Bryan Shelton has been named director of field operations for Zenith Aviation, Fredericksburg, Va. He was senior manager of aviation maintenance operations for the U.S. Marine Corps Presidential Helicopter Squadron.
Uncle Sam's sequestration may accomplish what Chinese and Russian anti-satellite efforts have not: undermining U.S. space capability. That is one of the emerging conclusions of an industrial base assessment by the Commerce Department, shared with Aviation Week.
David Binks (see photo) has been named president of FedEx Express for Europe, Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Gerald P. Leary, who is retiring. Binks has been senior vice president-European operations and will be succeeded by Michael Holt (see photo), who has been CEO of FedEx U.K./vice president-operational integration for Europe.
USAF Maj. Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., has been appointed director of operations, strategic deterrence and nuclear integration at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. He has been deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command-Southwest Asia. Brown will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Jeffrey G. Lofgren, who has been commander of the USAF Warfare Center of Air Combat Command, Nellis AFB, Nev.
Prof. Robert Owen (Daytona Beach Fla. ), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach Fla. )
Recent writers who advocate retaining A-10s in the Air Force miss the point—the world has changed. The A-10 was designed to kill tanks from outside the range of the main tactical, low-level, counter-air threats of the 1970s. However, in the three-plus decades since, it has become vulnerable to a wider range of modern air-defense missiles.
Marc Bourret has been appointed head of the Toulouse-based Aerolia Group's Quebec subsidiary and François Paynot site director at St. Nazaire, France. Bourret succeeds Marie-Agnes Veve, who has been promoted to the EADS Group, while Paynot follows Arnaud Mayer, who is now chief operating officer of Auvergne Aeronautique.
Mounting budget pressure is forcing France to curb defense spending, slowing deliveries of major military programs rather than killing them outright. Under the nation's new military program law—a €190 billion ($256 billion) budget for the period 2014-19—key aerospace platforms that will see reduced or delayed orders include Dassault Aviation's Rafale combat jet, Eurocopter's Tiger and NH90 helicopters and Airbus Military's A400M tactical airlifter.
The Sikorsky S-300C is a piston-powered, 2-3-seat light-utility and training helicopter acquired by Sikorsky when it bought Schweizer Aircraft in 2004. The S-300C has its roots in the Hughes Helicopter Model 269/300 family of helicopters. Schweizer produced its first 300C in 1984 after signing a deal with Hughes in 1983. Specially configured models of the S-300C have been offered for a variety of dedicated military missions, including introductory pilot training and scout/observation.
The Apache is a twin-engine, tandem-seat attack helicopter. The current production model is the AH-64E, available either as a new-build aircraft or as an upgrade of existing helicopters. The AH-64E is fitted with GE T700 engines; the British WAH-64D features a pair of Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 engines. Apache armament includes an M230 30-mm Chain Gun with 1,200 rounds and four underwing hardpoints that can accommodate up to 16 Hellfire antitank missiles, up to 76 6.985-cm air-to-ground rockets, or a combination of Hellfires and rockets.
The NH90 is a medium-lift, twin-turbine troop-transport and maritime helicopter. The helicopter is available with a choice of turboshaft engines: GE T700-GE-T6E1 (2,040 shp) and CT7-8F5 (2,634 shp), or Turbomeca RTM322-01/9 (2,100 shp) and RTM322-01/9A (2,544 shp). The NH90 comes in two standard models, the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) and the NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH), though extensive customization is available.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is a long-range nuclear and conventional strike/attack aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force. The aircraft is powered by four 17,300-lb.-thrust GE F118-GE-100 turbofan engines. The B-2's maiden flight occurred in 1989, with the 21st and final aircraft delivered in 1997. The final two B-2s were delivered in the full Block 30 configuration, with the remaining bombers upgraded to that standard.
The T-6A is a tandem-seat, single-engine, high-performance, turboprop-powered trainer powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop engine, flat-rated to 1,100 shp. It is based on the Pilatus PC-9 Mk II and was selected in 1995 for the U.S. Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) requirement.
Thomas P. Quinly has become chief operating officer of the Curtiss-Wright Corp., Parsippany, N.J. He succeeds David C. Adams, who has been promoted to president/CEO. Quinly was president of Curtiss-Wright Controls.
Boeing has reached a tentative agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), which, if ratified, will help clear the way for the final assembly of the Boeing 777X and its composite wing in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. The provisional agreement aims to secure a long-term contract extension from 2016 to 2024, and will be voted on by the IAM around Nov. 13. In a related move, further pressure to keep the work in the Seattle area is being brought on Boeing by Washington Gov.
The first Bombardier 415 amphibious waterbomber sold to a U.S. customer has been delivered to Tenax Aerospace and leased to firefighting operator Aero-Flite for use on a multiyear contract with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).
The AH-6i light-attack/reconnaissance helicopter is a single-engine aircraft. Boeing began work on a prototype aircraft in early 2009, with the first flight occurring in September of that year. Intended for international customers, the AH-6i features an integrated, AH-64 Apache-like digital cockpit and a communications package that enables the aircraft to connect with other aircraft and ground stations. Four weapons stations support the M-134D 7.62-mm minigun, GAU-19 12.7-mm minigun, M260 seven-shot rocket pod, laser-guided 70-mm rockets and Hellfire missiles.
Air New Zealand has confirmed that the first scheduled Boeing 787-9 route will be from Auckland to Perth, Australia, with the aircraft taking over existing service on Oct. 15, 2014. The carrier is the launch customer for the 787-9; the first aircraft is expected to be delivered in July. It will be used on some one-off flights to other Australian cities before it is assigned to the Perth service. Air New Zealand says its 787s will next be deployed on its existing flights from Auckland to Shanghai and Tokyo.
The Lynx is a twin-engine, multirole military helicopter that has been produced in a variety of models for antisubmarine warfare, training, utility and transport roles. The Super Lynx 300 series aircraft is powered by a pair of LHTEC CTS800 turboshaft engines rated 1,384 shp each. The upgraded AW159 Lynx Wildcat, designed for the U.K. military, features a new airframe, CTS800-4N engines rated 1,361 shp each and a new glass cockpit. The AW159 variant's first flight occurred in November 2009.
The MiG-AT is a twin-engine jet trainer. One prototype made its first flight in 1996, and a second in 2004. The aircraft uses two 3,150-lb.-thrust Turbomeca/Snecma Larzac 04-R20 turbofan engines, although it has also been tested with 3,750-lb.-thrust Soyuz RD-1700 engines for the Russian air force. RAC MiG has also conceived a single-seat light fighter/attack version designated the MiG-AS.
The E-3/E-6/E-8 series is a family of special-purpose military aircraft based on the Boeing 707. All three models are currently out of production. Some 76 E-3s, 17 E-6s and 20 E-8s were built. The E-3 AWACS platform made its first flight in February 1972. Production E-3s were powered by either four Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines or four CFM56-2 engines. First flight of the E-6A Tacamo II communications platform, which uses four F108-CF-100 (CFM56-2A-2) turbofans, took place in 1987.
Jean-Michel Hillion (see photo) has been named corporate senior vice president for Boeing programs for Paris-based Safran. He succeeds Norbert Gaillard, who has retired. Hillion has been head of Safran Electronics and was director of programs for the Hydraulics and Braking Control Divs. of Messier-Bugatti.
