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UPDATE 
Week ending October 3, 1999
+++ 428JET to be built in Israel +++ C-27J Spartan flies +++ Embraer launches 44-seat regional jet +++ AECMA now covers all EU states +++ Another Dash 8 for Augsburg Airways +++ Sweeping restructuring at Lockheed Martin +++ Ariane launches Loral Skynet satellite +++ News in brief +++

428JET to be built in Israel
Fairchild schließt 428Jet-Vertrag mit IAI

Fairchild Aerospace Corporation's Dornier Luftfahrt unit and Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. have signed an agreement for IAI to design and fabricate the fuselage and perform final structural assembly on the 44-seat 428JET regional jet program. The contract has a potential value of more than $600 million. This follows an earlier agreement, signed in June, that made IAI responsible for system engineering and integration, flight testing and certification support on the 428JET program. That contract is valued at $80 million.
"Green" aircraft assembled at IAI's Commercial Aircraft Group at Ben Gurion International Airport will be flown to Fairchild's Oberpfaffenhofen site for final customization (interior and option installation), painting and acceptance and delivery to customers. The 428JET program office will also be located at the Oberpfaffenhofen facility. According to Fairchild Aerospace President Jim Robinson, "This alliance with Israel Aircraft -- a world-class, innovative aerospace leader -- will allow us to bring the 428JET to market a year earlier than originally planned. As with our 32-seat 328JET, there is strong customer demand for this aircraft, and together they will provide operators with significant cost efficiencies and operational benefits as a family of aircraft."

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C-27J Spartan flies
Erstflug der C-27J in Turin

The first flight of the Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (LMATTS) C-27J Spartan military tactical transport aircraft took place on September 24 at Alenia Aerospazio's facilities in Turin, Italy. After almost two years of engineering design, the flight today confirms that the C-27J program is on schedule. The aircraft took-off at 3:21 PM local time with Gianluca Evangelisti, Alenia Aerospazio Chief Test Pilot for Transport Aircraft, and Agostino Frediani, co-pilot, at the controls. The crew performed handling qualities and stability checks, then retracted the landing gear and performed engine performance tests, climbing up to 15,000 feet. The crew simulated a go- around, and landed at Alenia Aerospazio's facilities after a total flight time of 1 hour and 32 minutes.
This is the first of three aircraft to enter the flight test program leading to JAR 25 certification by Registro Aeronautico Italiano (RAI), the Italian air worthiness authority, by the end of 2000. A certificate of military qualification will follow from the Italian Ministry of Defense based on performance tests conducted with the participation of the Italian Air Force. Initially, this aircraft will be used for testing the propulsion system and the aerodynamic handling characteristics. The other two aircraft are presently being readied at Alenia's facility to enter the flight test program within the next few months.

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Embraer launches 44-seat regional jet
Neuer Regionaljet von Embraer

On September 30, Embraer announced the launching of a new regional jet for 44 passengers - the ERJ-140. Following Embraer's "family" concept, the new regional jet provides a high level of commonality with the first members of the ERJ family - the ERJ-145 and ERJ-135. Market studies reveal an overall demand for 750 jets seating up to 44 passengers within the next ten years. The development of the new aircraft calls for investments of US$ 45 million. The unit cost of the ERJ-140 will be approximately US$ 15.2 million and the aircraft will be available in the first quarter of 2001, after certification by Brazilian (CTA) and American (FAA) authorities. Once in production, it is estimated that approximately 80% of the forecasted demand for the new aircraft will reside in the United States regional air transport market.
"The ERJ-140 will be the first 44-seat regional jet aircraft introduced in the market", said Maurício Botelho, Embraer's President and CEO, during a press conference held at theEuropean Regional Airline Association (ERA) Meeting, in Paris. Developed from the ERJ-135, the ERJ-140 will have an overall length of 93 ft. 7 in. (28.52 m), which is 7 ft. 54 in. (2.30 m) longer than the ERJ-135, maintaining the same 65 ft. 9 in. (20.04 m) wingspan and 22 ft. 2 in. (6.76 m) height of the ERJ-135 and ERJ-145. With a maximum take-off weight of 44,312 lbs. (20.100kg), the ERJ-140 will have a field length of take-off 5,643 ft. (1.720 m). Powered by two Rolls-Royce/Allison AE3007 A1/3 turbofan engines, the ERJ-140 will have a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.78 and a service ceiling of 37,000 ft. (11.278 m).

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AECMA now covers all EU states
Neue Mitgliedsländer für di eAECMA

AECMA is extremely pleased about the recent applications of the five new member associations in Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg and Portugal. This is a clear demonstration that aerospace activities are present not only in selected countries but in all 15 EU member states. Board and Council have endorsed the membership in AECMA by occasion of the Annual Convention.
The AECMA Convention focussed its general discussion on Global Mobility for European Citizens and Goods as a prerequisite for economic growth and competitiveness in the next millennium. Presentations were given by Mr Robert Coleman, Director-General for Transport in the European Commission, Dr Fausto Cereti, CEO of Alitalia and Chairman of the Association of European Airlines, and Mr Noël Forgeard, President and CEO Airbus Industrie. In particular, discussion covered the need for a sustainable approach to air traffic growth, future air transport capacity and air transport concepts.
At the occasion of the AECMA Convention Mr John Rose, CEO Rolls-Royce plc, was elected as AECMA President for the period 1999-2000, succeeding Dr Giorgio Zappa, CEO Alenia Aerospazio. Mr Rose stated that he was delighted to take on the Presidency at such an important time for the European aerospace industry. He hoped to build on the success of the Association in ensuring that both the contribution aerospace makes to society and the interests of the sector are well understood. Dr Manfred Bischoff, CEO DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA), has been nominated as President Elect.

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Another Dash 8 for Augsburg Airways
Bombardier sells more regional aircraft in Europe

Germany's Augsburg Airways has placed a follow-on order for two additional Dash 8 Q400 turboprop airliners with Bombardier Aerospace. The order represents the conversion of existing option.The airline, a Team Lufthansa member, is a long-term user of Bombardier Aerospace products and previously ordered a total of 15 Dash 8 aircraft, including three Q400 airliners in March of 1999." The Q400 orderbook now stands at 62 firm orders. For the Dash 8 program, total orders and options stand at 678, including a backlog of 82 firm aircraft.
Meanwhile, Bombardier Aerospace announced sales of six regional aircraft valued at close to US $127 million to two airlines in Europe and one in the Middle East. Maersk Air of Birmingham, England, a British Airways franchise carrier, converted an existing option into a firm order for one long range version of the Canadair Regional Jet Series 200 aircraft. To date, the carrier has taken delivery of six CRJ200 LRs and now has backlogged orders for eight additional CRJ aircraft. Maersk Air was the U.K. launch customer for the new 70-seat CRJ700 Series regional jet which will enter airline service early in 2001. Adria Airways of Ljubljana, Slovenia ordered an additional CRJ200. The airline was the first CRJ operator in Central Europe when it placed a firm order for two CRJ200 LR aircraft early in 1997. It ordered a third aircraft early in 1998. Palestinian Airlines of Gaza, a new Bombardier Aerospace customer, will acquire two 50-seat Q300 Dash 8 and two 50-seat CRJ200 Series LR aircraft for its growing route network in the Middle East. Palestinian Airlines currently flies from Gaza to Amman, Cairo, Jeddah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

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Sweeping restructuring at Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin muss umstrukturieren

Lockheed Martin has plans to realign its businesses, flatten its management structure, reduce corporate staff, evaluate the divestiture of non-core operations, and enhance financial management processes. This comes after the company hit a series of problems in the last few months, severely hitting profits and public perception of the enterpirse. The new organizational structure will take effect October 1. Management estimates that, on a recurring basis, these actions are not expected to adversely affect the Corporation's earnings outlook for the years 1999 and 2000.
"Our objective is to be the world's best integrator of complex systems for our core aerospace, defense and technology services customers," said Vance Coffman, chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin. "The actions we are announcing today are designed to organize each of our core businesses to ensure customer satisfaction, mission success and maximum operating efficiency."
Actions announced include: Streamlining Lockheed Martin's business portfolio by consolidating and refocusing the number of lines of business from 27 to 17; eliminating the Sector organizational layer, reducing the five former Sectors to four core business areas reporting to senior management as a way to increase customer focus and coordination of priorities across the entire company. Further staff reductions are anticipated as a result of this organizational flattening; repositioning certain related high-potential businesses to unlock value and maximize growth through strategic partnerships, joint ventures and accessing the public equity markets; moving forward in the evaluation of divestiture of eight non-core business units that employ approximately 9,000 people and have combined 1999 total estimated net sales of about $1.4 billion (excluding $400 million in intercompany sales); enhancing financial management processes.

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Ariane launches Loral Skynet satellite
Skynet-Satellit von Ariane gestartet

On September 25, Arianespace successfully launched the Telstar 7 digital TV satellite for Loral Skynet. Flight 121 was the fifth successful mission for Arianespace in 1999. The mission was scheduled rapidly to meet the customer's timing requirements, and utilized an Ariane 44LP version of the workhorse Ariane 4 launcher family. "Arianespace stepped up to provide this launch for Space Systems/Loral on very short notice, " Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton said. "Because of the Ariane launch system's flexibility, we were able to handle the mission on an emergency basis, without penalizing our other customers. Ariane's proven reliability and availability allows operators to deal with the unexpected events that crop up in the space industry, and assures them that Arianespace is there to meet their commercial commitments." The next Arianespace launch, Flight 122, is slated for October 19. An Ariane 44LP will loft the Orion 2 communications satellite for Loral Space & Communications. Following the successful completion of Flight 121, Arianespace's backlog now stands at 41 satellites to be launched.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

Pizza Hut is the first company to place a new logo on the world's largest proton rocket that will launch the permanent living capsule of the International Space Station, a 16-country initiative. The new Pizza Hut logo will be 30 feet tall and located on the fuselage of the 200 foot rocket, placed squarely in the view of the world's media cameras when the rocket is launched from Kazakhstan in mid-November. Five-hundred- million viewers around the globe are expected to tune in for the event. "We wanted a mythic symbol to dramatize to the world that our 41-year-old Pizza Hut brand is revitalized and poised for tremendous growth in the new millennium," said Mike Rawlings, president and chief concept officer, Pizza Hut.
+++
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), a joint venture among Daewoo Heavy Industries, Samsung Aerospace and Hyundai Space and Aircraft, was officially launched on October 1 with Lim In-taik named president at the inaugural meeting for the new firm. The three companies decided at the meeting to open their entire assets and business lines to the new firm. KAI will have total assets of 1.05 trillion won (US$863 million), with the three firms kicking in 289.2 billion won each in assets to the company. The company is obligated by law to seek foreign capital within this month and plans to secure investment proposals from seven foreign firms that have been engaged in investment negotiations with KAI by the middle of next month. KAI will then select the two best proposals among them by the end of November.
+++
On September 30, Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems handed over the first of 10 WC-130J weather reconnaissance aircraft - commonly referred to as Hurricane Hunters. The WC-130Js will be assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS), a component of the 403rd Wing located at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., and a one-of-a-kind organization. It is the only unit in the world that routinely flies directly into a hurricane's eye to carry out vital data gathering missions. The Weatherbird program, as it is known, requires LMAS to test, develop, and integrate the specialized avionics, weather sensors, and structural modifications required for the weather reconnaissance mission into the new C-130J airframe, also built by Lockheed Martin. The program includes 10 aircraft as well as support for them.
+++
Fairchild Aerospace and Lufthansa Technik Logistik GmbH have agreed to establish a new spare parts distribution center in Europe for Fairchild and Dornier aircraft as part of Fairchild's ongoing commitment to enhance customer service. The distribution center, based at Frankfurt Airport, will provide a quick response for spare parts requests from operators of Fairchild Dornier turboprop aircraft as well as Fairchild's new line of 32 to 105-seat jet airliners. "A key element in this partnership is the center's Frankfurt location," said Joe Vreeman, senior vice president of customer support for Fairchild. "With Frankfurt's around-the-clock operations and flights to worldwide destinations, operators will get their parts quickly."
+++
Following its review of an In-Flight Entertainment Network System (IFEN) installed on 15 MD-11s worldwide, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned installation of the system on all U.S.-registered MD-11 airplanes. The IFEN is not currently installed on any U.S. airplane and is deactivated on Swissair aircraft. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board (CTSB) has not yet determined the cause of the Swissair accident. However, information from the accident investigation prompted the FAA to review the IFEN system. While the FAA identified areas of concern, the CTSB has not determined that these issues are related to the cause of the Swissair accident.
+++
On September 28, Bombardier Aerospace announced that the Department of Civil Protection of the Government of Italy has signed a contract for three more Canadair 415 amphibious aircraft.This order, the third in less than two years, will increase the Italian Canadair 415 firefighting fleet to a total of 13 turboprop aircraft. One aircraft will be delivered in January 2000 and the other two in April 2000.
+++
On September 27, a US-Russian commercial communications satellite was launched on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome. The LMI-1 satellite is designed for rendering telecommunication services to Russia, the CIS states, Eastern Europe, South and South-Eastern Asia, part of Africa and the Middle East as well as Australia. LMI-1 is a geostationary satellite manufactured by Lockheed Martin for the US-Russian joint venture Lockheed Martin Intersputnik. That is the first satellite from a future orbital group of four such space vehicles. More than 50 percent of LMI-1 capacities will be used by the Russian national distant communications operator Rostelecom, the Sistema Telecom company and other users.
+++
The SAirGroup has published its Fourth Environmental Audit. The report, which is based on a reference year of 1998, reveals that the group has further enhanced the ecological efficiency of its various activities since the last such study was conducted for 1995. Of particular note is the impact of Swissair's Airbus A320 family of short-haul aircraft, which - as expected - have substantially lowered the noise and emission levels of overall flight operations. This fourth audit provides values for the first time for the group's entire SAirLines division, which includes all its flight operations.
+++
Air Dolomiti, the Italian airline based in Trieste, has confirmed its choice for 2 additional ATRs, 1 ATR 42-500 and 1 ATR 72-500. This additional aircraft order is a result of Air Dolomiti's continuing network development as a partner of the Lufthansa Group. These additional ATRs will bring Air Dolomiti's ATR fleet up to 12 ATR 42s and 5 ATR 72s. Deliveries are scheduled for February and April 2000. Being the launch customer for Europe for the ATR 42-500, Air Dolomiti today operates a mixed fleet of the ATR 500 Series, taking full advantage of the high commonality between both versions.
+++
Boeing has confirmed Delta Air Lines has placed a firm order for 18 additional Next-Generation 737-800s as part of the airline's previously announced plan to accelerate replacement of its fleet of Boeing 727 airplanes. The last of the Boeing 727s are scheduled to leave the Delta fleet in 2005.
+++
BASE - British Aerospace Systems & Equipment - has successfully completed initial flight trials of the helicopter version of TERPROM, the world's most advanced digital terrain system. The two week trial, on a British Army Lynx helicopter, was conducted by 667 (Development and Trials) Squadron, Army Air Corps, based at Middle Wallop, in Hampshire, England, during August. TERPROM is a software based product, which combines aircraft radar altimeter readings with a digital terrain map to provide an autonomous navigation capability. Accurate navigation 'in' the terrain, and knowledge of the terrain around the aircraft allows the generation of predictive ground proximity warnings. The system also makes the pilot aware of man made obstructions such as radio masts, pylons and power lines.
+++
British Aerospace has completed construction and fitting out of NATO's primary new European range for missile testing and evaluation. The range will allow NATO countries to test new weapons in operationally realistic conditions, including multiple simultaneous attacks by potential enemies. For the first time, the Alliance will also be able to exercise the latest advanced naval weapon systems on the range with evermore sophisticated drone targets. The programme, known as the NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI) on Crete received final approval following a highly successful Joint Final Inspection by Alliance authorities.
+++
During this year's edition of the European Regional Airline Association (ERA) Meeting, held in Paris, France, Embraer announced the names of the main risk sharing partners that will participate in the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 programs. After issuing requests for proposals to 85 leading worldwide aerospace manufacturers, 58 candidates tendered their proposals during the first quarter of 1999. Besides General Electric and Honeywell, which have been previously selected and announced, Embraer finally selected the risk sharing partners that will take part in the development and production of the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 aircraft. After a six month evaluation period in which each proposal was carefully examined under a wide variety of parameters, the prime risk sharing partners are: C & D Interiors (United States), Gamesa (Spain), Hamilton Sundstrand (United States), Kawasaki (Japan), Latecoere (France), Liebherr (Germany), Parker Hannifin (United States) and Sonaca (Belgium).
+++
A failure to recognize and correct an error in a transfer of information between the Mars Climate Orbiter spacecraft team in Colorado and the mission navigation team in California led to the loss of the spacecraft last week, preliminary findings by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory internal peer review indicate. "People sometimes make errors," said Dr. Edward Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science. "The problem here was not the error, it was the failure of NASA's systems engineering, and the checks and balances in our processes to detect the error. That's why we lost the spacecraft." The peer review preliminary findings indicate that one team used English units (e.g., inches, feet and pounds) while the other used metric units for a key spacecraft operation. This information was critical to the maneuvers required to place the spacecraft in the proper Mars orbit. "Our inability to recognize and correct this simple error has had major implications," said Dr. Edward Stone, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
+++
The GE90-94B recently completed a highly successful test program on GE's 747 flying test bed, and is now scheduled for ice testing at GE Aircraft Engines' outdoor test facility at Peebles, Ohio. The ice accretion tests, which are required for U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, are designed to demonstrate an aircraft engine's ability to withstand the most severe of icing conditions, with no disruption in power. GE engineers will begin preparing the engine immediately following post-flight test calibration, and plan to initiate ice accretion testing in December. A second GE90-94B, currently on test at Snecma in France, has completed 500 cycles of endurance testing. Upon completion of a series of tests required for FAA FAR 33 certification, this engine will conduct additional endurance testing through December. To date, the GE90-94B engines have completed more than 600 hours of ground and flight testing.
+++
On September 24, a Lockheed Martin Astronautics Athena II rocket successfully launched the IKONOS commercial remote sensing satellite this morning from Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Liftoff occurred at 11:21 a.m. PDT. IKONOS was built by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., for Space Imaging, Denver, Colo. This was the second Athena launch from Vandenberg this year, the fifth operational Athena launch, and the third Athena launch in 1999. IKONOS is the world's first commercial one-meter resolution Earth imaging satellite. IKONOS is able to produce imagery that can be used for a variety of market applications including urban planning, environmental monitoring, mapping, natural disaster assessment, telecommunications network planning, oil and gas exploration and agricultural monitoring. After engineers with Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space and Space Imaging test and calibrate the IKONOS satellite on-orbit, products created using IKONOS imagery will be available to customers about 60-90 days after launch.
+++
On October 1, low-cost carrier Debonair went bankrupt and stopped all flights. The airline had also operated from Mönchengladbach and Munich. Stranded passengers will probably be taken over by Lufthansa and Swissair.
+++
More than two dozen consortia are interested in a share of Hamburg airport, which is to be partly privatised. By the deadline of 1. October, there were offers from Allianz für Hamburg (ADP, Otto Versand, Vereins- und Westbank), BAA, Flughafen Frankfurt, IVG, Copenhagen airport etc.
+++
The Berlin airports planning company will now try to push the planned hub development at Schönefeld itsef, until a new privatisation process can be initiated after the blocking of the Hochtief deal. Entering the planning and approval process by year end will allow to take advantage of relaxed regulations in East Germany, which expire on December 31.
+++
Israel Aircraft Industries and Kamov have conducted a series of flight demonstrations in turkey with the Ka-50-2 attack helicopter. Turkis pilots fully participated in the tests.
+++

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

*September 26, 1999 *September 12, 1999 *September 5, 1999

*August 29, 1999 *August 15, 1999 *August 8, 1999 *August 1, 1999

*July 18, 1999 *July 11, 1999 *July 4, 1999

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

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