within the period between 2008 and 2012.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

The growing fleet of Fairchild Aerospace 328JET regional jets recently passed the 1,000 hour mark in worldwide operations, with operators seeing reliability rates in excess of 99 percent. The 1,000-hour mark was set in the first 137 days of fleet operations by Skyway Airlines in the U.S., Tyrolean Jet Service in Austria, and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in Nigeria. Since that time, additional aircraft have been delivered to the Dogmoch Group in the Middle East, Hainan Airlines in China, Gandalf Airlines in Italy, Tahiti's Wanair, and Ozark Air Lines in the U.S. To date, 15 aircraft have been delivered. Through the end of the third quarter of 1999, Fairchild Aerospace had recorded orders and options for 175 328JET aircraft.
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On December 23, Boeing confirmed an Alaska Airlines order for two 737-700 airplanes.
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Gen. John P. Jumper, comander of US Air Forces in Europe, was honoured by the Bundeswehr with a "Grand Tattoo" at the Hardthöhe in Bonn "This ceremony outlines how I feel for General Jumper - not only as a military leader, but as a personal friend. It is not only a deep honour but a pleasure to present this Grand Tattoo to someone I consider a close friend of the German air force, a reliable ally and true firend," said German Air Force Chief-of-Staff Lt.Gen. Rolf H. Portz.
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German charter company LTU is increasing its Dusseldorf - Rome frequencies. From 28. January to 20 March, four flights a week will be offered. Rome is celebrating the Holy Year in 2000.
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Rolls-Royce Deutschland and AVIC of China have signed a research cooperation agreement. A Joint Engineering Team will be set up to work on technology projects. The deal will run for a minimum of five years and is a continuation of already close work between the two parties. Main focus woll be on core engine technology and systems integration.
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According to unofficial reports, the first bidding round for Hamburg airport has seen the elimination of two contenders, leaving five consortia in the running. They include groupings led by Flughafen Frankfurt, Aeroports de Paris, Kopenhagen airport and L. Morrison & Co. They are expected to enter into concrete discussions, leading to selection of a winner in the summer.
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On December 22, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 49 per cent of Virgin Atlantic, the holding company for Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Sun and Virgin's cargo operation, Virgin Aviation Services. The cost of the transaction to SIA is GBP 600.25 million (S$1620 million), which includes a capital injection of GBP 49 million (S$132 million). Virgin will reinvest a further GBP 51 million (S$138 million) into Virgin Atlantic. This big investment, the first by the SIA Group in another airline, will move it nearer to its goal of being a major global group of airlines and airline-related companies. Said SIA Deputy Chairman and CEO, Dr Cheong Choong Kong: "This deal is all about growth. The synergies derived from linking two perfectly complementary route networks will allow both airlines to grow faster than either can manage on its own. Singapore Airlines has always prided itself on being the best, and now we are buying a stake in another of the world's great airlines, with high standards of service, an excellent brand and a reputation for product innovation similar to ours. Our route networks are complementary, our service cultures the same. The deal is subject to relevant regulatory approvals.
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On December 22, Boeing announced it has reached an agreement with International Lease Finance Corporation. (ILFC) for up to 100 Next-Generation 737s. The agreement consists of 50 firm orders and a reconfirmable block for 50 additional airplanes. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, president and chief executive officer of ILFC, noted that the Boeing 737 is an important component of the company's fleet portfolio. This announcement also assures ILFC's strong 737 order and delivery positions beyond 2001, where the company foresees solid growth and replacement of the Classic 737 series, 727s, some DC-9 series and MD-80s. These airplanes were listed as being from an "unidentified customer" in cumulative order totals published by Boeing on Dec. 15. ILFC first made public its intent to order these airplanes in June at the Paris Air Show.
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The first Hawk Mk.127 Lead-in-Fighter trainer for the Royal Australina air Force has made its maiden flight from the BAe Systems site at Warton in the UK. The Mk.127 is customised to meet RAAFs requirements for cockpit environment similar to the F/A-18 to minimise conversion training for pilots graduatin to the frontline aircraft.
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On January 4, KLM has launched Buzz, a new low-budget carrier based at London Stansted. Buzz wil initially fly to eight European cities but plans to add four more at the end of March. The expansion will coincide with the withdrawal of KLM UK from its last two British routes.
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On December 21, in ceremonies attended by more than 1,000 employees, government officials and other guests today at the Boeing plant in Long Beach, Trans World Airlines, took delivery of the last MD-80 to come off the twinjet production line. The airplane marks the 26th MD-80 delivered to TWA this year. In February, TWA will begin taking deliveries of the new 100-passenger Boeing 717 as the airline continues to rejuvenate its fleet. TWA has placed firm orders for 50 717s and has options for 50 more. The final MD-80, an MD-83 model featuring non-stop range of approximately 2,880 statute miles, brings to 102 the number of MD-80 twinjets operated by TWA. The airline also flies DC-9s and Boeing 727s, 757s and 767s. During the ceremonies, Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill christened the last MD-80 "Spirit of Long Beach" in honor of all the men and women who have built MD-80s for two decades at the Long Beach facility. Boeing announced in May 1998 that it would phase out production of the MD-80 as well as the MD-90. The last MD-90 is scheduled for delivery early next year. The MD-80 is one of the most successful airplane programs in commercial aviation history. Douglas Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing delivered 1,191 MD-80s from 1979 to 1999. More than 1,180 are still in service with more than 50 domestic and foreign airlines.
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In a delivery ceremony held on December 23, 1999 in Wichita, Chairman and CEO Russ Meyer handed the keys to Citation X serial number 100 to Ted Townsend, President, Townsend Engineering. "Going from zero to 100 Citation Xs in just over three years is an enormous accomplishment for the entire Cessna team, and is only fitting for the world's fastest business airplane," Meyer said. "It is particularly gratifying to know the 100th Citation X will be operating in the highly capable hands of Cessna's newest Citation customer, Townsend Engineering." The Citation X program was launched in 1990, with the announcement at the NBAA convention that Cessna would build the world's fastest business jet.
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German airship manufacturer CargoLifter has picked a site near Elizabeth Sity, North Carolina, as the preferred location for its first assembly and maintenance facility in North America.
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The US Air Force Dec. 30 awarded contracts totaling more than $1.5 billion to Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems and Pratt & Whitney to build six F-22 Raptor production-representative test vehicles. The contract awards to the F-22's airframe manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, are valued at slightly more than $1.3 billion. These follow an earlier $195.5 million, advance buy contract to the company. A separate contract award of $180 million to Pratt & Whitney will fund two F-119 engines for each of the six aircraft, for a total of 12 engines. In a related effort, the Air Force awarded the same two manufacturers separate, additional F-22 contracts totaling $277.1 million, to support the Lot 1 Advance Buy of l0 production F-22s. Lockheed Martin will receive $275.4 million, while Pratt & Whitney will receive $1.7 million. According to program officials, these contracts will focus on activities preliminary to building actual aircraft, such as buying components, vendor start-up and other procurement costs.
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On December 20, three dozen capsules of cremated human remains were launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Taurus rocket. The tubes are expected to remain in orbit for about 45 years before the container re-enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up. Also aboard the rocket were a $17.5 million NASA satellite designed to measure sunlight that reaches the Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land and a South Korean satellite. That probe is designed to create digital elevation maps of the Asian nation, study the biology of the ocean and perform physics experiments on the effects of radiation on electronics. The cost of sending ashes into space is $4,800 per deceased -- cheaper than Earth burial, spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld said from Houston-based Celestis Inc., which arranges the launches.
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Bombardier Aerospace has announced that that SkyWest Airlines of St. George, Utah has signed a follow-on firm order for 20 CRJ200 Series regional jets and taken options on a further 20 aircraft. Value of today's firm order is approximately US $470 million (Cdn $694 million). Deliveries under this new order are scheduled to begin in November 2000.The sale brings Bombardier's order intake for the 50-seat CRJ to a record 167 aircraft during calendar year 1999, a 35 per cent increase over the 123 CRJ sales last year.It was the third CRJ order from SkyWest in 1999. The carrier ordered 25 CRJ200 LR aircraft in January and 10 more in April. Deliveries for these earlier aircraft will begin in June.The transaction increases to 65 the number of firm orders that SkyWest has placed for the 50-seat CRJ.
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Northrop Grummans Marine Systems business unit has been awarded a $61.8 million contract by the U.S. Navy to develop an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to replace existing aircraft carrier steam catapults. EMALS stores energy from the ship service distribution system and then releases that energy to launch aircraft using a nominal 330-foot linear motor or catapult. Compared with existing Navy steam catapults, EMALS is expected to significantly improve performance and capability, including the ability to launch unmanned aerial vehicles.
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On December 28, Orbital Sciences Corporation announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center has awarded the company a five-year contract for design, production and testing of small- and medium- class satellites used in space science, Earth science and advanced technology missions. The contract, administered by Goddard's Rapid Spacecraft Development Office, allows NASA centers and laboratories, as well as other U.S. Government agencies, to procure a wide range of flight-proven satellites from the company. The contract covers orders made by NASA and other agencies from 2000 to 2004 and has a maximum value of $1.5 billion to Orbital. Under the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition contract, NASA can purchase five different types of satellite platforms developed and manufactured by Orbital, including both low-Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit spacecraft. Each of these satellite types has successful space flight heritage from an extensive history of 85 previous satellite missions carried out by the company in the last 18 years. Due to its flexible ordering structure, the contract will shorten NASA's satellite order-to-delivery cycle to as little as 18 months, permitting it to carry out faster and more effective space missions over the next five years.
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On December 26, the Russian Defense Ministry, launched a Tsiklon rocket-booster from Baikonur. The spacecraft launched supplements the orbiting group of the Russian Defense Ministry. The satellite has the "Cosmos 2367" name in the catalogue of space objects, and the 990721st number in the international catalogue, the sources said.
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Bombardier and Thomson-CSF have entered into an agreement to transfer to Thomson-CSF Bombardier's share of their 50:50 joint venture company, Shorts Missile Systems Ltd (SMS) which is headquartered in Northern Ireland. The transaction is scheduled to be completed on Jan. 31, 2000. Robert E. Brown, president and chief executive officer for Bombardier said: "We believe the transfer of Bombardier's 50 per cent share to Thomson-CSF, which is a world leader in the defence electronics business sector, is in the long term interests of SMS and its employees. SMS was formed as a joint venture in 1993 between Short Brothers plc, a subsidiary of Bombardier Inc., and Thomson-CSF of France. The company employs 550 people in Belfast and in France. Its products include the Starburst and Starstreak missile systems in addition to command and control and other defence systems.
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On December 23, California Governor Gray Davis, Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, and executives from Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), SR Technics Ltd., and SAirGroup today announced plans by SR Technics Ltd. to establish its North American headquarter operations for aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul at Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD). The move will bring up to 6,000 highly skilled aerospace and technical jobs to Palmdale and provide a strong impetus for increased commercial activity at the airport. The agreement calls for SR Technics, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAirGroup (formerly Swissair Group) with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, to assume the lease of 150 acres of Palmdale Airport property currently leased until 2021 by LAWA to Boeing Corp. of Seattle. The property, known as Site 9, includes a 64,000-square-foot office complex; a 257,000-square-foot manufacturing facility; two high-bay hangars for a total of 684,000 square feet; and a 45,000-square-foot recreation center. The property also includes a recreation park and ballfields, tarmac, and current parking for 2,000 vehicles. The property is located at 30th Street East and Avenue P, adjacent to U.S. Air Force Plant 42.
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Rolls-Royce has signed a contract worth up to GBP350 million with the UK Ministry of Defence to upgrade the Pegasus engines of Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 aircraft. An initial firm order of GBP120 million provides for the upgrade of 40 engines to the Mk107 standard. An option to upgrade a further 86 engines is worth a further GBP230 million. The first phase of the programme is scheduled to be completed by 2004. Pegasus Mk107 engines produce 23,800lb thrust - an increase of more than ten per cent over the existing Mk105 fleet in operation with the RAF. Work associated with the upgrade will be undertaken at the company's Bristol and East Kilbride facilities. This is one of the first contracts to be announced under the new Smart Procurement Initiative.
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Boeing has selected the CATIA and ENOVIA software products from Dassault Systemes and IBM as the core of the first set of engineering computing standards that spans all Boeing business units and all sites. They will be used on all future product development programs throughout Boeing and on current programs where their use makes business sense. CATIA -- Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application -- is the new company standard for mechanical design. ENOVIA will be used for virtual product and process management. Both products are developed by Dassault Systemes and marketed worldwide by IBM.
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Swissair and Sabena, members of the Qualiflyer Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for an interim and long-term lease of operational space at Terminal 4, it was announced by Jan Jansen, General Manager for JFK IAT, operators and developers of the terminal. The interim portion of the lease applies to the existing terminal, now being replaced by a new facility at the same location. The long-term lease is for a period of 7 years after the date of beneficial occupancy of the new terminal, planned to occur during the second quarter of 2001. The parties intend to finalize a lease agreement before January 31, Jansen said.
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The production prototype SH-2G(A) Super Seasprite helicopter for the Royal Australian Navy has begun initial flight tests at Kaman Aerospace Corp's. headquarters The aircraft is the first of 11 multi-mission SH-2G(A) aircraft being built for the Royal Australian Navy. Kaman Chief Test Pilot George Haliscak said, "The initial test objective is to test the dynamic components and instrumentation to make sure everything is working properly. The flights have gone very well so far and the aircraft has performed as expected."
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As of mid day December 29, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group successfully completed its 1999 production plan by delivering its 620th and final jetliner for the year, setting a record for commercial jet deliveries in a single year. The milestone jetliner was among four 717s delivered to a Boeing customer from the company's facility at Long Beach, Calif. The record is all the more remarkable since Boeing has also significantly improved its jetliner production process. Boeing is on track to achieve further production improvements in the year 2000 when it will deliverabout 480 jetliners to customers worldwide.
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On January 6, the first two 717-200 airliners for Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing Company were presented to Olympic Aviation in a ceremony at the Boeing Long Beach Division. Olympic, based in Athens, Greece, has leased two 717s from Bavaria and will be the first operator of the twin-engine jetliners in Europe. Painted in a distinctive livery featuring colorful interlocking rings on the airplane tail sections, the airplanes are scheduled to enter passenger service by the end of this month. Bavaria ordered five 717-200s in May 1998. The leasing company, based in Munich, Germany, has taken title to four of the airplanes. The fifth isscheduled to be delivered by Boeing in April.
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Only if Eurofighter has European armament will it be able to develop its full strategic and economic potential for Europe. This was emphasised by Dr. Manfred Bischoff, President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich) when speaking in Munich. The Dasa chief appealed to the British government to open up the way for a European solution in the question of arming the Eurofighter aircraft with next-generation guided missiles. "By participating in the Eurofighter programme, Great Britain has decided in favour of the European path to procuring a fighter aircraft for the next century and it would therefore be consistent to follow this course when it comes to arming the aircraft," stated Bischoff. Great Britain will be the first customer to take the decision on how to arm its Eurofighter aircraft. There is strong competition between the European Meteor solution for a medium-range air-to-air guided missile system and a tender from the US American company Raytheon. The latter, with massive support from the American government, is trying to win the British contract. In the view of Dasa executives, this is the stiffest transatlantic competition in the history of the aerospace industry.
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Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG (FAG) and Schiphol Group, the owner and operator of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, seek new opportunities in the world aviation market by co-operating closely through joint business activities. This was agreed between both companies in a joint strategy paper. Airports worldwide are currently in a concentration process which will result inairport alliances - similar to the airline alliances. Schiphol Group and FAG together intend to play a leading role in this emerging competitive global industry. "By cooperating closely, we will have much better chances", says Gerlach Cerfontaine, President and Chief Executive Officer of Schiphol Group. A large number of airports has been designated for privatization in the next two or three years. Utilizing one another's know-how and combining the financial strength of Schiphol Group and FAG will ideally provide for successful participation in a large number of these privatization projects.
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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*December 19, 1999 *December 12, 1999 *December 5, 1999

*November 28, 1999 *November 21, 1999 *November 14, 1999 *November 7, 1999

*October 31, 1999 *October 24, 1999 *October 17, 1999 *October 10, 1999 *October 3, 1999

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

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