Denver International Airport is undergoing final preparations for opening in late February. The move from Stapleton is targeted for Feb. 27. Air carriers and city officials here are planning to terminate operations at Stapleton on Feb. 27, triggering a massive overnight move to Denver International Airport. Flight operations are tentatively scheduled to begin from DIA on Feb. 28.
Raytheon Aircraft, Wichita, Kan., has named Karl Childs vice president-domestic business jet sales. He was a senior sales executive with Raytheon Corporate Jets. Keith Nadolski, who was a senior sales executive with Beech Aircraft, has been named vice president-domestic Beech sales for Raytheon Aircraft.
MacQuire is a hardware and software kit that converts a Macintosh NuBus computer into a fully programmable, high-speed digital oscilloscope. The kit combines a MacScope plug-in data acquisition board with National Instruments' LabView graphical instrumentation software. MacQuire features dual-channel, 130-MHz. bandwidth, 8-bit resolution, optional memory of up to 4 megabytes and software-selectable triggering with adjustable coupling. Applications include radar, sonar, ultrasound, time-of-flight measurements, and shock and vibration analysis.
INDONESIA IS TURNING TO THE NETHERLANDS for expertise and cooperation in airline and airport operations. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will supply management support for landside commercial operations at Soekarna-Hatta Airport in Jakarta and other airports. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Garuda Indonesia plan closer cooperation in commercial and operational activities.
U.S. AND JAPANESE factories are transitioning to agent-based manufacturing, to increase competitiveness. The strategy replaces complex and unwieldy centrally controlled factory manufacturing systems with a series of autonomous, local ``agents.'' Agent-based systems give managers of each shop entity, such as a machine tool, the resources to assess their local environment and authority to choose their own course of action.
Continental Airlines is slashing its Continental Lite operation, cutting capacity 18%, suspending payments on major debts and leases, deferring Boeing aircraft deliveries and postponing pay increases, in a bid to restore profits. The moves ``will ensure a successful Continental that is stronger and has a healthier balance sheet and a better position in the marketplace,'' Contintental President Gordon M. Bethune said in launching his four-part ``Go Forward'' plan to revive the Houston-based carrier.
The CI 451 aircraft antenna is capable of handling both GPS and VHF frequencies and has the same footprint as a Loran or VHF four-hole antenna. In GPS mode it meets the electrical requirements of Arinc 743, and the VHF function meets the electrical requirements of TSO C37b for 118-136 MHz. Transmitting and receiving VHF signals will not interfere with normal GPS reception. The antenna also is capable of receiving a differential GPS correction signal sent over VHF voice or data links. Models also are available for data links on other frequencies such as FM radio at 98 MHz.
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE has imaged one of the most complex planetary nebulas ever seen--NGC 6543, nicknamed the ``Cat's Eye Nebula.'' (The term planetary nebula is a misnomer; they are dying stars surrounded by shells of gas and have nothing to do with planet formation.) NGC 6543 is 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Draco. The picture, presented this month at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, is a composite of three images taken by the Wide Field/Planetary Camera-2.
The FAA has had to postpone awarding of a contract to construct and operate a network of stations to measure and transmit differential-GPS corrections via satellite because of a Pentagon delay in granting approval. Last week, the FAA notified five bidders for its Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) program that contract award would be delayed by 30 days (AW&ST June 13, 1994, p. 34). The contenders include teams headed by Harris, Loral, Raytheon, Rockwell/Collins and Wilcox.
Aerospatiale, Alenia and British Aerospace will form a cooperative organization to market their turboprop and turbofan regional aircraft. The agreement, which was concluded late last week and is pending approval, is considered the first step toward a wide-ranging industrial alliance that eventually will give birth to a streamlined range ofproducts and pave the way for new jointly developed regional aircraft.
Modern, highly automated transport aircraft have been in service for a decade, and there is a growing body of evidence that pilots are encountering difficulties interfacing with highly automated cockpit systems. A series of incidents and several fatal accidents are evidence that something is amiss. In more than a few cases, the pilots involved can be heard on cockpit voice recorders questioning what the automatic flight system is doing.
Vapormatt's water-assisted stripping process uses a jet of hot water mixed with detergent and tiny plastic media to clear aircraft wheels. The WASP process reaches even the most inaccessible crevices on a wheel. The system also allows precise control of stripping. WASP can be used to degrease wheels at each tire change without damaging paint underneath or to strip the paint after every fifth change so the wheel can be checked for damage. The process is carried out in a sealed cabinet and does not use hazardous substances. Vapormatt, Ltd., Rue a Chiens, St.
McDonnell Douglas Corp. has named John P. Capellupo president of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace. He was the corporation's executive vice president. Kenneth A. Francis, formerly executive vice president for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace-West, has assumed special assignment duties until his retirement in March.
AIR FRANCE WILL CANCEL orders for 17 Airbus and Boeing transports in the next few weeks and on Mar. 25 will eliminate 10 ``low yield'' stops in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America. The carrier will not conclude orders for additional aircraft during the next two years to further reduce debt, officials said. They added that Air France will cut losses by 50% to about $648 million during the 14-month 1994-95 fiscal year ending Mar. 31.
JAPANESE CARRIERS ARE VIEWING HEAVY FLIGHT LOADS over the New Year's period as a sign that 1995 may bring them greater prosperity. They carried 3.4 million passengers from Dec. 23-Jan. 5, a major holiday period for the country despite the fact that most Japanese do not celebrate Christmas. Nearly every carrier showed gains in domestic and overseas operations, with Japan Airlines' domestic operations up nearly 15% and All Nippon Airways' overseas flights up nearly 20%.
Pierre Graff has been appointed head of Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), the French civil aviation authority. He succeeds Michel Scheller.
MARTIN MARIETTA and Westinghouse have won a two-year, $30.5-million U.S. Army contract to ready initial production of the Longbow missile. Combined with a $31-million initial production funding contract for a fire control radar awarded last month, the Longbow system moved a step closer to production and operational use on the AH-64 Apache. The program has become especially significant with the cancellation of production for the next-generation RAH-66 Comanche. The missile contract provides funding for low-rate initial production in 1996.
Other prizes included Honorary Fellowship Awards for Sydney Gillibrand, vice chairman of British Aerospace; Baroness Platt of Writtle, a member of the House of Lords Select Committee for Science and Technology; and Lord Tombs of Brailes, former chairman of Rolls-Royce.
The MR-CPU540 I/O processor board is designed for demanding input/output and real-time processing in harsh environments. The commercial-off-the-shelf board is ruggedized to withstand extreme shock, vibration and temperatures without the cost of full Mil-Spec requirements. The board features an MC68040 processor and two MC68360 multiprotocol I/O processors, all operating at 25 MHz. The MC68040 is supported by 16 megabytes of erasable programmable read-only memory, 16 MB of dynamic read-only memory and 16 MB of global DRAM.
The senTorr vacuum gauge controller is designed for a wide range of industrial and analytical vacuum applications. It can measure vacuums of up to 10-10 Torr and simultaneously displays all measurement on LED displays. Pressure readings are not directionally biased. Features include linear analog transducer outputs for remote monitoring of gauge pressure, remote input/output for external control of the ionization gauge and adjustable sensitivity. The senTorr will work with most manufacturers' gauge tubes.
The U.S.-Russian partnership that will be the linchpin of the international space station faces its first true test with the next space shuttle mission.
Rapid development of highly automated cockpit systems often has outpaced human ability to fully comprehend their mode behaviors--a liability that has ``profound implications'' upon flight safety, according to an official of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
