Robin L. Beard, a former Tennessee congressman and assistant secretary general of NATO, has been named president and chief executive officer of Raytheon Co.'s corporate operations in Washington, which handles congressional liaison activities. Beard was president of Raytheon International in Brussels.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), a leading critic of Loral Corp.'s dealings with China, is now accusing Motorola of helping Beijing improve its launch capabilities by using the Long March booster to orbit Iridium satellites. Six Iridiums have been launched on three Long March vehicles, and two more satellites are slated to go up later this month. Rohrabacher has charged on the House floor that Motorola helped China double the capacity of the Long March and gave Beijing technology such as exploding bolts to facilitate stage separation.
Michael I. Mott (see photo) has been appointed vice president-business development of Boeing Space Transportation, Seal Beach, Calif. He was associate deputy administrator of NASA. Mott succeeds Richard F. Stehle, who has retired.
Israel+s Technomatix has won a $2.5-million order, its largest to date, for a variety of its computer-aided production engineering tools for manufacturing process design, mockups and tolerance management (AW&ST Nov. 10, 1997, p. 77). The software will be used by Airbus partners British Aerospace, Aerospatiale and Daimler-Benz Aerospace in support of Parametric Technology's CAD/CAM/CAE system.
Steve Shimer (see photo, p. 13) has been appointed manager of business development for laser subsystems and mechanisms for the Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., Broomfield, Colo.
Mercom Systems Inc. of Lyndhurst, N.J., has developed an advanced recorder control application program interface based on Microsoft's ActiveX technology. Called Rapi-X, the software permits developers using C++, Visual Basic, Delphi and Java to tightly integrate the core functions of an audiolog server into a primary business application. Mercom regards Rapi-X as particularly applicable for air traffic control and traffic management users or those needing high-performance audio recording and retrieval systems.
Ulice Payne, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of Midwest Express Holdings Inc. He is a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Foley and Lardner.
A second attempt at automatic docking by Japan's ETS-7 spacecraft has failed and the combination target and chaser spacecraft were left in an undocked state last week.
Airline trainers and managers will gather in Indianapolis at the end of the month to swap success stories--and lessons learned from failures--with ``human factors in maintenance'' programs. Such programs try to extend the principles of cockpit resource management to maintenance operations.
The Curlin-Air is a portable, contact-free flaw detector that relies on an ultrasonic beam. The hand-held scanning yoke can find flaws such as delaminations, splits, blows, inclusions, cavities, impact damage and fractured or crushed cores. Applications include aircraft laminates, rotor blades, foam-core laminates, ceramics and circuit boards. The device also can be used for detecting water trapped in aircraft honeycomb structures. NDT Systems, 15751 Graham St., Huntington Beach, Calif. 92649.
American Airlines is ordering another 15 Boeing 777-200 Increased Gross Weight aircraft, bringing to 34 its firm orders for the long-range transport. The 15 aircraft, valued at about $2.2 billion, will be used to replace the carrier's aging McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and for growth. They will be delivered in 2000 and 2001. American begins to take delivery of the first 19 777s on firm order next year.
Pentagon officials have noted an acceleration in U.S. research on bistatic radar, which they believe will let them locate stealth aircraft and cruise missiles. ``A lot is happening,'' an industry official said, but the focus is not clear yet. ``There are several camps, but there is not much cross-pollination yet.'' The concept has a large, manned aircraft transmitting a massive radar signal from behind friendly lines while other aircraft--probably UAVs--fly over enemy territory carrying sensitive receivers.
The Turkish government will procure nine additional CASA CN-235 twin turboprops from Turkish Aerospace Industries. The contract involves three maritime patrol Persuaders, to be operated by the coast guard, and six aircraft for the navy.
Two Hughes HS 601 spacecraft have experienced ground test anomalies that will significantly delay their launches. The problems are unrelated to recent malfunctions in space with three other HS 601s, but the incidents continue a string of difficulties involving the $100-million 601 models that are critical to international satellite operations.
Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are studying subliming solid-fuel thrusters to maneuver planned microlight (up-to-15-kg.) satellites in orbit. The proposed system is lightweight, compact, nonvolatile and has little of the plumbing or leak potential associated with gaseous propellants. The work follows JPL tests on a similar, low-bulk vaporizing liquid microthruster, according to Juergen Mueller, technical staff member.
Aviation Training International, a GKN Westland/Boeing joint venture, has received a contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defense to provide aircrew and maintenance training services for British army WAH-64 Apache helicopters. The 30-year contract is potentially worth 650 million pounds ($1.1 billion).
The U.K. will go ahead with its own program to develop a next-generation military satellite communication system rather than join in a collaborative effort with France and Germany.
During the gulf war, USAF Brigadier Gen. Mike Hall was Theater Air Liaison Officer for Central Command Air Forces. That war previewed the impact that advanced technology could have on Close Air Support. Retired, he is now a partner in PFA Consulting. The U.S. military is missing out on an opportunity to transform the way Close Air Support (CAS) is performed, to make it a more overwhelming force on the battlefield.
The Pana Star AAII 350/500 Series is a second-generation, fuzzy logic constant voltage inverter power supply that relies on artificial intelligence to enhance welding quality and speed while reducing spatter. The new inverters can accommodate changes in wire stick-out length while providing a constant welding bead width. The new devices use a 16-bit processor, versus the 8-bit processes in earlier models. This allows faster response time. Panasonic Factory Automation, 9377 W. Grand Ave., Franklin Park, Ill. 60131.
The Mach 2 and Mach 3 multistage filters are designed to meet aerospace National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Method 319 requirements for wet paint booth systems. The three-stage Mach 3 has an average efficiency of 99.95% and holds up to 5.84 lb. of paint, according to independent test results. The filters are constructed around a metal frame incorporating polyester media that is heat sealed to prevent flaws that could lead to failure. Both the two-stage Mach 2 and the Mach 3 rely on a multipocket, baffle design.
Aviation students and professional pilots will soon be able to buy a PC flight simulator software package developed by Dynamix, with help for the first time from the National Assn. of Flight Instructors and Experimental Aircraft Assn. ``Pro Pilot 99'' is slated for release in October to sell for less than $50, with CD-ROMs to run on Windows 95/98. Pro Pilot 99 includes text tutorials on aviation procedures, cross-country flight planning and air traffic control communications.
The Sabre Group has acquired the Maxi-Merlin maintenance product developed by US Airways for license to airline users, third-party repair centers and overhaul operators. Maxi-Merlin integrates business functions such as material services control, maintenance activity, component control and dissemination of job procedures.
