Jordan Aerospace Industries will supply 16 CH2000 surveillance aircraft to Iraq under a recently let Pentagon contract. The award to JAI partner TransAtlantic Traders is worth about $12 million. The Pentagon is buying the aircraft in two batches of eight aircraft each. The Iraqi air force will operate the aircraft, which are fitted with a Harris communications system, a Flir and multi-sensor imaging payload. The CH2000 is powered by a Lycoming 0-235 engine for 99-kt. cruise speed. Other performance parameters include a 1,640-ft. takeoff distance, 750-fpm.
Michael A. Taverna (Bordeaux and Biarritz, France)
Dassault Aviation engineers say their next-generation ultra long-range Falcon 7X is proceeding on schedule toward an inaugural flight in the first half of 2005, and is more than meeting major production and design performance goals.
USAF Brig. Gen. (ret.) Stanley A. Sieg (see photo) has become director of the FAA Logistics Center at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City. He was director of logistics for the Air Force Materiel Command.
The emergence of novel propulsion and payload technologies for weaponry will increasingly stress U.S. test and evaluation infrastructure, requiring a revised assessment approach. Directed-energy weapons (DEW), such as lasers and high-power microwave (HPM) packages, place a new set of demands on the Pentagon's T&E capacity. In the case of lasers, there's a lack of appropriate infrastructure; while for HPM systems, a range of measurement and effectiveness issues needs to be addressed.
Photron USA Inc., a manufacturer of advanced high-speed, high-resolution imaging systems, has the world's fastest high-speed digital video camera, the company says. The slow-motion video imager, the ultima APX-RS, captures 3,000 frames per sec. (fps.) at 1,024 X 1,024-pixel resolution, up to 10,000 fps. at 512 X 512-pixel resolution and 250,000 fps. at reduced resolution. The easy-to-use high-speed CMOS sensor with 10-bit mono (30-bit color) fidelity has anti-blooming properties and variable aspect ratios.
Willis M. Hawkins, a principal designer of the C-130 Hercules airlifter, which is still in production after 50 years, died Sept. 28 at home in Los Angeles. He was 90.
T he U.S. Air Force and several defense companies are sorting out how to react to the revelations of the extensive transgressions by former USAF acquisition executive Darleen Druyun. Further legal actions are possible.
Jonathan A. Greenberg has become vice president/general counsel/secretary of the United Industrial Corp., Hunt Valley, Md. He succeeds Robert W. Worthing, who will become part-time special counsel. Greenberg was senior corporate counsel at Manugistics Inc., Rockville, Md.
The Greek government is reconsidering plans for industry restructuring while also reviewing procurement priorities. The privatization of Hellenic Aerospace Industries (HAI) appears increasingly unlikely, with the government now more focused on identifying a strategic partner for the state-owned aerospace manufacturer. Acquisition plans are also under review now that the planned purchase of the Eurofighter Typhoon to meet the air force's future fighter requirement is in doubt.
Lufthansa Technik and TEAC Aerospace will use the NBAA venue to unveil a satellite-based moving map display for business and commercial aviation applications--a further sign of LHT's growing interest in both the inflight entertainment market and the business jet sector. LHT's first foray into the inflight entertainment (IFE) field was Nice, an Ethernet-controlled cabin management system, unveiled at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Geneva in May (AW&ST June 7, p. 38).
Cessna Aircraft Co. has sold its first fleet of 172 Skyhawks equipped with Garmin G1000 avionics to Kansas State University's College of Technology and Aviation in Salina. It will take delivery of five airplanes beginning in April 2005. In related news, the FAA has certified the G1000 in Cessna's 206H Stationair. The approval marks four certifications obtained by Cessna for its single-engine product line. Other aircraft are the 182T Skylane, T182T Turbo Skylane and the T206H Turbo Stationair.
The rebound in the inflight entertainment industry is breathing new life into a number of dormant product schemes. One is a project called AirTV, which is intended to provide a dedicated satellite network for onboard live television and broadband applications.
BlastWrap material effectively mitigates the explosive power of a bomb by reducing the blast effect, extinguishing the fireball and capturing fragmentation, according to the company. Applications include protecting oil pipelines and shielding a vehicle's undercarriage against land mines and it's being marketed to civilian and military outfits. The company's FR911 First Responder solution allows rescue personnel to cover a bomb and clear civilians from the area in a rapid fashion.
The SAR/Interferometric Radar Altimeter (Siral) instrument for the European Space Agency's CyroSat spacecraft has been delivered by Alcatel Space. The spacecraft is to launch in March 2005. EADS Astrium GmbH. will integrate the instrument into the spacecraft, which will study Earth's ice fields as the first of ESA's Living Planet Earth observation missions. Based on the Poseidon oceanographic altimeter, Siral will monitor the changing thickness and mass of polar ice.
USN Rear Adm. Lewis W. Crenshaw, Jr., has been nominated for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of naval operations for resources, requirements and assessments at the Pentagon. He has been London-based deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces for Europe.
Master Bond Inc. has introduced a high-performance, room temperature curing, two-component epoxy adhesive/sealant called EP34AN. This compound features a thermal conductivity of 22-24 BTU/in./ft.2/hr./F. Physical properties are maintained even after long exposure to temperatures of 400-450F. EP34AN boasts dimensional stability and low coefficient of expansion. It also exhibits superior electrical insulation properties, according to the company.
United Airlines is "substantially accelerating" its plans to redeploy aircraft to more profitable routes and reduce fleet size. The carrier will expand and strengthen international routes and transfer some domestic services to United Express. As a result, international available seat miles are expected to increase by 14%, with mainline domestic ASMs declining 12% for a systemwide ASM decline of 3%. Market conditions are "brutally competitive," says CEO Glenn Tilton.
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Michael Schriber's characterization of the space shuttle as a pickup truck reminds me of a 1970s joke about the Jaguar XKE: Buy two (AW&ST Sept. 27, p. 9). As an engineering student in the '70s, I was awed by the shuttle's engineering accomplishments. But history has shown the shuttle to be an XKE with a hatchback. A lot more money has been spent on between-flight refurbishments than initial acquisition. Perhaps engineers reached too far.
Videx's CyberLock is a family of access control products. The system consists of a pick-proof cylinder and a key that cannot be duplicated, according to the company. Each cylinder contains a microprocessor and memory and is designed to the exact dimensional standards of mechanical cylinders. Access privileges and battery power are located in the key. When a CyberKey opens its lock, a record of user ID, date, time is stored in the key and cylinder, creating lock/key histories. The key records up to 3,900 events; the cylinder records the last 1,100 events.
The righteous indignation expressed in your Sept. 20 editorial "The Ghost of Raspberry Jam Lost" (p. 66) is unjustified. The contributions and dedication of the professionals at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are well documented, but where do you draw the line? How many industrial accidents have to occur and how much potentially sensitive material has to be lost before you say, "Time out"?
French space agency CNES has approved full-scale development funding for Mega-Tropiques, a joint mission with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to be launched by December 2009 to enhance scientists' understanding of tropical weather and climate systems. The mission, initially intended for launch in 2005, was sidetracked by French budget problems. The satellite bus, originally to have been furnished by CNES and Alcatel Space, will now be supplied by ISRO, along with launch and the ground segment.
The U.S. Navy has commenced flight testing of the first of its two Northrop Grumman unmanned aircraft. The UAVs are being bought under the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration program to help the Navy gauge its future long-endurance surveillance needs. The service has delayed competition for such a system by several years, but is looking to field a system faster once the program gets going.
Robert D. Teter has become vice president-research and development for the Safe Flight Instrument Corp., White Plains, N.Y. He has held executive engineering positions at Innovative Solutions & Support, Honeywell and Western Electric/Bell Labs.
