Aviation Week & Space Technology

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Mark Ebanks has been named Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based assistant vice president-aerospace for the CIT Group/Capital Finance.

Staff
USAF Col. (Ret.) Don Freeman (see photo) has been appointed military market segment manager for Analytical Graphics Inc., Malvern, Pa. He was director of intelligence for Air Force Space Command.

EDITED BY MONICA WARNOCK
Astrotech Space Operations, a subsidiary of Spacehab, has won a $100,000 grant from the state of California to make launch site infrastructure improvements at Vandenberg AFB.

Staff
The SJ-350 front-load parts washer has a load weight of 2,000 lb., a load height of 60 in. and a basket diameter of 42 in., allowing it to handle even large engine components. The unit's water-propelled spray bar eliminates the need for gears and drive motors. The spinning motion blasts parts 200 times per min. Landa Inc., 4275 N.W. Pacific Rim Blvd., Camas, Wash. 98607.

EDITED BY FRANCES FIORINO
With turbulence the leading cause of injury in nonfatal inflight accidents, the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group is making available its ``Turbulence Education and Training Aid'' to nearly 700 customers. The illustrated manual and 26-min. video--aimed at reducing the number of turbulence-related injuries and aircraft damage--teaches cockpit and cabin crew as well as dispatchers and aviation meteorologists about what causes turbulence, how to avoid it and how to minimize the risks.

Staff
Michael Patterson has been appointed credit manager of the Avatar Alliance's Atlanta operations center. He was director of financial services for Avsco Aviation Services.

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Kip Harkness has become director of styling and design for the Galaxy Aerospace Corp. of Fort Worth. He was manager of design for Bombardier Business Aircraft.

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John N. Entzminger, former deputy director for technology for the U.S. Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, has been appointed to the board of directors of Adroit Systems Inc., Alexandria, Va.

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The Bose Aviation Headset 10 is a lightweight, active noise reduction aviation headset. The headset uses a new technology called triport in which the ports in the ear cup effectively increase the air space behind the speaker at low frequency, significantly increasing active noise reduction and passive attenuation. This eliminates the need for actual air space behind the speaker, allowing for smaller ear cups, which reduces weight to 12 oz. and requires less clamping force to keep the headset in place.

Staff
The U.S./Russia summit in Moscow was a disheartening ``what should have been.'' It should have been the scene of a START 3 signing that slashed the number of each side's deployed nuclear warheads to 2,000, as spelled out in principle at the Helsinki summit of March 1997. Strategic nuclear warheads, not just launch systems, would have been destroyed. Mutual scrutiny of warhead inventories would have been expanded, building on the stalemated START 2's tough inspection rules.

Staff
The third Boeing E-767 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft made its first flight last week with its 30-ft. rotodome installed. This aircraft, plus a fourth, is scheduled to be delivered to the Japanese Defense Agency next year. The first two were delivered in March. Japan also is studying the purchase of another four E-767s so it can maintain two full AWACS ``orbits.'' South Korea and Turkey also are considering AWACS purchases.

Staff
Ulrich Ogiermann (see photo) has become senior vice president-sales and marketing of Luxembourg-based Cargolux Airlines International. He was general manager of the South African Div. of Lufthansa German Airlines.

Staff
The Ice Shield line of pneumatic deicers has been approved for use on Piper Navajo and Beech King Air 200 aircraft under FAA Supplemental Type Certificates. The new deicers are designed to have shorter installation times and better durability than existing systems, according to B/E-SMR Technologies. Their tapered edge is intended to ease installation and provide a smooth aerodynamic transition to the aircraft surface. The company plans to seek STCs that will extend the deicer line to additional aircraft types.

PAUL MANN
The world's top arms suppliers remain tightly packed in the race for dwindling exports, although the U.S. slowed somewhat in 1997. France ranked first last year in the intense competition for arms transfer agreements with the developing world, capturing $4.6 billion worth and a 26.8% share of the $17.2 billion signed overall, the lowest level worldwide since 1990, based on U.S. government figures.

Staff
General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark by Don Logan features hundreds of color photographs of the original variable geometry fighter. Logan tracks the development of the aircraft from its birth as the TFX, describes different versions procured by the U.S. Air Force, the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force and a plan that was later aborted to deploy the aircraft on U.S. aircraft carriers. Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 4880 Lower Valley Road, Atglen, Pa. 19310.

Staff
Michael O'Leary (see photos) has been appointed national director of avionics and Jim Clifford general manager of Minneapolis operations for Signature Flight Support, Orlando, Fla. O'Leary was program manager for general aviation marketing for BFGoodrich Aerospace, Austin, Tex. Clifford was assistant to the president/vice president-operations at Kal-Aero's Battle Creek, Mich., facility.

Staff
Getting Started With QNX 4 by Robert Krten is a how-to guide for programmers using the real-time PC language. The book covers critical QNX issues such as priorities, scheduling algorithms, clocks, timers and interrupts. Tested code examples are provided to help programmers. Code examples and a sample chapter can be downloaded from http://www.parse.com. QNX Software Systems Ltd., 175 Terence Matthews Crescent, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2M 1W8.

Staff
Jeffery M. Jackson has been named senior vice president/chief financial officer of Sabre Group Holdings Inc. of Fort Worth. He succeeds Patrick Kelly, who is now CFO of the Trilogy Development Group, San Antonio, Tex. Jackson was vice president/controller of American Airlines.

EDITED BY JOSEPH C. ANSELMO
The space insurance industry is facing a sudden reversal of fortune that could result in its first yearly loss since 1994. The insurance climate was so favorable that underwriters had cut premiums by 50% since last summer (AW&ST June 15, p. 60). But the failed debut of Boeing's Delta 3 booster last month and on-orbit failures of two Hughes HS 601-model satellites, Galaxy 4 and Echostar 4, have left insurers facing nearly $700 million in claims. That could mean a hike in future premiums.

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Rear Adm. Paul E. Tobin, Jr., (USN, Ret.) has become head of the International Education Foundation of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Assn. (AFCEA), Fairfax, Va. He was oceanographer of the Navy. Tobin succeeds Rear Adm. W.J. Holland, Jr., (USN, Ret.), who has retired. Milton E. Cooper, president of the Federal Sector of the Computer Sciences Corp., has become AFCEA chairman of the board. He succeeds Ralph W. Schrader.

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Vicki Escarra has been promoted to executive vice president from senior vice president-airport customer service of Delta Air Lines.

Staff
The RCS 5100 is a rugged computer designed for environments with high electromagnetic interference or high heat environments. Its ``hot swappable'' fans can be replaced without shutting down the system. The computer comes with two 51/4-in. and one 31/2-in. drive bays. All the bays are shock isolated and are protected by an environmental door. It comes with a standard 315-watts power supply. Greco Systems, 372 Coogan Way, El Cajon, Calif. 92020.

Staff
Renee L. Lajoie and Kevin P. O'Prey have been appointed vice presidents of DFI International of Washington.

Staff
More data and more time to compare scientific models has led the Lunar Prospector mission team to revise its estimates of water ice concentration that may be present on the Moon. They now believe up to 6 billion metric tons of relatively concentrated water ice may be trapped beneath the soil in permanently shadowed craters at both poles. First estimates were for 300 million metric tons, but were made with just two months' data and were deliberately conservative, principal investigator Alan Binder said.

EDITED BY MONICA WARNOCK
The U.S. Navy is awarding Northrop Grumman Corp. a $20.4-million contract for the fabrication and assembly of five EA-6B wing center sections.