Jonathan Baliff has been appointed to succeed Bill Chiles when he retires July 31 as president/CEO of the U.K.-based Bristow Group and from its board of directors. Baliff is senior vice president and CFO.
I have been a subscriber for more than 45 years. I read your magazine from cover to cover—starting with the table of contents—and therein lies my complaint. The TOC is on two pages, with almost always an impediment between them. The photographs on the first page are for articles listed on the second page, and vice versa. If you must have photos and article listings on separate pages, at least have them on facing pages.
Airbus and Singapore Airlines are setting up a new pilot training center that will eventually be based at the Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore. Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC) is a joint venture in which Airbus will hold a 55% stake and Singapore Airlines the remainder. The combined investment is S$80 million ($63.2 million). The initiative reflects a new strategy for Airbus as it introduces Airbus-branded training for the first time. The partners expect regulatory approval in time to start operations by the end of the year.
I regard Aviation Week as the publication of record for a world that I have always been an enthusiast of, but never a part of. You sit on the mother lode of the nuts-and-bolts history of every major aerospace program since at least post-WWII. I would love to read more archival coverage of some legacy programs such as the F/A-18, the X-15 and so many more. Also, complete histories of engine development could be compiled that just might affect future designs.
I would like to see more coverage and follow-up of incidents (and note I mean more than crashes). One can always search out such information on the websites of national safety regulatory agencies, but this would not provide the commentary and insight of your skilled reporters. Also, I would like to see more focus on civil aviation and aerospace, including an in-depth look at all aspects of satellites. Less emphasis on military aviation would be appreciated.
To paraphrase an old joke, everybody likes to monitor weather from space, but nobody does anything about it. Now comes a Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher with training in aeronautical engineering and atmospheric science, pushing a $3 million experiment to determine if jet engines on the ground can generate enough updraft to start rainfall in drought-stricken areas.
The Obama administration is weeks away from submitting its fiscal 2015 budget, but its choice to be the next deputy defense secretary signals a doubling down on new and advanced weaponry. The White House is proposing Bob Work to be the Pentagon's No. 2, and senators will vet him Feb. 25.
Burkhard Andrich (see photos) has become president/CEO of Manila-based Lufthansa Technik Philippines. He has been senior vice president-aircraft component services at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg. Succeeding Andrich is Harald Gloy, who has been vice president-engine overhaul. Andrich follows Gerald Frielinghaus, who will return to Germany to manage the paperless maintenance project in Frankfurt.
Three failures in a row often bode ill for a program's funding at the Pentagon. No so for missile defense. On the heels of last year's humiliating third failure of the U.S.'s Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in what was billed as a fairly simple flight trial, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is doubling down. He plans to add more than $4.5 billion to the Missile Defense Agency's coffers, much of it for GMD, from fiscal 2015-19, says Riki Ellison, chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
Operations in the last decade in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa have taught the Marine Corps that it needs more of its own “organic” electronic-warfare capability, and the service is crafting an ambitious plan to build a one-of-a-kind distributed network of systems for the future.
It is clear that preventive maintenance can bring reliability and predictability to a fleet, but can it position a diligent carrier above the mean? Delta Air Lines is testing—and perhaps proving—the hypothesis.
Indian regional startup Air Costa has firmed its ambitious growth plans by ordering up to 100 Embraer E2 jets at the airshow. The deal comprises 25 firm orders each for the E190-E2 and the E195-E2. It includes the same amount of options. Air Costa began flying in October 2013 and currently has a fleet of two E170s and two E190s. The airline is based in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh state in Southern India.
Benoit Defforge (see photo) has been named managing director of Airbus Corporate Jets. He succeeds Habib Fekih, who has assumed other responsibilities. Defforge remains head of the Airbus Corporate Jet Center.
Etihad Airways is setting up a new group structure to better reflect its activities beyond the core airline. According to CEO James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group is being created later this year with the airline as the biggest of several pillars. Other units will include a loyalty program and a travel agency service. Hogan says it is not certain Etihad will invest in Alitalia after the ongoing due diligence process is completed.
USMC Reserve Brig. Gen. William T. Collins has been nominated for promotion to major general. He is commanding general of the New Orleans-based 4th Marine Aircraft Wing. Honors And Elections
Israel Aerospace Industries brought an unmanned air system to the air show, inaugurating a new class that it calls the “super-tactical” UAS. The Super Heron is about 50% larger than the basic Heron or the General Atomics Predator, in order to carry a high-performance multi-sensor suite on long-endurance missions. Flight tests have been completed for the UAS, according to IAI, and it is now “a fully operational system.”
Aviation Week Naval Editor Michael Fabey is the winner of the 2014 Timothy White Award, given by the American Business Media (ABM) association to a journalist who demonstrates “bravery, integrity, passion and quality of product.”
An article on NASA commercial-crew vehicle development in the Jan. 27 issue (page 26) incorrectly stated the type of Commercial Crew Transportation Capability Contract agreement that will be awarded. “One or more” firm fixed-price contracts will be awarded, according to NASA. web hed: Multiple Contracts On The Way
The Comac ARJ21 regional jet project has been delayed again, with the aircraft now due to go into service in April or May 2015, eight years later than scheduled early in the program and 13 years after development began. The first operator, Comac subsidiary Chengdu Airlines, will receive its first aircraft late this year or early next year, says the carrier's deputy general manager, Luo Ning. Further preparations will be made before operations begin in April or May, Luo tells local media.
