The Multi-service Operational Test Team has approved the U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22 for shipboard operations following successful demonstration of an improved blade fold/wing stow system (BFWS). As a result, the U.S. Navy's Operational Test and Evaluation Command has declared the MV-22 ``operationally effective'' and plans to recommend that the tiltrotor enter full-rate production. A decision to authorize production is scheduled for next month, according to the Marine Corps.
Paul M. Cervino has become president of the Allied Devices Corp., Hicksville, N.Y. He succeeds Mark Hopkinson, who remains chairman/CEO. Cervino was chief operating officer.
Stealth is still considered one of the major areas for research and development at Northrop Grumman. However, the definition of stealth or low observability has broadened considerably to include infrared and visual masking as well as the ability to evade radar by deflecting or absorbing its beams.
Faced with the obsolescence of key components on its F-117As, the U.S. Air Force is trying to initiate an upgrade program to keep the small fleet of stealth attack aircraft operational past 2009.
The British Royal Air Force will acquire GPS-guided Enhanced Paveway munitions from Raytheon to provide its Tornado GR4 aircraft with all-weather strike capability. Enhanced Paveway features a dual-mode laser/GPS targeting system. U.K. officials have had an urgent priority for such weapons in the wake of lessons learned from the air campaign in Kosovo (AW&ST Oct. 30, p. 44). The upgrade program will use guidance kits to modify existing stocks of Paveway II and Paveway III laser-guided bombs.
Since the first tentative flight attempts of Orville and Wilbur at Kitty Hawk at the beginning of the past century to Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon, the words America and aerospace have been intertwined in success. But as we approach the centennial of Kitty Hawk, the future looks very murky. The buoyant self-assurance and confidence that have been the hallmarks of our industry are fading. They are being replaced by doubt, apprehension and uncertainty.
About 70,000 employees of Zurich-based SAirGroup will soon be able to access the Internet through a program called PC Prive, established jointly with Compaq and Sunrise. Workers will receive a new PC, printer and Internet subscription for only 55 cents per day. In the next few months SAirGroup's 25,000 employees in Switzerland will be the first to use the program, followed later by their counterparts in Europe and other nations.
The Independent Assn. of Continental Pilots (IACP) has asked Continental Airlines' CEO Gordon Bethune if the two sides can begin negotiations in May 2001 instead of July 2002. IACP officials said the airline has experienced significant improvements in its financial condition since the last contract was signed in 1997, but that pilots' wages remain nearly 40% below leading industry rates at United Airlines and by 2002 could fall behind other airlines by more than 60%. According to the IACP, pilots are scheduled to receive only a 1% pay raise next year.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) Robert Shadley has been appointed group vice president-defense systems of Alliant Techsystems of Minneapolis in addition to his position as vice president-Army operations. He succeeds Don L. Sticinski, who has retired.
The government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's decision to grant an $880-million low-interest loan to the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.'s German unit brings the Airbus Industrie partners closer to the A3XX mega-transport's go-ahead.
Typically, not a whole lot of decisive action comes out of this town between presidential administrations. But this time, with the outcome of the presidential election still in doubt and the incoming House and Senate both amazingly closely divided, an extraordinary uncertainty hangs in the air. So what's likely to be an early victim of a delayed presidential election process? It could be the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which is designed to set military priorities for the next four years.
Avions de Transport Regional is banking on all-cargo, twin-turboprop derivatives in an attempt to revitalize its orderbook. The growing dominance of twinjets has significantly undercut turboprop sales in the regional market. Nevertheless, the Franco-Italian consortium hopes to continue securing more orders and maintain a 50% market share in a heated competition against Bombardier/de Havilland's Dash 8.
Sailors on deck of the USS Cole, as it was refueling in Aden, had unloaded weapons and did not have permission to shoot, reports The Washington Post. Traditionally, Navy guards are rarely issued weapons and are given live ammunition even less often, except in a combat zone. In the Yemeni harbor, rules of engagement would have required permission from one of the ship's officers to shoot. The rules also required that the ship or its crew be shot at first, and even after the explosion troops were ordered only to fire into the air if threatened.
Under a new two-year pact, LanChile Airlines aircraft are to operate on Ecuatoriana's international routes under code-share/wet-lease agreements. LanChile, which plans to start New York-Guayaquil, Ecuador, service on Dec. 1, expects to add flights between Guayaquil, Quito and Miami.
DCT Instruments' Model JG is a differential pressure gauge that incorporates a high-accuracy transducer and an enhanced resolution four-digit display. As an in-process wet/wet differential pressure gauge, the hand-held JG delivers 0.2% accuracy in ranges from 1-10,000 psid. It's available as a battery-powered unit or will operate on 110 AC or 11-32 VDC. The unit uses tactile feedback raised membrane buttons that allow users to access high- and low-pressure readings which are updated three times per sec.
William J. Johnson, Jr., has been appointed vice president-worldport operations and Terry Rinehart has been prommoted to vice president from director of human resources and industrial relations for the Aircraft Service International Group, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Johnson was director of operations, planning and quality assurance for Delta Air Lines.
Shock waves and other flow features can be automatically detected and portrayed in the EnSight Gold 7.2 visualization software by Computational Engineering International (www.ensight.com/ensight7-2.htm). This ``feature extraction'' is the first available in commercial software, CEI says, and can also display vortex cores, boundary flow separation and reattachment, surface flow patterns, and boundary layer characteristics, including local skin friction coefficient.
United Airlines' labor woes continue. The union representing the carrier's 15,000 mechanics halted the federally mediated contract negotiations here last week. This latest setback came one day after the airline's 25,000 flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Flight Attendants (AFA), threatened to scuttle the proposed United-US Airways merger unless the airline coughed up more dough. Scotty Ford, negotiator for the International Assn.
The story entitled ``ADS-B Stirs FAA Certification Plans'' in the Nov. 6 issue (p. 45) incorrectly stated the names of the competitors to UPS in ADS-B type technology. The competitors are Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and L-3 Communications. An Industry Outlook item entitled ``Flying High'' (AW&ST Oct. 23, p. 25) should have stated that Lockheed Martin is replacing all 71-meter aerostats with 420,000-cu.-ft. aerostats as part of a U.S. Air Force upgrade program.
Optimet's new noncontact measurement system offers an analog output for the Conoprobe 1000. With a standard 0-10- volt output range, the analog output can be used with a setable analog comparator to quickly detect and make go/no-go test decisions based on the relationship of the analog output voltage level in comparison with the optical measurement being made and compared to a set standard. The analog output signal can be converted to a 12-16-bit digital signal using an A/D converter or other data acquisition device.
The New StressTel TMI DPlus precision thickness gauge measures thickness of precision machines and formed metal components. It has a measurement range of 0.010-1 in. in metals and is compatible with several transducers for optimum measurement performance. Other key features include a large backlit LCD display, durable metal housing, weather resistant keypad, HiLo alarm limits with flashing annunciator, and a difference function to display the positive or negative difference between the thickness measurement and preset value.
The British Airports Authority is trying to create an e-business alliance of the world's major airports, and has held initial talks with Aeroports de Paris, Copenhagen, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Airport System, Indianapolis, Melbourne, Pittsburgh and Tokyo Narita. Two Web sites are envisioned--a business-to-consumer site called worldairports.com and a business-to-business purchasing site called Airportsmart.com.
