The U.S. Army is starting production of an advanced medical helicopter interior that had a proof-of-principle demonstration in 1993. Two new Army/Sikorsky UH-60Q high-capacity air ambulances capable of carrying six litter patients are to be delivered early next year. The advanced medical interiors will be built by Air Methods Corp. of Denver under an agreement with Sikorsky. If the Army exercises existing options, two more aircraft could be delivered in 1997-98, and another 87 between 1998 and 2002.
Lockheed Martin managers are adding three aircraft to their C-130J flight-test fleet to make up for delays last winter in the first flight of the upgraded transport. Lockheed Martin is trying to achieve FAA certification of the C-130J in May, 1997. The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force, which is the C-130J launch customer, expects delivery of the first aircraft in the fourth quarter of this year.
Explosive detection systems are not widely deployed at U.S. airports because of demanding technical standards that call for a single type of machine to detect all varieties of bomb materials in luggage. Details of the FAA certification standard are classified, but in general it specifies a wide range of explosive types and configurations that are to be detected automatically with a certain probability. There are upper limits on the false alarm rate, and the machine must be able to process 450 bags per hour.
Australia could prove to be the launch customer for an airborne early warning (AEW) version of the C-130J if no strong competition to Lockheed Martin appears soon. However, aerospace manufacturers say there is growing motivation to compete for the Australian contract given the additional market for a long-endurance, low-price AEW system emerging in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey and even the U.S. Air Force.
Japan's Defense Agency expects to begin construction of an advanced-technology fighter demonstrator in fiscal 1999 that will include a conformal radar system, stealth airframe, vectored thrust and fly-by-light controls. An operational aircraft will not be derived from the test article directly, but the fighter-demonstrator could become a technology platform for future combat aircraft, according to a JDA official. The agency is interested in the Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter, but expects its placement in service might take 15-20 years.
UNITED AIRLINES DC-10 IS CONDUCTING flight tests of the Cockpit Weather Information System (CWIN), designed to give pilots real-time weather information anywhere in the contiguous U.S. Updates are broadcast every 15 min. via a satellite data link. Pilots can select from a wide range of information including weather observations at 480 airports, images from 170 Terminal Doppler Weather Radar sites, lightning strikes, and forecasts. Data are displayed on a 10.4-in. diagonal, color, active matrix liquid crystal display with touchscreen control.
THE FAA HAS AWARDED type certification to the new Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter. The visual flight rules, day/night flight authority follows German LBA certification of the light twin in June and French approval in July. About 10 EC-135s are scheduled to be delivered this year with production more than twice that in 1997.
HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY will demonstrate its Airport Surface Traffic Awareness System at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix this fall. A UHF data link will connect millimeter-wave radar sensors around the field with a digital map for tower controllers.
HOUSE AND SENATE CONFEREES agreed to a $265.6-billion compromise defense authorization bill that exceeded Administration funding by $10.8 billion and would be a $1-billion increase over the 1996 Pentagon budget. The bill jinked around a White House veto by dropping some antiballistic missile language. It would authorize $45.3 billion for procurement, $37.3 billion for research and development, $89.9 billion for operations and maintenance and $3.7 billion for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.
USAF Phillips Laboratory is funding an Integrated Powerhead Demonstration (IPD) program to develop technologies for inexpensive, lightweight and reliable rocket engines. Many IPD elements involve trying to duplicate Russian success in using hot oxygen, something the U.S. has avoided since early research failures. Technologies include an oxygen-cooled nozzle, an oxygen-rich preburner, a hot oxygen turbopump and hydrostatic bearings. Industry participants are Aerojet, Pratt & Whitney and Rocketdyne.
CESSNA IS RESUMING the production of single-engine, piston-powered aircraft, following a decade-long hiatus. The 1997 Model 172 Skyhawk, powered by a fuel-injected Textron Lycoming IO-360 engine rated at 160 hp., is priced at $124,500. Cessna said last week it expects to build about 600 Skyhawks in 1997 and 1,000 in 1998. First deliveries are scheduled for late this year. The company also introduced the 1997 Model 182S Skylane priced at $190,600. Cessna plans to build more than 300 in 1997, with deliveries to begin in February.
Supercritical carbon dioxide may become a more popular degreasing agent for aerospace. The environmentally friendly substance is now used for decaffeinating coffee and other food processing tasks. Supercritical C02 has enough liquid density to clean organic contaminants, and its gaseous nature allows it to clean surface pores. Typical supercritical conditions are 2,000 psi. and 90F in a chamber, but there are also commercially available spray and ``snow'' guns. Metal, glass and ceramics are compatible, but some plastics will bubble from trapped CO2 in pores.
Current limits on airline liability for a passenger's death or serious injury on an international flight will be abandoned under proposed changes submitted to the Transportation Dept. by the Air Transport Assn. and the International Air Transport Assn. The changes, expected to be approved, would replace the current limits--such as $75,000 in the U.S.--with ``full compensatory damages.'' And no longer would a claimant have to prove that an airline was at fault to receive full compensation.
Despite enduring political sensitivities over ``militarization'' issues, U.S. Space Command is quietly laying the groundwork for eventual combat operations in space. Senior officers and long-range planners at USSC headquarters have been preparing for defensive and offensive operations in the medium of space for several years. They have drawn up detailed concepts of operations, organized core staffs and mapped future requirements to ensure the command and its service components can carry out four key missions: -- Space support--Launching and operating spacecraft.
A SOFTWARE ERROR on the Topex/Poseidon ocean observation satellite has forced NASA to revise data on how fast the Earth's seas are rising. The software glitch caused a U.S.-built altimeter on the four-year-old American/French satellite to send out incorrect data, causing researchers to estimate the sea surface was rising at a rate of 0.12 to 0.2 in. per year. The revised estimates--0.4 to 0.12 in. per year--are more in line with data generated by Earth-based tide gauges.
CTA SPACE and Telecommunications Co. is building what it says is the first spacecraft designed to deliver direct broadcast satellite (DBS) services via the S-band. The Indostar-1 is part of a complete system CTA is building for PT MediaCitra Indostar to provide DBS programming to Indonesia. The satellite is scheduled to be launched in May, 1997, on an Ariane 4. Indostar-1 (above) represents the first foray into the geosynchronous satellite market by Rockville, Md.-based CTA and the debut of the company's new lightweight, graphic composite, three-axis stabilized Star bus.
Patricia Grace Smith has become FAA deputy associate administrator for commercial space transportation, Manuel Vega chief of regulations and Herb Bachner manager of the FAA Space Systems Development Div.
FAA inspectors could rule this week on ValuJet's plan to end its grounding and start flying as a scaled-down, safer airline operating from its original Atlanta base. Airline officials planned late last week to give the FAA documents supporting their claim that they have fixed shortcomings in the safety and oversight of their maintenance and flight operations. If FAA officials concur, the carrier could resume flying this week or next.
Bernhard Mueggler has become general manager for the Northeast U.S. for Swissair, based in Boston. He was a manager of business sales in Switzerland, based in Zurich. Mueggler succeeds Gerry Walther, who has retired.
SOUTH KOREA'S intelligence services will receive eight Hawker 800XP mid-size jets for airborne reconnaissance missions in two contracts awarded last week. Four of the extended-performance jets will be equipped with unspecified Raytheon E-Systems reconnaissance systems, under a $250-million contract. The other four will be equipped with synthetic aperture radars (SARs) by Lockheed Martin's Loral Tactical Defense Systems. The SAR will be an improved version of the SR-71 radar, which was totally upgraded for the USAF about four years ago.
FLIGHT VISIONS IS DEVELOPING A NEW MILITARY Head-Up Display for the Czech Republic air force. A flightworthy prototype is scheduled for delivery in November, with production following in 1997. The new FV-3000 HUD will have a 25-deg. field of view like its predecessor, the FV-2000, but adds a raster capability to the stroke display. Computer power is increased with the addition of two or more 68040 microprocessors and an up-front control panel that can be used for way-point entry, radio control, or even control of most of the avionics suite, according to the company.
In the aftermath of the TWA Flight 800 tragedy, President Clinton visited grieving relatives last week and agreed that airlines need to do a better job of notifying and helping victims' families when such tragedies occur. He also promised more stringent security measures at U.S. airports (see p.29). But Clinton was not alone in his concerns. Rep. Bud Shuster (R.-Pa.) echoed Clinton's concerns and said a bill to ``clearly define interaction between victims' families and airline and government agencies'' will be introduced this week.
Interactive Flight Technologies Inc. last week completed a contract with Swissair AG for the installation of its In-Flight Entertainment Network--complete with casino-style gaming--on all 21 of the carrier's long-haul commercial transports. Under terms of the agreement, the base purchase price of the system will be $70-80 million. IFT will be paid from the system's gambling revenue. In addition, it will receive a portion of other revenues for managing the system. The first Swissair aircraft is scheduled to be equipped in October, and in operation by November.
British aviation officials are well on their way toward 100% security screening by next year of all international cargo hold baggage, to detect hidden explosives at U.K. airports. The U.K. Dept. of Transport set the 100% goal in 1989 after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December, 1988. Trials of screening equipment began shortly afterward (AW&ST Sept. 5, 1994, p. 74). A timetable was worked out after consultation with industry which set a date of the end of 1996 for full implementation.
