The Air Force's 90%-scale Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) completed its first flight with an unpowered autonomous landing on Aug. 11 at Holloman AFB, N.M. The unmanned vehicle was carried aloft and dropped by a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from 9,000 ft. AGL. A parachute stabilized the SMV during the UH-60's climb. After release, the SMV flew a straight profile for 1.5 min. at up to 160 kt.--with landing gear down--then performed a successful approach and landing on a Holloman runway.
Errol Cossey (see photo) has been appointed chairman and CEO of Thomas Cook's Worldwide Tour and Airline Operations. Terry Soult is now managing director, Sean Monnery director of development and strategy and Capt. Terry Michaels director of flight operations.
TM-28 cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Sergei Avdeyev and Yuri Baturin were to dock with the Mir space station on Aug. 15 following their launch on Aug. 13 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The new crew is to replace cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Nikolay Budarin who have been on board for six months. Baturin, a former aide to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, is to return to Earth with the outgoing crew on Aug. 25. Only one more crew is scheduled for launch to Mir before the 12-year-old station is maneuvered out of orbit next year.
The FAA has awarded 14 information technology contracts worth up to $1.25 billion to small or disadvantaged businesses. Awarded under the Acquisition Management System, they represent the largest such outreach effort by the FAA.
EUROCOPTER'S EC155 MEDIUM-LIFT HELICOPTERS will be the first users of AlliedSignal's combined solid state flight data and cockpit voice recorder. The first prototypes have already been delivered. The unit provides 10 hr. of flight data and one hour of cockpit voice conversations in a 9-lb. box. The combined product was designed for general aviation and helicopters.
AlliedSignal's 131-9[A] auxiliary power unit (APU) has been selected by Iberia to equip the Spanish carrier's recently ordered 50 Airbus 124-1 85-seat A319/A320/A321 transports.
Recovery of the Soho spacecraft proceeded faster than expected last week, and some officials believe attitude control could be restored this week. Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas were able to lock on to Soho's transmissions on Aug. 8 and decode telemetry. Further sessions on Aug. 9-11 brought back temperature, voltage and Sun sensor data that are giving clues about spacecraft health and attitude. One session lasted 100 min., indicating the batteries are working again.
Farnborough International '98 is looking to be a watershed event for several reasons. It will mark the 50th anniversary of the exhibition at the Hampshire aerodrome and the last time it will be held in the first week of September.
JobBoss 4.0 for Windows features a new structured knowledge base with intelligent search engines to point users to the correct answers to their questions and hot keys for accessing the JobBoss Web site. The software's Find It function relies on a Web-type browser. The manufacturing software is designed for job shops and make-to-order manufacturers. It also features wizards that guide users through system setup and a training database. JobBoss Software, 7701 York Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55435-5832.
NEC TECHNOLOGIES HAS SELECTED GEC-MARCONI HAZELTINE CORP. to supply its ruggedized flat panel, color active matrix liquid crystal displays. The initial application for NecTech's 20.1-in. high resolution monitors will be for desktops and workstations, but other government and industrial uses are expected to follow.
The government of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has given the go-ahead to a new, larger permanent exhibition area for the Dubai air show. To be located 3-km. (1.9-mi.) southeast of the current show area, the site will have two dedicated exhibition halls providing 25,000 sq. meters (269,000 sq. ft.) of space, a two-story 7,500-sq.-meter (80,000-sq. ft.) reception building, a 750 X 140-sq.-meter (26-acre) static display area and a new control tower. A total of 64 two-story and 20 single-story permanent chalets have been planned.
The Series 160 (shown) and Series 170 position transducers are designed for providing input to flight data recorders on commercial transport aircraft. A stainless-steel cable is wound around a precision-machined drum. The bearing-mounted drum is mated to a precision sensor based on poteniometric, synchro or encoder technology that translates linear position information to an electrical signal. Extract lengths are available ranging from 0-1.5 in. to 0-42.5 in. The transducers have size, weight and installation advantages over traditional rod-and-cylinder transducers.
Sikorsky Support Services has received a $147-million contract from the U.S. Navy to procure intermediate and organizational level maintenance for 100 T-2C, 53 TA-4J, 2 HH-1N, and 3 UH-3H aircraft under the Chief of Naval Air Training flight training program.
AirGTI Task Manager is designed to meet the needs of airlines and repair stations with mixed fleets and different inspection requirements. Planners using the software can generate routine work packages that are complete, accurate and specific to aircraft configuration and tail number. A package of all cards, forms, text and graphics pertinent to the aircraft and the specific check are printed. The Task Manager also generates corrective action task cards to minimize technical research time for nonroutine maintenance.
The Vision System Model AV2424-10 is a highly accurate, automated, noncontact measuring system. It relies on a high-resolution camera mounted on the Z-axis of a Starrett Hollow Granite Coordinate Measuring Machine that features a modified bridge design. Applications include objects that cannot be measured with a touch probe or ones that deflect easily upon contact. Parts to be inspected can be placed within the machine's 24 X 24 X 10-in. envelope. L.S. Starrett Co., 121 Crescent St., Athol, Mass. 01331-1915.
American Airlines and the Allied Pilots Assn. have reached agreement on code share issues that allow the union increased access to data on route profitability analyses, but permits American to maintain and add its code on certain flights operated by Canadian Airlines International.
After a long delay, Australia's Queensland-based Flight West Airlines received the go-ahead to operate into Papua New Guinea. The airline had been forced to sit on the sidelines for 10 months after an impasse between its owner, Sir Dennis Buchanan, and the government of Papua New Guinea relating to an earlier decision by Sir Dennis to withdraw from domestic services in New Guinea in 1993. Flight West will fly former Ansett F-28s and start services on Oct. 12 from Cairns and Townsville to Port Moresby.
Photograph: Alexander Lebed WIDE WORLD A high-ranking defector from Russia's GRU military intelligence service told a House panel he had scouted potential locations in the U.S. for Soviet agents to hide portable nuclear devices that could be activated in case of war. The former GRU colonel also charged that the former Soviet Union deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba until the late-1980s without the knowledge of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
The Marines are still waiting for Boeing and Lockheed Martin to present acceptable designs to meet requirements for the short takeoff and vertical landing version of JSF. The Marines believe they are near the point where they can't trade any more performance to keep cost low and commonality high, according to Brig. Gen. Bruce Byrum, USMC assistant deputy chief of staff for aviation. ``We are basically down to what we consider the minimum,'' Byrum said.
The U.S. Army Communications&Electronics Command has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for Rapid Response to Critical Requirements Support to ensure that critical systems maintain full functionality and operability. The five-year contract has an estimated maximum value of almost $1.8 billion.
Japan's Air-Self Defense Force (JASDF) is slated to choose a new turboprop trainer to replace aging Fuji Heavy Industries T-3s for the primary flight training role by the end of this month. The Japanese selection process started with the solicitation of some 35 companies to compete for the 50-aircraft buy. The new trainers are to replace piston-powered Fuji T-3 trainers in service since the mid-1970s.
C. Dale Reis has been named general manager of Raytheon Defense Systems, Tucson, Ariz. He was general manager of Raytheon Command, Control and Communications, Marlborough, Mass. Reis succeeds David L. McPherson, who has retired. Succeeding Reis is Frank S. Marchilena, who has been general manager of Raytheon Training and Services, Vienna, Va. Philip T. Le Pore, who has been deputy general manager, has succeeded Marchilena and has been promoted to executive vice president.
