Lycoming is using Comergent e-business software to help sell its piston aircraft engines. The system allows customers to securely buy engines online and track orders. . . . Raytheon Aircraft Co. will have Computer Sciences Corp. manage its infotech infrastructure, including mainframe down to desktop computers, help desk, e-mail, and voice and video telecommunications. The contract runs through January 2010 and is potentially worth $128 million.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is exploring whether to pursue development of a hypersonic, reusable aircraft that could ``skip'' along the atmosphere and deliver military payloads anywhere in the world within about 2 hr. The idea itself isn't new; aerospace engineers for years have harbored the notion that skipping along the atmosphere would be an efficient method to traverse great distances. But after years of mulling the concept, Darpa appears ready to take the concept off the drawing board toward a demonstrable capability, called HyperSoar.
When a belt-sander pulley failure halted production in a customer's finishing area, this company used rapid manufacturing techniques to make a replacement from polycarbonate on its fused deposition modeling Titan prototyping system. Instead of days, the item was ready in 4 hr. NASA experimented with the system on board a KC-135 in reduced-gravity conditions for possible use on the ISS. Stratasys, 14950 Martin Drive, Eden Prairie, Minn. 55344.
Manufacturers and operators of single-engine turboprop aircraft are hoping a new rule proposed by Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities, at industry's request, will shortly permit the use of such aircraft in commercial operations. The JAA has long been planning preparation of the rule, which would enable aircraft powered by a single turboprop with a specified level of reliability, or another powerplant with equivalent reliability, to fly commercial IFR routes.
Marion Blakey scored easy points with receptive Senate Commerce Committee members during her confirmation hearing Sept. 3, but early approval to be FAA administrator might elude her because of a 19-month-old labor dispute she would inherit.
Germany faces fundamental procurement decisions in the next few weeks that will have far-reaching ramifications for both the German and European defense industries. Several logjammed aerospace/defense programs will be on the agenda when the German parliament's budget committee meets on Sept. 12. Likely to be discussed are the collaborative Meteor and IRIS-T air-to-air missile programs, as well as the A400M military air transport.
Marking a dramatic turnaround from its NZ$1.4-billion (US$657-million) loss last year, Air New Zealand has registered A NZ$39-million profit for the year ended June 30. Revenues were down 9.5%, but the carrier cut its costs 11.3%. ``We have pulled out of a nosedive, but we still have a long way to go,'' said ANZ Chairman John Palmer. The carrier's losses were so heavy last year they required a government bailout (AW&ST Aug. 19, p. 40).
Major airplane body sections for Boeing's newest 777, the 777-300ER, have arrived from Japan. The parts, which were shipped to the assembly facility in Everett, Wash., will be loaded into tools that join the body section together to form the fuselage. The rear fuselage (known as the No. 46 section), cargo door panel and keel panel assemblies were manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Hiroshima. The company manufactures similar parts for three other 777 passenger models.
This is Part 3 of an ongoing special report on how the military responded to terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Earlier articles appeared in the June 3 and June 10 issues. For this segment, one D.C. Air National Guard F-16 pilot chose not to have her name used, so is identified only by her call-sign. Within minutes of American Airlines Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon on Sept.
Forecasting an increase in European defense spending, and heeding indications that a U.S. Air Force lease with Boeing for 767 tankers will be rejected by the government, senior executives of EADS announced long-term plans for increasing its visibility here and redoubling efforts to penetrate the U.S. defense and commercial markets. As the strategic planners for the world's second largest aerospace and defense company, and armed with a mandate to become more competitive in the U.S., they have named Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., as chairman and CEO of EADS North America.
Britain's protracted efforts to shift the bulk of its defense labs, now known as Qinetiq, into the private sector made some headway last week with the government announcing it had selected the Carlyle Group as its preferred strategic partner.
Kenneth J. Paul (see photo) has become vice president-sales and marketing for Meggitt Avionics/S-TEC, Mineral Wells, Tex. He was director of marketing for S-TEC.
GE Aircraft Engines won a fixed-price, $15-million contract for 30 T58-GE-16A helicopter engine conversion kits. The kits, which will include upgraded cores, will improve the reliability, and help extend the service life, of T58 engines now powering U.S. Marine CH-46E helicopters (AW&ST Aug. 26, p. 41). Deliveries of the 30 kits are to begin in October and should end in April. The contract includes three options for a total of 304 kits. All contract deliveries should be completed by the first quarter of 2006.
Egypt may buy U.S. hardware worth more than $250 million in the coming months, including two Gulfstream IVs. The potential foreign military sales package announced by the Pentagon last week also includes two UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters and more than 450 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface anti-armor missiles.
A selection of corrosion-free plastic filters eliminates contamination on pick-up lines for air, vacuum, liquid or oil uses. Effective in protecting pumps on any downstream device, the design prevents clogging. Available as fixed filter assemblies or as units that can be changed for cleaning or replacing, the units offer filter media in a variety of micron screen sizes from 5-500, and filters are color coded to identify micron size. Fittings can be provided with barb, threads, bulkhead, couplers or any combination--in plastic or metal housings.
District of Columbia Air National Guard F-16 pilots stranded by a nationwide grounding of commercial aircraft in the wake of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 precipitated an unusual ``rescue mission'' flown by a sister squadron. Two flying units are under the DCANG's 113th Wing here--the 121st Fighter Sqdn., which flies Block 30 F-16s, and the 201st Airlift Sqdn. The latter operates three ``white-tail'' C-22s--a military version of the Boeing 727-100--and a C-38 Astra business jet.
Following its selection as a ``model unit'' for the Taiwanese air force, the country's only reconnaissance squadron did a ``meet the press'' last week in its first public appearance since being formed in 1997. The unit, based at Taichung's CCK AB, flies six RF-5E and two F-5F aircraft.
Scaled Composites' unusual new twinjet design had made four flights as of late last week from the Mojave, Calif., airport. The first flight on Aug. 1 revealed problems with vibration, and the aircraft returned quickly for landing. The vibration problem was fixed within 3 hr., said Scaled President Burt Rutan. A subsequent flight lasted for hours and during a later one, pattern work was conducted at the airport (AW&ST Aug. 5, p. 19). The cockpit has numerous small windows and a larger round door, which appears to be cracked open in this picture.
BAE Systems Controls is offering a commercial real-time operating system (RTOS) for flight-critical applications, joining Green Hills' Integrity RTOS and Wind River Systems with the VxWorks RTOS (AW&ST May 20, p. 17). Interest in the field is heating up. One reason is that government customers prefer to have flight software running on a commercial off-the-shelf operating system, not the proprietary and incompatible RTOSs that are now 55-65% of the market, said Leo Cotnoir, BAE Systems Controls marketing manager for the new ``CsLEOS'' product.
Shirley Kaufman has been promoted to vice president-employee relations and human resources legal compliance from senior director of legal affairs for America West Airlines.
In the days of the Cold War, we were able to manage the threat with strategies of deterrence and containment. But it's a lot tougher to deter enemies who have no country to defend. And containment is not possible when dictators obtain weapons of mass destruction and are prepared to share them with terrorists who intend to inflict catastrophic casualties on the U.S. The case of Saddam Hussein, a sworn enemy of our country, requires a candid appraisal of the facts. After his defeat in the Persian Gulf war in 1991, Saddam agreed under U.N.
Investigators of last month's Mi-26 crash in Chechnya are increasingly focusing on the possibility of an anti-aircraft missile launched by rebels. However, a technical failure has not yet been disregarded. The death toll has reached 118. This accident and other recent crashes involving army helicopters have prompted the Russian Defense Ministry to consider merging army aviation into the air force in an attempt to improve flight safety.
ARINC has successfully tested a broadband communications receiver for aircraft that has the potential to receive data at rates of 8-10 Mbps.--about 10 times faster than other commercial applications. The new system uses Ku-band satellite technology at ultrahigh frequencies to achieve an order of magnitude higher performance compared with other systems. The tests were conducted using a steerable dish antenna mounted on the empennage of a Cessna Citation X business jet.
A dramatic increase in attacks on U.S. Defense Dept. computers and networks during the last few years has prompted development of ``Cyber Warrior'' training to give space command officers a crash course in computer network operations (CNO). The training is now being extended to other domestic military and civil organizations, acquainting a broad base of government officials with network-hacking concepts. To underscore the importance of CNO in today's combat arms profession, U.S.
A federal rule restricting manufacturers of ultrawideband technology (UWB) from building unlicensed devices that operate near critical aviation frequencies may be challenged this autumn. William N. Sears, director of communications, navigation and surveillance for the Air Transport Assn., said there is a ``big push'' to relax the prohibition--a move he thinks could cause problems with GPS-based systems and other hardware. Sears said officials of the Federal Communications Commission plan to review the rule in October.
