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Aviation History
1995
1995 - 2847.PDF
INDUSTRY NEWS IN BRIEF • GULL HEADS FOR RUSSIA Parker Bertea Aerospace's Gull Electronic Systems divi sion is to help Russia develop the infrastructure for flight inspection of navigation aids, including definition of the in terface between Gull's auto matic flight-inspection system and Russian aircraft. • JSTARS ENGINE CONTRACT Miami, Florida-based Green wich Air Services has been awarded a three-year, S22 million, US Air Force con tract to overhaul and modify Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines powering Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Sur veillance Target Attack Radar System QSTARS) aircraft. • BIB UPGRADE Orbital Sciences' Fairchild Defense division is to supply the data-transfer unit and car tridge for the Rockwell B-1B conventional-mission upgrade. Crystaloid aims to improve LCD readability APROCESS SAID to improve the readability of avionics dis plays and tackles the so-called "white-shirt effect" often encoun tered by pilots has been developed by Crystaloid, of Ginsbury, UK. The firm says that the process relies on a technique called "thin- film index matching" to achieve improved uniformity between indi um/tin oxide (ITO) electrodes which carry electrical current in the liquid-crystal display (LCD) and the display's background. The "white-shirt effect" occurs if the pilot sees ITO electrodes when light is reflected from his white shirt, a potential cause of misinterpretation of display data. The "index-matching" coating is applied over ITO and non- ITO areas to match the reflec tions generated in all portions of the display. • RoSEC predicts leap in engine-control quality ANDREW DOYLE/DERBY ROLLS SMITHS Engine Controls (RoSEC) is develop ing a next-generation electronic- engine-control (EEC) unit, which, it claims, will offer a 20% improve ment in "functionality" and weigh significantly less than the device it has already completed for the BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 engine. Functionality is defined as the number of monitoring and control tasks that the EEC, which lies at the heart of a powerplant's full- authority digital engine-control (FADEC), can perform. "We can reduce the size of the EEC using the latest technology," says Dave Goldney, marketing manager at RoSEC, a joint-ven ture company between Rolls- Royce and Smiths Industries. Goldney reveals that the ultimate target is to develop by around 2000 a unit weighing just 5.45kg. RoSEC's so-called EEC2000 concept takes the work already per formed by Smiths under R-R's Advanced Low Pressure Systems/ Advanced Civil Core Demon strator (ALPS/ACCORD) pro gramme a stage further. Although the desired level of functionality has already been achieved under the AITS/ ACCORD work, Goldney says that the EEC can be made lighter. "For the complexity of the ALPS/ACCORD system, we're satisfied with how far we got, con sidering the number of functions in there," says Goldney. "We're satis fied we've gone a long way towards meeting that [5.45kg] target." The EEC developed by Smiths for the ALPS/ACCORD offers a similar level of functionality as that developed for the R-R Trent engine by Lucas Aerospace, but is lighter by more than half. Initial engine runs with the Smiths unit are due to take place in 1996, with Hamilton Standard of the USA also selected by R-R to demon strate a competitive system. A principal feature of the ALPS/ACCORD and EEC2000 concepts is the use of multi-chip modules, which allow an EEC to be made smaller and lighter, as well as more reliable and cheaper to manufacture. RoSEC has also managed to reduce significantly the size of electromagnetic connec tor plug-on modules, which pro tect the EEC from lightning strikes, and has developed innova tive pipe connectors for engine- pressure sensors. Goldney claims that RoSEC is unique in offering a "one-stop shop", with a full in-house FADEC and EEC design and manufacture capability. "The systems engineers are in the same company as the engineers who are having to design the box. They begin to understand the problems that each has, and to solve them in a much more cost- effective manner," he says. • 3-D model used for F-22 testing A THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3-D) computer-generated "ballistic vulnerability analysis model" of the Lockheed/ Boeing F-22 next-generation air-superiority fighter is being used to determine the air craft's ability to withstand weapons damage. The model was developed by the Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems Vulnerability Team to show which sections of the aircraft are vulnerable to ballistic threats such as missile warhead fragments, bullets from anti-aircraft artillery and aircraft-mounted cannons. Analysts and systems designers use the model to try and reduce or eliminate this vulnerability by developing modifications. The model was derived from NASTRAN finite-element data for the external skin and internal struc ture, and from CATIA (computer-aided three-dimensional interactive application) design data for the remaining internal components. KEY TO COLOURS Skin transparent grey Structure transparent Landing gear white (w/black tyres) Election seat, alrframe-mount- ed accessory drive, auxiliary power unit green Hydraulics orange Pratt & Whitney F119 engines brown Intakes transparent blue Electrical system cyan Environmental-control system purple Cockpit tan Pilot olive drab Miscellaneous actuators mint green Vehicle-management system light blue Armament purple Canopy transparent blue Fuel tanks and ullage not shown 38 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 4 - 10 October 1995
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