Michael T. Smith has been appointed to the board of directors of FLIR Systems Inc., Portland, Ore. He is retired chairman/CEO of the Hughes Electronics Corp.
U.S. platform prime contractors are growing increasingly confident that homeland security and defense represents a huge market opportunity, even though HSD requirements have yet to be fully defined. While there will be marked differences in their strategies, it's now clear that all four--Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon--are committed to aggressively pursuing HSD-related business. And the implication for lower-tier suppliers is profound.
The hydrogen propulsion system cracks that have grounded the space shuttle fleet have been traced to high-cycle metal fatigue. The cracks can be safely repaired for the near term, but raise questions about whether key orbiter hydrogen lines can sustain 20 more years of shuttle flight operations without a costly retrofit. To design and fabricate new hydrogen lines would be a complex process requiring 3-4 years, said Ron Dittemore, shuttle program manager. He has approved the resumption of flight operations pending completion of weld repairs to the existing cracks.
Margaret Geller, a researcher at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory of Cambridge, Mass., has won La Medaille de l'Adion for 2002 by l'Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur in Nice, France. She was recognized for ``contributions to the study of the structure and evolution of systems of galaxies.''
This line of ESNA aerospace locknuts with nonmetallic inserts is manufactured in a range of configurations. A red nylon is used as the locknut insert for applications up to 250F. DuPont's Vespel insert material may be used in applications up to 500F. Wrenchable nuts are available in hex and double hex styles, and may be ordered in sizes from No. 10 through 11/2-in. diameters. Anchor nuts are available in fixed and floating styles in sizes from No. 4 through 5/8-in. diameters. Barrel nuts are available from No. 10 through 11/2-in.
Mario Longhi Filho has been appointed president/CEO of Howmet Castings, Darien, Conn. He succeeds James R. Stanley, who is scheduled to retire on Jan. 1. Filho has been president of Alcoa Wheel and Forged Products of Cleveland and a vice president of Alcoa Inc., parent company of both organizations. Succeeding Filho is Raymond B. Mitchell, who has been chief financial officer of Alcoa Europe in Geneva.
With 13 of the world's biggest airlines as its backers, the Aeroxchange electronic marketplace might seem like a shoo-in for on-line parts deals. But there aren't any shoo-ins in the airline business. Born two years ago as the world's biggest aerospace manufacturers were announcing their own electronic collaboration plans, Aeroxchange was formed with the perspective that airlines are airplane-driven and need their own Internet home.
General Dynamics Corp. Chairman/CEO Nicholas D. Chabraja has agreed to extend his employment contract with the company through the end of 2005. His current agreement ends on Dec. 31, 2002.
Designed for operation in harsh environments where long life and reliability are critical, the 6209 Series of aerospace quality potentiometers features materials and epoxies that can operate continuously from -65F to 300F. They meet MIL-PRF-39023B standards for vibration and shock. Body diameter is 0.875 in., bushing or servo mount. (Model in photo has a body length of 0.625 in.) Operational life is 50 million cycles (100 million revolutions) minimum. Pricing is approximately $50 each for quantities of more than 1,000.
The U.S. Navy Acquisition Review Board has confirmed that General Electric's proposed T58 engine reliability improvement program (ERIP) has met all requirements, clearing the way for contract negotiation and eventual procurement of the upgrade. The ERIP will convert existing T58-GE-16 engines to the -16A standard by adding an improved core module as well as increased temperature and corrosion-resistant materials and components for greater durability and life. Plans call for new cores to be produced at GE's Lynn, Mass., plant, and for existing U.S.
Okinawa's prefectural government and other related agencies have agreed to the development of a $2.8-billion offshore heliport to replace the U.S. Marine Corps' Futema base, but a dispute over how long the Marines can stay is likely to delay the project. The agreement calls for construction of a single 2,500 X 730-meter (8,200 X 2,394-ft.) runway on a 184-hectare (454-acre) man-made island about 2,200 meters offshore from the city of Nago on Okinawa's east coast.
Samuel R. (Sandy) Berger, national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, is the chairman of Stonebridge International, consultants in Washington. He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month. Excerpts follow. Saddam Hussein is a menace to his own people [and] to the stability of a combustible and critical region, and a potential threat to the U.S. He has demonstrated his intent to seek hegemony in the Persian Gulf region. He has demonstrated his intent to develop weapons of mass destruction and his willingness to use them.
Look for NASA's space shuttle fleet to get some lift with the appointment of William F. Readdy as associate administrator for space flight. Like his predecessor, Deputy Administrator Frederick D. Gregory, Readdy is a former shuttle pilot and mission commander who has been an outspoken advocate for taking full advantage of the spaceplane's capabilities. He has also been publicly skeptical of efforts to privatize the shuttle fleet (AW&ST July 15, p. 21). That raised eyebrows in the agency's executive suites but apparently did Readdy no harm.
Four private companies picked by NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) are studying whether an array of spinoff technologies can be cobbled into a commercial vehicle that would ease the projected shortfall in cargo delivered to the International Space Station by the shuttle.
Cart3D, an inviscid aerodynamic analysis program, was named ``Software of the Year 2002'' by NASA's Inventions and Contributions Board. Cart3D uses state-of-the-art techniques drawn from several fields to efficiently analyze conceptual and preliminary design problems. It was developed by Michael Aftosmis and John Melton at the Ames Research Center and Marsha Berger of New York University, and has been commercialized by ICEM CFD Engineering (www.icemcfd.com/cart3d/index.html). . . .
Hoping to revitalize its ability to rescue a downed pilot, the U.S. Air Force plans to field a new radio, increase the inventory of search-and-rescue aircraft, establish a new combat search-and-rescue unit and initiate development of a new helicopter, with Sikorsky's S-92 the preferred candidate. The moves are part of a long-term campaign to improve combat search-and-rescue (CSAR). The thrust has already yielded improved survival radios and upgrades to the HH-60G helicopter, but more significant steps lie ahead.
Rolls-Royce Deutschland is targeting emerging aviation markets in Russia and China for new applications of the BR710 and BR715 turbofans. The German-British manufacturer is involved in two parallel feasibility studies, one with Tupolev vetting the BR715 for the Tu-334 regional twinjet and the other with China's Avic 1 for the proposed ARJ21 (BR710). An agreement with China would lead to the first regional aircraft application for the 14,000-17,000-lb.-thrust BR710.
Canada's CAE last week reported a 14% increase in revenues, to $275.8 million, for the second quarter ending June 30, reflecting growth in the company's training-related business, particularly in the civil aviation market. Earnings from continuing operations rose 13%, to $37.4 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with $33 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. However, the military simulation and training segment increased its operating earnings by 22%.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Boeing a $460-million contract for the next phase of the Air Force's Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle project. The money will cover costs to design and build two X-45Bs with their containers and upgraded mission control station. Furthermore, it finances software upgrades for the current X-45As and flight demonstrations. $end The Army's plan to restructure the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter development program will come before a Pentagon review board next month.
Efforts by major airports and some politicians to delay a year-end congressional mandate for the Transportation Security Administration to install explosives detection systems at passenger checkpoints could provide an opportunity to inject new capabilities into today's machines. Two advanced techniques--quadrupole resonance and coherent X-ray scattering--are prime candidates for rapid inclusion in either the FAA-approved CT-based units or new standalone machines, according to vendors eager to find a market niche for their products.
The provisional Council of Eurocontrol plans to create a High-Level European Air Traffic Management Safety Action Group charged with rapid assessment of safety throughout Europe's air traffic management (ATM) system. The group, which would work closely with Eurocontrol and its Safety Regulation Commission, is scheduled to deliver its first set of recommendations for short-term safety improvements to the Council early in November.
European and other international defense contractors with major U.S. subsidiaries such as BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and EADS could see the cost of doing business in the U.S. go up drastically under a tax measure making its way through Congress. The proposed rewrite of tax law is far-reaching. One of the elements of the ``American Competitiveness and Corporate Accountability Act'' (H.R.
William C. Kessler (see photo), vice president-advanced enterprise initiatives at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Marietta, Ga., also will be a part-time visiting faculty member in the Edenfield Executive-in-Residence program at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
As the big U.S. network airlines continue to stumble in their attempts to rebuild traffic to pre-Sept. 11 levels, an analysis of second-quarter financial and operating statistics demonstrates how critically important this effort is. Both traffic and yield dropped substantially after the terrorist attacks, and neither is recovering as fast as industry optimists had hoped. Initial July traffic reports from the major airlines showed more of the same. Most carriers were further behind year-earlier traffic levels in July than in June.
