Daniel Grant of the University of Florida has received the AIAA/Calspan Best Student Paper Award. His paper was entitled "Flight Dynamics of a Morphing Aircraft Utilizing Inde- pendent Multiple-Joint Wing Sweep." Grant is scheduled to receive his B.S. degree in aerospace engineering in December. His paper details the design and analysis of a micro air vehicle that incorporates a biologically-inspired structure that mimics a shoulder and elbow joint on each wing similar to those on a seagull.
Gary Moore has been named vice president-international operations and government sales for Ballistic Recovery Systems Inc., South St. Paul, Minn. Frank Hoffmann has been promoted to vice president-engineering from director of engineering for BRS's European office in Germany.
The military response to an Iranian nuclear or other asymmetric attack on Israel is already taking shape. The Israeli air force (IAF) plans to curb its increasing reliance on unmanned reconnaissance and strike aircraft and to keep its manned aircraft--including the Boeing F-15I fleet of extended-range strike aircraft--longer and in greater numbers than envisioned even three years ago.
Germany's antitrust authorities have OK'd the takeover by Air Berlin of low-cost rival DBA. Immediately following the announcement, Air Berlin replaced the DBA board, although management remains in place.
David Nixon, in his letter on the Cambridge University/MIT blended-wing concept (AW&ST July 31, p. 10), raises what has become the standard alleged worst feature of the BWB: "the windowless interior."
The FAA has issued a safety alert for airline and general aviation jet operators that addresses the development of procedures for flight crews to assess landing performance based on conditions that actually exist at the time of arrival, instead of relying on conditions reported at the time of dispatch. According to the agency, factors to take into consideration include weather, runway status, the airplane's weight and the brake systems to be used.
Former astronaut Mary Cleave is on her way out as associate NASA administrator for science, having caught major flak for the agency from her constituents after the Fiscal 2007 budget request whacked about $3 billion from science accounts. Administrator Michael Griffin used the money to pay unexpected costs for returning the space shuttle fleet to service after the Columbia accident, and he's said to be displeased with the way Cleave has handled the ensuing uproar.
The signing of an Indo-French agreement on the transfer of technology for critical technological components such as the ring laser gyro and other guidance systems for the BrahMos cruise missile that India is jointly developing with Russia has been postponed. The deal also would facilitate the transfer of critical technology for subsystems needed for India's indigenous missile program. The proposed agreement envisages the transfer of technology from European missile consortium MBDA to India's Defense Research and Development Organization.
Harris Corp. is creating a new publicly traded company that will focus on microwave communications. Under a deal announced recently, Harris's Microwave Communications business will be combined with Stratex Networks, another microwave equipment provider, to create Harris Stratex Networks. Harris would own 56% of the entity, which will be traded on the Nasdaq exchange. The merger is scheduled for completion in four months. Analysts say it should allow the two companies to increase profit margins and facilitate access to international markets.
Air traffic delays in Europe are growing worse, without even factoring in delays that emanated in August from the British anti-terrorism operation. Intra-European flights suffered their seventh straight quarter of worsening on-time performance, the Assn. of European Airlines says. More than 20% of departures were delayed by more than 15 min., compared with 18% in the same period in 2005 and 16.6% in each of the two years before that. Madrid's Barajas Airport suffered the most delays, followed by Paris's Charles de Gaulle.
The committee investigating the failure of an Indian Space Research Organization Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) on July 10 (AW&ST July 17, p. 64) says the primary cause was the sudden loss of thrust in one of the four liquid propellant strap-on stages (S4) at 0.2 sec. after liftoff. With only three strap-on stages working, there was significant reduction in the control capability.
A British Royal Air Force board of inquiry team was sent to Afghanistan last week to investigate the Sept. 2 fatal crash of a Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. All 14 people on board were killed. The crash occurred shortly after the aircraft completed air-to-air refueling at 20,000 ft. The crew called in a technical problem related to a fire on board. The aircraft, XV230, was likely carrying out an electro-optical surveillance mission.
ITT CORP. HAS DEVELOPED AND TESTED a three-dimensional radar system upgrade for Forsvarets Materielverk of Sweden that includes new technology in the processor, transmitter, antenna and displays. The S3D radar is a key part of the Swedish air defense network. The upgrade of the S-band radar system will provide improved reliability, availability and maintainability while adding 15 years to the life of the equipment. The work is being performed by ITT's Gilfillan Div.
As far as the Coalition of Airline Pilots Assns. (CAPA) is concerned, the U.S. government and airline industry are in danger of flunking security. The trade group, which represents pilots at five passenger and cargo carriers, gives poor marks to the public and private sector for security gaps in screening air cargo, protecting aircraft on the ground and training aircrews to deal with terrorism threats.
Karen Burke has been appointed federal security director at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. She has been director of stakeholder and industry affairs and director of aviation operations at the Transportation Security Administration.
The FAA has approved a new child safety device designed for use on aircraft. AmSafe Aviation's "Cares" works by restraining the upper body of a child weighing 22-44 lb. with a belt and shoulder harness that wraps around the airline seat back and attaches to the seat's lap belt. The device, unlike the hard-backed child safety seat, is not approved for use in motor vehicles. The FAA says the safest place for a child in an airplane is in an approved safety device, not on a parent's lap. However, the FAA does not mandate the use of such devices on airplanes.
Satellite communications supplier TriaGnoSys says it has successfully tested Internet access software for the inflight broadband service to be offered on the Airbus A380. The software will host both passenger and crew/cockpit applications. The first A380 broadband service will be offered by Airbus-led OnAir with an unidentified airline in 2008 (AW&ST Aug. 7, p. 54).
European Space Agency nations, including the U.K., have committed to virtually 100% of the additional funds required to complete the four In Orbit Validation spacecraft. The €950-million ($1.21-billion) contract for the IOV satellites was awarded in January to Galileo Industries, a consortium led by EADS Astrium and Alcatel Alenia Space, but full funding for the nearly €200-million package to cover ESA's part of the additional funding had yet to be settled. A last-minute hiccup in the U.K. had threatened to cut British workshare (AW&ST July 31, p. 38).
Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport is seeking bids for in-line baggage screening at Terminal B. The modernization program is estimated to cost $20-30 million, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
Gary Ellmer has become senior vice president-operations/general manager for charters for ATA Airlines. He was president/chief operating officer of the Executive Airlines/American Eagle Caribbean unit of American Eagle.
Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary spent much of August lambasting the British government over restrictive rules on passenger hand baggage issued in the wake of the unraveling of August's security alert. But that didn't stop passengers from continuing to flock to the low-fare carrier. In fact, Ryanair last month carried 4 million passengers, a new record. That amounts to roughly the population of Ireland, the airline points out. Additionally, Ryanair announced new routes from Ireland and higher frequencies, continuing its competitive attack on Aer Lingus.
The Hubble Space Telescope collected this first-ever image of the icy moon Ariel transiting the surface of Uranus, with the white moon casting its dark shadow on the planet's cloud tops. Because Uranus spins on an axis almost directly in line with its orbital plane, and its moons orbit above the planet's equator, such transits are visible only every 42 years. In 1965, the last time an Ariel transit would have been visible from Earth, there weren't any telescopes with sufficient resolution to image it. Astronomers Lawrence A. Sromovsky, Heidi B. Hammel and Kathy A.
Ed Weatherwax has been appointed general manager of Herley-CTI, Whippany, N.J. He was vice president-business development of parent company Herley Industries Inc.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans to increase its China services in April, with the addition of four-times-weekly nonstop flights between Stockholm and Beijing with Airbus A340s. The new offerings will complement flights from Copenhagen to Beijing and Shanghai. The A340s will have business class, economy extra and economy service. SAS also flies from Copenhagen to New York, Washington, Seattle, Chicago, Bangkok and Tokyo, and from Stockholm to New York and Chicago.
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