Raytheon Systems Co.'s Flight Simulation business unit here is integrating advances in miniaturized image sources, helmet-mounted displays, and high-fidelity visual system technologies into simulations specifically designed to improve the warfighting skills of combat pilots.
Numerous small- and medium-size U.S. aerospace suppliers have seen their stock lose much of its value in the last year, but perhaps none has declined as dramatically as B/E Aerospace Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of commercial and general aviation cabin interior products. In trading last Tuesday, its share price dropped another 27% to close at a stunning 515/16. It was as high as 271/4 within the last 52 weeks. ``What you have is an impatient [securities] market continuing to react to bad news,'' says BT Alex Brown analyst Christopher Mecray.
Daniel Goldin last week became the longest continually serving NASA administrator. ``When I came here I thought I would be here for a year or two,'' said Goldin, who took the reins at NASA on Apr. 1, 1992, following his appointment by President George Bush. As the Clinton Administration nears its final year, Goldin said he has no immediate plans to leave the agency. ``I don't have anything in the works,'' he told Aviation Week&Space Technology.
The operation of NATO AWACS over Kosovo has been under fire for poor performance and breaches of security for months in letters and e-mail anecdotes that have been circulating. You hear ``the good, the bad and the ugly,'' Lt. Gen. Gregory Martin, the U.S. Air Force's senior military acquisition official, said. ``The bad is that they didn't do a very good job of vectoring [allied] aircraft,'' but he said we may not have done a very good job of training them to apply offensive firepower.
Army test pilots were able to maintain safe control of their Black Hawk helicopter when the forward air bag module of a new Cockpit Air Bag System was deliberately deployed during forward flight and hover. The tests, conducted by the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Ft. Rucker, Ala., are part of a CABS qualification program that includes checking if safe flight can be continued in the event of an unwanted airbag deployment. CABS was developed by Simula Inc. of Phoenix and is scheduled to enter production next year for installation on Army UH-60 Black Hawks.
Busy travelers who are unable to find a conveniently scheduled flight can use a new Web site (AirCharter.com) to quickly identify an available charter aircraft and estimate the price. After the traveler enters the desired itinerary, the software determines which aircraft would be suitable to carry the number of passengers and baggage for the desired trip. In addition to range and speed considerations, the IntelAgent service selects aircraft that can operate from the length of the runways to be used.
A Lockheed Martin/International Launch Services Atlas IIA booster climbs into orbit from Pad 36B here in a time exposure of the Nov. 22 night launch of the Hughes/Navy UHF F10 spacecraft. It was the 45th straight success for the Atlas-Centaur. In addition to its standard UHF and EHF capability, the 3.5-ton satellite is the third of an advanced configuration with the new 96 Mbps. Global Broadcast Service Ka-band system. Since the previous two spacecraft were placed over the Atlantic and Pacific, the launch of F10 to an Indian Ocean slot will give the Defense Dept.
SED Systems has won a C$10-million pact to provide network coordination stations for Inmarsat's four satellite regions for its Inmarsat A communication service.
Iberia Airlines has ordered from Thomson Training&Simulation an additional Airbus A320 full-flight simulator, a flight management system trainer and upgrades for existing simulators.
FlightSafety International's new simulator for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is breaking ground both in replicating the tiltrotor's unusual flight performance as well as bringing commercial airline purchasing practices to the U.S. military.
Look for increased emphasis on ground safety at U.S. airlines. Injury rates for ground-based workers in the U.S. air transportation industry are four times the average for all U.S. industries. During 1997, airline ground personnel averaged a lost workday injury rate of 8.4 per 100 workers per year, according to David M. Walker, global industry manager for aerospace for DuPont Safety Resources, a Wilmington, Del.-based consulting firm. The U.S. all-industries injury case rate for the same period was 2.1.
The airline industry urgently needs to define an all-new multilateral framework in preparation for the post-open skies era, according to European Commission officials. Despite divergent views held by the European Union's (EU) 15 member states, the EC's newly appointed commissioners are mulling initiatives that could rapidly lead, for example, to a unified policy on airline alliances as well as a Transatlantic Common Aviation Area. The latter would create a single Euro-American market.
Airlines that have their Sony Trans Com entertainment equipment in for repair can follow its progress via the company's Web site, http://www.transcom.sony.com. Customers are assigned a password to access information, including live data from the shop floor processing system, warranty status, shop findings, maintenance contract period, estimated completion date, current status and shipping waybill number. They can also check historical data from the last three years.
Bell Agusta is discussing a deal with the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard that would allow the three services to acquire BA 609 tiltrotor aircraft on an operating lease basis, obviating the need for a line item in the procurement budget. The Marines and Air Force are interested in the 6-9-passenger 609 commercial tiltrotor as a trainer for V-22 Osprey pilots. The Coast Guard is eying the aircraft, which has a maximum gross weight of 10,500 lb., for search-and-rescue and maritime surveillance applications.
On another Okinawa issue, the local government said the Henoko beach that neighbors the U.S. Marines' Camp Schwab should be the site of a new heliport to replace a heliport at the Marines' Futema air base. Marine operations on Okinawa are touchy for several reasons. Locals complain about excessive noise and about Marines' behavior in widely publicized assault cases. The local government wants the Marines to leave, but the national government has balked at that request.
Clive Richardson has been appointed managing director of British Aerospace Royal Ordinance. He has been commercial director of the BAe Defense Systems Group and will succeed Phil Lee, who is scheduled to retire at year-end.
Boeing is building a computer-based training system for F-22 pilots and maintenance technicians aimed at providing effective and efficient instruction without going overboard on cost. Thorough training is critical to the F-22 program, as no two-seat version of the USAF air superiority fighter is being built.
The commander of China's air force, Lt. Gen. Liu Shunyao, and the nation's president, Jiang Zemin, have both said this month that the air service will change from a relatively immobile, short-range force, dedicated to defending the air space around its major bases, to a modern military arm capable of projecting power across borders and oceans.
India will test the 7.5-metric-ton cryogenic engine for the third stage of its GSLV launcher on Dec. 29 at the Mahendragiri test site in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Project Director Gnanagandhi announced last week. The Indian Space Research Organization developed the engine after being denied technology from Russia due to a U.S. embargo. ISRO has purchased Russian cryo engines for test launches of the GSLV. The first Delta 2-class GSLV launch is expected in mid-2000.
Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force test crews have completed the first air-to-air refuelings of the F-22 by a KC-10. The qualification tests were conducted last week over Edwards AFB, Calif. The F-22, tail number 4001, was refueled by a tanker of the 6th Air Refueling Sqdn., flying out of Travis AFB, Calif.
India and France plan to develop, build and launch a small scientific satellite intended to enhance the understanding of tropical weather and climate systems. The mission, dubbed Megha Tropiques, was given preliminary approval on Nov. 21 by French space minister Claude Allegre and Vasundhara Raje, India's minister for small-scale industry.
US Airways flight attendants, now in their third year without a contract and exasperated by the lack of progress of negotiations with management, are seeking authorization to begin operational disruptions against the carrier to increase their bargaining leverage.
Gen. John R. Dailey (USMC, Ret.) has been named director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air&Space Museum. Dailey is currently associate deputy administrator for NASA, a post he has held since 1992 following a 36-year military career. Dailey served as a squadron commander in Vietnam and flew 450 combat missions. Dailey said he will carry on the work of the previous museum director, Adm. Don Engen, a close friend who died recently in a glider accident.
Record new transport manufacturing rates and growing regional jet order backlogs are fueling demand for pilot and maintenance technician training. The resulting fleet growth and turnover at world airlines has simulator manufacturers scrambling to catch up. Boeing plans to deliver 620 transports in 1999 and Airbus Industrie about half that. Simulators and training programs also are being developed for several new military types as well as for upgrades of existing military aircraft as fleet lifetimes are extended.
Boeing is updating its 20 X 20-ft. wind tunnel in Ridley Township, Pa., near Philadelphia, as seen in this artist's concept. The goal is to better measure downwash from helicopters, tiltrotors and other vertical-lift aircraft such as the AV-8B Harrier 2 and the proposed Joint Strike Fighter. Modifications to the tunnel included adding 12 X 24-ft. extensions on either side of the floor to allow a fuller outwash flowfield, according to Boeing team leader Art Distasi.
