Elbit Systems Inc. has won a $47-million contract from the Israeli Defense Ministry to supply unmanned airborne vehicles to the Israel Defense Forces in a three-year agreement.
THREE'S THE CHARM To reward loyal business customers and attract new ones, United, US Airways, Continental and Northwest this month launched "fly-three-round-trips-get-one-free" promotions. Terms and conditions vary from airline to airline, but the promotions share common ground: to be eligible, a passenger must be a member of the airline's frequent-fliers club, have a valid e-mail address and preregister online for the promotion.
Although the after-action reports from the war in Iraq have not yet been fully compiled, senior U.S. military officials are getting an early start on implementing aircraft enhancements and identifying new investment areas to better position their forces for the next conflict. The activities quietly underway at the Pentagon are aimed at both fixing shortcomings identified during the conflict and accelerating equipment that proved particularly useful.
The Austrian parliament has cleared the acquisition of 18 Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft. This is one hurdle to contract signature. The country's second chamber will consider its approval later this month.
Francis A. Paez has been appointed sales manager for the Central U.S., Mexico and Canada for the Elgar Electronics Corp. of San Diego. He was vice president-sales for IOtech.
Don Wilt has become director of public affairs for Honeywell Aerospace of Phoenix. He was acting vice president-communications for Honeywell Engines, Systems and Services. Cathy Gedvilas has been appointed manager of external communications. She was communications manager for Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems. Louanne Sargent has been named manager of marketing communications and Amy Heisler manager of internal communications.
Aermacchi has rolled out the initial prototype of its M-346 advanced jet trainer, as engineers prepare the Italian aircraft for its flight test program. More than 600 staff are now at work on the effort--320 from within the company, plus 300 contract engineers and technicians. Assembly of two more prototypes is underway (AW&ST Sept. 16, 2002, p. 68).
This O-ring material offering guide describes the company's standard O-ring compounds, including EPDM, NBR and HNBR materials, as well as its advanced perfluorinated elastomers. Separate tables list materials for FDA, NSF and aerospace applications. Military specs are included for O-ring seals. For engineering analysis, the guide provides a series of charts that post compression percentages, under increasing loads, of common O-ring cross-section sizes.
4G TURNOUTS AT DIA The Air National Guard 120th Fighter Sqdn. is temporarily basing 15 F-16s at Denver International Airport, while the runway at nearby Buckley AFB is being resurfaced. The unit's relocated fleet includes several armed aircraft sitting alert for homeland defense purposes, but most flight operations from DIA are limited to training sorties. No overhead entries for landing--normal for fighter operations--are being conducted at DIA, according to squadron officials. By limiting takeoffs and landings to 12,000-ft.
Tried and true just looks better and better. In August 1993 I asked someone, anyone, to justify the then-F-22. I said "Let's just say 'no'." In May 1995, I noted that with a then-year $71-million flyaway cost (not system cost) for the F-22, the F-15E upgraded with stealth technologies looked better and better. The F-15E has been a proven winners in two wars. The U.S. now stands as the sole superpower thanks to superb leadership, and the best trained and most motivated armed services ever fielded.
The filter system was selected by Superior Air Parts as an option for installation on its soon-to-be-certified 360 series aircraft engines. The Superior 360 is a flat-four, air-cooled powerplant in several variants producing between 180-200 hp., and is offered in carbureted and fuel-injected versions. It will be available as a certified, zero-time engine in the near future, according to the company, and is currently available as a non-certified XP-360 Engine for kit/homebuilt aircraft. The engine was designed and engineered to accept any oil filter system.
AT THE MRO ALTAR They met in a hangar in Atlanta and now they're hitched. SmartSignal, whose eCM predictive technology software is used by Delta Air Lines for equipment condition monitoring, has formed a partnership with SAP Aerospace and Defense, the German business software giant that makes a supply chain management tool. SAP provides Delta TechOps with its backbone maintenance, repair and overhaul software platform. The SAP-SmartSignal combination is aimed at creating a "proactive" management approach for maintenance and parts planning.
Alex P. Olseger has become director of flight operations for Louisville, Ky.-based Republic Airlines. He held the same position at Chautauqua Airlines. Mark Musial has been appointed director of maintenance, Greg Dean director of quality assurance, Rick Morgenstern chief pilot and Frank Shea director of safety. Musial held a similar position at UPS, while Dean was vice president of Star Aviation. Morgenstern was Boeing 727 fleet program manager for Emery Worldwide, while Shea was director of flight operations at Delta Air Lines.
USN Rear Adm. Stanley D. Bozin has been named commander of Fleet Air Mediterranean/commander of Maritime Air Forces Mediterranean, Naples, Italy. He is director of the Operations Div. in the Office of Budget under the chief of naval operations. Rear Adm. (select) George E. Mayer has become chief of naval air training at Corpus Christi, Tex. He has been commander of Carrier Group Eight at Norfolk, Va. Capts. Jeffrey A. Wieringa and Peter J. Williams have been nominated for promotion to rear admiral.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries is expected to assemble AgustaWestland EH-101 transport helicopters in the wake of the Japanese Defense Agency's selection of the European aircraft to replace aging Sikorsky MH-53s and S-61s. Japan's EH-101s, which will be equipped with rear loading ramp, will be powered by RTM322 Mk.250 turboshafts. Negotiations covering the procurement of 14 aircraft have not been completed as yet; the contract is scheduled to be signed no earlier than next year but the Anglo-Italian manufacturer is already proposing a 2006-07 service entry date.
USAF Gen. (ret.) Charles A. Horner confirms that we have mastered the art of war and have the ability to ruthlessly slay our enemies on the field of battle (AW&ST May 5, p. 66). Now it is time for the U.S. to focus its technical prowess and financial resources on other points of the conflict continuum. The Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns showed that we have not mastered how to police and rebuild a country after disposing of its armies and political structure. Destroying and killing are easy.
Jet Aviation recently upgraded its sheet metal and structural shop by purchasing a new 6-ft. power shear and press brake. The machines help reduce downtime, while improving quality and accuracy of aircraft parts. The power shear uses electro-hydraulic energy to cut metal up to 3/16 in. thick, and is used to build bulkheads and seatbacks. Operated by a digital control panel, the machine's computer memory stores a number of programs for automatic cutting. The power press break is used for structural repairs. It can bend sheet metal up to 0.5 in. thick.
David Lancelot has become senior vice president/chief financial officer of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. He was vice president/controller. Lancelot succeeds Douglas Carty, who has resigned.
The BoltMike III ultrasonically measures the elongation of installed bolts and fasteners. In aerospace, the product can be used to control tightening of bolted engine joints and aircraft wheel assemblies. Ultrasonic measure of bolt elongation determines the true bolt stress, and is often used when traditional methods are limited by unpredictable operational variables such as friction and lubrication. Measurement data can be downloaded to a PC for documentation and reporting. The unit features a display, fast calibration and set-up, and automatic temperature compensation.
Reading about the difficulty of developing the V-22 Osprey over a decade and the further complexities of the stop-fold rotor concept (AW&ST May 26, p. 30), I couldn't help but wonder how most birds and some insects are able to accomplish short takeoffs and vertical landings with much simpler but more versatile airfoils. They use a wide range of designs, ranging from those of the soaring hawk to the versatile bee.
ADVOCATES & ADMINISTRATORS Hugh Dryden Daniel and Harry Guggenheim Will Rogers ARCHITECTS OF AIRPOWER Henry H. "Hap" Arnold Curtis LeMay William L. "Billy" Mitchell CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY Marcel Bloch Dassault William Boeing Donald Douglas EARLY BIRDS Glenn Curtiss Alberto Santos-Dumont Wilbur and Orville Wright EMPIRE BUILDERS Richard Branson Herb Kelleher
June 25-July 4--International Aerobatic Club's World Aerobatic Championships. Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport, Fla. Call +1 (920) 426-6574 or see www.iac.org June 26--NASA's Contractor Open Forum. NASA Headquarters, Washington. Call +1 (202) 358-1279, fax +1 (202) 358-3083 or see www.hq.nasa.gov/office July 7-10--Society of Automotive Engineers' 33rd International Conference on Environmental Systems. Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina. Vancouver, BC, Canada. Call +1 (877) 606-7323 or see www.sae.org/ices.
