Darnell-Rose has a new, narrow profile shock absorbing swivel caster for installation on aviation ground support and industrial equipment. The model 20SL wheels are available in diameters from 3-8 in. and are fitted with two heavy duty sealed precision ball bearings for handling loads up to 1,000 lb. Lubrication fitting allows for easy maintenance. The CNC machined base plate is available in several mounting patterns. The caster is especially useful as load stabilizers for pallet jacks and electric forklifts. Darnell-Rose, 17915 Railroad St., City of Industry, Calif.
Bombardier Aerospace has sold five CRJ200 regional jets to Shandong Airlines in central China, marking the first sale of the company's CRJ aircraft to a scheduled regional airline operator in that country. According to Shandong officials, the aircraft will be used to expand regional airline service, and will supplement Shandong's existing Boeing 737 and turboprop transports. The airline is based in Ji'nan, south of Beijing.
Mexican accident investigators are awaiting analysis of information extracted from cockpit voice and flight data recorders removed from the wreckage of a Transportes Aereos Ejecutivos (Taesa) Boeing DC-9-31 that crashed on Nov. 9 near Uruapan in central Mexico.
The U.S. Marine Corps wants to acquire a ground-based reconnaissance sensor that would be delivered from the air, set itself up on the ground, and then be capable of taking pictures over a 360-deg. view, horizontally. The camera sensor would be delivered to its target area using a parafoil wing-shaped parachute, according to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory at Quantico, Va. The system would be equipped with a two-way data link to receive commands to take photos and transmit digital imagery back to commanders.
Malaysia Airlines is expressing its frustration with Boeing over the delays in launching the 777-200X by receiving submissions from Airbus Industrie for the A340-500. The airline already operates a fleet of A330s, and any deal may be linked to a trade-in of some of the A330s.
Sysweld enables engineers to simulate continuous and resistance welding, quenching, induction hardening, thermochemical and surface treatment. The program detects deformations due to welding that cause fit and finish problems. It also predicts residual stresses that enable failure risks to be evaluated. The objective in the photo is to predict residual stresses generated by several welding processes in order to choose the best one. The red area shows maximum residual Von Mises stresses. ESI Corp., 570 Kirts Blvd., Suite 231, Troy, Mich. 48084.
This electronic CD-ROM spindle selection program can quickly earmark a spindle that matches your machining application. The Spindle Selection program can size and select a spindle best suited to individual boring, drilling or milling applications. In situations where an application dictates a spindle that is ``between sizes,'' a selection is given based on each of the major parameters or torque, power, bore size and tool overhang. The program is available for the all-metric line of ProMetrix spindles. The SETCO Group, 5880 Hillside Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45233.
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems (LMTAS) has delivered four Block 40 F-16C fighters to the Egyptian air force as part of the Peace Vector V program initiated in 1996, which provides for additional F-16C/D aircraft configured to Block 40 standards. The latest deliveries brings to 196 the number of F-16s acquired by Egypt. In addition, LMTAS has received orders for 28 F-16s from New Zealand, and another 200 have been ordered by the U.S. Air Force, United Arab Emirates, Greece and Israel.
The Microlight II is a hands-free miniature light (it can be worn on a finger or a hat via a velcro strap or clip), weighs 1/10 oz. and produces a high intensity light. It is powered by two 1.5-volt button batteries that provide a continuous burn time of 15 hr. The original Nighthawk Microlight was used by U.S. military pilots for more than 15 years while flying night sorties--the pilots illuminated their cockpit controls while wearing night-vision devices. It's available in five LED colors; white, green, red, amber and infrared. Wavesure LLC., P.O.
Visgard is a new scratch-resistant and thermoformable, polyurethane coating technology with permanent anti-fog and anti-static properties built in. It is available cured on polycarbonate sheet stock in various thicknesses, or as a 2-part solution in diacetone alcohol solvent for parts coaters and can be machined or heat formed just like untreated PC into visors or other products. Its anti-fog effectiveness results from the absorption of a small amount of moisture and a hydrophilic sheeting action which causes excess condensate to spread invisibly.
Boeing has successfully used inkjet printers to apply blueprint requirements directly onto the skin and substructures of F/A-18 fighters. The process improves quality and makes it easier and faster for workers to perform assembly work, lowering cycle times.
The new patented, FAA-TSO C70a approved, FR-6 Type 1 raft features a buoyancy-enhanced deck for increased flotation and a single inflation system for optimal weight reduction. It has two independent gas chambers to ensure that flotation is maintained even with one tube deflated. The rafts, constructed of neoprene-coated nylon fabric, inflate in less than 12 sec. and are considered ideal for cargo plane applications due to their minimal weight and space requirements. Full survival kits are included with radio beacons available as an option.
Impressed with results of testing the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's Miniature Air Launched Decoy, the U.S. Air Force wants to start buying the system that is designed to spoof enemy air defenses. MALD is intended for use from fighter and bomber aircraft. The system includes a Northrop Grumman electronic payload that allows it to mirror the flight characteristics of most aircraft and simultaneously emit a signal so enemy radar operators mistake the decoy for a real aircraft.
The Harris Corp./Marconi Aerospace Systems team has been awarded a two-year, multimillion-dollar program for the replacement of communication links between U.S. Navy helicopters and ships.
The Boeing 767-400ER photo on the cover Nov. 1 was shot by flight test photographer Joe Parke, not the photographer credited in that issue. Parke also took the inflight 767 photo on p. 49.
The National Research Council's suggestion last week that Jupiter's moon Europa (see photo) be given priority for exploration equal to that of Mars has NASA brass scratching their heads. ``I certainly am surprised,'' said NASA space science chief Edward J. Weiler. ``Mars is a good bet on the possibilities of past life for many reasons. Europa is a long shot and much, much more difficult to get to, to survive at and to study.'' But Weiler has been preoccupied with the red planet lately (see p. 31).
Air France is growing more rapidly than expected. Despite uncertainties surrounding Asia's slow economic recovery and overcapacity in the North Atlantic market, during the first half of fiscal 1999-2000 the French flag carrier's revenues increased 12.9% to $5.62 billion, and load factor increased to 77.1%. Traffic climbed 19.7% on North Atlantic routes but stiff competition reduced yields slightly. Revenues in Asia increased 15.5%, indicating that the region's financial crisis is easing. Within Europe, Air France's traffic growth averages about 20%.
Rapid expansion of the capacity of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has prompted Xilinx Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., to introduce a series of programmable logic tools that allow design teams to capture and reuse the intellectual property they have created on FPGAs, either within their own company or over the Internet with other design teams. Xilinx's Virtex-E family of FPGAs offers up to 3 million system gates, a three-fold increase over designs of just a year ago. One advantage of programmable logic for designers is the shorter time to market.
Boeing delivered the final aircraft in the first batch of low-rate initial production (LRIP) F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to the U.S. Navy last week. The aircraft, an F/A-18E model, was turned over nearly two months ahead of schedule. It will undergo tests at Patuxent Naval Air Station in Maryland before being ferried to VFA-122, the Navy's first Super Hornet squadron at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, Calif. Production of the second lot of 20 LRIP F/A-18E/Fs is underway.
The battery-powered, self-contained ``IQ'' Line offers models for recording temperature, humidity, volts/milliamps, temperature with thermocouples and events. It comes with 12-bit resolution and memory sufficient to store 21,600 12-bit samples per recording session. During setup and data download, the data logger communicates with the PC via a serial cable supplied as part of the starter kit. The 2-channel IQ-TemptXT has an internal sensor and an external probe that can record from -40 to 125C. Accuracy is 0.5C over the entire range of all temperature sensors.
The lightweight KX Relay series is designed to carry high-current loads in applications related to aircraft, space and rail industries. Its small (1-in.-cube) size allows users to put several relays in a compact area, while its light weight facilitates the creation of small-scale assemblies. Additional features include a single pole, double break configuration and a temperature range of -55 to 125C. All relays are designed to Mil-R-6106 standards and are hermetically sealed. Leach International Corp., 6900 Orangethorpe Ave., P.O. Box 5032, Buena Park, Calif.
The European Space Agency has given final approval for a lander to accompany the Mars Express probe, to be placed in orbit around the red planet in June 2003.
Quality control problems continued to surface last week at Boeing as its production processes undergo close scrutiny following the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990.
