The Flxible Metro is a transit bus that was assembled and manufactured by the Flxible Corporation from 1983 until 1995. From 1978 until early-1983, when Flxible was owned by Grumman , the model was known as the Grumman 870 , with a Grumman nameplate. The earlier model 870 experienced a large number of major design defects and deficiencies, some of which led to the filing of lawsuits against the company by purchasers, and the successor "Metro" model addressed those defective design issues.
41-456: Over the combined 17-year production history, a total of 14,456 were built, of which 4,642 were model 870 and 9,814 were Metros. Under the ownership of Rohr Industries since 1970, while their very popular Flxible New Look was still in production, Rohr began development of what would become the Grumman 870 Advanced Design Bus . The Grumman 870 bus was one of two advanced-design buses (the other being
82-660: A more serious scientific discipline. Airmen like Otto Lilienthal , who introduced cambered airfoils in 1891, used gliders to analyze aerodynamic forces . The Wright brothers were interested in Lilienthal's work and read several of his publications. They also found inspiration in Octave Chanute , an airman and the author of Progress in Flying Machines (1894). It was the preliminary work of Cayley, Lilienthal, Chanute, and other early aerospace engineers that brought about
123-524: A part of the general safety of a system or a piece of equipment. It implies that the system or equipment can be operated properly and without causing any danger, risk, damage or injury. Functional safety is crucial in the aerospace industry, which allows no compromises or negligence. In this respect, supervisory bodies, such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), regulate the aerospace market with strict certification standards. This
164-404: A part was repaired or overhauled to meet OEM specifications. Once a part is overhauled its value is determined from the supply and demand of the aerospace market. When an airline has an aircraft on the ground , the part that the airline requires to get the plane back into service becomes invaluable. This can drive the market for specific parts. There are several online marketplaces that assist with
205-425: A variety of different fields including medicine, transportation, energy, consumer goods, public safety and more. NASA publishes an annual report called "Spinoffs", regarding many of the specific products and benefits to the aforementioned areas in an effort to highlight some of the ways funding is put to use. For example, in the most recent edition of this publication, "Spinoffs 2015", endoscopes are featured as one of
246-401: Is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space . Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astronautics . Aerospace organizations research, design, manufacture, operate, maintain, and repair both aircraft and spacecraft . The beginning of space and
287-606: Is meant to reach and ensure the highest possible level of safety. The standards AS 9100 in America, EN 9100 on the European market or JISQ 9100 in Asia particularly address the aerospace and aviation industry. These are standards applying to the functional safety of aerospace vehicles. Some companies are therefore specialized in the certification, inspection, verification and testing of the vehicles and spare parts to ensure and attest compliance with
328-563: The Baltimore Metropolitan Transit Authority ( Baltimore, Maryland ). However, neither of these orders included the Metro with the highest serial number (106591), which had been delivered the previous month to Columbus, Ohio. The official production total for the Metro model from company records is 9,820, but there is strong evidence indicating that the last six of the 25-bus order for Baltimore were never built, and this makes
369-564: The Flxible New Look almost as soon as the purchase closed (more in "Litigation resulting" below). The first 870 rolled off the assembly line in spring 1978. Under Grumman ownership, Grumman-Flxible (as the company was called at the time) received a major order of buses from the New York City Transit Authority along with other agencies. The NYC Transit Authority order, built in 1980, is notable because this batch would expose
410-718: The National Aerospace Laboratories and the Indian Space Research Organisation are headquartered. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched India's first Moon orbiter, Chandrayaan-1 , in October 2008. In Russia, large aerospace companies like Oboronprom and the United Aircraft Building Corporation (encompassing Mikoyan , Sukhoi , Ilyushin , Tupolev , Yakovlev , and Irkut which includes Beriev ) are among
451-560: The Rapid Transit Series (RTS II) developed by rival General Motors and later taken by MTS ). Both models were compromises by the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA), which sought to develop a "Transbus" design that would be "attractive, roomy, comfortable", and easier for elderly and disabled customers to board, accepting these two models as compromises. At the time, the federal government would subsidize
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#1733085261606492-1417: The government , such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States, European Space Agency in Europe, the Canadian Space Agency in Canada, Indian Space Research Organisation in India, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Japan, Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities in Russia, China National Space Administration in China, SUPARCO in Pakistan, Iranian Space Agency in Iran, and Korea Aerospace Research Institute in South Korea. Along with these public space programs, many companies produce technical tools and components such as spacecraft and satellites . Some known companies involved in space programs include Boeing , Cobham , Airbus , SpaceX , Lockheed Martin , RTX Corporation , MDA and Northrop Grumman . These companies are also involved in other areas of aerospace, such as
533-626: The 1960s and 1970s, Rohr Industries made a foray into mass transit equipment manufacturing. It manufactured railcars for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in the San Francisco Bay Area , and the first 300 subway cars for the Washington Metro , among others. It was also the United States license holder of the Aérotrain . In 1970 it produced an experimental Aérotrain design, the TACV, and purchased
574-543: The Delaware, Ohio, factory. The layoffs were initially planned to be temporary, but ultimately became permanent, and in 1996 Flxible was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidated. Parent company General Automotive would meet the same fate as Flxible (bankruptcy and liquidation) the following year. The last Flxible Metros delivered were ones delivered in November 1995 to Monterey-Salinas Transit ( Monterey, California ), and
615-537: The European Union, aerospace companies such as Airbus SE , Safran , Thales , Dassault Aviation , Leonardo and Saab AB account for a large share of the global aerospace industry and research effort, with the European Space Agency as one of the largest consumers of aerospace technology and products. In India, Bangalore is a major center of the aerospace industry, where Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ,
656-883: The Grumman 870/Flxible Metro is as follows: A letter is often used to denote the different generations of the Metro: Rohr, Inc. Rohr, Inc. is an aerospace manufacturing company based in Chula Vista , California , south of San Diego . It is a wholly owned unit of the Collins Aerospace division of Raytheon Technologies ; it was founded in 1940 by Frederick H. Rohr as Rohr Aircraft . Rohr's main product line are aerostructures , such as engine -related components, including engine nacelles , thrust reversers , and mounting pylons for military and commercial aircraft. It also consults on integrating and managing its designs with
697-652: The Swedish Air Force—;especially in support of its position as a neutral country. (See Saab AB .) Other European countries either team up in making fighters (such as the Panavia Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon ), or else to import them from the United States. Pakistan has a developing aerospace engineering industry. The National Engineering and Scientific Commission , Khan Research Laboratories and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex are among
738-532: The United States and Europe to fill these needs. However Canada still manufactures some military aircraft although they are generally not combat capable. Another notable example was the late 1950s development of the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow , a supersonic fighter-interceptor whose 1959 cancellation was considered highly controversial. France has continued to make its own warplanes for its air force and navy, and Sweden continues to make its own warplanes for
779-546: The United States. However, the United Kingdom has a very active aerospace sector, with major companies such as BAE Systems , supplying fully assembled aircraft, aircraft components, sub-assemblies and sub-systems to other manufacturers, both in Europe and all over the world. Canada has formerly manufactured some of its own designs for jet warplanes, etc. (e.g. the CF-100 fighter), but for some decades, it has relied on imports from
820-405: The appropriate regulations. Spinoffs refer to any technology that is a direct result of coding or products created by NASA and redesigned for an alternate purpose. These technological advancements are one of the primary results of the aerospace industry, with $ 5.2 billion worth of revenue generated by spinoff technology, including computers and cellular devices. These spinoffs have applications in
861-472: The capability to design and manufacture both armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles . In the People's Republic of China, Beijing , Xi'an , Chengdu , Shanghai , Shenyang and Nanchang are major research and manufacture centers of the aerospace industry. China has developed an extensive capability to design, test and produce military aircraft, missiles and space vehicles. Despite the cancellation in 1983 of
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#1733085261606902-488: The commodity selling of aircraft parts. In the aerospace and defense industry, much consolidation occurred at the end of the 20th century and in the early 21st century. Between 1988 and 2011, more than 6,068 mergers and acquisitions with a total known value of US$ 678 billion were announced worldwide. The largest transactions have been: Multiple technologies and innovations are used in aerospace, many of them pioneered around World War II : Functional safety relates to
943-589: The completion of its Rockwell Collins acquisition, after which it merged its newly acquired business with UTC Aerospace Systems to form Collins Aerospace . UTC merged with the Raytheon Company in April 2020 to form Raytheon Technologies . Rohr is a wholly owned unit of the Collins Aerospace division of Raytheon Technologies. UTC sold its UTC Power unit in early 2013 to Oregon-based ClearEdge Power . UTC sold
984-607: The construction of aircraft. Modern aerospace began with Engineer George Cayley in 1799. Cayley proposed an aircraft with a "fixed wing and a horizontal and vertical tail," defining characteristics of the modern aeroplane. The 19th century saw the creation of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain (1866), the American Rocketry Society, and the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences , all of which made aeronautics
1025-593: The design flaw in A-frame noted during testing: the inability of the bus to withstand wear and tear in cities where potholes were a problem, forcing all 870s built until that time to be taken out of service beginning that December while repairs to the A-frame were made, which would cost Grumman $ 7 million to fix. A total of 2,656 buses, including buses in Atlanta , Chicago , Connecticut , Houston , Los Angeles and Orange County, California needed to be fixed. Eventually, Grumman
1066-407: The ending of the air are proposed as 100km (62mi) above the ground according to the physical explanation that the air density is too low for a lifting body to generate meaningful lift force without exceeding orbital velocity. In most industrial countries, the aerospace industry is a co-operation of the public and private sectors. For example, several states have a civilian space program funded by
1107-441: The experimental Shanghai Y-10 , China is still developing its civil aerospace industry. The aircraft parts industry was born out of the sale of second-hand or used aircraft parts from the aerospace manufacture sector. Within the United States there is a specific process that parts brokers or resellers must follow. This includes leveraging a certified repair station to overhaul and "tag" a part. This certification guarantees that
1148-599: The first crewed Moon landing. In April 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched, the start of regular crewed access to orbital space. A sustained human presence in orbital space started with " Mir " in 1986 and is continued by the " International Space Station ". Space commercialization and space tourism are more recent features of aerospace. Aerospace manufacturing is a high-technology industry that produces "aircraft, guided missiles, space vehicles, aircraft engines, propulsion units, and related parts". Most of
1189-648: The first powered sustained flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, by the Wright brothers. War and science fiction inspired scientists and engineers like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Wernher von Braun to achieve flight beyond the atmosphere. World War II inspired Wernher von Braun to create the V1 and V2 rockets. The launch of Sputnik 1 in October 1957 started the Space Age , and on July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 achieved
1230-485: The former Goodrich electric power systems to Safran for $ 400 million. This was a divestiture that was a condition of UTC's 2012 acquisition of Goodrich. Pratt & Whitney 's Rocketdyne operations were sold to jet engine maker GenCorp for $ 550 million in mid-2013. Three former Hamilton Sundstrand businesses, Milton Roy , Sullair and Sundyne , were sold to private equity firms BC Partners and The Carlyle Group for $ 3.46 billion. Aerospace Aerospace
1271-1053: The industrial sector with fresh workers, apprenticeship programs like the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Council (AJAC) collaborate with community colleges and aerospace firms in Washington state. Important locations of the civilian aerospace industry worldwide include Washington state ( Boeing ), California ( Boeing , Lockheed Martin , etc.) and Montreal, Quebec , Canada ( Bombardier , Pratt & Whitney Canada ) in North America ; Toulouse , France ( Airbus SE ) and Hamburg , Germany ( Airbus SE ) in Europe ; as well as São José dos Campos , Brazil ( Embraer ), Querétaro , Mexico (Bombardier Aerospace, General Electric Aviation) and Mexicali , Mexico (United Technologies Corporation, Gulfstream Aerospace ) in Latin America . In
Flxible Metro - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-591: The industry is geared toward governmental work. For each original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the US government has assigned a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code . These codes help to identify each manufacturer, repair facilities, and other critical aftermarket vendors in the aerospace industry. In the United States, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are
1353-413: The major global players in this industry. The historic Soviet Union was also the home of a major aerospace industry. The United Kingdom formerly attempted to maintain its own large aerospace industry, making its own airliners and warplanes, but it has largely turned its lot over to cooperative efforts with continental companies, and it has turned into a large import customer, too, from countries such as
1394-469: The other aircraft systems. Other products include auxiliary power units , flight control surfaces, and other aircraft parts. Frederick H. Rohr , creator of the fuel tanks for Charles Lindbergh 's Spirit of St. Louis , founded Rohr Aircraft Corporation on August 6, 1940 with the help of Reuben H. Fleet after approaching him for a job. The company incorporated as Rohr Corporation in 1969, and changed its name to Rohr Industries, Inc. in 1971. In
1435-528: The premier organizations involved in research and development in this sector. Pakistan has the capability of designing and manufacturing guided rockets, missiles and space vehicles. The city of Kamra is home to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex which contains several factories. This facility is responsible for manufacturing the MFI-17 , MFI-395 , K-8 and JF-17 Thunder aircraft. Pakistan also has
1476-454: The purchase of only the 870 or the RTS II. In 1978, Rohr sold Flxible to Grumman for US$ 55 million, with the sale including the sale of two prototypes of what would become the 870. In spite of the fact that the second prototype failed testing as the result of a cracked "A" frame, and with an endurance test not yet performed, Grumman decided that the 870 was ready for production, and discontinued
1517-656: The rights to the Monocab design and turned it into the ROMAG . In the same year it acquired the Flxible Company, a bus manufacturer, which would produce a Transbus design, which evolved into the Model 870 Advanced Design Bus, as well as the later Flxible Metro , which addressed all of the shortcomings of the Model 870. Rohr divested itself of, or discontinued those programs by the late 1970s. Rohr Industries became Rohr, Inc. in 1992. It
1558-641: The total more likely to be 9,814 units. In 1995, some used 870s were purchased from the Central Ohio Transit Authority ( Columbus, Ohio ) by Kirov , Russia , where they were used until 2004. The Grumman era of production would result in a number of lawsuits related to defects in the A-frame of the 870, involving either Flxible's former owner Rohr or the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York. The model history of
1599-633: The two largest consumers of aerospace technology and products. Others include the very large airline industry. The aerospace industry employed 472,000 wage and salary workers in 2006. Most of those jobs were in Washington state and in California, with Missouri , New York and Texas also being important. The leading aerospace manufacturers in the U.S. are Boeing , United Technologies Corporation , SpaceX , Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin . As talented American employees age and retire, these manufacturers face an expanding labor shortfall. In order to supply
1640-494: Was forced to sell the line to General Automotive Corporation in 1983 for $ 41 million, a 25-percent loss after developing the "Flxible Metro" which addressed all of the shortcomings of the Model 870 in 1982. Under the ownership of General Automotive, the Flxible nameplate was restored to the buses. Production continued until late 1995, when financial problems prompted the company to suspend production and lay off most of its workforce at
1681-731: Was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RHR , until it merged with the Goodrich Corporation in 1997 and remained a separately incorporated company as Goodrich Aerostructures . In August 2012, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) purchased Goodrich Corporation and all its divisions. After the acquisition, UTC created an aerospace systems division, United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), into which all divisions of Goodrich Corporation and UTC's Hamilton Sundstrand divisions were incorporated as one entity. On 26 November 2018, United Technologies announced