THE U.K. IS CONSIDERING a court challenge to the European Commission's approval of a further injection of 460 million pounds ($700 million) into Iberia Airlines by the Spanish government. The EC's decision last week followed an agreement between EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock and the Spanish government last December. The U.K. transport minister, Sir George Younger, said the decision undermined efforts to establish fair competition, rejecting the EC's claim that the funds did not constitute state aid.
NASA officials have briefed aerospace industry representatives on the West Coast on flight tests the space agency has conducted using laser-initiated ordnance systems, which are expected to reduce future launch operations costs. The latest application of the technology is stirring interest within the increasingly-competitive launch vehicle market, officials said, where minimizing life cycle costs is becoming increasingly important to the marketing success of launch systems.
The Fischerscope MMS is a modular system for nondestructive testing, including electromagnetic, eddy current and beta backscatter for measuring coating thickness in the printed circuit board manufacturing process. The MMS can be used to measure nickel coatings deposited under the gold coating as a diffusion barrier, surface copper cladding and copper plating thickness in through-holes and gold coatings on contacts. The unit also can document, manage and evaluate data, define control charts and evaluate measurement data.
Skykleen is designed for the aviation industry as a replacement for many chlorinated and ozone-depleting cleaning solvents, including methylene chloride and 1,1,1 trichloroethane. Skykleen contains no halogenated materials and has good safety characteristics for worker handling and exposure. The cleanser also meets European standards for classification as ``inherently biodegradable.'' Its flashpoint exceeds 100C, and it is considered noncombustible by the U.S. Transportation Dept.
Stephen H. Etter has been appointed aircraft/aerospace advanced products engineering manager and James H. Rothwell aircraft/aerospace business manager of the Valcor Engineering Corp., Springfield, N.J. Etter was design and development section manager for AlliedSignal Engines, and Rothwell was vice president-sales and marketing for Kaiser Fluid Technologies.
John Klettlinger and Mark V. Clancy have been named regional sales managers by Garrett Aviation Services, Springfield, Ill. Klettlinger was a regional sales representative for Curtin Matheson Scientific, Charlotte, N.C., while Clancy was marketing, sales and engineering manager of Signature Flight Support in Minneapolis.
A group of investors, intent on reviving a part of commercial aviation history known as Pan American World Airways, this summer hopes to relaunch the carrier with a twist that's new among airline startups. Instead of aspiring to succeed in the increasingly crowded field of low-cost, short- and medium-haul airlines, the new Pan Am intends to be a low-cost, long-haul carrier. Its route structure will be very limited to start, but it will be comprised entirely of some of the longest, nonstop stage lengths in the continental U.S.
NASA managers are drawing up plans that could greatly downsize the agency's headquarters and shift many responsibilities to its 10 field centers scattered across the U.S. The changes, ordered by Administrator Daniel Goldin, would place the bulk of responsibility for running NASA programs in the hands of center directors. The primary function of the downscaled Washington headquarters would be to set programs and policies, formulate budgets and perform liaison activities with the White House and Congress.
Don Jenkins has been promoted to vice president-regional sales for the South Pacific from vice president-customer support of Fairchild Aircraft, San Antonio, Tex. He will be succeeded by Scott D. Stultz, who has been a regional support manager.
The Maxi-Heat portable heater and generator provides up to 1 million BTUs per hour of clean, heated air at isolated job sites. Combustion gases from the enclosed burners are exhausted away from the machine, while clean, warm air is directed toward the work area. The Maxi-Heat can generate a maximum of 5,600 cu. ft./min. with up to a 180F temperature rise at sea level. The device is powered by an 1,800-rpm. Lister air-cooled diesel engine. Its 191 gal. fuel tank allows unattended operation for up to 24 hr. The machine also produces 120 or 240 v. a.c. power.
Omni 2.3 is a commercial-off-the-shelf for interactive, four-dimensional modeling and simulation of whole-Earth coverage. The program can graphically analyze complex spatial relationships among satellites, missiles and aircraft within a physically accurate environment. The new version provides increased functionality in the Socket/Application Programmer's Interface option that allows greater manipulation of the program with Unix commands. The new program also handles large terrain and multispectral imagery data sets better.
Claudio Mariotta has been named vice president-engineering of SSE Technologies, Fremont, Calif. He held the same position with the Harris Corp. Farinon Div.
The U.S. Air Force of 2025 may be equipped with 500-ton airlifters, pilotless high performance bombers, hypersonic spy planes and fighters with multiple laser weapons. Some of the aircraft--particularly those that must penetrate enemy air defenses strengthened with cheap surface-to-air missiles--would benefit from a new generation of airborne stealth technology.
McDonnell Douglas will upgrade the standard cockpit for the MD-95 transport with six-across flat panel displays as part of a system aimed at improving dispatch reliability, driving down maintenance costs and reducing airline requirements for spares. The new system--based on Honeywell's Versatile Integrated Avionics (VIA 2000) architecture--will include the integration of display, flight management, central aural warning and flight data acquisition functions into a pair of VIA computers.
Keith Phillips has been appointed vice president-sales and marketing of the UNC Manufacturing Div., Annapolis, Md. He was general manager of UNC Chemical Dynamics. Mayra Austin has been named Latin American sales manager for UNC Accessory Services and UNC Airwork.
Forest G. (Bud) Coffey has become a consultant to the Boeing Co. after retiring as vice president-government affairs. He has been succeeded by John Hayden.
The DD-429XM2-300 is implemented on a Type 2 PCMCIA card and is a flexible interface between an Arinc 429 system and a PCMCIA port. Available with four receive channels and one, two or no transmit channels, the new device allows the use of commercial, off-the-shelf laptop computers in applications that require an Arinc 429 interface, including test and system integration and development. It is based on DDC's successful DD-42900 Arinc 429 interface. ILC Data Device Corp., 105 Wilbur Place, Bohemia, N.Y. 11716-2482.
The small but complex Pathfinder spacecraft is in final assembly at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in preparation for the start of integrated testing this month and a scheduled launch late this year for a mission to the surface of Mars. The second in a series of NASA's planned Discovery launches, Pathfinder is actually three spacecraft in one, with a cruise stage for the trip to Mars, a vehicle to protect components during planetary entry and a lander, which includes a microrover.
An IBM-compatible personal computer-based version of Satellite Tool Kit, the commercial-off-the-shelf satellite analysis and planning software, is now available. The program requires a 486 or Pentium processor, Windows 95 or NT, 8 megabytes of RAM and 30 megabytes of hard disk space. That means users of high-end laptop PCs also can use the new version of STK to translate volumes of mission data into easily understood information in graphic form. Features include a texture map, a new object browser interface and drag-and-drop capability.
Air Canada and Canadian Airlines International are locked in an intense struggle for dominance in Canada and on routes to Asia and the U.S. that may eventually determine which airline survives.
THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE of unmanned aerial vehicles developed by Israel Aircraft Industries made its maiden flight last month. Eye-View, a lightweight, close-range tactical UAV, is intended for use by frontline troops. Slightly less than 9 ft. long, with a 13-ft. wingspan, the 176-lb. UAV is equipped with a plug-in optronic payload that includes a day/night sensor.
IRAN HAS TESTED A NEW SEA-LAUNCHED MISSILE, the Chinese-made C-802, and is busy converting patrol boats to carry the weapon, says Vice Adm. John S. Redd, the commander of the 5th Fleet. The missile has a range of 60 mi. and is considered more capable than either the Silkworm or Seersucker. Moreover, surface-to-air missile sites along the Straits of Hormuz have tripled to nine and include the SA-6, the long-range SA-5 and the Chinese-built SA-2. Surface-to-surface missile sites have increased from one to four.
Escalating bird populations are an increasingly serious hazard to airline operations and merit aggressive efforts to combat their presence near airports, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
