Delta Air Lines is the first customer for a new Boeing support service that builds customized replacement floor panels. The work will help Boeing retain skilled aerospace workers in the face of planned job reductions of 12,000-20,000 company-wide through the end of the year. It also addresses worker concerns on Boeing outsourcing of some work overseas and to low-cost U.S. job shops. Boeing's contract with its production line workers ends late this summer.
Leonard Weinstein, a senior research engineer at the NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., has been named Engineer of the Year by the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was cited for ``development of versions of large field focusing and motion camera schlieren systems to visualize complex field flows for high Mach number flows.'' Peter G. Wilhelm, director of the Naval Center for Space Technology at the Washington-based Naval Research Laboratory, has won the AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award.
Gustav Humbert, head of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus, has been elected president of BDLI German aerospace industries association. He succeeds Wolfgang Piller.
Electro-Mechanical Switch Matrices are designed for radio frequency and microwave applications. They are available in multiple configurations. The switches come with a solid state controller, LCD front panel display and three remote interfaces. Matrix switching is accomplished by connecting any RF input signal and routing it to any output--singly or in combination. Switch matrix products are used for automated testing systems in test facilities, by wireless equipment manufacturers and by test equipment manufacturers.
Bell Helicopter Textron's Model 427 combines twin-engine reliability and performance with multimission capability in a compact, low-cost design that fills a gap in the company's commercial product line.
LandForm 3D real-time terrain software has been issued in Version 2.0. It combines the power of a geographic information system with the speed of a flight simulator on any Windows PC. LandForm combines topographic models, digital maps, vehicle body models, and aerial and satellite imagery into a 3D world model. The user flies through this world in real time with a full six-degree-of-freedom viewpoint controlled by the mouse or prerecorded flight path data. A programming interface allows another program or device to control the viewpoint in real time.
CoPilot 429 is a program that simplifies the simulation and testing of avionics systems that use ARINC 429 databuses. Engineers and technicians can configure, run and display the results of complex tests. Data can be displayed in their raw form, engineering units, or as virtual controls and instruments. The interactive graphical interface of CoPilot 429 eliminates programming tasks and accelerates the test development process. Ballard Technologies, 3229A Pine St., Everett, Wash. 98201.
Durabond 950-952-954 adhesives and putties are filled with metal powders and are formulated to bond metals, metals to ceramics, glass and dissimilar materials for use to 2000F. They contain no epoxies or silicones, odors or volatile organic components, and they are available in a creamy putty form for repairs, patching, casting and potting. Kits are provided with complete data sheets and instructions for use. Cotronics Corp., 3379 Shore Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11235.
The U.S. Navy has begun flight-testing of Raytheon's AIM-9X Evolved Sidewinder short-range, heat-seeking air-to-air missile, which is supposed to close the existing missile gap between the current generation of Sidewinders and Russia's AA-11 Archer air-to-air missiles.
Groundbreaking is set for October on a replacement for China's busiest airport, which serves this Pearl River industrial city of more than 6 million people. An opening of the New Baiyun International Airport--a working name--was officially set for early 2001 by provincial officials, but others say a late 2002 or early 2003 date is more realistic. The 19.48-billion-yuan ($2.34-billion) airport will be built on a 4,450-acre site about 17 mi. north of the downtown business district.
Ceralabel Green Bar Code Labels fuse permanently to a variety of substrates during production heat treating process. They are available in versions that withstand temperatures from 720-2,100F. They can be supplied already fired and printed, or on rolls that can be printed on-site and then applied by automatic labeling equipment. The labels can be fused onto steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminum, titanium, glass, ceramics and porcelain. They also can be bonded permanently onto aircraft and cathode ray tubes.
Air France Industries and Air France Maintenance, the French flag carrier's maintenance and overhaul arms, are major players in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. They have a combined 9,000-employee workforce and an estimated $1.5 billion in annual revenues, including $415 million generated by third-party contracts with nearly 100 airlines.
The Universal Static Balance Fixture is designed for balancing helicopter rotor blades. It relies on a sophisticated set of scales interfaced by computer to interpret three separate weight readings, determine the blade's center of gravity, which can shift significantly from manufacturer's specifications due to normal wear, water intrusion, painting and field repair, and prescribe remedial adjustment. Proprietary software then uses weight and CG data to determine moments.
A United Airlines' Boeing 747-400 first officer's initial response to an engine failure is fueling concerns about pilot proficiency, currency requirements and the airline industry's reliance on simulators to train pilots.
A team comprising Southwest Research Institute, Evan Guy Enterprises Inc. and Mission Technologies Inc., all of San Antonio, Tex., has demonstrated a lightweight piston engine for an unmanned aerial vehicle that can burn heavy distillate fuels such as diesel or jet fuel. Flights demonstrated taxiing, takeoff and flight patterns around the airfield before landing. Gasoline-powered UAVs require a separate fuel supply, which increases logistical difficulties. The heavy-fuel engine produces 25 hp. with no visible exhaust smoke.
The Film Adhesives 689 and 319 are used for producing decorative laminates for aircraft interior trim. They offer protection against flammability and smoke generation. The 689 adhesive is a non-yellowing, thermosetting film. Its adhesion allows it to provide texture retention and fire retardance on embossed decorative laminates. Adhesive 319 is a thermoplastic, polyester bonding film used to attach decorative aluminum and Tedlar laminates to crushed core and phenolic prepeg sidewalls and produces bonds up to 160F. Bostik Inc., 211 Boston St., Middleton, Mass.
The first production Cirrus SR20 light airplane crashed on Mar. 24 on final approach to the Duluth (Minn.) International Airport. Scott Anderson, Cirrus chief test pilot and director of flight operations, died from injuries received in the crash. According to a company official, Anderson was returning from a test flight when he encountered difficulty controlling the airplane and declared an emergency. While attempting to land, he apparently lost control of the airplane and it struck the federal minimum security prison adjacent to the airport and crashed. The FAA and U.S.
The Model HR-1 hydraulic regulator is designed for military and aerospace hydraulic test benches and high-pressure boosters. It features control process pressures to 20,000 psig., outlet pressure of 250-20,000 psig., dual piston design, process pressure to dome inlst ratios of up to 363:1, a 0-360-deg. adjustable dome collar, a turbulence inhibitor plate and a flow coefficient of 0.06. GO Inc., 305 S. Acacia St., San Dimas, Calif. 91773.
Channel 1 is a network architecture that offers connectivity with real-time performance. It leverages high-performance commercial software and hardware technologies to provide unified network interconnect fabric supporting a single, common communications medium. Its building blocks include Fibre Channel and Virtual Interface Architecture, coupled with COTS software such as Windows NT, VxWorks and I20 driver architecture. The hardware is designed to operate in harsh environments and to deliver highly reliable interconnects for real-time, mission-critical applications.
The development of the U.S. market has become a focal point for China Southern Airlines this year as it struggles against a lethargic domestic economy. China Southern (CSA) is counting on a new code-sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines, which begins this week, to help boost its presence in the U.S. The agreement connects CSA's Los Angeles gateway with 15 U.S. cities. Delta gains connections to 85 cities in China and Asia through China Southern's home base here.
Growth in U.S. regional and commuter airline enplanements will outpace domestic and international passenger traffic for larger airlines this year, according to the FAA's annual commercial aviation forecast. The agency projects regional/commuter enplanements will rise to 71 million in 1999, a 7.4% increase over 1998's level, and will grow by 5.4% each year through 2010. Domestic enplanements for larger airlines should rise to 567.9 million this year, agency officials said, a 2.4% increase over 1998.
Inmarsat's new Aero-I satellite passenger and operational voice and data communication system has been installed on nine aircraft, with commitments from more than 17 operators to equip more than 300 aircraft, plus options for another 160.
