Atlantic Coast Airlines has placed orders and options for 145 Fairchild Dornier 328JETs worth $1.75 billion. Plans call for ACA to receive 32 airplanes that will be flown for United Express, and 30 for Delta Connection affiliate Atlantic Coast Jet. The number of options has increased to 83 from 30. ACJ began operating the 328JET in August and Fairchild Dornier has delivered 14 airplanes to the airline and plans to deliver another 16 this year. ACA will receive its first aircraft in January 2002.
The National Air and Space Museum began accepting donations online last week for the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is to open in December 2003 to coincide with the century of flight celebrations. Internosis, an Arlington, Va., software firm that is a Microsoft service provider, developed the site, www.nasm.edu/hazycenter. Donors may adopt-a-plane, or a spacecraft, such as the Enola Gay, the world's most famous B-29 for its role in ending World War II, or less famous ones, such as Big Joe, a 1959 test capsule for the Mercury program.
Manufacturers of overhead bins for jetliners likely won't have to adopt more complex and expensive dynamic tests, officials at the U.S. FAA Technical Center said following an initial analysis of data from a drop test of a Boeing 737 fuselage. The 10-ft. fuselage section was dropped from a height of 14 ft. on Nov. 29, at the Pomona, N.J., center. The heavily instrumented section, loaded with six instrumented anthropomorphic test dummies, 12 mannequins, four high-speed cameras and 3,200 lb. of luggage, impacted at a velocity of 30 ft./sec. (right).
Dassault Systemes has added the ability to design and manufacture sheet metal press dies to its Catia V5 CAD/CAM program. The company has joined with debis Systemhaus of Germany to integrate its debis-VAMOS press die software so that part design to die manufacturing can be performed in a single software environment. The program guides users through the design process and has a library of existing dies that may help users avoid the need for a completely new design.
China's second unmanned flight test of its Shenzhou manned spacecraft design is underway this week following launch of the 16,000-lb. vehicle Jan. 9 on board a 1.3-million-lb.-thrust Long March 2F booster. The mission kicks off a major Chinese space surge expected to involve the launch of 30 different satellites through 2005.
In an all-or-nothing strategy, prosecution attorneys have dropped all but the charges of murder against two Libyan nationals accused of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 in which 270 people were killed. The decision to drop lesser charges of conspiracy and violation of aviation security acts came as the prosecution summed up its case early last week. Attorneys for the defendants were expected to begin their final arguments in the eight-month-old trial before a panel of three Scottish judges late last week.
A German Federal Court has ruled that the night curfew at Munich airport will have to be followed more strictly starting this summer. The ruling could severely affect Lufthansa's evening operations at Munich which has become the airline's second hub. A total of 38 movements is allowed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but this is often greatly exceeded because of frequent delays for European flights. Delayed flights into Munich may have to be diverted to other airports if it becomes clear that they would arrive later than 10 p.m.
The financial complexion of the U.S. airline industry is about to change, starting with fourth-quarter results due for public release in the next two weeks. Wall Street analysts predict the sector will post a net loss for the December period for the first time in five years. Moreover, some market professionals believe earnings could remain elusive for the remainder of this year.
Japan's defense budget for fiscal 2001 will decline 2.7% to 82.7 trillion yen ($718.7 billion), with procurement down .4% at $43.1 billion. Of the 47 new aircraft sought by the army, navy and air force, 43 are approved. Of these, the air force will purchase 12 Mitsubishi/Lockheed Martin F-2 fighters--three more than in fiscal 2000--and 11 trainers built by Fuji. The army will receive 12 aircraft and the navy only four, compared with 17 and 11, respectively, in fiscal 2000.
Two of the biggest development and production programs of the past two decades have been Boeing/ Northrop Grumman's E-3/AN/APY-1 AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) and Boeing/Northrop Grumman's E-8/AN/APY-3 Joint-STARS (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System). But the 707-based AWACS has probably seen its last sale, and production of Joint-STARS for the U.S. Air Froce is also running down. RADAR SENSORS
Exostar, the e-marketplace jointly begun by BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, said last week that Partsbase.com Inc. COO Andrew Plyler will become its first CEO at the end of the month. Besides the obvious importance of filling that key post, Plyler's hiring is expected to trigger the permanent hiring of a number of other senior executives currently posted to the Reston, Va.-based firm by its industrial partners.
The National Reconnaissance Office's new, multibillion-dollar spy satellite system, the Future Imagery Architecture (FIA), will address only about half of the intelligence imagery demands the U.S. expects during wartime. The other half of the needed pictures will have to come from airborne collectors like the U-2 and commercial remote-sensing satellites. So says a commission reviewing the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). ``The FIA era still might not live up to its billing as eliminating collection scarcity,'' the panel reports.
This series of check valves mounted in plastic push-in fillings come in standard gray acetal with optional polypropylene bodies. The check valves of ABS material with stainless steel ball and spring are NSF approved. Mounted internally in the push-in fittings, flow and check direction can be in either direction. Fitting are available as straights, elbows, tees, crosses and numerous combinations. Industrial Specialties Mfg. Inc., 2741 W. Oxford, Unit 6, Englewood, Colo. 80110.
THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., has awarded two contracts to develop technologies to affordably engage moving surface targets, such as tanks, tactical ballistic missile transporters and small boats. Competing contracts went to Melbourne, Fla.-based Northrop Grumman for $12 million and to El Segundo, Calif.-based Raytheon Co. for $11 million. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is sponsoring the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement II effort. The focus is on long-range radars with moving target indicators.
The Boeing X-32B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstrator has completed initial low- and medium-speed taxi tests to verify function and integration of aircraft systems. The aircraft is intended to demonstrate the company's direct-lift approach to fulfilling JSF short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) requirements. The X-32B successfully completed the initial taxi tests on Jan. 8.
The Chub-E-4 Thermometer Readout includes four channels for reading thermocouple, PRTs or thermistors. Accuracy levels are high enough for lab use while battery power makes the Chub-E-4 suitable for field applications. It reads all common PRT configurations, including 100-ohm and 25-ohm PRTs with two, three or four wires. PRTs may be read using the standard DIN curve or individually calibrated probes may utilize ITS-90 coefficients for higher accuracy. Accuracy at 100C is 0.009C.
CamelBak systems--worn like a backpack--provide hands-free access to a clean water supply anytime. Athletes and employees of occupational health and safety fields use the system as do many branches of the armed services. The Storm is the standard issue hydration system with the Armed Forces' new Molle system pack. Many other systems exist with enhancements needed for hard-use environments. The NBC/CBR Chemical Resistant Reservoir and a gas mask adapter kit are also available. CamelBak Products, c/o Lea Morrison, 1310 Redwood Way, Suite 200, Petaluma, Calif. 94954.
The Air Transport Assn. reports cargo traffic at member airlines increased 2.6% in November compared with the same month last year. International cargo business grew 6.1% but domestic traffic decreased 0.7%, while domestic freight and express fell 1.3% from November 1999. The amount of mail carried system-wide by scheduled airlines grew 3.8%, domestic mail flown by carriers increased 2.4%, and international mail increased 9% during the month.
The future of the world fighter market has long been linked to the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter program. However, the prospects for JSF have grown cloudy, affecting the future of the other players.
This is an excellent training tool on the use of radios for IFR flight clearances. This type of program serves as a refresher on both procedure and elocution. The tutorial scored highly with our tester in explaining the procedures, and he lauded the 100 interactive training exercises with a low-altitude IFR sectional map (provided), for offering a variety and depth of practice situations. This training tool zeros in on problems for many student pilots and aids in the simulated performance tasks including requesting, copying and reading back.
The U.S bomber force remains one of the greatest legacies of the Cold War era. While this fleet looks set to receive extensive upgrade funding in the coming years, the prospect of it being reinforced by new aircraft is increasingly unlikely. After the Kosovo experience, the U.S. military again began to question the possibility of a new bomber procurement effort. Options discussed include renewed procurement of Northrop Grumman's B-2, or a lighter, less expensive B-2 variant, or an all-new bomber using new technologies.
The Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y., has started investigating how to deal with information warfare attacks against secure wireless networks with elements such as mobile radios, tactical data links and future software-defined radios. The study is being led by Logicon in San Diego under a $250,000 one-year contract, and will cover how to detect attacks, determine their type and devise a recovery plan to keep the network functioning while under attack.
An innovative composite technology will allow engineers to substantially reduce the size and weight of orbital telescopes and other space instruments. Designed by SiCSpace, a joint venture of Astrium and Boostec, a small French startup, the technology utilizes high-rigidity, lightweight silicon carbide for the mirror and the structure. Prior, space mirrors had used composites only for the structure, relying on traditional glass for the mirror.
In September 2000, the U.K. Royal Air Force agreed to pay $725 million for the lease of four Boeing C-17s. This was the first export order for the C-17 and, more importantly, for any Western strategic transport. The aircraft will satisfy the RAF's Short-Term Strategic Airlift requirement (STSA) and will be delivered to the RAF by September 2001. The U.K. decision is undoubtedly a huge breakthrough in the military airlifter market, which has always been undersized and overdiscussed. For once, a country is not just talking, but spending, on strategic lift.
