SPS Technologies is offering of line of self-aligning nuts that are used in assembly to solve the problem of misalignment of mating holes and to assure the load path of the bolt is aligned with the nut. The nuts are available in a variety of sizes from 0.164-0.750-in. diameters, and in materials that include alloy steel and steel. The ultimate strength of these nuts ranges from 125-160 KSO, depending on the material and size. All metal and nylon locking features are available.
Arianespace has begun operating a mammoth new facility here that will group payload processing and user control/testing/tracking installations on the same premises, substantially enhancing launch preparations for satellites carried by the Ariane 5 heavy-lift booster.
General Electric Aircraft Engines is buying configuration, inventory and asset management software for its 60 repair and overhaul shops around the world from software-specialist IFS. In addition, the two companies have agreed to jointly market and sell the software to commercial airlines and outside maintenance, repair and overhaul shops worldwide. GE will handle sales, marketing and implementation of the software while IFS will be responsible for software development and training.
The P330 precision blackbody radiation calibration source has a 25-mm. (1.0-in.) aperture opening and uses a uniformly heated cone-shaped cavity that achieves near-ideal emissivity values of 0.99 or better over its temperature range. Applications include calibration of thermal imaging systems. The P330 will provide any temperature from 300-1,700C accurately to 0.25% of reading 1C. The unit uses a microprocessor-based, self-tuning digital PID controller to display and hold the operator selected temperature to within 1C at 1,600C. Pyrometer Instrument Co.
Jon Lyford has been named vice president-program management of the Avidyne Corp., Lincoln, Mass., in its headquarters. He was head of development and certification of general aviation electronic flight and engine instrumentation display systems for Meggitt Avionics.
THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA IS WORKING with Vaisala Inc. to install Automated Weather Observing Systems (AWOS) at airports throughout the state. AWOS provides real-time reports on temperature, dew point, wind speed/direction, altimeter setting, visibility, cloud height and sky coverage, as well as precipitation. To date, 24 airports have AWOS capability, which includes an interface to the National Airspace Data Interchange Network, which provides pilots with weather information for flight planning.
European air forces are gradually moving to increase their short- and long-range precision-guided weapon capabilities, but a large gap remains in the medium-range category and the capability to attack relocatable targets.
With more than 40% of its civilian population eligible to retire in the next few years, the U.S. Air Force is facing a shortage of critical experience and skills. However, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan thinks many of those civil servants will choose to stay onboard, mitigating some of the impact. He said the service has asked Congress ``for help in trying to shape the force . . .
Capt. Roger Wanamaker has become chief pilot and Capt. Peter Budd director of safety for the Flight Services Group, Stratford, Conn. Wanamaker was a check airman and director of flying for Trans World Airlines, while Budd was a Seattle-based Boeing 737-300/400 captain.
Alconox offers a cleaning analysis service to help manufacturing and process engineers improve clean system performance/product integrity. A preconsultation form is used to suggest process changes. An analysis kit includes a guide to cleaning and monitoring procedures for soaking, manual, ultrasonic and machine-wash cleaning, clean-in-place, rinsing, drying, bath-life monitoring, extension and control, corrosion inhibition, as well as a section on cleaning measurement methodologies. The material is free to qualified engineers involved with cleaning process management.
A malfunctioning aileron control system has been identified as the probable cause of the May 18 crash of a CN-235-100M maritime patrol aircraft at Akinci airport, Turkey. The EADS-CASA aircraft, built under license by Turkish Aerospace Industries, was on its first test flight when it crashed shortly after takeoff (AW&ST May 28, p. 37). EADS-CASA and TAI said they are instituting measures to prevent further such faults.
The FAA's 10-year plan for increasing commercial aviation capacity is drawing skepticism as well as support in Congress, and the chairman of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee wants to add demand-management measures to the mix.
GE Engine Services said it will refine and market aviation business applications software from Industrial&Financial Services for commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, a market with sales exceeding $1 billion a year. The strategic alliance accelerates the position of both companies in MRO. GE Engine Services is a market leader in aviation services and IFS reports three straight years of sales for its MRO software, which involves engineering, planning, maintenance operations, inventory and other functions.
Rebecca Rhoads has become vice president/chief information officer of the Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass. She was vice president-information technology for Raytheon Electronic Systems, El Segundo, Calif.
George Gonzalez (see photo) has become vice president of Bombardier Aerospace's Business Aviation Services, Wichita, Kan. He was director of aviation operations for DHL Worldwide Express.
The XL6 VideoProbe system consists of a 6.1-mm. tungsten braided insertion tube for greater wear resistance. The combination of a high-resolution CCD camera, advanced digital signal processing and an integrated high-intensity arc lamp produces easy-to-see images. Joystick-controlled all-way articulation through electronic servos gives better tip maneuverability and reduces life-cycle costs by protecting the cable mechanism from manual overtorque. Six interchangeable tip adapters provide multiple viewing options, three direct viewing tips and three side viewing tips.
Santiago Astrain, the first secretary general and later the first director general of Intelsat, has received the first Arthur C. Clarke Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Astrain was cited for ``taking Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 1945 vision of geostationary satellites and making it the technological reality that now connects the people and countries of the world.''
John Rishton, who has been commercial financial controller of British Airways, has been named to succeed Derek Stevens as chief financial officer. Stevens is scheduled to retire this fall.
Carolyn Griner, who until recently was deputy director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., has become vice president/general manager of Huntsville operations for Spacehab.
A fully programmable, microprocessor-controlled bench-top adhesive dispensing system featuring a precise linear drive mechanism that creates positive displacement from a plastic syringe has been introduced by Fishman. The LDS9000 linear dispensing system features a hand-held gun that employs a linear actuator-driven mechanical lead screw to push an adhesive through a plastic syringe and out the tip in precise volumes, without air.
Operating revenues of the world's scheduled airlines increased 7.6% in 2000, from $305.5 billion in 1999 to $328.7 billion, according to analysis of preliminary estimates issued June 11 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). But operating expenses increased faster, by 8.4%, and operating profits fell from $12.2 billion to $10.8 billion. Operating profit as a percentage of operating revenue slipped from 4% to 3.3%.
John Hennebery has been appointed vice president-sales of PressCut Industries of Dallas, succeeding Greg Watson, who is now vice president/general manager of the O-Ring Div. Hennebery was vice president of the Beckett Corp.
General Atomics President Thomas Cassidy is appealing to NASA chief Daniel S. Goldin to reject a headquarters recommendation to cancel the 2002 science demonstration missions of the Altair UAV. Insiders say NASA doesn't want to fight through the FAA's bureaucracy to get permission for the unmanned craft to fly in national airspace. But Cassidy argued such access ``is pivotal to the future of remotely operated aircraft, not only in the U.S., but also worldwide.'' He added, ``Gaining FAA approval will require strong support of the type that NASA and the U.S.
