The Internet, embraced initially by airlines as a way of reducing travel-agent ticket transactions and commissions--and thus distribution costs--has turned into a villain, analyst Jamie Baker of J.P. Morgan Securities commented Mar. 18 at the FAA's aviation forecast conference. Nowadays everyone, including business travelers who used to pay the highest fares, can use the web to find the lowest prices. And revenue management systems haven't kept pace with the ready availability of price information, Baker remarked.
Taiwan's China Airlines, which has had a series of maintenance issues, including a suspected fatigue-related failure of a cargo door in the loss of a Boeing 747-200 last year, has named Singapore Airlines Engineering Co. to restructure its engineering maintenance division. SIA Engineering was selected from a number of foreign bidders and is to assist in daily operations as well as work with the carrier on its overall systems, policies and processes. Eight SIA Engineering senior executives are to be sent to Taipei to oversee the contract.
The new design of a mobile hydraulic floor crane with barrel lifter-dumper can hoist and dump 55-gallon metal drums as well as plastic-tapered drums. The design of the gripper with a safety hook will retain a tapered plastic drum in the inverted position. The dumping is activated by 180-deg. rotation of the barrel to the inverted position. The rotation can be operated five different ways: 360-deg.
John Dasburg, the former president and CEO of Northwest Airlines, is returning to the airline business as chairman and CEO of DHL Airways. He's expected to invest in the air cargo operator, taking as much as a 5% share of its common stock.
Larry Glasscock has become senior vice president-express services for AirNet Systems Inc., Columbus, Ohio. He was senior vice president of Evercom Systems.
This utility clamp is an improvement over J and L-style sliding arm clamps, according to the manufacturer. By pressing the spring button at the end of the clamp, the clamping arm can slide off and be reversed for spreading applications. Or, with use of the patented, optional Sidekick (2nd axis arm) for perpendicular clamping force, the work can be held from the top, bottom or sides. A threaded hole on the bottom jaw lets the user mount the clamp or add spindles or other accessories to the clamp base.
On July 21, 1969, the first steps of a man on the Moon were watched live by hundreds of millions of people around the world. In contrast, 66 years earlier, an event of such great importance for humanity at that time was watched on the spot by only very few people and known by another few who read this telegram:
The 483 Series thermal circuit breaker is available with current ratings up to 35 amps, and is the first circuit breaker meeting Mil Spec MS 3320 to support ratings this high, according to the manufacturer. Features such as dual-chamber construction allow the unit to handle large DC currents. Weighing 24 grams, the 483 exceeds the MS 3320 specification for mechanical endurance, vibration and shock. It is a single-pole, miniaturized, aircraft-style thermal circuit breaker with tease-free, trip-free, snap action mechanism and push/pull on/off manual actuation.
Gulfstream Aerospace may cut up to 1,000 jobs and independent contractors in the next 12 months because of depressed demand for business jets--a slump that has been exacerbated by war in Iraq. The General Dynamics Corp. unit already has started cutting back on aircraft production rates. Gulfstream President Bill Boisture said the company will build only those aircraft that the market can absorb.
Bruce Bennett (see photos) has been named vice president-airport operations for Hawaii for Aloha Airlines and John A. Albrecht has been promoted to regional vice president-operations for North America from general manager. Bennett was station manager in San Diego for Southwest Airlines.
Carol B. Hallett (see photo), retired president/CEO of the Washington-based Air Transport Assn., has been appointed to the board of directors of Rolls-Royce North America Holdings Inc., Chantilly, Va.
In publication for more than 50 years, From the Ground Up is one of the most popular primary aviation textbooks in many countries. This new edition is written for pilots operating in the U.S., reflecting the rules and procedures dictated by the FAA. Topics include: theory of flight, engines, airports and airspace, regulations, navigation, weather, communications, airmanship, human factors and air safety. It can be used as textbook material for students working toward their pilot license, or as reference material for experienced professionals.
At just after 10:30 a.m. on Apr. 21, 1945, a formation of 137 American heavy bombers--giant B-24 Liberators--was on its way to a target deep inside Nazi Germany. The war was in its final days, and there were no more strategic targets left for the heavy bombers. Still, Eisenhower was convinced that Hitler was preparing one last-ditch stand in the Bavarian Alps and was funneling troops and materiel into this Alpine Redoubt. So the target for this day was a railroad bridge in Salzburg, a key transportation link.
This line of custom aluminum heat frames is designed for use with ruggedized military and industrial circuit card applications. The frames can be sized to fit small daughter cards up to 9U VME and may be used with a bottom plate to stiffen circuit boards and provide additional cooling. The line improves component cool- ing by providing an efficient conduction cooling path to the circuit card edge. It acts as a Faraday Cage to shield EMI-sensitive components.
To facilitate sharing of data between design and manufacturing, this product/process/resource data collaboration system, called PPR Hub, provides storage and management of all product, process and resource information required for production system design--from concept through manufacturing implementation. The hub provides a link to both product data, including geometry, configuration, effectivities and meta data, and resource data.
Raised in Englewood, N.J., I could not avoid aviation. Aircraft flew over our house all the time on their way to LaGuardia Airport. Looking at these aircraft and their freedom of movement made me want to fly. My father knew this, so he would take me every other Sunday to one of the airports in the area to watch takeoffs and landings. Plus, with my family in show business, there were many trips to the airports to watch them either leave or arrive.
The Homeland Security Dept. last week launched a nationwide effort with state and local governments as well as private industry to increase the level of counter-terrorism protection for all borders, critical infrastructure and modes of transportation.
Uncertainty in Iraq has prompted Japan Airlines to revise its fiscal 2003 operating revenue forecast down by 1%. It still expects a 7% gain in passenger counts and will have a 1% gain in capacity, but yields are expected to be off 2%. Yields aren't expected to stabilize until fiscal 2005. As it plans ahead, JAL has decided to cut 4,000 jobs by then, 1,000 more than it had previously announced. It's banishing its MD-11s and Jetstreams from the fleet, a cut to 276, down from 281 aircraft in 14 types. After Sept. 11, it pared services to the U.S.
After years of hearing how overpaid and underworked pilots are, I realize there is little point in offering counter-argument. To those whose minds are made up, there is nothing to be gained in pointing out that an aviation "75-hr. month" bears as much relationship to a conventional work week as an individual who lifts 50 lb. six times does to someone who can lift 300lb. at once. This lament is more an indication of dissatisfaction with individual circumstances than an objective viewpoint.
LapFEA Release 8.0, an integrated finite element analysis package, improves modeling capability by introducing a utility that slices a model along any user-defined plane. Analyzed models can be broken down into layers, displayed in thumbnail format, each having its own range of critical values. Nastran capability is enhanced. The new release includes the following improvements: Nastran bulk data can be exported in the double precision format; and the Nastran setting window includes automatic setup for rigid-body analysis.
Star power. It seems to be the motivating force that set the following aerospace enthusiasts--professionals and amateurs alike--on the course that led them, sometimes in a circuitous route, sometimes steadfast and true, to their destinies. Participants in these Reflections on the Next Century of Flight all shared a childhood vision sparked by a star--either in the firmament or closer to ground. They were inspired by a new breed of heroes: the Wrights, Lindbergh, Earhart and numerous unnamed barnstormers.
What's wrong with this picture? Everything! Not only am I not any safer on the airlines than I was prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but the bad guys have won. They must be in continuous laughter at the response of the U.S. government and acceptance of Americans of the loss of their civil rights. As long as the U.S. sticks its nose in too many places where it doesn't belong and the foolish policy for treatment of airline passengers and luggage continues, I will never fly on another commercial airline.
The company will design, manufacture and assemble the package for Rockwell Scientific Co.'s new RDA012 12-bit digital-to-analog converter with a guaranteed minimum word rate of 1GS/s. Part of Rockwell's plan to provide high-speed mixed-signal products for defense applications, the StratEdge package is a glass-wall, hermetically sealed 32-pin quad flat pack measuring 6.4 X 6.4 mm. It allows the RDA012 to provide an efficient heat dissipation path through a metal-based substrate on the bottom of the package and maintain electrical integrity throughout its operation.
Sue Powers, senior vice presidentworldwide product solutions/chief information officer for Atlanta-based Worldspan, has been named 2003 Woman of the Year in Technology by Women in Technology and the Technology Assn. of Georgia. She was honored for leading development and implementation of Worldspan's technology solutions for travel suppliers and distributors, ecommerce providers and corporations.
