NAV CANADA HAS COMPLETED factory acceptance of the Canadian Automated Air Traffic System, developed by Raytheon Systems Canada Ltd. CAATS will be installed in seven Canadian area control centers. Flight acceptance testing has just been completed. CAATS will provide controllers gate-to-gate management services, and is designed to be able to transition from an ATC to air traffic management (ATM) environment as the system is modernized. It consolidates flight data, radar, weather and other operational information on controller workstations.
Joseph R. Wright, Jr., and Michael B. Alexander have been named to the board of directors of the Titan Corp. of San Diego. Wright is vice chairman of Terremark Worldwide Inc. and president of Terremark Communications. Alexander is former chairman/CEO of AverStar.
William Tolbert has been named senior vice president/global program manager of the Transportation Business Group of CH2M Hill of Denver.He was president/CEO of the Meneren Corp.
Curt Blake has been appointed to the board of directors of SpaceDev Inc., Poway, Calif. He was chief operating officer of the Starwave Corp. until last year.
Jouve Data Management and CommerceQuest said they will partner to form a secure, Internet-based technical and inventory data delivery system for airlines and their suppliers. Jouve, a subsidiary of Paris-based Jouve Group S.A., markets AirGTI application program software to meet Air Transport Assn.'s Spec2000 and 2100 standards, which are commonly used by airlines in computerized supply chain transactions. JDM also has developed AviationZone.net as an Internet platform for electronic data transfers.
Harry Gann, a longtime aviation historian and photographer, died on Oct. 30. Gann joined the Douglas Aircraft Corp. in the early 1950s and worked as a mechanical designer on the control systems of such aircraft as the A4D, A3D and F3D. However, Gann is more noted for his prodigious memory for aviation facts and lore, and his photographs of McDonnell Douglas military and commercial aircraft. Gann became director of information at Douglas and later historian. He retired from McDonnell Douglas in 1992, but went on to be curator of the U.S.
The Clinton Administration's notional space launch cooperation deal with North Korea should be modified to offer Pyongyang satellite services instead of satellite launches, non-proliferation mavens say.
The New York-based CIT Group/Capital Finance concluded a firm order for 35 Airbus A320-series and 15 A330 twinjets it had optioned in July. Last week's contract brings CIT's Airbus orders to 80 aircraft.
Lt. Gen. (ret.) David L. Vesely (see photos), former U.S. Air Force assistant vice chief of staff, has been appointed president of Veridian's Systems Development and Applications Sector, Arlington, Va. Robert A. Pattishall has become president of the Advanced Engineering Analysis Sector. He was director of the National Reconnaissance Office's Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate.
Oman has ordered an undisclosed number of Mistral air defense missile systems from Matra BAe Dynamics, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. and BAE Systems. The Sultanate becomes the 25th country to order the short-range missile and the first in the Middle East to acquire the Mistral 2--a Mach 3, 6-km. fire-and-forget version introduced earlier this year (AW&ST July 31, p. 72).
Look for the Pentagon to try to ``harmonize'' the reconnaissance demands of the intelligence agencies and the Defense Dept. in the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). Says a senior military official with close involvement in the far-reaching reevaluation, ``There is a need for rationalization of the requirements process.'' There continues to be overlap between the intelligence systems the military builds and those produced specifically for intel agencies, he points out. But at the same time, the official warns not to expect too much from the review.
Gen. (ret.) Dennis J. Reimer, a former U.S. Army chief of staff, has been appointed to the board of directors of DRS Technologies Inc., Parsippany, N.J. He is director of the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in Oklahoma City.
Loral Space&Communications posted improved revenues and earnings for the third quarter, dispelling some of the negative image generated by Globalstar a week earlier (AW&ST Nov. 6, p. 33). Because of lagging satellite sales, reported revenues were down, to $293 million, compared with $347 million a year earlier. But pre-tax earnings were up 18% to $42 million, while bookings rose 33%, to $719 million. The net loss of $97 million, or 33 cents a share, was smaller than expected.
Two companies that have developed competing systems which integrate airbags into seat belts are moving closer to certification and introduction of their products. The systems developed by AmSafe Inc. of Higley, Ariz., and BFGoodrich Aerospace's Aircraft Evacuation Systems Div. use hybrid gas generators derived from automotive applications to inflate airbags and reduce the risk of fatal head injuries in a survivable crash (AW&ST June 14, 1999, p. 224).
A Pentagon-chartered study to help shape next year's major Defense Dept. force assessment, the Quadrennial Defense Review, has produced national security strategy alternatives for the new Administration to consider as it begins defining its military policy. The National Defense University (NDU) working group was asked to develop options to be considered as the QDR is undertaken. The 64-page report, ``Quadrennial Defense Review 2001,'' released last week, comes as Pentagon officials are getting ready to shift from preparatory work to actual deliberations.
``My personal, overriding feeling is the lack of time to use and further develop B2B technologies. There is an onslaught of information and requests that stream across my e-mail and desk every day, to the point that they numb me. I not only receive this chatter from the source, but from coworkers and superiors who are [themselves] being pelted with it.
Instead of standing in line for a pass, airline passengers will soon be able to board by voice recognition biometrics using a personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular phone. Impulsity Inc. has signed a letter of intent with Sabre to deliver the travel industry its first wireless check-in and boarding system.The voice recognition biometrics come from Nuance. ``Training'' the system to recognize an individual's voiceprint takes about 15-30 sec. and is accomplished by having the passenger answer a few questions.
THE MAASTRICHT UPPER AIR CENTER has conducted its first test flight with a Petal IIe-equipped aircraft. The Preliminary Eurocontrol Test of Air/Ground Data Link Phase IIe (Petal IIe) trials are aimed at obtaining firsthand data on the operational benefits, requirements, human factors, procedures and problems associated with using air/ground data link in busy, continental European airspace. The aircraft was a BAC 1-11 supplied by the U.K.'s Defense Evaluation and Research Agency.
Instrumentation for tracking boosters and missiles on U.S. Air Force Eastern and Western launch-range complexes will be upgraded under an $81.2-million contract awarded to ITT Industries' Systems Div. Annual options could increase the program's total worth to $1.3 billion over 10 years.
The Mode BA-96-1 precision Bearing Analyzer is used extensively by overhaul and repair facilities worldwide for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft engine maintenance. It is designed to evaluate the working surfaces of anti-friction engine and accessory bearings. The compact analyzer uses standard PC computer technology and measures mechanical vibration that result in bearing noise. During use, a test bearing is operated to generate a noise signal, which is then compared to the previously established acceptance criteria.
Early next year an all-weather spaceport will become operational on Alaska's Kodiak Island, offering commercial competition to the government facilities at Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Accident investigators last week began the painstaking examination of tapes secured from 150 cameras that comprise the Taipei airport's ground surveillance system, trying to fathom how natural forces and frailties of both man and machine combined to become the tragedy of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006.
James L. Murdy has been appointed executive vice president, Richard J. Harshman vice president/controller/acting chief financial officer, Dale G. Reid vice president-finance for Allegheny Ludlum operations and Patrick J. DeCourcy vice president-finance for Allvac operations, all for Allegheny Technologies of Pittsburgh. Murdy was CFO and is being succeeded by Harshman, who was vice president-investor relations and corporate communications. DeCourcy, who was vice president/controller of Allegheny Ludlum, is succeeding Reid.
Parker Hannifin's H2O moisture sensor provides a compact real-time solution to continuous water contamination monitoring in most hydraulic and lubricating systems. The sensor alerts the operator to changes in water concentration within the operating systems fluid. The device is reasonably priced, which allows for multiple installations, ensuring optimum equipment reliability, according to the company. Parker Hannifin Corp., Catalog Services, 8940 Tyler Blvd., Mentor, Ohio 44060-2186.
EIC Laboratories of Norwood, Mass., has found potentially huge markets for its ElectRelease electrically releasable epoxy since the material was developed under a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovative Research grant.
