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UPDATE 
Week ending October 18, 1998
+++ Last Tornado delivered +++ Succesful launch of Arianespcace flight 111 +++ European restructuring squabbles continue +++ US Airways takes its first A319 +++ Luftwaffe retires VFW-614 +++ Trinational transport exercise at Fürstenfeldbruck +++ European Space Agency (ESA) recruits new astronaut +++ F-22 Raptor achieves first supersonic flight +++ FAA to study new insulation material +++ SOHO is nearly back in business +++ News in brief +++

Last Tornado delivered
Letzer Tornado geht an Saudi-Arabien

The last new-built Tornado has been delivered to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The delivery of the interdictor strike version of the all-weather, swing wing multi-role combat aircraft concludes the order for 48 aircraft placed by Saudi Arabia in January 1993 as part of the Al Yamamah programme.
Just under 1,000 Tornados have been delivered to the Royal Air Force, German Air Force and Navy, Italian Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force. Between them they have clocked up over 1.5 million flying hours having first entered service with No.9 Squadron, Royal Air Force in January 1982. But upgrade and maintenance work will continue to ensure the Tornado fleets give world-beating performances for the next 20 years and beyond.
Eric Hutchison, Tornado Project Director at British Aerospace said: "The delivery of the final new build Tornados is an important milestone in the programme but is by no means the end of the Tornado story. We now look forward to working with all our customers to meet their requirements to ensure that this outstanding aircraft continues to give world-beating performance for the next 20 years and hopefully beyond."

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Succesful launch of Arianespcace flight 111
Ariane-Flug 111 erfolgreich gestartet

During the night of October 5 to 6, 1998, Arianespace successfully launched two direct broadcast satellites (DBS): W2 for Eutelsat, and Sirius 3 for Swedish company NSAB. Flight 111 was carried out by an Ariane 44L, the version of the European launcher with four liquid-propellant strap-on boosters. It used the 81st out of 116 Ariane 4 launchers ordered to date from the European space industry. Liftoff from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana took place on Monday, October 5, 1998 at 7:51 pm local time (22:51 GMT; 6:51 pm in Washington, DC; and on Tuesday, October 6 at 12:51 am in Paris). Moments after this 39th successful Ariane 4 launch in a row, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton said: "We are very satisfied because, since August 25th, we have carried out three launches in less than six weeks, illustrating our ability to offer our customers fast, flexible and reliable access to space."
The W2 satellite is the 13th entrusted by Eutelsat to Arianespace. Built by Alcatel Space Industries in Cannes, France, W2 weighed 2,950 kg (6,490 lb) at liftoff. Positioned at 16 degrees East, it will provide direct broadcast and multimedia services to the entire European continent, North Africa and the Middle East, as well as to Reunion Island and Mauritius. It is equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders.
Sirius 3 was built by Hughes Space & Communications at El Segundo, California. Weighing 1,420 kg (3,124 lb) at liftoff, it is equipped with 14 Ku-band transponders. Positioned at 28.2 degrees East, Sirius 3 will provide digital direct TV broadcasting to all Scandinavian countries and Europe.

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European restructuring squabbles continue
Poker um europäische Aerospace-Fusion geht weiter

Dasa and British Aerospace on the one side and Aerospatiale on the other seem to be still at odds on the way forward to transform Airbus into a stand-alone company and forming a fully integrated European Aerospace and Defence Company. This state of affairs was made clear in the last two weeks. First, long-standing rumours on an imminent merger between Dasa and BAe came to a head again - presumably to put pressure on the French. Then, Aerospatiale chairman Yves Michot retorted by criticising this two-way "go it alone", which he labeled as being absolutely counter-productive. At the same time, he reiterated the offer of a three-way merger, in which - significantly - the French state would be content with a 15 per cent share. State ownerhip is one of the sticking issues in the poker games leading up to the restructuring. BAe and Dasa have consistently demanded full privatisation of all partners.

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US Airways takes its first A319
Erster Airbus and US Airways ausgeliefert

US Airways received the first of as many as 400 Airbus A320-family aircraft in delivery ceremonies at Airbus facilities at Hamburg on October 16. Stephen M. Wolf, chairman and chief executive officer of US Airways Group, Inc., said the aircraft -- an Airbus A-319 -- "is more than a new addition to our fleet -- it symbolizes the future direction of our company." "As the first of up to 400 aircraft in the Airbus A320 family, this airplane and the others that follow will help us simplify and modernize our fleet, heighten passenger appeal and position US Airways for the changing competitive environment in which we operate," Wolf said.
In addition to its Airbus A320-family order, US Airways also has placed an order for as many as 30 Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft for use in its transatlantic operations. The Airbus A320-family aircraft will be used primarily in US Airways' domestic operations as well as to the Caribbean and to Canada.

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Luftwaffe retires VFW-614
VFW-614 bei der Luftwaffe ausgemustert

On September 27, the VFW-614 twinjet made its final flight in German Luftwaffe service. After landing back at its home base in Cologne/Bonn airport, a formal ceremony ended 21 years of use by the Flugbereitschaft (VIP-squadron). Three VFW-614s were procured from May 1977 for use mainly in the medium-range transportation role. They have amassed 31000 flight hours since then, taking off and landing 39000 times. Normal crew of the VFW-614 is two pilots, one mechanic and one flight attendant. According to the Flugbereitschaft, the aircraft was well liked by its pilots, but demanded hard work by the mechanics. Its retirement is due to steadily increasing maintenance costs and in view of the rationalisiation of the Flugbereitschaft fleet, which now has only Challenger business jets for short- and medium-range duties.

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Trinational transport exercise at Fürstenfeldbruck
Transportübung der Luftwaffe mit Polen und Frankreich

In efforts to boost European military cooperation not only within NATO but with future member states as well, Germany, France and Poland have instituted a program of trilateral activities. In the week ending October 16, this for the first time included a transport exercise. Luftransportgeschwader 61 of the Luftwaffe (normally based at Penzing), hosted aircraft from the two other nations at Fürstenfeldbruck. After thorough planning, French paratroopers were dropped on the Altenstandt military training range in Bavaria, to secure cargo delivered in a "UN humanitarian relief mission". The supplies itself were then airdropped by the German, Fench and Polish transports. The exercise was monitored by the three chiefs of staffs or their deputies, who also took the opportunity to visit the officer school of the Luftwaffe at Fürstenfeldbruck, where a seminar for officers from the three countries was held.

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European Space Agency recruits new astronaut
Europäische Weltraumagentur wählt neuen Astronauten aus

The Director General of ESA, Antonio Rodotà, together with the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Annemarie Jorritsma, announced Europe's newest astronaut, André Kuipers, at Space Expo in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. André Kuipers (40), a medical doctor from Amsterdam, joins the other astronauts that make up the European corps. He will begin training around mid-1999 to qualify for future missions onboard the International Space Station. Kuipers is a specialist in space-related medical research. Since 1991, he has participated in the preparation, data collection and ground control of physiological experiments developed by ESA for flight on board the US Space Shuttle, the Russian Mir space station and, in the future, on the International Space Station. He also coordinates the life-science experiments for ESA parabolic flight campaigns and takes part as an experimenter, test subject and flight surgeon. Kuipers is the second Dutch astronaut.
A number of new astronauts are also being selected. The objective is to have a total of 16 astronauts by mid-2000 in order to be able to meet the demand for European astronauts foreseen in the coming years as the International Space Station is being built and research onboard gest underway. Presently, the European corps comprises 12 astronauts: Jean-François Clervoy, Leopold Eyharts, Jean-Pierre Haigneré (France); Thomas Reiter, Hans Schlegel, Gerhard Thiele (Germany); Umberto Guidoni, Paolo Nespoli, Roberto Vittori (Italy); Pedro Duque (Spain); Christer Fuglesang (Sweden); and Claude Nicollier (Switzerland). Their home base is the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.

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F-22 Raptor achieves first supersonic flight
Erster Überschallflug des Raptor

Another major milestone in the F-22 flight test program was achieved when Lockheed Martin test pilot Jon Beesley flew the first F-22 faster than the speed of sound for the first time on October 12. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney F-119-PW-100 engines, Beesley broke the sound barrier as he pushed the F-22 to a speed of 1.1 mach during a nearly 3 hour flight over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. While the F-22 reached a speed of only 1.1 mach during the flight, it is capable of supercruising at much higher supersonic speeds for much longer periods of time.

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FAA to study new insulation material
Neues Isolationsmaterial gefordert

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will develop - within six months - a new test specification for insulation that will result in increased fire safety on aircraft. The FAA also will propose requiring the use of improved insulation once the new test standard is developed. The FAA urged Boeing, Airbus, Fokker, and other manufacturers as well as the Air Transport Association and Regional Airline Association to take advantage of any reasonable maintenance opportunity to replace existing insulation materials. Preliminary work has identified materials that provide a substantial increase in fire resistance over some materials now in use. The two identified so far are fiberglass and a material known as Curlon, each wrapped in a polyimide film. Polyimide is the chemical name for Kapton-like compounds that have very high heat resistance characteristics.
Manufacturers and operators are reviewing service bulletins that address possible hidden fire sources to determine the status of compliance. Service bulletins are advisories issued by manufacturers to share information and recommend maintenance and other actions to operators. If necessary, additional service bulletins and new maintenance practices may be developed to reduce possible fire sources while the new standard for insulation is developed. Mandatory airworthiness directives also may be issued.

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SOHO is nearly back in business
SOHO bald wieder voll funktionstüchtig

High-quality new pictures of the Sun, taken earlier this week from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), have raised hopes that the mission may soon be returned to scientific operations. Engineers have successfully reactivated nine of the 12 instruments on the European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA SOHO mission, which has been out of commission for nearly four months after contact was lost on June 24. Images from the Michelson Doppler Imager and the Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope on SOHO are posted on the Internet at: http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov "Scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have waited anxiously for the recovery of SOHO," commented Roger Bonnet, ESA's director of science. "As of October 14, nine of the 12 instruments on board SOHO have been turned on. Four of them are already fully functional; the other five are still undergoing careful recommissioning activities. But so far no signs of damage due to thermal stress during the deep freeze have been detected. I tip my hat to the engineers who built this spacecraft and these sensitive but robust instruments," said Dr. Bernhard Fleck, the ESA project scientist for SOHO. The remaining three instruments will be switched on over the next few weeks. The images are the latest success for the team during a complex, challenging recovery sequence. On July 23, SOHO was located using radar techniques with the 305-meter Arecibo, Puerto Rico, radio telescope of the U.S. National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center as a transmitter and a 70-meter dish of the NASA Deep Space Network as a receiver.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

The first flight of the Indian Air Force's MiG-21bis, upgraded by design bureau ANPK-MiG of Russia with avionics from Sextant Avionique, took place at Nizhny Novgorod air base on October 6. Among other new equipemnt, there is a Totem ring lasr gyro with imbedded GPS, and liquid crystal displays in the cockpit.
+++
Stefan F. Böttinger has been appointed as new press spokesman for the Rohde & Schwarz company at Munich, which is active in the military electronics business.
+++
Raytheon has announced that its Patriot air defense system, primary trainer aircraft, designated the T-6A Texan II by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, and HAWK Phase III Upgrade Program have been selected by the Hellenic Ministry of Defense and Hellenic Air Force. While final terms for each program still need to be negotiated, the Patriot contract is potentially worth more than $1.1 billion, the T-6A contract is expected to be worth more than $200 million, and the HAWK Phase III Upgrade Program is expected to be worth $145 million.
+++
The third test flight of Ariane 5 has been rescheduled to 21 October 1998 at 18.00 hours, Central European Summer time, due to additional checkout measures. The reason, according to Arianespace, is that filling the first tank in the attitude control system with hydrazine on Wednesday, October 14, in Kourou took longer than expected.
+++
NASA is delaying the shipment of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) from the prime contractor, TRW Space and Electronics group, Redondo Beach, CA, to Kennedy Space Center, FL. The postponement, made following a review by NASA and TRW, will allow additional time for TRW to complete testing of the observatory and to replace and electrical switching box. AXAF had been scheduled for shipment later this month to meet a Jan. 21, 1999, launch date.
+++
On September 30, Generalmajor Botho Engelien, the longest-serving general of the German Luftwaffe, officially retired after 42 years with the service. In his last job as commander of the Luftwaffenamt, he was replaced by Generalmajor Jörg Köpke in ceremonies held at Köln-Wahn a day erlier. Engelien started his carreer as a recce pilot on RF-84Fs at AG 52, after flight training at Manitoba (Canada). Among his many postings were commodore at Rheine air base and commander of 3rd Air Force Division, as well as NATO assignments.
+++
NASA has announced that it will be launching Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-95) on October 29 at 2:00 pm American Eastern Standard Time from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. STS-95 will last for nine days. Various experiments will be carried out, including life science and materials experiments from the USA, Europe, Canada and Japan. An astronaut from the National Space and Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Chiaki Mukai, will be the mission's payload specialist. Her main duties will be to run the life science experiments.
+++
On October 6, Aerostar Bacau performed the first test flight of the MiG-21bis prototype upgraded to Lancer III standard by Aerostar and its partner Elbit of Israel. It lasted 45 minutes, with Israeli test pilot Yehuda Shafir on the controls. The aircraft behaved extremely positive, it was said. Lancer III is intended solely for the export market and builds on the experience of the two companies gained by modifying and modernising the MiG-21s of the Romanian air force.
+++
IBM and Dassault Systemes have announced their cooperation to make available CATIA Version 5 for IBM's RS/6000 and IntelliStation family of workstations. This collaboration extends the long and successful relationship between the companies for the delivery and support of CATIA on AIX, the operating system for IBM's UNIX workstations, to include the Windows NT platform and the management of mixed UNIX/NT environments. Complementing the CATIA product line, CATIA Version 5 is a completely re-engineered CAx offering which utilizes next generation object technologies and leading-edge industry standards. It delivers an innovative and intuitive user interface and a platform independent architecture for native Windows NT and UNIX systems. The result is an easy to install, fun to learn, and natural to use system. Its native OLE and Internet/intranet Web compliance enables system integration within the office environment and across the digital enterprise.
+++
A research team at Tohoku University (Japan) has developed a new kind of iron alloy that it says responds instantaneously to a magnetic field by expanding and contracting. The iron alloy responds 20 times faster to a magnetic field than a shape memory alloy responds to heat. Because the new material is an alloy of iron rather than an alloy of rare earth elements, it is far easier to process into such shapes as springs and coils, team members explained. For this reason, the new alloy is expected to find a range of practical applications in such devices as magnetic sensors and flow volume control valves. In fact, the team said it has already begun cooperating with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the U.S. to develop aerospace applications, including a device to open and close the fuel valves in airplane
+++
Thai Airways is to cancel orders for three aircraft. The airline said that it will no longer purchase the planned two Boeing 777-300s and one Airbus A330-300, but will instead lease new aircraft in order to modernise its fleet.
+++
Russian and American astronauts tipped as first crews for the future International Space Station have completed their training in the Russian-made functional cargo module Zarya. Russia will launch Zarya, the first ISS component, from Baikonur On November 20, at 9:30 a.m., Moscow time. "Now the module already has got the configuration it will have in space, so before it is launched into orbit, the cosmonauts must see what they will have to work with later," a spokesman at Moscow's Khrunichev Space Centre, Konstantin Lantratov, told Itar-Tass. Zarya was manufactured at the Khrunichev centre. Pre-launch preparations of the Zarya module started on October 7.
+++
UNI Airways, a subsidiary of EVA Airways, has acquired four new Boeing MD-90s, The Boeing Company announced on October 12. UNI, based in Taiwan, will take delivery of the MD-90s over the next three months. These four airplanes join 10 MD-90s currently in UNI Airways' fleet and will be used on domestic routes, as well as on an expanding regional route system. The MD-90s were acquired through Aircraft Trading, a department of the Commercial Airplanes organization at Boeing. Aircraft Trading markets new and used Boeing-owned aircraft acquired through trades, lease returns and other mechanisms to customers worldwide.
+++
The U.S. State Department has terminated its suspension of The Boeing Company's export license on the Sea Launch program, effective September 30, as a result of a civil settlement. This clears the way for the Sea Launch program to resume normal program operations leading to a first launch in First Quarter 1999. The license was withdrawn by the State Department on July 27, following disclosure by Boeing that technical information may have been transferred without proper approval on the Sea Launch program. As part of the settlement, Boeing paid a fine, but a portion of the fine was suspended and will be used internally over a three-year period to pay the costs of Sea Launch export compliance measures.
+++
British Aerospace Regional Aircraft today announced the sale of the final three Advanced Turboprop Airliners (ATP) from the production line. Serial no. 2062 has been sold to Sun-Air of Scandinavia A/S who will take delivery of this aircraft in early December 1998, joining two others already in the Sun-Air fleet operating under the British Airways franchise agreement from Denmark. Of the other two aircraft, serial number 2060 has been sold and delivered to British Worlds Airlines Limited of Southend, UK, whilst serial number 2059, for which finance is being finalised, is due for delivery to British World in mid-November. These two aircraft join two earlier aircraft which have flown for third parties such as Air France, Manx, KLM UK, Air Nostrum and others on wet leases from British World.
+++
COMAIR, the North American launch customer for the Canadair Regional Jet and the largest fleet operator of the aircraft type, has signed a 10 year agreement with Bombardier Aerospace involving the largest single Canadair Regional Jet transaction in the history of the program. The contract calls for firm orders for 30 CRJ Series 100 and 20 Series 700 models. As well, the agreement raises COMAIR's CRJ Series 100 options by 30 to 45 and secures 70 Series 700 options for the airline. The firm orders are valued in excess of $1 billion U.S. ($1.5 billion Cdn.). It is the first order for the 70-seat Series 700 from Delta Connection carrier COMAIR. Deliveries of COMAIR's latest Series 100 aircraft will begin in September 1999 while the airline's Series 700 deliveries commence in the fourth quarter of 2001.
+++
Lockheed Martin Astronautics has been awarded a $1.327 billion contract modification from the U.S. Air Force to complete production of 40 Titan IV space launch vehicles and provide launch services for 39 missions through 2002. The 40th vehicle will be a spare. The modified contract also covers the launch of five Titan II space launch vehicles. Twenty-five
Titan IV rockets have been launched since the first one flew in 1989. Of those, 22 were the Titan IVA series space launch vehicle and three were the newer, more powerful Titan IVB configuration. The Titan IVB will fly the 14 missions remaining under this contract.
+++
Lockheed Martin provided government program managers with a comprehensive review of its progress in producing the first X-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstrator aircraft during X-35 Final Design Review (FDR) meetings held at the Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif., during July and August. "Completion of this review was a significant on-schedule accomplishment for the Lockheed Martin and JSF Joint Program Office integrated product teams," said Frank J. Cappuccio, Lockheed Martin vice president and JSF program manager. "It is further evidence that the JSF program is on track and is setting new standards for efficiency and risk mitigation in advanced aircraft development. The result will be maximum product affordability."
+++
The 50th Airbus converted to a freighter standard by Daimler-Benz Aeropsace in Dresden was delivered to the British airline Chanell Express in Bournemouth. The A300-200F can transport 42 tons of cargo over a range of 4100 km.
+++
MTU has finished the qualification of its Emos (Engine Monitoring System) for the digital control system of the MTR390 turboshaft, fitted to the Tiger attack helicopter. According to the company, this will allow a very precise recording and analysis of the cycles of the engine, leading to optimal on-condition maintenance of limited-life parts.
+++
Eurowings and KLM have announced an expanded partnership deal. Under the pact, the German regional airline will join the Dutch carriers frequent flyer programme and further improve its feeder schedules into Amsterdam. The aim is to increase the share on the German market from 7 to 15 per cent. There are no plans for KLM to take a stake in Eurowings.
+++
British Airways low-cost subsidiary go is apparently planning an expansion into Germany. Slots for three flights a day from London-Stansted to Munich are already secured, and there are plans to fly to Hamburg as well. Service start-up could be as early as December 7.
+++
Luxemburgs Cargolux has introduced a flight simulator for its Boeing 747-400s. It costs 17,5 million US-Dollars and is installed at the Luxemburg airport.
+++
After discrepacies over the scope of his new job as manager for economics, politics and environment in an outside bureau at Berlin, Hemjö Klein has left Lufthansa.
+++

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

*September 27, 1998 *September 20, 1998 *September 13, 1998 *September 6, 1998

*August 30, 1998 *August 23, 1998 *August 16, 1998 *August 9, 1998 *August 2, 1998

*July 26, 1998 *July 19, 1998 *July 12, 1998

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

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