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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 1215.PDF
INDUSTRY Novel simulator attracts trainers DAVID LEARMOUNT/LAUSANNE THE WORLD'S MILITARY pilot-training providers are showing interest in a "revolution ary" simulator visual system which is being designed as a development tool for the Saab JAS39 Gripen multi-role fighter, according to the system's software developer Equi- pe Electronics. The visual system gives not just the full lateral "wrap-around" pic ture but, using a dome above the cockpit, presents the pilot with a complete external view, giving unparalleled opportunities for full mission visualisation and air-to-air combat reality. At around $3 million, the cost is up to 50% below that of a conven tional high-quality visual system, says Terry Burns, managing direc tor of Worthing, UK-based Equipe Electronics, which worked with Saab to produce the software. Burns says: "Saab came to us be cause it wanted something which wasn't available - the only course open to Saab was to develop it." Saab's director of simulation technology, Leif Thelander, says that the Saab product was not developed with training in mind, but he adds that the market might want a training version. Burns says that companies from Europe, the Far East and the Americas have approached Equipe about potential tailored military training applications. The low cost of the simulator derives from the fact that all the hardware, from image-generator to projectors, can be bought off- the-shelf, Burns says. In the case of the Saab project, Equipe has produced the software, US-based Silicon Graphics (SG) makes the image-generators, and UK company SEOS Displays pro duces the integrated display using projectors by Belgium-based Barco-EIS. This off-the-shelf approach, says Burns, is the future for simula tor visuals, being cheaper and "future-proof because it is easily upgraded. Future-proofing is also assured, according to Burns, by the fact that the visualisation is produced using "real-time" software which does not need a time-consuming upload before each mission. Burns says the software "manip ulates the database at an incredible speed" using the SG image-gener ators to produce the visualisation in real-time, following the pilot's actions in the cockpit. The Saab project has been 18 months in development, and will be completed by 31 October, by which time Equipe will have writ ten software adding infra-red, radar and target-projection simu lations to the visual display. • NEWS IN BRIEF • HUGHES NIMS CONTRACT The US Federal Aviation Administration has named Hughes Information Tech nology Systems as integra tion-services contractor for its National Airspace System Infrastructure Management System (NIMS) program- mein a seven-year contract. The NIMS will be used to manage US National Air space System operations. • CORPORATE EGPWS K-C Aviation claims to have installed die first AlliedSignal enhanced ground-proximity warning system to be certifi cated for a corporate aircraft, in a Bombardier Challenger 601-3A. The Dallas, Texas- based company plans more installations in Challenger 601s, Dassault Falcon 900s and Hawker 800s. Dunlop invests in structural analysis DUNLOP AVIATION has invested over £3 million ($4.9 million) in advanced analysis and upgraded test equipment intended for its new Structural Dynamics department. The "top priority" for die department is achieving a reduc tion in brake and landing-gear vibration during taxiing, and take off and landing rolls, says Dunlop. The effects of the problem, die company adds,"... range from air borne noise and passenger discom fort to structural damage and failure of tiie landing gear and asso ciated components". The Coventry, UK-based com pany is using a range of software packages to perform finite-ele ment analyses of wheel and brake components, and evaluate the dynamic stability of the brakes. The software also allows die like ly vibration characteristics of newly designed wheel and brake assem blies, such as that for the Boeing 757-300, to be predicted. As part of the work, Dunlop has decided to refurbish its 530kN( 120,0001b)- radial load dynamometer to pro vide a higher mechanical inertia for testing die wheels of large airliners. Dunlop is designing 151-300 brakes • Aircraft Braking Systems (ABSC) has been selected to design and manufacture the wheels, brakes and associated control sys tems for the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet Series 700. The work will be performed under a subcon tract with landing-gear supplier Menasco Aerospace. Akron, Ohio- based-ABSC, a unit of K&F Industries, already supplies wheels and brakes for the Canadair Challenger business jet and the Regional Jet Series 100 and 200. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7 - 13 May 1997 27
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