DIAMOND-COATED CERAMIC BALL BEARINGS that last up to 100 times longer than conventional steel ball bearings are being commercialized by Crystallume Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., in cooperation with MPB Corp. of Keene, N.H. The diamond-coating, applied by a chemical vapor deposition process over silicon nitride ceramic balls and bearing races, requires no lubrication. The hardware also can withstand severe operating conditions, including high-heat, high-load and long spaceflight assignments.
Lockheed Martin plans to extend the production run of the Atlas 2AS as the aerospace company ramps up to introduce the new Atlas 2AR. The ``bridge'' buy will include eight more boosters, raising the company's commitment to 70 of the rockets from the original 62. This means that manufacture of the two launch vehicles will overlap at least through 2002.
PRATT&WHITNEY CANADA FACES a busy year-end with the planned certification of the first of its new PW500-series turbofans, the PW530A, as well as two growth engines, the PW306A turbofan and the PW206C turboshaft. The 640-shp. PW206C will power Agusta's new A109 Power, a high-performance model of the Italian-built, twin-engine helicopter. The 5,700-lb.-thrust PW306A has been selected for Israel Aircraft Industries new Galaxy long-range business twinjet. A pair of 3,000-lb.-thrust PW530As power the new Cessna Citation Bravo business jet, a Citation 2 upgrade.
U.S.-JAPAN AIR SERVICES AGREEMENTS have entered another acrimonious round. Japan's Ministry of Transport is sitting on an application from United Airlines to start services to Seoul from Kansai Airport in Osaka. The ministry previously approved United's request for Los Angeles-Honolulu-Seoul service via Tokyo, but with a 50% limit on United's pickup of originating passengers in Tokyo. The ministry said United has violated the agreement by picking up as many as 90% of its Seoul-bound passengers in Tokyo from April-August.
The RTCA has laid out a road map for the FAA Administrator to move the U.S. air traffic control by 2010 to ``free flight''--the radically new scheme that would permit pilots to select their own flight paths in real-time, with controllers intervening only to prevent problems.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT. has performed preliminary flight evaluations of a Sikorsky S-70A helicopter in a rapid-response fire fighter support role. Fire officials now are seeking a prototype 1,000-gal. belly-mounted water tank with integral refill system to conduct further trials. A civil derivative of the UH-60L ``international'' Black Hawk, the S-70A's two powerful GE T700-701C turboshafts, allow the helicopter to deliver water at lower altitudes, increasing accuracy while reducing vaporization loss.
THE HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR (HPC) disks of about 1,000 Pratt&Whitney JT3D turbofan engines installed on Boeing 707- and 720-series aircraft and McDonnell Douglas DC-8-series transports must be inspected for corrosion damage. An FAA airworthiness directive proposed last week would require operators to recoat, replate or replace defective disks as needed. The directive was prompted by reports of a failed HPC disk in a JT8D engine, which is similar in design to the older JT3D powerplant. The agency is accepting public comments on the directive until Jan. 2.
SMALLER, FASTER AND MORE POWERFUL military radar systems could result from a new way to make advanced semiconductor chips. Researchers at the U.S. Air Force's Wright Laboratory Materials Directorate and American Xtal Technology of Dublin, Calif., have improved the indium phosphide crystal production process to eliminate defects and crystal orientation problems that had prevented practical use of indium phosphide as a chip substrate.
Aerospace and defense companies committed to shifting from military contracting to commercial markets are realizing higher revenue growth, and have a better long-term outlook for success than counterparts that remain focused on defense work only, according to a recent study.
Following are excerpts from a comprehensive report by the U.S. Aerospace Industries Assn. on the implications of international market trends for U.S. corporate strategy and government policy. The excerpts are drawn from part three of a three-part study titled ``After the Cold War.'' As the U.S. aerospace industry moves into the 21st century, foreign demand will account for two-thirds of all commercial transport sales and a significant share of the defense market.
A new fuselage-mounted-pod air refueling system could offer a cost-effective option for air forces planning to build or expand a tanker fleet, according to proponents. However, U.S. military officials gave the system only cursory consideration and recently opted for a wing-mounted pod configuration, foregoing potential cost-savings from the fuselage-mounted approach. That decision essentially forces development of a prototype to be undertaken independently by AEL Industries Inc.--which initiated the concept--or a foreign customer.
A digitally enhanced photo shows a stretched Boeing 777-300 as if in flight. Japan Airlines last week committed to adding five 777-300 stretched models to its existing order for 10 777-200s and 10 options. The adjunct is worth approximately $800 million, according to Boeing. JAL intends to use the 777-300s on domestic trunk routes and configure it for between 480- and 520-passenger seats in a two-class seating arrangement.
James R. Wilson has been appointed chairman of the board of the Thiokol Corp., Ogden, Utah. He will remain president/ chief executive officer. Wilson succeeds U. Edwin Garrison, who has retired as CEO, but will remain a board member.
THE VIRGINIA AIR NATIONAL GUARD is flying the first two production versions of an F-16 integrated electro-optical reconnaissance pod made by Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems. The E-O pod features faster imagery turnaround and substantially reduced logistics requirements than film-based systems. Under the U.S. Air Force's Big Safari program, the company's Ft. Worth unit produced, integrated, tested and delivered the first two systems in less than five months.
Erik G. Mettala has been named executive vice president and Marek E. Rusin- kiewicz director of the InfoSleuth Project of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp., Austin, Tex. Mettala was associate dean of engineering for research at the University of Texas at Arlington. Rusinkiewicz was a professor of computer science at the University of Houston.
Middle East nations are continuing their procurement holiday as they try to digest, and pay for, the weapons they ordered during the buying spree immediately following the 1991 gulf war. Despite the steady decline in defense spending in the region and a corresponding slowdown in new orders, the Middle East remains one of the largest markets for military weapons exporters.
Steve Weik has been named chief engineer of Parker Bertea Aerospace's Customer Support Operations, Irvine, Calif. He succeeds Wally Walz, who has retired. Ron Velivis has been named director of technical support for the Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., Paramus, N.J. He succeeds Ray Villano, who has retired. Velivis was manager of service network administration.
Saying that competition is leading to ``crazy pricing'' by manufacturers, the head of Korean Air Aerospace is wondering how his division can cut its production costs 20-25% to make the MD-95 program profitable. ``The price is really crazy, it's hard to see how it will work,'' Korean Air Executive Vice President Yi Taek Shim said of the $1-billion order that McDonnell Douglas won from ValuJet Airlines for 50 of the new 129-seat aircraft, with options for 50 (AW&ST Oct. 30, p. 35; Oct. 23, p. 29). Korean Air is building the MD-95's nose section.
NASA has revised its plans for sending astronauts for months-long stays on Mir in the wake of Russian officials ruling that two Americans do not meet height restrictions. NASA has stopped training pairs of astronauts, a prime and a backup, for each Mir slot and will now train them in sequence, as did crews during Apollo. The backup for one mission will become the prime for the next.
THE GROWING NUMBER OF DISCOUNT airlines in the U.S. is having a ``dramatic effect on our domestic system'' and saving consumers a lot of money in the process, according to Patrick V. Murphy, deputy assistant Transportation secretary for aviation and international affairs. Speaking at the AVIATION WEEK GROUP's Chicago Convention '95 last week, Murphy said travelers are saving up to $4 billion annually by flying low-cost carriers. His department has eight applications pending and has approved four others to begin bargain service.
