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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 0323.PDF
INDUSTRY Rotorway has begun shipping Quich Kit versions of its Exec 90 home-build helicopter to customers. Rotorway says: "New tooling and production line procedures were put in place late in 1991, and when Rotorway shipped out their 100th Exec 90 kit in November, it was a Quick Kit." The standard Exec 90 kit takes around 500h to build — double the time of the Quick Kit variant. The factory completes all the welding on the airframe structure, rivets the skin to the stringers for the tail-boom assembly, mounts the aerofoils to the spars for horizontal trim fins, and does the same with the vertical trim fin. Additionally, the rotor blades are taken to near completion and all connections for the wiring harnesses are soldered, insulated and tested, leaving only a few connections for the home builder. Betex delivers new fuel venting units to BA British Airways has taken deliv ery of the first four of Betex International's new aircraft fuel- venting units — the BT885. Designed by Betex of Shef field, UK, the BT885 can vent completely highly flammable and potentially lethal aviation- fuel fumes from wing and fuse lage fuel cells at a rate of 4,000 cu ft a minute. Normally the draining and checking of aircraft fuel tanks is a slow and sometimes hazardous job which can take up to 48h. The electrical device can be attached to any make of aircraft by means of a quick-fit panel, which clamps over the inspec tion covers where it gives a leak-free seal. A special extractor unit provides almost instantane ous venting and means an entire fuel-cell system can be cleared fully in minutes to allow for routine maintenance or repairs. Betex also has firm orders from Air Portugal and Short Brothers and has had inquiries from Emirates, the Canadian armed forces and Dutch, Italian and US airlines Micron joins Coloray on flat-panel display Micron Technology of the USA has joined forces with Coloray Display to develop a new type of flat-panel display that could find application in aircraft. Under the agreement, Idaho- based semiconductor manufac turer Micron will provide California-based Coloray with funds to continue development of its full-colour flat-panel cath ode-ray tube (CRT) displays. Coloray is developing a cold- cathode field-emission CRT, so called because the bulky "hot- cathode" electron gun of a con ventional CRT is replaced by an array of microscopic "cold- cathode" field emitters. The field-emission display (FED) requires less space, power and generates less heat than a conventional CRT and promises better resolution, colour and brightness performance than flat-panel liquid crystal displays. A typical >: FED comprises a faceplate, with a three-colour phosphor-dot screen, and a base plate, with an array of micron- size cone-shaped emitters. The display operates at much lower voltage than do normal CRTs. Garrett's hot-gas valves tested for LEAP Hot-gas valves developed by Al lied-Signal Aerospace's Garrett Fluid Systems division have been successfully used to control a miniature solid propulsion sys tem in a test of the Strategic Defense Initiative's anti-missile lightweight exo-atmospheric projectile (LEAP). Garrett Fluid Systems says the valves' demonstrated ability to withstand propellant-gas temper atures of over 2,000°Cmeans the manufacturing and bonding technology developed could find application in missile and launch-vehicle control systems. The rhenium valves were used to control exhaust gases from the LEAP'S solid-propulsion sys tem in a 37s simulated space engagement at a Thiokol test site in November 1991. Exhaust gases are used to propel the projectile sideways and provide the pitch, roll and yaw forces necessary to steer LEAP to a collision with an incoming bal listic-missile warhead. The test involved the first LEAP to use solid propellant, which is safer and easier to hapdle than the liquid fuel pre viously used, Garrett says. The Strategic Defense Initiative Of fice is proposing to develop solid-propulsion LEAP systems that can be deployed on ships to provide a defence against theatre ballistic missiles. „ Canadair robotics for Space Station project After a year of research-, the Canadair Group has completed the first phase of its project to develop sophisticated robotics technology for the multinational Space Station programme. Canadair's surveillance sys tems division, working jointly with Concordia University, has developed algorithms which will form the basis of a guidance system for robotic arms and manipulators carrying out main tenance on the service module. The algorithms are designed to plan a clear path for the robot arms as they reach for objects, so avoiding the risk of damaging collisions. Unlike pre-pro grammed industrial robots, the controls have to operate in real time and the core of Canadair's work has been in tackling this problem, says Gaston Lamarre, vice-president for engineering. The development is part of the Strategic Technologies in Automation and Robotics (STEAR) programme managed by the Canadian Space Agency, and marks Canadair's first in volvement in the space industry. Following its initial success, the company will bid on new pro posals coming out of the pro gramme, says Lamarre. The second phase of the pro ject is to incorporate the algo rithms, which so far have only been simulated, into working robots. Lammarre estimates that will take around 18 months. NEWS IN BRIEF CF-18 CONTRACT Kelsey Instruments has won an order to supply its K7000 con trol monitoring system for Canada's international follow- on structural test programme (IFOSTP) for the CF-18. The Kelsey system controls 80 load ing channels simultaneously while collecting load, pressure and strain gauge data from over 800 channels. The IFOSTP, being conducted by Canadair, is due for completion in 1997. REGIONAL SOFTWARE Canadair has selected SAP Can ada to develop software for the Regional Jet spares manage ment system. A C$5 million ($4.3 million) implementation programme involving Canadair and SAP Canada, a subsidiary of Germany's SAR Aktieng- esellschaft, has already begun. SAP's R/2 real-time application software will be configured to handle spares sales and orders, logistics, inventory, programme management and adminstra- tion, says Canadair. PRICING SOFTWARE US investment banker and aerospace consultancy First Eq uity Development has com pleted a software model for pricing new aircraft. The com pany plans to sell its modelling services to manufacturers. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 February. 1992 37
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