Roger W. Smeltzer, Jr., (see photo) has been named vice president/general manager of the Carpenter Freeway facility of Dallas Airmotive Inc. He was senior manager of the facility when it was owned by the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.
DBS Industries Inc. of San Francisco, makers of remote monitoring and control technology, has an answer to California's power crisis. In a demonstration last week, it said energy officials could use the Iridium satellite network to selectively manage energy loads of specific buildings by turning on and off noncritical air conditioning systems to try to prevent blackouts.
In its annual report, the Indian Ministry of Defense has named China as the country's ``main security threat'' and identified the Angi II intermediate range ballistic missile as part of its counter force. The report was released by Jaswant Singh, head of India's Defense and External Affairs ministries, who charged that China was engaged in a military buildup.The Defense Ministry said China was working toward becoming a superpower.
Northrop Grumman subsidiary Logicon Inc. has received two follow-on contracts totaling $89 million from Boeing to support the national missile defense pro- gram. Logicon will provide the ground software that plans the intercept trajectory, commands the interceptor and monitors its status.
Jim Koslosky, aeronautics director of the Kent County, Mich., International Airport, has been elected chairman of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Assn. of Airport Executives. Other officers elected are: first vice chairman, Gerald Olson, manager of the Cheynne, Wyo., Airport; second vice chair, Bonnie Allin, vice president-aviation services at Tucson, Ariz., Airport; secretary/treasurer, Bill Barkauer, director of the Morristown, N.J., Municipal Airport. First vice chair is Larry Cox, president of the Memphis Shelby County, Tenn., Airport Authority.
Moldite is a new lightweight, high-strength material suitable for a broad range of aerospace and defense applications. The key to this thermal-set resin composite ``sandwich'' is its proprietary core. The material has an exceptionally high stiffness-to-weight ratio and offers a high-performance alternative to materials such as ultra-high-strength steel and aluminum. Unlike other composite materials, Moldite core materials can be engineered to exceed the tensile strength of flanking long-fiber materials including carbon, glass or aramid fibers.
The Kleenall Series 30 delivers a 30-gpm. flow of ultra-clean (20 microns nominal) coolant while filtering out the finest chips from a machining operation, in a unit that is 42 in. wide X 36 in. long X 33 in. tall. As a result, users can expect significant reductions in costs associated with clogged coolant lines, damaged tooling, scrap, maintenance, chip disposal and coolant replacement. A rotating drum design combines with a self-cleaning backwash system to provide both continuous filtration of coolant and collection of rough chips and fine particulate matter.
A new catalog that features nine different light source technologies, supported by an inventory of more than 5 million parts, and includes complete technical specifications, drawings and applications notes, is being offered by Gilway Technical Lamp. Engineering Catalog 169 features a variety of new products, including: Mega Bright and Ultra Bright high-intensity LEDs and several new surface-mount packages; reflector assemblies for incandescent and halogen lamps; fluorescent and UV cold cathode lamps; and line filament, miniature and neon lamps.
This updated Web site features online buying and list prices for all products; the company says no other U.S. manufacturer of welding power sources and related systems provides customers with the capabilities of online shopping plus the expertise of a local distributor for sales and service. The Web site provides a product selector function that presents questions about the users' application. Based on responses, the product selector displays products that best meet users' needs, which is especially helpful for first-time users.
Raytheon will supply four radar enhancement Phase 3 and 4 classification, discrimination and identification phase kits for the Patriot Air Defense System radar under a $53-million contract from the U.S. Army.
Chris Chapman (see photos) has been appointed president and Mame McCutchin head of market development of NASA contractor Honeybee Robotics of New York. Chapman was vice president of Honeybee, while McCutcheon was director of business development for Pseudo Programs Inc.
Despite repeated reforms and a major restructuring in 1998, the national missile defense (NMD) program remains troubled. The Pentagon's missile defense honcho, Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, has informed lawmakers that delays in Boeing's operational booster production are so severe that they threaten to become a major problem that could prevent the NMD program from meeting its near-term deployment date of 2005. Although parts of the booster have been tested individually in space launchers, they still have never been integrated into one system.
An Airborne Express official said the company's freight business remains relatively flat, hovering at about the same level it was in the second quarter of 1998. Although overall volume of shipments has increased this year, yields have declined and as a result, Airborne has lost money for the past three quarters. In response to the economic downturn, ABX Air, the airline side of the company, is adjusting aircraft routes, consolidating certain flights and rearranging captain/first officer positions to streamline operations, according to the official.
Aerojet has negotiated a one-year, $31- million extension of its production and launch operations contract with Lockheed Martin for first- and second-stage engines for Titan boosters. Aerojet's current $318-million production and $88-million launch operations contracts were due to expire in September 2002.
Rolls-Royce plc. has become the fifth founding partner in Exostar, bringing an engine maker's perspective to the aerospace industry's largest procurement and supply-chain management Internet exchange. Due diligence on the initiative began in February and negotiations concluded during the June 8-9 weekend. Rolls-Royce announced its participation June 15 in London and Exostar is to follow with an announcement June 18 at the Paris air show. Rolls-Royce's actual participation in the Exostar exchange is expected in the third quarter.
Bell also is teaming with ITT Industries to pursue international sales opportunities for the AH-1Z Super Cobra attack helicopter. ITT would provide the AN/ALQ-211 integrated countermeasures suite. In addition, Bell has selected Longbow International to develop the Cobra Radar System for the AH-1Z. The system uses a pod-mounted millimeter wave radar integrated with the existing M299 launcher and AGM-114L RF Hellfire missile. Longbow International is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman Corp.
A series of RF coaxial connectors designed for high-power military applications and high-temperature environments such as aircraft engines is being introduced by Tru-Connector. The connector scan can now be manufactured with Fluoroloy H dielectrics, which allows them to operate at up to 5,000 watts and temperatures to 200C, depending on connector type. Configurations include straight, right-angle and bulkhead connectors in both male and female designs for use with semi-rigid and flexible cables.
When Dave Gibbon, chief propulsion engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., needed a propellant tank for the smallest working satellite he had ever flown--the 6.5-kg. (14.3-lb.) Surrey Nanosatellite Applications Platform (SNAP-1)--he went to the scrap heap at Airbus. There he found a length of titanium tubing that was perfect for the 32 grams of pressurized butane that pushed the tiny spacecraft on a merry chase after a sister satellite, following their piggyback launch a year ago on a Russian Cosmos rocket.
Mirko Zgela has been named vice president-engineering of the Innotech-Execaire Aviation Group of Montreal. Kenneth Dandy has become vice president/general manager and Dave Calam manager of technical sales of subsidiary Pacific Avionics and Instruments Ltd. of Vancouver. Dandy was vice president-international business development, and Calam was a sales and marketing manager for Ferrotronic Electronics.
The Hammerhead 3 mobile computer is built for operator convenience and elimination of field failure. Computers are fully sealed and vacuum tested. Touch-screens replace keyboards, and its lightweight design makes it easy to use anywhere. A docking station and wireless modem facilitates data transfer. It is powered by a 400-MHz. Pentium chip, 256MD SDRAM, a 10GB or 20GB removable hard drive, and a 10.4-in. color display with pen or touch input. WalkAbout Computers, 2655 N. Ocean Drive #510, Singer Island, Fla. 33404.
Given the crash of so many dot.coms, having a track record helps if you want to attract venture capital. In that regard, Andrew Dumke has a tale to tell. After launching Avexus Inc. as an aftermarket spare parts trading exchange 15 months ago, Dumke decided that the whole aerospace exchange concept is putting the cart before the horse. ``Ultimately, exchanges make sense but most people need to get their internal houses in order'' to profitably use them, he said.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is now licensing a software design code used to assess the risk of a jet engine's titanium rotor disk containing a dangerous metallurgical flaw that could cause fatigue cracking, and ultimately, possible catastrophic failure. One such failure in 1989 led to the crash of a DC-10 airliner at Sioux City, Iowa, after fragments from a disintegrating engine disk disabled the aircraft's hydraulic flight control systems.
This catalog has technical specifications, design details, custom products and designer kits for Gowanda's four major categories of inductors--surface-mount RF inductors, surface-mount power inductors, leaded RF inductors and leaded power inductors. More than 14 products introduced over the last year are featured, including the CC series of surface-mount inductors, and the CMF2 surface-mount common mode filter. The company provides magnetic components for signal and power applications.
