The Micro Palm PC/3040V is a rugged, hand-held MS-DOS computer with two PCMCIA slots. It features a 25-X-40-character, easy-to-read backlit liquid crystal display. A swap function allow the user to view an 80-character-wide screen, and a separate zoom function allows a single area to be enlarged. The hand-held PC features CGA graphics capability, a 16-MHz. processor and 100% PC functionality. The PC/3040V's built-in software allows communications with a host computer via two RS-232 serial ports or an optional data docking/recharging station.
This aviation flashlight comes with both a white lens for preflight inspection and a red lens for use in flight. An extra krypton bulb is stored inside the light. The black machined aluminum housing is water tight and resistant to corrosion. The positive click on/off switch prevents the light from being turned on accidentally. The beam can be adjusted for spot or flood use. Two AA batteries are included. Aviation Supplies&Academics, Inc., 7005 132nd Place S.E., Newcastle, Wash. 98059-3153.
FiberSwitch utilizes a single optical fiber strand to control electrical devices. These switches are ideal in wet and hazardous environments because there is no danger of shock or electrocution from the switch. The flat switch and thin fiber make installation simple. They also weigh less than conventional switches, cause no electromagnetic interference, are not subject to corrosion and do not require a switch box. Wireless Control Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 2558, Rapid City, S.D. 57709.
Bombardier has selected the Pratt&Whitney Canada PW150 to power the proposed 70-seat, high-speed Dash 8 Series 400 transport. PW100 series engines already power Dash 8-100, -200 and -300 aircraft, and the PW150 will keep the major installation characteristics of these powerplants. The PW150 also will share common maintenance and operational characteristics with other PW100 series engines, according to Keyvan Fard, director of airline engines marketing at Pratt&Whitney Canada.
Dave Alderman has been appointed director of sales and product support for DPI Labs, La Verne, Calif. He was senior completion center salesman for Gulfstream Aerospace, Savannah, Ga.
COMMON GROUND --The Institute of Space Technology at Brevard Community College near Cape Canaveral is working with the Spaceport Florida Authority and Lockheed Martin to develop standards for training space systems technicians. For decades, aviation has drawn from a pool of technical and operational personnel trained to FAA standards. But companies that build and process launch vehicles set their own standards and foot the bill for training.
U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY William Perry told the House Budget Committee he has made some changes to the bomber requirements study conducted by the Institute for Defense Analysis and confirmed that it was sent back for revisions (AW&ST Apr. 24, p. 19). Rep. Rick A. Lazio (R.-N.Y.) said he understood the original version recommended procuring no additional B-2 bombers, but the recommendation would no longer be a part of the report and the Pentagon would ``punt to Congress'' on the issue.
The AE173 FPA 256-X-256 pixel indium-antimony snapshot-mode focal-plane array combines high sensitivity, simultaneous pixel integration, windowing and dilution mode operation to provide superior image quality, flexibility and performance. The detector is sensitive in the 2-5 mm. range and features operability of greater than 99%, quantum efficiency of more than 80% and uncorrected uniformity of better than 5%. The device utilizes a complementary metal oxide or CMOS readout integrated circuit.
The Model FRJ4963 and FRJ4963-1 waveguide rotary joints are designed to operate for a long life at 960 rpm. due to their noncontacting choke couplings. The FRJ4963 covers the 4.9-5.1-GHz. range with less than 1.2:1 VSWR and less than 0.15 dB. insertion loss. Peak power is 1.5 mw., while 3 kw. is average at 15 psig. The FRJ4963-1 covers 2.9-3.1 GHz. Its power rating is 1 mw. peak and 5 kw. average. Sage Laboratories, Inc., 11 Huron Drive, Natick, Mass. 01760-1338.
RTCA WILL FORM A TASK FORCE to recommend a strategy to the FAA to implement Free Flight. The Free Flight concept will allow operators to select flight paths and speeds. Air traffic restrictions will be imposed tactically only for the minimum time needed to ensure safe flight. The concept will have to be embraced by civil aviation organizations, operators and service providers and will require changes throughout the global aviation community. FAA Administrator David R.
The ED-400 Portable Eddy Current Testing Unit uses two AA batteries, can be carried in one hand but will detect flaws as small as 0.005 in. deep. A meter indicates an imbalance as the probe passes over a flaw, and an audible alarm can be set to alert the operator. A ``cross-coil'' probe design reduces the instrument's sensitivity to background changes in magnetic permeability. It also requires no compensation for ``lift-off'' effects. Centurion NDT, 707 Remington Road, Suite 9, Schaumburg, Ill. 60173.
CAE ELECTRONICS OF ST-LAURENT, QUEBEC, will build a simulator to train astronauts, space station operators and ground controllers to operate and maintain in space the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), Canada's sophisticated robotic system. The $7.5-million Canadian Space Agency contract calls for the simulator to be completed in 18 months.
Carlos J. Chua (see photos) has been named commercial director of the Orient Airlines Assn. He was manager of forecasting and analysis for United Airlines and general manager of its Philippines operations. Robert Peel has been appointed technical director. He was general manager of technical affairs for the Assn. of European Airlines.
The FMG 4400 and 4400D are hand-held devices for measuring the output of aircraft strobe lights as required by the FAA. Both come with a retractable, removable 90-in. wand that ensures the gun-shaped device is the proper distance from the strobe during testing. The 4400 has a pass/fail liquid crystal diode display that tells if the light's output is sufficient, while the 4400D has a digital readout that gives the brightness to a maximum of 9,990 candelas. Both are 11.5 in. long and weigh 2.5 lb. They come with a rechargeable battery pack and carrying case.
Jean-Bernard Cocheteux has been appointed president of Turbomeca, Bordes, France. He remains executive vice president of Labinal and president of Turbomeca's Microturbo Div.
Qantas Airways, long a strict protector of its own turf, is in the unaccustomed position of being accused of poaching passengers from someone else's territory. The accusations come from Cathay Pacific Airways, which says Qantas has unfairly turned Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport into a hub for acquiring passengers on flights to Singapore and Bangkok. It recalled similar accusations by Qantas against Northwest Airlines for picking up passengers in Tokyo on its New York-Sydney route.
Boeing Helicopters has begun assembly of the forward fuselage of the first engineering and manufacturing development V-22 Osprey. The aircraft is the seventh V-22 to be manufactured. Workers have spliced the left and right avionics racks and the aircraft's underfloor at Boeing's suburban Philadelphia facility. The assembly will now be fitted with its canopy and the cockpit console as well as hydraulic tubes, environmental control system components and other systems.
A rotable HE series landing gear indicator harness is now available for the British Aerospace Jetstream 41 to replace consumable OEM parts. The harness features a hermetically sealed switch and gold contacts that prevent oxidation. A heavier gauge wire also is used in the replacement harness to allow for greater flex. The HE harness meets requirements of Mil-S-8805/80. The modified harness has been approved under an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate and is part manufacturer approved. Aviation Technologies Group, 7355-B W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, N.C. 27410.
This battery-powered sound detection and ranging (Sodar) instrument weighs less than 100 lb. and has an average range of 500 meters. It can be powered by a standard automobile battery. The Remtech Sodar can continuously measure wind speed, direction, vertical motion, turbulence, thermal structure and mixing depth. Applications include emergency response, environmental impact studies, inversion detection, complex terrain modeling and wake vortex studies. Climatronics Corp., 140 Wilbur Place, Bohemia, N.Y. 11716.
Robert S. Ryan (see photo) is the first recipient of the Walter J. and Angeline H. Crichlow Trust Prize of $100,000 awarded by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Ryan is deputy director of the structures and dynamics laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Also winning an AIAA award recently was George Springer (see photo), who was named 1995 Engineer of the Year. He is Paul Pigott professor and chairman of the Aeronautics and Astronautics Dept. at Stanford University.
The U.S. Navy's program to develop a new Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures system for the F/A-18E/F aircraft will be delayed while the Air Force evaluates whether it can be adapted to protect a variety of its aircraft, including F-15s, F-16s, B-1Bs, C-130s, E-3s (AWACS), E-8s (Joint-STARS) and U-2s. If IDECM becomes a joint Navy/USAF program, its market potential could approach $1 billion.
IN A RAPID PROTOTYPING effort, Lockheed Martin has integrated an electro-optical reconnaissance pod on an F-16 for a three-month evaluation by the U.S. Air National Guard. An F-16 from the 192nd Fighter Group, Richmond, Va., collected imagery during the first flight with the pod last week. Lockheed Martin said the pod is one of several off-the-shelf options to replace the RF-4C reconnaissance system.
