After reading “Return of the Penetrator” (AW&ST Dec. 9, p. 20), it seems clear that it is time to rethink the aircraft. Look where the X-47B is now. The U.S. Air Force does not need a folding wing, nor the heavy-duty naval landing gear, nor size restrictions of compatible naval ships. Go back to 2007-08 and study what stage the design was at when the program split.
Paul A. Robinson has joined Focus Investment Bank of Washington as a senior adviser on the government, aerospace and defense sectors for middle-market companies. He was founder of AeroTech Research and was an engineer with NASA.
Ralph Leach (see photos) has been named managing director of marketing and sales for the FlightSafety Academy, Vero Beach, Fla. He was vice president-business development for Jet Asia in China and a senior consultant with CMR in London. Randy Annett has been promoted to manager of FlightSafety International's Learning Center in Tucson, Ariz. He succeeds Kelly Allender, who has been promoted to manager of Dallas Learning Center. Annett was assistant manager of FSI's Cessna Learning Center in Wichita.
Jan. 21-22—MRO Latin America. Rio de Janeiro. Feb. 4-6—MRO Middle East. Dubai. Feb. 10—Air Transport World's 40th Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards. Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel. March 4-5—Defense Technology and Affordability Requirements Conference. Washington. March 6—Aviation Week's Laureate Awards. Washington. April 8-10—MRO Americas. Phoenix. Oct. 7—MRO Europe. Madrid. You can now register ONLINEfor Aviation Week Events.
China Airlines will set up a budget carrier with the brand of Singapore Airlines affiliate Tigerair. The goal is to begin operations at the end of 2014. The network will cover major destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Taiwan, says the Taiwanese carrier, which will own 90% of Tigerair Taiwan. Tigerair will own 10%.
Malcolm Venturi has been appointed sales and service manager for southern and western Australia and the Asia-Pacific region for Vector Aerospace Engine Services-Atlantic of Toronto. Honors And Elections
Problems with a cooling loop on the International Space Station prompted NASA to reschedule last week's planned launch of the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s ORB-1 resupply mission to the ISS until at least Jan. 13. The launch of the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule from the Wallops Flight Center, Va., will mark the first under an eight-flight, $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract between Orbital and NASA. The cooling system difficulties surfaced Dec. 11, when a flow-control valve in Loop A of the station's dual loop external cooling system faltered.
“Reusable Redux” (AW&ST Dec. 2, p. 20) discusses reusable launchers. An image of the X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) is featured, which the article states never flew because the technology was not available.
Charlton C. Walker (see photos) has become vice president/associate general counsel/Information Systems sector counsel for the Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. He was the sector's assistant general counsel. Harry Q.H. Lee, 2nd, has been appointed vice president-corporate contracts, pricing and supply chain. He was vice president-contracts, pricing and program business operations for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) has completed all of its milestones under NASA's Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) program, which culminated in the first free-flight test and runway landing of its Dream Chaser spacecraft at Edwards AFB, Calif. While the company says all of the goals of the flight were achieved, the Oct. 26 test was marred by a landing gear deployment failure that caused the vehicle to veer off the runway after touchdown and sustain damage.
It is becoming evident that the crew piloting the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crash-landed on approach to San Francisco International Airport last July were not qualified to fly that aircraft. Aviation is a field of scientific absolutes. V speeds are not guidelines. The ability of a qualified pilot is just as absolute. Airplanes have become increasingly complex, with the addition of flaps, retractable gear, autopilot, flight management systems, etc. These systems must work correctly. Thus, a qualified pilot must operate these systems correctly.
Jan. 13-17—22nd AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference, 52nd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Conference and AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference. All at National Harbor, Md. See www.aiaa.org/EventDetail.aspx?id=18410, 18405, 18406 Jan. 14-17—National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference. New Orleans. See www.nbaa.org/events/sdc/2014/ Jan. 22-24—Fifth Decennial AHS Aero-mechanics Specialists' Conference. Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) is going out with a bang. The staunch foe of the Chinese government on human-rights and national-security grounds says he will not seek reelection in 2014, but before he goes, he wants President Barack Obama to drop plans to capture an asteroid and nudge it into lunar orbit. With China's landing of a small rover on the Moon (see page 45), Wolf warns that a new space race is at hand. “[W]hether we like it or not, the U.S.
Nick L. Stanage has been named chairman of the Hexcel Corp., Stamford, Conn. He will continue as president/CEO. As chairman, Stanage succeeds David E. Berges, who will be retiring on Dec. 31.
Israel's Urban Aeronautics has completed untethered, automated test flights of its AirMule vertical-take-off-and-landing unmanned aircraft as it prepares for mission demonstrations next year. The 1,000-kg (2,200-lb.) ducted-rotor air vehicle conducted several short flights that included vertical takeoff, flight to a specific location and back to a vertical landing, the company says. A second prototype is planned to fly in the second half of 2014 and is likely to be powered by an uprated Turbomeca Arriel 2 turboshaft.
Spencer Dickerson is among four executives at the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) with new positions. He is now senior executive vice president-global operations/secretary to the board of directors. He remains head of the U.S. Contract Tower Association and the International Association of Airport Executive programs.
While the closing of their merger agreement caps off a tough regulatory battle, American Airlines and US Airways face an even more daunting challenge in integrating the two carriers and their workforces. Dec. 9 was a significant milestone for the new American Airlines. On that day the merger was officially consummated, American exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the new parent company's stock was listed. One more court sign-off is needed, but this is regarded as a formality.
Brian Rowe has become business development manager for the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs of Integrated Microwave Technologies, Mount Olive, N.J. He was business manager of Voltronics.
The idea of recycling regional-jet winglets into bookshelves may raise a skeptical eyebrow, but manufacturers are talking seriously about how to manage the end-of-life for their aircraft and engines—however distant that may seem today.
In response to “Reusable Redux” (AW&ST Dec. 2, p. 21), I have to clarify the cost comparison made between the first GPS satellite launched in 1978 and that of the GPS III spacecraft. First, the 1978 satellite was a demonstration, not a production, satellite and had a design life of less than one year; the design life of GPS III is 15 years. Second, inflation was not included in the comparison from 1978-2013.
