This line of position transducers can be directly connected to data acquisition and control systems, allowing most signal conditioning to be done in the transducer itself. Bridge, regulated, digital and velocity electrical outputs can be specified in place of the standard voltage divider output. The signal conditioning modules can be inside the transducer housing or separate. The devices are available with stock cables and connectors, or custom ones can be specified. Space Age Controls Inc., 38850 20th St. E., Palmdale, Calif. 93550.
A PLASTIC SUBSTRATE BEING DEVELOPED for advanced flat panel displays by Dow Chemical Co. for the U.S. Display Consortium could lead to curved surfaces and panoramic displays for cockpits, according to the consortium CEO. The long-term goal is a cost-effective, lightweight yet durable alternative to glass substrates for all types of liquid crystal displays. The short-term applications will likely be for traditional LCDs, rather than active matrix LCDs, which currently require too high a processing temperature for plastic substrates.
Additional joint ventures, mergers and privatizations are in sight as the European aerospace industry prepares during the next five years to implement long-awaited consolidation initiatives--despite intricate political difficulties, complex legal issues and growing financial uncertainties. Government and company officials, as well as analysts, agree that Europe is rapidly nearing a crossroad and no longer can postpone decisions to streamline its fragmented aerospace industry.
These switching modules are part of a spin recovery system made by Irvin Aerospace Inc. and used initially during certification of Bombardier's Global Express business jet. The pilot arms the system by unlocking the keylock and turning the deploy handle to the horizontal position. If the aircraft enters an uncontrolled spin, the pilot can pull the handle to trigger an explosive charge that deploys the spin chute. After the aircraft is stabilized, the pilot uses the jettison switch to fire another charge that cuts the parachute cord.
The X-33 reusable launch vehicle (RLV) demonstrator is on target for first flight in March, 1999, NASA's Gary Payton told a House panel. The agency's space transportation technology chief said the suborbital demonstrator weighs more than planned and will be a bit slower than hoped but it's still on track to meet test objectives. Nine X-33 flight tests are planned in 1999, after which Lockheed Martin will decide whether to build a commercial RLV that is to reduce the cost of orbiting payloads to $1,000/lb. or less.
Lockheed Martin Missiles&Space has completed construction of the Lunar Prospector and has initiated testing of the 660-lb. spacecraft here in preparation for the most ambitious U.S. lunar expedition since the end of the Apollo era a quarter of a century ago.
DELTA AIR LINES HAS MOVED to the ``critical phase'' of its evaluation of new Boeing and Airbus aircraft, Chairman/CEO Ronald Allen said, but a decision on purchases is not expected for at least several weeks, perhaps longer. Delta is seeking replacements for older model Lockheed L-1011s now in domestic use, which would require an order for two dozen wide-body transports.
The era of fusing major U.S. aerospace/defense companies through megamergers and multibillion-dollar acquisitions probably is nearing an end, but that doesn't mean the industry's consolidation is almost over. Far from it; market forces that have been driving the Darwinian process still prevail, not just in the U.S. but globally.
Scaled Composites Inc. has created a production-oriented spinoff called Scaled Technology Works to transition the unique designs of SCI President Burt Rutan into marketable productions. STW will be housed in a new 112,000-sq.-ft. facility now under construction at the Montrose, Colo., Regional Airport. Scaled Composites will continue its Mojave, Calif., operations, focusing on research and development and building proof-of-concept prototype aircraft and spacecraft.
Raymond D. Thomas, Jr., has become president of Comsat RSI Inc., Bethesda, Md. He has been acting president and was vice president/general manager of global communications systems unit.
By 2005 regional airlines in the U.S. will be carrying record numbers of passengers on board larger, faster turboprop and jet aircraft flying on longer routes, as unprecedented growth in air travel fuels expansion.
United Airlines plans to ban smoking on 32 daily flights to and from Asia and South America on July 1, completing its transition to an entirely no-smoking airline. Although smoking is more prevalent in Asia and Latin America than around the rest of its worldwide network, United is convinced it will not suffer unduly, with research showing most customers--even in Japan--prefer to travel in a smoke-free environment. It hopes a gain in new nonsmoking customers will offset any smokers who take their business elsewhere.
The aviation services business will undergo a radical transformation if regulators approve General Electric's proposed acquisition of Greenwich Air Services Inc. Assuming the deal closes this summer, as expected, independent companies essentially will become an insignificant component of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services market.
RAYTHEON E-SYSTEMS, GOLETA, CALIF., WILL PRODUCE three laser long-range lineup systems for the U.S. Navy to test at its Naval Air Warfare Center in Lakehurst, N.J. The color-coded eye-safe lasers show pilots whether they are properly lined up with the carrier centerline for landing, and if not, which way to correct (AW&ST Jan. 2, 1995, p. 56). The Navy's Carrier Air Wing 2 earlier tested such a system produced by Laser Guidance Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., and teammate Raytheon, on the USS Constellation during a six-month deployment.
The civil helicopter business, long the smallest segment of the aerospace industry, could experience pockets of sharp growth as new, highly capable models--especially the tilt-rotor--enter service. Sales of conventional helicopters likely will remain at healthy levels in the near future, pushed by a sharp upturn in offshore oil platform support demand and increasing international sales. There also is a growing need to replace an aging worldwide fleet.
Japan's H-2A commercial launcher program and the H-2 Orbiting Plane (Hope) minishuttle are priority programs in the fiscal 1997 budgets that the Diet is expected to approve by the end of the month.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued last week a comparatively optimistic long-term forecast, predicting that aircraft departures will increase by more than 25% in the decade ending 2005. Airline passenger traffic was forecast to grow at a 5.5% annual rate through 2005. This rate compares to a 5% rate recorded in the 1985-95 period.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE IS TESTING A PROTOTYPE sensor for the tri-service common missile warning system on an F-15 to evaluate its performance on high-performance aircraft. The common missile warning system (CMWS) is part of the advanced Threat Infrared countermeasures/CMWS system that Lockheed Martin's Sanders is developing under a $97.6-million, four-year engineering and manufacturing development contract. The goal is a next-generation steerable laser-based system to protect aircraft from advanced heat-seeking missiles.
AeroVironment has made 13 flights on a quarter-scale prototype of its giant Centurion solar-powered drone, measuring the handling of the unswept, high aspect ratio, flying wing. This Aviation Week&Space Technology editor witnessed three successive flights in a two-hour period and observed the unusual craft to be stable and controllable, with enough authority to recover from a frightening turbulence upset near the ground. Each flight ended with an excellent landing and no damage.
Adm. Leighton W. Smith, Jr., (USN, Ret.) has been made an honorary knight commander of the Order of the British Empire for directing the multinational Peace Implementation Force in Bosnia while commander-in-chief, NATO Southern Command.
