The battle for additional B-2 procurement has effectively been killed by Congress' Fiscal 1998 defense appropriations budget. Even B-2 proponents admit the fight for more B-2 acquisition is over, leaving the Air Force with a 21-aircraft fleet. ``The silver bullet has given way to the silver stake,'' says Loren Thompson of the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution.
The RCS-9000 personal computer is designed to meet Mil-Std-810. Features include shock-mounted drive bays and display, a detachable built-in keyboard and rear-hinged panels for PC card cable accessibility. An environmental front panel protects the drive bays and switches. Captive fasteners are used for all external parts. Drives are mounted in aluminum carrier baskets to simplify replacement. Greco Systems, 372 Coogan Way, El Cajon, Calif. 92020.
This new line of audio selector panels for general aviation aircraft comprises four models. The SL10 is a standard audio selector panel with six-place intercom. The SL10M also features a built-in market beacon. The SL10-S includes hi-fi stereo, while the SL10M-S combines the intercom, stereo and marker beacon features. Each model can be connected to as many as three transceivers and six receivers. II Morrow, P.O. Box 13459, Salem, Ore. 97309.
The U.S. Air Force is making 10 modifications to its Slingsby Aviation Ltd. T-3A Firefly trainer. Most are designed to correct powerplant shutdown problems believed to be associated with vaporization of fuel in lines running near the hot engine.
Airbus is keeping up the pressure on its U.S. rival, the Boeing Co. Last year, the European consortium obtained orders and commitments for 671 aircraft valued at $44.2 billion, including 460 firm orders worth $29.6 billion. On Dec. 31, after withdrawing 20 cancellations from the order list, backlog was 1,009 aircraft, valued at $72 billion. ``We are now well on course to achieving our goal of a consistent 50% market share early in the next century,'' Managing Director Jean Pierson asserted.
The first of two anticipated peak periods or ``waves'' of satellite launches began in 1997. Last year marked the start of a noticeable shift upward in the number of satellites built and launched to Earth orbit each year. The number of satellites launched annually had been declining steadily since 1991. In 1993, the number of satellites launched or attempted to be launched worldwide dropped to under 110 for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Arianespace is preparing a new strategic plan that will make its product line better suited to the needs of non-geostationary telecommunications satellite constellations.
This turbine flow meter incorporates both Grayloc and R-Con end connections and is available with a variety of bearing options, depending on the fluid media and service conditions. The meters are available in 1/2-4 in. nominal pipe size. Flowmetrics Inc., 9201 Independence Ave., Chatsworth, Calif. 91311.
FRENCH ARMAMENTS AGENCY DGA has awarded Matra BAe a contract to complete development and tooling and to begin production on an initial batch of 500 Scalp point target cruise missiles. The award follows a French order for 100 Apache standoff dispenser weapons in October and a U.K. order for several hundred Storm Shadow missiles last February.
Warfighters 2: The Story of the U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Weapons and Tactics Sqdn. One (MAWTS-1) by Rick Llinares and Chuck Lloyd of Dash 2 Aviation Photography provides an in-depth look at the MAS Yuma, Ariz., based unit that provides advanced training to both fixed and rotary-wing air crews. Illustrated with hundreds of color photographs, the book also features a history of Marine aviation and chapters on Marine Helicopter Sqdn. 1, which serves the President, and the fixed and rotary wing combat aircraft in the Corps' arsenal.
Discover Soaring! A Transition to Gliders is a 39-min. video that is targeted at pilots of powered aircraft who are interested in earning their glider ratings. The video is the first in a planned series of soaring productions. The video addresses the history of soaring, FAA licensing requirements and the inflight maneuvers that glider pilots must perform. Perspectives from both inside and outside the cockpit are shown. Niche A/V Inc., 500 Ammons Road, Spartansburg, S.C. 29306.
The Insight Eagle is a dual-energy system for scanning luggage for explosives or other contraband. The system beams X-rays at bags in two frequencies, each in a separate plane, to optimize determination of an object's effective atomic number. The dual scan technique also allows better imaging and spatial isolation of potential threats. A proprietary mass-density classification algorithm uses data from the X-ray examination and compares the resultant density with that of all known explosive threats.
Matra Marconi Space and Digimed, a subsidiary of the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority, have formed a new company to create a geosynchronous communications satellite system for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The U.K.-based Euro African Satellite Telecommunications (East) Ltd. Co. seeks to provide mobile and fixed telephone and data services in remote areas.
ROBERT V. DAHL, PROJECT DIRECTOR, AIR CARGO MANAGEMENT GROUP
There is no question that the average airline is more interested in passenger operations than in freight. The reason is quite simple--on an industry-wide basis, airlines generate five dollars in passenger revenue to every one dollar in freight revenue. However, as it represents $50-60 billion in revenue on a worldwide basis, the freight market cannot be ignored. Add to this the fact that air freight is growing faster than passenger traffic and it is easy to understand why airline executives are spending more time focusing on the cargo market.
The Model 960 Transient Recorder has two transducer inputs and two angle inputs for measuring fastener torque, angle and clamp load. It also can be used for auditing and certifying power tools and hand torque wrenches. The recorder can store data on up to 500 rundowns and can do torque versus tension verification testing on fasteners and joints. RS Technologies Ltd., 37428 Hills Tech Drive, Farmington Hills, Mich. 48331.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor has been awarded posthumously by President Clinton to two NASA astronauts, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee and Air Force Lt. Col. Edward H. White 2nd. They were killed in a launch pad fire in January 1967. The third Apollo astronaut killed in the fire, USAF Lt. Col. Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, was awarded the same medal in 1978 by former President Carter.
The first RV-6A QuickBuild kit aircraft, operated by the Experimental Aviation Assn.'s Young Eagles program, is shown in flight. The aircraft was assembled by volunteers at the EAA Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wis. The aircraft first flew in July and had been flown by more than 200 Young Eagles by October. The QuickBuild kit comes with the wings, fuselage and control surfaces partially assembled. Most repetitious layout and riveting work has been eliminated. The airframe comes fully primed with the fuel tanks ready for filling.
Ansett Australia's long-term viability is linked to its proposed alliance with Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, according to the carriers' joint application to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission.
This rotor telemetry system relies on a radio frequency slip ring design to capture 160 channels of data through one lightweight, 18-conductor cable. It eliminates the need for signal conditioning amplifiers associated with traditional instrumentation slip rings. Data are digitized on the rotor, which greatly reduces the electrical noise picked up by the cabling, while the RF design avoids the signal noise generated by a conventional slip ring's contact resistance.
The S-14 Cabinet Spray Washer cleans parts with 220 gal./min. of hot wash solution at 70 psi. Automatic rinsing and drying features also are available. The S-14, which uses multiple manifolds, is available in five sizes. S.A.S. Equipment Inc., 2435 N. Indian Hill Blvd., Claremont, Calif. 91711-1730.
Like many novel technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles have experienced mixed fortunes during the past year as the technology matures. One the one hand, many UAV development programs around the globe have continued to suffer serious design and funding problems due to the novelty of the challenge. On the other hand, those systems which have reached service have convinced even some skeptics of the long-term importance of this concept. U.S. SHORT-RANGE TACTICAL RECONNAISSANCE UAVS
