10 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 8, 1998 Quick clean for fuel systems: One fluid cleans an entire automotivefuel system in 10 min with the EMC1000 emission-management center from Mac Tools, Columbus. The system cleans intake passages, fuel injectors, valves, combustion chambers, oxygen sensors, and catalytic converters. Other systems use separate chemicals for injector cleaning and decarbonizing, but the Mac Tools system uses one no-mix cleaning fluid. A patented method that injects cleaning fluid into the air-intake boot with a specialized syringe or into the air-intake opening with a mist adapter makes cleaning quick. The system has no electrical connections, which reduces spark hazards. The portable unit holds enough air for several cleaning jobs.
30 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 12, 1978 New version of the U-2 wanted: The U. S. Congress is considering a request from the Air Force for funds to produce the Lockheed TR-1, a tactical version of the firm’s U-2R high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The TR-1, which would closely resemble the U-2R, would be used for battlefield surveillance. From very-high altitude, its sensors provide information about activity several hundred miles behind enemy lines.
50 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 2, 1958 Balance of power . . . automatically: CG for a solid-fuel rocket engine is found to an accuracy of ±0.1% by this machine developed by Hunter- Bristol Div., Thiokol Chemical Corp. The machine handles engines weighing from 200 to 15,000 lb and measuring up to 60-in. diameter and 15-ft long without modifying the setup. Readout of the machine — which also measures engine weight to 0.1% — is digital. Force transducers providing the output signals are strain-gage load cells which need no correction for a 60 to 100°F temperature range.