Robert Karl, a researcher at the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory, has received a U.S. Army Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in developing a helicopter-mounted laser system for remotely detecting and characterizing clouds of biological agents up to 18 mi. away.
TAM Brazilian Airlines and Air France in June expect to implement a code-share agreement on the Paris (Charles de Gaulle)-Sao Paulo route, which the airlines' executives say is expected to pave the way for more extensive business ties.
The MF20 full-face oxygen mask is designed to offer advanced smoke and hypoxia protection as well as comfort. It provides a large field of vision and excellent optical clarity by using lenses made of rigid polycarbonate, a material used for prescription glasses. The lenses are treated to resist scratching and will not mist or fog. A soft silicone face seal was added to improve comfort and fit. The harness is designed to be comfortable even when the mask is worn for long periods. Scott Aviation/Aviation Products, 225 Erie Street, Lancaster, N.Y. 14086-9502.
Following lengthy negotiations on conflicting company valuations, the French government, Aerospatiale and Lagardere have agreed on final terms of the Aerospatiale-Matra Hautes Technologies (MHT) merger.
Delta Air Lines is buying its Atlantic Southeast Airlines regional affiliate in a $700-million transaction that should further strengthen the major airline's dominance of the Atlanta market. The deal will give Delta the 71.5% of the common stock of the regional airlines parent company, ASA Holdings Inc., that it does not already own. Atlanta-based ASA serves 37 markets from Atlanta and 21 airports from its second hub at Dallas/Fort Worth.
American and United airlines plan to join Continental and other carriers using new Boeing 777s on transpacific routes in a trend that follows the recent dominance of twin-engine transports on scheduled transatlantic flights.
Kevin L. Petersen has been appointed director of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. He had been acting director and previously deputy director.
The Model V980 16-channel time-to-digital converter can measure time intervals with picosecond resolution. It records the time of occurrence of 16 independent electrical pulse inputs, each measured relative to a single, common user-set reference input, up to 6,800 sec. before or after the common trigger or up to 13,700 sec. after the trigger. The device also may be used as a 17-channel independent time stamper. Highland Technology Inc., 320 Judah St., San Francisco, Calif. 94122.
The current drive to clarify and expand passenger rights was accelerated by the January snowstorm in Detroit that trapped several thousand Northwest Airlines passengers in parked aircraft for extended periods stretching to 8 hr. or more.
Further consolidation of the world's major helicopter manufacturers would seem unavoidable, considering their combined excess capacity and the industry's modest sales outlook. Some industry observers claim the global industry may be carrying up to twice as much capacity as it needs--although Bell Helicopter Textron Chairman and CEO Terry Stinson says there isn't as much excess capacity as a lot of people think. ``We have none, and are having to build new facilities to produce the V-22,'' he said.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HAS PROPOSED that the 15 member states of the European Union go ahead with a plan to build a new-generation Global Navigation Satellite System. GNSS-2 would be an open system compatible with the U.S. GPS and provide a ``significant role'' for the Russian Federation, which will soon require a replacement for its Glonass network. One option is a constellation of medium-Earth-orbit and geostationary satellites at a cost of 2.2-2.9 billion euros ($2.53-3.33 billion).
Europe's helicopter industry is seeking to establish a research and development program to provide the technology for a European tiltrotor demonstrator. The program is being promoted by top management at Eurocopter, which wants to be in a position to field a viable commercial aircraft if and when warranted by technology and market demand (AW&ST Nov. 9, 1998, p. 38). A primary impetus is development of a commercial tiltrotor--the BA609--by arch-competitor Bell, in cooperation with Agusta.
Gilberto M. Duarte, Jr., has been promoted to chief financial officer from vice president/controller of World Airways. He succeeds Jim Douglas, who has been promoted to chief operating officer. William Lange has been promoted to executive vice president-corporate planning from executive vice president-operations.
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace's MAW Taurus standoff missile was flight tested for the first time late last month. Company officials also said Sweden and Italy will join the program that is managed by Taurus Systems. In related news, Matra BAe Dynamics has concluded an $88-million contract with Switzerland's armaments agency. Dubbed the Swiss Mid-Life Improvement Program, it is set to upgrade Rapier antiaircraft missiles delivered in the 1970s.
Lockheed Martin is developing a hybrid airship with a gigantic payload and the cruise speed of a light aircraft, partly with an eye to ongoing Pentagon reviews of future airlift and mobility needs and partly to find new commercial cargo niches. However, it will take a combination of commercial and military funding to make the program possible, say those briefed on the project. A company like UPS or FedEx would probably own the mammoth aircraft and lease them to the military as needed.
Because we helped introduce the term ``lean'' in aerospace, we're gratified it has become the buzzword du jour. But we are dismayed that ``lean'' currently means tactical measures that produce no useful outputs in the form of lower costs and better value for the customer. The problem is simple: There has been no fundamental rethinking of the structure and strategy of this prematurely geriatric industry, which approaches the next century unable to make its customers happy, defend its workforce or satisfy its shareholders.
The SB486R is a radiation-hardened single-board computer designed for use in space environments. It uses an Intel 80486 microprocessor and offers 32-bit operation at 50 or 66 MHz. The SB486R is designed to withstand a total dose of 100,000 rads. Single-event latchups are eliminated by using Space Electronics' latchup protection technology. Single-event upsets can be prevented with an optional redundant processor and software. Space Electronics Inc., 4031 Sorrento Valley Blvd., San Diego, Calif. 92121.
GEC'S MARCONI AVIONICS HAS RECEIVED its largest order to date for its Seaspray maritime surveillance radar from the German navy for its Lynx helicopters. The 15-million-pound ($24.9-million) contract will ensure continued production of the Seaspray until 2002. Meanwhile, the company is developing a next-generation version--the Seaspray 7000--which will include an inverse synthetic aperture radar for stand-off target imaging of ships and a synthetic aperture radar for high-resolution ground mapping.
To head off budget overruns, both Boeing and Lockheed Martin are promising Pentagon acquisition chief Jacques Gansler they will spend no company or extra government money on their respective Joint Strike Fighter efforts. This will force both companies to cut spending and accept greater technological risks. Lockheed Martin will have to pick and choose among: two demonstration aircraft, a full-scale pole-mounted model for radar cross section tests, an avionics testbed and manufacturing demonstrations.
Friendship Simulation Co. of Maastricht Aachen Airport, Netherlands, expects to begin operating a new Mechtronix Systems 737-400 cockpit procedures trainer early next month that will allow students to view multimedia training information from the cockpit seats. The flight training device (FTD) will be used in a Nationale Luchtvaartschool program for training ab initio pilots to take positions as first officers at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said Xavier Herve, who heads Quebec-based Mechtronix's European operation.
Ottawa is up in arms because NASA is backing away from a free launch for the Radarsat 2 radar imaging spacecraft. NASA launched Canada's Radarsat 1 in 1996 in return for access to its data, and had dangled the prospect of a similar agreement for Radarsat 2 to encourage the cash-strapped Canadian Space Agency (CSA) not to withdraw from the International Space Station project. But U.S. government officials became alarmed when they learned the resolution of Radarsat-2's all-weather imagery would be a sharp 3 meters--well below the fuzzy 5-meter threshold U.S.
The HP-Drill is a hand-held, single step drilling and countersinking tool. The operator simply positions the drill and pulls a trigger that performs the automatic drilling, countersinking and fastener placement process. The HP-Drill is designed to produce accurate, repeatable holes and countersinking on flat and curved surfaces of composite material and stackups of aluminum/composite material. Hole diameters are repeatable to within 0.0010 in. and countersink depth is within 0.0015 in. Intech Corp., 250 Herbert Ave., Closter, N.J. 07624.
Hans Indlekofer has been named head of Lufthansa Technik's new accounts program for Boeing Business Jet and Airbus A319 Corporate Jet aftermarket completion work. Peter Huijbers will oversee product management for Boeing 737-600/700/800 and 777 maintenance operations. Andreas Kehl is heading MRO airline accounts in Japan, North Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. Harry Seeger heads airline accounts in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa and Jim Stoecker will do the same for North America from Tulsa, Okla.
This Rapco vacuum pump is approved under an FAA Parts Manufacturing Approval as a replacement for a Parker Hannifin Corp. Airborne Div. vacuum pump. The PMA extends to replacements for Airborne's 211CC, 212CW, 215CC and 216CW pumps. Rapco says the pumps provide better performance than the ones they replace due to a redesigned cavity with laser-precise parts and cooling fins that are machined into the cavity. An exclusive coating reduces vane wear and operating temperature. Rapco also is approved by the FAA to overhaul those four pumps.
US Airways has contracted with FlightSafetyBoeing (FSB) Training International for full-flight simulator training on several Boeing transport types. The value of the contract was not disclosed. FSB will provide training for US Airways' 737-200, 757 and 767 fleets, which total about 110 aircraft. US Airways pilots and instructor-pilots also will have access to FSB's fixed-base simulators, multimedia classrooms and self-paced workstation instruction. The training will be conducted at FSB facilities in Seattle, Miami, Long Beach, Calif., and Dallas.
