The Series 3 DTU is a compact, self-contained data recorder that is built to store and retrieve data from industry standard Type 2 and Type 3 PCMCIA/ATA Flash memory cards. The DTU meets shock vibration and temperature requirements of Mil-Std-810E and is suited for military, airborne, aerospace and rugged industrial environments. The unit can be equipped with serial or SCSI-2 interfaces and features a locking cover door. It can accept Flash memory cards with capacities of up to 175 megabytes. Targa Electronic Systems, 1 Annabel Lane, San Ramon, Calif. 94853.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TENTATIVELY CLEARED ValuJet Airlines to resume flying, and the Atlanta-based carrier could return to the skies as a smaller, more tightly controlled operation by the end of this week. FAA officials on Aug. 29 judged the airline had corrected the safety and operations deficiencies cited in the June 18 consent order that shut the carrier down. That order called for ValuJet to overhaul its maintenance operations, beef up its management ranks and prove the airworthiness of all its aircraft.
Martin-Baker has completed qualification tests of the Eurofighter 2000 escape system. The company will be exhibiting a twin-seat forward fuselage of the Eurofighter mounted on a rocket sled employed during the tests. The fuselage is equipped with the Martin-Baker Mk. 16A microprocessor-controlled ejection seat. The Mk. 16A is capable of sensing conditions and tailoring the ejection process accordingly.
Polyken 808FR liquid-barrier tape meets FAR 25.853 for smoke and flame resistance. The tape is designed to prevent leakage of liquids from galleys and lavatories into lower compartments, where they can cause corrosion and other extensive damage. Polyken 808FR is available in widths of 18 and 36 in. The tape is constructed of a high-strength, waterproof, flame-retardant polyethylene backing and flame-retardant synthetic rubber. A paper liner allows easy application and placement. Kendall-Polyken, 15 Hampshire St., Mansfield, Mass. 02048.
Forever Flying: Fifty Years of High-Flying Adventures, From Barnstorming in Prop Planes to Dogfighting Germans to Testing Supersonic Jets is the autobiography of R.A. ``Bob'' Hoover. The author uses anecdotes from his wide-ranging flying career to guide readers through American aviation history. Hoover's achievements include escaping from the Stalag 1 prison camp in a stolen German FW-190 aircraft to making some of the first carrier landings in a jet aircraft. Gen. Chuck Yeager wrote the forward. Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10020.
Fred Zimbelman has been appointed president of the Repair Group and Michael S. Brown director of operations and quality assurance of the Aftermarket Group for Soundair, Woodinville, Wash.
The builder of the Intelsat 804 and 805 satellites was misidentified in a story on Aug. 26, p. 24. Lockheed Martin is the contractor for the spacecraft.
Trends in global weapons traffic continue to be good news for arms controllers, bad news for arms exporters. For both groups, however, the trends contain mixed results.
The APD-129G064-1 plasma display module features a viewing area that is 15.33 in. wide and 5.09 in. high. The display has 192 columns and 64 rows. Characters measure 0.48 in. wide and 0.63 in. high. The bright characters and graphics offer a viewing angle of 150 deg. The module comes with TTL-level video interface and a d.c./d.c. converter for quick, easy installation. Dale Electronics Inc., 1122 23rd St., Columbus, Neb. 68601-3647. Circle 209 on Reader Service Card
Edward R. Laase has become director of programs for Rockwell's North American Aircraft Modification Div., Anaheim, Calif. He was manager of airborne electronic warfare programs for Raytheon's E-Systems Goleta Div.
Large new space station training facilities are nearing completion at the Johnson Space Center in Houston as the first astronaut/cosmonaut crews who will build and occupy the international space station begin initial training in both the U.S. and Russia. The $17.4-billion station is the world's largest and most expensive cooperative multinational aerospace project and presents a difficult crew training challenge.
Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia hopes to ``jump-start'' international services from Indonesia's new Hang Nadim airport on Batam island with passenger and cargo transit flights. The airport has one 13,200-ft. runway and is to have a second in operation by 1998. Located only 20 mi. from Singapore, the island's lower wage rates already have opened some doors. Indonesia's state-owned IPTN aircraft factory and Singapore Technologies Aerospace are partners in a narrow-body overhaul center due to open at Hang Nadim late this year.
James E. Griswold has become vice president-engineering of the Cirrus Design Corp., Duluth, Minn. Richard M. Porter has been named communications and research specialist for Systems Research Laboratories, Dayton, Ohio.
ANNUAL SPENDING ON COMPUTER maintenance and services in major Latin American markets will rise to $1.81 billion this year and continue climbing more than 7% a year through the end of the century, according to an analysis by Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. Expenditures on those services are expected to rise 7.6% this year from the $1.68 billion spent in 1995 in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, according to IDC. Those six nations account for more than 90% of all computer spending in Central and South America, the survey found.
Algor Inc.'s linear stress analysis software can now predict possible failures of rotating objects when they suddenly start or stop. Applications for this angular acceleration analysis include designs for turbine components, pumps and drive shafts. Traditional centrifugal analysis would not cover the scenario in which a spinning part suddenly starts or stops. Angular acceleration loadings are tangential to the axis of rotation.
During the next four years, the aerospace industry will try to put together a training system for the Joint Strike Fighter that would slash costs through massively increased reliance on simulation. This should result in reduced needs for operational training, aircraft and personnel.
AccuLock flexible steel bellows couplings transmit torques of up to 5,310 in.-lb. on shafts of 9-50 mm. dia., while adding no backlash to the system. They compensate for radial, axial and angular misalignments and provide high torsional stiffness and maximum torque transmission in their sizes. The couplings are ideal for high-performance motion control applications. Thomson Micron LLC, 50 Alexander Court, Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779.
Aviation special interest groups were united in their opposition to Clinton's proposal. The National Business Aircraft Assn. disputed the Administration's arithmetic, asserting that the FAA's costs associated with business jets are only 3.3-10% of the agency's expenditures, not 25%. In an interview, Edward W. Stimpson, president of the General Aviation Manufacturers' Assn., called Clinton's proposal ``off the wall'' and vague, saying it's not clear whether the $225 charge would constitute a user fee or a tax, or whether congressional approval of it would be needed.
Several emerging trends will influence how the F-22's training system is built, making it far different from what has gone before and giving a preview of what may be built for the Joint Strike Fighter. Military requirements no longer drive the training industry. The operating costs of an aircraft dwarf its purchase price, thereby driving the need for more ground training and less flight time. In addition, the military no longer wants its technicians and aircrews to spend time away from operational units while being trained.
David James has been appointed general manager in South Africa for Virgin Atlantic Airways, effective Oct. 1. He held the same position at British Airways.
The Spectrol Model 16 and Model 17 potentiometers can make 15 turns while offering no backlash, positive braking and graduated vernier scales for excellent readability. The Model 16 features a metal housing, while the Model 17's housing is plastic. They can replace most precision potentiometers with shaft diameters of 1/8 and 1/4 in. and 6 mm. Both are furnished in a 7/8-in. dia. case with readability with 1/50th of a turn. Spectrol Electronics Corp., 4051 Greystone Drive, Ontario, Calif. 91761.
Bill Tankersley has been named vice president-space business development of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Space and Electronics Systems Group, Dulles, Va. Other recent appointments were: Lawrence Schulman, vice president-business development for Intelligent Transportation Systems; and Robert W. Davis, vice president-program development of the Advanced Systems Group. Tankersley was director of business development for space systems for the Harris Corp.'s Aerospace Systems Div.
Scheduled talks between the U.S. and U.K. aimed at a liberalized air services agreement were abruptly canceled last week by the U.S. after Britain submitted a draft pact the U.S. deemed unacceptable.
