Meanwhile, Air Force planners say they want the Joint Strike Fighter and they want it bad. But if the Bush Administration delays or cuts the program, they will try to up the ante on F-22 and ask for 762 aircraft, enough to assign two squadrons to each of 10 Air Expeditionary Forces. One squadron would be dedicated to air-to-air missions and the other to ground strikes. If JSF proceeds, the service will ask for only 370 F-22s, enough for 10 air-to-air squadrons.
Robert C. Strobell, leader of a team of American pilots and mechanics who recovered Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters from Germany at the close of World War II, died Jan. 5 near his home in Lanham, Md. Lt. Strobell logged 300 hr. through 80 combat missions in the Republic P-47 over Western Europe in 1944 before being selected by Col. Hal Watson in May 1945 to lead the Me 262 retrieval as part of a U.S. effort to evaluate German technology breakthroughs.
Designed for TIG welding operators who work long distances from the power source, the TIG torch construction bucket contains every tool and accessory field operators need. Packaged in a 6.5-gal. bucket, it allows an operator to weld up to a 200-ft. radius around the power source. It connects a 12.5-ft. torch to either a 38- or 88-ft. extension of heavy gauge welding cable and gas hose. A durable rubber boot protects all connections for safety. The bucket and accessories carry a one-year factory warranty.
The FAA has selected Gary Army Airfield, Killeen, Tex.; March Inland Port, Riverside, Calif., and Mather Airport, Sacramento, Calif., to participate in the agency's Military Airport Program. MAP provides financial assistance to civil sponsors of military airfields converted to commercial or joint use. Gary, March Inland Port and Mather have runway lengths of 10,000 ft., 13,000 ft. and 11,300 ft., respectively. These facilities bring the number of MAP airports to 15, including one general aviation airport.
CHINA Changhe Aircraft Industries Corp. (CHAIC) (Jingdezhen): Performs helicopter upgrade and modification. Manufactures both the Z-8 and Z-11 helicopter. Changzhou Aircraft Factory (CAF) (Changzhou): Component subcontractor and manufacturer of Z-6 helicopter and other small/light helicopters, aero high-pressurized gas bottles and remotely piloted vehicles.
To meet growing demand for ultrapure flame-retardant performance in cleanroom environments, Dyneon LLC has introduced new application for Dyneon THV fluorothermoplastic products. The semiconductor industry has been actively working to address fire and building safety issues in the wake of several major cleanroom fires. Dyneon is working with that industry to demonstrate THV 500 in FM 4910-type applications, where it is shown to be a highly effective material for use in semiconductor equipment doors, windows and other fab building design areas. Dyneon LLC., 6744 33rd St.
The Acoustic Resonance Inspection System (ARIS) features 100% flaw detection at up to 800 ft. per min. ARIS uses non-contact acoustic scanning technology for simultaneous surface and subsurface defect characterization as small as 0.001 in. in solid or tubular cylindrical metal stock. When a flaw is detected, the system signals it in real time and can provide data logging, relay control and continuous display of test response.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is acquiring a 9.9% stake in Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) for $5.4 million. The investment is being sponsored by Austrian Airlines and SAirGroup, which together own more than 20% of the Ukrainian carrier. Debis Air Finache Ireland (formerly GPA Group) also has stock in the airline. Dick Creagh, UIA's deputy president, said the EBRD's investment is an ``important step toward further privatization of the company.''
The space shuttle Atlantis and its STS-98 astronaut crew are set for liftoff this week carrying the 16-ton Destiny laboratory module for the International Space Station. The $1.38-billion Boeing facility is one of the most complex and expensive payloads in the history of the shuttle program and a critical element that will mark a turning point in ISS flight operations.
Horizon Air's new fleet of 30 Bombardier CRJ700 regional jets will be equipped with dual Collins FMS-4200 Flight Management Systems, dual GPS 4000A Global Positioning Systems, and Airborne Communications and Addressing Reporting System.
These magnetically operated reed proximity sensors can be supplied in standard PC board mount and stand-alone packages with virtually any type of connector, or can be totally engineered to specification. There are three standard types: cylindrical for use as positioners and limit switches, screw-mount types, and pcb mount styles as through-hole and surface mount devices. They feature low loss ferromagnetic reed blades, and hermetically sealed contacts, standard and custom configurations can be supplied.
Looking at the commercial satellite market and trying to get a feel for what is (or is not) happening, there is a sense that the market is stuck in low gear. Many of the large multisatellite systems that have been under development during the past 5-6 years appear to be nearing completion, but at a very slow pace.
THE FAA WILL SOON BEGIN OPERATIONAL TESTING of the Raytheon's new integrated terminal weather system (ITWS), at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. ITWS will provide automated weather information for controllers in the terminal airspace, out to 60 mi. It fuses data from FAA and National Weather Service sensors, including terminal Doppler weather radar and NexRad, low-level wind shear alert system and lightning detectors.
Aerojet will build the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) for NASA's Office of Earth Sciences in a $206.6-million contract. The systems will be used for weather forecasting and climate change research.
No one said fleet forecasting is an exact science. China is predicting that its current 520-aircraft fleet will expand to 911 in domestic and international services in 2009, then almost double to 1,739 in 2019. Of that total, 1,588 new aircraft would be required--188 more than envisioned in the Boeing China Forecast 2000. A study by Beijing's China Institute of Aeronautic Systems Engineering (CIASE) predicts that in 2009, about 15 or fewer Chinese carriers would be operating a fleet of 704 large and medium-size aircraft and 207 small aircraft.
Transport Canada last week was planning to issue a precautionary airworthiness directive restricting maximum speed of the Bell 407 helicopter to 110 kt. instead of the aircraft's never-exceed speed of 140 kt. The directive stems from the crash of a 407 in the Gulf of Mexico early this month that killed the pilot and destroyed the aircraft. There were no passengers on board. The 407 was operated by Petroleum Helicopters and had ferried workers to an oil platform. The pilot was returning to base when the accident occurred.
U.S. and British defense officials last week rejected calls from several allied nations for a moratorium on the use of depleted uranium munitions, saying there was no clear evidence they pose a serious health hazard. Italy, backed by Germany and other NATO allies, called for the ban until investigations could be concluded into possible links between the radioactive dust left by the armor piercing rounds and instances of cancer and other illnesses among veterans of NATO's peacekeeping forces in Kosovo.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is investing NLG 3 million ($1.28 million) to build an animal quarantine station at Schiphol Airport to comply with new European Union import regulations for livestock. Animal handling companies at Schiphol that did not meet the rules were ordered closed by the Dutch government on Jan. 1. KLM Cargo has initiated a program with the Dutch national veterinary service to ensure proper handling of animals. Documentation for shipments are presented to the veterinary service prior to flight.
The FAA issued an amended Type Certificate for Micco's MAC-145B. This aircraft is the evolution of the MAC-145A--certified last year. Both are certified Utility Category. The MAC-145B, marketed as the SP-26, is powered by a Lycoming IO-540, 260-hp. engine turning a Hartzell 78-in. propeller. With UPSAT Apollo avionics as standard and the IFR version including the Apollo MSD, the SP-26 offers cross-country capability with agile handling qualities. Micco Aircraft Co. is a Seminole Tribe of Florida enterprise. Micco Aircraft Co., 3100 Airman's Drive, Fort Pierce, Fla.
The outlook for the commercial air transport maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market is dominated by the accelerating development of comprehensive and complicated global aftermarket service networks comprising seemingly infinite combinations of airlines, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and third-party repair organizations.
As it took over formal leadership of the European Union last week, Sweden suggested that it would attempt to smooth over rifts that have appeared in EU-NATO relations as a result of Europe's independent defense initiatives, despite strong opposition by the Swedish public to NATO involvement. In one of the neutral country's first actions, Prime Minister Goran Persson and Defense Minister Bjorn von Sydow shied away from a confrontation with NATO members on the depleted uranium arms issue, saying they preferred to wait for scientific proof of the weapons' harmfulness.
Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Race to the Moon, 1945-74 by Asif A. Siddiqi is the first comprehensive history to appear on the Soviet human spaceflight program since the opening of the archives in the early 1990s. It benefits from strong primary source materials, as well as perspective on a challenge that helped to define the U.S. space effort until the 1980s. A gripping narrative integrates three themes.
NASA IS USING A VERY ACCURATE GPS RECEIVER on two satellites to study the Earth's gravitational field and atmosphere. The Blackjack GPS receiver, designed and built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., determines the satellite position to within 3 cm. That accuracy lets scientists make precise measurements of distortions or delays in the GPS signals, which will help improve computer models of the Earth's gravitational field, according to JPL.
American Airlines Chairman and CEO Donald J. Carty would not be surprised if the carrier's proposed acquisition of Trans World Airlines touches off a new round of industry consolidation. On the other hand, he believes there is nothing inherent in the transaction that should necessitate a deal involving any other players.
