COLORADO SPRINGS During the first weeks of Gulf War II, as supply lines were stretched to their limits, a U.S. Army commander might gladly have traded a dozen trucks for one 300-kt. helicopter that could carry as much as a Lockheed Martin C-130 transport A Utah-based company has such a rotorcraft on the drawing board-a heavy-lift gyrodyne.

SAN FRANCISCO Boeing knows the 7E7 mid-range transport will evolve into a family of aircraft, as all the company’s products have, but it hasn’t made up its mind yet whether to introduce it first as a 200-250-seat, three-class aircraft with the 7,500-8,000-naut.-mi. range of a 777-200ER or start with 250-350 seats in a dual-class layout operating over 3,500-4,000-naut.-mi. ranges.