Douglas B. Solomon, a member of the board of directors of Compass Aerospace Corp., Long Beach, Calif., has been named CEO. He has been managing director of the Macluan Capital Corp. Solomon succeeds Alexander Hogg, who has resigned. John R. Reimers has become executive vice president/chief operating officer. He was senior vice president-operations and administration for Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Ala.
U.S. Space Command has implemented rapid-response ``InfoCon'' procedures aimed at protecting Defense Dept. computer networks against intentional attacks and damaging viruses. So far, those alerts during the recent Melissa and ``I Love You'' virus incidents resulted in ``near zero impact'' on defense computer networks, according to U.S. Space Command (USSC) officials.
JetMask is designed to protect surfaces and reduce damage to aircraft during routine maintenance and assembly. It offers a new method of surface protection for much less than the cost of current covering methods. Custom JetMask die cuts can be developed for most aircraft areas requiring surface coverage during manufacturing/refurbishment processes, including passenger and cockpit windows, leading edges, carpet aisles and doors. The unique adhesive system bonds well to many types of surfaces, and removes residue-free upon completion. The tape comes in a variety of colors.
Michael L. Dworkin of San Mateo, Calif., has been elected president of the Washington-based NTSB Bar Assn. for 2000-02. Other new officers are: vice president, Mark T. McDermott of Washington; secretary, Sandra M. McDonough, Stratford, Conn.; and treasurer, Peter J. Wiernicki of Washington. Scott Shaffar, project manager for knowledge management in the Northrop Grumman Corp. Integrated Systems and Aero- structures Sector, has been named to the New York-based Conference Board's Learning and Knowledge Management Council.
NASA's controversial decision to deorbit the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory has raised questions about how great the scientific missed opportunities will be in the coming years. Last week, the agency began to lower the massive spacecraft's orbital altitude, with a planned reentry June 4. More than 12,400 lb. of the 33,000-lb. observatory are expected to survive reentry, creating a 26 X 1,552-km. (14 X 838-naut.-mi.) debris field in the South Pacific Ocean.
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has measured the effects of intense radiation produced by matter before it plunges into a black hole in galaxy NGC 3783 (see image). The observations are considered the start of significant advances in laboratory astrophysics using an X-ray telescope to study objects millions of light years away. The bright spot in image is X-ray radiation from gas around the black hole in the center of the galaxy, while the intersecting diagonal lines are caused by a transmission grating behind the mirrors which disperse the image into an X-ray spectrum.
The Clinton Administration's reforms of export controls don't appear to be allaying all the concerns of European allies (AW&ST May 29, p. 38). A case in point: a contract to orbit Eutelsat's Atlantic Bird 1, built by Alenia Spazio, using China Great Wall Industries' Long March rocket. Although Alenia still plans to use a Honeywell inertial reference system and momentum wheel on the satellite, due to be launched in June 2001, engineers are changing the software so that non-U.S. components could be switched at the last moment, says Alenia Spazio chief Giuseppe Viriglio.
Spain's Construcciones Aeronauticas is poised to become the ``center of excellence'' for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. in the military transport market, including the proposed A400M. EADS' Spanish unit is producing small/medium airlifters such as the newly certified C-295 and will oversee final assembly of the European A400M. The aircraft is tentatively set to be launched by the Airbus Military Co. (AMC) by year-end or early 2001.
A full-scale mockup of Airbus Industrie's proposed A3XX-100 transport completed in Toulouse will introduce potential airline customers to reasons why the 555-seat airplane could ``reshape air travel,'' a consortium marketing executive said. Based on input from 20 airlines as well as aircraft interior designers, the 239-ft.-long fuselage will be fitted with different interior configurations including a four-class arrangement and lower-deck amenities such as a casino and children's area.
Boeing has launched a major campaign to lure key Asian airlines away from the proposed 555-seat Airbus A3XX with three improved 747 offerings that promise operating costs as much as 24% below the 747-400, depending on the mission. Prime targets of a Boeing road show last week were Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways, although Boeing officials state all 12 of the largest 747-400 operators, accounting for 70% of the world's fleet, are being briefed. Two-thirds of those airlines are in Asia.
The EMC Compliance Kit contains a wide selection of EMC shrinkMate heat shrink tubing. The kit allows EMC testing facilities to quickly and easily construct connector and cable assemblies with a high degree of EMI/RFI and ESD shielding. It is Mil-Std R-46846 heat shrink polyolefin tubing coated on the inside with Methode's exclusive polymer thick film silver ink. The product provides a complete 360-deg. shield around the connector and the shielded cable, thereby eliminating a significant source of EMC leakage from the cable assembly.
Aided by lower-than-forecast fuel consumption and aircraft weight, Boeing is renewing its 717 sales effort with an eye on the fast-growing regional jet market. It also has begun preliminary wind tunnel tests of possible 86-seat 717-100X and 70-65-seat -100X Lite versions.
Michael D. Beebe has become president of the North American Consulting Group and Bryan Brady corporate vice president/controller of the Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif. Beebe succeeds Jim Saviano, who will continue to focus on CSC's e-commerce strategy. Beebe was president of the company's Chemical and Energy Group. Brady succeeds Scott Delanty, who has become vice president-finance for the European Group. Brady was vice president-finance and administration for the U.K. Div.
The U.S. Army has awarded the Boeing-Sikorsky team an initial $147-million contract to begin engineering and manufacturing development of the RAH-66 Comanche armed scout/light attack helicopter. The six-year development program, during which 13 helicopters are to be built, is expected to cost $3.1 billion. The Army hopes to have an initial operational Comanche capability in late December 2006.
Production of the Defense Dept.'s Advanced Extremely-High-Frequency (Advanced EHF) communications satellite system is set to begin next April by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Hughes Space and Communications and TRW. Lockheed Martin will serve as overall system integrator and prime contractor, issuing subcontracts to Hughes and TRW (AW&ST Apr. 17, p. 41).
ILA 2000 opens this week in Berlin against a backdrop of key aerospace program decisions, long-overdue industry consolidation and renewed controversy over the relevance of the air show in the post-consolidation environment.
Parallel efforts are underway to address NATO's requirement for an airborne ground surveillance system, elements of which could eventually be merged into a single solution. NATO's Conference of National Armaments Directors launched the two-year project definition activities in April aimed at ultimately acquiring an airborne ground surveillance system that could track targets and provide the capability to attack them with precision munitions. The aircraft would be owned and operated by the alliance, similar to allied AWACS aircraft.
Anticipating an explosion in the number of unmanned aircraft operated by the U.S. military, senior Pentagon and FAA officials have ordered a Defense Dept. study of how these vehicles should be integrated into national airspace (NAS) where airliners packed with people also operate.
LOCKHEED MARTIN RECENTLY MERGED its Yonkers, N.Y., facility into Sanders, a major EW supplier which the company plans to sell (AW&ST May 29, p. 37). Major Yonkers products include the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and the receiver-processor for the Northrop Grumman ALQ-131 Block 2 pod-mounted jammer. A number of countries are buying surplus ALQ-131 Block 1 pods and upgrading them to Block 2.
The HiBand vibration monitor is a new generation of blade tip clearance, vibration monitoring and crack detection system from ExSell instruments. With its proprietary MasterPlex multielement capacitive probe, it measures blade vibration, radial/shaft vibration and tip clearance of each passing blade in real time. It can be used like an optical nonintrusive strain measurement system, but at high engine temperatures to monitor complex blade vibratory modes that are the precursors of high-cycle fatigue.
Russia's airlines, charter airlines and business aviation sectors experienced no fatal accidents in 1999, although there were seven fatal accidents involving commercial helicopters. The zero-fatality year was the third for Russia's scheduled carriers, according to data compiled by the Moscow-based Flight Safety Foundation-CIS. The country's airline accident rate peaked in 1994 at over eight fatalities per million passengers carried.
OMAT Control Technologies' OptiMil is a new CNC milling/drilling optimization device ideal for use in aerospace part machining applications. It connects to all CNC milling/drilling machines and automatically optimizes feed rates in real time, based on continuous spindle load measurement, reducing cutting cycle times and increasing productivity while preserving part precision and quality. When strong resistance is felt, OptiMil reduces the feed rate and, if necessary, stops the machine to avoid damaging the cutting tools, workpiece or machine.
