Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, Calif., has won a $4-million contract to create a miniature tactical mobile robot for urban operations. The backpack-transportable microrover will be less than 16-in. long and be rugged enough to survive being tossed over fences, windowsills and other barriers, according to Charles Weisbin, manager of JPL's Robotics and Mars Exploration Technology unit. As envisioned, the robot will be highly maneuverable and able to climb stairs.
Northrop Grumman expects to take a $125-million pretax charge against fourth-quarter earnings, according to Kent Kresa, chairman, president and CEO. The write-offs stem from fewer deliveries of 747 fuselages to Boeing owing to Asia's economic malaise. Additionally, management thinks it will cost more than previously thought to complete development of the directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) program. The net result of the charge is that profits for 1999 are likely to fall 15-20% below the company's earlier expectations.
Russia's Saratov aircraft factory is negotiating expanded exports of its two-seat Yak-54 aerobatic aircraft. Northwest Aerobatic Center, Ephrata, Wash., and the Dancing Bear airshow team previously signed for 48 Yak-54s in a $7-million deal (AW&ST Feb. 10, 1997, p. 13). Advance payments have provided the factory with the working capital to produce up to 100 aircraft a year, according to Dmitry Drach, chief designer for the Yakovlev Design Bureau, developer of the aircraft. Six Yak-54s, which cost about $160,000 each, already have been delivered to the U.S.
The EC-20X cartographic navigator provides detailed data on cities, highways, railroads and major lakes and rivers for the Americas, Europe and Africa, and Asia and Australia. Optional regional cartridges are available for enhanced terrestrial data. Data are displayed on its 6-in. X 4.5-in. moving map display, which presents the aircraft's position, courseline and track along with airports, navaids and detailed special use airspace. Three navigation windows at the top of the screen show real-time GPS navigation information. Magellan, 960 Overland Court, San Dimas, Calif.
Another agreement, to be signed soon, could lead to the establishment of a second ATR 42 assembly line in India Avions de Transport Regional is close to deciding whether to launch a new line of 70-seat jets, and is poised to ink an agreement allowing Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to coproduce the ATR 42 turboprop.
The LSH 3400-Ton Millenium fluid cell press has a 42-in.-dia. table and can operate at forming pressures of up to 5,000 psi., generating 3,400 tons of force. The unit, designed and manufactured by Machine Dynamics LLC of Wichita, Kan., is intended for sheet metal forming in the aerospace industry. The press sells for $675,000, while a 10,000 psi. version is priced at $850,000. In comparison, a 10,000 psi. press with an 80 X 29-in. bed would cost $3.25 million.
Martinique Aeronautique has ordered an additional ATR 42-500 twin turboprop transport. France's Intertechnique has been selected by Airbus Industrie to supply the A340-500/600's electric power calculator.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. has deployed an Aspect Development component and supplier management system covering 800,000 parts to 4,000 users in 25 domestic and 48 foreign sites. Separately, Aspect has introduced a ``VIP Premium'' subscription to its database of 4 million electronic components from nearly 1,000 suppliers, covering 80% of available parts. Users can search the database to find parts from different suppliers to meet their needs. The Premium service includes daily updates, tailored industry news and greater information on suppliers.
Kaynar's steel alloy self-locking castellated nuts have been approved by the U.S. Navy Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div. as meeting Mil.Std MD14144 and MS14145. They are available with cadmium plating with or without dry film lubricant in 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 and 1/2-in. sizes. In addition, Aerospatiale has qualified Kaynar's NSA5059 and NSA5060 series nuts, which cover a range of 3/16-11/4. Kaynar Technologies Inc., 800 S. State College Blvd., Fullerton, Calif. 92831-5334.
A recommended funding increase of $2.2-2.5 billion for modernization of the U.S. Air Force in Fiscal 2000 is about half of the $4-5 billion requested by chief of staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan, but it would repair some of the major cuts forced on the service in the last 2 years by flat defense budgets. ``Really, what it does for us is buy back the things we had to give up,'' a senior Air Force official said. ``It doesn't fix us, it just patches the hole in the dike.''
Aerolineas Argentinas will outsource management of its information technology (IT) operations to the Sabre Group, under terms of a 10-year, $120-million agreement. The pact also calls for Sabre to provide IT services to Austral Lineas Aereas-Cielos Del Sur, a regional affiliate of Aerolineas Argentinas. . . . Korean Air has signed an outsourcing contract for its IT services with IBM Global Services, also for $120 million over 10 years. In the first phase, IBM will take over operation and technical support of the airline's major computer systems.
PATS Inc. is being acquired by DeCrane Aircraft Holdings of El Segundo, Calif. Headquartered in Columbia, Md., PATS designs, manufactures and installs auxiliary fuel tanks and other equipment for commercial and corporate jets, including the extended-range tanks used by the new Boeing Business Jet.
The USN L Series of portable ultrasonic flaw detectors can be used in bright sunlight as well as in poor lighting conditions. Their ``transreflective'' LCD technology uses sunlight to make the display more visible outdoors. The new series has a 60-Hz. update rate and a screen resolution of 480 X 320 pixels. The units weigh about 6 lb. Krautkramer Branson Inc., 60 Industrial Park Road, Lewistown, Pa. 17044.
Parker Stratoflex quick disconnect couplings that are being used on the International Space Station will be coated with a custom version of General Magnaplate's Nedox, designated SF-2NT. The thin coating is needed to protect the couplings from damage in the space environment. Even minute surface scratches could cause dangerous, expensive leaks in the -160F temperature of space. The SF-2NT coating created a dry-lubricated surface with a hardness of Rockwell 68. General Magnaplate Corp., 1331 Route 1, Linden, N.J. 07036.
Hong Kong, the leading air freight terminal in Asia, expects no cargo growth in 1999--a big change in a region accustomed to double-digit growth. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. says imports to the region are off ``drastically'' from Europe and the U.S. because of Asian currency devaluations. Despite a comparative labor advantage, Asian exports are off as well.
Nasco brake rotors have been approved as replacements for BFGoodrich OEM rotors used on Boeing 727-100 and -200 aircraft under Supplementary Type Certificate ST00648LA. The Nasco and OEM rotors are fully interchangeable, allowing them to be intermixed in the same brake. Nasco Aircraft Brake Inc., 13300 Estrella Ave., Gardena, Calif. 90248.
The U.S. Air Force's training command has received FAA supplemental type certification of several modifications to the T-3A Firefly. The changes were prompted by a series of inflight engine stoppages and three fatal accidents at the Air Force Academy. T-3A pilot-screening flights were suspended in July 1997, and USAF officials gave conflicting accounts last week about how long it will take to return the trainer to full service. Fuel system modification kit installations must be verified and design drawings updated before production kits are fielded.
Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space has refocused its satellite business by combining its manufacturing and sales efforts under one roof. Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems will replace a legacy of the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta that resulted in a split between manufacturing and sales of its satellites under separate organizations. The new unit means marketing activities and spacecraft production are now a business unit of LMMS.
Tower Air Inc. has entered into a wet lease agreement valued at more than $20 million with Air India to provide four Boeing 747 aircraft to transport religious pilgrims during the Hadj in1999-2001.
A violent snowstorm struck the U.S. Midwest on the first weekend of 1999, causing near white-out conditions that closed Chicago O'Hare International Airport and stranded thousands of connecting passengers at airports throughout the region. The storm shut down Buffalo, N.Y., and passed through New England. At midweek, a second wave of winter storms cut across the Midwest to harass airlines, airports and travelers.
December was a good month for Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, which operates Alaska Airlines and commuter Horizon Air. December traffic for Alaska Airlines increased 6.8%, to 970 million revenue passenger miles (RPM) on a similar increase in capacity. Load factor was 68.4%, the same as a year ago. The airline finished the year with more than 13 million passengers flying almost 11.3 billion RPM. Load factor was 67.1%. Horizon Air's 1998 route restructuring emphasizing increased hub overflying helped boost its traffic 28.6% to 889 million RPM on a 25.5% gain in capacity.
On display at the recent Zhuhai, China, air show was a truck-mounted ``antifog'' horn measuring 5-meters (16.4-ft.) long, with a 2.9-meter (9.5-ft.) bell mouth. An offshoot of the speakers once delivered propaganda. The electro-pneumatic horn broadcasts a high-pressure sound wave that evaporates small water particles in the air, according to Zhou Ming Jun, senior engineer at Beijing's Tsinghua University. Range is up to 1 km. (0.62 mi.). The aim is to upgrade takeoff and landing safety by improving visibility.
The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous spacecraft executed a 24-min. burn of its main engine Jan. 3 to head back to Eros after its missed attempt to reach the asteroid. But late last week controllers were still uncertain of when Near would arrive at Eros and how long a mission it could conduct. The burn imparted 939 meters/sec., as planned, which was to allow it to catch up to Eros in mid-February 2000. But determinations of Near's post-burn position as well as estimates of how much fuel it had left were still coarse. c
True HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters like this one made by Pall Corp. have been installed in United Airlines aircraft fleet. The filters remove at least 99.97% of all air particles of 0.3 microns in size. The HEPA filters can play a significant role in improving air quality in modern aircraft, which recirculate about 50% of cabin air, by removing bacteria, viruses, mold spores and other irritants. Filters, which are installed in the air recirculation system, will be replaced during C checks. Pall Corp., 25 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington, N.Y.
