E. Robert Lupone has been appointed executive VP, general counsel and secretary of Textron, Providence, R.I., succeeding Terrence O'Donnell, who will retire. Lupone was senior VP and general counsel of Siemens Corp.

Richard Larson (see photo) has been named executive director-business development for MEI Technologies of Houston. He was VP-business development for space and launch at the Science Applications International Corp.

When it comes to biofuels for aviation, Washington state has it all—a major aircraft producer in Boeing, a major carrier in Alaska Airlines, a large military presence, plenty of feedstock in forestry and farming—and advocates on Capitol Hill such as Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Gilles Gosselin (see photo) has been appointed general manager of Munich-based Aviareps' subsidiary in Paris with added responsibility for the Morocco office. He was managing director for France and Europe at Air Seychelles.

William J. Lynn , 3rd, has become chairman and CEO of DRS Technologies, Parsippany, N.J., succeeding Mark S. Newman. Lynn was U.S. deputy secretary of defense in 2009-11.

Gulf Air was the main carrier of the Persian Gulf region for decades. But now, political unrest and economic turmoil are threatening its very survival. The Bahraini government has been looking at various options that include shutting down the airline in favor of creating a new national carrier or continuing to invest in Gulf Air, but diminishing its scope. After weeks of uncertainty, it appears that Gulf Air will continue to fly, but as a significantly smaller carrier. And the key question remains: How long can it count on government support?

For investors in aerospace stocks, it doesn't get much better than TransDigm. The supplier of aircraft components has seen its share price more than quintuple since going public six years ago, with gains of 67% in 2009, 52% in 2010, 33% in 2011 and about 20% so far in 2012. Sales are on pace to reach $1.5 billion this year—up ten-fold since 2000—and the company has posted operating margins of 44% in a sector where 20% is considered superior.

India may have been the darling of aircraft makers; but with the country's airline sector in turmoil, Indonesia is emerging as the new darling. Indonesia's airline industry is positioned for another phase of massive growth, and the two dominant airlines used the Singapore air show to further bolster their orderbooks. Significantly, they signaled that more is to come.