Oculus Photonics has the world's first digital, near-ultraviolet camcorder, the company says. The lightweight, portable system is designed for viewing scenes in the near-UV waveband in real time on a 3.5-in. LCD display, and for acquiring near-UV digital video stills. The camera module features enhanced UV response in the 300-400nm range, with a peak response at 370nm. It is mounted atop a commercial camcorder, from which it receives power, and is capable of imaging indoors and out, even when UV illumination is lower than visible or IR ambient lighting.
Donald Gaudette has been appointed a quality coordinator for the Rannoch Corp., Alexandria, Va. He held similar positions at Vibro-Meter and Meggitt Avionics.
In the last decade, Boeing Co. stock has been through two boom-bust cycles. Is another inevitable? Between the summers of 1997 and 1998, shares fell nearly 50% to less than $28 after supply chain woes triggered Boeing's first annual loss in nearly 50 years (AW&ST Feb. 2, 1998, p. 35). Within three years, the stock was over $60, only to plummet to $24 in 2003 during the worst of the post-9/11 downturn.
Aeroflot may have struck first in becoming part of a major airline alliance, but its domestic rivals are not sitting back idly. Instead, they are looking for ways to follow suit and are making moves to become more attractive to prospective international partners.
Kurt Ekert has become senior vice president-supplier services for Cendant Travel Distribution Services, Parsippany, N.J. He was group vice president-strategy and business development and had been chief operating officer of Travelport/Orbitz for Business.
One of five pre-production Eclipse 500 aircraft jets sits on the ramp earlier this month outside Eclipse Aviation's headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M. Anticipating that the low-cost very light jet will win FAA certification in June, Eclipse has begun assembly of its first two production aircraft (see p. 72). The company hopes to make 100 deliveries in 2006 and be rolling 1,000 jets a year off its assembly lines by the end of 2007. Photo by Phil Forbert/Eclipse Aviation.
Mark W. Kontos has become senior vice president of the Mitre Corp., McLean, Va. He will remain deputy chief financial officer. Kontos is scheduled to succeed Lewis Fincke as CFO when he retires in June.
Scott L. Porter (see photos) has become vice president-global field marketing and Stephen M. Bryant vice president-combat avionics programs for the Baltimore-based Electronic Systems Sector of the Northrop Grumman Corp. Porter was director of business development for the Air Combat Systems Div., while Bryant was director of Joint Strike Fighter programs.
General Dynamics reported first-quarter net income of $374 million (94 cents a share), an 11% increase from a year earlier that beat Wall Street's consensus earnings-per-share estimate by 10 cents. Revenues rose 16% to $5.6 billion. The company posted strong sales gains in its combat systems and aerospace units and a 98% profit gain in its marine systems business.
U.S. Army Gen. (ret.) Wesley K. Clark has joined the board of directors of Viaspace Inc., Pasadena, Calif. He was NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and later an investment banker, author, commentator, businessman and Democratic candidate for U.S. President.
It comes as no surprise that in India, where the software industry is challenging--and supporting--information technology companies worldwide, maintenance, repair and overhaul tools are beginning to emerge.
The power of the financially healthy was powerfully illustrated last week when Southwest Airlines exercised 79 options for Boeing 737-700s for delivery during 2007-12 (see p. 67). The $4.5-billion deal means Southwest has 140 undelivered 737s on order and brings its total order book for the -700 model to 370. CFM International valued the engine order at $1 billion.
There is no question that modern PEDs emit radiation and some avionics systems could exhibit electromagnetic interference (EMI) by PED. But Bill Strauss, Jay Apt, M. Granger Morgan and Daniel D. Stancil imply an unworkable approach.
Europe's Venus Express orbiter is already turning in new evidence of conditions on the hothouse planet, with detailed infrared images of planet-wide vortexes swirling around the south pole. These false-color Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (Virtis) composite images, divided into daytime (left side) and nighttime views, confirm prior suspicions that the atmospheric structure in the south mimics that already observed at the north pole. Scale of the images is about 50 km.
To submit Aerospace Calendar Listings, Call +1 (212) 904-2421 Fax +1 (212) 904-6068 e-mail: [email protected] Apr. 30-May 4--Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering's 2006 Symposium & Exhibition. Long Beach (Calif.) Convention Center. Call +1 (626) 331-0616, ext. 610, fax +1 (626) 332-8929 or see www.sampe.org/events/2006longbeach.aspx
USAF Col. (ret.) Gene Cirillo (Gold River, Calif.)
I was assigned to the Maintenance and Engineering Directorate of Tactical Air Command Headquarters at Langley AFB, Va., from 1974-77, first as chief of the F-15 Branch and then as chief of the Fighter Reconnaissance Div. I had to deal with the reliability problems of the F-15 engine (the Pratt & Whitney F100) on a daily basis. The main problem was the tendency of the F100 to develop a stall stagnation that resulted in an inflight shutdown.
The Japanese space agency JAXA reports a failure of its HyShot-IV scramjet rocket at the Woomera test range in Australia on Mar. 30 due to a malfunctioning nose cone. The 110.6- million-yen ($900,000) test was to evaluate the scramjet combustor installed with an advanced hypermix fuel injector against wind-tunnel tests that JAXA conducted previously. The University of Queensland was responsible for the nose cone and scramjet engines/injectors. The vehicle was to be launched for a descent from 37-23 km. (23-14 mi.) during which it was to reach a speed of Mach 7.6.
The fledgling jet taxi industry is headed for its first big test, with Florida chosen as the inaugural market. DayJet Corp. is aiming to begin its on-demand taxi service at five airports in the Sunshine State during the fourth quarter of this year and then branch out to six other southeastern states. The company plans to start commercial operations with 10 Eclipse 500s, the first of 239 very light jets (VLJs) it has ordered from Eclipse Aviation.
Capt. (ret.) Robert P. Odenweller (Bernardsville, N.J.)
Perhaps it's best to conduct the evacuation test of the Airbus A380 under simulated nighttime conditions (AW&ST Mar. 20, p. 58). Occasionally in the summer, our TWA 747 cockpit needed ventilation and we would open the evacuation door. I remember looking out and thinking anyone who expected to jump into an evacuation chute that high would require considerable motivation. Unless the flight attendants are programmed to throw reluctant passengers onto the slide, many travelers will opt for the lower exits. But then, being kept "in the dark" may help.
The European Union has completed negotiations on its latest budget, including the research and development spending plan. The seventh Framework Program (FP 7), which runs from 2007-13, snagged an extra 300 million euros ($369 million) as part of a budget agreement that saw total spending increase by four billion euros. But the higher spending level remains below what the European Commission was hoping would be allotted for FP 7. The detailed budget breakdown is still being negotiated.
U.S. bomb-related contracts have gone to Raytheon, Boeing and Lock- heed Martin. Raytheon picked up a $144-million contract from USAF's air armament center to conduct risk-reduction work for the Small Diameter Bomb II. It will be a netted weapon with an all-weather, tri-mode seeker capable of attacking moving targets. The team of Boeing and Lockheed Martin also will compete for the SDB II program with a $146-million contract. Boeing will supply the bomb, a derivative of the SDB I and the data link.
Wolfgang Keuntje has been appointed managing director of the SES Astra subsidiary of Luxembourg-based SES Global and Daniel S. Goldberg to the Executive Committee of SES Global. Keuntje was a founder of T-Online in Germany and a consultant for Internet, information technology and media enterprises. Goldberg will continue as president/CEO of subsidiary New Skies Satellites.
Chinese controllers have commanded the 3,300-lb. unmanned Shenzhou 6 orbital module toward a destructive reentry after six months of autonomous flight and about 3,000 orbits. Launched on Oct. 12, 2005, the two-man Shenzhou 6 crew returned to Earth after five days aloft (AW&ST Oct. 17, 2005, p. 29). But, as in the Shenzhou 5 manned flight two years earlier and in four unmanned test flights before that, the 9 X 8-ft. pressurized orbital module with solar arrays spanning 34 ft. stayed in space as an unmanned satellite.
Aviation Week & Space Technology Laurels nominees and Laureates Awards winners and acceptors gather with AW&ST Publisher Emeritus Kenneth E. Gazzola (front row, center) and Editor-in-Chief Anthony L. Velocci, Jr., (front row, far right). Winners are: as numbered in the key at right: 1. Bob Hilb 2. John Rosanvallon 3. Madison Walton 4. Leslie Cary 5. Brian Colamosca 6. Kenneth E. Gazzola 7. Dennis Matson 8. Andrew K. Barrows 9. Sam Abbate
