Hanging around

A 1,000-pound 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control model, painted with reflective silver paint and suspended by wires, has been undergoing radar cross-section testing at the Boeing Developmental Center in Seattle.

The model, used for Australia's Project Wedgetail, was illuminated with radar signals to characterize its radar signature. The data will be used to validate a computer-generated model and identify placement of countermeasures devices on the aircraft. These devices would be used against airborne and ground-based threats.

The large-scale model, on loan from Boeing Wichita, also will be used for commercial airplanes testing.

Hayhurst issues challenge

Designing and building a safer, more secure and more efficient global air transportation system will take years, so the work must begin soon, John Hayhurst, president, Boeing Air Traffic Management, told industry leaders in a recent speech in The Netherlands.

"The effects of terrorism and weak economic growth are having an enormous negative impact on all of us," Hayhurst said. "It is easy to get so caught up with near-term needs that we ignore the air traffic management challenge that appears to some to be too far in the future to worry about today."

Hayhurst was speaking to The Maastricht 2003, an annual air traffic control and management conference attended by industry executives from around the world.

Hayhurst predicted that a return to congested airports and airways, and the negative economic impacts that stem from such congestion, is not far in the future.

"You all know that, and you all know that making substantive change to the way we handle traffic globally will take years to accomplish and will require an enormous effort by all of us."

He said political complacency is the biggest challenge the industry faces and called on attendees to become advocates of quicker action to remedy the issue.



Government, industry teams brought together

A new organization at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in Huntsville, Ala., will bring government and industry partners together at one location to support the test and evaluation of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program.

The new organization, called the Combined Test Force, will collocate the development test program and the Operational Test Agency. It will number about 330 when fully established, and will include Boeing and government employees as well as support contractors.

Harold Holmes of the Missile Defense Agency's GMD Joint Program Office and Dan Testerman of Boeing will lead the group, located in two buildings at the Boeing Jetplex complex. Colonel Tim McKaig leads the GMD Joint Program Office team and Col. Mark Daniels leads the OTA team.



Man of steel, wood, etc ...

Bill Boeing stands as a larger-than-life sculpture of welded parts, made by Auburn, Wash., employees as a tribute to the company's founder.

Hundreds of salvaged airplane parts and tools were used to build Bill, including a blowtorch from the 1930s and the original hardwood flooring from the Boeing B-52 production hangar in Seattle. The team combined components of modern jetliners, tools from many eras, and the latest technologies to fabricate the statue.

The sculpture depicts Bill Boeing in his early-day flight suit contemplating the design and development of his first airplane, the B&W. He holds the blueprints of the design and a scale model of the aircraft that later launched The Boeing Company on its journey into aviation history.

The sculpture is designed to symbolize the vision and proud heritage Bill Boeing brought to the company.

Rita Moore, a graphics designer supporting the Auburn site, conceived the design, sculpted its head and hands and managed the project.

ETHICS

The Office of Ethics & Business Conduct can be reached at 1-888-970-7171; Mail Code: 14-14; Fax: 1-888-970-5330; TDD/TTY: 1-800-617-3384; e-mail: ethicsline.ethics@boeing.com; People with access to the Boeing internal network can find more information at: http://www-co.boeing.com/ethics/Home.htm



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