When Henry DeGeneste began teaching airport and transportation security to graduate students in 1993, he soon found a real problem--no textbook existed. ``Up until just recently, security careers were not thought of very highly,'' DeGeneste recalled. ``There wasn't even a college undergrad or graduate degree until the last decade.''
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has signed a 10-year outsourcing agreement with Computer Sciences Corp. valued at $510 million to run the executive jet maker's information technology services. CSC is to be responsible for Gulfstream's mainframe, mid-range and desktop computer operations. Some 220 Gulfstream IT personnel will transition to the CSC payroll as a result of the agreement.
The retirement last week of Seddik Belyamani, 59, as executive vice president of sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes has prompted a shift in the company's top ranks. Belyamani, a 28-year company veteran who become chief of sales in October 1998, will be replaced by Toby Bright, 48, formerly vice president of business strategy and marketing. Bright, who joined Boeing in 1977, was formerly responsible for leading business planning and marketing its products and services. Nicole Piasecki, 39, formerly vice president of sales for leasing companies, will succeed Bright.
European experts believe that the basic aerodynamic concept of Boeing's Sonic Cruiser hides a built-in capability to eventually develop a Mach 2 derivative. Its two conventional turbofans would have to be replaced by four variable-cycle engines, but the current design, including the double delta wing planform, could remain virtually unchanged, according to Philippe Poisson-Quinton. He is a noted French aerodynamicist who played a key role in the design definition of the Concorde and is an honorary adviser to the Onera French aerospace research agency.
Savvy Washingtonians will tell you: members of Congress can be dangerous. But attacks on airliners probably isn't what they will have in mind. Nonetheless, if someone sets off an airport alarm, action must be taken--even if the suspect is a solon who has just ambled in from a reserved parking spot at Reagan Washington National Airport. Just ask Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the ranking Democrat on the powerful (that's almost part of the committee name) House Energy and Commerce Committee. Last week, he was asked to strip to his skivvies to show he posed no threat.
The company will accept drawings of gaskets via e-mail, and convert them to G-code for driving CNC equipment, in order to produce prototype gaskets for OEM aerospace applications. The process involves customers sending by e-mail an electronic drawing file in .dfx or .dwg format as an attachment. The file is translated into G-code and directed to CNC equipment, which cuts the gasket. A single gasket may be produced for $50, as opposed to conventional steel rule die cutting, which could require weeks to produce and hundreds of dollars in die charges alone.
Loral Space&Communications paid a $14-million civil fine in settlement of a U.S. Justice Dept. probe of its role in the failure review of a 1996 Chinese Long March rocket carrying one of its satellites. The company said the Justice Dept. had dropped its investigation of the incident, which supporters of tougher export controls for satellite technology used in a successful bid to transfer export licensing authority back to the U.S. State Dept. from the Dept. of Commerce.
The number of National Guard troops performing security functions at Denver International Airport is being reduced, even though new government funding allows them to be deployed at airports indefinitely. Originally, the Guard was to augment airport and city security forces only through Jan. 6. The troops had been manning various DIA sites, including standard security screening portals, vehicle inspection checkpoints and inter-concourse train exits. Officials said there is no word yet on how many troops will now be assigned to DIA.
India is using Israel Aircraft Industries' Malat Div. Searcher I/II and Heron unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance in the Kashmir-Jammu region disputed by Pakistan and India. India Defense Ministry officials claimed last week they shot at a Pakistani UAV that entered Indian airspace along the border, but were unsure if they hit it. India reported losing a UAV on Jan. 4, which crashed at Chatha near Jammu. India is developing the Mishant UAV that has been tested at Kolar in Karnataka. The aircraft weighs 792 lb. and has an estimated range of 62 mi.
Clever use of the spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope has paved the way for study of the atmospheres around extra-solar planets far earlier than anticipated, possibly advancing the search for signs of life elsewhere in the galaxy.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control will collaborate with Pulse Specialty Components to upgrade the combat video imaging system for the U.S. Army's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. The program, which is part of Lockheed Martin's Arrowhead Apache Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor package, will include development of a high-speed digital video transmission system using the fiber channel standard that is a part of the Arrowhead initiative.
The SOTA RF Series 0402 thin film chip resistors are designed for microwave and RF usage in military, aerospace, satellite and other mission critical applications. These compact, lightweight resistors provide low return loss in frequency ranges to 16GHz., and feature an ultra-miniature case size of 0.040 in. X 0.025 in., with a choice of termination styles. Prices for the RF Series 0402 resistors start at $1 each in production quantities, with delivery in 12-14 weeks. State of the Art, 2470 Fox Hill Road, State College, Pa. 16803.
The European Commission last week adopted a proposal to strengthen airline passenger protection against overbooking, flight cancellations and long delays. The voluntary code of conduct is an attempt to restore trust between European carriers and the increasingly angry traveling public. The long-overdue code of ``air passenger rights'' results from a six-month effort to respond to ``the main sources of complaint and frustration expressed by large numbers of passengers,'' according to EC officials.
This high-strength, flame-retardant aircraft cargo hold tape meets FAA and military requirements for joining, sealing and repairing cargo liner panels. It is a polyethylene-laminated fiberglass cloth tape that the company says is easy to apply, lies flat and conforms to contours. It has a high-tack acrylic adhesive that prevents lifting and curling, and is flame retardant per FAR 25.853(a) and 25.855(a). Featuring 150-lb.-per-in. of tensile strength and 85 oz.-per-in. width peel strength, the cargo liner tape is 8-mm.
NCL Version 9.2 multiaxis machining software generates simultaneous 2-5-axis NC tool paths and provides parametric 3D modeling. All geometric modeling functions are fully associative: a change to the model results in an immediate change to corresponding tool paths. The software supports the trimming of surfaces. Closed curves are used to define the outer and inner boundaries of the trimmed surfaces. Surfaces trimmed with NCL act like surfaces imported from other CAD systems. For true offset curves, they can be created from an existing curve, spline or composite curve.
The economic role of full-fledged carriers vis-a-vis low-cost, no-frills competitors is evolving into inappropriate speculation about the industry's future, according to the Assn. of European Airlines' (AEA) executives. ``The one should not be seen simply as a substitute for the other,'' Leo van Wijk said. He is AEA's new president as well as chief executive of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Ironically, a KLM subsidiary owns U.K.-based Buzz, a fast-growing no-frills airline.
This extendable, elevating conveyor telescopes to 40 ft. from a collapsed length of 18 ft. and elevates up to 30 deg. from horizontal. It was custom-built for the U.S. Navy's Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville, Fla., where it will be used to transport stores between piers and small vessels. The Mayport station is the second largest aircraft carrier homeport in the U.S., and is home to the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier, as well as Aegis guided-missile cruisers. The conveyor weighs 11,000 lb. and can convey a unit load of approximately 20 lb. per ft., or 800 lb.
Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories recently completed a three-year internally funded project to develop and demonstrate key ``nanosatellite'' technologies tailored specifically to national security space missions. Ultimately, nanosats could greatly reduce government launch costs, while increasing military and intelligence agency space-based capabilities.
This low-cost power unit lets users operate their GPS at home. Models are available for Honeywell/AlliedSignal KLN35A, KLX135A, KLN89B and KLN94 GPS units. The home-use capability helps users learn and get comfortable with GPS units, since they can enter waypoints and practice approaches. Users can update the GPS database via a home computer. The price for the power supply for GPS home use is $169.95, for each Honeywell system. Tanis Aircraft Services, P.O. Box 117, Glenwood, Minn. 56334.
The FAA is getting both less and more than it asked for when it solicited public comment on firearms and less-than-lethal weapons on airline flights. Less, in that the agency asked many questions that most commenters aren't answering. More, in that the solicitation has triggered an unusual outpouring of strongly-held opinions, plus some decidedly fringe views on aviation security. The blowgun idea, as an example.
The Pyrofiber fiber-optic, noncontact automatic emissivity correcting IR thermometer incorporates a single digital and two analog outputs. Utilizing patented pulse laser technology, it measures infrared radiance inside a furnace while simultaneously measuring and correcting for emissivity, which helps provide true target temperature.
Jeff Bettger has been appointed sales manager of the QuickTurn division of SimuFlite Training International Inc., Grapevine, Tex. He was a sales representative for SimuFlite.
Israel has been awarded a contract to equip Turkey's military helicopters with electronic warfare systems. Under a $108-million deal, TAAS-Israel Industries is to supply chaff-flare systems and infrared suppressors to protect the rotorcraft from missile threats. Turkey has been hampered by the lack of such systems on its helicopters while facing attacks with RPG-7 (Stinger) rockets in ongoing clashes between Kurdish separatists and government forces. At least three helicopters were downed in the last three years, and about 20 military officials were killed.
Kathie L. Olsen has been nominated as associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She has been chief scientist at NASA and acting associate administrator for the Office of Biological and Physical Research.
