Tucson, AZ. – September 09, 2009 –The Landing Gear Commodities Group at Hill AFB, UT has enlisted the help of the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Test Center (AATC) in Tucson, AZ to conduct an extended Field Service Evaluation of the Crane SmartStem® Wireless Tire Pressure Sensing technology. The evaluation, which began in August, 2009, is estimated to last for approximately 10 months. Three F-16s from the AATC have been equipped with SmartStem Tire Pressure Sensors (TPS), and all three aircraft will complete three tire life cycles before the evaluation is complete.
SmartStem is a system developed by Crane Aerospace & Electronics that provides fast and reliable wireless tire pressure measurement, and which can be easily retrofitted on existing aircraft. The technology provides numerous benefits including reduced maintenance costs, improved safety and extending tire life.
To fit an aircraft with SmartStem technology, the existing tire inflation valve stem is simply replaced with a special valve stem containing integral sensors. The SmartStem TPS communicates tire pressure, temperature, and other stored information wirelessly to a handheld reader. Since this information is communicated wirelessly and does not require the removal of the valve cap, no gas is lost during routine tire pressure checks.
AATC is a tenant on Tucson Air National Guard Base and is hosted by the 162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona Air National Guard. AATC conducts operational tests on behalf of each MAJCOM and possesses 7 Block 25/32 aircraft to support the primary mission of F-16 Operational Flight Profile testing.
Crane Aerospace & Electronics is a major supplier of systems and components for critical aerospace and defense applications. Product and service offerings are organized in solution sets, and include Landing System Solutions, Sensing & Utility Solutions, Fluid Management Solutions, Power Solutions, Microwave Systems Solutions, Electronic Manufacturing Solutions, Microelectronics Solutions and Cabin Solutions. Products are manufactured under the brand names ELDEC, General Technology, Hydro-Aire, Interpoint, Keltec, Lear Romec, Olektron, P.L. Porter, and Signal Technology. For more information on Crane Aerospace & Electronics, visit www.craneae.com.Crane Aerospace & Electronics is a segment of Crane Co., a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products. Crane Co. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CR). For more information on Crane Co. visit www.craneco.com.
