Trans States Airlines, Inc., will acquire 60 Jetstream 41 regional transports worth $420 million. The first nine aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 1995, and the balance will follow in 1996. The St. Louis, Mo.-based regional carrier plans to configure the aircraft for 30 seats to capture increased demand on 19-seat routes flown by Jetstream 31s. FAA APPROVAL is anticipated before the end of the year. The aircraft normally is configured for 29 seats.
IPTN's N-250-100 twin-turboprop will be marketed much as other modern regional transports are, with ``jet like'' comfort, high-speed performance, a large fuel capacity for long routes, a quiet interior and digital flight controls. Its technological ``bonus'' will be fly-by-wire flight controls. The first prototype of the high-wing, T-tail aircraft that rolled out from Nusantara Aircraft's hangar Nov. 10 would seat 50-54 passengers. But production aircraft will be larger.
Unisys Corp., McLean, Va., has promoted Sidney P. Rundell to president of electronic systems for the Government Systems Group. He was group vice president-information systems.
ALLIEDSIGNAL WILL SUPPLY ITS ENHANCED traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (E-TCAS) to the U.S. Air Force for installation in the new C-130H and J transports for tanker and rescue rendezvous. The new system will combine TCAS warning with a new formation rendezvous capability for the military transports. E-TCAS has a display with 1-mi. range that will give pilots precise location of nearby aircraft and let them fly formation and refuel in flight under instrument conditions.
The TNL 8100 Airborne GPS Flight Management Navigation System can now be installed in Cessna Citation 2 business jets under a Supplementary Type Certificate. The system is composed of a navigation processing unit and a control display unit with an eight-color cathode ray tube display. The CRT shows numeric and graphical data, including graphical representation of horizontal and vertical deviation. The system updates its location five times each second and tracks all satellites in view. The TNL 8100 also is differential GPS capable. Trimble Navigation, Ltd., 645 N.
New items offered in the latest Astronomical Society of the Pacific's catalog include a videotape on the Hubble space telescope repair mission, CD-ROMs offering high-resolution deep space and solar system images, and software for performing spectral analysis. Other items include sky observing aids, posters and charts. Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94112.
Work at McDonnell Douglas on a possible jumbo transport is proceeding at a relatively low level, and currently is in a ``technology development readiness mode.'' The No. 3 airframe maker got involved early in the development of designs for a very large transport aircraft (AW&ST Apr. 13, 1992, p. 18). At one time, the company had more than 1,000 people dedicated to the program and built a mockup of part of the planned aircraft's double passenger deck interior to show potential airline customers.
Rollins Hudig Hall of Chicago has named Richard M. Nausch president/chief executive officer of subsidiary Space Risks International. He has been a senior executive specializing in the aerospace industry at several insurance brokerages.
Paramjit (Baash) Bains, manager of Hughes' Antenna and Microwave business unit, will succeed Patrick C. Dougherty, who is retiring as general manager of commercial programs for Hughes Space and Communications Co. Also retiring is C.R. Johnson, general manager of government business development. He will be succeeded by Ronald V. Swanson, program manager for the U.S. Navy UHF-Follow-On satellite program.
Saudi Arabian Airlines has made its long-awaited decision on the types, numbers and mix of aircraft to be ordered from the Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp., according to industry officials. But a formal announcement may not come before the new year because of internal political reasons.
THE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS is an ongoing problem in Singapore. Managers frequently recruit in Malaysia but still find it difficult to fill key aerospace manufacturing positions or hang onto skilled workers. In the latest example, Singapore Airlines has asked the Accounting Center of China Aviation (ACCA), a division of the state-owned Civil Aviation Administration of China, to perform part of the airline's revenue accounting functions in China because of the recruitment problem at home.
Avibras has developed a coastal defense system based on its Astros 2 multiple rocket launcher, which it will begin delivering to the Brazilian armed forces next year. The Brazilian company will deliver two Astros 2 batteries next year and a third in 1996. Two of them will be employed in the coastal defense configuration. Each battery includes six launchers, six ammunition supply vehicles and a command and control vehicle.
The 64-bit dual in-line memory module has twice the memory of a single in-line memory module or SIMM. It is designed to meet the demands of next-generation, memory intensive operating systems and integrated applications suites. Users can choose between eight-byte-wide, interleaved or two four-byte-wide, noninterleaved operation. The DIMM's circuit board has 84 pins on each side of the module. It measures 5.25 X 1.0 X 0.15 in. and can be used with current memory chip technology. Smart Modular Technologies, 45531 Northport Loop West, Fremont, Calif. 94538.
PAY-FOR-TRAINING PROGRAMS PROVIDED 26% of the 5,187 U.S. airline pilots hired through October. The controversial practice is prevalent at startup and non-jet regional airlines, according to Air, Inc., an Atlanta-based pilot career services company. Typically costing $9,000, pay-for-training guarantees low-experience pilots a job once selected by an airline, providing they complete an approved type-specific training course and pass a simulator check ride.
The pace of activities in the High Speed Research propulsion program is quickening as researchers move to capture data aimed at narrowing engine cycle and component options for a next-generation supersonic transport. Schedules now call for one of two favored engine concepts to be discarded late next year. Preferred engine nozzle and inlet concepts also should be selected in the same period. The work will be performed under the program's second phase, which will run through Fiscal 2001.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is seeking a major role in Europe's transportation system as the first air-rail international hub. France's ambition is to reconcile traditionally competitive short-haul transportation modes, aircraft and high-speed trains. The nation's major international airport is now served by Trains a Grande Vitesse (TGV), which provides service to a number of points on a rapidly expanding domestic-regional route system.
SF-Oil is a nonhazardous honing oil developed for superfinishing operations. It is formulated for low surface tension to provide fast oil flow between ultra-fine abrasives and workpieces to assure defect-free superfinishing. It will quickly irrigate the entire abrasive surface uniformly. When properly filtered, SF-Oil can be used indefinitely. The honing oil is manufactured from severely treated mineral oils, making it free of hazardous materials. This reduces skin irritation and disposal costs and simplifies compliance with federal regulations on toxic products.
The Digital Power Monitor is designed for airborne and ground a.c./d.c. power systems. The self-calibrating device is available in a sealed box or on a VME card. Data are stored in a nonvolatile memory to aid in easily fixing glitches. It is configured at the factory to meet Mil-E-24021 REV.A-.K. If voltage, frequency or phase characteristics are out of sequence or outside specified limits, it will deenergize to activate an alarm or shut down the system. Real-time and nonvolatile memory can store the last 10 waveforms and can be expanded to 100 as an option.
A POINTED EXCHANGE OF LETTERS between soon-to-be House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Floyd Spence (R.-S.C.) and senior Pentagon civilians may signal a turnaround in recent defense budget slashing trends. Spence objected to Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch's portrayal of military readiness as being ``as high as [it has] ever been.'' U.S. Air Force officials are still checking Spence's claims that aircrews are so overextended that 100% of F-15E crews and 64% of F-15C crews required training waivers to keep flying.
Hughes Communications, Inc., of Los Angeles has promoted Harold E. McDonnell (see photo) to senior vice president-systems engineering and technology from vice president-Space Systems Acquisition.
Boeing continues to refine proprietary designs and technologies for a proposed 600-seat New Large Aircraft as market demand builds to a point that will justify the estimated $15-billion project. Key to project success will be creating a highly flexible design able to operate efficiently on short, high-density routes as well as long-haul markets such as London-Tokyo.
Regional airlines must be governed by standards based upon aircraft operation--not seating capacity--to ensure the flying public a single level of safety throughout the U.S. airline industry, according to a score of sweeping recommendations proposed by the National Transportation Safety Board.
B-J Enterprises, Inc., advanced tube bending techniques result in minimal wall thinning and near-zero reject rates. The company specializes in refractory metals machining and forming. It can work with tantalum, molybdenum, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium and their alloys. Sizes start at 0.003-in. wall thicknesses with height/diameter ratios that exceed 20:1. Quality assurance complies with Mil-Q-9858A, Mil Std 45663 and Mil-I-45208. B-J Enterprises, Inc., 173 Queen Ave., S.E., Albany, Ore. 97321.
The U.S. and Russia have come one step closer to a planned rendezvous of the Mir space station and the shuttle Atlantis with Rockwell's completion of the Orbiter Docking System (ODS). Rockwell Aerospace plans to deliver the system to NASA this week in preparation for the joint U.S.-Russian mission scheduled to be conducted in about six months. The company signed the ODS over to NASA Nov. 15 after a fast-paced, two-year development program, Rockwell officials said.
