Windshield Is for the Birds
Hostile foreign powers seem to be less of a menace to the U.S. Air Force these days than a few low-flying fowl.
In 1986 and 1987, birds striking Air Force jets resulted in six deaths, four aircraft losses and total damages worth more than $260 million, according to the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard Team at Bolling Air Force Base, Colo.
The Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems division is now testing a new windshield for its A-7 aircraft that will triple the protection from birds. The new acrylic and polycarbonate windshield is designed to withstand strikes of birds up to four pounds with the aircraft traveling 550 m.p.h.
The existing windshield can resist such bird strikes at only 178 m.p.h., quite a bit slower than hot fighter jocks like to fly.
Of Human Bondage
Just how chummy with federal prosecutors is James Dahl, a “junk bond” salesman at Drexel Burnham Lambert’s Beverly Hills office? His lawyers took exception recently to reports that he is cooperating voluntarily with the ongoing investigation of Drexel and junk bond king Michael Milken.
Steven Andrews, one of Dahl’s lawyers, insists that Dahl went before a grand jury in New York only because a court order compelled him to testify and only for 15 minutes. But the lawyer also acknowledged that afterwards Dahl, with his lawyers present, spoke for several hours with prosecutors.
Andrews refused to discuss what was said, but insisted that Dahl didn’t give the government any useful evidence. “Jim is not a cooperating witness,” Andrews said. Asked if Dahl has knowledge of any wrongdoing at Drexel, the lawyer said, “Absolutely not.”
Getting Product on the Road
Aspiring car designer Yu Zheng dreams of the day when his creations will go on sale in auto showrooms. But for now, he will settle for the automotive parts department at Fedco.
Zheng, 27, a graduate student at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, is the designer of the Spring Shades, a vinyl and wire auto sunscreen that folds away and can be stored in a glove compartment, unlike bulky cardboard shades.
Last May, Zheng and a friend pitched the device to Fedco, a membership discount store, which promptly ordered 2,000 units. Sales were slow at first, but after designing a new package and cutting the price to around $12, Fedco sold about 10,000 shades. What Zheng learned from this real life lesson: “Marketing is the most important thing for a new product.”
No More Panicking
The Navy has issued a new order: No itchy fingers allowed on the test range.
A multimillion-dollar Lockheed Trident II missile was accidentally blown up during a test flight last month when a Navy officer became confused. Although the missile, also known as the D-5, was on course in the launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., a range safety officer thought it was veering off and he pushed a button that destroyed the missile.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Les Aspin, who has been watching the D-5 program, observed: “There’s always somebody who doesn’t get the word. In this instance, it was the man with his finger on the destruct button.”
Turning the Corner
It was a case of cutting corners to keep from offending a major business magazine.
Recently, Merrill Lynch bought full-page ads in newspapers around the country to herald its latest advice to buy stocks and bonds, and it included similar ads it ran in years past.
Curiously, something was missing in one from September, 1979.
The original ad in 1979 was in response to a Business Week article declaring stocks could be dead. The headline in the ad read: “Business Week says, equities are dead. Merrill Lynch says, bull.”
But the version last week was altered so that a corner of the ad conveniently covered the name Business Week in the headline. Charles Mangano, Merrill Lynch vice president of advertising, acknowledged that Merrill Lynch didn’t want to offend Business Week in the new ad. But, he added: “The point wasn’t who said it, but what our response was.”
