The market supplement in the Jan. 19 issue of Aviation Week&Space Technology incorrectly identified the venue for the FIDAE '98 aerospace exhibition. It will be at Los Cerrillos Airport in Santiago, Chile, on Mar. 23-29.
Boeing is urging NASA to reconsider plans to spend $750 million to spur development of a next-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV), saying the money would be better spent on space shuttle upgrades that could significantly lower the cost of operating the four orbiters and enable them to fly for another three decades.
The PRL-432 and PRL-433 are dual-channel Emitter Control Logic (ECL) Interface Adapters designed for use with high-speed recording instruments in satellite image transmission applications. The PRL-432 is a dual-channel clock and data recorder playback adapter. Each channel has a triax 124-ohm differential ECL input and SMA complementary ECL outputs for driving 50-ohm loads terminated to -2 volts. The PRL-433 is a dual-channel clock and data recorder record adapter.
The AI-CD is an AM-FM receiver and compact disc player that is designed for aviation use and certified not to interfere with other avionics. The entertainment system, developed by Avionics Innovations, is modified for use with Trimble's TrimLine communications/navigation suite. It will operate on 12-33 volts d.c. and fits in a standard panel mount aviation slot. The faceplate is made of machined aluminum instead of plastic, as many automotive systems installed in general aviation aircraft are. The audio output uses a common ground. Trimble Navigation Ltd., 645 N.
The SuperView 500 is a display input system that can combine as many as 10 computer screens or video signals on a single monitor or projector. The SuperView is connected between the host computer and display downstream of the computer, imposing a burden on the CPU. It is compatible with virtually all PCs and workstations and with monitors or data display projectors of up to 1,600 X 1,200-pixel resolution. It can accept inputs from forward looking infrared sensors as well as NTSC, PAL and S-Video. RGB Spectrum, 950 Marina Village Pkwy., Alameda, Calif. 94501.
Former astronaut Richard Covey has been named deputy program director for operations for Boeing's NASA Consolidated Space Operations Contract Phase 2 bid. He was division director in Houston for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace.
Sikorsky reduced the time to produce composite parts for its S-92 Helibus project by using FiberSIM software from Composite Design Technologies of Waltham, Mass. The program models the behavior of woven and unidirectional fibers as they are placed in mold tooling, and predicts problems such as wrinkling, bridging, separating from the mold and too wet/too dry resin. FiberSIM can work with design software such as CATIA and Unigraphics, and highlights problem areas in yellow or red. The program also works with laser projectors that define layup reference points.
GERMANY, FRANCE AND THE U.K. have awarded a DM1 billion ($546 million) tooling and initial production contract to a consortium of Thomson-CSF, Siemens, Racal and Lockheed Martin for the Cobra electronically scanned counterbattery radar system. The award covers the production of 29 systems plus training. Cobra will be managed by OCCAr, the multinational joint arms procurement agency set up by the three nations in 1996. OCCAr officially opened for business on Feb. 4.
The U.S. Air Force has halted testing of engineering and manufacturing development versions of the F119, the powerplant for the F-22 fighter, following an apparent compressor seal failure. Investigations are underway to determine why a seal in the first stage of an EMD test engine's compressor (an integrally bladed rotor in the fourth-stage position of the engine) apparently failed, releasing two small pieces of the seal material into the powerplant's flowpath and damaging the compressor.
On first blush, it might seem that Northrop Grumman Corp. has the most to lose in the unlikely event that the company's proposed merger with Lockheed Martin falls apart (see p. 24).
A combination of powerful market forces for which little or no letup is in sight suggests there may be substantial upside in the stocks of selected, lower-tier aerospace suppliers--although pricing and productivity will continue as potential problem areas.
The U.S./NATO Follow-on Force that will assume responsibility in June for carrying out the Dayton peace accords in Bosnia will remain about the same size as the existing Stabilization Force (SFOR), a sequel sure to draw congressional fire about an overcommitted U.S. military.
U.S. bases closed after the Vietnam War without redevelopment plans are now basically slums, and it could happen again, according to F. Whitten Peters, acting secretary of the Air Force. If there isn't another Base Realignment and Closure process, bases may have to be bolted shut, he said. This echoed Gen. Mike Ryan's recent threat to shut down bases if Congress doesn't approve two more rounds of base closings. ``I have another way of closing bases,'' Peters said.
Putting the brakes on endless deployments to the Persian Gulf and spending up to an extra $5 billion per year are two sure ways to stop the U.S. Air Force's quickening decline in readiness, says the service's top operational commander. Gen. Richard Hawley, commander of Air Combat Command (ACC), compared the service to the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic which needs ``to apply a lot of rudder . . . today''--in terms of funding modernization and spare parts, as well as incentives to retain pilots and other highly trained specialists.
Gordon L. Williams, former president/CEO of the Vought Aircraft Co., and Kenneth W. Cannestra, a consultant to the aeronautic, aerospace and electronics industries, have become directors of Lear Siegler Services Inc., Annapolis, Md.
William C. Bracas has been appointed group vice president-commercial aviation of the Sabreliner Corp. of St. Louis and Thomas F. Derieg president of SabreTech. Bracas was senior vice president/general manager of Dassault Falcon Jet's Little Rock, Ark., facility.
U.S. aviation units supporting operations over Bosnia can expect no relief from the surveillance and intelligence-gathering schedule they have kept up recently, says Robert Gelbard, special ambassador to Bosnia. The latest spur to airborne vigilance is rising repression by the Federal Yugoslavian Army and Kosovo-based Serbian police militias against ethnic Albanians who make up 90% of the population. Gelbard warned that the U.S. and its allies would soon mount ``serious action [against Belgrade to] demonstrate that bad behavior is not rewarded.'' He expects U.S.
A TEAM LED BY DAIMLER-BENZ Aerospace's Dornier Satellite Systems has been selected to build GE Americom's GE-5 satellite--the first time a major U.S. operator has ordered a satellite from European industry. GE-5, intended for Conus coverage of the U.S., is to be placed in geostationary orbit at 79 deg. W. in October 1998 by an Ariane booster. The 1,760-kg. satellite will be integrated and tested by Aerospatiale, using its Spacebus 2000 platform.
Dassault Aviation continues to shape the design of its proposed supersonic Falcon business jet in response to significant customer interest. Although far from committing to program launch, development of the 8-passenger, Mach 1.8 aircraft continues apace, according to Dassault Executive Vice President Bruno Revellin-Falcoz.
The avionics industry is gearing up for extensive use of civil avionics on military aircraft as air forces around the world cope with decreasing budgets by shifting to more affordable commercial alternatives.
After years of negotiations by the International Air Transport Assn., Cathay Pacific Airways and other Asian carriers, North Korea has opened a portion of its air space to commercial flights for the first time since the Korean War. Cathay made the first test flight with a 747-400 on a route from Anchorage to Hong Kong, spending about 20 min. in North Korean airspace. South Korea's largest international carrier, Korean Air, flew an Anchorage-Seoul route as the second IATA member to test the route. Carriers will not fly over North Korea itself.
Calvin Barnett has been named director and general manager and Darci Lee Pelton international business development manager of U.K.-based OMI Logistics Ltd.
U.S. combat readiness is adequate ``by the slimmest of margins,'' and the nation's overcommitted forces were under severe strain even before the latest deployment against Iraq, high-ranking military officers have told Congress.
USAF LT. COL. EILEEN COLLINS has been named the first female commander of a space shuttle mission. Collins was selected to command STS- 93, a December flight of the space shuttle Columbia. The 5-day voyage will include the deployment of the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility. Collins has been a pilot on two previous shuttle missions, including the sixth docking with Russia's Mir space station last May.
