John Purvis has been named vice president of Small Tactical Unmanned Air Systems at AeroMech Engineering . Purvis comes to AME from a large ISR systems integrator, where he was vice president-corporate strategic development and international business. He founded the aviation programs business area in Denver, leading more than 425 people in service of U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Air Force.
Holden Shannon has been named senior vice president-corporate strategy and real estate at Delta Air Lines , as well as a member of the carrier’s Corporate Leadership Team. Before joining Delta, Shannon spent 15 years at Continental Airlines.
Nov. 22-24—University of Westminster Aviation Seminar: Air Transport Business and Management. London. Call +44 (207) 911-5000 ext. 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171 or see www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation Nov. 23-24—Shephard Group’s Military Logistics. Bristol (England) Marriott Hotel City Center. Call +44 (175) 372-7019 or see www.shephard.co.uk/events Nov. 23-25—International Aerospace Symposium of South Africa 2010. Villa Via Hotel, Cape Town. Call +27 (12) 841-4128 or see www.iassa.org.za/
Astronomers are evaluating a new trove of data from the old Deep Impact spacecraft, recycled as the Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization and Deep Impact Extended Investigation missions, and better known as Epoxi. On Nov. 4, the probe flew within 425 mi. of the comet Harley 2 to collect images like this one. Scientists hope the detail it returned will allow them to connect the comet’s activity to specific features on the nucleus.
Eutelsat will order a new satellite to replace a communications satellite that failed after launch last month. W3B, lofted on Oct. 29 atop an Ariane 5 along with Japan’s BSAT-3B, was declared a total loss after an anomaly was detected on the satellite’s propulsion subsystem, preventing its insertion into geostationary orbit. Engineers say fuel is insufficient to deorbit the spacecraft, so it will remain in low Earth orbit for several decades.
They are not Delta Air Lines’ core business, but the airline’s cargo-carrying and ground-handling subsidiaries, its frequent-flier program, Delta TechOps and private jet operation generate revenues that are important to Delta’s risk-reduction efforts.
A representative P80 first stage for Europe’s new Vega light launch vehicle is now in position on the pad at the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, awaiting the start of infrastructure/launcher tests. The full-scale stage, complete with instrumentation and a simulated solid propellant load, is set up on a pad originally built for the Ariane 1. The campaign will culminate early next year with a test of the full vehicle, including all three solid-propellant stages, the liquid-propellant upper stage and a simulated payload with fairing.
The U.S. Air Force is likely to begin implementing new purchasing practices for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) rocket family and existing and new satellite programs in the interest of efficiency, says Air Force Undersecretary Erin Conaton. This could include bulk buys of EELV—an effort the Air Force has been exploring for months—as well as multi-year satellite procurements and changes in how the service calculates financial awards for contractors.
Launch of the 26th mission of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Test Program (STP-26) on Nov. 19 will push boundaries for launchers and microsat technology. The Orbital Sciences Minotaur IV will carry a Hydrazine Auxiliary Propulsion System (HAPS) as a fifth stage to test the feasibility of using upper stages with a relight capability to satisfy the needs of multiple payloads at different altitudes. HAPS is to carry seven nano- to-micro-size satellites into 650-km.-high (403-mi.) orbits and then be refired to carry two ballast payloads to a 1,200-km.
Mark Bianchi has been named vice president and general manager of StandardAero ’s Los Angeles facility. He was senior and executive vice president of aircraft maintenance at NetJets. Dale Hawkins has been appointed airframe sales manager for the business aviation sector.
Founded: 1986 Ownership: Peter Zieve Employees: 430 Revenues: $100 million Business: Design and integration of complex manufacturing systems and automation controls for aerospace fasteners and robots.
Daniel Bunyan has been appointed head of portfolio management at Dublin-based lessor AWAS . He was the founder and CEO of BunyanAero Consulting Services. He also spent 10 years as director of Oliver Wyman Management Consulting’s aviation practice.
“Designs for Success” (AW&ST Nov. 1/8, p. 72) recognizes the problem but misses the target with the solutions proposed. Systems engineering is a time-proven tool for the management of complex projects. The discipline has withstood misuse, as well as repeated efforts to reduce its effectiveness, through unwarranted changes in the doctrine and founding documents.
Japanese technologists are committed to including a pilot in their proposed i3 sixth-generation fighter, regarding the need for onboard decision-making as indispensable in a combat aircraft for at least the next three decades. Among the range of technologies intended for pre-development for the prospective fighter, artificial intelligence has been left out.
John Saabas, president of Pratt & Whitney Canada, has been appointed chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada for 2010-11. He succeeds Marc Parent, president and CEO of CAE Inc., who held the position for the past year.
A draft document issued by the leaders of a White House-commissioned panel on reducing the federal deficit recommends scrapping the Lockheed Martin F-35B short-takeoff, vertical-landing variant and curtailing production of the Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey. It also calls for a 15% defense procurement cut. “The V-22 has had a troubled history with many developmental and maintenance problems,” say Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson.
Ironically, Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson may have given commercial human spaceflight advocates some ammunition with their suggestion last week that NASA drop its plans to spend “$6 billion over the next five years” on what is known as commercial crew transport. “This subsidy to the private sector is costly, and while commercial spaceflight is a worthy goal, it is unclear why the federal government should be subsidizing the training of the potential crews of such flights,” say the co-chairmen of President Barack Obama’s deficit-reduction panel.
Security Pact Remains U.S.-India Sticking Point The Indian air force is exploring upgrade options for U.S. military aircraft that will be handed over without key capabilities in the absence of an agreement governing those systems.
Constance Arnold (see photo) has been named director-safety and technical affairs at the Regional Airline Association . Arnold joins RAA from the technical operations group at US Airways in Phoenix, where she spent four years holding key safety, environmental and regulatory compliance roles. In addition, Arnold was an environmental quality specialist and safety analyst for the City of Phoenix.
Airlines are facing much tougher security standards for airfreight in the wake of the printer-bomb scare that may threaten current operational practices and raise costs considerably. Authorities in the U.S. have tamped down on security, banning shipments from Yemen and Somalia and adding restrictions on transporting printer cartridges and toners. Meanwhile, European interior ministers are pushing for new and stricter regulations to be adopted in December.
The European Commission has launched so-called “infringement procedures” against France, Germany, Austria and Finland over their discussions with Russia. The EC is worried the countries are working out bilateral deals on the charges that European Union-designated carriers must pay to Aeroflot in order to fly over Siberia on their way to Asia. European law requires aviation agreements to be negotiated at the EU level.
South Korean low-cost carriers have been targeting Japan as their major market for international expansion, but Japanese airlines will soon be fighting back. All Nippon Airways’ new low-cost carrier—no name for it has yet beeen made public—will start flying in the second half of 2011, and its first international stops are likely to be in China and South Korea.
The Royal Thai Air Force is adding unmanned aircraft to its shopping list as part of a plan to keep an eye on potential insurgent activities. The move is the latest in a series of procurement efforts aimed at upgrades across a range of capabilities. Although small in scale, owing to limited defense budget resources, the modernization drive spans mission sets from high-end fighters to establishing an air combat network and employing a host of surveillance tools. Helicopter updates are yet to come.
