The NoiShield Aircraft Ground Run-Up Pen has been installed at British Airways' London Heathrow Airport maintenance base. The pen reduces noise from ground run-up tests to 73 dBA. at the airport boundary. The pen, located close to offices and residences, will enable the airline to conduct critical engine tests on its entire fleet, including Boeing 747s. The pen's panels are made of a noise-absorbing steel, while reinforced load-absorbing concrete panels are used on the rear blast walls. High-level floodlights and under-wing lighting allow nighttime operation.
Canada's National Research Council (CNRC) will combine airborne atmospheric measurements with differential Global Positioning System data to refine tropospheric error models important to DGPS-based precision approaches.
Youssef Choucair, president/director-general of the Lebanon Investment Development Authority, has been elected chairman of Inmarsat-P, a global satellite phone system due to begin operations in 1999. Other board members are Eliseu Crespo, director of mobile communications for Companhia Portuguese Radio Marconi; Klaus Hummel, board member of DeTeMobile; Sun-Young Ko, managing director of Korea Telecom; Ronald Mario, president of Comsat Mobile Communications; Seng Sum Ng, vice president of Singapore Telecom; and J. Th. A.L.
A Canadian research team is conducting a unique series of flights this month to measure and document the formation of freezing drizzle and its effect on aircraft performance.
The U.S. Defense Dept. will use the Savi Asset Management and Transportation Management System to electronically locate and identify thousands of assets, whether they are in transit or storage, under a $70-million contract. The system uses transponders called SaviTags that are about the size of a deck of playing cards. The programmable transponders can be reused and are suited to a wide variety of applications. Data from the tags are relayed by an Interrogator to a central control site where asset locations are displayed in the form of an icon on a computer map.
The C-Light is a lightweight, compact flashlight for use with personal floatation devices (PFDs). It can be attached to a life vest or jacket with a self-contained stainless steel pin or integral lash loops and Velcro straps. The light is visible up to 2 mi. away. It operates on 2 AA batteries. With optional lithium batteries, the light will have a shelf life of five years. It can operate for 8 hr. continuously at a temperature of -20F. The light is U.S. Coast Guard-certified for use with PFDs. It measures 6.4 X 1.75 in. and weighs 1.3 oz. without batteries.
The Model 2522 is a small, lightweight, sealed computer that can withstand harsh working environments, yet is smaller than an attache case. It features a built-in keyboard and mouse. The unit is sealed on all sides to meet NEMA-4 standards, so additional enclosures are not required. It weighs 11.5 lb. and measures 14.75 X 13 X 3.59 in., yet features two standard expansion slots. It can be fitted with a variety of 9.5-in. flat panel displays, and either a 386SX, 486SX or 486DX33 processor and up to 16 megabytes of random access memory.
Roger Hill has become director of naval air systems operations for Tracor Applied Sciences, Inc., Austin, Tex. He was commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Md.
David F. Mitchell has been named vice-president-business development for the Government and Military Operations of the Pemco Aeroplex Unit of Precision Standard. He was managing director of the Regional Corrosion Control Facility at Bergstrom AFB, Tex.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is the third and last section of edited excerpts from the Airbus Industrie English translation of the 1992 preliminary accident report on the Jan. 20, 1992, crash of an Airbus A320 operated by Air Inter during a VOR approach to Runway 05 at France's Strasbourg-Entzheim airport.
The U.S. military will spend the lowest proportion of its budget on new hardware since the 1940s, making it increasingly difficult to maintain a two-war force level, which itself is conceptually flawed, according to two soon-to-be-completed studies.
Europe will continue to represent a substantial segment of the world market for aircraft manufacturers over the next decade. In its latest look forward, Airbus Industrie is predicting that Europe will account for 3,093 jet aircraft orders between 1994 and 2011, about 26% of the worldwide market. Nearly two-thirds of the expected orders--1,966 aircraft--are forecast in the 100-210 seat category with the remaining 1,127 aircraft in the larger, 210-plus seat segment.
Debra Guinand has been named sales manager for North America for Simon Aviation Ground Equipment, Inc., Olathe, Kan. She worked in sales and marketing for AMR Services Corp.
The Model 1203 nonexplosive actuator can hold tensile loads of up to 12,500 lb. The actuator, designed for space applications, quickly releases upon electrical activation. Using the Model 1203 eliminates the need for special handling and transportation requirements associated with pyrotechnic actuators. Applications include initiating antenna deployment, payload release, solar array release and structural separation in spacecraft and satellite applications. A 4.5-amp signal applied to its initiators for 20 millisec.
After losing a staggering $12 billion in the first half of the 1990s, U.S. airlines will be solidly profitable this year and may perform even better in 1996. But no one should read too much into the industry's financial recovery; chances are the profits are unsustainable. That is the consensus among many industry observers.
The AMRA Friction Wear Tribosystem is a large-scale tribometer with the ability to simulate the pressures and temperatures found in engines and other industrial machinery. It uses flat-ended cylindrical pins with a large surface area in contact with a large diameter wear disk. This geometry is closer to real-life situations in terms of materials responses to friction conditions. The system can be configured to simulate mechanical conditions such as load and speed as well as lubrication conditions like viscosity, temperature, flow rate and pressure.
AMR COMBS, the only fixed-base operation at Denver International Airport, opened its new facility and started servicing aircraft on DIA's opening day last month. The company's move from the old Stapleton International Airport was a costly one, with the new executive aircraft terminal completed a year ago but idled by delays in opening the $2.4-billion airport. Business aircraft landing at DIA also can receive maintenance at a Bombardier Aviation Services' Learjet and Canadair Service Center colocated with the AMR Combs terminal.
Richard J. Powers has been appointed director of financial administration of the Aerospace Industries Assn. in Washington. He was chief of financial advisory services branch of the National Institutes of Health and civilian agency representative to the pricing committee of the Defense Acquisition Regulation Council.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES WILL TRADE IN THE FOUR LEARJET 31s it uses for advanced pilot training for the new Learjet 45 that will enter service in 1997. SIA, in a $56-million contract, shifted to the 45 because its standard avionics closely resembles the electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS) found in the airline's A310 and 747-400 fleets. SIA will take delivery of two new Learjet 31s in December to replace two of its original aircraft. But in 1997 it will trade in all of the 31s for the 45s.
Lockheed and Martin Marietta almost certainly will have the votes they need to officially merge their companies later this week. The approvals are likely to come despite objections by some pension-fund shareholders and shareholder advisory services to merger-related payouts to Martin executives. Their objections also include an ``omnibus'' incentive-compensation plan proposed for the new Lockheed Martin Corp.
Britt Hoskins has been promoted to director of government business for FlightSafety International of New York. He was manager of FSI's Daleville-Dothan Learning Centers.
The global avionics market will generally be flat this year but should start a modest single-digit growth in 1996 if new aircraft purchases by major airlines pick up as expected.
