ALL-POLYMER THIN-FILM TRANSISTORS have been printed with a high resolution ink-jet printer by researchers at Cambridge University in England. A special piezoelectric ink-jet printhead was used to fabricate the transistors. The devices had on/off current ratios that exceeded 105, and electron mobilities of 0.02 cm2/Vs, which are adequate for many electronic applications, according to the scientists.
The Allied Pilots Assn., faced with paying a $45-million fine to American Airlines that could bankrupt the union, plans to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to dismiss the award.
These high-capacity units bridge the performance gap between the best batteries and capacitors to provide high-capacity storage with long service life and low maintenance. They can augment or replace batteries in high-power uses such as load levelings. NAACC is one of the first companies to offer this technology with voltage ratings of more than 11 volts.
Defense issues are off the electorate's radar screen except in one significant constituency, older men, says William Schneider, a leading political analyst at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). There is polling evidence that Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential nominee, is getting some mileage from seniors with his accusations that the Clinton White House neglected defense and allowed combat readiness to erode. And seniors are more likely to turn out to vote than young people.
Exostar, potentially the aerospace industry's largest business-to-business Internet site, met its promised third-quarter start date with limited but ``flawless'' trading. Jointly owned by BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, the site began operations Sept. 29--the last working day of the third quarter. Initial transactions were for indirect procurement--buying materials not directly used in their products--for suppliers in North America and Europe. A company spokesman said no direct material transactions were conducted in the initial days.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) David R. Gust (see photo) has become president/ CEO of the Technical and Management Services Corp., Calverton, Md. He was deputy chief of staff for research, development and acquisition.
Space Imaging is tapping the 5-meter imaging capabilities of Indian Remote Sensing 1C/1D satellites to create cloud-free, custom-ordered area maps. Called Basemaps, the images are marketed with the same Carterra program that Space Imaging uses with its trademark Ikonos satellite. Ikonos was the first commercial spacecraft to offer 1-meter panchromatic images. India's IRS-1D, which exceeded its three-year design life last week while still operating normally, offers panchromatic and four spectral bands, including the near infrared and short-wave IR.
Defense Secretary William Cohen says the next Administration must get the nation talking about homeland defense. ``We as a democratic society have yet to come to grips with the tension that exists between our constitutional protection of the right to privacy,'' and the imperative of using the military on home soil if multiple, simultaneous terrorist attacks cause mass casualties and metropolitan chaos, Cohen told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He challenged the other nuclear powers and U.S.
Michael S. Cohen has been appointed senior vice president-maintenance and engineering and Kevin Finan vice president-flight operations of Alaska Airlines. Cohen was senior vice president of airline operations for Legend Airlines, and Finan was a flight operations base manager and captain. Cathryn Dammel has become staff vice president-labor and employment law, succeeding Thomas R. O'Grady, who is now vice president-general litigation and regulatory law. Dammel was managing director and associate general counsel. U.S. Air Force Gen. (ret.) Lloyd W.
With a prediction of 5.6% annual growth in passengers and 6.7% for freight, the International Air Transport Assn. says it is more optimistic about continued airline growth than it has been in the last three years. The forecast covers the years 2000-04. Speaking in Singapore, Director General Pierre J. Jeanniot said IATA's optimism is fueled by ``a new positive outlook for Asia.'' The first seven months of 2000 produced growth of 8.6% for passengers and 11.8% in freight. The optimism is tempered by fuel costs, however.
API Motion has a totally new design of 16- and 22-mm. miniature DC motors. The 16LN motor can be delivered with any of three different gearboxes, incorporating either spur or planetary gears, and can cover a dynamic torque range of up to 0.6 Newton meters. The 22LN motor is offered with windings rated from 6-18 volts. A magnetic encoder with a resolution of 16 lpr is also available. The 22-mm. motor is offered with three gearbox choices, using either spur or planetary technology, which will allow the motor to output a dynamic torque of up to 1.2 Newton meters.
The acute lack of qualified airframe and powerplant mechanics (A&P) and avionics technicians within general aviation threatens to undermine growth, and become a serious safety issue in the next decade.
Ann Heyward (see photos) has been appointed vice president-workforce enhancement and Tom Moss director of university relations for the Ohio Aerospace Institute in Cleveland.
South Korea's air force is conducting flight evaluations of Boeing's F-15E at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, this month as part of its search for the F-X fighter. Korean air force and Boeing pilots are to conduct 14 flights by Oct. 13 using three F-15Es leased from the 90th Fighter Sqdn. Competition for the F-X pits the F-15E against the Dassault Rafale, British-German Eurofighter and the Sukhoi Su-37 to replace F-4D/Es and F-5s. The F-X could be Korea's third large coproduction program.
Cronidur 30, a new steel that has been used successfully in the engines of the space shuttle, exceeds the fatigue life and speeds available from other bearing steels, with the added benefits of superior corrosion and wear resistance, according to FAG/Barden, the sole manufacturer of the product. Cronidur bearings can withstand up to 40% higher dynamic loads, achieve higher constant operating speeds with grease lubrication and are up to 100 times more corrosion resistant than bearings manufactured from AISI 440C, the standard corrosion resistant bearing steel. Barden Corp.
NASA has agreed to waive milestone requirements for the X-33 program to help the Lockheed Martin team with its expenses, even though the experimental rocket has not been rolled out or flown.
Air France has placed a firm order for 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, plus options on 10 more of the 348-seat aircraft. They will be powered by GE90-115B engines with 115,000 lb. of thrust. The airline currently operates 11 270-seat 777-200ERs with 12 more scheduled for delivery in the next few years. Air France said the 777-300ER is being acquired to meet expected growth in international traffic, partly a result of its Skyteam alliance with Delta Air Lines, Korean Air and Aeromexico. Deliveries are to begin in October 2003.
Bell Helicopter Textron officials plan to mate the wing and the fuselage of the first Bell Agusta 609 civil tiltrotor late this year, followed by the tiltrotor aircraft's maiden flight in the third quarter of 2001. Bell is scheduled to build six fuselages before shipping tooling for the manufacture of production units to risk-sharing partner Fuji Heavy Industries in mid-2001. FAA certification of the 609 is tentatively set for 2003, followed by initial customer deliveries.
Ranjit Seth has been named Hong Kong-based vice president-commercial for Asia for Evergreen International Airlines. He was senior sales director for Asia.
CRT screen interference caused by magnetic fields are engendered by invisible magnetic fields generated by electrical current running through wiring, transformers and other nearby electrical devices. ImageGuard II CRT enclosures are fabricated from Co-netic AA alloy, a proprietary material, which intercepts magnetic interference before it can cause disruptions. The enclosures are available in a variety of colors and finishes and are easily installed. They are produced in models to fit all popular CRT screen sizes. Magnetic Shield Corp., 740 N.
A full range of ultra-clean nickel- and cobalt-based superalloy powders that can produce better yields in critical laser welding applications are available from Starmet Corp. They are produced using a patented plasma rotating electrode process which assures no change in chemistry from the input stock to maintain purity. The free-flowing powders feature high sphericity, no entrapped gases and are ideal for critical laser welding applications such as aircraft engine blades. The median particle size is 100 microns, but can be varied.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Alan R. Mulally said the company will continue to maintain its long-term view of the market. ``This is one hard-fought campaign; we will move on from here.'' Mulally said Boeing made Singapore Airlines a ``very attractive'' offer on the 747X aircraft and that company officials heard nothing during discussions that would result in changes to the aircraft's design. He added he was certain SIA was ``going to work with us and consider the 747X freighter.''
English Electric Lightning by Kev Darling, Volume 28 in Specialty Press' WarbirdTech Series, covers the period from the end of World War II through the 1980s. This highly illustrated book details the design, deployment and service history of Britain's well-known supersonic fighter. The aircraft, which played a key Cold War role in defense of the realm, was unique and readily identifiable by the over-and-under arrangement of its afterburning Rolls-Royce Avon engines.
A small unit based in Germany may have conducted the most successful covert operation flown by the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. The 7405th Support Sqdn., based at Wiesbaden AB until 1975 and then at Rhein Main AB, daily patrolled the three 20-mi.-wide corridors leading from West Germany to Berlin and the 40-mi.-dia. control zone surrounding the city as part of Project Rain Drop. Spying operations began in the 1950s and lasted four decades.
