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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 0013.PDF
FLIGHT International, 7 January /978 13 What's new A new helicopter servicing company, Helitune (23 Woodcote Green, Fleet, Hants GU13 8EY), has been formed by former RAF engineer Noel Trigg. The company will work on helicopters at their operators' home bases. Diagnostic equipment includes units which can plot vibrations in the main and tail-rotor frequency ranges, and higher-order vibrations in the engine and gearbox ranges. Helitune intends to produce a databank of aircraft vibration signatures. Replaceable tyre treads from B. F. Goodrich (500 South Main, Akron, Ohio 44318) have been tested at Wright-Patterson AFB on . Cessna 0-2s and Lockheed C-130s. The treads are moulded as a circular carcase which is slid over the treadless tyre before inflation. Tyre and tread for the C-130 weighed a total of 2601b. Little circumferential movement had occurred after 76 Hercules landings, and there was no side slippage. Test ing is to continue with a design incor porating slightly convoluted sidewalls. Aircraft tyre design could undergo a radical change if this removable tread, recently tested in the US, reduces operating costs (see story) Production of F-16 components has started at Fokker-VFW's (PO Box 7600, Schiphol-Oost, Netherlands) new 2,000m2 shop, which houses four mill ing machines specially installed for the F-16 programme. The numerically controlled machines will be used ex clusively for F-16 centre-fuselage pro duction over the next six years. A total of 617 aircraft sets will be built, with production rate peaking at over 13 sets per month. A 5,000m2 final- assembly hall currently under con struction at Schiphol will be used for European F-16 assembly after April. Peak assembly rate at Schiphol will be three aircraft per month. Dzus Fasteners (Farnham Trading Estate, Farnham, Surrey) has an nounced a new range of flush-fitting latches. The four new fasteners have push-shut action and open with a lever-Mft movement. They are espec ially designed for electronic cabinets and machine-tool enclosures. A radio multicoupler which can com bine from two to eight radios into a common antenna has been demon strated by E-Systems (PO Box 6030, 6250 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75222). The four-port unit will inter face with AN/SRO20 radio sets and several other existing military radio systems, but the manufacturer says that almost any set is compatible by changing microprocessor - controlled interfaces. The multicoupler is the first to use a microprocessor and has built-in test equipment, although it is approximately one-third the size and weight of existing UHF multicouplers. Fairchild Burns, a division of Fairchild Industries (Germantown, Maryland 20767), is offering what it believes is the lightest airline seat ever designed for production. The Airest 2000 is said to provide the same amount of leg- room as existing seats, but with less seat pitch. A triple seat weighs 551b, about 2!2lb lighter than those currently being supplied to Boeing, and about 71b lighter than the average seat in use today, according to Fairchild. Weight was reduced by using fewer components. Who's selling what Hot-gas valves for US Navy Trident missiles are to be produced by Ford Aerospace (Ford Road, Newport Beach, Calif 92663) under a $9-6 million contract. The valves provide axial thrust, orientation and stabilisa tion forces for the re-entry vehicle' for about seven minutes. The valves operate at 3,000°F, compared with 2,200° F for previous examples. New Zealand National Airways Cor poration has ordered additional seats for its Boeing 737 fleet from Aircraft Furnishing Ltd (Lyon Boad, Walton- on-Thames, Surrey KT12 3PY). The order follows contracts recently signed with the US Air Force and the RNZAF. Tug-a-lug (4/6/4 102nd Street East, Lan caster, Calif 93534) has introduced its model D-2 one-man helicopter mover. The equipment can handle helicopters as large as the bolkow BOI0S and has three speed controls—two forward and one reverse. The electrically powered machine has a built-in battery and does not creep on inclines Graviner (Poyle Road, Colnbrook, Slough, Bucks) is to supply Firewall fire detection systems in the 12 Lock heed TriStar 500s on order for British Airways. Firewall has a thin stain less-steel tubular sheath enclosing temperature-sensitive material with a central electrode. Fire/overheat con ditions cause a warning signal which can cancel and reset if temperature subsequently falls. Decca Radar (9 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SW) is to supply £2 million worth of electronic systems to the Royal Danish Navy. The contract is for equipment in Sea Sparrow and Harpoon-equipped Corvettes. The equipment will receive and process electronic information to recognise threats that can be reacted to by the ship's weapon control" system. An $80 million contract has been announced by General Electric (1000 Western Avenue, West Lynn, Mass 01905) to cover production of 170 additional T700-GEK700 turboshaft en gines for the Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk. The engines will be delivered in 1979 and 1980, and are additional to 53 powerplants ordered for delivery commencing in May this year. Who's where Ian G. Lennox has been appointed director of marketing, Plessey Avionics and Communications. He joins Plessey from Vosper Thorny- croft. John W. Ball is now president of Narco Avionics, and a director of the communications division. Norman A. Messinger has succeeded as vice- president research and engineering. Anthony Caputo has been appointed executive vice-president of Transaero.
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