US AIRWAYS HAS PLACED a $1.4-billion order for 120 CFM56-5B/P engines to power the first of as many as 400 Airbus Industrie transports, but contracts for the engines and aircraft are contingent upon the ratification of a new labor agreement with the airline's pilot union that could occur by the end of this month. The contract with CFM International also includes reconfirmable options for another 120 powerplants, and options to acquire up to 160 additional engines. They would power A319, A320 and A322 transports.
This highly modified Sikorsky S-55T was recently delivered to Lockheed Martin Corp. It features a Garrett TSI-331 powerplant derated to 650 shp. for hot day/high altitude performance. The cabin has nine seats and a newly certified left side door. Other modifications include composite fairings and panels, solid-state electrical components, a new fuel gauging system, and an instrument panel with upgraded flight and navigation equipment. The S-55T has a 3,400-lb. payload and 340-naut.-mi. range. Vertical Aviation Technologies Inc., 1642 Hangar Road, Sanford, Fla. 32773.
A NUMBER OF TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE the vulnerability of GPS navigation satellite receivers to hostile jamming have been developed by Northrop Grumman's Electronics and Sensor Systems Div. in Baltimore. Some of the antijam techniques can be retrofitted into existing GPS receivers. One technique, adapted from the ALQ-165 airborne self-protection jammer (ASPJ), can filter out a stronger jamming signal. Another would use a miniature cesium-type atomic clock to facilitate acquiring the Y-type encrypted GPS signal if the C/A (coarse/acquisition) signal is being jammed.
The third series of NASA/Boeing X-36 flight tests were scheduled to begin late last week, aimed at evaluating agility at low speeds, where the remotely piloted aircraft's stability and performance will depend heavily on thrust vectoring. A fourth phase will expand the flight envelope to its design limit speed and explore stability margins in that area. Having no vertical tail, the X-36 uses split drag rudders and thrust vectoring for directional stability and control. Another 6-10 flights are planned in the program.
International airline pilots are cataloguing aviation safety deficiencies in Argentina and other Latin American countries and documenting apparent efforts by government officials to pressure pilots in their nations to keep quiet about such problems. Those efforts come as investigators in Uruguay search for clues to why an Argentinean airline's DC-9-32 plunged more than 24,000 ft. into a swamp on the border between the countries on Oct. 10. All 74 passengers and crewmembers on board were killed.
The ability of Italian aircraft EW systems to fingerprint and locate a target today is approaching that of special purpose electronic intelligence collection systems of the recent past, according to Elettronica. Those capabilities are now available in lightweight, small-size ESM systems that can be packaged into standard avionics boxes--a far cry from earlier bulky, heavy specialized systems.
Aviation Scholarships, Your No. 1 Guide to Financial Assistance for College and Flight Training by Sedgwick D. Hines has information on scholarships, grants and awards for aviation students. The author says that despite the high cost of education and a shortage of financial aid, some sources of funding go untapped each year. The book is divided into a workbook designed to help students apply for aid and listings of scholarship opportunities. Flight Time Publishing, 8526 Drexel Ave., Suite 3B, Chicago, Ill. 60619.
The French government's decision earlier this month to combine the defense electronics businesses of Thomson-CSF and Dassault Electronique is expected to create the world's third largest integrated electronic warfare (EW) company, one capable of rivaling U.S. manufacturers.
The Goleta division of Raytheon E-Systems is leading the implementation of airborne towed decoys with the December go-ahead for full-rate production of the Navy-developed ALE-50 decoy for the U.S. Air Force. The company is also developing a more sophisticated fiber-optic towed decoy for the U.K.'s Nimrods under a contract received in June.
USAF F-16 AND T-38 AIRCRAFT had a mid-air collision at Edwards AFB, Calif., on Oct. 22, killing both crewmen in the T-38. The two crew in the F-16 were safe after an emergency landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed at Edwards. The accident occurred on base property at about 10 a.m. as the aircraft were providing photographic support of a B-1B weapons drop test of BDU-33 training bombs, and were flying at about 500 kt. and 2,700 ft. AGL. Killed were Lt. Col. William R. Nusz of the 419th Flight Test Sqdn. and RAF Flight Lt. Leigh Alexander Fox.
FLIGHT TESTS OF TWO NEW TYPES OF EXPENDABLE airborne decoys, developed by Tracor under the joint USAF/Navy Advanced Strategic/Tactical Expendables (ASTE) program, are scheduled to begin next spring. One of the expendables, MJU-10-size (2 X 2.5 X 8 in.), is a rocket-boosted flare designed to fly a forward trajectory to make it easier to fool a heat-seeking missile. The other is a nonburning flare, MJU-7-size (1 X 2 X 8 in.), that can be safely ejected over populated areas.
GERMANY HAS TESTED Europe's first recoverable spacecraft by successfully returning the 340-lb. Mirka satellite to Earth for a parachute landing after it spent two weeks in space following launch Oct. 9 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on board a Russian booster. The mission represents a major technological success for Europe, which now joins the U. S., Russia, and China with recoverable satellite capability. Kayser-Threde developed the 3-ft.-dia. vehicle launched as a piggyback payload attached to the Russian Vostok Foton 11 spacecraft.
THE FIRST BOEING 777-300 flies over the Olympic Mountains on its maiden flight Oct. 16. The 4-hr., incident-free flight reached a peak altitude of 17,000 ft. Route was north over the Puget Sound, then west through the Strait of Juan de Fuca and out over the Pacific. Five aircraft will be used in a flight test program planned to exceed 1,400 hr. The first -300 is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 892 engines. FAA certification is set for May with delivery to Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways set for later that month.
Kathi Cupery has been named chief operations officer of the Aircraft Windows Repair Co., Torrance, Calif. She will remain corporate senior vice president/secretary of the board of directors.
Northrop Grumman researchers 10 years ago began work on a ``dilution'' drone as proof they could build an electronic warfare weapon that could fly close to enemy air defenses and fool them with false signals or overpower them with jamming.
The UCO Criterion Standard tester uses two laser beams for on-wing evaluation of aircraft strobe lights. The hand-held tester relies on a silicon detector and photo-optic sensor. It is powered by a 9 volt rechargeable battery. Testing can be accomplished in less than 30 sec. Results are displayed on a digital readout. UCO Aerospace Inc., 7000 Merrill Ave., P.O. Box 34, Hangar 31, Chino, Calif. 91710.
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER launch of the Space Test Experiment Platform Mission 4 (Step 4), controllers were still trying to establish communications with the satellite. Step 4 was launched by an Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL booster Oct. 22 off the coast of Virginia about 9:15 a.m. EDT, but communication was not established and the vehicle's solar arrays were not deployed. OSC officials said the satellite, designed to study the ionosphere and investigate Earth's atmosphere, had been delivered to its targeted low-Earth orbit.
Hornets Over Kuwait by Maj. Jay Stout of the U.S. Marine Corps is a first-person account by an F/A-18 pilot who flew 37 sorties during the Persian Gulf war. Stout describes his combat experiences and those of his comrades, while also offering a critique of leadership during the war, the aircraft and such issues as women in the military. Naval Institute Press, 118 Maryland Ave., Annapolis, Md. 21402-5035.
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are adapting software written to model weapons systems to better protect aircraft from uncontained engine failures. Boeing, Pratt&Whitney and AlliedSignal Engines also are partners in the $1.5-million project, which is FAA funded. The unclassified DYNA3D computer code models collisions lasting thousandths-of-a-second by simulating how stress moves through structures, according to Rich Couch, LLNL physicist and project principal investigator.
The PPS-700-03 is a compact laser and driver system available in 810 or 940 nanometer wavelengths. The unit's fast pulse modulation makes it suitable for applications that require rapid switching. The optical output can be continuously adjusted between 0-750 milliwatts in constant wavelength mode and up to 1 watt in pulsed mode. A kit that also includes a 6-volt photovoltaic power converter and 100 meters of fiber is available for evaluating the unit's power conversion capability. Photonic Power Systems Inc., 1945 Landings Drive, Mountain View, Calif. 94043.
The CLC449, CLC446 and CLC440 are low-power, Mil-Spec-qualified amplifiers suited for high performance military and aerospace applications such as radar, sonar, moving map displays and communications. The CLC449 features -3 dB. bandwidth of 1.2 GHz. at a gain of +2. The CLC446 is a high-speed, unity-gain-stable, current feedback amp that requires only 50 milliamps and is well-suited for video driver use. The CLC440 has a 1,500-volt/microsec. slew rate and 750 MHz. unity gain bandwidth. National Semiconductor Corp., 2900 Semiconductor Drive, Santa Clara, Calif.
Francis M. Scricco has been appointed executive vice president/chief operating officer of Arrow Electronics Inc., Melville, N.Y. He was a group president of Fisher Scientific International Inc.
Tracy Brannon has been promoted to vice president-training from training center manager for Simcom Training Centers, Orlando, Fla. He has been succeeded by Thomas Evans, who was Pilatus PC-12 program manager.
Richard Profit has been appointed group director of safety regulation of the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority, effective Nov. 14. He was director of safety, security and quality assurance at National Air Traffic Services Ltd..
The Globalstar venture is another step closer to orbit. The last of four satellites scheduled for launch on a Delta 2 booster on Dec. 4 was slated to arrive at Cape Canaveral late last week from Alenia Aerospazio's spacecraft assembly plant in Rome. Satellite No. 2 is pictured being ready for shipment. Both Globalstar and competitor Iridium are designed to connect mobile telephone users almost anywhere in the world via small, low-Earth orbit satellites. Iridium has a head start, with 34 of its 66 spacecraft in orbit and commercial service on track to debut next September.
