The FAA's top air security official is warning that general aviation will face strict new airport access regulations if there are more incidents like the Jan. 5 deliberate crash of a single engine plane into a Florida office building.
It's no secret that there's been a shift in where the jobs are in the United States. By mid-October more than 100,000 people had downloaded the FAA's online job application for civil aviation security specialist-federal air marshal (Jobs.faa.gov). The FBI had planned to hire 200 new translators fluent in Arabic, Farsi or Pashtu by the end of 2001. Airports, while dealing with a painful cash-flow shortage, are struggling to staff up to meet intensified information-technology requirements.
This precision ground insert with a geometry for stainless steel, aluminum, high-temperature alloys and steels is suited for use in aerospace applications.
The Bush Administration has renamed the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) the Missile Defense Agency, thereby recognizing missile defense as a national priority, according to the Defense Dept. The current director of BMDO, Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, will become director of the MDA and continue to report to Edward C. Aldridge, undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. In related news, Defense Secretary Donald H.
With these large format, fiber-optic image guides, images can be obtained by adding off-the-shelf lenses and CCD cameras to view critical environments otherwise hostile to video cameras. The guides are equipped with end-tip fittings and outer protection sheaths that can be adapted to specific customer needs. When combined with C-mount cameras, these image guides can examine critical environments in difficult-to-observe conditions such as high magnetic fields and high humidity. AEI Optics Unlimited, 2521 Cherry Valley Turnpike, Marcellus, N.Y. 13108.
DRS TECHNOLOGIES HAS RECEIVED two orders from the U.S. Government totalling $3.8 million to provide Tempest computer equipment for domestic and international deployment. Tempest protection safeguards classified systems, guarding against unintended radiation which could be picked up by snoopers. DRS is teamed with Sun Microelectronics to supply fourth-generation Tempest systems.
Aerojet plans to focus on the space and military propulsion markets now that it has spun off its electronics unit, supplying liquid- and solid-fueled systems to government and industry and pushing technology in areas like ``green'' propulsion and advanced rocket engines.
A new laser that creates an artificial guide star over Hawaii will greatly increase the ability of a large telescope at the W.M. Keck Observatory to compensate for atmospheric turbulence and resolve fine details of deep-space objects.
Honeywell International has granted an exclusive license to Santa Barbara Infrared Inc. (SBIR), a Heico company, to manufacture and incorporate Honeywell's infrared emitter technology into SBIR's Mirage IR Scene Projector product line. The Mirage offers real-time infrared images for testing IR missile seekers, imagers and missile warning systems. Use of the Honeywell technology will provide ``hotter/brighter'' pixels and higher frame rates, resulting in more accurate and dynamic target representation to seekers and sensors under test, according to SBIR.
Aces in Command is a thoughtful, informative work that examines the careers of four extraordinary individuals who, in each of their respective wars, had a profound effect on U.S. fighter strategy and tactics.
U.S. airlines ended 2001 with traffic gradually returning from the setback caused by terrorism and the dampening effect from the persistent state of high threat over the last four months. Traffic is not likely to return to normal pre-Sept. 11 levels until midyear. Stabilized prices--meaning fewer discounts and less availability--are forecast for later in 2002 when there is a hint of operating profits for the industry as a whole.
EMBRAER IS OFFERING an upgraded version of the Rolls-Royce AE3007 engine to customers placing orders for the new Legacy business jet--a corporate version of the company's regional jet transport. The E-series engine produces increased thrust and reduces takeoff distance. Balanced field length would be less than 6,000 ft., according to Embraer. The Brazilian company also has teamed with Jet Aviation, Bizjet International and Midcoast Aviation to provide service and support for the Legacy in the U.S. and Europe.
China's Aviation Industry Corp. I (AVIC I) has established an infotech unit called AVIC Information Technology Co. Ltd. (AVICIT), and it is going after business outside the mother company, both inside China and internationally. One of its goals is to guide other Chinese national enterprises ``toward advanced management smoothly.'' AVICIT chairman Shi Chuan said less than 10% of Chinese companies have CAD/CAM or office automation, and less than 3% have enterprise resource planning software.
Flight tests recently began evaluating an experimental system with a forward-looking infrared type sensor that can also provide missile approach warning data to aim a laser jamming beam at an incoming IR-guided missile. Highlights of the system, which might find application on Germany's Eurofighter, were reported by Ingo Schwaetzer of BGT Bodenseewerk at the annual conference of the Assn. of Old Crows, an electronic warfare professional group. A functionally similar technique was earlier selected for the U.S. Air Force's new F-22.
While competition goes on for signals intelligence programs such as a follow-on to the ill-starred Joint Sigint Avionics Family, there also is an unseen, parallel battle being waged in the world of classified programs. The prize will be survival and perhaps supremacy in the rapidly shrinking, increasingly expensive arena of intelligence gathering.
The ADT-1000 aeronautical data terminal supports high-speed data access, including e-mail, Internet, voice and fax services from the air. A dual-channel unit capable of bi-directional 128 Kbps. throughput over the new Inmarsat Swift64 mobile ISDN service, the unit will allow users to access e-mail and the Internet from suitably equipped business jets. The technology, combined with the Inmarsat satellites and network, works as an extension of a corporate local area network. The ADT-1000 is compatible with Arinc-741 Aero-H/H+ antennas.
The Defense Dept. is reporting progress for its tactical laser weapons with interest in the systems expanding--as the Navy joins in the Air Force and Army push for such devices. Officials at the High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility (Helstf) here are in early discussions with Navy officials about employing some of the Army's laser infrastructure. The Army facility would be used to lay the groundwork for the Navy to reinitiate its long-dormant high-energy laser research, Defense Dept. officials said.
The Touch 'n Go ultrasonic thickness gage features color touch-screen operation of approximately 40 control knobs and switches. In addition, the NovaScope 5000 permits touch storage and recall of all instrument setup parameters. An ultrasonic pulser-receiver allows a range of applications from those that require sensitive, high-resolution setups to those that need penetrating power and high sensitivity. The unit is suited for both contact spot gaging and noncontact gaging in automated in-line process control applications.
Temp-Plate irreversible temperature recorders provide an alternative to monitoring surface temperature with sensors or probes. These self-adhesive labels create a permanent record of overheat conditions, which have applications in preventative maintenance, warranty abuse detection, electronic circuit failure, failed component troubleshooting, product design, hydraulic systems, motor bearings and batch process monitoring. Each round temperature position turns irreversibly black when exposed to its rated temperature, thus permanently recording the temperature event.
General aviation pilots and charter operators in Utah are preparing for a three-week lockdown next month, the result of a new round of flight restrictions proposed by security officials connected with the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Confirming the bad news trends they began reporting last fall, Japanese airlines said their Dec. 22-Jan. 6 holiday season transpacific passenger loads were way off normally buoyant levels for the two-week period.
The Model 85 instrumentation disk recorder emulates DCRsi tape recorders, allowing the user to work with existing software and cables. The product has applications in high-technology industries and government-related markets for airborne, range telemetry, intelligence and test/measurement use. The recorder features a built-in network port for transfer of recorded data, a transfer rate of 240 Mbps., a minimum internal disk storage of 200GB, and external disk storage of up to 4 terabytes.
First launch of the Boeing Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) will be delayed from Apr. 30 until mid-July at the request of Eutelsat, which has purchased the mission to launch a Eutelsat W communications satellite. Although Eutelsat requested the delay, first flight of the Delta IV already was on the verge of being postponed to allow Boeing to complete checkout of its new Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral (AW&ST Dec. 10, 2001, p. 65).
Air services Australia has awarded Thales ATM a contract to upgrade The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS) to use aircraft position information from ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) information sent automatically from equipped aircraft. The upgrade will allow air traffic controllers to display ADS-B traffic information integrated with inputs from radar, flight plans and the existing ADS-C (contract) system. The TAATS upgrade covers the Brisbane area control center and the Melbourne test/evaluation platform and simulator.
French independent carrier Air Lib--whose massive losses are curtailing its ability to attract new investors and devise a rescue plan--got an unexpected boost from the French government, which agreed to inject 30.5 million euros in emergency bailout funding.
