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.
Honeywell has been selected by the FAA to provide development, manufacturing, airport installation, training and support for a satellite-based precision approach and landing system. The initial contract is valued at $16.7 million, but the program could be worth up to $350 million with all options exercised.
HH-60G aircrew operated in Iraq with both new weapons and a tool to receive intelligence updates in flight, boosting the U.S. Air Force's efforts to gradually improve its combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) helicopters. The Air Force established HH-60G units all around Iraq in the run-up to the war, with each unit assigned a sector of the country. Once forward operating locations were secured, the helicopters moved into Iraq to reduce the response time in case pilots of downed aircraft had to be rescued.
In an overtime legislative session that Gov. Gary Locke called out of fear that Boeing might shift assembly of its next big aircraft project out of Washington State, the manufacturer won a series of tax breaks and regulatory reforms last week. Locke said the tax breaks, valued at $3.2 billion over 20 years, constituted a "a big gulp" but were necessary as Boeing considers where to assemble the 7E7, the mid-sized "super-efficient" twinjet that is expected to be its next big project (see p. 111).
Assembly of the first two Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) that Europe will use to resupply and reboost the International Space Station is in the home stretch here. The second flight article is set for shipment to the Netherlands this month for detailed developmental testing and the first--dubbed Jules Verne--is scheduled to move on in August to Germany, where it will be mated with its propulsion unit.
Grady C. Wright (see photo) has been named president/chief operating officer of Universal Systems & Technology Inc., Centreville, Va. He was president of the telecommunications division of the Computer Sciences Corp. and had been senior vice president-telecommunications and network solutions at DynCorp.
Telephonics Corp. has won a contract from L-3 Communications to deliver three ground surveillance radars to be deployed by USAF's force protection unit for long-range surveillance.
MORE EMBRY-RIDDLE MBAS It was announced here earlier this year that the University of Tennessee's College of Business Administration had recently introduced "the first fully accredited executive MBA program in the U.S." focused on aviation. In fact, this August, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University expects to bestow Executive MBAs for Aviation and Aerospace Professionals to its fourth class to receive this degree.
Capt. Don Bliss in "Airline Service Cheapened"(AW&ST May 5, p. 6) has it all wrong. The low-cost carriers didn't win, but rather the majors lost. If there is any "dragging down," the majors have done it to themselves. The passengers simply voted with their feet.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Wonks at the State Dept. are in for a spanking after they refused to let Deputy Assistant Secretary Steve Pifer testify on Capitol Hill as part of a panel on U.S.-Russian cooperation in space. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who chairs the House space and aeronautics subcommittee, directed a staffer to place a Russian Matryoshka doll at Pifer's seat to protest the official's absence. Pifer would have testified alone, Rohrabacher said, but apparently not on a panel that included Henry Sokolski, an ex-aide to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
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Gerald Ford, vice president-corporate strategic planning for Arinc, Annapolis, Md., has been named a member of the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC) Advisory Committee of Anne Arundel County. A primary focus of the CIC will be development of companies specializing in homeland security/defense technology. c
Messier-Bugatti-Tracer has selected Avexus' Impresa software to manage its maintenance, repair and overhaul process at its FAA/JAA Part 145 repair stations in Milwaukee and Miami.
The company has introduced a range of precision RF coaxial adapters for connecting test equipment such as vector network analyzers and Mil-C-39012 interfaces. They are designed to assure optimum electrical performance. The adapters feature a 7-mm. interface on one end and an SMA, Type N, TNC, HN and SC on the other, and operate from DC to 18GHz. with a VSWR 1.10 max., depending on the series. Featuring a six-slot center contact on the 7-mm.
In Air Canada's May traffic report, the carrier attributes ongoing revenue deterioration to severe acute respiratory syndrome and said advisories cautioning travelers to avoid Toronto is an ongoing factor. The report says SARS continues to have "a major negative impact" on traffic not only on Asian routes but throughout Air Canada's network because travelers link SARS to the entire country, not just Toronto. The carrier said SARS resulted in a C$125-million ($92.6-million) loss in revenue in April.
Charles Celli has been appointed vice president/general manager of Gulfstream Aerospace's Dallas aircraft service and completion facility. He was director of operations at the Savannah, Ga., service center.
China's fourth-largest carrier, independent Hainan Airlines, is in talks to acquire Sanya Phoenix International Airport on Hainan Island. The airline manages the facility, which was $76 million in the red last year and embroiled in more than 100 lawsuits. China's aviation regulators want to close airports that continuously lose money, but the airline says Sanya Phoenix can be saved.
At the simple, cheap and available end of the spectrum for devices to protect airliners from infrared missile attack is Elta Electronics Industries' Flight Guard system.
The French air force's Eagle I unmanned aerial vehicle made its first flight June 2 at Israel's main UAV training and test facility at Ein Shemer north of Tel Aviv. The aircraft is continuing with envelope expansion flights and this week is slated for its first automatic takeoff and landing. The aircraft is a joint venture between Israel Aircraft Industries' Malat Div. for the airframe and EADS for the mission equipment.
