Model Airplanes

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Written by Sean Higgins, SPAR Point Group Editor

A preliminary scan of the Apollo 11 command module

Autodesk has helped the Smithsonian to digitize the Cosmic Buddha, produced a digital life mask of President Obama, 3D scan the Wright brothers’ first working airplane, and even built the 3D.si.edu website where many of the Smithsonian’s 3D models are made available to the public. But none of this prepared them for the challenge of scanning the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia.

A little background

The Smithsonian is in the process of remodeling the Air and Space Museum, where Apollo 11 is kept. Remodeling meant they had to move the command module, and moving it meant taking it out of the thick plastic case where it has rested since the museum was built in the ‘70s. This gave the museum a rare, “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to scan their crown jewel, the inside of which no one has seen for nearly five decades. 

“So they took it out and we got the call,” said Brian Mathews, VP Technology and Architecture, Product Development Group at Autodesk. “They said, Hey, we’re only given so many days of access time with this. It’s probably one of the

Article source: http://www.sparpointgroup.com/news/vol14no7-capturing-apollo-11-one-of-the-most-challenging-objects-ever-scanned

Operator

Good day ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Exactech Fourth Quarter Year End 2015 Results Conference Call. Today’s call is being recorded. At this time, I’d like to turn the conference over to Mr. David Petty, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead sir.

David Petty

Good morning, everyone and welcome to our Q4 and full year results conference call. I will first, as always, begin with the disclosure statement and then we will move right into the business of the call.

This release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which represent the Company’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events of the Company’s financial performance.

These forward-looking statements are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the effect of competitive pricing, the Company’s dependence on the ability of third-party manufacturers to produce components on a basis which is cost-effective to the Company, market acceptance of the Company’s products, and the effects of government regulation. Results actually achieved may differ materially from expected results included in these statements.

So I am here today with Jody Phillips and as usual, we will each make some prepared remarks and then we will open it for questions and normally, we have with us Executive Chairman and Founder, Bill Petty, but he

Article source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3903006-exactechs-exac-ceo-david-petty-q4-2015-results-earnings-call-transcript

The head of the U.S. Defense Department’s F-35 program said the number of “deficiencies” in the stealth fighter jet’s hardware and software is decreasing but that hundreds of technical challenges remain.

Speaking to reporters last week in his offices in Arlington, Virginia, Air Force Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan discussed a range of issues affecting the Pentagon’s biggest weapons program at nearly $400 billion, including the hundreds of lingering deficiency reports, or DRs, known as “technical debt” in acquisition parlance.

“There are 419 things that we have yet to decide with the war fighters how we’re going to fix them, whether we’re going to fix them and when we’re going to fix them,” he said. The figure was three times higher a few years ago and “we think the technical debt that we have — the deficiencies that we have — are things that we can handle … within the next two years,” he said.

During the more than hour-long briefing, Bogdan said the roughly $50 billion development part of the Joint Strike Fighter program is on pace to wrap up in early 2018, hit back against a recent test report that was critical of the aircraft’s performance to date, and touted recent accomplishments and upcoming milestones, including the Air Force’s plans to declare the F-35A ready for initial operations in August.

MISSION SYSTEMS, ALIS

When asked what technical areas were causing the deficiency reports, Bogdan said most of the issues were related to software for the aircraft’s mission systems, including radar and sensors, and

Article source: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/17/f35-deficiencies-decreasing-hundreds-remain-program-manager.html

What a great company Studebaker Corp. was. According to historian Fred K. Fox, from 1853 to 1858, John Studebaker lived and worked in Hangtown (Placerville), making and selling wheelbarrows and tools to the gold prospectors during the Gold Rush. He was quite successful, brought his $8,000 ($223,195 in today’s dollars) earnings back to South Bend, Indiana, and joined his four brothers in what became the largest producer of horse-drawn vehicles in the world.

Studebaker initially did well in the automobile manufacturing business, and by 1913 the company was the third-largest producer of cars in the country, behind Ford and Overland. The Great Depression caused the company to go into receivership and Studebaker never again regained the leadership position it once had. But many said Studebaker was ahead of its time when, after World War II, it became the first automaker to bring out completely restyled cars, changing the way all cars would look in the future.

In 1953, Studebaker introduced the remarkable Starlight Coupe, designed by noted industrial designer Raymond Loewy. While the coupes were truly a work of art, the sedans and wagons were pretty stodgy. This was the last completely new model Studebaker would produce, with the last Studebaker being built in 1966, but not the last Avanti.

Studebaker did reasonably well in the 1950s, including the Studebaker Lark in 1959. But the Big Three came out with strong competition, and Studebaker Lark sales dropped. The company searched for new leadership and ended up hiring Sherwood Egbert as

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_29518152/me-my-car-studebakers-avanti-daring-but-doomed