David Lamm has become chief financial officer of Interactive Entertainment, Memphis, Tenn. He was vice president-finance for information technology and capital investments of the McKesson Corp.
NASA's Ames Research Center is using ``adaptive fuzzy logic'' to improve the pitch axis response of the Gulfstream 2 Shuttle Training Aircraft. The key breakthrough is an algorithm developed by Ames project manager Hamid Berenji to automatically optimize the fuzzy logic controller, instead of the usual manual optimization.
Trans World Airlines Inc.'s future appears to be looking up, based on an encouraging third-quarter financial performance, but the carrier's weak cash position provides a sobering reminder of just how little margin TWA has for error. Also reporting third-quarter results last week was UAL Corp., parent company of United Airlines, which posted a 70% increase in net income to $579 million, or $5.61 a share.
Sabena Belgian World Airlines executives hope a Swissair-inspired recovery plan will pay off next year with a long-awaited financial turnaround. Last year, Sabena posted losses of BF8.31 billion ($218 million) on BF56.8 billion ($1.53 billion) in revenues. However, 1996's results included ample restructuring provisions that nearly doubled the company's losses.
Atlas Air Inc. is girding for the strong possibility that new 747-400s it has on order could be delayed 30-60 days because of the Boeing Co.'s production problems.
Wall Street is giving Boeing Co. the benefit of the doubt and buying into the notion that the company's production problems, although severe, are only temporary.
A laser jammer derivative of the U.S. Army's Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures, being developed at Lockheed Martin Sanders to protect fighter and attack jet aircraft from IR missile attack, is slated for flight test next June.
Alan L. Freece has become president/chief operating officer of Skydata Inc., Melbourne, Fla. He was vice president-business development of G.E. Capital Spacenet Services Inc., McLean, Va.
A new version of Free Flight simulation software will provide ground proximity warning system visual cues in the form of vertical red bars, in addition to its current moving map display. The FAA is using the program for research on controlled flight into terrain on two general aviation research simulators. Free Flight is also being used by members of the NASA Solar Pathfinder team to define user waypoints for flight planning purposes. Free Flight Inc., 975 N. Michillinda Ave., Pasadena, Calif. 91107.
During the next several months, U.S. airlines, aviation manufacturers and aircraft mechanics will maneuver to shape a debate in Congress on a bill that would revive restrictions on maintenance abroad of U.S.-registered aircraft. The bill, H.R. 145, represents more than a labor-industry turf battle. It addresses a loophole in the safety oversight system. At a time of clamoring for a decrease in commercial aviation accident rates, this bill should present a wake-up call for the FAA and industry. Still, it isn't the best way to close the loophole.
The U.S. Air Force is finally going to buy a number of air-launched decoys, to give the service a capability that was found unavailable but desperately needed to confuse and expose Iraqi air defenses during the 1991 Persian Gulf war. Visually, the new Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) looks like a small cruise missile. It's only 91 in. long and weighs just 89 lb. But once in the air and emitting, the MALD looks to an enemy radar like a fully loaded U.S. attack aircraft traveling at high speed toward some crucial, highly defended target.
The GV3 Vertical Honing Machine features variable spindle and stroking speeds to meet critical specifications required for aircraft landing gear and other applications. The machine can accommodate diameters of 0.5-12 in. and lengths up to 40 in. A control panel displays parameters such as rpm. speed, stroke speed, stroke position and cycle timer status to the operator. The spindle speed can be varied over a range of 0-500 rpm. The GV3 features a 5-hp. electric spindle drive and 10-hp. hydraulic drive motor. Sunnen Products Co., 7910 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, Mo.
The Pentagon has rejected a recent General Accounting Office recommendation that the Navy outfit its F/A-18C/D aircraft with ALE-50 towed decoys, developed by Raytheon E-Systems. The ALE-50 will be used on the Navy's next-generation F/A-18E/Fs until the more versatile ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy (FOTD), now under development by Lockheed Martin Sanders, enters production (see p. 52). Recent flight tests of the ALE-50 on an F/A-18E have revealed some decoy deployment problems, which Boeing/McDonnell is now working to resolve.
Raymond J. Rought, director of the Minnesota Aeronautics Office, has been elected chairman of the board of directors of the National Assn. of State Aviation Officials' Center for Aviation Research and Education. Kim J. Stevens, director of the Nebraska Aeronautics Dept. was elected treasurer. Other directors for 1998 will be Jack W. Ferns, director of the New Hampshire Aeronautics Div.; Maria Muia, manager of the Indiana Aeronautics Section; and John S. Penn, executive director of the New Jersey Aeronautics Div.
The EM-2701A Preselector has been improved to incorporate seven bandpass filters covering the frequency range of 9 KHz.-1 GHz., as well as a 1 GHz. highpass filter to 1.8 GHz. The unit is controlled by a built-in microprocessor but also can be controlled using an external computer via a rear-panel IEEE-488 interface bus connector. Input is keyed in using front-panel controls. The unit measures 3.5 in. X 12.9 in. X 17 in. Electro-Metrics Inc., 231 Enterprise Road, Johnstown, N.Y. 12095.
THE ALLIED PILOTS ASSN., which represents 9,000 American Airlines pilots, issued a resolution calling for development of four-dimensional (including time) cockpit displays for air transports. Aimed at preventing controlled-flight-into-terrain accidents, the displays would depict 3D terrain and a graphic presentation of the aircraft's flight path. A composite moving image would be generated from a terrain database, as well as air data and navigation sensor inputs.
Capt. Don Rice (USN, Ret.) has been appointed director of maintenance, repair and overhaul programs for Aircraft Consulting Inc., Mukwanago, Wis. He was commander of the Naval Aviation Depot, Jacksonville, Fla.
National Guard chief Lt. Gen. Edward Baca says his troops need an extra $500 million a year for training and operations, and their equipment needs to be modernized. But the Pentagon would come out ahead, he says, because active duty forces could be cut and hand over more foreign deployments to the Guard. ``The Guard unit can do it a lot cheaper,'' he says, calling large standing armies in the U.S.
This line of right-angle plug and receptacles joins the 5078 Series of connectors. The 1.0-mm. pitch, two-piece connectors allow stacking heights as low as 5 mm. but are rugged enough for commercial avionics applications. They are rated to 100 volts and 0.5 amps, and have a dielectric withstanding voltage of 500 volts. The contact material is bronze with gold plating in the mating area and solder plating on the PC tails. Elco Corp., P.O. Box 867, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29578.
The Douglas Products Div. of the Boeing Company--awaiting a decision expected next month on which former Douglas Aircraft Co. programs will be retained--is continuing to make refinements in the designs of possible MD-95 derivatives. The baseline MD-95-30 model is in development and viewed by many officials inside and outside of the company as a strong candidate for retention by Boeing following the company's merger with McDonnell Douglas. The 100-seat aircraft is scheduled for first flight in June 1998.
Passenger traffic has been increasing steadily at Montreal's Dorval Airport since the Aeroports de Montreal decision, effective Sept. 15, directing international scheduled airline flights to Dorval from Montreal's Mirabel Airport. Swissair reported a 10% increase in Dorval passenger traffic in the first two weeks. The shift of international flights from Mirabel allows passengers coming from domestic and U.S. cities to Dorval to connect directly with Dorval's new international services.
The Series 3001-01-XXX multi-axial accelerometers are designed for use in military and commercial aircraft equipped with digital flight data acquisition and recording systems. The devices can measure acceleration in up to three axes. They can measure vertical acceleration over a range of -3-+6g and longitudinal and lateral acceleration over a range of -1-+1g. They meet Arinc and RTCA specifications. Patriot Sensors and Controls Corp., 650 Easy St., Simi Valley, Calif. 93065.
The Composite Engineering Module provides the FiberSIM suite of software with the tools necessary to provide a seamless link between design and manufacturing. A design engineer can record critical nongeometric information during the geometry definition process using the new module without leaving the CAD system. The three-dimensional design data can then be linked directly to the entire suite of FiberSIM tools, which has the potential to save design and manufacturing time and cost. Composite Design Technologies, 235 Wyman St., Suite 110, Waltham, Mass. 02154.
Despite having to contend with the effects of jet streams, violent bad weather or exotic coatings on enemy missiles, the main weapon being developed for the YAL-1A aircraft--a long-range laser--is operating within specifications in tests, Air Force officials contend. Also, its beam is predicted to be focused enough to kill theater ballistic missiles at more than 250 mi.
