Eric Steinwinder (see photos) has become vice president-marketing and communications and Jim Walsh vice president-customer service for Detroit-based ProAir. Steinwinder was director of marketing and communications for Northwest Airlines Cargo and Walsh director of customer service for Reno Air.
The U.S. government says it won't lift quotas on Russian launches of American-built commercial satellites until Moscow stops helping Iran develop ballistic missiles. U.S. officials have long agreed that the quotas, due to expire at the end of 2000, are no longer needed to protect U.S. launchers. But the Clinton Administration has told Russia it must stop transferring missile technology to Iran before the limits are abolished. Having failed to cajole the Russians in private, the State Dept. has gone public. ``The U.S.
Tig H. Krekel, formerly president/CEO of AlliedSignal Aerospace Equipment Systems, has been named president/CEO of the Hughes Space and Communications Co. of Los Angeles. He succeeds Don Cromer, who has retired.
United Airlines is planning to replace Boeing 747s with smaller 777s on some of its transpacific routes later this year. The changes likely will be made on shorter flights, such as between the U.S. and Tokyo, according to United. Boeing long has predicted a shift from four-engine jets to long-haul twinjets across the Pacific as markets fragment, or as passengers demand more frequent departures flying nonstop to smaller Asian cities while avoiding time-consuming hub transfers.
Boeing delivered 559 new commercial jet transports in 1998, nine more than its stated goal. The total did not include the handover of four modified new-build 757s and two 767-based AWACS to government customers.
The FOD Boss is a speed sweeper that is designed to remove debris such as nuts and bolts, washers, rivets, stones, sand and gravel that can cause foreign object damage. It has a sweep width of 2.4 meters and works over a speed range of 4-25+ mph. At 25 mph., it can cover close to 1 million sq. ft./hr. Up to three FOD Boss devices can be used in a triplex, enabling a sweep width of 21 ft. in a single pass. It folds into a carrying bag that is 8 ft. 4 in. long and 12 in. in diameter with a weight of less than 66 lb. Sweepster Inc., 2800 N. Zeeb Road, Dexter, Mich. 48130.
The KA21 Series Pressure Transducer pairs a proven silicon-on-sapphire pressure sensor and a resistance temperature detector to provide system temperature information and standard pressure sensor output. When the RTD is used, the titanium KA21 provides an electrical signal proportional to the system's temperature over a range of -65-255F. The KA21 offers accuracy of 0.1% and excellent insulation resistance. Applications include aviation, precision monitoring and test cell use. Patriot Sensors&Controls Corp., 650 Easy St., Simi Valley, Calif. 93065-1808.
France is working on a plan to end the impasse between Iraq and the international community over arms inspections, according to French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. In an interview with Le Monde, Jospin was critical of U.S. and British air strikes against Iraq. He suggested that they undermined the international community's attempts to get Iraq to cooperate with United Nations arms inspectors. Although Jospin said France is a friend of the U.S., he questioned whether its ``unilateral'' actions were not counterproductive.
The Satellite Industry Assn. says putting commercial spacecraft back on the U.S. Munitions List could give European manufacturers a 6-8 month advantage in delivery times. Congress mandated the change, which shifts licensing authority back to the State Dept., amid charges that lax export oversight by Commerce allowed China to acquire sensitive technologies. But the satellite association is warning that the transfer, which becomes effective on Mar. 15, could extend the licensing process by up to a year if State doesn't change its plodding ways.
The Pentagon and the Transportation Dept. have agreed on a frequency--1,176 MHz.--for a new civil Global Positioning System signal to be provided by the next-generation Block 2F satellites, built by Boeing. The new civil GPS signal is to become available on the seventh spacecraft, expected to be launched around 2005. The choice of frequency was controversial because it is in the same band used by the Pentagon's Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) data link and also by civil/military air surveillance radars.
The European Space Agency planned late last week to conduct initial station-keeping maneuvers aimed at reducing hydrazine consumption on the Soho solar observatory. Soho has been on thruster control since its third and last working gyroscope failed and went into safe mode on Dec. 21 (AW&ST Dec. 21/28, 1998, p. 12). The thrusters are currently consuming 7 kg. (15.4 lb.) of fuel per week, a rate that if left unabated would consume the full hydrazine supply in just 25 weeks. The maneuvers are intended to reduce fuel use by a factor of 5-10.
Wall Street is fuming at Lockheed Martin amid claims by some analysts that the company knowingly misled them on near-term sales and earnings expectations. And the disenchantment extends beyond just industry analysts affiliated with major investment banking firms with large brokerage networks. It also includes their counterparts at major institutions who own a substantial number of shares in the company. ``I'm mad as hell,'' said one major investor.
This single-kernel, mixed-signal simulator was developed as a prototype under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract for simulating designs based on the IEEE 1076.1 VHDL-AMS standard. The purpose of the prototype is to prove that a single, mixed-signal simulator can replace multiple coupled simulators. The VHDL-AMS prototype relies on Analogy's SaberDesigner tool suite. Analogy Inc., 9205 S.W. Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Ore. 97008-7156.
The failure of military income to keep up with the strong civilian economy, and a White House bid to seize the political initiative on national security issues for the 2000 Presidential election, inspired the Administration's 6-year, $110 billion proposal to augment the defense budget. Central to President Clinton's multiyear plan are a 4.4% pay raise and a boost in retirement funding to counter the civilian-military income gap that has resulted from the nation's long economic expansion.
``Flyers'' Speed Wax Waterless Dry-Wash is an aircraft polish and high-gloss protectant that is rich in carnuba. There is no need to preclean aircraft surfaces before applying the new wax. It is available in 16-oz. bottles with a trigger sprayer. Jet Stream Aviation Products, 7515 Lemmon Ave., Building J, Dallas, Tex. 75209.
Integrated Chipware is updating the ``RTM'' requirements management and traceability tool for large engineering projects that it bought from Marconi Systems Technology in 1997. Integrated Chipware says the new ``RTM Workshop'' is easier to use, can communicate via the Internet, produces reports with desktop programs like Word, and can run on Windows NT as well as Unix. . . . The Systems, Engineering and Analysis Support Center of Computer Sciences Corp.
The Equostat hardness tester is designed for evaluating thin-walled parts or objects that can move or act resiliently under the dynamic impact of another tester such as the Equotip. The Equostat establishes the Rockwell hardness value HRZ from a depth difference measurement. It weighs 2 kg. (4.4 lb.) and is accurate to 1.5 HZR. The display includes a bar graph that provides information on the constance and level of hardness. Proceq SA, Riesbachstrasse 57, Postfach 936, CH-8034 Zurich, Switzerland.
Cockpit: An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Interiors by Donald Nijboer with photographs by Dan Patterson lets the reader see things from a pilot's perspective, literally. The book is illustrated with photos of aircraft cockpits giving a pilot's view, while a second view has callouts that identify instruments and controls. The photos are accompanied by a written description of each cockpit's pros and cons, written either by the men who flew them, intelligence reports or aircraft historians.
In an annual program called Pathfinder, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (the former Defense Mapping Agency) evaluates commercial tools and technologies that help imagery analysts in such tasks as mapmaking, intelligence or battle planning. In the recently completed Pathfinder 99, the focus was on tools that provide timely, visually representative and geospatially accurate products. Of more than 40 tools submitted, the Pathfinder team narrowed the list to 25. They were evaluated in terms of how easy they were to use, how visually powerful they were and how costly.
The DRV Series of lightweight, portable airborne data downlink systems can be used to acquire, transmit and record engine and airframe performance criteria in real time. The system uses PCM standard hardware and can provide data at rates of up to 150 KHz. with NTSC full color video available as an option. The number and type of analog inputs can be increased. Aero Telemetry, 7471 Talbert Ave., P.O. Box 2047, Huntington Beach, Calif. 92648.
The Model 406D static decay meter is designed for measuring the electrostatic dissipation performance of materials. It meets the requirements of Mil-B-81705, EIA-541 and NFPA 99. The self-contained system has two components: a control unit and a Faraday test cage, which can be placed in a humidity control chamber to allow testing under various environmental conditions. Electro-Tech Systems Inc., 3101 Mount Carmel Ave., Glenside, Pa. 19038.
The Spectroline UV-400 SuperFlood ultraviolet lamp has been updated to include an air-filtering system that allows its internal cooling fan to operate more efficiently. Its 400-watt metal halide bulb delivers a steady-state 365-nanometer intensity of 6,500 milliwatts/sq. cm. at a distance of 15 in. Spectronics Corp., 956 Brush Hollow Road, P.O. Box 483, Westbury, N.Y. 11590.
Boeing's recently announced production cutbacks and layoffs may mark a refocusing on ``core competencies''--and increased outsourcing--by major U.S. aerospace manufacturers. Business seems to be picking up for small aerospace component makers in the Phoenix, Ariz., area. Apex Manufacturing notes it received eight new Boeing orders within a single week last December. The 70-worker, 50,000-sq.-ft. shop, which specializes in precision machining of exotic metals, had a significant win rate on its Boeing bids last year, according to Tom Flessor, vice president of operations.
