The aerospace industry's major achievements of the past year were recognised in the Flight International Aerospace Industry Awards 1999 at a spectacular gala dinner during the Paris air show. The event, on 14 June at Le Musée des Arts Forains - home of the largest collection of fairground attractions in Europe - celebrated the industry's pioneering activities in 10 categories, with a special category recognising the Aerospace Personality of the Year. The winners and finalists were selected by a panel of distinguished industry experts spanning all areas of aerospace.
Air Transport
Smiths Industries Aerospace and Alaska Airlines took top prize in this category for their use of Smiths' flight management system and global positioning system to eliminate non-precision approaches. The programme, which started at one of the world's most challenging airports - Alaska's Juneau - has been extended to airports throughout the airline's network. Finalists in this category were Airbus Industrie for its success in a new market with the Airbus A330-200; BWIA International Airways for its spectacular financial turnaround, resulting in its first profit in 58 years; and Honeywell Airport Systems and Pelorus Navigation Systems for their SLS-2000 Satellite Landing System.
Infrastructure
A European first for Germany's Hamburg Airport brought it the winner's trophy in this category. In 1998, Hamburg became the first airport to be certificated to European Union environmental management regulations and international ISO standards. Finalists were Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Northrop Grumman's ASR-12 airport surveillance radar.
Maintenance and Modification
The Boeing Company won this award for establishing the Boeing Aerospace Support Center as a world-class large aircraft maintenance and modification centre. Lord Corporation was a finalist with its NVXR Active Noise and Vibration Control technology, and Messier Services' creation of a global customer support network for aircraft landing and brake systems was shortlisted too.
Avionics
The judges chose AlliedSignal Aero-space as top achiever in the avionics category for the manufacturer's continued development of the enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS). In 1998, AlliedSignal pioneered three significant advances in EGPWS technology - man-made obstacle alerting, peaks display and geometric altitude. Rockwell Collins was a finalist with its Highway In The Sky (HITS) pathway flightguidance system, aimed at guiding aircraft through increasingly crowded airspace, and Smiths Industries reached the final for its Speech Recognition Module on the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Corporate and General Aviation
Winner of this category was the UK's Europa Aircraft Company, which has achieved international success with its Europa kit plane. In 1998, sales reached 550 kits in 29 countries, including 100 kits sold in the US market. The two finalists were Bombardier Aerospace for achieving two major type approvals for the Global Express, and RotorWay International's Fully Automated Digital Electronic Control System for the engine of the Exec 162F.
Engineering, Systems and Components
Data Systems and Solutions' JetSCAN engine condition monitoring tool won the engineering, systems and components category. The judges considered it a significant step forward in engine maintenance management. Finalists were the Europa Aircraft Company for its development of the Europa and Europa XS kit aircraft, and The Boeing Company for the first production deliveries of the Joint Attack Munition, ahead of schedule and at less than half the expected cost.
Military Aviation
Completion of engineering and manufacturing development of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor earned Bell Helicopter Textron and The Boeing Company the top prize. The Boeing Company was a finalist, fielding the first AH-64D Apache Longbow combat battalion. British Aerospace's BROACH multiple warhead system also earned it a finalist place.
Personality of the Year
Don Bateman, chief engineer of AlliedSignal's avionics team, was named the Aerospace Personality of the Year in recognition of his ground-breaking efforts to improve the safety of flight. Bateman, the father of the ground proximity warning system and EGPWS, has devoted almost 40 years to developing safety-based avionics.
Propulsion
Rolls-Royce took the trophy for its first full-scale engine test of the swept fan, which promises operators big cost savings. Rolls-Royce was also a finalist for its use of a common core in three engines for diverse applications with the AE family of engines. The second finalist was GKN Westland Aerospace Transmissions, with a fuse pin system said to offer a safe, reliable and predictable response to fan blade offset incidents.
Training and Safety
The UK Royal Air Force Inspectorate of Flight Safety's confidential human factor reporting system won the training and safety category. Finalists were Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems for its Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System for fighter aircraft, and the Cirrus Design Corporation for FAA certification of the first general aviation aircraft - the Cirrus SR20 - to be fitted with an airframe parachute system as standard.
Space
The Boeing Company also took top place in the space category, thanks to the Delta II team's 1998 launch record - 14 vehicles delivering 41 spacecraft to orbit. Finalists were Surrey Satellite Technology for bringing earth observation and remote sensing capabilities within reach of developing nations, and Northrop Grumman for its ultra-band microwave power module, which offers major cost savings in space applications.
Source: Flight International
